|
EURATOM CRICKET CLUB ISPRA ITALIA 2002 SEASON MATCH REPORTS |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MATCH
1
|
v BRERA C.C. @ CENTRO SPORTIVO SAINI MILANO SATURDAY APRIL 13th - 13.00 START - 35 OVERS
After an exceptionally dry winter, Pluvius reared his ugly head to let all the players go shopping instead.
v TRENTINO C.C. @ TAINO SATURDAY APRIL 27th - 13.00 START - 35 OVERS In the absence of many regular players, this Euratom team was a rather unknown quantity. New recruits Tim Sangster & Martin Scott were on their first outing & Jamie Speed & Ben Musci had been drafted in from the Under-15s. Despite a forecast for an rather overcast day with the chance of showers later, it turned out to be a beautiful day with a slight breeze which started gusting later in the game. Trentino
batted first by mutual consent & got off to a slow start against
some tight bowling from Sumith Katunayake & Tim Sangster. Opener
Filippini looked set in defence-mode while Ali threatened to score more
freely until a Katunayake slower ball took out his middle stump in the
5th over. Suranga immediately looked dangerous when he came to the
crease with the score on 13 and played some stylish shots before losing
his patience & playing over a good ball from the much improved
Ashanta Fernando. Fernando soon also disposed of new bat Rob Lubich
for 7, & then Marabini miss-hit a ball from Ben Musci for an
easy catch to Katunayake. Jamie Speed then impressed in his first
senior game with a nice line of off-spinners & when Filippini was
finally run out for 2 by a smart pick-up & throw from Martin Scott
at square-leg ,Trentino looked to be struggling at 70 for 5 off 15 overs.
Ronconi then looked to steady the ship and, when he was joined by the
stylish Kirty, the scoring rate picked up against Euratom's
second-string bowlers. Fortunately for the Ispresi, Katunayake soon beat
Kirty flashing outside the off-stump for keeper Paul Voizey to take a
good catch. Then a rejuvenated (!) Dai Berry surprised those
familiar with his normal dross by producing such a tight first over that
Ronconi quickly spooned one up to Katunayake. Berry was then
unlucky not to have Luca Avancini out l.b.w. (despite waiving his right
to the 5th amendment). Avancini went on the grind out a patient 19
before Katunayake beat him with a fast off-cutter in his second spell.
Meanwhile Fernando proved to be the pick of the Trentino batsmen,
although Tony Sample was unlucky to have him put down to a simple chance
at long-stop early in his innings. He scored quickly at the expense of
Tony Sample & Martin Scott & played some nice shots for an
undefeated 35. Then last-man Silva scored a quick-fire 21
until he was finally stumped by Voizey when Dai Berry came back on in
the 35th over. Trentino closed on the quite defendable total of 190
& Euratom must have been disappointed at not having been able to
close them down earlier. One
would have thought that, faced with a modest asking rate of just over
five, Euratom would have looked to make a slow but steady start.
But openers Tony Sample & Tim Sangster had other ideas. As the nippy
Suranga struggled with his line against the left-hander, Sample cracked
one glorious four after another through extra-cover. Lubich from the
other end was less troublesome & Sangster punched away all the
bad balls without mercy. These two rushed the score to 76 before
Sangster mis-hit outside off-stump to be caught in the gully for 27 when
Fernando came on in the eighth over. Sample was then bowled for 50 in
Fernando's next over, leaving Sumith Katunayake & Martin
Scott to carry on the good work. These two played steadily for the next
4 overs to see off Avancini & Fernando. If anything both batsmen
looked slightly out of touch but, when Filippini & the talented
Kirty came on to bowl, they resumed the onslaught. A series of
boundaries took the Euratom total to 168 before Scott finally fell to
Ali for 22 in the 22nd over. Ali proved to be the pick of the
Trentino bowlers & Jamie Speed was unlucky to fall to a fast
inswinger. Then Musci struck a few lusty blows before Ali trapped him
leg-before but, when the experienced Paul Voizey came in, he &
Katunayake calmly knocked off the remaining runs for Euratom to win with
10 overs to spare & 5 wickets in hand.
v
SCALIGERO C.C. @ VERONA SUNDAY
MAY 5th - 13.00 START - 35 OVERS
With
a vigor born of a sound night's sleep in their dachas on the shores of
nearby Lake Garda, the Euratom players convened at the Glaxo Sports
Ground keen to repeat their impressive performance of the previous
game. Overhead the swirling, black clouds looked ready to deny them the
chance of another victory but, despite a few drops of rain during the
early overs, the storm soon blew away to reveal a beautiful, blue sky
for the rest of the afternoon.
