Scorecard

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics v Sunsets on Fri 22 Jul 2016 at 6.00pm
Erratics Cricket Club Lost by 9 runs

Match report by Martin Wright
Sunsets at sunset.

What nicer way to spend a Friday evening than taking on our old rivals at our new (occasional) home ground of Stokeinteignhead? A hot day gave way to a balmy eve, Skipper Mark Hailwood won / lost the toss [subs, please check] and we found ourselves in the field.

The Erratiranks were swelled to 11 by the very welcome addition of Stokeinteignhead’s own Roger Putnam, along with our very first [subs, please check] American Erratic, Marc-William Palen. (The ‘-William’ seemed to be optional as he answered happily to Marc. But it’s always handy to have a Dash William in reserve, I imagine. Especially if he needed a runner.) Marc is a lecturer in Imperial History, which could have led to all sorts of puns about Imperial Sunsets, had he struck the winning runs, which he didn’t. But I digress…

Erratics bowled well early doors (that’s the dire sporting cliché over with), with tight spells from Ben Youngman and Rob Scott (an honorary semi-Erratic these days) and some testing lines from Roger. He cleaned up one Sunset opener and had the other taken by a fine catch from Marc Palen – displaying more than a touch of the Dash Williams in the gully. Keeper Jonathan Kirby then took a sharp snaffle off a rearer-upper from Rob, and Sunsets were three down for diddly squat.

I love Rob’s run-up. Not so much a run-up, really, more a brief outburst of violence. He hurls himself at the crease as though it’s given him personal offence, extracting considerable fury from an approach of barely five paces.

Four overs for seven runs and a wicket suggested he struck a modicum of terror into the opposition, too. An economical fury.

Sunsets rose again (that’s the contradiction in terms over with) thanks to some powerful blows from White (28, with a lot more potential to add if there hadn’t been compulsory retirement) and Bridge, who was sharply stumped by Kirby off Phil Power. Some late hitting threatened to take the game away from us, but Erratics stayed sharp in the field, and Hailwood’s slower balls induced two mis-hit skiers safely pouched by Martin Wright and Gajendra Singh.

If Rob was the pick of the attack, our other bowlers shone too. Ben was miserly as ever (well, as usual, anyway), his four overs going for just 14. Roger picked up two for 19, while Phil and Mark weathered the brunt of Sunsets’ brief assault with 2 for 31 and 3 for 25 respectively.

Sunsets finished on 101. Five an over. Eminently gettable, surely?

We started smoothly enough; openers Matt Crawford and Roger Putnam easing the ball around and running well. When Matt was bowled after a brisk 9, Jonathan took over, and he and Roger kept the score purring along till the latter departed on 21. Martin lingered briefly, his main achievement puffing valiantly to keep up with Kirby’s scurried threes, and then Gajendra took over. With around 13 overs gone we had 60 on the board, and were looking well set.

At which point Sunsets tightened up their bowling, and it became harder to get the ball away. Gajendra fought hard, essaying a series of elegant looking sweeps and laps, the smooth flow of which remained unencumbered by the jolt of ball on bat. Jonathan perished fighting, and Gajendra struck a particularly well-timed sweep only to see it fall into the hands of fine leg.

Now we were up against it, needing eight, nine an over. Marc Palen came in, gave his first ball a positively Imperial Dash William, and then was bowled. Skipper Hailwood, reprising his valiant rearguard action at Crediton Inn the other night, kept us in the hunt with a few well laced boundaries, and with two overs left it was touch and go. But then the fickle cruelty of Mistress Cricket played her hand. Phil struck a ball sweetly through the air towards the boundary….a six would have brought us within range, but the fielder snatched it just as it flew past him, and left us with too much to do in the final over.

But a loss by nine runs was no disgrace, and we’d been blessed with sunshine throughout, with the final overs played out in silhouette against a golden sky as the sun finally slipped down behind the moor.

Sunsets Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
4w 1lb 
for 8 wickets
5
101 (20.0 overs)		     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Ben Youngman4.001400.003.50
Rob Scott4.02717.001.75
Roger Putman4.011929.504.75
Phil Power4.0031215.507.75
Mark Hailwood4.002538.336.25

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
4w 3b 1lb 
for 7 wickets
8
92		        
Matt Crawford Bowled  9
Roger Putman Bowled  21
Jonathan Kirby Bowled  19 1 1
Martin Wright Lbw  5 1
Gajendra Singh Caught  7 1
Marc Palen Bowled  2 1
Mark Hailwood Not Out  21
Phil Power Caught  0
Ben Youngman Not Out  0
Rob Scott  
Penny Price  

Sunsets Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.