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Match Summary: vs. Surbiton Imperials, Sunday, 05 Aug 2007

Ground: Old Tiffinians Grist Memorial Ground
Captain: Andrew Wingfield
Match type: 40 overs
Toss: Surbiton elected to field
Weather: Sunny
Opposition: Surbiton Imperials scored: 234 for 7 (40 overs)
Exiles Score: 237 for 6 (39.2 overs)
Result: Won by 4 wickets
Man of the match: John Tither 98 & 3 for 38

charts of Exiles wicket partnerships for this match
Score board
 Batsmen RunsBalls4s6s
Mark Bradshaw ct. 
Quentin Davies b. 55  58 11 
John Tither ct. 98  112 13 
Jasper Searle b. 
Wil Scott run out 
Mike Phillips ct. 12  20 
John Hodgson not out 36  34 
Andrew Wingfield (C)not out 
Naren Patel dnb      
10 Amil Patel (W)retired - not out 
  Extra(s) 4nb 20w 5b 4lb   33      
    237  236   
Bowling
 BowlerOMRWAvg
Andrew Wingfield  8.0 21 21
Naren Patel  8.0 34 0
John Hodgson  8.0 45 45
John Tither  8.0 38 12.7
Wil Scott  6.0 56 0
Jasper Searle  2.0 19 9.5
Wicket Keeping and Fielding
PlayerCatchRun OutStumpingPenalty
Andrew Wingfield    
Amil Patel (W)   

The Exiles recorded their second successive victory in another tight encounter that was a fine example of what should ever be expected from a 40 over encounter. Unlike the previous week, when superb bowling and fielding were key to victory in a low scoring encounter, it was the batsmen who rose to the fore in this match, with John Tither scoring a superbly paced 98. He was ably assisted by some fine hitting by Quentin Davies at the start of the innings and John Hodgson at the death. Hodgson, in his final regular game for the Exiles before he heads North, appropriately hit the winning runs with 3 balls to spare. It should also be noted that the Exiles started with only 10 players, and 4 recognised bowlers, and further disaster happened when key batsman Amil Patel dislocated finger while attempting to gather a stinging delivery from the skipper, which left 9 batsmen to chase a high total.

The match was played in sweltering conditions, on a pitch that looked flat, and with one boundary perilously short and close to a huge bunch of stinging nettles, so the Exiles were hoping the skipper would win the toss and bat. Unfortunately he decided to change his call at the last minute and therefore lost his 8th Sunday match toss in a row, so lo and behold, the team were reaching for the factor 25 and downing gallons of water in anticipation of a long day in the field. The bowling in the 1st 10 overs was tight, with the opposition being restricted to around 30. The breakthroughs in removing the openers came courtesy of 2 smartly held catches, with the skipper holding a great effort one handed at backward point, and Amil diving full length to take a nick behind in the webbing of his right glove. Unfortunately, soon after he missed a routine chance that was to prove costly, as the opposition batsmen settled in and made hay in the favourable conditions.

As the afternoon session wore on, the lack of bowling options and the absence of a fielder took its toll, as the Imperials built up what looked like being an impressive (one could almost say Imperious) total. Countless times the ball seemed to end up in the feared nettles, and various different balls were lost and then found. Wil Scott was unfortunate to be the particular target of the opposition's onslaught, and the captain was forced to turn to the author for a couple of overs to try and get the breakthrough. It turned out to be a surprisingly successful decision, as he removed 2 batsmen in the same over, although the wickets were expensive and wisely the skipper came back on to bowl at the death, and was unlucky not to get more than the one wicket that his efforts deserved. This was mainly due to some sloppy fielding, as 3 chances of varying degrees of difficulty were spilled in 7 balls, much to his understandable annoyance. Disaster also struck in his penultimate over, as a particularly sharp ball zipped through and caught the keeper Amil by surprise, which resulted in an untimely finger injury as he attempted to gather it. As amateur medics in the team debated its severity, he was told to visit the local hospital, which meant of course a key batsmen would be absent from the impending epic chase.

After a well deserved rest, and further liquid consumption at tea, the Exiles set about the chase. It was evident a quick start was essential, and Quentin delivered, with some fearsome hitting, including 17 from the 4th over. Many experienced Exiles observers had predicted it might be his stage, and he delivered. His straight driving was particularly impressive. Nerves jittered slightly when Mark Bradshaw fell early to a ball he would have dispatched any other day, so it was hoped John Tither, promoted to number 3 in the order, would help to restore balance to the chase. Having also bowled 8 overs, it might have been expecting too much of John to deliver with the bat also, but that he did, most impressively as it turned out. With Quentin and John at the crease, there were fears that the running between the wickets might not be up to scratch, on an outfield that offered plenty of chance for 2s and 3s, but they clearly decided to deal in boundaries, as the pitch continues to over no assistance to the opposition bowlers, much as the Exiles attack had discovered earlier in the day.