Scaligero
won the toss & asked Ispra to bat. Bill Speed made an unusually
quick start cracking a series of twos & fours off the fastish
Sanjewa Dodantenne & the slower but deceptive Filippini. Martin
Scott soon mis-timed a straight drive on the awkward mat & was
unlucky to hit it straight back to the grateful Filippini. He was
replaced by a Tim Sangster obviously intent on bettering his previous
week's score with power & style. When Bill Speed fell to a good
delivery from Sanjewa for 20, Sumith Katunayake was sent out with the
intention of picking up the scoring rate even more. He lost no time in
setting about Suranga Perera but was almost immediately brilliantly
caught at square-leg by Rohan off a vicious hook which stayed low. The
stylish Shalan Chetty then looked as though he would keep up with
Sangster at the other end until his innings was prematurely curtailed on
9 by an unlikely L.B.W. decision. Nana Tawiah took over from the
miffed Chetty & he & Tim Sangster continued to push the score
along at a steady rate until Sangster was finally caught for 59 in the
29th over with the Euratom score on 133. Throughout the innings it had
proved difficult to get the ball off the square, especially to the
slower bowlers. In the effort to speed things up in the final overs,
first Tawiah was bowled by Rohan for a solid 21 & then Chris Gibson
just managed to break his duck before falling to Vincenzi. Skipper Berry
then belied his girth with a series of quick runs to the keeper, putting
on 30 in the last few overs with the help of a couple of fours
from Ashanta Fernando & some sharp singles with Phil Cake who
finished 0 not out. The slow outfield more than compensated for the
smallish pitch & Euratom's total of 171 for 8 looked to be
reasonable unless the Verona batsmen started lifting the ball to the
boundary. In reply for Scaligero, Suranga Perera & Antonio But made a steady start against Sumith Katunayake & Shalan Chetty. Then in the 4th over a healthy snick from But landed safely in Bill Speed's gloves and the Italian batsman was applauded for walking after the local umpire looked unconvinced. Afribo was then run out next over for a duck by a classy pick-up & throw from Tim Sangster &, when Ashanta Fernando took Filippini's leg-stump for 1, Scaligero looked to be floundering at 29 for 3 after only 7 overs. The Euratom lads were confident but slowly the tables began to turn. At his end Suranga Perera was starting to dispatch the bowling to all parts & he was supported by a series of leg-glances to the boundary from the determined Nicola Vincenzi. In an effort to break up this partnership which was thriving on the quicks, the Euratom skipper turned to his slower men. At first Nana Tawiah struggled to come to terms with the strangely short pitch & was caned for 33 in his two overs. But then the trusty Phil Cake bamboozled Perera in his first over and removed the talented Sri Lankan for 77. When the powerful Sanjewa Dodantenne replaced him at the crease, it looked as though the Ispresi might be in for more of the same. Fortunately for them Tim Sangster was just getting up a head of steam and in his second over he left the new batsman stranded with a fast, swinging delivery which swept away his leg-stump. At 129 for 6 off 22 overs things may have been looking up for Euratom but Scaligero still had plenty of willow left to knock off the remaining runs. When an over of Chetty leg-breaks got hammered, Dai Berry asked novice Jamie Speed to try his hand. Speed proved to be unplayable on the slow pitch and his good line & length combined with a delicate mixture of swing & turn quickly had the four rabbits back in the hutch, all clean bowled. Scaligero finished 36 short on 135 & the Euratom lads enjoyed an early beer in downtown Verona. MOM: Honourable mentions for Suranga Perera for his brilliant 77 & to Phil Cake for bowling him, but the MOM undoubtedly goes to Jamie Speed for his 4 for 7 off 4.1 overs. The Golden Banana goes to Sumith Katunayake for his duck.
v
GROENENLAND C.C. @ "THE RADISH" LODI SATURDAY
MAY 11th - 13.00 START - 35 OVERS
Tony
Sample led the troops to Lodi for a game against some Dutch tourists who
make those little processed cheese triangles that you can never
get the silver paper off. Despite showers all around the Milan area, the
weather stayed fine all afternoon for an enjoyable game.
Euratom
won the toss & chose to bat second. Huygen & H. Rykee made a
good start in the first six overs against Sumith Katunayake &
Ashanta Fernando. But then Ricky Soggiù made a welcome return from
exile in Dublin & from the other end Satia Dasarathan, making
his first appearance of the season, soon got Rykee to hit one back
to him for 10. When the young Indian bowled Basant as well for a duck,
& Kloppenberg was run out for 1, things were looking hopeful for
Euratom. But the solid W. de Vroe joined Huygen at the
crease & the two Dutchmen looked to pick up the run rate. It
took the introduction of Tim Sangster at one end to break the
partnership when the opener was finally caught by Hans Knùpfer
for 28. Ricky Soggiù persevered at the other end & quickly had the
new batsman, Davidson, caught for 1 by Katunayake. The arrival of van
Oosterzee looked ominous for the Ispresi & he and W.de Vroe kept the
numbers clicking over until he retired as his side's top scorer on 33.
J de Vroe joined his brother at the crease & the two of them
kept up the good work until Gendorini finally bowled the polished
number five for 23. J.de Vroe then put on 19 himself before Dasarathan
returned to the fray to have him caught by someone with a hat (sic).
