Scorecard

Ide v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Wed 17 Jul 2019 at 6.00pm
Erratics Cricket Club Won by 1 Run

Match report This will be a contender for game of the season. While no match could be closer than England's World Cup win of three days ago, our contest with Ide came within one run of needing its own super-over to separate the teams. And, like the Lord's final, the initiative in our game swung one way and then the other, all the way to the end.

Erratics batted first but mustered only ten players because the unfortunate Jeff Haynes failed a fitness test for what would have been his first match of the year. Ian Hooper was a casualty of the early exchanges before Duncan Chave and Martin Weiler, with some cracking drives and marvellous touch, put on 30 quick runs. The dismissals of Weiler and Matt Crawford brought together the senior and junior Chaves before Duncan ran himself out for 29. By then, however, Fraser was scoring freely and the total had reached about 80 from 10 overs.

The number of spectators had also grown by this time, to about two dozen - it was 'wine night' and a fine evening, after all - and the local dogs had rooted out several lost balls from the surrounding hedges and fields.

The Erratics were on course for a large total, then, but Ide often save some strong bowlers for the second half of the innings. And so, once Fraser retired at 30 (his four-mile walk to the game clearly having done him no harm), Ide pegged us back. Chris Ferro and Andrew Forrester tried their best but it took Krupakar Nallala's late hitting to bring us to a par score of 122 for 6.

Ide's innings featured batting partnerships of high contrast. One batsman would crash the ball to the boundary; the shots of his partner would rarely send the ball off the cut strip. One over would be hit for just two runs; the next would go for a dozen. In this stacatto fashion, and despite good bowling by Crawford, Hooper, Ben Youngman and John Curtis, Ide kept up with the rate. From the last six overs, they needed about 40 runs, and when the massive Tony Walker twice hit Fraser's off-breaks over the hedge and half way up the hill, the cheering locals were beginning to think it was their game.

Just in time, Fraser struck back, inducing a mis-stroke from Walker. The remaining batsmen, urged on by their excited supporters, scampered every run they could, but with Nallala bowling tightly at the other end, they couldn't match the required rate. Ide needed eight runs to win when Youngman returned for the final over. Two came off the first ball and Ide were favourites again, but Youngman's nerve held and a series of dot balls left Ide needing six to win from the last delivery. A desperate swing sent the ball careering towards the square-leg boundary, but it didn't have the elevation and bounced before the rope to count for only four.

Chris Ferro

P.S. I've just remembered an unusual incident from this match that is worth recording. One of Ide's big hitters smashed a straight drive that broke one of the stumps at the bowler's end in two, saving four runs.

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
5w 5b 1lb 
for 6 wickets
11
122		        
Ian Hooper Bowled  3
Martin Weiler Bowled  14 2
Duncan Chave Run out  29 4
Matt Crawford Caught  3
Fraser Chave Retired Not Out  30 3 2 1 1
Jayakrupakar Nallala Not Out  22 3
Chris Ferro Caught  5 1
Andrew Forrester Bowled  3 1
Ben Youngman Not Out  0
John Curtis  
N.O. One  

Ide Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.

Ide Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 7w 4b  
for 7 wickets
12
121 (20.0 overs)		     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Ben Youngman4.0021121.005.25
Matt Crawford3.00919.003.00
Ian Hooper3.001900.006.33
John Curtis2.002700.0013.50
Fraser Chave4.0025212.506.25
Jayakrupakar Nallala4.001628.004.00