Vs Highgate
We arrived at Highgate late, as usual.
The other team were keen as mustard, but had to wait for our captain. Obviously they didn’t know about our casual start times. Eventually our captain arrived (bringing a small child as a fielder) won the toss and bowled. Being that I had also turned up late, I didn’t see the pitch, but on first look it didn’t seem too bad.
How to explain how their first 6 didn’t make double figures. There was good bowling from us, but their batsmen all looked good in what little we saw of each one of them. The pitch was ok, a bit low with the odd touch of inconsistent bounce, but nothing that would scare anyone. None of them seemed scared, they just seemed intent on going out, and there was even a run out. Ofcourse our team is utterly useless at closing out teams, so instead their captain and a slogger got together and started slapping us around.
I was brought on to get some above their eyes. My first over was rough, but I got away with it. Next over I was miss hit for six from a sweep, and I thought, time for some tricks. So I threw the ball up as high and slow as I could, and watched him play 7 shots before miss hitting it to point. Next ball I knew he would want to hit hard so I bowled a quicker one that was meant to be a Yorker. It didn’t york him, because he was playing up a line that the ball was a foot from. It was a handy wicket, as this guy had made 47.
From there I started really bowling good, and had one over where 5 balls were hit in their air in and around fielders. Then I had a dropped catch before getting their captain caught at point. And I was off the field. We were only chasing about 128, so I knew I wouldn’t need to bat.
I was listed at 8, and in a pissy little chase like this you don’t want to bat if you’re at 8. I was so confident I gave my gear to our number 4 and did some scoring. We got most of the runs while only losing 3 wickets, it was a cruise. They seemed to give it up after an over of legspin from their captain who bowled seam up earlier. We lost a wicket, and then the scores were tied, and we lost another.
I was borrowing gear from anyone I could, as the one batsman who wasn’t out was the guy with all mine. So I stride out there, 6 wickets down, scores tied. I was using a bat given to one of our players by Inzi, and first ball was given a nice juicy full toss, I punched it into the covers and called wait, the fielder fumbled it and rolled around for a second, in some situations I would have tried to take the run. But why risk a run out when we only need one run to win? I mean I’m batting with a guy who is well set, and there is plenty of time.
Had I known what was to come, I would have taken the run. First ball of the next over the well set batsman was bowled. Not even the greatness of using the hawk could keep him at the crease. Then there was a gap, as we had no one padded up, and then I small a very small kid coming down. The small kid that was there to make sure we had 11 in the field. He must have padded up quickest. He was about 12 and he bolted onto the field. I told him he was facing a left arm bowler who wasn’t too quick and for him to block out the over.
He was bowled first ball.
Now we were 8 down, scores still tied and coming in was a hard hitting rather unconventional Saffa. I thought we were fucked. I could just see myself not facing another ball as we lost all four wickets in this last over. Our number ten survived the hat trick ball, getting struck on the pad, I charged down the wicket as much as I can charge, but they had a leg slip and there was no run.
The next ball was edged, but inside edged and it went straight through the keeper and that was that. Somehow we had made this a real game when it never really looked like it would be. But we won.
I got myself a tidy 2/26 and a scintillating one ball 0*.
Oh and after the match, while my captain and I walked off the field laughing, we were almost hit by a ball that may or may not have been thrown deliberately at us. One of their players told us not to worry about it as the bloke was mental.
