Capanelle Roma

Match Report

The environs of the Capanelle ground were a little less busy, when the Stragglers (or most of them) stepped off the 1128 train from Roma Termini. The three laggards arrived in time to find the Straggs in the field. Missing a train is a great tactic, if you fancy a day in the field rather than behind the stumps – play cannot begin until someone is kitted up to keep. George took on the role initially, with Beetle taking over after a few overs. Hugo opened up again and took slightly longer to make his mark, taking 4 overs to knock over an opener. At the other end, Angus was more comfortably shod in suede, having given up on fielding and bowling in sandals. He too had early success, followed swiftly by Tom at first change. Capanelle were now 40 for 3, with one of their key batsmen back in the pavilion. However, Suresh Kekul and Raghavan Khartik were made of sterner stuff and began to build what turned into a century partnership. It helped, of course, that some of the Straggler catching was not of the finest order, Benny having a particular ‘sliding doors’ moment as his hands parted to let the ball pass. Fielding positions were somewhat unconventional, with two leg slips and a short leg poised to pounce (and to appeal for absolutely anything that came their way off the batsman’s body). Sam, bowling with considerable flight and guile, was well supported in this particular quadrant, but nothing seemed to brush the bat on the way through. However, having a small pile of helmets behind the keeper was always a risk and five penalty runs were inevitable. Beetle worked some bowling changes, with George and Benny running in. The changes eventually bore fruit as Benny, not often given the ball, teased out one of the set batsmen, and the returning Angus (2 for 27), then found a racing Patch at deep fine leg to take a wonderful diving catch to remove Suresh for a really well-constructed 67. Toby was introduced to bowl the final over and was somewhat miffed to find that his plan for cow had not been adequately covered. The final ball of the innings was despatched into the long grass of the racetrack, and the innings closed on 176 for 5 from 30 overs

The ‘not out’ Straggler batsmen from the day before continued where they had left off, but, disappointingly, not to such good effect. Charlie was bowled by what looked from the scorer’s elevated hutch, like a completely unplayable ball, but his bat still suffered some abuse when it beat him back to the boundary by some yards. Almost immediately Kieran eschewed his inner Boycott and skied one – 19 for 2. Sam has clearly taken lessons on running between the wicket from Benny, one of the world’s great amblers down the wicket. Sam hit the ball straight to a fielder and called for a run; Toby arrived at the other end before the ball had reached the fielder; Sam, however, was ambling with great skill and was well out of his ground for the direct hit. Tom, determined to recover from his innings the day before, started with a safe single, and decided he had his eye in. Two big sixes followed and then one straight up and well caught, much in the same spot as the day before. The Stragglers were now 69 for 4 from 14 overs and well behind the rate. At the other end, Toby, reining in much of his usual enthusiasm for the long handle, was gathering singles and twos, and had reached 33 by the drinks break. With Tom’s demise, he had just been joined by Hugo, who, in contrast, took out his driver and was swiftly lofting the ball into the distance, while keeping much of the strike as well. Hugo hit 20 from one over and that ended any sense of jeopardy about the result. Toby benefited from a careless throw to score a five from an innocuous push, while Hugo reached his half century first and ended undefeated on 62*. Toby passed fifty a few balls later and finally enjoyed a little more of the strike to launch a few big shots. With the scores level and a gentle push all that was required to bring matters to a close, Toby chose to go for glory but found a fielder just inside the boundary to send him back for 69, an excellent century partnership by les frères Snape. So confident that he would not be required to bat, Patch was caught short in a state of considerable undress and not poised, as he should have been, on the boundary with his pads on. After a very long delay to allow him to get dressed, Patch did the sensible thing and pushed his first ball for the gentlest of singles to win the match by five wickets, with four and a half overs to spare.

We had a wonderful time in Rome, a city not short of places to find a drink very late at night. With millennia of history all around us, even the train journey south to Capanelle was accompanied by a Roman aqueduct running alongside the track. Many thanks to Patch for making the cricketing arrangements and for finding three very different and excellent dining opportunities; to Kieran for suggesting the hotel (so he could relive his stag weekend); and particularly to our generous hosts, led by Leandro, who have been helping to develop a cricket culture in Italy for more than half a century. And significant thanks to Angus for acting as interpreter and late-night consigliere.