Date	Time	Team	Opposition	Location	Putney	Opposition	Result	Scores	Points	Toss
15/05/2021	1pm	Saturday 3rd	Croydon	Barn Elms	155/5	174/8	W		20

Match Report

Three matches since handing over the reins of the Saturday 3rd XI to Calum, and I found myself back in charge for our second league match of the 2021 season (supported inadequately by Charlie as administrative assistant). If I needed any reminding why skippering is a fools game, then the first hour before the match provided it. We arrived at Barn Elms Sports Centre to a pitch covered in more s**t than a Saad Hannan fielding award acceptance speech. It appears that the geese are well fed in SW13. Charlie, unfortunately, failed in his duties as administrative assistant early on and so it was left to yours truly to head to the Barn Elms reception to source a shovel, boundary flags, stumps and scoreboard (with the assistance of Doug’s Brompton to help ferry these items back to the pitch). While at the Barn Elms reception, we were met by the first rainy spell of the afternoon and I had to spend half an hour taking shelter and suffering through Doug’s fangirling of Jack Waldouck’s acting career. This made me incredibly jealous because after five years at the club, he has never once fangirled over my career in PR. In keeping with tradition, I lost the toss. But was surprised to be asked to bowl. A special mention to Girish and Niket who took on the lion’s share of the pre-match s**t shoveling duties. Once we got going, Max Taylor opened up with one of the most bizarre opening overs I have witnessed at Putney CC. The first ball kept low and crashed into the Croydon opener’s leg stump. Max was then swatted for two boundaries before Croydon’s number three gloved one down the leg side and into my gloves. A dot and another boundary followed, and Croydon found themselves 12-2 after just six balls. At the other end, Sid Asokan was consistent as ever and kept teasing the outside edge. When he finally drew a nick, the ball leapt skywards and seemed to be on its way to third man, only to be plucked from thin air by Doug, who rolled back the years to take a very fine grab at first slip. The celebration – a Cantona-esque “no celebration” – was equally joyous. “I have been curating that during the winter months”, he told me. It showed. Following the early excitement of Max and Sid’s opening spells, we settled into match. But in the damp conditions, enthusiasm in the field dropped, penetrated only by the odd calls of “come on Putney” and “here we go boys” from those in the ring, and “oh wow, Jack, that is amazing fielding, you’re like a son to me!” from Doug. Ajay, Niket and Charlie shared the middle overs. Ajay and Charlie were both unlucky not to pick up a wicket, but Niket, finally able to step out of the shadow of his older brother Savan, bowled very well and picked up three wickets on the day, including that of Croydon’s number six who made a fine half century. Jack also contributed with five overs of promising leg spin, and while he did not take a wicket, Doug assured me that he was the best bowler on the day. Max and Sid returned at the death and both bowled very tidily. Max picked up a fourth wicket to confirm jug avoidance and we limited Croydon to 174-8 from 40 overs. Tea report: as per my match reports from the 2020 season, I can only report on what I had for tea, given the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. I had a red Leicester ploughman’s sandwich, with a side of Hula Hoops and a fruit salad. It was nice. Girish and Doug opened up for us and both looked comfortable at the crease. Girish was the more aggressive of the two, playing some nice shots to the boundary, while Doug protected his wicket and batted sensibly. Another downpour meant that we had to come off for 30 minutes and we were set a revised target of 155 from 33 overs. With the dreadful weather, the pitch started to churn midway through our innings. Balls pitching in the same spot would either fly past your head or turn into pea rollers. Batting was tough going. Girish was trapped LBW for a solid 31, while Doug spooned one to cover to end with 16 to his name. Finbarr and Jack were soon at the crease and both demonstrated some fine stroke play. But after making solid starts, they soon found themselves back on the boundary having both been caught out. This left Adam Sayer and I with the task of scoring the remaining 60 odd runs off the final 10 overs. Thankfully for Putney, Sayer was in a destructive mode. He smashed his first ball for a one bounce four over cow corner to set the tone of his innings. He hammered several shots to the boundary, with the highlight being a lovely six over mid-wicket. Meanwhile, I nudged ones and twos at the other end to keep the strike ticking over and to give Sayer room to hit the big shots. We managed to bring it home, and with us requiring nine runs off the final three overs, both Sayer and I abandoned our discipline to try and hit the big shot to win it. While my attempt to hit the big shot barely made it past the edge of the square, Sayer’s was unfortunately caught on the boundary. Niket joined me for the final over where a quick single saw us over the line for our second league victory of the season. MotM: Sayer – for his excellent match winning innings DotD: The geese of SW13 – for excessive s******g TfC: Charlie – it is harsh, but no wickets, plus he failed in his responsibilities as administrative assistant Champagne Moment: Doug – for his excellent grab at first slip and curated “no celebration” celebration Lewis