|
Late summer sunshine - enough breeze to ruffle the scorebook - perfect weather for taking on our old foes Abdul Aziz.
We lose the toss and are told to field - which eventually we do as the latecomers straggle in. Danish takes an early wicket - but the runs accumulate - 26-1 after the first five. Laurence Worms is brought on to test out his injured shoulder and flukes a wicket - a fine catch midway back by Khalid as the dangerous-looking Rowlands chases a wide one. But it's an expensive experiment and although Jey takes another good catch to dismiss Rosoman off Khalid, Abdul have notched up 70-3 after ten overs.
Young Laurence Bruggeman comes on to exert some control and quickly takes Jones leg before. It's 99-4. But the runs keep coming - 110-4 off fifteen and with Lavers looking to hit hard and straight we seem to be facing a big score. But then the match turns - a couple of sparkling run-outs - Ravi belatedly coming on to bowl - Danish coming back to end the dogged resistance of Graydon - and Abdul Aziz subside to 156 all out.
An excellent, generous (and very fresh) tea from Mike and the President's men step out into the lengthening shadows of late summmer to see what they can do. Danish and Jey help themselves to twenty-eight off the first three overs, but the bowlers then settle to their work and the runs dry up. Fourteen dot-balls in a row and Jey falls to Graydon.
We eventually put the fifty up in the eleventh over - Danish looking solid but quiet - Mike looking troubled but determined. At sixty-two Danish is unexpectedly bowled by Lavers, who then scoops up Khalid cheaply. It's 70-3 at the end of the fifteenth over - eighty-seven still needed - but plenty of time.
Praba comes in and quickly spanks three fours - but perishes in the deep looking for another - 84-4 after seventeen. Laurence Bruggemann emerges to see what he can do - and soon hits three successive fours to bring up the hundred. And then the innings once again becomes becalmed - just twelve come from the next five overs. Mike finally departs with the score on 120 - a less than fluid but hard-fought thirty-one from him. Thirty-seven still needed and our big scorers all gone. Just one scored from the next over - 122-5 with ten overs to go.
Raheel makes nine but is bowled by the nagging and economical Raymond - 133-6 with eight overs to go - but we're playing ten-a-side so just three wickets in hand. Just a single from the next over. The tension is broken as Laurence B. takes two fours off the previously impeccable Raymond. A single to Ravi - a two and and a four to Laurence off Bob Burroughs - the 150 comes up in the thirtieth over. But then a maiden to Raymond. We inch to 155 with a couple of wides and a single off the next over. Just a wide from the next over to bring the scores level. Dot-ball, dot-ball, dot-ball, dot-ball, dot-ball. We've scored just one from the bat off the last twenty-four balls.
The sigh of relief as Ravi swipes a single of the last ball of the thirty-fourth over to bring the win can be heard all over South London. Well played the Presidents - a nail-biting win to finish the season - and especially well-played Laurence Bruggemann - his unbeaten thirty-one has nudged us home.
|
