Saturday 1s vs Morden
Author: Lewis Hill
Match Report |
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Putney Cricket Club 1st XI, Season 2018: A New Hope The opening match of this year’s campaign for Putney 1st XI had it all. The return of old favourites, the arrival of new players, and of course a last gasp climax. Skipper Devon Ebersohn won the toss and elected to bowl, throwing Sam “Mean Aussie” Furber and Ben “Surrey” Williamson straight into the limelight. Both applied pressure to Morden CC’s opening pair, but it was the Mean Aussie that removed Morden’s number 2 and 3 in quick succession with some sharp lines and strong pace. Ebersohn then turned to myself and Scott Good to hammer home our advantage. I got lucky and dismissed Morden’s number 1 with a devastating ball that was near unplayable (read: full toss on leg stump, thanks to Surrey for the catch). Scott, meanwhile, applied excellent pressure at the other end of the wicket and was unlucky not to take one with him during his first spell. I managed to take another wicket before my spell was up, prompting the arrival of Saad “The Vadger” Hannan (yes, Saad, the alternative nickname is back) and skipper Ebersohn to the attack. Both were effective. The Vadger bowled a very tight spell, restricting Morden’s middle order and dismissing their troublesome number 4 with a neat caught behind. Ebersohn, meanwhile, having reinvented himself as an off spinner (easier said than done, although, much easier if you’re skipper) also took a wicket to leave the away side seven down. Scott and the Mean Aussie returned to the fray, with the former picking up a couple of deserved wickets and the latter chipping in with a run out off his bowling when Morden’s number 11 played a beautiful straight drive onto the stumps at the opposite end of the wicket, catching out his number 10 who was backing up half way down the track. Tea was lovely – thanks to the future Mrs Ebersohn. The second innings began with Putney requiring 146 to win the match. We started strong with Rich Jefferies and skipper Ebersohn seeing off Morden’s opening bowlers. Ebersohn fell for 9, which signalled the debut knock for Surrey’s mate and Stockport’s own Brian Lara – Alex “Hopey” Hope. Rich and Hopey put on excellent second wicket partnership of 72. Both ground out the 1s and 2s effectively, with some superb shots, especially through the off side. Hopey assures us that when they met in the middle, Rich described his approach to every ball bowled in the previous over. While to some this might seem fascinating, I simply haven’t the patience or desire to recant these tales, so we’ll move on swiftly. Rich, having narrated his way onto 43, was out caught, prompting the arrival of Oli Dudman to the crease. After a couple of lusty blows, Oli soon found himself back in the pavilion. Hopey fell almost immediately after, having posted a solid 37 on debut. This led to the much-anticipated return of Riki Sahi who after approximately zero lusty blows, also found himself back in the pavilion, with a golden duck to his name. With ten overs to go, and 30 runs still needed, the threat of a classic Putney 1st XI collapse loomed large. However, thanks to a brief cameo from the Mean Aussie, and some disciplined end-game batting from The Vadger and Andy Hyland, we took the match to the penultimate ball, eventually winning by three wickets to claim our first 20 points of the season. Key takeaways – back by (un)popular demand: * One way or another, Rich had earned himself a fair proportion of the fines following the first game of the season. However, sensing his fate, he conveniently played the “my girlfriend is really angry with me because I spend too much time at cricket” card and escaped without punishment * The award for most original nickname at the club looks set to be given to Alex “Hopey” Hope. Surrey had built him up during pre-season as Stockport’s own Brian Lara and for once, the hype wasn’t a total let down |
Date | Time | Team | Opposition | Location | Putney | Opposition | Result | Scores | Points | Toss |
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05/05/2018 | 1pm | Saturday 1st | Morden | H | 146/7 | 145/10 | W | 20 |