BANES Vs Venturers, Tuesday May 19th

BANES 155-3, Venturers 134-1

This was no day to be a bowler. The boundaries at Peasedown are short. The wind was cold, the ball wet and slippery, the pitch slow. Even Chris H went for 30 in two overs at one stage. Both openers reached the agreed retirement score of 50, one making 60 before the over was up. The new batsman also started with a four, much to his partner’s surprise as he apparently doesn’t usually do that, and we were braced for more, but he missed the ball when he tried to do it again. Gregory’s next ball was a short one which the batsman put helpfully into mid-on’s hands.

This displeased the gods, who started saying it with thunderbolts. We retreated to the pavilion and watched a bit of the IPL, but then, insanely, went back out again and reduced the overs to sixteen. We didn’t bother with a D/L correction. It was now not only cold and even wetter than before, but also dark. That made it a bit harder for the batsmen, one of whom reached the retirement score soon anyway, and James and Simon kept them fairly quiet. There was the usual run-out off the last ball.

Last time we played these opponents, we beat them despite none of our bowlers taking any wickets at all. (There were two retirements and three run-outs, and then a successful run chase.) This time, for most of the match, it looked as if we would lose to them despite not losing any wickets at all. James spoilt it in the last over with a skier to long-off, though even that needed a good catch. Before that, Roger and Matt had scored steadily but not quite fast enough. The difference, really, was that they hit nine sixes and we hit only one, a pickup over square leg by Roger. Matt’s elegant drives along the ground threw up a cloud of spray, and stopped and sank twenty-five yards from the bat, so he didn’t get value for his shots. Even so, he and Roger emulated the Banes openers by both reaching the retirement score. Ian and James took over, and until James’s mishap, by which time we had no chance, they seemed in no danger. The batsmen crossed and Ian finished off with a four, two twos and a single, leaving Alex not having faced a ball at all.