Energy Exiles Cricket Club

Match Summary: vs. Barnes Common, Sunday, 11 Aug 2019

Ground: Nursery Road
Captain: Bernard Leuvennink
Match type: 40 overs
Toss: Exiles elected to bowl
Weather: Partially sunny; breezy
Opposition: Barnes Common scored: 303 for 6 (40 overs)
Exiles Score: 70 all out (21.5 overs)
Result: Lost by 233 runs
Man of the match: Simon Gundry 5 for 26

There were a few tell tail signs that this afternoon was perhaps not destined to go the Exiles way. For instance, when the first words uttered from the lips of Phil Ling in describing the Exiles hastily arranged last minute opponents were “Medium - strong”, casually dropping in that the opponents had a few players who were ex-league cricketers. Or was it the AWOL eleventh exiles player not to be heard from again, or indeed the duration of the pitch inspections to decide which of the five was actually the wicket for the afternoon’s game. In any case, alarm bells were beginning to ring .....

On a positive note though Naren did find his car keys after a frantic search for five whole nerve wracking minutes in the nursery road car park and donned his whites ready to open the bowling along with Wingfield after Exiles captain Bernard had won the toss and elected to bowl. 

The wicket was green, the weather was cloudy with sun periodically and with the opening overs from both bowlers being maidens, a good early shout for LBW turned down (probably incorrectly) for Wingfield, things were looking reasonably satisfactory.

The Barnes common openers put on a good stand of 65, before the first breakthrough by Ling and by drinks were 107 for 1 off 20 overs. Arguably a run rate of five an over is good but not a runaway success by any means. However, the Barnes Common captain was by now pushing his team to get a move on with a number of batsmen impatiently waiting in the pavilion with itchy feet. That proved to be the inflexion point for an impressive change of gear for the visiting team. The runs began to flow at pace with the remaining opener and number three getting hundreds before retiring. 

It’s fair to say that the Exiles didn’t necessarily have the best of fortunes with batsmen caught outside of the boundary markers, very close LBW shouts and a run-out which to bowler and deep cover fielder did not look in any doubt.  Irrespective, by the closing overs, most Exiles bowlers had taken quite a pasting and spirits in the field had taken a significant downward trajectory. The post drinks run rate had by now jumped to nearly ten an over and at one point the visitors were 276-1.

Enter Gundry (Some would say grumpy Gundry by this point – obviously not this report writer though) returning at the opposite end to where he had his opening spell. Bowling with a touch of swagger, simply put the ball on a good length and line with decent pace and promptly sent five opposition batsmen back to the pavilion for negligible runs in a very fine spell of bowling. 

Unfortunately, all of this a touch too late to stop the visitors from posting a formidable total of 303-6, the third highest ever conceded by the Exiles. Gundry was robbed of what would have been a six-fer and his best bowling figures for the Exiles due to Aloysius dropping what should have been a relatively easy take, albeit at an awkward height for the slightly vertically challenged, off the last ball of the innings.

Following a tasty tea (which the Exiles are becoming used to at home), they embarked on a run chase of mammoth proportions. Unfortunately the task was too greater challenge with four ducks in the innings and only Leuvennink, Morkel and Wingfield getting into double figures. The Exiles were promptly rather blown away to 70 all out in 21 overs succumbing to their biggest defeat to date, by a total of 233 runs.

Report By: Johnny Aloysius

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