Beneath the clearest of blue skies, undisturbed by
a single vapour trail, the Horizontals convened for the earliest
opening fixture anyone could remember, and the first for some years
not written off by rain. The team were a man short. Unfortunately,
that man was Amit Shanker, stranded in Scandinavia by a cloud of
volcanic dust hanging over Europe. It’s not often you get
to write that in a match report. Strange days indeed…
The Railway Taverners were entertaining the Walthamstow Horizontals
at North London. Richard Burgess, skippering the visitors, won the
toss and put the opposition in to bat. Matt Webster and Arif Qawi
opened the bowling, Matt thundering down the slope and Arif pounding
up it. But the Taverners opening pair held firm. It wasn’t
until the deployment of the first change bowlers – Craig Murray
and Glenn Winteringham – that a breakthrough occurred. By
the time drinks were taken at 20 overs the home side were three
wickets down, two to Glenn – one bowled, and the other a catch,
magnificently taken by Richard Burgess running in at full throttle
from around mid-wicket – and one to Craig, a sharp chance
well held by wicket keeper Stivin Bordin. Unfortunately for the
Horizontals their three wickets had already cost them 111 runs.
The innings resumed and the Taverners began to build on their already
impressive total. The Horizontals fielded as if short of more than
one player, and the batsmen found the gaps with what was, for the
visitors, depressing regularity. Richard rang the changes, bringing
on Rob Mcleod and Jimmy Carter, the latter being one of two players
making their debut as Horizontals that day. Both Matt and Arif returned
for a second spell, but of these four bowlers, only Arif gained
any reward, a stumping achieved when the batsman went on the charge
in an effort to force the pace of the scoring. Meanwhile, Glenn
continued to take wickets, snaffling up a caught and bowled chance
fired hard into his midriff by top scoring Taverner Rose (71), and
trapping Parr lbw. He completed his five wicket haul by bowling
the number 6 batsman, Pirongs; a fine achievement in an otherwise
frustrating Horizontals performance with the ball. The Taverners
made a total of 239, of which 23 were extras.
North London Cricket Club has had a new kitchen put in, and an alternative
tea regime now holds sway. Generous helpings, of a substantial nature,
were on offer, catering for a range of dietary requirements. Here
was an unusually mature style of provisioning when compared to the
conventional ‘boy’s birthday tea’ approach (not
that I’m against the jam tarts and lemon drizzle cake type
fare – far from it – but I say the season has room for
both approaches).
After the break, the Horizontals began their reply. Chasing 239
was not going to be easy, but with the short boundaries to exploit
and some big-hitters in the team, it was by no means an impossibility.
Richard and Arif opened the batting and made a solid start. Richard
looked in good form, thrashing the ball to the boundary and, in
one instance, well over it. But when he was out, caught behind for
24, it left the Horizontals looking to renew their impetus. Keiran
Beteley was next in, playing his first game as a Horizontal. He
had already impressed his team mates by sporting a natty jacket.
Now he smacked his first ball straight back up the hill for a boundary.
Sadly for the Horizontals, he was bowled soon after. This brought
the reliable Stivin Bordin to the crease. He set about building
the highest Horizontal batting score of the day, with 47. After
Arif was out, lbw for 19, Stivin was joined by Matt, and then by
Glenn. The required scoring rate was growing apace, but with Glenn
batting there was still a chance that the Horizontals could turn
things around. He made a good start, but was bowled for 14, so ending
any realistic chances the visitors had of winning the game. When
Craig Murray and Tom Bloor both perished in quick succession –
Craig lbw, Tom run out – and with Stivin bowled soon after
that, it looked as if the Horizontals were facing a crushing defeat.
They were 125 for 8, only one wicket remaining, and well over a
hundred runs behind with just 9 overs left. However, the Tavereners
skipper decided to take the opportunity to give his occasional bowlers
the chance to wrap things up. With the last pair, Jimmy Carter and
Rob Mcleod, batting with nothing left to lose, the result turned
into carnage. Richard, recording the score at the boundary rope,
had already noticed a curious cloud of yellow mist hanging over
the outfield, like mustard gas over Flanders in 1916. This was,
in fact, birch pollen. But the barrage of howitzer-like shots Rob
was now playing looked capable of causing real injury, and had the
Horizontals’ skipper scrambling for cover on at least two
occasions. Rob hit a couple of huge sixes, a plethora of fours,
and numerous singles that kept the strike rotating. Jimmy was equally
destructive, clubbing the ball to the boundary with ever-increasing
confidence. They stormed through the remaining overs, to finish
undefeated on 40 and 30 runs respectively, taking the total from
125 to a very respectable 205, with a record-breaking ninth wicket
stand of 80 runs. Both sides therefore had reason to be cheerful
at the end of the game; the Taverners for what was, in truth, a
comprehensive victory, and the Horizontals for the notable achievements
of a number of individuals.
