Energy Exiles Cricket Club

Match Summary: vs. Agricola, Sunday, 18 May 2008

Ground: King's House Sports Ground
Captain: Andrew Wingfield
Match type: 40 overs
Toss: Exiles elected to field
Weather: Cloudy, dry
Opposition: Agricola scored: 262 for 2 (40 overs)
Exiles Score: 146 for 7 (40 overs)
Result: Lost by 116 runs
Man of the match: Mark Bradshaw 38 runs

The Exiles crashed to another heavy defeat as Agricola's imperious early season batting form swept them aside. An almost chanceless century by their opener Mike Almond, his second in successive weeks, ensured the Exiles would face a daunting chase of 263 in 40 overs, something that they never looked close to reaching as the afternoon session wore on. The match was played in conditions which initially looked like they might favour the bowlers, but by the late afternoon were positively arctic, with players from both sides wrapping up in an often bizarre combination of non cricketing jumpers, long tops and the now de rigueur under armour. The author even dusted off a rug previously only used by the dog, to keep the elements at bay as he watched from the sidelines.

For once the Exiles had a match that would be played on what could be passed as Chiswick's showcase ground, which brought much relief to the team due to its close proximity to the bar, and spared the necessity to walk half way towards Richmond to get to a pitch. It should also be noted that 10 members of the team were there on time for once, and fears that the captain, who the day previously had celebrated a landmark birthday, might be feeling worse for wear, were quickly dispelled. With the match the previous Sunday having also finished at 8:30pm, much to the chagrin of the team despite the victory, it was also a relief that this match finished at a far more reasonable time.

With the team fresh from its first victory of the season, partially due to some tight bowling by the spinners and excellent fielding, confidence was high that this would be a close encounter between these 2 sides. The Exiles were also able to boast what on paper is one of their strongest batting line ups from the current crop of players, in case the bowlers failed to deliver. With that in mind, the captain could feel confident of his decision upon winning his third toss in a row, to put the opposition in with the wind blowing and there being plenty of cloud cover. The pitch, while looking very green, was hard enough to suggest that the bounce would not be as variable as has been evident from the other matches played so far this season however.

Unfortunately, after a steady start from the opening bowlers, the batsmen quickly became acclimatised to the conditions, and started to score freely. The Exiles were well aware that Almond was coming off the back of a century the previous Sunday, so to stand a chance of winning this match, his wicket would be crucial as soon as possible. This never looked the case, as he set about with fine support from his opening partner, to build a solid foundation for his side to put the Exiles out of the game before the innings break. The Exiles back-up bowlers took a particular savaging, with even the author, buoyed by his best bowling performance for the team in the previous week's match, unable to break the deadlock. The outfield was also surprisingly quick, again compared with previous matches, with the ball bumbling along to the boundary with increasing frequency and apparently minimal effort as the Agricola innings wore on.

When the breakthrough eventually happened, it was due to a rank full toss that was superbly held by Raj at midwicket off Keith's bowling. Relief at the wicket was tempered by the fact it brought another free scoring batsman to the crease, and Steve Thody continued the run scoring as Exiles heads began to drop at the relentless pace of scoring going on. The only problem with the showcase pitch is that it has a big scoreboard that all can see, and it made sorry reading at the end of each over. Naren returned to the attack, and removed Almond, who had by now reached his second successive ton, with a fine catch by Quentin. However he then managed to pick up a shoulder injury that left him unable to complete his bowling – Q replaced him. This was a worrying moment for the team for forthcoming matches, with the Exiles already missing Simon until next month, Martin still finding his way back to fitness after a year out, and other bowling options such as Raj, Sri and yours truly still slightly 'undercooked'.

After tea and with the temperature now down to freezing the Exiles set about trying to get close to the Agricola total. Despite a few lusty blows from Q and Mark, that put the Exiles briefly ahead of the opposition at the equivalent stage of their innings, wickets fell at key stages, and tight bowling kept the score down to the extent that it became nothing more than an exercise in time out in the middle. Despite having lasted the full 40 overs, with wickets intact, the Exiles score was comfortably behind the Agricola total. There has to be some concern over the batting already at this stage of the season, as the team has only once got over 150, no batsman has reached 50, and the top scorer so far has been extras in the Surbiton game! There might well be justified mutterings that there has been a failure to take full advantage of the pre season nets and that to have to try and find form in the middle after a winter off is slightly foolhardy, especially with the team as a whole not getting any younger.

Report By: Jasper Searle

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