Club Statistics
Match Summary: vs. Dodgers, Wednesday, 26 Aug 2009
Ground: King's House Sports Ground
Captain: Andrew Wingfield
Match type: 40 overs
Toss: Dodgers elected to bat
Weather: Drizzle, wet pitch
Opposition: Dodgers scored: 227 for 4 (40 overs)
Exiles Score: 219 for 6 (40 overs)
Result: Lost by 8 runs
Man of the match: Marcin Zieleniewski 44 not out
| Batsmen | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jasper Searle (W) | ct. | 21 | 49 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | John Tither | ct. | 25 | 47 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | Pablo Palao | ct. | 35 | 34 | 4 | 0 |
| 4 | Arnie Glausiusz | ct. | 25 | 23 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | Jeremy Mayer | b. | 25 | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Andrew Wingfield (C) | ct. | 23 | 32 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | Marcin Zieleniewski | not out | 44 | 28 | 5 | 0 |
| 8 | Chris White | not out | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Phil Chamberlain | dnb | ||||
| 10 | Gwyn Thomas | dnb | ||||
| 11 | Owen Draper | dnb | ||||
| Extra(s) 3w 5b 5lb | 13 | |||||
| 219 | 236 | |||||
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Avg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Wingfield | 7.0 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Phil Chamberlain | 6.0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Marcin Zieleniewski | 6.0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 24 |
| 4 | Pablo Palao | 7.0 | 0 | 41 | 1 | 41 |
| 5 | Gwyn Thomas | 4.0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 20 |
| 6 | Chris White | 5.0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Jeremy Mayer | 5.0 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | Catch | Run Out | Stumping | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pablo Palao | 1 | |||
| Andrew Wingfield | 1 | |||
| Marcin Zieleniewski | 1 |
"I'm a fair weather cricketer"...is a claim your scribe for this match has been heard to say on many occasions. And the Exiles most recent match against the Dodgers prompted yet more use of that phrase.
The weather did its best to spoil this fixture but, with over 400 runs scored between the two sides, an enjoyable afternoon (if a little damp) was had by all. Given the recent hot weather, all were looking forward to another enjoyable day in the Chiswick sun, even if that meant chasing the ball to all parts of the ground. However, as soon as the game began, and the Exiles took to the field, the rain started. It stopped occasionally, but never really went away. This meant that from the first ball of the game, the ball was wet, which disturbed the rhythm of all the Exiles bowlers.
The real shame of this, is that it took the edge off a momentous occasion, as the Exiles were able to welcome back one of their long-lost heroes to the fold Pablo 'The Plough' Palao. It was great to see the little fella back in his Exiles strip and baggy green hat. Those of us that know him well, were looking forward to a few 'Plough' moments of magic. And, given that he had spent most of the previous night searching his loft for his kit and practising his famous cut shot in his sleep (much to his wife's annoyance), he was surely not going to disappoint. ...!
The Dodgers won the toss and decided to bat. They batted well and got good value for their shots early on, before the weather had any effect on the pitch or the outfield. Both openers batted well, and a few lusty blows saw them begin to post a decent score. In fact, the batsman took a particular liking to Chamberlain's over-pitched dross. The Exiles bowling was, on the whole, straight, but the wicket offered little assistance. Gwyn, Martin and two chaps from OMT (Chris and Jeremy) were the pick on the day. It was also good to see Pablo tweaking the ball (not that it turned much, whatever he might say!). Perhaps, by only playing once every three years, Pablo now has his cricketing demons firmly under control, as there didn't appear to be any possibility of his hat being thrown in disgust and kicked round the boundary...
The Dodgers calmly made their way to 227 (a very respectable score), with one of their openers making 100 not out, carrying his bat. Did anyone get any of his jug? As usual, the Exiles fielding was a mixed bag of tricks. Mixed in with a couple of good catches, a few also went down, the wet outfield caused a few slip and slide moments, and Pablo contributed with some strange misfields (and then complained of a bruised wrist later. Typical!). However, there was one champagne moment when Wingco caused a run out with a backhanded throw, which hit the stumps. He'd tried it the over before with little success, and claimed later that this helped get his eye in when the next cheeky single was tried...
Through all this drama (!) the rain continued. And over the make-shift tea, it got heavier. By the time it was the Exiles turn to bat, the wicket and outfield had got decidedly slower...and all our batsmen got bogged down. Most got in with scores of 20 or 30, but then got out... I can hear Boycott's criticism as I type, as he would not be happy - My Granny could bat better than that. Once in, batsman should really make the most of it. Can anyone do his accent!? Given the conditions though, all batted sensibly. A few lusty blows from Martin near the end of the Game (and in almost darkness) saw us creep close to the target, but with wickets falling at regular intervals the odds were against us. We finished 9 runs short...blast...! And Martin finished with an unbeaten 44, his highest score for the Exiles. He was last heard muttering to himself as he was leaving the ground ...'if only'... 'if only'...
Ultimately, only having 10 men meant that the Exiles always had an extra gap in the field, which the Dodgers' batsmen did well to find (consistently!). That fielding gap probably helped push their score above 200, and ultimately cost us the Game.
The weather and the result didn't dampen our spirits, however, and we took to the bar...Pablo even offered to buy some drinks - those demons really are under control...
Report By: Phil Chamberlain