Energy Exiles Cricket Club

Match Summary: vs. Old Merchant Taylors, Sunday, 26 Apr 2009

Ground: Durrants
Captain: Andrew Wingfield
Match type: 40 overs
Toss: Exiles elected to bat
Weather: Sunny
Opposition: Old Merchant Taylors scored: 109 for 8 (40 overs)
Exiles Score: 163 for 9 (40 overs)
Result: Won by 54 runs
Man of the match: Phil Chamberlain 5 for 21

The Exiles turned up for the first match of the season at the delightful setting of the OMT's ground just outside Rickmansworth. They were greeted by bright sunshine and a vast crowd eager to see some top quality sporting action, although it was soon apparent that they were there for the clearly crucial final weekend of rugby matches that were going on (cue plenty of boisterous chanting that echoed around the ground during the early stages of the match). Andy Wingfield was standing in as captain for Amil Patel, who is traveling round the world spreading the word of the legend that is Jeff Hilson. The pitch was by all accounts one that is traditionally very batsmen friendly, and it certainly looked in fine shape for so early in the season. It was with this in mind that Andy, having won the toss, took his time making a decision whether to bat or bowl. Despite being familiar with the pitch, he was keen to seek the opinion of many of his teammates before making up his mind. Marcin was quick to advise the captain that he fancied bowling, and it was perhaps with this in mind that the skipper then decided to bat! There was one debutante for the match, Andy Clay, who had been lured away from watching the likes of young sporting heroes Fabregas, Walcott and Nasri etc. playing Arsenal at the magnificent Emirates Stadium, to instead play cricket with equally legendary old sporting giants of Chamberlain, Davies and Scott etc.

The team opened with Quentin and Jasper and both looked a bit rusty, as might be expected initially. Jasper was even lucky to escape being bowled for a dreaded duck of a front foot no ball; a fate that he will be unlikely to escape from later in the season when other Exiles, and not a proper umpire, are standing at the bowler's end. Soon however Quentin started unfurling his legendary lasso shots, and runs appeared on the board. The pitch, as it turned out, was of a low and slow bounce, and the outfield was slightly spongy, making traditional boundary methods hard to come by, so the aerial route would have to be the preferred option.

After Searle and last year's new discovery JPJ went without too much ink next to their names in the scorebook, it was left to 2 Exiles veterans in Wil and Quentin to steady the ship. The opposition also brought on a slow bowler, who was bowling the infamous 'depth charge' deliveries that have consistently caused most of our batsmen trouble over the years at this level, due to having far too much time to know which shot to play (as of course Exiles batsmen naturally come equipped with such a full range of shots to select from), and before you know it, the stumps have been hit. Quentin in the meantime departed, bringing Simon to the crease, the one person in the side not afraid of dispatching the depth charge balls into the deep.

Sure enough, Simon did unleash a couple of lusty blows, that caused at least one ball to be lost. Its just as well players aren't charged for the balls they lose from hitting these shots, as Simon would be well out of pocket by now! Wil in the meantime put the anchor down, and managed to keep his concentration at these aerial deliveries, which did cause some to wonder if there is a law stating how high the ball can go before it bounces. The scoring at this stage was steady, rather than spectacular, with both batsmen seeming to find the fielders with annoying regularity, as is so typical of early season matches.

Unfortunately, the partnership was broken by another classic Exiles habit from years gone by, a dreadful run out. Simon sacrificed his wicket just as he looked set for another crucial big score from the middle order. This brought a succession of Andy's to the crease, and both managed to hit a few lusty blows that helped keep the scoring going, while Wil had also started to get a few more runs as the innings came to a close. Marcin had a brief cameo at the end, and helped add some vital runs , and he was very proud at the end of the match to hear that his inadvertent walking down the wicket had caused the opposition bowler a bit of a problem with his line and length.

Overall, a score of 163 was felt to be reasonable, perhaps 20 to 30 shy of being a really testing target, as the team set off to tea at the halfway stage. At tea itself the Exiles were collectively shocked by the amount of grub Phil Ling had piled onto his plate. Phil, who has been granted special permission to miss the Strollers match as he is getting married the following weekend, was subjected to comments such as aren't you meant to try and lose weight before getting married? and maybe he's just stocking up for the wedding buffet” from other players. Seasoned Exiles players said they had not seen such a full plate since the times of legendary Exiles tea consumer Pablo Pilao.

The Exiles boasted a formidable bowling attack, and it was the usually solid and dependable Andy W and tireless Naren who opened the bowling. Both bowled beautifully, and it soon became clear that the target set was going to cause a challenge to the batting side. They both picked up important wickets, and strangled the scoring, ensuring that OMT were always behind the rate. It also provided a fine platform for the first change bowlers of Phil C and Simon to get some wickets, something that Phil was only happy to indulge. He was particularly animated when removing their batsman who had adopted the Quentin Davies copyrighted lasso and windmill shots, which I'm sure might have resulted in a ticking off from the match referee! Phil fully deserved his 5 wicket haul, and it is hoped he will get chances to follow it up throughout the season, and he has already laid down his marker to some of the other bowlers in the team.

The batting side never really got going, and it soon was clear that it was up to the Exiles to try and wrap up the match before the 40 overs were up. A couple of batsmen did have a go, which caused mild panic in the field as wild throws came in, with one classic attempt by Simon which went straight to the middle of the pitch, which he apologised for, saying he didn't know which end to throw it to, so he went in between the two. Another wild Gundry throw was superbly stopped by Marcin, showing some fine football skills, even if he very nearly kicked the ball into his head. Jasper was also close to a few catches that later in the season when fitness levels have increased, might have gone to hand with a dive, rather than the efforts on Sunday which resembled a tree being felled!

As the match petered out, the only minor frustration was the inability of the Exiles bowlers to remove the very obdurate OMT number 10 batsman, whose batting style was based on the classic stonewall defence, something that has all but vanished in a modern game full of swashbuckling shots and tail enders who are expected to try and bat positively. This led one of his team mates to cry out from the side that it was like watching Boycott! It might have been disappointing not removing this batsman, but the match was eventually finished with darkness encroaching at 5 minutes past 8 in the evening and it was a comfortable win, something rare in recent Exiles history, to win the opening game of the season.

Report By: Jasper Searle

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