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Credit both sides for going ahead in unpromising conditions and conjuring up a tight contest on a lively, but fair wicket. The Gents’ long batting line-up proved the match winner but Weasels fought to the last before being undone by a gem of a stand between Wright and Husain, which compensated for earlier, patchy efforts. The Gents cannot now be overhauled in the 2004 PALs League and will win it outright if 12 Angry Men fail to win both their remaining fixtures. The gloom of winter stretches out like a pall to a cricketer so there was no hesitation in going ahead once the showers had eased and the latecomers had arrived.
Sanjay fielded first and looked on aghast as mid-on Husain dropped a simple catch offered in the first over by Michaels. It was not expensive as Adam edged behind in the sixth over off the accurate skipper and walked. Guest Vyas (one of three) is not one of nature’s walkers and when Scibo seemed to have caught him fairly a few overs later words were had. Bhav and Pagan saw up the fifty in the 13th. over whereupon the catches started to stick. Six were taken, the pick being Ken Toft’s at deep extra-cover as the Weasels began to hit out, arguably too late. Pagan batted 31 overs for his 10 runs, a remarkable feat of concentration by the apprentice Bignell. NBW at least batted out the overs.
Moon Cat lofted the day’s only six high on the off side in the first over of the second innings, cover-drove two fours but was undone by a rolling, tumbling Vyas catch in the covers. A rare failure from Thompson followed three balls later and Michaels had his third victim when he bowled a disconsolate Scibo. Sanjay was in good form and Toft was looking very solid, though Whiting yorked him with a well-disguised slower ball in the 15th. over. It is all very well having a team of dashing strokemakers but anchormen are as vital, and when Toft was out Norcott took over the reins, once more inspired by Humphrey Hound, who in his excitement briefly invaded the pitch before going off on the sniff behind the railway boundary. When Sanjay fell to a high, sharp catch at square-leg for the day’s top score and Derriman holed out off a vertical skier, Weasels were slight favourites, The Gents 78-7. The bookmaking spread was changing swiftly. Tic-tac man and No.11 Buck had quickly modified his forecast from “Gents to win in the next half-hour” (at 21-0) to “We’ll be OK if Ken bats for 25 overs” (42-3). By now he had his pads on and The Gents were edgy. However, Jim had the glint of battle in his eye and was defending stoutly. Nabil sliced his first ball over slips for four but then quickly crashed three more authentic boundaries to bring victory within sight, Jim securing a narrow win with a booming lofted off-drive, his second four. This was, despite the rain, the best Surbiton wicket of the summer. |
