Concorde v Wibbandune CC

Match Report

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF AS 220 IS AGAIN INSUFFICIENT TO THWART WIBBANDUNE

Despite our best batting performance of the season led by the two Nick’s, Messrs. Wright & Freeman, we ultimately found the Wibbandune batting line up too strong to contain, in almost a repeat of last season’s scoreline. Last year the visitors chased down our 220 for the loss of just one wicket, this year our 223 was surpassed with the loss of 5 wickets although with 5 overs to spare and we suspect Ray Stonehill shuffled the Wibbandune batting order a little to make us feel a bit better about it. Had they batted in order of ability it could have been another rout one fears!

We batted first with a pairing of Edgar & Prash, in what was our first Indian opening partnership since Nikhil left for Scotland. Wibbandune opened up with a sharpish seamer in tandem with a very good off spinner operating from the top end and having hit his very first ball for four, Prash then aimed a ‘slog sweep’ at his third ball from the spinner and was bowled. The previous week, Prash had given us all the bad news that he was returning imminently to live & work in Madrid but he managed to squeeze this one last game in but this was certainly not the way he wanted to bow out! Nick W. joined Edgar and built steadily against some very good bowling, but just as it seemed we had ‘weathered the storm’ , it was a bit of a surprise when Edgar failed to get on top of a square cut off the spinner and was caught at point for 16. Nick F. came out at no.4 with the score at 45 and we then enjoyed our best spell of the game (if not the season)as the two Nick’s, in very different styles, went about their business. We all know Nick W. can hit straight and hard threw the covers but on this day he developed a liking for the hook shot, despatching the quicker bowler twice to square leg, one for a huge six and the other for a ‘one bounce’ four. Nick F. has endured a miserable run, but today he was watchful in defence but his old self on anything over pitched or short and he clearly enjoyed the ball hitting the middle of his bat! Wibbandune rung the changes with the bowling but the score have reached 177 before Nick W. played over a Yorker on leg stump and departed for a very impressive 90, following his 88 the previous week- he richly deserved a century but again it just eluded him! With time running out Justin joined Nick and attempting to get on with hit he skied a catch to extra cover having just notched a single. Matt S. joined Nick and pushed the score to 220 before Nick was stumped for a very good 76 at which point JW declared.

After tea we had the rare luxury of having two additional bowlers in our line up with the returning Toby, and Chris Nock, a 6’7’’ loanee from W & Horsell. Wibbandune opened with two young batsman, including one county U-17 player but he was soon back in the pavilion for a duck as Prash got one to bounce from just short of a length and the youngster gloved a catch to slip where Nick W. took a sharp one hander high to his right. Nobody else in the team would have reached it ! Chris Nock looked every part an opening bowler in stature but to our amazement he revealed he was an opening bowler about 15 years ago when he last played!!! It took him a couple of overs to remember how to bowl and only make the ball bounce once but as soon as he found his range the no.3 mistimed an on drive and Toby C. playing his first game for 4-5 years, hung on to the catch at mid on. 17-2 soon became 25-3 as Chris enticed the no.4 to play on and when Prash secured a successful lbw decision the visitors were suddenly 35-4. On paper we were strong favourites but that was really when the fun stopped!! Last year’s centurion Imran Zaher came to the crease and in-tandem with firstly his son Abdullah, then the no.7 Nomann, he took the game away from us. We enjoyed one more success when the writer induced an edge from young Abdullah which again Nick Wright ‘snaffled’ one handedly above his head at slip but although that was achieved at 86-5, Imran & Nomann cruised to the finish ending on 93 n.o. and 57 n.o. respectively. Prash replaced the writer at the mansion end for a farewell burst but that turned out to be somewhat expensive as by then both batsman were seeing it like a football!

We took the positives from the game- another great innings from Nick W., the return to form of Nick F. plus Toby returning after a long time away us in truth this wasn’t a close contest against good opposition.