Theale and Tilehurst vs London Theatres 13th August 2006

BACK

Report by Fingers

Following overnight and morning rain there was a feeling that the trip to Monks Risborough for this game was going to be a wasted one. However, the pitch had soaked up the rain well and a forty over a side game was possible.

The London Theatres captain won the toss and reluctantly elected to bat first as some of his team were late arriving due to an accident on the M40. Any lingering thoughts he may have had that batting first wasn’t such a bad thing were probably ended when he nicked the first ball he received to Meady behind the stumps for a routine catch.

Arsalan soon followed up with the wicket of McChlery clean bowled to one that stayed a little low. Townsend then came out and to his first ball hit a straight drive possibly as hard as a ball can be hit, Arsalan got most of his hand on it but it still fizzed across the wet outfield for four. A few lusty blows later and Raj had him well caught by Osman at long off and increasingly it was down to Kustow to hold the innings together and put a meaningful total on the board.

Having apparently bowled like a complete novice on Saturday Rags showed how quickly your fortunes can change at cricket by bowling an immaculate spell and picking up three wickets clean bowled with some prodigious in-swingers. Wise then finally gave Kustow the support he deserved and needed as a partnership for the seventh wicket took the score past 150. Kustow went near the end for an excellent 80 and the innings closed on 156-8.

At tea most people would have said that this was a par score and one that would not be easy to get. With Raj going early and James struggling at the start of the innings no-one was changing their mind quickly about the challenge of getting up to 156.

Initially Meady looked the more settled of those at the crease but once James got past about 35 the ball started finding the middle of the bat with regularity and the boundaries started to come. Meady went for 21 out of a partnership of 95 and Spike joined James at the crease.

Now, those of us that have played regularly on Sundays over the last few years can remember two occasions when James has been closing in on three figures batting second and Spike has gone in and hit some quick runs to leave James stranded not out in the 90s. James may have had this in the back of his mind as he took no chances on what happened at Finchampstead and Holbeton being repeated; his second fifty came off just 33 balls and there were only 140 on the board when he reached three figures. This was James’ ninth hundred for T&T but apparently the most pleasing aspect was that it was his first batting second.

In the context of the match James’ hundred and the speed it came in made a mockery of the view that 156 would be a challenging total to get as we won by 8 wickets with the best part of ten overs to spare.

The good fortune we had in getting the game in was confirmed as we made our way home as before we had made it ten miles back down the road all the verges were flooded to suggest that some very heavy rain had been very nearby.