Notes of linseed oil and buried, dormant meal deals left to fester in cricket bags wafted across the vibrant green pitches at Old Haileyburians on the official curtain raiser of the season. It was unnervingly simple to cobble together an 11 for the day (Spond was an inspired call), and debutant Simcox was a welcome new addition to the ranks and another cricket enthusiast returning to the game after of almost a decade’s hiatus…hopefully the afternoon wouldn’t persuade him to leave it another 10 years until the next outing!
Hill were inserted following the rather bold call to bat first on a damp track. The Jones’ were charged with spearheading the attack and both bowled controlled opening spells that limited the hosts to scraps. The young pretender was soon put in his place as Jones Snr cleaned up the first opener. Simcox was introduced as first change and, in time honoured fashion, got his Hill bowling career off to the greatest possible start with a wide!
A defiant second-wicket partnership steadied the ship for Ewell, but the next breakthrough was provided from Mackay, courtesy of a juggling trick from Vithalani at cover. Chipperton got in on the action shortly after and got one through the new batsman’s defences. Mackay’s tail was clearly up, like a vegan let loose in the food section at Pets at Home, and he sensed blood – or whatever the vegan equivalent is. A second wicket was quickly followed by a third and fourth, setting up a hat trick ball.
The final four wickets were shared around as the hosts started to run out of momentum. Rolfe, unconcerned by a fielding injury sustained in the opening over, claimed his first wicket for the club following Chipperton’s sprawling catch. Jones Snr returned for a second spell and claimed another wicket of his own, in addition to capitalising on a calamitous run out. This left Jones Jnr to clean up the tail – he obliged emphatically and Ewell’s innings was curtailed prematurely with a total of 119.
Conditions were not easy for batting and the sudden plummeting temperature hardly helped matters. Father and son due Stupples and Jeavons took to the crease with as many layers as they could lay their hands on. Jeavons fell as he looked to up the scoring and Radcox sauntered out to the crease. With the additional pressures of having his brother watching on from the sidelines, he fell soon after getting off the mark.
Srivastava, fresh from a couple of months in balmy India, was admittedly caught unawares by an errant straight ball and promptly departed without troubling the scorers. Mackay was the next man in and he looked to be the aggressor, with Stupples keeping things ticking over. Both players managed to apply pressure and find boundaries at regular intervals, as Hill looked to stay above the required rate.
Hilll’s progress was checked when they lost Mackay and Stupples in quick succession. Both had looked in good touch on the eve of the league season, but VIthalani managed to steady the ship and chip away at Ewell’s total. His timely innings was eventually halted, as he looked to bring up the victory with a single lusty blow. This meant Chipperton and Rolfe were charged with seeing Hill over the line in the final couple of overs; they managed to do so with one ball to spare and Park Hill ensured they made a winning start to the 2024 season!
Player of the match – Sponsored by Nicholls Residential = Chirag Vithalani
Park Hill Cricket Club 