Hill looked to bounce back from a disappointing result last time out against the league leaders. Having secured the use of Gibraltar Rec for the afternoon, they hoped to make the most of a change of scenery to get their league campaign back on track. The visitors, with an umpire in tow, lost the toss and Chipperton elected to bowl first – hoping Hill had more success in navigating the run chance this time around!
Mackay and Subramanium were tossed the new ball and looked to make an early breakthrough. Some expansive early driving and the latter being castigated by the umpire for failing to hand deliver him his cap resulted in a shuffling of the pack; the captain brought himself on at one end and last week’s hero Smith on from the other. The move paid dividends as the pair both struck early into their respective spells. Hopkins Snr – no doubt looking to set an appropriate example for his debuting son – took a catch at midwicket from Chipperton and Smith dismissed the danger man after trapping him LBW.
Another debutant – Samadh – claimed a first wicket for the club, after the obligatory right of passage: bowling a wide on his first delivery. His wicket was richly deserved after throwing himself around in the field with no regard to his well being. The wickets continued to fall at regular intervals as Hill pegged back the visitors after they had made a promising start. Smith was in on the action once again after claiming another LBW victim and had a third scalp when Chipperton held onto a catch on the leg-side boundary. He might have gone on to claim another wicket, but managed to injure himself in some over-exuberant fielding. Newly incapacitated, he faced the choice of joining his peers on the bowling green or soldiering on in the field.
Fortunately for Hill, Smith opted for the latter option (more on this to follow). Chippeton’s second spell helped to turn the tide of the innings as he struck 3 times in his final 3 overs. Either side of clean bowling two victims, he claimed a classic spinner’s wicket by finding the edge and the safe hands of Smith at first slip (yes, you did just read that correctly!). The visitors’ innings was prematurely ended inside 32 overs when Aynsley-Smith made use of Hill’s newest slip specialist and Subramanium wrapped up proceedings with a well-placed yorker.
Bawn and Chipperton took to the crease with a total of 140 required – an increase on last week’s total and by no means a given. The youthful visiting attack bowled with control and restricted the hosts in the early stages; their efforts were eventually rewarded when Bawn was caught behind and SDL Division 4’s top run scorer entered the fray. An early pad-rattler, coupled with the opposition-supplied umpire, made for a nervy couple of seconds in which Hill feared the worse – after all, we had all seen this script on previous outings. However, the dreaded finger never materialised and Hill went on to consolidate their position.
In an unusual role as supporting act, Mackay played himself in, whilst Chipperton assumed the role of aggressor and seized the initiative. Hill raced to 64 from their opening 14 overs before the captain – heretofore untroubled – pulled a rank longhop straight to square leg and trudged off for a well-made 42 – straight out of the Nacmansom wicket archive. Vithlani was the next man at the crease and, armed with someone else’s contact lenses, he looked to continue the brisk start to the innings.
The new partnership continued to play sensible cricket and punish any errant deliveries on what was proving to be a decent track and lightning outfield. In the end, Hill chased down the required total with 15 overs and 8 wickets to spare. Despite unconvincingly claiming he “was not bothered” about another personal landmark, Mackay showcased precise counting and running skills to ensure that he could bring up the winning runs and a half century to boot. He was ably supported by Vithlani who also scored briskly and ensured that the palpitations of last week’s chase were a distant memory,
Hill performed admirably in all 3 departments to claim a convincing win. Two pleasing debuts made it all the more rewarding!
Player of the match – Sponsored by Nicholls Residential = Will Chipperton
Park Hill Cricket Club 