So as December trots on and the big fat man dressed in red with a large black bag gets closer to visiting (assuming you have been good!) the 2024 1st XI cricket team played it’s traditional curtain raiser against The Willows out at Loburn. The weather was good and the venue was looking absolutely amazing with the outfield in the best nick I’ve seen it in. The track was as good as ever and, with the normal tradition, Jack baker-Sherman took his new recruits into the field. The excellence of the pitch was soon on full display as Hunter Shore and Flynn Holdem bowled some good deliveries which were suitably defended, and then a couple slightly wide or fractionally full which were timed gently, through the gaps in the field and off to the boundary. For a while it seemed to be a dot ball or four! John Garry and Kelvin Scott peppered the picket fence for a while before Flynn got a ball to move slightly away and Mr Garry was back in the pavilion for a solid 16.
This brought the Gillette Cup winning captain Nick Gibb to the crease and he looked to continue from where he left off 12 months previously. He was rarely troubled and continued the run scoring without much difficulty. They put on 80 for the second wicket before Kelvin was trapped LBW by Finn McCormack-Young a couple of balls after bringing up his 50 but if the College team thought this would bring any respite, they were incorrect with coach Keryn Ambler wandering out to join Nick in the middle. Keryn has a tendency to get runs in this fixture and this year was no exception. He and Nick produced a masterclass in running between the wickets, waiting for the bad ball or taking the percentages by hitting into the gaps. Nick hit a perfect 6 over extra cover off Hunter and Keryn and he put on a brilliant 105 run partnership in 17 overs, only broken when Nick retired having reached three figures. Keryn soon followed suit, retiring for 56 but the damage was seemingly done. By the time Adam Hastilow and Chris O'Connell were at the crease the score was already on 250 with 12 overs to go. Finn returned to have Adam very well caught on the boundary by Frankie Meates and then Chris was caught be Jackson Garry and all of a sudden the run rate slowed a smidgen. Tom Hodges was instrumental in this regard bowling 9 overs of his left arm orthodox for under 5 an over which was remarkable considering the general scoring rate was over 6.5 for most of the innings. Willows captain (and College old boy) Gareth Reed was bowled by Flynn and Chris Nicolson was acrobatically caught by a juggling Felix Huston, again off Flynn before Will Bretherton was run out off the final ball of the innings.
Those final few overs proved important as the final target was 310 to win, but at one stage it looked as though it would be much closer, if not over 350. Both Flynn and Finn took 3 wickets.
After a hearty lunch the lads strode out to the middle knowing a strong start was going to be required. Kavya Shukla and Jack took their places and Kavya soon found his range. He hit his first ball for four and then bided his time before Adam came on and bowled fast but a tad waywardly in his first over. Kavya took that over for 16 with each of his four 4’s being hit to a different part of the ground. It was clear the outfield had not slowed up at all, in fact as the afternoon continued the sun came out and the outfield seemed to get faster. At the other end, recent old boy Will Bretherton was tormenting Jack with a fantastic display of left arm swing and seam bowling but without much luck. Will and Adam finally got their respective men as Jack and Kav were both dismissed within an over of each other (Kav making 42 of 24 balls in a nice palindromic fashion) but the next batsmen struggled to mirror Kav’s ease at the crease. Paddy Cochran was the next to go, like Kav succumbing to the pace of Adam. Felix played some nice shots before being undone by the ever young and wily Andrew Nuttall. Benji followed soon after giving Andrew his 2nd scalp and when Flynn was out caught by Keryn off Nick’s bowling (keeping it in the Gillette family!) we were in some serious trouble at 99 for 6 off 20 overs.
Fortunately Jackson and Finn were up to the challenge playing the percentages sensibly, running hard and nearly building the teams first century partnership of the new season. Jackson was unfortunate to be adjudged LBW for a well made 48 off 43 balls before Finn followed for 52 off 55 balls a couple of overs later. the equation was now down to 96 required off 15 overs which seemed a fair way off until Frankie and Gus Eglinton followed on from Jackson and Finn to produce a 64 run partnership in just 8 overs. Frankie was LBW to give Andrew N his third wicket for 46 off 34 balls. His dismissal, however, tilted the WASP percentage firmly back in The Willows favour with 32 needed in 6 overs but with only one wicket left. Hunter and Gus got their heads down and played well and the target got ever closer.
As the overs ticked by the belief started to grow, as did the nerves, on the boundary edge – there is only so much pacing a man can do!
The 49th over was to be bowled by the rapid Adam again and it proved to be a winning call – but for which team?! His first two balls went for 1’s, then a wide, then 5 wides and a couple of balls later, 5 more! We got to the end of the over and we had 2 to win. Keryn was then brought into the attack but it was too late, Gus snicked a full-bloodied thwack over the slips for 4 and the match was won by one wicket with 8 balls left. Gus finished on 35 off 35 with Hunter on 9 not out.
A remarkable match with over 600 runs in it gave the team the perfect start to the season as well as the best possible way to go into the Christmas break.
Phew.
The game was followed by the usual BBQ and presentations with Jack speaking excellently on behalf of the boys before Finn was named man of the match for the College team for his 50 and 3 wickets.