2024-07-28_Quokkers
Match Data vs Quokkers on 2024-07-28 at Barnes (Season 2024)
- Result: WIN
- Quokkers: 134 all out from 34 overs
- Salix: 138 for 2 from 19 overs
- Game Type: 35 Overs Game (Salix Batted Second)
Post match celebration toasting our match winners
Report: Rory
Salix win thanks to Sai’s five for 29 and Raj’s undefeated 92
Whilst I lay in bed last Saturday evening contemplating the events of my cricketing-free Sunday, I started doing what any self-respecting 24-year-old would: reading Mike Brearley’s “The Art of Captaincy”. My leisurely thumb-through was interrupted by the realization that, despite my best efforts, I had been roped into last Sunday’s game against the, apparently, impossible-to-pronounce Quokkas (or is it Quakers?).
Reader, a word of warning: you may read the following and mistake this report for a description of a far more skilled and competent side. But I assure you, the side I am about to describe, despite playing with aplomb, was indeed our very own Salix.
We arrived in dribs and drabs to an unusually late start time. While waiting for the even later opposition to arrive, we heard tales of the great Faustian bargain our captain had made the night before. Apparently, all it took was being tucked up in bed by 8pm. These powers were not immediately evident as things started predictably with a lost toss and Salix going out to field in the blistering July heat.
Thanks to the quick recruiting of Hadi, we were treated to a dual-Pakistani attack reminiscent of a certain pair of reverse-swing proponents. With Syed and Hadi taking the new ball and acting as a Wetland Centre versions of Akram and Younis, we were treated to 10 overs of fast, accurate swing bowling. Both were very unfortunate not to be rewarded with a wicket. While we have grown accustomed to, and often dependent on, the silky swing of our trusty opener, what surprised me was something seen around the outfield.
It all started when Will, fielding at cover, leaped forward in an attempt to catch a ball that had just been scooped up. Imagine that reader: a Salix fielder, in the inner-circle, diving to try and catch a ball. Maybe it was a fluke, maybe it was the heat. Or maybe, just maybe, Raj’s deal with the devil was about to bear the most rare of fruits: a Salix team performing in the field.
The quality opening partnership kept the run-rate down and the pressure up. Hadi decided to take the slightly unusual Vinny Jones approach and got one in early on the cloth-cap-wearing Quokka opener, who took a new ball beamer to the jaw. Thankfully, he returned later, still not wearing a helmet. Of course.
The first change brought in Sai and Adam. The change of pace required a change of field. The well-rested Raj started channeling his inner Stephen Fleming. A tweak here, an adjustment there, and we were set.
What we weren’t ready for was the onslaught that came from what will undoubtedly be catchily renamed the Balasubramaniam end. First over: 1 run, 1 wicket. Second over: 2 runs, 1 wicket. Third over: 1 run, 2 wickets. After three overs, Sai found himself with figures of 4-4 off three overs, with two clean-bowled and two catches, one apiece for the Dodd brothers. Had Sai’s mystery spin finally been unveiled? Does it turn to leg? To off? Does it drift in and turn away? Does it spin at all? These questions proved far too much for the opposition’s top order.
From the other end, we were treated to a performance reminiscent of another great. With speed I genuinely believed he did not possess, and accuracy I was dubious of at best, Adam delivered one of the best bowling spells I have had the privilege of witnessing. Mike Procter, sadly, only played seven Tests in his career, taking 41 wickets at an average of 15.02. Even if he could have played more, I doubt he could have replaced our #4 bowler. Upon his return, Adam faced the opposition’s #10, easily their best batsman who had dropped himself down the order after playing league the day before. Standing tall and hitting long, he started this over with two fours. The setup: two balls of similar length, both angled in but moving away. Not much concern from the bat. The third ball, same line, same length, different outcome. With a ball that left many of his teammates speechless, Adam bowled, with speed, a ball that pitched on a length, shaped in, and took the top of off.
During this bowling showcase, one thing remained consistent: the fielding. Boundaries were chased all the way, 2s turned into 1s, and there was largely good catching (despite a couple of disputed catch avoidances and Raj attempting to emulate James Anderson with a lackadaisical attempt at a caught and bowled). Krutik, as ever, was sharp behind the stumps; batsmen learned quickly to stay well inside the crease.
Christy was practically licking his lips at the sight of a very exposed tail. Accuracy and pressure were all that was needed for a good spell, taking two wickets at an economy of 2 runs an over.
Raj finally found his Gretchen when Sai returned and took his 5th wicket in his final over, earning a well-deserved 5-29, his first for Salix.
Following one over and the final wicket from Raj, Salix had just bowled out a side for 134 in 34 overs. A five-for, five catches, five clean-bowled, all at less than 4 runs an over. Great bowling, great fielding. But this is Salix, a side that has felt the brutal reality of Murphy’s Law far too often.
A buoyed Raj decided to mix up the batting line-up, inevitably dropping Rory down the order while moving himself down one place. As I walked out to umpire, I had the most unusual of feelings. Was this what they call confidence? Or was I about to be reminded of the peril of hubris? I feared my question was about to be answered.
Ball one, the opposition left-arm opener welcomed Dave with a lightning bolt, touching 90mph. It started outside off, hooped back, and left leg stump cartwheeling over the boundary. Or at least, that’s how Dave describes it.
Salix 0-1. Was Salix about to fall short against the weight of our expectations? After all, as Austen warns us, “to wish was to hope, and to hope was to expect.” Will was joined by the captain on ball two. Desperate to get off strike against some very good bowling, Will played some flashy shots and looked good for his 11 off 18. That left Raj with Fergus. Despite the team missing his increasingly destructive pace, there was hope that Dodd #3 could stick around and hold down an end.
At 45-2, with 28.3 overs remaining and 90 runs to get, surely Duckworth-Lewis-Stern still favoured us. Their left-armer bowled his allotment straight through, keeping our batsmen honest till the last. This included an over that nearly saw Fergus suffer the same fate as Dave, though he survived by edging through the slips for a lucky single.
Following a change of bowling and increasing levels of chat from our opposition, Raj decided to go full Michael Jordan and took it all very personally. The arrival of ice cream, kindly provided by Tim, made the ensuing aerial onslaught even more enjoyable. Before long, Raj reached his fifty. Fergus could do little more than the rest of us on the boundary: sit back and watch. The captain’s deal with the devil seemed to be working. Following a run-a-ball half-century, the floodgates opened. In a chase of 134, Raj managed to hit 92*. The mind boggles at what can be achieved with an early night, good company, and the sale of one’s soul.
Salix had chased down our target in under 19 overs. A jubilant captain bought a well-deserved round of drinks, and we were all back home in time for tea and medals. It turns out that late starts don’t matter when you are dealing with the mighty Salix! All in all, it was a great game, with good people in the opposition. Is this the start of a new era? Or was our victory on Sunday the most Salixy un-Salix game ever?