Spirits 182 (- 11) vs OverEasy 140 (- 11); match won by 42
All the stats already circulated thanks to the wonderful new technology-based 'scorebook'; need I say more?
Well, I suppose the bare stats still fail to capture the hot sticky conditions and the familiar ambience, sounds and smells of the CSC ground which is thankfully still home to the Spirits CC. It also (at time of writing) failed to cope with a retirement and a subsequent return to the crease.
At something approximating 1pm, Sandeep won the toss with most of both teams present, and the occasional waft of a curry lunch in the air. Bryan and John were despatched to the middle and began watchfully against a reasonable opening attack, with the new ball swinging a little in the partly overcast tropical atmosphere, and several 'well left' shots were played inside the line. An opening stand of 35 in the seventh over was deemed sufficient so Dan raised the finger as a straightish short ball hit Bryan just below the box. John moved the score on to 59 before Vasu departed for 4, and John reached the retirement figure of 35 - then holed out before the end of the over, quickly followed by Richard lbw for 0. 61 - 4, but no panic; Akash and Sumit settled into a lively partnership of 72 off nine overs, including two sixes each, before Sumit's somewhat extravagant drive missed a straight one. Dan kept the score ticking as Akash retired on 36, but Sandeep unusually made only one (quick) single and Charl offered a catch first ball - then Dan was bowled for 8, these three giving their skipper Amit a generous three wicket haul. For the second time the innings had faltered slightly at 148 - 7 (*note scorebook says for 8 as it couldn't cope with Akash retiring). Ankit (12) then played sensibly to occupy the crease, Sean contributed 3 and Ian 4no while Akash returned (as Saravana) to add 6 before being last out for 42 (leaving Sivan on 0no).
The weather had been kind; sometimes overcast with just a brief period when rain threatened through a few heavy drops before moving on towards the city, while the quiet of the cricket pitch had been punctuated with the sounds of leather on willow (in the adjacent nets), periodic shouts and squeals from the five-s-side football cage, and the clangs and bangs from the sub-station construction site, despite Akash's attempt to disperse the workers with flying cricket balls.
180 is usually a competitive score, and after the usual refreshments - samosas, cheese 'n cucumber sandwiches, hot sweet tea and 100 plus - we set out to prove it. Sandeep offered a motivating team talk, and the new kit prompted an inspired fielding display - just as well, since the OverEasy batsmen set out with bats swinging and maintained a sufficient run rate for the first 15 overs. Fortunately, Dan at mid-off took an unbelievable one handed catch in the first over from a half-hit short ball which threatened to drop over his shoulder, then did, only for Dan's left hand to somehow cover its flight and pouch it perfectly. In Sean's first over he produced the perfect in-swinging yorker to knock over leg stump, and in the fourth over (which also featured five wides and a no ball) Rammy completed a smart run-out. In the eighth over, Charl picked up an lbw, and OverEasy were sunny side down at 37 - 4. Nevertheless, their batsmen continued to play their shots, and Wides' score continued to mount up; in spite of two further very sharp run-outs (Sean and Charl), they were still ahead of the rate at 60 - 6 after 13 overs, and Kousie (46) was well set. However, the lower order couldn't contribute enough, and wickets continued to fall, the final two in the 23rd over; with the score on 140; up with the required rate, they had simply run out of batsmen. Although with their second highest contributor, wides, undefeated on 37 (over a quarter of their score) we could safely say that if we bowled more consistently straight their score might have been much lower. Spirits took five out of five catches and conjured up three run-outs - in this kit, the opposition didn't stand a chance!
The other shortcoming of the scoring software is its inability to cover the fines; the bulk of which related to low scores (including first the ball duck) the bowling of wides, of which every bowler was guilty, led by Sean's 8 in four overs (or should that really be 5.2 overs?); plus the skipper's playing contribution (1 and 0 - 11 in one over). And it certainly doesn't capture the lively banter and repartee over several beers as all the opposition stayed behind and the sun began to set after a good days cricket... though some of the banter may be best left around the beer tables.
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