MIMCC win away at Carmel.
Match Report by William Webster, Captain
Full stats here: https://nwcl.play-cricket.com/website/results/6272164
Skipper’s Match Report 10/08/2024
Carmel 2nds 73ao (25 overs)
MIMCC 74/3 (12.2 overs)
MIMCC win by 7 wickets
MIMCC bounced back from a frustrating day away at Abergele last Saturday with a convincing 14-1 win over Carmel.
Saturday dawned with the customary rain sweeping across North Wales, throwing yet another game in doubt. By the scheduled start of play, we (unbelievably) had 11 players at the ground; but steady rain prevented an on-time start. Thankfully the rain did eventually abate, and the game began about an hour late, reduced to 30 overs a side.
The skipper won yet another toss(!), and with 11 players at his disposal, overcast conditions, and a damp outfield, it was a pretty straightforward decision to elect to field.
Naseer and Aryaman took the new ball once again, and wickets started to fall straight away. Aryaman began his spell with a double wicket maiden, both bowled; and then removed another set of stumps in the next over. Naseer responded, picking up his first wicket caught at cover by Deepak, and his second lbw to leave Carmel reeling at 23-5. Saboor and Vinay came on as first change and both picked up wickets, before a stand of 33 pushed Carmel’s total past 50.
Deepak came into the attack and clearly had somewhere to be, getting through his overs at a Ravi Jadeja-esque rate. This did the trick shortly after drinks, as Deepak broke Carmel’s only partnership of any real substance with a caught and bowled. Umang wrapped matters up, with Siv (whose fingers are feeling much better these days) taking the catch at mid-off.
75ao was definitely well below par; but odd things happen in this league. So nothing was being taken for granted. Carmel could even have a few more if they’d taken up deputy wicketkeeper Sanath’s kind offer of some free runs via byes. After taking a spectacular diving stop down the leg side (the kind of one the regular wicketkeeper watches whizz by while shrugging his shoulders), Sanath elected to add a somersault to the end of the dive to really finish off with an artistic flourish. However in so doing, he managed to flick the ball down to fine leg to offer Carmel’s batter the chance to enter some easy runs into the extras column. The batsmen however were far too enthralled by this feat of gymnastics to worry about something as trivial as taking a bye.
Pictured: Carmel’s batters watching Sanath keep wicket
After tea, Abs and Aryaman began our reply with purpose, and we were soon rattling along at 6 an over in pursuit of a nice early finish. However with the score on 36, both openers were dismissed, Abs caught in the leg side, and Aryaman bowled. Siv followed bowled for 1, and the skipper was starting to wonder about whether to abandon the scorebook and go find some pads. But thankfully Umang and Sanath resumed the march towards victory, finishing 17no and 16no respectively.
An early dart back down the A55 with 14 points in the bag. Apologies to umpire Houghton that we didn’t make the game last long enough to prevent him having to watch the second half of Chester losing 3-0 to Spennymoor Town.
Ruthin away next, which has been the scene of many notable moments over the years: a game stopped due to a hailstorm, the Hon Sec nearly blinding Pete Ford while celebrating a wicket, one of the many times I was out for 49, and Jit ruining somebody’s wedding photos. For the avoidance of doubt, the game takes place at Ruthin CC, not Ruthin Castle (despite whatever the Hon Sec may tell you……).