Energy Exiles Cricket Club

Match Summary: vs. Surbiton Imperials, Sunday, 02 Aug 2009

Ground: Old Tiffinians Grist Memorial Ground
Captain: Amil Patel
Match type: 35 overs
Toss: Surbiton elected to bat
Weather: Sunny, dry pitch
Opposition: Surbiton Imperials scored: 114 all out (33.4 overs)
Exiles Score: 115 for 1 (15.4 overs)
Result: Won by 9 wickets
Man of the match: John Tither 83 not out

A miserable week's weather lifted long enough for the Exiles to record a convincing away win over Surbiton Imperials to make amends for their earlier lose in the season to the same opposition. The emphatic nature of the victory was almost entirely due to an impressive display of clean and powerful hitting from John Tither opening the innings in the Exiles' pursuit of a modest total of 115.

Chasing down low totals has often proved an uncomfortable task for the Exiles but not this time. The total was achieved for the loss of one wicket with more than 19 overs to spare. Of the Exiles total of 117, John scored an unbeaten 83 from 51 balls that will live long in the memory of those who saw it. 74 of John's runs came in boundaries including a total of 7 sixes. John totally dominated the attack once he'd seen off the opening bowlers. When Surbiton introduced their first change bowler, John played the first two deliveries with due care and attention before spanking the next four balls for consecutive sixes. From this point onwards the watching Exiles began to relax as victory looked an evermore inevitability. The one possible exception was JPJ who must have doubted the wisdom of his decision to park his car beyond the square leg boundary plumb in the middle of John's favoured hitting zone.

First Quentin and then Amil played supporting roles in the pursuit of victory. Of these Amil's was the most significant as, refusing to hide down the order he finally scored his first runs as skipper. He finished with an unbeaten 13 and whilst there was an element of scratch and streak to some of those runs there were also signs that Amil's form had finally found its passport and decided to join him back in the UK.

Earlier there was little evidence that Amil's travails with the bat was affecting his captaincy as an inspired bowling change started to turn the match the Exiles way. Andy and Naren opening the bowling had quickly shared three wickets between them with Andy taking a brace. But having lost quick wickets the Surbiton middle order set about the job of reconstructing the innings. Simon and Phil Ling were brought into the attack and both bowled accurate testing spells without taking wickets. Slowly the runs were starting to come and as mid-innings drinks were taken, the game was finely poised. But there was a sense that Surbiton were growing prematurely anxious about their scoring rate and this prompted Amil to reintroduce Patel Senior for a second burst. This brought immediate rewards. In his first over back Naren dismissed both batsmen with consecutive deliveries, the batsmen having crossed in the process of skewing a catch to mid-off that Simon took with characteristic ease. From the next delivery Naren had his man caught and bowled and proceeded to celebrate in a manner that suggested not too many of his near 300 victims for the Exiles have been dismissed in such fashion.

After that the Exiles controlled the game with Simon, JPJ and Gwyn sharing the remaining wickets between them. A fine running catch in the deep by Toby Gundry on debut was a particular highlight and one pity of such a convincing victory was that Toby was denied an opportunity to show what he could do with the bat. Also worthy of mention in dispatches was a 22 ball spell from JPJ at the end of the innings which strangled out two batmen and induced the final wicket run out for the cost of just one run.

Report By: Gwyn Thomas

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