After some mid-week Spond Hokey Cokey – during which Hill oscillated between 13 and 9 players – the match day XI was eventually confirmed by 10:45 ahead of what could have been a banana-skin cup tie at Tadworth. With a smattering of big names such as Mackay (coincidently triggered at the earliest opportunity at Tadworth last season) juggling family commitments, and Ransom attending a domestic violence course (AKA Chris Brown ‘live’ in concert), Hill owed much to Hunt and Simcox for sweeping in at the last minute to save the day.
With 9 players available at the toss, tails fortunately didn’t fail and the captain elected to bat, with the supposed 34°C heat in the late afternoon another contributing factor. The opening pair of Stupples and Chipperton strode to the crease aiming to stave off the potential double ignominy of having an electronic scoreboard and live-streamed footage threatening to remind them of their inadequacies. The early exchanges were relatively uneventful as both batsmen adjusted to the green pitch and the opening bowlers offered little in the way of freebies (read on to overs 2,4 & 6 in the second innings later). The Tadworth XI was a youthful one and this, mixed with the balmy conditions, meant that short spells were largely the order of the day. Hill started to apply more pressure with each passing over and the quick outfield enabled them to accelerate ahead of the first drinks break. Without taking too many risks, Hill had reached 75 without loss at the 15 over stage. Stupples was quick to punish any errant deliveries and looked well-set for a half-century until he patted one to cover, departing for 46 and with the score at 95.
Hopkins, looking to fill the shoes of Hill’s vegan run-scoring machine Mackay, joined the captain at the crease and looked to consolidate Hill’s promising start. Tadworth continued to ring the changes as their inexperienced attack did help to supplement the total with regular extras, whilst the pair at the crease (barring one near fatality) ran well particularly given the temperatures on the day, much to the chagrin of Hopkins. Chipperton passed 50 as the innings reached the midpoint and Hill looked well-positioned to kick on in the final 20 overs. WhatsApp messages poured in singing the praises of the batsmen: tortoise means impenetrable in defence right? Blissfully unaware, Hill carried on piling on the runs and Chipperton edged towards a century. The nervous nineties were a sight to behold for the 13 live viewers as he avoided a series of near-misses. The first saw him nearly steer the ball to gully on 98, not helped by the pleas of Subramanium eagerly filming from his umpiring position. At the other end, Hopkins departed in the penultimate over after helping Hill beyond the 200 mark, bringing Radcox to the middle. Chipperton was on strike for the final over and 1 run shy of his century. His initial attempts to get up the other end proved abortive as nervous dabs, proceeded by failed attempts at stealing a single, only served to build the jitters. He managed to cut the 3rd ball away and scramble back for two to take him to the elusive landmark. Hill ended their innings on 223 for 2 and felt relatively happy at the prospect of defending a reasonable total.
Subramanium and Nacmanson were tasked with making the early inroads but enjoyed differing results. The latter struggled to settle into his rhythm – possibly thwarted by 3 slices of door-wedge sized Victoria sponge – and was replaced by the captain. Subramanium toiled away and did not get the rewards his efforts deserved, so he was kept back to unpick the lower order later in the innings. Aynesley-Smith replaced him and immediately got in on the act and claimed Hill’s first wicket of the afternoon, luring the batsmen into pushing at the ball and edging it into the grateful hands of Hopkins, who reprised the absent Mackay’s role as specialist slip fielder.
With pace off the ball, Hill stemmed the early flow of runs as Tadworth had cantered along to 47 from the opening 8 overs and put themselves in contention. Simcox and Hunt refreshed the attack and both helped to stifle the run rate with the two young batsmen at the crease. Their pressure paid off and led to a run out from the captain. Hunt was soon rewarded for her control when Nacmanson held onto a looping catch in the deep to leave the hosts 81-3.
Much of the home side’s hopes rested on the shoulders of the incoming batsman. After dispatching a loose ball from the captain, Chipperton soon exacted revenge and took a sharp caught and bowled chance to make the key breakthrough. Sensing that the tide had started to turn in their favour, Hill went for the kill and Subramanium rattled the stumps early in his second spell to leave Tadworth 106-5 from 27 overs. The required rate had started to climb and the wily seamer soon had a second, drawing a feather edge that Stupples gleefully snaffled. Subramanium shattered the bail as he claimed his third wicket and left Tadworth staring down the barrel. Chipperton was the next beneficiary of Stupples’ glovework as the latter stumped the Tadworth’s last credible hope to put Hill in a commanding position. This enabled Rolfe to clean up the tail and pick up two wickets to seal Hill’s victory. The 97 run victory looked comprehensive on paper, but Tadworth certainly made it a contest in the first half of the chase.
Player of the match – Sponsored by Nicholls Residential = Will Chipperton
Park Hill Cricket Club 