Eltham CC

Match Report

Match report Eltham CC Vs Old Pilotonians CC

Eltham almost managed to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat against our old friends the Pilots. On a somewhat ropey pitch, runs were never easy to come by, so to turn this game into a nailbiter was a good effort.

Having won the toss and being aware of the low bounce, skipper Bill had no hesitation in putting the Pilots in to bat on a greentop. Traditionally, Pilots are always strong at the top of their order, so two wickets in the first 7 overs, with the score still only on 12, had some thinking of an early tea. The Pilots are always in with a shout with Farid at the crease however - he never seems to fail against Eltham - and so it proved again today, as he anchored the Pilots innings and looked for someone to help him provide the partnership that would take them to a good score.

It looked like Gibson might just be that partner, but an inspired bowling change saw Gary Bill lure him to sweep a full (not to mention high) delivery and get a top edge, brilliantly caught by a diving Redders. That was the end of Gary's luck though, as Farid decided that he needed to get after his bowling, and the new batsman Shepherd clearly agreed. This was the defining partnership for the Pilots, as it upped the run rate considerably and got them back on track for a decent score. They were only on 65 for the first 20 overs, and Eltham would have hoped to keep them considerably below 150.

Farid, who had scored the majority of the Pilot's runs, fell on 114 with 72 to his name, another excellent knock - although had Shaukat caught him at square leg when he was on 33, how much difference might that have made to the match? we'll never know - and that's cricket! Shepherd continued attacking and got the score part 150 which was always going to take some getting. With Richards providing some meaty blows at the end, 172 was the final score. Charlie Boylan showed a lot of promise bowling at the death, picking up a couple of wickets, and Pete Swain also showed that his bowling days are far from over, weighing in with a couple of wickets of his own at the end.

Following a tea at which Asjad produced a large birthday cake to celebrate his 40th (happy birthday from everyone at the club Asjad!), Pete Fisher and Asjad strode out to try to get Eltham off to a good start. With eh ball beginning to soften a little, scoring was as tough for us however as it had been the Pilots.Tight bowling from Shepherd and Frost saw us on only 24 from the first 10 overs, and only 38 from the first 15. This was pretty much on a par with how the Pilots had fared however, so at this stage nobody was too worried. By this time, Asjad had fallen to one that nipped back and kept low, and he hadn't been able to make his mark on this match - next time Asjad! Eltham were looking for that single defining partnership to get them close to the Pilots, but when The Fish fell at 44for 2 in the 18th over, it was beginning to look like an upping of the run rate was going to be required - and soon!

Charlie Boylan had a lusty swipe and unfortunately skied it straight to cover, bringing Matt Bulpitt to the crease. Woefully out of both form and luck so far this year, Eltham needed Matt to perform, and so he did, with a decent partnership developing with Swainy. Some big hits were beginning to come from both of them, and the tide appeared to be turning a little. Calamity struck on 98 however when Pete misjudged a slightly fuller ball from Richards and went to cut it, and heard the death rattle. Game over? Not if Matt had anything to do with it!

The middle order needed to stay with Matt as he began to show the form we all know he's capable of but alas, Gary, Bernie and Shaukat all went without troubling the scorers. Matt continued to attack though, and pushed the score up at a rate which alarmed the Pilots. With the score at 160 Eltham needed only 13 runs to win with three wickets left, but given the wickets that had fallen Matt felt he had to make sure he didn't expose the tail to the Pilot's opening bowlers and that forced him into an alien shot - a push for a single off a stright delivery (which had up to that point been disappearing for boundaries!) which he missed. LBW for 80 - but a magnificent knock with four huge sixes and ten fours - great stuff Matt.

Ricky, Tanveer and Andy couldn't get the 13 required and Eltham were bowled out for 162. A great game though - and we worried the Pilots nmore than we have in recent years and made it close. Well played all.