Full match statistics here: https://nwcl.play-cricket.com/website/results/6817646
24/05/2025
Dolgellau 2s 110/5 (35 overs)
MIMCC 111/2 (9.5 overs)
MIMCC win by 8 wickets
“Nothing is certain except death and taxes” as Benjamin Franklin may or may not have said. What he meant of course was “Nothing is certain except death, taxes… and rain at Dolgellau”. After the hokey-cokey covers incident a few years ago, and last year’s deluge, it looked almost certain that weather would once again get the better of us. All the weather apps were predicting excellent conditions for slalom canoeing, so the skippers agreed at the toss to reduce the overs to 25 a side to increase the chances of getting a game in before the heavens opened. The Dolgellau skipper won the toss and decided to have a bat. He then decided that he’d definitely said 35 overs a side rather than 25, and that the multiple witnesses to the former must have been suffering from a collective hallucination brought on by low barometric pressure.
Following this late change in the playing conditions, MIMCC took the field with only 9 men – Saboor and Naseer having been delayed on a trip to see the sights of Dolgellau. Deepak took the new ball in partnership with Jonty, and the latter proceeded to take a wicket with his first ball, finding a demon on a length to produce a ball which didn’t get up much and cleaned bowled their opener.
Saboor and Naseer arrived after few over having sampled the delights of the local tearooms and antique shops, to give us a full compliment of players. This allowed us to start to apply pressure in the field and keep the scoring rate low. With the exception of their skipper, Dolgellau’s batters never really got going and wickets fell at regular intervals. Particular note should go to Z for taking a rocket of a caught and bowled and doing so with Prasad-esque levels of nonchalance.
As Naseer took the final wicket, the heavens opened at it looked like our efforts with the ball would be all for nought. We had restricted them to 115/5 off 35, but it seemed like we wouldn’t get the chance to mount a chase.
Mercifully however, the rain abated, and our openers took the field with instructions to try to chase down the runs before it returned. This was a message taken to heart by Aryaman who proceeded to score the fastest 50 in the club’s history, flaying the ball to all parts and getting there off just 16 balls. He was supported by Abs who made 22 before being caught behind, and Deepak who smashed 25 off 13 balls. The Aryaman Show eventually came to an end for 55 and Apples came in to very nearly get out to an 11-year-old, before hitting the winning runs.
Blink and you’d have missed it. 111 chased down in only 9.5 overs before the rain could do us dirty. Exactly what was needed in the circumstances. 14 points and a middle finger to the Dolgellau rain gods for once. Well done all.
UPDATE. STOP PRESS!
After going to press, some additional information has come to light. It seems that the reason Saboor was late might not actually have had anything to do with cream teas or antique fairs. It’s rumoured he was delayed by protracted contractual negotiations with Lidl on image licensing rights for use on crap imitation Spanish lager.