Eltham CC

Match Report

Match report Eltham CC Vs Swanscombe CC

And so to the annual fixture at Swanscombe-Under-Merde, the game where every Eltham player tries to find an excuse to make himself unavailable for selection for fear of being smashed round the ground by the opposition batsman and the Coach tries his best not to get involved in another nuts scandal!

Nevertheless 11 foolhardy souls gathered for this annual fixture and eagerly awaited the start of play. Page, taking over Captaincy duties from the holidaying skipper Swain, lost the toss and Eltham were put into bat.

Bulpitt and Mir confidently strode out into the middle as discussions amongst those on the sidelines continued about how important it was to make a good start. Both batsmen began their innings confidently, but were helped by some error prone fielders who put down a number of early chances.

Mir was the first to go with the score approaching triple figures, bowled by Prosser for 42. In came Jon Killingley, who after playing a couple of nice looking shots was caught of the bowling of Barnes for just 7. John Fisher and Page both came in to try and move the innings along, however both fell cheaply. Bulpitt, who by this time had passed his half century, was looking for someone to take the strike at the other end and take some of the scoring burden off his shoulders.

Khurram was next to come to the crease and he was soon dispatching the ball to all parts of the ground, reaching his half century in no time at all. Shortly after this he fell, caught off the bowling of Culpitt. Bulpitt also fell and suddenly Eltham had two new batsman at the crease at a time when they were looking to move the score on a faster pace.

Harbhajan scored a solid 14 before being bowled by the solid Culpitt, whilst cameos from Redman and Seeds, who was bowled off the last ball of the innings to leave Eltham on a score of 220, a good score but minds were still on the previous years fixture when Swanscombe nearly chased down 270.

A hearty tea was taken to the backdrop of Liverpool v Arsenal and the Joe Cole school of tackling which seemed to involve kicking someone up in the air as high as possible.

Eltham then took to the field in glorious sunshine and determined to make a good start. The prayers to the gods were answered as both openers were out within the first eight balls of the match, Messrs Tan and Webber the grateful wicket takers. The incoming No.3 batsman was also dismissed without scoring and suddenly Swanscombe were 3-3 and the Eltham players??? confidence was like Paris Hilton in a Vegas nightclub ??? sky high!

Swanscombe however began to make a recovery and were soon approaching 70 without the loss of further wickets. The skipper turned to the Coach to try and work his magic and he soon got the breakthrough, having Wates caught by Killingley at mid-on.

Khurram was then brought into the attack and he soon caused controversy after disputing a close lbw shout against Patel. Glares were exchanged between the two players however calm was soon restored and Khurram got his man shortly afterwards, bowled for just 10. The danger man Darley was then caught expertly on the boundary by Khurram off the bowling of Webber for 64, and Eltham seized the initiative. Swanscombe were 120 odd for 5 and soon lost their sixth and seventh wickets, Killingley taking another catch at mid-on Ramkisoon was clean bowled by Webber for 28. Webber finished the day with four wickets, a second Michelle of the season just eluding him.

Bulpitt then came into the attack and snatched a wicket following an excellent catch by Page. Khurram then finished off the innings by clean bowling the number 11 to finish with 2 for 24.

A comfortable Eltham victory by 36 runs was therefore achieved, aided by an excellent opening partnership between Mir and Bulpitt and late cameo from Khurram, and an excellent fielding display which restricted the often dangerous Swanscombe batsman. Special mention should also go to the skipper Richard for his excellent captaincy during the match which helped secure Eltham???s second successive victory at Swanscombe.

Ricky `Baby Giraffe on Ice` Webber

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