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Good morning everyone. 2nd match report of the season for MIMCC, written by Captain Applewhite and sponsored by Applewhite Business Consultants, for all your business consultancy needs.
For a wide range of reasons this season we are struggling for players each week (injuries, old age house moving etc.. etc..). If you fancy a few games please get in touch.
Players needed for the match away at Gwersyllt 2nds on Saturday 7th May. 12pm start.
Skipper’s report below for the loss on Saturday v Ruthin 2nds – MIMCC 123 for 8, Ruthin 2nds 124 for 8 off 35 ish overs
Match report from Ruthin at home, by Stuart Applewhite.
Fresh off a Siva-inspired, morale boosting opening day victory against local rivals Buckley, our next match was another local derby, this time against Ruthin. A combination of holidays, injuries and work commitments meant the ranks were somewhat depleted and going into the game, we weren’t sure if we had 10 or 11. For those who track these kinds of things, Abs was a remarkable 20 minutes early. I mean he was still last, but still, credit where it’s due,
An inspection of the wicket confirmed that the boggy patches from the previous week seemed to have dried out a bit so after winning the toss, the stand-in skipper opted to bat first, met with a disappointed sigh of ‘I thought you might’ from the opposition counterpart.
Apples and Siva actually started quite well (helped by a few extras) against the opening bowlers, one quick but erratic and one slower but accurate. The wicket was playing quite true…until it didn’t. Siva got one that stayed very low, clattering into his pads and leaving umpire Ford with little option, out for 9. Abs strolled in and hit some nice shots while weighing up the wicket. Now, Apples and Abs have a bit of ‘running between the wickets’ history and when Apples hit one between two fielders and set off with a loud ‘YES!!!’, it was always going to be tight given Abs’ delayed set off. That said, even at Abs’ leisurely pace, there was plenty of time to get to the other end and therefore there was much surprise amongst all those in attendance (including the footballers watching from their vantage point!) when umpire Akash raised his finger in response to a half hearted Ruthin appeal.
Abs, convinced he’d made his ground, had to trudge off, muttering about how it’s hard to stay mad at Akash as he’s just so lovely!
Apples was next to go, a pea roller off a good length doing the damage before Will and Venkat steadied the ship. Will scored well, including our first 6 of the season and Venkat chewed up lots of balls before falling for 3, bowled round his legs by the opposition spinner, who then accounted for Will too.
So, that meant the old stagers of Ford and Fagan were at the crease. Now on the positive side, they both stayed in for bloody ages and stopped the rot of wickets tumbling….and they both got their monies worth from the match subs that’s for sure. However, it’s fair to say the run rate took a bit of a hit. From 90-5 at drinks, about 15 runs were added from the next 15 overs. Gray took himself off to hospital, presumably to make sure he hadn’t died of boredom, and the crowd were becoming increasingly vocal in their ‘encouragement’.
Straight ball on a good length? Block. Short and wide, asking to be smacked to the boundary? Leave that shit well alone. Unusual tactics for a limited overs game but credit again where it’s due, Jonty was the top scoring batter with 23 from 325 balls and Fordy chipped in with 15 from 267 balls. Actually our top scorer overall was extras on 33!
Anyway, once Chris Gayle and Jos Buttler had finally got out, it was left to Sean and Akash to bring the innings to a close, Sean hitting a lovely 4 and Akash staking a claim to bat higher up the order with 2 fantastic boundaries in the final over to take our tally to 123 for 8 from our 40 overs. Not great but could’ve been worse and a target to bowl at at least.
Now, it’s fair to say there’s been some terrifying opening bowling partnerships over the years – Ambrose and Walsh, Donald and Pollock and Anderson and Broad spring to mind. Our very own Fire and Fury this week were none other than Messrs Ford and Fagan. Perhaps they could concede runs at the same rate they’d scored them in the first innings? If so, surely we’re heading for a comfortable victory?
Jonty opened and for his first ball, offered up a gentle, leg-side pie which was promptly dispatched to the boundary by the opposition skipper. Not the best start. In fairness, things did tighten up after that and scoring was slow from both ends. Then, in the 6th over, Fordy threw down a quicker one to bowl out the oppo skipper. We’re off and running. A bit of advice on the incoming bat from ex-Ruthin Venkat and we had 2 in 2, Ford again, caught by Venkat, Awesome!
Now, before we congratulate Venkat on the merits of his insider knowledge, I should point out that the other opener, who ultimately finished on about 55 not out, supposedly played all his shots in the gully/point region, an area we therefore populated with fielders ready and waiting with eager catching hands. The batter in question, dear reader, didn’t play a single shot in that area in 35 overs, not a single shot!
Back to the action and unbelievably, Ford struck again! Some quite outstanding glovework from the keeper resulting in a stumping…after the same batter had earlier mistook the keepers gloves for the ball and tried to smash them to the boundary.
Fagan was unlucky to go wicket-less and was replaced by Will’s friend Tom and at the other end, a jubilant Ford had a rest to be replaced by Venkat. Tom bowled well as the only pace option on the day and in Venkat’s 2nd over, we saw the rarely seen triple-wicket maiden…it was unreal! A quite frankly breathtaking caught behind by Apples, one bowled out and the third the easiest catch Fordy will ever take.
By that stage, Ruthin were on about 36-6 and when Tom grabbed a well deserved wicket and the retuning Fordy got his 4th of the day, the game seemed all but over. Spirits were high, Gray was doing his victory dance out by the boundary (like a very slow version of the robot), Akash was trying to demonstrate new ways to throw the ball (not sure it’ll catch on) and we seemed to be cruising to a comfortable victory.
When batter number 10 came in and was asked by both umpire and wicketkeeper whether he wanted a guard, and responded by giving the helpful wicketkeeper a look which clearly demonstrated he had no idea what we were talking about, it seemed only a matter of time before we could get another early dart. How wrong we were.
Siva came on as the 5th bowler and bowled tidily enough and both Jonty and Tom tried in vain from the other end but we just couldn’t prise either batter out. The remaining opener (very legside dominant for future reference!) kept chipping away at our total and they eventually reached their target in the 36th over. We’d somehow snatched defeat from what seemed an inevitable victory.
Credit to Ruthin who kept going to the end, and a huge thank you to the chaps who stepped in to ensure we had a full compliment of players to give ourselves a fighting chance. 11-4 was the final score and the MIMCC train goes on a 10 week road trip now, starting with Gwersyllt away next week.
- MIMCC looking for a groundsman for Feb 2022 and onwards. No experience necessary, just a passion for cricket. Full training provided. Would suit someone semi-retired looking to get involved or stay in the game. Text 07500 704441 for details or email jbandcfagan@gmail.com.