Eltham CC

Match Report

Match report Eltham CC Vs Sidcup CC

A brilliant summer day produced a brilliant game of cricket that every player involved can be proud of. For most friendly clubs such a game if they manage to produce one could easily be game of the season and that by a country mile too. For Eltham however, and to give you a measure of the quality of cricket Eltham have been playing recently it would only be fair to count this game as one of the great games for the season.

Due to past history this fixture against Sidcup was being widely tipped as one of the great contests and to say the least Eltham players were looking forward to it. The game itself not only lived up to the pre match hype it turned out to be a gem. Two evenly matched teams played out a thriller with the last Eltham wicket falling by way of a run out when only 2 runs were required to win the game. The game was played in the right spirit throughout and it's a shame that there had to be a winner and a loser.

Even though Eltham did well to win batting first in their last game against Prospect Park CC, their were no qualms when Sidcup skipper Jim won the toss and elected to bat first as Eltham had chased successfully in the 4 games prior to win against Prospect Park.

The Eltham line up as usual consisted of a good blend of youth and experience and the same could be said for the Sidcup team. It was a time game and Sidcup gave a chance to their youths at the top of the order. Runs were being scored at a sedate pace against the ever intimidating pace of Richard Page and reliable Pete Swain. Sidcup batsmen were regularly beaten outside the off stump but hardly ever edged as the luck was clearly on Sidcup side. Richard Page, fired up, managed to get one of the openers to edge one to wicket keeper Wouldham, who had to move forwards to catch the ball before it hit the deck. Full marks go to the Sidcup player wh, when assured by Colin that the ball had indeed carried, walked straight off without looking at the umpire. That's the kind of game this was.

The umpire at Pete Swain's end needs a special mention as he trialled rules on wides from one day cricket (and at times from the twenty20 rule book) to put it politely. However, he did the same for both sides, making it an interesting end to bowl from!

Rich and Pete both had long spells and could only go on for so long. The next set of bowlers had a mixed day. Asjad took a wicket in his first over and that was the only success for him as he struggled against the Sidcup middle order especially Dan Dark who loved working good length deliveries towards the on side. However Alan Horne, from the other end, had more success taking 3 for 30 in 8 overs with his off spin. Dan kept Eltham seamers out during a delightful 38 before he was stumped by Colin off Alan's bowling. Apart from Dan the only other batsmen who made a significant contribution were Waterhouse and Patey.

Sidcup consumed a total of 43 overs to score 178 for the loss of 8 wickets and then came a rather sporting declaration. This had meant Eltham would get 39 overs to chase 179. No one thought it would be a walk in the park but after 5 wins in a row Eltham batsmen were feeling quietly confident. Having bowled tirelessly we knew that it was a belter of a track and if we were able to spend the time on the crease we might be in with a chance.

Eltham had a good start with Pete and Asjad. A partnership of 54 included number of boundries on a lightning quick outfield. Asjad had a chance earlier in his innings but otherwise the first wicket partnership looked promising. Asjad tried to hit out against Shaddock but it was a mistake as he only managed to play it in the air and was caught in the covers. From the very second over Sidcup handed their spinner Shaddock one end that he bowled 19 overs from for a niggardly 64 runs. It was not long before Eltham realised that it would not be possible to score half the runs from Shaddock's end - partly because of excellent bowling, but also because the canny nowler had the low autumn sun behind him and the batsmen couldn't see a thing!

Our batsmen rather intelligently proceeded to block one end and put pressure on the other. Unfortunately, skipper Matt's stay on the crease was a brief one as he made the same mistake of being aggressive against Shaddock and his dismissal was no different to Asjad's, caught by the same fielder in the covers. Despite the two quick wickets, the Eltham boys batted sensibly, as that was all they needed to do. Sidcup had men around the bat for a lot of the time to their credit as they needed the wickets to stop us winning.

Soon came the time for the last 20 overs. With only 3 wickets down and just over 4 an over required Eltham batsmen set out for taming the target. It was never possible to say which team was in the driving seat as runs were being scored but the wickets kept falling at regular intervals. Resposible 22, 20 and 18 by P Swain, R Page and J Fisher respective along with 49 from P Fisher always kept Eltham in the hunt of 179. In hindsight, Eltham needed one of their batsmen to keep going but it was not to be.

For the last 20 overs Sidcup had their spin twins bowling and it was not easy but Eltham batsmen braved the spin from both ends consistently scoring runs despite the loss of regular wickets. With 4 overs remaining Eltham needed 17 with 3 wickets remaining. Still it was difficult to predict the result. Next 3 overs produced 15 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. Last over loomed with 2 runs required, Derek Seeds taking strike against spinner R Hole with Alan at the non-strikers end. All three results still possible. You could not ask for a better finish, could you?

Before the last over Alan and Derek had a conversation in the middle and every one assumed that they had a plan worked out. Sidcup had everyone in the circle and the first 3 balls were defended back to the bowler by Derek rather confidently. The fourth ball was played no differently as far as Derek was concerned with the ball gently travelling towards a fielder at shortish square leg, Alan at the other end thought it was possible to steal a single and called for a single, whilst sprinting up the wicket. "Get back" shouted Derek, Alan turned back but it was too late, the ball was lobbed back to the bowler who had taken the bails off and Alan was run out by a couple of yards.

This exciting game will be remembered by everyone involved for a long long time. A great game where both teams gave it their all and enjoyed themselves throughout playing in a fantastic spirit.

Commiserations to Eltham

Congratulations to Sidcup

Well done everyone.

Reporting: Asjad Mir