Hurlingham

Match Report

After the long draw at Milstead, gripping Straggler games have become the order of the day, with a second last ball finale in a week, this time ending in a tie, the 9th in Straggler history, and the first for the club in T20.  On a surprisingly gloomy evening in west London at the Hurlingham Club, the Straggler openers were parted in the first over, Theo the first of 7 Straggler batters to score two or less.  This brought Toby to the crease, unusually elevated to suit the situation, and the innings caught fire.  Within a handful of balls, Toby was on 22, Jasper watching from the other end on 2.  For the next ten overs, though, it was Toby who watched Jasper demolish the Hurlingham attack, reaching his hundred from 41 balls, with ten 6s.  When he eventually walked round one in the 13^th over for 104, the score was on 154, and a monster total in prospect.  The middle order, however, with the honourable exception of the Master Brewer, rather faded away, failing to provide Toby with sufficient support.  Toby fell in the 15^th for a hard hit 62 from 36 balls, while Jonathan turned back time to strike a series of glorious cover drives, many of which were of a quality beyond even his wildest dreams.  Without reliable support from the other end, the Straggler innings slightly limped over the line at 213 for 8, Jonathan undefeated on 31.

Hurlingham began in much the same manner, losing a wicket to Hugo, caught by Ben, in the first over.  And from then on, the Straggler attack was pretty well demolished.  Hugo (2 for 24) held the line, and Ben and the Chairman (both 1 for 34) just about hung on in there.  Toby, however, after accurate and hostile spells in his previous outings, caught a full-blown attack of the yips (clearly exposed to the highly infectious Faversham variant).  With an asking rate of over 10 an over, a couple of boundaries were required in each – not a problem for Edward Bray opening for Hurlingham. The Straggler bowlers were pretty well supported with reliable ground fielding, but, with one or two very honourable exceptions, the catching was woeful, and certainly cost the Stragglers a straightforward victory.  The pink ball in the evening light proved rather deceptive, with two catches going over the heads of fielders running in when, had they stood still, the ball would have fallen into their hands at a perfect height. Bray was the beneficiary of two drops, and reached a very marginally more pedestrian hundred from 55 balls; it needed an electric stumping by Theo off Jasper to bring his innings to a close on 121, when Straggler defeat was all but certain. Two overs left, 16 runs required, and Hugo back for his final over, top of middle and a broken bail.  Money now on the Stragglers, with 10 required from the final over.  Singles were run hard, a mis-field, an overthrow, now two required from the final ball.  Jasper held his nerve, the ball was spliced high to cover, the Master Brewer settled underneath for his moment of glory…and the ball spilled from his hands.  One run taken while the ball was in the air, a second attempted, but Jack Wood was on hand to fire the ball into Theo to remove the bails – 213 for 8, match tied.  The catchers who deserve honourable mention for calmness under fire, Charlie Munton and Ben Simpson, neither fooled by the light or the flight or the overhanging branches.  A wonderful fixture, played in great spirit by both sides, and the 2022 fixture already eagerly anticipated.  Of course, poor catching is usually given due mention as contending for the Lark Catching Cup; following this display, the great news is that there is a substantial sponsorship deal now being negotiated with the brewery for the LCC.