2024-09-01_Chelsea_Arts_Club
Match Data vs Chelsea Arts Club on 2024-09-01 at Gunnersbury (Season 2024)
- Result: WIN
- Salix: 227 for 7 wickets from 35 overs
- Chelsea Arts Club: 120 all out from 23 overs
- Game Type: 35 Overs Game (Salix Batted First)
Report: Ollie
Many happy returns
Even in the limited overs format, cricket is not a short game. You get to a ground around midday, change, then start playing before 1pm. You’re often still going gone 7pm. A whole day lost to the twists and turns of the great game. Strange then when you look back and realise, for all that time, that only a few fleeting moments made the difference. So it was for Salix against CAC. 58 overs were played, but really it came down to the first 5 in each innings.
The boys travelled to picturesque Gunnersbury. Dills, arriving first, found our pitch occupied by pyjama-wearing types* who bullied him away. Instead, we played on the second pitch which had a decided slope and an outfield like a rocket. The bounce of the crease however was, like Raj** in an off-licence, not to be trusted. Salix had 10 men and CAC 9, although Dillan did his penance for surrendering our patch of green by fielding for CAC in the quite considerable heat.
Skipper TFC*** won a good toss and put the oppos into the field under the hot sun. With variable bounce you needed to be on your toes. Delilah hadn’t quite mastered that, making his LBW shout a forgone conclusion as he fixed to his crease and waved his bat around somewhere the ball most definitely wasn’t. But after that early setback the second wicket stand kicked into overdrive. What followed was brutal. Chetan and the skip put the oppo to the sword. Amongst the oppo’s bowlers was one S. Dodd, a veteran Salixite “enjoying” his birthday. He was plundered like an overloaded Spanish Galleon, going for 36 from his first 3 overs. At the 10-over drinks point, Salix were already ahead and Chetan, especially, looked in ominous touch.
It couldn’t last of course. After the break CAC came back and made much better use of the bowling, pitching it up and cutting off the flow of easy runs. The pressure told and soon Chetan, and then the skipper, both of whom had seemed ordained for centuries, were on their way. New man Hadi played himself in but was bowled by a good ball. Abdul motored along nicely until he had the misfortune to pick out the only fielder who would have held the ball (which was travelling) and was out caught. The run rate, which had been over 10 and over, steadily declined. But yet with our good start the boys were able to keep the score ticking over.
As the innings drew towards its end Sai had a couple of good partnerships, first with the only loyal Dodd (Simon & Rory played for CAC). Fergus added a useful 24 and Sai a further 25 (his batting season of Clover continues). Finally, Sai & I put on just shy of 50 for the final partnership. Although few of them came from my bat, we scampered around like rabbits, taking advantage of the byes on offer. In a strange twist of fate Arsey ended up playing for the oppo and bowling at us. His failure to take a wicket under the hot sun did not improve his mood any more than knowing I was his lift home. In the end we ended with 227 on the board, well beyond the hoped-for 200 the skipper had set.
At lunch we sang happy birthday to Simon, confirming that we’re a better sports team than a choir****.
Into the field went our heroes. As I said at the start small moments turn matches, and on this day it was the first 5 overs. Whilst we had plundered, Hadi and Abdul gave nothing away (Hadi in particular was wonderful, going for only 8 from his 4 overs). Whilst they kept it tight the pressure on the oppo grew, and pretty soon it told. Wickets started to tumble and the skipper rotated the bowling to make the most of the conditions. Not for a long while have we used 8 bowlers (even less when we were only 10 men). Only Fergus & Chetan didn’t turn their arms over and the former was wearing the gloves.
Dillan had oppo-skipper Rory clean bowled (What was Rory doing? He wasn’t so much playing down the wrong line as in the wrong county). Deeps, Raj, Sai & I all got a scalp. I can’t remember whose wicket I took and therefore will never need to mention it again*****. The pick of the rotating bowlers though was Irwin. Copping a bit of stick from his young relatives he let his game do the talking, taking two wickets with his two overs and being too polite to even shush them.
As the wickets rolled in, things became a forgone conclusion. CAC bought two players back, but they were too far behind the rate and had to play with danger to catch up. And danger was enough to seal the deal. In the end they were all done more than 100 short. A grand game played on the very friendliest of terms and against old pals.
*Short format cricketers, not the Vietcong.
**Have we finally decided to stop calling him TFC?
***I’ve decided it’s still going. It stand for “Thanks For Coming” if you wanted to know.
****Not a high bar.
*****Actually, I can. it was Arsey. And the look on his face when he realised what he’d done is a more precious moment in my memory than when I asked my wife to marry me.