D.Rykee & Dettmeyer were left to see out the remaining overs with
the former plundering a quick-fire 12, including a mighty 6 off
Dasarathan's last ball.. With the tourists finishing on 153,
Euratom looked to have a good chance of winning the game. Indeed, Tony Sample & Tim Sangster gave Euratom a solid platform with a series of singles & twos that saw off opening bowlers, H. Rykee & W. de Vroe. But the introduction of the classy Bassart soon turned things around for the Dutchmen & first Sangster was caught by H. Rykee off his first ball for 9 and then Sumith Katunayake was trapped L.B.W. in his next over for 8 before he could get into his stride. The promoted Ashanta Fernando stepped into the breach for Euratom & he & Tony Sample pushed the score steadily towards the target until Sample fell one short of his half-century when he was caught off Kloppenburg. In the middle order Hans Knùpfer could only add 1 before he was run out & then Phil Cake got a corker from Rykee to go for a duck. Fernando pushed on to a valuable 31 before being bowled by Rykee but there was still hope for Euratom in the shape of Ricky Soggiù & big-hitter Satia Dasarathan, with strong-man Nana Tawiah in reserve to hold up the tail with Gendorini. But in his enthusiasm to get things moving, Dasarathan shot down the wicket like a greyhound out of the trap to claim the club's first platinum duck of the season. Soggiù looked as though he might stick around to help the Ispresi home but, with the end of the game in sight, he made a diplomatic retirement after 7 singles on the trot. Try as he might, Tawiah couldn't pick up the remaining runs in time & he finished unbeaten on a valiant 16, with Gendorini not out on 2. Euratom were disappointed to finish just 10 runs short in a game which they could easily have won.
MOM: Satia Dasarathan gets an honourable mention for his 3 for 18 off 6 overs, but he also wrests the Golden Banana from Sumith Katunayake for his platinum duck. Tony Sample gets another MOM for being top scorer on 49.
v CABRIS C.C. @ ST.VALLIER DE THIEY SUNDAY JUNE 2nd - 12.00 START - 40 OVERS
In
the absence of Tim Sangster's GPS, the Euratom band had perhaps unwisely
offered to help Maporama with a "Ground Truth Validation"
project in the Alpes-Maritimes area. First the traditional pre-match
bonding on the vigil at a secret mountain location saw both the Speed
& the Berry MPVs appearing over the mountain from two different,
uncharted goat-tracks. Then, on the Sunday morning sprint from base-camp
to final objective, Nana Tawiah unerringly found his way to Cabris where
the opposition no longer play, while the rest of the troupe stumbled on
the real pitch in St.Vallier, cunningly sign-posted under the unlikely
name of "Souterroscope". In the beautiful surroundings Dai Berry won the toss & elected to bat on what looked to be a good wicket. The surface was a bit bumpy & the mat rather ragged & covered in goat droppings. All in all, much better than we are used to & probably good for a big score in the 40 overs at hand. Paul Voizey & Bill Speed made a slow but steady start against Roshan Perrera & French international Phil Martin. Martin bowled three consecutive maidens at the beginning of his spell but strangely, when he finally gave away a few runs, he also took wickets. He first bowled Voizey for 3 in his 4th over and then Martin Scott for a duck in his next over. At 19 for two off the first ten overs Euratom were struggling to make any headway. It was only when the deceptively fast Perrera was replaced by the more hittable Baroon that the score started to pick up. Bill Speed pushed the score along nicely with the help of Sumith Katunayake who soon put the new ball out of the park. When Martin finished his quota & new bowler Park started to go for more than 6 an over, hopes of a big score returned. But then Bill Speed slipped at the end of a quick run, painfully twisting his back. Called in by Maureen for some aroma-therapy, he was left sniffing daisies on all-fours & was replaced by the in-form batsman Tony Sample. He & Katunayake took Euratom to 120 by the 30th over, seeing off both Park & then Aussie star Jim "Blue Dog" Longley in the process. It was only the introduction of Pete "Wicket Wizard" Williams that brought the breakthrough for the French side. His strange Muralitharan-style throw to the vertical, followed by a liquorice all-sorts selection of deliveries, soon had the Ispresi in trouble. First Katunayake unwisely swept across the line to a straight one & succeeded only in trapping the ball with his pads. Then skipper Dai Berry swiftly reclaimed Mario Mallard from Martin Scott when he was completely flummoxed by a wide full-toss which swung in to clip his off stump. With a few good batsmen still in the bag, Euratom were still in with a shout until Tony Sample fell to the ground clutching his hamstring (again!). Although he batted on in pain for a few more overs, he was always struggling to reach the pitch of the ball & eventually hit a hard drive off Perrera straight to Williams at silly mid-off which was first parried & then caught. Sample was replaced by Nana Tawiah, the Ghanaian hard-man who has frequently guided Euratom to victory batting out with the tail. Unfortunately Tawiah lasted a scant 10 minutes before he too fell to the wiles of Williams for 1. Ashanta Fernando then managed just 4 before he was out L.B.W. to Roshan Perrera who bowled more accurately in his second spell. Seemingly unworried by the fate of the more senior batsmen, Graham Starost then set about the bowlers & cracked a couple of lovely fours before he was unlucky to be adjudged L.B.W. to Williams for 9 off a ball which apparently hit him first on the glove. Then Phil Cake managed a couple of well-struck twos & a single before he too was bowled by Williams. Desperate circumstances