With 8 players in situ at the time of the toss and at least one sat in stationary M25 traffic, Chipperton was relieved to see the hosts tasked with deciding their fate on a spongey track. A quick update on the group chat appeared in the time it took the captains to trudge to the middle: the stationary M25 traffic had developed into the closing of that section of the motorway…”We’ll have a bat” was the unsurprising response of the home skipper, gleefully eying Hill’s 8 fielders and Aynsley-Smith’s immaculately behaved dog. Surely the fixture could not replicate the final ball drama of last season’s thriller?
Jones Jnr led the new ball charge and troubled both batsmen without making inroads; a few errant swipes sailed over the slip cordon. Similarly, Mackay got the ball to shape nicely but was unable to find the edge from the other end. The home side escaped the loss of the opening wicket until the introduction of a heretofore wicketless Ransom. The introduction of spin immediately yielded a result as his loosener – a juicy full toss – enticed a back-breaking slog which connected with thin air and dislodged the bail balanced precariously above the off-stump. Lightning struck twice as a near replica delivery resulted in the bemused captain trudging off having suffered the same ignominious end. Ransom’s third victim succumbed to a more customary delivery that bamboozled the batsman and pegged the hosts back to 37-3. Ransom got his fourth courtesy of a catch from a back-pedalling Rolf in the covers. Like London buses…a frustrating wicketless start to the season long forgotten!
The fifth-wicket partnership steadied the ship somewhat as Chipperton, Subramanium and Aynsley-Smith struggled to break their resistance. Hill’s frustrations were amplified by several visits to the surrounding wilderness to retrieve a sodden ball. However, it’s not often that you can say you’ve played on a pitch with WW2 air raid shelters serving as a site-screen! Chipperton eventually made the breakthrough, trapping the batsman LBW. Jones Jnr was reintroduced into the attack and struck shortly after, comprehensively bowling the new man. He got his second wicket of the afternoon as Hopkins – who eventually managed to overcome the M25 traffic – took the catch. With wickets in tow and the pitch drying out in the windy weather, Oxted looked to up the ante in the final overs and did manage to accelerate the run rate in the closing stages, not before Stupples claimed a stumping from Aynsley-Smith to leave them 8 down.
Stupples, after being reduced to a watching berth in his only other outing of the season, went out to bat with Chipperton as Hill plumped for a ‘gun middle order’ in the form of Mackay and Ransom at 6 and 7. The former cited back problems as the cause for his elected demotion – perhaps the symptom of carrying Hill’s batting in previous seasons?
The opening pair sensibly set about appraising the conditions, but also looked to punish wayward deliveries. They managed this brief for the first few overs until Stupples attempted to pull a delivery that kept low and indavertently deflected the ball onto his own stumps. Srivastava was promoted to number 3 and he arrived full of confidence following a good knock on Sunday’s fixture. The pair soon passed the 50 mark as boundaries followed fairly regularly, although both lived charmed lives at times and benefited from slip cordon juggling. Chipperton eventually used up his lives and steered the ball to point, having been peppered on the glove and forearm in previous deliveries.
Newcomen was the newcomer to the middle as the run chase was roughly on track. The new partnership continued to eat into the deficit until they both fell in quick succession. With 100 runs required and 20 overs to go, Hill’s chase had meandered along and meant the middle order would need to pick up the pace. Ransom played the role of aggressor and Mackay the supporting act. Boundaries followed at regular intervals and the WinViz made for positive reading with them at the crease. Right on cue, a subdued Mackay fell with Hill 40 runs shy of the required target for a (by his exacting standards) glacially paced 15. The mild groans of the Hill players developed into full blown winces when Ransom’s better than run-a-ball 41 came to an abrupt halt with 5 overs remaining and roughly one-per-ball required.
Hopkins had his eye in by the time Rolfe arrived at the crease, following Ransom’s dismissal having helped move the total to 160. A nail-biting finale ensued and, somewhat inevitably, Hill still needed 5 to win from the final over! Cometh the hour, cometh the man! Hopkins crowned his vital cameo (24 from 22) by hitting the winning runs! Revenge for last year’s final ball loss and 4 wins from 4 league games!
Player of the match – Sponsored by Nicholls Residential = Elliot Ransom
Park Hill Cricket Club 