Match Report: Chudleigh - 14th Aug

Chudleigh CC v Southwell Ramblers CC – Thursday 14 August 2014

Scores: Chudleigh 169-5 [20 overs], SRCC 138 All Out [19.2 overs]
Result:  Ramblers lost by 31 runs

At 2.29pm the stumps were set and the Ramblers were raring to go. Three hours later Jim Lane sent down the first ball of Tour. In between time Chudleigh was lashed by a storm of such biblical proportion that local wildlife started pairing off and there was a run on gopher wood at the Newton Abbott B&Q. With the pitch underwater and our hosts understandably none too keen we were looking at a wash-out. But after some delicate negotiations and the personal intercession of Ban Ki Moon, the Dalai Lama, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport we agreed upon a 5.30 start and a 20 over thrash.
 

Fielding first and eager to impress after their extended warm-up the Ramblers began brightly. Leggie set the tone and Dave B followed; 2 off the first over, 1 off the second and Chudleigh were going nowhere. Sadly, it was downhill from here on; the next 3 overs went for 36 and the hosts never looked back.
 

The 6th over brought a wicket but no respite as the incoming batsman [South African Dawan] took an instant liking to our attack and plundered boundaries at will. With his partner timing the pants off the ball at the other end, Chudleigh raced past three figures. 

The Ramblers were looking for a hero, and Matt Knight, on debut, showed a ton of courage to keep tossing up his leggies. His reward, the vital wicket of South African Dawan – brilliantly caught by Dave B running out of real estate at deep Long off. When Callum Oliver cleaned up their number 4 soon after with a classy piece of off spin, the visitors were back in business, but a flurry of late boundaries and an avalanche of extras took its toll, and despite losing a couple of wickets in the final over Chudleigh posted a daunting 169 for 5.

An early maiden sent the required rate soaring, but Matt Unwin countered with a burst of boundaries and was in the mood for more when he drilled a full toss straight back to the bowler. If that was unlucky, then the ensuing calamities were all of our own making. Mark Shipway fell to the final ball of the next over, Tim Stansbury’s golden run of form ended with a golden duck in the next, and when Dave Bosomworth was bamboozled by the lack of pace the Ramblers had lost 4 wickets in 4 overs for bugger all.

Recovery came from an enterprising partnership between Nick Mullen and Tim Powell. While Tiny rolled up his sleeves and swept their spinners to distraction, Moo mixed power with patience before eventually playing round a straight one. Jim Owen immediately sacrificed himself in a bold but bonkers attempt to keep up with the rate, in truth the horse had long since bolted, and when the other Jim joined him back in the hutch three figures looked a long way off. 

Tiny, relishing the battle and scoring freely, took us past the ton and a super-charged cameo from Super Cal added an air of respectability to the scoreboard. His 8 ball 21 hinted at what might have been and when Knight Rider turbo boosted his first ball into the Pavilion, the Ramblers at last had something to shout about. The end was nigh but sometimes the journey is more important than the destination.  

Team in batting order:
Matt Unwin, Mark Shipway, Nick Mullen, Tim Stansbury, Dave Bosomworth, Tim Powell, Jim Owen, Jim Lane, Callum Oliver, Matt Knight, Gus Williamson

Toss: Won by Southwell Ramblers
Yellow: Matt Knight [Teasing leg-spin, fine fielding, 1st ball six]