require desperate measures & Bill Speed confounded the nursing staff by rising from his death-bed to resume batting for the last wicket with son Jamie. Bill hit 4 more while Jamie managed 1 before being caught & bowled by Perrera. Thus the Euratom innings closed on 152, which looked to be about 100 runs light unless the Ispresi could bowl out of their skins. Admittedly the mat had proved more difficult to bat on than expected because it was very loose & moved about. Also the Cabris bowlers had a selection of odd actions to which the Italian batsmen failed miserably to adapt. Bottom line - Euratom didn't score enough runs! After a surprisingly understated lunch, the Euratom lads took the field again leaving Tony Sample to sit it out in the wings. The other wounded soldier, Bill Speed, fielded in pain but his mobility was obviously limited. Subs were kindly offered by the opposition & Pete Williams stopped a good few runs on the boundary. The Umpiring Course recently followed by the Cabris "Goats" was soon evident as the men at the crease were punctually informed each time a "new fielder" stepped over the boundary rope. Well, at least they were until one identical twin was replaced by his brother! Only the hair colour changed! Sumith Katunayake & Graham Starost opened the attack for Euratom in their familiar good policeman-bad policeman roles. Neither the fancied opener John "Bomber" Lancaster nor his partner Steve Dakin looked at all confident against Katunayake's pace & they played & missed frequently until Dakin was clean-bowled for 1 in the third over with score on just 6. Lancaster followed three overs later for 8 to a sharp catch in the slips by Katunayake off Graham Starost who was also causing the batsmen trouble with his awkward line & bounce. Next man in Weir could only manage a few overs before he too fell to Starost for 2, this time L.B.W. to one which pitched on leg-stump & straightened. Starost continued the good work & Dai Berry woke from his slumbers at second slip to shoot out a hand for a magnificent stop, although he was not quite able to hang on to it. But two overs later Fielder skied a ball straight back down the wicket which Sumith Katunayake plucked from the air just before colliding with the umpire & the incoming "Accra Express". The end result was 4 wickets down for only 45 runs & things looked encouraging for Euratom. But Ashanta Fernando seemed not to be bowling with his usual spark & the fall of Fielder's wicket brought together the Goats' most experienced batsmen Graham Kelsey & big-hitter Jim Longley. Neither was fooled by the selection of slower bowlers that the Euratom skipper brought on to try to break the deadlock and, while Kelsey milked the runs with some good footwork, Longley showed his all-round prowess with some big-hitting, splitting his aged weapon from splice to toe in the process. Neither Phil Cake, Dai Berry, Jamie Speed or Nana Tawiah could make any impression with the ball & the two Cabrisi quickly passed the Euratom total with more than 14 overs to spare, Longley finishing with a big six to take him to 97. Cabris were worthy winners by 6 wickets with plenty in reserve on a day when Euratom were definitely not at their best.
MOM: Graham Starost was the best bowler for Euratom with 3 for 31 off 8 overs & Sumith Katunayake scored plenty of runs, but Bill Speed must take the MOM for his resurrection to shore up the Ispra tail & carry his bat for 29 runs. Martin Scott passed Mario Mallard like a hot potato to Dai Berry & Ashanta Fernando gets the "Golden Banana" for juggling at length a relatively easy slip catch before dropping
v MONTE CARLO C.C. @ TAINO SUNDAY JUNE 23RD - 13.30 START - 40 OVERS In
place of the usual drenching reserved for the Monte Carlo visitors, this
turned out to be a sweltering afternoon at Taino. The overall strength
in depth of the 2002 Euratom squad was shown by the fact that, even with
several regulars in the sick-bay and four Sri Lankans unavailable, they
still had enough players to lend Stephen Dowell to the opposition &
have Tayyab Shamsi & his boys cheer them on from the stand. Given
that Monte Carlo are normally by no means unbeatable & had lost
their skipper in the close season, the Ispra lads took to the field
expecting a relatively easy game. But
it was not to be ! The skipper won the toss & elected to bat,
thinking to post a large total for the visitors to chase. But the
Ispresi soon discovered that Monte Carlo had recently recruited not only
several, exuberant young Australians but also P.J. Singh, a
talented all-rounder from Delhi who rather improbably plays for
the Sakhalin Club (see http://www.hiba-hokkaido.org/news1101.htm ) in
the Russian islands just north of Japan ! Aussie Gilbert Clark
opened up at pace for the Monegasques from the Reactor End but
Paul Voizey was still able to pick off some of the wider deliveries.
Graham Rogers wheeled away accurately from the other end and then
disaster struck for Euratom in Clark's second over when Tim Sangster was
adjudged to have left his foot in front of leg-stump as he moved out of
line. No alarm bells ringing though and new batsman Martin Scott looked
to be in good form when he hit a four off his first ball. He and Voizey
took the score to 28 before Rogers got one to keep low to bowl him for 5
in the eighth over. New bowler Earl Sorenson then proved to be the pick
of the Monte Carlo attack, bowling fast & straight. The last ball of
his first over shot low to bowl Voizey for 15. Over the next few overs
Shalan Chetty & Satia Dasarathan started to get to grips with the
bowlers, especially with Dillon who was very athletic but lacked
control. But then Chetty was given L.B.W. to Sorenson when he was a long
way down the track & in the next over Dasarathan clipped a wide
delivery from Dillon into Wyn Potter's waiting hands.
