Eltham CC

Match Report

Match report Eltham CC Vs Belhus CC

Another week, another very late change of fixture due to the oppo pulling out. C'est la vie these days! Del did marvellously well to secure a replacement fixture late on the Friday night against what turned out to be a club with a lovely ground and good wicket. New boy Pad Venkatraman takes up the story...

The weather gods showed mercy and we had ideal conditions for a good game of cricket. The venue was picturesque too. Our captain and chief chef Peter won the toss and with his finest exponents of swing and seam bowling (Pad and Ricky) at his disposal, had no hesitation in bowling first. And the new ball bowlers didn't let him down. Ricky kept matters tight from one end allowing Pad to express himself from the other end. A couple of dropped chances meant a slightly longer wait for the first wicket, Ricky eventually claiming it, by virtue of some tight pressure bowling. Soon after, Pad, after roughing up both the openers with some hostile pace, injuring one in the process (who had to retire hurt before coming back later to score important runs) removed the danger man with probably the delivery of the season so far, a banana-in-ducker. (If you do say so yourself! - Ed)

Thereafter wickets fell at regular intervals, thanks to sustained pressure bowling from Ian and Adam (who was bowling for the first time in a proper match for Eltham.) Spinners Gary and Derek extracted appreciable bounce from the track and troubled all batsmen. Gary was unfortunate not to get his first wicket with a missed stumping chance (Which Andy may wants our readers to know bounced ludicrously high! - Ed), but it was Derek's day and it was he who who bagged the enviable figures of 4 for 16 from only 4 overs. All this meant a modest target of 142 for our batsmen to chase.

Our openers Asjad and Kashif started aggressively scoring a few quick boundaries, Kashif's gorgeous extra-cover drive being the stand out shot. Just when their partnership looked threatening, Asjad dragged a cut shot onto his stumps. Kashif fell soon after,top-edging an injudicious sweep shot. That brought our most experienced pair (He means "old" - Ed) of Colin and skipper Peter together. It was an ideal combination the situation warranted - skipper in rather swashbuckling mood, while Colin happy to play the foil. They started slowly, but soon grew in confidence and started unleashing their full array of strokes - Colin with his chips and drives, skipper Peter with his fierce cuts and slog sweeps/hoiks towards cow corner. Their century partnership ensured the untested and inexperienced lower middle order wasn't exposed and the game as a contest was more or less over before it ended. Both batsmen scored deserving half-centuries and saw the team home. All in all, a comfortable victory for Eltham. Well done geezers!!

Reporting: Pad Venkatraman