Eltham CC

Match Report

Match report Eltham CC Vs Ashurst CC

A poor Eltham batting effort laid the foundations for a heavy defeat against Ashurst this year. With an injury to Bill (so nasty it allegly affected his post-match beer intake) and illness affecting Matt Bevan, this was an incident-packed game.

After a great start to Eltham's 2010 tour to Dorset with a 6 wicket win against Sway, the Eltham contingent moved onto the vastly different setting of Ashurst for the second game of the tour.

Going into the game, Eltham were much changed from their initial outing, with Derek taking over the captaincy reigns for the first time. Out also went Messrs Swain, Wouldham, Bulpitt, Page and Tanver to be replaced by Messrs Bill, Bevan, Seeds, Hicks and Eltham's loan signing for the tour Andy Wells, making his first Eltham appearance in nearly 2 years.

Arriving at the ground in plenty of time for the start (even Tan who wasn't even playing in the match!!), Derek was spotted earnestly discussing Eltham's much weakened side and how important it would be to bowl first. Needless to say Derek (who had earlier been obtaining widespread consensus as to whether he should call heads or tails) lost the toss and Eltham were put into bat.

Messrs Hicks and Fisher (snr) made their way to the crease and the Eltham players sat down for what they hoped would be another victory. Following the first couple of overs however it soon became apparent that Eltham would struggle to get a big total. The ball was coming onto the bat very slowly and, coupled with some accurate bowling, Messrs Hicks and Fisher struggled to get the ball off of the square. As the 9th over approached and Eltham's score was still in single figures, Henry took a swing at a slightly shorter ball and skied it to present a simnple catch to the fielder at mid-on. More porridge needed at breakfast next year Henry!!

Pete Fisher and then Asjad joined the fray, however Eltham continued to find the pace and bounce of the pitch difficult and both were soon back in the pavillion. Following another couple of cheap dismlssals Eltham were soon 48-5 and struggling to make any sort of defendable total.

Khurram then came out to bat and showed some excellent shot selection as the runs suddenly began to flow. On 49, Khurram went for a big shot down the ground which was heading over the boundary rope when it was plucked from the air by the fielder, denying Khurram what would have been a well deserved half century. Khurram's response when told he was on 49 at the time of his dismissal can not be repeated on the Eltham website!!

Following Khurrams wicket both Andy Wells and Matty Bevan came to the wicket and they formed another good partnership, both showing good strokeplay to guide Eltham's score up to a respectible 148. Not a great score but certainly one that gave Eltham a chance of defending.

Prior to Eltham taking to the field, Matt Bevan was struck down by illness following his heroic batting display and Eltham were forced to use one of their substitute fielders. The use of substitute fielders was an approach used to great effect by England team in previous Ashes winning series though it was still to be seen whether this would benefit Eltham in a similar fashion.

Khurram and Ricky opened the bowling and whilst finding they could get a few balls to swing, including one from Ricky that the batsman edged and Henry could only get a hand to at slip before he put it down, chances were at a premium.

Following public demand it must be recorded that Asjad's aeroplane celebration was put to good use in this match when, several overs in, a number of horses took it upon themselves to stage an impromptu pitch invasion. Asjad throttled up his engines and, to much laughter among both players and supporters alike, proceeded to conduct a flypast which removed the horses from the field of play.

Back to the action and following their inability to make the breakthrough, both opening bowlers were replaced 12 overs in by Andy Wells and Asjad. Andy soon found he was able to get a few balls to turn but was inturn struggled with his line and length. At the other end, after a wayward first over, Asjad was soon on the spot with some good pacey deliveries. It was Asjad who got the breakthrough with 80 on the board when a good length ball was cut away by the batsman and Henry took a fantastic catch diving low down to his right. This sparked a mini fightback from Eltham as two further wickets fell and Eltham began to believe they were in with a chance.

Khurram and Ricky were then brought on to finish their spells and apart from another wicket for Khurram, another breakthrough did not materialise and victory seemed assured for the home side, even when a rising delivery from Ricky caught the batsman on the side of the head. Whether Webber's response to Pete of at least it was a dot ball was probably not the most sympathetic of responses.

By this point Eltham lost their second fielder after Gary was forced to leave the field following a diving stop in the field which resulted in him diving on the ball. This was reportedly diagnosed as a cracked rib following a trip to hospital back in London.

The last few overs passed without further breakthrough and the home side eased home to win by 6 wickets with about 5 overs to spare. In truth Eltham were perhaps a batsman and a bowler light in this match, coupled with several injuries and alert fielding by the home side prevented Eltham from making this a closer game.

Despite this defeat the tour was once again proving to be a roaring success and big thanks must go to everyone who made it possible.

Ricky `Wouldham-Choudhry` Webber