Kilmington vs Venturers, Sunday April 21st

Kilmington 116, Venturers 117-5

In the first over of our innings John received a full toss and clipped it straight back to the bowler, who dropped it. The bowler is one of Kilmington’s best fielders. Even so, there is nothing remotely surprising about the incident, which is simply another case of the intricate incompetence that characterises this level of cricket; but it may have decided the result of the match. John treated all the further full tosses bowled to him with great care and accumulated 49 in thirty-two overs before running himself out. The next highest score was 16, though there were 26 extras, so we needed John’s contribution to get anywhere near the 117 we needed.

The 16 was made in unorthodox style by Rasesh, one of four newcomers, and the result of match was largely incidental to the main purpose, which is to play some cricket and get the newcomers involved so that they want to play again. Last year we failed to do that because it rained until mid-May. Today the weather was all right, although you did not have to be from Chennai to wish it was warmer. Rasesh moved the score along usefully after Chris was out early on, and Ian added fifty with John although contributing only eight himself. They kept calm, perhaps a little too calm, and made no real attempt to look for runs beyond what were easily available. Kilmington had several accurate, if sometimes reluctant, bowlers and the only incident came in their captain’s first over. He knocked a bail off as he bowled. This is all right, as Finn’s Law does not come into effect until October (although it may be incorporated into playing conditions sooner), but that does not mean he is entitled to ask the umpire to look for the bail while the ball is still in play.

There were only about five overs left when Sanket worked out why John was so calm. He explained to him that this was in fact a 35 over match, not 40, and that they therefore did not have ten overs to get fifteen runs in. John, his calm shattered, attempted a dangerous single and running himself out, for 49, leaving Sanket and Agam to get the runs. Sanket’s approach is to place the ball, but a little bit of force was needed here and Agam supplied it; only briefly, before he picked out a fieldsman, but it was enough. Kevin, with a timely bottom edge, got us to needing one off the last over and Sanket got enough bat on the first ball.

It was a rather scrappy way to complete a job that the bowlers had made look easy. After the usual introductions we have to have at that stage, Kevin opened the season with a maiden. Anand’s first two balls were a bit short. Agam, Alex and Gregory instructed him to pitch it up; and he did, with spectacular effect. Kilmington dug out his inswinging yorkers for a bit, but Kevin, moving it off the seam, was just as awkward and they each quickly got an LBW decision and a bowled. Anand’s second victim played no shot and the ball hit middle and off. As we had no other seam bowling, Gregory and then Sanket were given a chance to bowl offspin. They were a little more expensive but picked up a wicket each, Gregory needing two balls to collect his statutory left-hander. Only one Kilmington batsman really got going. He even hit a six later on: earlier, he drove Gregory over mid-off and stood watching the ball go, but although the umpire at first signalled six it had actually landed and stopped about three yards short. It ended up as a very peculiar dot ball. Agam eventually removed him, Anand never looking like taking the catch until the moment when he did; and Agam and Simon finished off the innings with the help of three remarkably casual catches, two by John and one by Sanket.

Scorecard