Theale & Tilehurst 1 Friendly  XI vs Purley 1 Friendly XI

23rd April 2011

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Report by Sunny.

So Close But Yet So Far….

This game had everything…dropped catches, good recoveries, good batting partnerships, bad misfields, swing, seam and spin bowling, new player for our club and yeah…lots and lots of sunshine.

Traditionally every year we are normally greeted with cold winds, damp pitch and guys in their winter jacket but this year it had to be different. It was great to see all in their whites(Bondy although wanted to wear his lucky cleanish gear for his first game). Pitch looked dry and hard which was expected after all the sunshine over the last few days and also thanks to the efforts of Brian and Phil J of course.

The toss was almost a repeat of the World Cup Final Toss as the coin landed almost at a 50 degree angle (yes I have a virtual protractor I carry around) and we looked at each other. But we let cricket be the winner and Purley chose to bat first after winning the toss.

Cook was on target from ball one and Naz was bowling great line and length. Given that it was his first game he bowled really well and it was great to get some fresh blood into the club. Cook almost had the first breakthrough but James couldn’t hold onto a difficult chance (esp after a year of absence in the middle) at first slip but we carried on bowling good line and length. Naz and Cook kept beating the edges but we couldn’t get that vital breakthrough that we were looking for.

I decided to change things a bit and got Bondy and Rags into the attack as we were expecting more from the pitch with the ball getting a bit older. Bondy should have had 2 wickets that day but it wasn’t his day as we dropped couple of catches off Patrick’s bat which cost us dearly in the end. He played in his usual style and scored a quick fire 50.

Harry then came into the attack and straight away he got the prized wicket of Patrick. It was a relief to see the back of that guy as we all know he can score runs freely…Clark at the other end was batting with patience and in no time he reached his 50 too. Purley were looking comfortable on the field and the heat was starting to impact us with a few misfields (I am guilty of a couple of them too) but we kept bowling well and taking wickets along. Rags got a well deserved LBW and although it hurts me when I say this, he actually bowled quite well. Harry picked another wicket with a simple caught and bowled and it was time for another change.

Ash was at his usual best with a lot of variations on the ball and making it difficult for everyone to read him. The batsman looking to up the ante were throwing everything at the ball so in the end Purley finished their innings on 250. We just gave away 7 extras which for a first game was commendable. Given that it was a good track to bat on it was a decent score which we could aim to chase with a fight…that we did…

James and I opened the innings to T&T. A beautiful yorker got through James’s defences that got Dennis onto the pitch. Dennis and I were not able to get the run rate higher as Purley bowlers were bowling good line and length and the long day on the field was having a toll on both of us. We picked up momentum gradually and after reaching my 50 I decided to play a lot more attacking shots. Dennis on the other end was firing now in all cylinders and taking attack to the opposition. After I chipped a straight ball to short extra Ash came onto the field. Bubbling with confidence from his last game half century, he looked at ease and scored freely. His innings had everything, straight drives, cut shots, chipping over the field for quick ones and twos and in the end Dennis looked like one of the Steam Engines I saw at Didcot Railway Centre…running out of steam ! Dennis played a wonderful innings and after many attempts at getting run out, finally managed to get run out which got Ian into the middle.

Ian was simply outstanding on the field which bruises and cuts all over his hands and body saving a lot of runs for us. The score could have easily been around 280 had it not been to Ian’s fielding abilities. After all that effort on the field he was keen to get off strike on his first ball but unfortunately got run out. Understandably he was gutted but mate, its things like these that makes Cricket interesting…hard luck mate but I am sure you will score runs this year…

Ian’s wicket got Harry onto the pitch with his WMD. Having knocked his new bat to the dissatisfaction of his neighbours for the last few weeks it was time for him to unleash his strokes and he did that in style. His trademark shimmy down the pitch and hit the ball over the bowlers head for a 6 that almost hit the front door of the house was an excellent show of his batting skills and I am sure we will be witnessing a lot more that over the next few months…

Harry perished trying to increase the run rate that got Cook into the middle and with the asking rate creeping over 10 an over it became a hard task for them to get to the target of 250 and we were around 20 runs short.

Overall it was a great game as everyone got something to do and it was a good day out with the lads. It was a shame that we came so close but could get past the target but its games like these that motivate us to play and give an extra 10% which would mean a better success rate this year…and I am confident that this year we will make a mark in the Thames Valley League…bring it on…

Cheers,
Sunil

Photos by Ian Reeves