"A hastily arranged game vs. a strong misfits team at CSC was the order of day and 30 aside was the given format. Skipper Rajesh promptly lost the toss and his troops were sent into a cooker of an outfield last Saturday. For the second time in as many weeks the spirits ‘non vets’ took to the field with only 10 players but as it has been said (so I’m told) it’s not how big your squad is, it’s what you do with it.
Until the first refreshment break the Golden Ones did a top notch job in the field. A solitary boundary was conceded in the first eleven overs, there were minimal misfields and the intensity remained high. After Eraj and Will each delivered a tight 3 over spell Rammy continued in their footsteps dismissing Misfits opener Will Jelf with a ball that just clipped the off stump bail. Richie Kenner (Captain of Anza 1st XI) and SCC legend Andy Beer then had a decent 32 run partnership which never got out of hand as Logu spun the web. As the only spirit with no last name (think Pele or Kaka) there was a certain artistry to his bowling and figures of 6.0.25.1 didn’t do a good spell justice. Evoking fewer memories of the Brazilian soccer greats was Logu’s catching or lack thereof.
Pick of the Spirits bowling was Satish who returned 4 for 36, however the capability of the Misfits lower order (Redrup 28 off 29, Caldwell 19 off 11) ensured they reached a solid if reachable 179. Full credit to opposition skipper for requesting our 11th player as they were short and promptly putting him (Paul Mclean) last in the batting order.
A sugary cup of tea and a samosa did nothing to abate Mclean’s sense of injustice at his ‘number 10’ demotion but rather than take it out on his new and unappreciative team he instead delivered a breathtaking spell of pace, bounce and aggression against his very own spirits. Holding Mahesh scoreless in 9 deliveries and surprising skipper Rajesh with a lifting shorter ball, Judas Mclean accounted for both openers and was seen to snort and swear as he pounded in off his long run (ok, that last bit was made up).
Kalpesh and Will Halliday were both bowled by full deliveries from the talented Misfits left arm opener Caldwell and it was up to Laksh (19 off 14) and Rich Kohler (43 off 43) to restore order. Although we were always ahead of the run rate the lack of wickets in hand and the lack of a nuggetty-vet like Sandeep or Sisty to hold up one end cost us dear. Eventually dismissed for 105, the 73 run margin of defeat was one which gave us extra time to sink some cold Singha’s and talk about the T20 World Cup as the CSC mosquitoes went to work on my ankles.”
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