A game of cricket can contain a multitude of narratives.
And so it is that although this is a report on the Horizontals’
second match of the 2010 season, a home fixture against Isambard
C.C., one aspect of the day’s events requires me to begin
with a folktale-style prologue;
Once upon a time, many
years ago, there was a young cricketer who knew nothing of pain.
He never even bothered with a box, which he considered an unnecessarily
pessimistic precaution. But one morning, before setting out for
a game, he experienced a sudden twinge of foreboding. He grabbed
his box from the mantelpiece, where it had laid gathering dust since
the day he bought it, and he wore it that day as he strode out to
bat. The bowler he faced was a left-hander. The first ball pitched
outside the line, but then cut back sharply, slamming like a sledgehammer
into the batsman’s groin. Doubled up on the ground, writhing
in agony despite the protection of the never-again-to-be-neglected
box, he determined to learn his lesson. Next delivery, however,
exactly the same thing happened, and down went the batsman once
again, clutching his unmentionables. And the third delivery? Alas,
it bowled him. As he limped from the field, he knew that from that
day forth he would consider the facing of left-arm bowling to be
nothing less than an almighty pain in the balls. The young batsman’s
name was Ian Porton. More of whom, later…
Back in 2010, on a day that mixed cloud with sunshine, a strong
Horizontals line-up prepared to face Isambard, a team that had outplayed
them on several previous occasions. Losing the toss, skipper Chris
Willcock was asked to field. Amit Shanker and Matt Webster opened
the bowling. A fiery spell from Amit put paid to batsmen 2 and 3,
both of them bowled out, while Matt and wicketkeeper Stivin Bordin
combined to dismiss the more obdurate opener, caught behind for
17. David Scally and Jimmy Carter bowled first change. David applied
a stranglehold on the visitors, stifling the scoring, while at the
other end Jimmy produced a series of wickedly deceptive deliveries,
which brought him his first two wickets for the Horizontals, both
bowled. Chris brought himself on and produced an aggressive first
over that proved the downfall of the dangerous-looking number 4
batsman, who became Stivin’s second victim when he nicked
a rising ball, comfortably taken behind the stumps. With five wickets
down, Isambard had made 43 runs. This brought their captain, D.
Bywater, to the crease. Bywater, a genial Aussie, appeared sporting
a cork-strung bush hat; a gesture layered in irony and open to a
variety of interpretations. He proceeded to play with an air of
nonchalant ease that did nothing to disguise his high-class ability
with the bat, and he top scored for Isambard with 56. He was finally
caught and bowled by Rob McCleod, whose spell of spin had born the
brunt of Bywater’s punishing stroke play. A lower order retrenchment
yielded more runs for the visitors, but Amit’s second spell
with the ball broke the productive eighth wicket stand, with the
score on 146. Simon Bowett was brought on at the end of the innings
but had little time to make an impact. When the 40 overs were up,
Isambard’s total stood at 166 for 8.
The Horizontals took tea in an optimistic mood, but were aware that
a victory would be no easy matter. Ian Porton and Richard Burgess
opened the batting. Richard, continuing the aggressive form he’d
displayed in North London the previous week, clubbed the ball away
with aplomb. But even he was startled by the passion with which
his batting partner proceeded to attack the bowling. As it turned
out, Isambard’s opening pair consisted of two left arm bowlers.
This triggered something elemental in the Horizontals’ number
two batsman. Watched by his teammates on the boundary rope with
a mixture of admiration and bemusement, Ian, enveloped in an almost
visible red mist, proceeded to flay the ball to all points of the
compass. He raced to 48 in less than 9 overs batting, with eight
4s and a 6 to his name before he was caught off a skier. It wasn’t
until later, in the bar after the game, that Ian explained the historical
background to this extraordinary innings.
If Ian’s thunder and lightening stroke play had shaken the
opposition’s nerve, it was Richard’s performance with
the bat that well and truly put the result beyond them. Combining
power with solidity and determination, the Horizontals vice-captain
didn’t allow the run scoring to slacken even for a moment.
Amit joined him in the middle and together they’d pushed the
total to over a hundred runs by the 15th over. Richard reached his
half-century shortly after, and went on to post a match-winning
59 runs, a score that included twelve 4s, before being caught behind
off a faint edge. Just 2 overs later, Amit, who had accrued a characteristically
imperious 42 not out, and Stivin, playing a brief batting cameo
and unbeaten on 4, overhauled the Isambard total. The chase had
taken less than 21 overs to complete. The Horizontals won the game
by eight wickets.