So
it was new contestants all round as Graham Starost & Dai Berry
squared up to P.J. Singh & the Monaco captain Nick Thomas. Singh
looked for all the world like a spinner but in fact he shot the ball
through low & straight & opened with a maiden. Thomas obviously
fancied Graham Starost's wicket & closed his field in tight but the
Euratom man, under orders from his skipper not to be diddled out, took
the wind out of his sails with a couple of healthy cracks back past the
bowler's head before he eventually hit one shorter to be caught by
Dillon at mid-on. With a modest 64 runs on the board, Dai Berry tried to
push the score along, only for a Singh shooter to clip the toe of his
bat & spin high away to be caught by leg-slip. With the
Euratom batsmen falling like flies, the Ispra side looked to be in
serious trouble. But Sumith Dias had other ideas & set about
dismantling the Monte Carlo attack. Singh soon had Nana Tawiah caught by
Stephen Dowell for a duck but he wisely took himself off after he saw
the first big six leave the powerful Sri Lankan's bat. Stephen Dowell
then conceded two more sixes in his first over & even the quicks,
Clark & Sorenson, who were brought back to mop up the tail, were hit
for one each. Dias was fast running out of partners and the Euratom
innings ended when first he was well caught by Gilbert Clark off
Sorenson for 37 & then the unlucky Dennis Wingrove got a fast
shooter on middle stump to be bowled next ball. Phil Cake ended on 1 Not
Out &, with only Paul Voizey & Sumith Dias reaching
double-figures, the Nelson on the new score-board looked a sorry sight
at the tea interval.
After the usual sumptuous spread provided by Angie Starost & Janice Cake (Dai brought the cucumber & washed the dishes), the teams retook the field at 4 p.m. in the oppressive afternoon heat. Euratom started better than they could have hoped. In his first outing of the season, Sumith Dias settled straight into the groove & clean-bowled Malcolm George for 2 in only his second over. From the Malpensa end Graham Starost bowled like clockwork & the Monte Carlo batsmen struggled to score off his deceptive line & bounce. He had Sorenson caught for a duck and after five overs had bowled four maidens, 1 for 1! Then, after 45 mins at the crease with only 1 to his name, Nick Thomas padded up to a shorter ball that straightened & he looked aggrieved to be given out L.B.W.
Sporting
contests are often a question of "match-ups" & the next
phase of this game saw Satia Dasarathan & Shalan Chetty not bowl to
their usual standards while Wyn Potter & P.J.Singh batted very
well against them. Both batsmen scored freely until a Dai Berry long-hop
had Potter caught by Sumith Dias for 22 on the square-leg boundary
trying to repeat the six of the previous ball. Graham Rogers could only
add 5 before Dias bowled him, then the Sri Lankan claimed Matt's wicket
as well two overs later, caught by Dai Berry for 1 at forward short-leg.
P.J. Singh & Gilbert Clark now pushed the Monte Carlo score steadily
towards the total & it was only the return of Chetty in his
second spell which broke the partnership, Singh clipping a ball
outside off-stump which was well taken by Paul Voizey in the slips. But
with Gilbert Clark still going strongly at one end it began to look as
though he only needed the tail-enders to stick with him & Monte
Carlo would have the game in the bag. Shalan Chetty soon removed Dillon
as well for 3 but when guest all-rounder Stephen Dowell came to
the crease at 8 wickets down, the writing seemed to be on the wall for
Euratom. With his last throw of the dice, skipper Dai Berry called on
Tim Sangster, who had been fretting in the wings, to perform the
miracle. And he did. Four balls, two wickets for no runs, the second
going to a remarkable full-length diving catch by 'keeper Nana Tawiah,
which left Monte Carlo with some very long faces at 12 short on 99 all
out. Amazing!
MOM:
Dai Berry was please to relinquish Mario Mallard to Nana Tawiah but he
only had one ball to admire the fluffy fowl before Dennis Wingrove took
over custody. The "Golden Banana" was also hotly contested by
Nana Tawiah & Shalan Chetty who both shelled sitters but the
Ghanaian Geordie atoned for his sins whilst keeping wicket to leave the
South African firmly holding the fruit in both hands. For once the MOM
is shared by three players who all made match-winning contributions.
Sumith Dias undoubtedly shone with his explosive 37 with the bat
and his 8 overs, 3 for 14 . Graham Starost also chipped in with a
valuable 7 runs and his 8 over spell of 2 wickets for 7 runs put
the opposition under pressure from which they never recovered. And Tim
Sangster must get a share - he only bowled four balls & took two
wickets.
v WETHERSFIELD C.C. @ TAINO " The John Powell Memorial Trophy" SATURDAY JULY 27TH - 13.00 START - 30 OVERS
On
another sweltering afternoon in Taino Jerry Wells' Wethersfield team
from Essex were matched against some of the "faces" from
Euratom's glorious past, mostly former team-mates of the sadly departed
John Powell.
By
agreement the visitors batted first & soon found themselves
struggling to score off the combination of a low, slow wicket & some
remarkably tight bowling. Simon Powell opened with a nice five overs for
just 12 runs, while from the other end George Nicol puffed in for a
tight few overs, Atul Patel putting away the only loose delivery for six.