The scoring rate continued to match the opposition's rate, and with wickets in hand, it looked like it was going to be a tight finish. Shortly after he reached his well deserved 50, Quentin fell to the wily old spinner Eric, and when the author and Wil both also departed shortly after, the infamous Exiles Middle Order Collapse TM (EMOC) looked to be on the cards. Mike Philipps came in however and did a fine job supporting John as he stepped up his onslaught, and fears of an EMOC quickly subsided. Mike was unlucky not to get a higher score himself, as his clean strikes seemed to find fielders each time. But with his support John continued to keep the scoreboard ticking in a chanceless innings of endless classic strokes. One in particular, a fantastic straight drive into the car park for 6, had a few anxious car owners dashing towards their vehicles, fearing an expensive insurance claim. They had nothing to fear however, as such was John's eye at this stage of his innings that it almost seemed as if he was able to pick a spot safely in the gap between cars.

After Mike's crucial cameo innings came to an end, John Hodgson came to the crease, which as already mentioned earlier, would be his final innings as an Exiles regular. Even by his own admission, his final bowling spell had not been too impressive, admittedly in difficult bowling conditions, so the stage was now set for the Two Johnnies to try and close out the match, with the dual hope that John T would reach a century, while John H would hit the winnings runs. Credit must go to their excellence at the crease as the chase hotted up, as it now became the turn of the opposition to experience fruitless searches for balls amongst the dastardly nettles that I think both sides were glad to see the back of at the end of proceedings.

Mention must also be made of an over bowled by one of their bowlers that had a major impact on swinging the match to the Exiles favour. With the author of this match report maintaining the score book, I was soon to gain a crash course in all the scoring symbols that I would ever need to know, so that if I should ever be needed for scoring duties in the future, I will give the (undeserved) impression of being a dab hand at it. The score before the start of the over was 180, slightly behind the opposition score at the equivalent stage, so a big over was due from the Northern masters at the crease. The pressure of the situation clearly got to the opposition bowler, as an astonishing 31 runs were added to the Exiles total. A succession of no balls and wides were delivered as the bemused Exiles batsmen could only stand in their crease and watch as the bowler appeared to suffer the dreaded yips.

There was a moment of controversy during this long over regarding the penalising of the Imperials bowler for an above waste high no ball that saw some words exchanged between a couple of his team mates and the square leg umpire. All was resolved after the end of play peacefully, as it would have been a shame that such a good match played in a competitive spirit, to have been remembered for this one off incident.

This dramatic over left the Exiles on the brink of victory, and also had edged John Tither closer to a well deserved century. But it seemed a combination of nerves and tiredness got the better of him, because as he approached the landmark score, he started to play a few wild shots that only made contact with thin air. He also suffered the misfortune of having a 6 downgraded to a 4, which mysteriously only became apparent 3 overs or so after the actual shot had been played and duly recorded in the scorebook. And so, on 98, he launched one final attempt to secure the victory and reach 3 figures in one fell swoop, but he only managed to find the legendary Eric deep in cow corner, who took a fine catch. The Exiles only needed 3 to win, with 2 wickets left, and despite a couple of nervy LBW appeals, John Hodgson smashed the winning boundary with 3 balls spare to wrap up an epic win. The captain was seen to be dancing with delirium at the close, while most of his team mates were simply too tired to celebrate also.

After the match, the team headed to the bar for belatedly the first alcoholic refreshments of the day, courtesy of a jug of lager (he was still a Southerner after all) from John Hodgson. It was a fine gesture gratefully received by thirsty team mates. John has been a cricketer whose superb all round contributions will be greatly missed by the Exiles, and I think I speak for everyone at the club in wishing him and his wife all the best for the future as they head off to a new chapter in their lives in Leeds. He has already indicated his willingness to join a Northern tour next season, so it is hoped this great Exiles tradition is back on track next season. Amil had in the meantime returned from hospital, with his dislocated finger popped back in, although he has unfortunately been ruled out for 2 weeks. But the pain of his injury was soon forgotten as a very relieved Exiles team enjoyed the fruits of a fine victory.

Report By: Jasper Searle

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