Energy Exiles Cricket Club

Match Summary: vs. Wimbledon Corinthians, Sunday, 28 Jun 2015

Ground: Nursery Road
Captain: Chris Plume
Match type: 40 overs
Toss: Wimbledon Corinthians elected to bat
Weather: Cloudy with occasional sun
Opposition: Wimbledon Corinthians scored: 212 for 7 (40 overs)
Exiles Score: 215 for 5 (38.3 overs)
Result: Won by 5 wickets
Man of the match: Simon Gundry 82 not out,
Matt Taylor 81

The Exiles returned to Nursery road for a fixture against new opponents, Wimbledon Corinthians, at an initially overcast and drizzly Nursery Road. Thankfully the weather was never likely to disrupt proceedings and it turned into a glorious day as jumpers and other layers were eventually replaced by sun hats and short sleeves. The pitch and outfield looked hard and bare, but things were definitely not helped with the only suitable pitch being close to the tram line and the hedge row; a frustrating afternoon unfolded as both teams had to waste time looking for the ball as it disappeared at regular intervals into the undergrowth.

The skipper Chris, perhaps showing the first signs of madness that being an Exiles skipper can cause, admitted that he had even spent the morning practising his coin tossing skill in order to avoid losing a twelfth coin toss in a row. It was therefore inevitable that he lost the toss and the Exiles were asked to field first. He then followed up that by admitting, perhaps caused by the Pride celebrations underway in London, he was considering a shotgun same sex marriage to keep star all rounder Bernard in the country after his recent work permit issues. If ever Bernard might need to ask the Home Office to speed up his application, now is the time!

The Exiles bowlers had a real mixed bag, with some fine bowling going unrewarded, with Simon Gundry particularly unlucky as edges flew into a gap between fielders or short of another fielder running in. There were some fine catches held, with Chris taking a fine one handed effort behind the stumps and Geoff Candy also taking a great diving chance in the covers. But after decent spells from Marcin, Bernard and Terrance the Exiles perhaps let the Corinthians off the hook in the last 15 overs as, what would turn out to set the pattern for the match, a mid order rally steered our opponents to a respectable score. Some less than convincing fielding didn't help, as Corinthians posted 212-7 off their 40 overs.

The Exiles had a strong batting line up, with all rounder Marcin, on the eve of his 38th birthday, surprisingly relegated to number 11. He was, however, soon placated by fellow absent all rounder Andy Wingfield supplying him with a can of lager, which as noted by many other Exiles, had the desired effect of stopping his legendary chuntering from the sidelines! It was also a real pleasure to see an inactive Exile from the recent past JPJ turn up to watch most of the game. It was at Nursery Road that he made his debut and impressed with a well made half century, and he offered positive sounds that we might yet again be treated to his fine all round abilities back in Exiles colours sooner rather than later.

And how the Exiles might have needed a steady hand like JPJ after slumping to 35-4, as a mix of bad shots and pure bad luck, particularly for Chris first ball, saw the team in real trouble. However this Exiles team, as mentioned earlier, batted a long way down, and what followed was a masterclass in batting in a chase as Simon Gundry, perhaps with a point to prove after his surprisingly expensive bowling figures, and Matt Taylor, on debut and having blotted his copybook by dropping a sitter of Marcin (never a good thing, speaking from experience!)batted superbly together. Quick singles were taken, and the bad balls punished as they set about calmly chipping away at the target, and both reached well deserved half centuries within a couple of overs of each other. The only regret was that they didn't both stay around to hit the winning runs, as Matt was needlessly run out when called through for a suicidal single. Simon made sure however that there were no further hiccups as he saw the team home with an over and 2 balls spare. The Exiles had in the course of the match set a couple of records, with the 169 run partnership for the 5th wicket smashing the previous club record, and it was also the first time the Exiles had chased down 200+ in consecutive innings.

After the match Chris had a difficult decision as to who to award the man of the match to, as the Stats Man was complaining about awarding it to 2 players, while others arguing it could only be shared by the batting heroes. It is hoped that Matt will find time again to return to help out the Exiles cause sooner rather than later.

Report By: Jasper Searle

Last modified: 11 March 2018 14:31:46. Top of the page