Then the evergreen Tayyab Shamsi took over, bowling through the pain of
a broken finger suffered in the nets the previous evening. He
produced a couple more lean overs before Euratom regular Phil Cake took
up the attack. Soon one of his deceptive "dippers" had Patel
skying a ball which spun high away to square-leg where Neil Gibson did
well to hang on to it. Then, as Wethersfield looked to pick up the score
against the slow bowler, first Paul Jerram was well caught by the
elegant Hugh Eva & then Tayyab Shamsi at mid-off clung bravely on to
the end of a mighty blow from Howard Wright. Left-armer Pete Churchill
relieved Paul Voizey at the Malpensa end & his geriatric
run-up belied a pin-point precision of delivery which kept the batsmen
tied up for another couple of overs. But when Dave Holliday joined Jerry
Wells at the crease, neither batsman looked at all troubled by the
bowling & both made "Gentlemen's retirements" at a
suitable juncture.
Finally
the wickets started to come & old-stagers Martyn Dowell & Dai
Berry were happy to get stuck into the tail. In his first outing of the
season Dowell bowled fast & straight, getting his reward when Jon
Leary played all round one to lose his middle-stump for 1. At the other
end the skipper's bowling was a revelation. First he baffled Simon
Jennings with a well-flighted (sic) off-break which turned sharply onto
his off-stump. Next over both McCloud & John Pygram went to faster
yorkers & it was nearly a three-for when Simon Powell sprinted in
from the deep but couldn't quite hang on to a diving catch. But
finally Dai Berry exacted revenge on Sampford, who had hit his loosener
away for six, when Moreno " Iron Gloves" Dalla Val took a
sharp catch behind the stumps a few inches off the deck. Wells
& Holliday came back in to bat out the overs & were easily the
top-scorers for the tourists with 31 & 38 respectively. Wethersfield
closed on 145 for 9 off their 30 overs, by no means a massive total but
probably a tall order for Euratom's "Golden Oldies".
After
tea Paul Voizey opened for Ispra with Martyn Dowell & both were
going well against medium-pacers Wright & McCloud until Dowell
missed the last ball of Wright's fourth over to be sent back for 10. His
replacement, Neil Gibson, showed no signs of ring-rustiness &
started to spread the field with some cracking shots. Then, with the
change of bowler, Voizey hooked a head-high beamer from Holliday for a
Botham-esque four, but the heat was beginning to take its toll &
soon he played a tired shot to the last ball of the over to be bowled
for 19. Gibson was joined by George Nicol who is better known for his
prowess with a Big Bertha than with the Gray-Nichols, but the Celtic man
soon had the home crowd on its feet with a series of beautiful
boundaries. As a result the scoring-rate took a dramatic leap until
Gibson misjudged a slower ball from first-change Atul Patel to be bowled
for 7. At this point Hugh Eva came to the crease & proceeded to
excite the spectators with a series of stylish swipes without ever
actually making contact with the ball. Finally he did manage a two but
then lifted the last ball of Jerry Wells' first over straight back to a
grateful fielder. Simon Powell, who had already bowled well, now showed
his class with the bat as well. Some elegant shots, pushes & drives
for singles & twos, but he was kicking himself when he missed a
straight one from Leary just as he was getting settled. At the other end
Dai Berry also looked set for some runs & surprised the opposition
with a one-handed drive which flew over mid-on to the boundary. But a
couple of overs later, straight after nearly blowing a hole in silly
mid-on, he naively played the same shot again & was caught for just
9. Pete Churchill had come in at the other end to replace Simon Powell
but he & Phil Cake could only put on a few more before Churchill was
run out. Cake & Tayyab Shamsi batted out the last couple of overs
without loss & the Ispresi finished on the second Nelson in
consecutive games since the appearance of the new scoreboard, 34 runs
short but a good all-round performance from the veterans.
MOM:
In the circumstances it would be ungracious to award a
"Golden Banana", but it must be noted that George Nicol was
reported to the match referee for "inappropriate footwear"
& was fined half his match-fee. By contrast Hugh Eva looked stunning
in the collar-less shirt & battered Panama that he got married in,
although he too was later ticked off by Mrs E for dirtying his flannels.
For his spirited performance with the bat George Nicol shared the MOM
with Dai Berry who surprised everyone again by taking 4 wickets for 16
in four overs. ********************************** Dani Powell made a short & very moving speech before presenting the trophy to Jerry Wells who replied on behalf of Wethersfield. Euratom President Martyn Dowell thanked everyone involved for making the day such a success & a fitting tribute to John Powell.
v WETHERSFIELD C.C. @ TAINO SUNDAY JULY 28th - 11.00 START - 35 OVERS Less humidity & a gentle breeze made this slightly more pleasant than the previous day but the earlier start meant playing through the heat of the mid-day sun. As they say, "mad dogs & Englishmen...."! A much stronger team of many of the Euratom First XI hoped to take revenge & put the Essex men to sword. Strange how things turn out ! Jerry Wells won the toss & put the Ispresi in to bat. Howard Wright & Chris McCloud steamed in for the first ten overs & restricted Paul Voizey & Stephen Dowell to only 26 runs. Although they managed to pick up the pace a bit when Michael Townrow & Atul Patel took over the attack, it was still not fast enough & the skipper sent out instructions to open up. Inevitably Stephen Dowell fell L.B.W. next ball to Patel for a very solid 28 & was replaced by Shalan Chetty. The Durban man looked to be in good form & keen for a big score after some frustrations in previous games. But after facing a series of wides from Atul Patel at one end, he then smashed a shorter ball from Townrow to square-leg, only to be brilliantly caught turf-high by Patel. Then in Patel's next over Paul Voizey hit a powerful boundary, only to be caught next ball by Chris McCloud for 15. Next the promoted Moreno Dalla Val failed to trouble the scorer but when big-gun Tim Sangster strode to the crease the crowd expected fireworks. But Sangster seemed strangely out of touch & unusually tried to pull everything to leg. When he played over a regulation delivery on middle-stump, it started to look as though Euratom would need some big scores from the rest of the shed if they were going to make a game of it. But everyone seemed to be jinxed & played elegantly, only to get out cheaply. Nana Tawiah was caught for 1, Simon Powell caught for 2, Phil Cake was caught off Townrow to claim Mario Mallard & then promising new recruit Jeremy Clarke could manage only 2 before being clean bowled. Only Satia Dasarathan seemed to have his eye in & proceeded to dispatch the ball to all parts. But by the time he was joined by the skipper at last man it was all too late for Ispra. Dai Berry was welcomed to the crease with a fast beamer headed for his temple which he clipped away to the rope at the last moment to sighs of relief from both sides alike. Dasarathan managed a couple more fours before he was eventually caught on the square-leg boundary off the bottom of his bat in the 28th over. All in all a very lack-lustre performance from the Euratom batsmen & barring miracles the 92 runs on the board would certainly not be enough to trouble the tourists. Any thoughts that the Euratom front-line bowlers might make more of an impression on the opposition than the previous day's part-timers were sadly mistaken. In fact the opposite was true & where the Essex batsmen had struggled to time the ball off the slower bowlers, they fared much better against the regular bowlers because the ball came onto the bat. This was probably most true of Jeremy Clarke who looked more like a real fast bowler than anyone who has ever played for Euratom, but who suffered most at the hands of the batsmen ! Shalan Chetty & Satia Dasarathan also bowled well for scant reward. The classy Kingsley Raffael put on an effortless 25 before going L.B.W. to Stephen Dowell, while fellow opener Atul Patel played much more confidently throughout the innings & scored a powerful 35 before sending Dai Berry's second delivery spinning high in the air to backward short-leg off the toe of his bat in the 18th over. Suddenly a few wickets started to fall & first Simon Powell ran out Holliday for 7, then he bowled a very tidy four overs for 18 runs .Dai Berry also had Rob Lambert caught for a duck but at the other end Paul Jerram looked very solid. Fittingly it was former Euratom President Jerry Wells who came to the crease to knock off the winnings runs with a crisply executed four flicked to the square-leg boundary off his toes. If only he had batted like that when he played for us ! !
All
in all an easy victory in only 27 overs for the tourists & a rather
disappointing performance by the Ispresi, possibly due to the rather
special atmosphere of the week-end & a lack of concentration &
application with the bat.
v IDLE C.C. @ TAINO
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 7th
-
12.00 START
-
35 OVERS
v MONTE CARLO C.C. @ LEVENS SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 29th - 12.00 START - 35 OVERS
One
of those trips on which nothing seemed to go quite according to plan!
As a combined side with the lads from Idle C.C., the original party for
the games on Saturday & Sunday looked to number nearly 20. But just
as the skipper started to do some mental juggling with team selection to
keep all the players & shoppers happy, the "virtual team"
rapidly became "virtually non-existent" with a series of novel
excuses. Further, the opposition happened to mention in passing that
there was no chance of them honouring the Saturday fixture in any case!
On a day when there were no reserves to be found as several of the First
XI players & all the U/15s were involved in a Federation
tournament in Milan, the nine men & a dog that finally arrived
in France bore little resemblance to the proud Expeditionary Force that
should have gone to sweep all before them. To make life even more
complicated, the usual hostelries in Levens couldn't rustle up a
palliasse between them due to a series of urgent marriages.
Amazingly the 86-bed Villages Hotel in Nice was also chokka. All turned
out for the best though as Chez Michel down the road in
Castagniers had beds & a better restaurant and the whole village
seemed to have turned out for its annual chestnut & absinthe bash.
But,
as Saturday evening's festivities drew to a close, it became obvious
that all was not well in the skipper's mighty frame. Strangely it was
neither the local cordial nor the plate of pâtes champignons
which was to lay him low, but rather a nasty little ‘flu bug
which left him aching & exhausted the next morning. In this
feeble state he was in no condition to query what was possibly the best
explanation a player has ever produced for not turning up for a
game….. "He never left Trinidad !" . Somehow nothing further
could be said, although in retrospect it wasn't really a very good
excuse. And so, by kind agreement of the Monte Carlo skipper,
" Kevin the Young Frog" (no, not Kermit’s nephew) put on a
Euratom shirt & the game got under way on a numerically reduced but
even basis.
************************************************** At this point events become blurred as the shared score-book still hasn’t found it’s way to to Ispra. Suffice it to say that we probably all played brilliantly but lost. The Monegasques batted first & scored about 125. As usual the Euratom openers then stumbled towards the target until Dai Berry & Satia Dasarathan took the sword to the bowling further down the order. Monte Carlo were starting to look worried until Dai got a fast shooter from Nick Thomas on middle stump. Satia then ran out of partners & Euratom closed about 25 runs short. Þ ………………… to be completed in due course!.
v
IDLE C.C. @
"The Radish" LODI
SUNDAY
OCTOBER 6th
-
12.00 START
-
35 OVERS
On
this foggy morning a selection of Euratom's finest trekked through the
paddy-fields south of Milan to finally do battle with local rivals Idle
C.C. at their "Radish" ground next to the river Adda in Lodi.
As a pale sun struggled to warm the hearts, the skipper lost the toss
& was asked to bowl. "I wanted to bat second anyway "he
said" because the sun will break through & the outfield will
dry out". Some hope! In fact it never really got any brighter
& by four in the afternoon an autumnal gloom had settled over the
Euratom innings which was languishing in the doldrums. Vic Riccaboni & Claudio Gendarini opened for Idle & to the satisfaction of the Euratom skipper pushed along at a very modest 3 an over for the first 12 overs against some tight bowling from first Satia Dasarathan & Jeremy Clarke & then from Nana Tawiah & a rejuvenated Chris Coldwell. Then ,with his first ball in senior cricket, the young David Coldwell had Gendarini well caught by Jamie Speed at mid-on for 17, and two overs later he also dismissed Riccaboni for 24. Smelling blood Dai Berry quickly had the hapless Tommy Svensson caught behind for a duck by Paul Voizey & Jamie Speed fooled Hans Knupfer with a series of wides followed by a straight one! Thus ,despite Euratom's best efforts to keep danger-man Naseer in the hutch for as long as possible, the big-hitter was now at the crease.
So
much for the prelude ! The real contest started now with Galperti &
Naseer facing the might of Che Smit & Shalan Chetty who had been
held in reserve for this very moment. While Smit took out Galperti for 5
& Chetty dismissed both Skibinski & Paolo Riccaboni for 1
each, at the other end Naseer gave it the long handle, seemingly
untroubled by the quality of the bowling. As his partners continued to
fall by the wayside he rapidly pushed the Idle score to 124 until Shalan
Chetty took an outstanding low return catch off his own bowling in the
28th over to finally send him back for 38. Che Smit's slow (sic !)
off-break was too good for Rob Hasson but Joe Torti & Mario
Martinoli hung around for the last 4 overs to take the final score to
138 for 9. For a Euratom side packed with talented batsmen, the asking rate looked to be well within their capabilities. But the Idle bowlers had read a different script & they all bowled very accurately, Vic Riccaboni being particularly difficult to play off the normally reliable Lodi mat which for some reason had developed unpredictable bounce & variable speed. A sticky dog in the fog! All the Ispresi seemed to bat in a trance & even the talented Che Smit seemed a little out of touch. Bill Speed & Paul Voizey opened steadily until the much improved Joe Torti first bowled Speed for 7 in his fifth over & then Voizey for 11 two overs later. With Che Smit & Satia Dasarathan at the crease the scoring rate should have picked up, but some good bowling from Naseer & Rob Hasson kept them pegged back until Naseer bowled Dasarathan for only 5 in the 18th over. Even at this stage Euratom were well up with the run rate &, after a brief cameo by David Coldwell, Shalan Chetty joined Smit in the middle & Euratom started to steadily pick up the runs required. Even when Naseer finally bowled Smit for 46 in the 26th over with the score on 97, Euratom still looked to have plenty of overs & batsmen in the bag to be able to coast to victory. But where Idle had accelerated at the end of their innings, Euratom struggled to keep up the pace & wickets started to tumble as batsmen were suddenly looking for quick runs. First Chetty went to a good catch by Paolo Riccaboni & then both Dai Berry & Nana Tawiah failed to trouble the scorer & were caught in the space of an over. With Jamie Speed batting steadily at one end, Jeremy Clarke took on the big-hitting & started to turn the game round again with some lusty blows before going for 9 to a great catch by Naseer on the mid-on boundary off the bowling of Hans Knupfer. With less than two overs remaining Chris Coldwell then produced a magnificent last-minute charge for the line, including four lung-busting twos in quick succession & a four off Skibinski's unpredictable bowling. But in a disappointing end to the 2003 season, Euratom fell just one run short of the Idle total in what should have been a relatively easy victory.
MOM: Dai Berry & Nana Tawiah probably deserve the Golden Banana for their brace of ducks when they should have clinched the result for Gli Ispresi. Che Smit as usual was the outstanding player for Euratom but on the day he seemed to be a bit below par & definitely lost the psychological battle with his opposite number Naseer. The MOM is shared by Chris & David Coldwell for their all-round performances with bat & ball.
|
