Match Report

In Stygian gloom, reminiscent of England’s victory in Karachi in 2000, when the delaying tactics of the Pakistani team failed to persuade umpire Steve Bucknor to take the teams off in what was almost total darkness, so the game at Hurlingham effectively ended in moonlight. The unusual playing strategy of bowling 10 overs in succession from one end and then ten from the other had failed to up the over rate, and by the time Hurlingham hit the winning run, it seemed that only the batsmen could see the ball.

On the first warm day of the summer, Charlie won the toss and elected to bat. Tom Tribe met the first ball, a rank long-hop, with disdain smacking it and a couple of others in the opening over to the boundary (out-field like a sheet of glass, as usual). However, Tom (21) was undone in the next over, when a tall, fast bowler, with a run up which began somewhere in north London (and possibly a contributor to the slow over rate) undid him with a rapid yorker. At the other end, George kept everything out but was playing as if the game were a four-day test.  He was joined by Charlie (18). A glorious flick off his legs for six was followed by some sumptuous drives, but he fell to a ball, which moved a mile in the air (reported as ‘drift’).  James Grant did not keep George company for long, and Toby arrived with a history of scoring runs at Hurlingham and, with George now finding his touch, the rate began to increase. Toby dropped a few long sixes into the hedge behind the boundary, and a really big score seemed possible. However, having just reached his half century, George (59) was well caught on the long-on boundary bringing an end to a partnership of 65. Toby, however, was not done and plundered 5 sixes in a 22-ball half century before falling to the guile of opposition skipper, Maurice Holmes, for 52. The Straggs were not quite done as Will Falcon (12 from 4 balls) and Benny (surviving a final over barrage from the ‘long run’ bowler) saw the Stragglers home with 188 for 5.

You know that something is going your way, when the first run to be scored from the bat is by the number four. Angus Balfour tore in to remove two batsmen in the opening over, with the only run conceded a wide. Will backed him up with another in the second over – 9 for 3 after two. What a start. However, Hurlingham batted all the way down the order, and a recovery operation began. Angus (2 for 26) and Will (1 for 25) held back the tide, but the change bowlers of James Stabb and the Chairman could not quite keep it as tight. However, just when a wicket was becoming really urgent, like a London bus, two came along at once. Tom uprooted another stump, and, at the other end, the batsman looped a miscue off the back of the bat over keeper Benny’s head and set off for a run. His partner, certain of two, turned and was half-way down the track to find that Will had raced round from third man to collect the ball, run out completed – 85 for 5. Charlie then took the ball, kept Benny (and the batsmen) guessing about the line and offered something tempting wide outside the off stump; Benny completed the first of two stumpings. However, runs continued to flow as the light failed, and the umpires began to consider the light. Should we change from a pink ball to white? Motion denied. Charlie (2 for 30) kept the game alive with a finger-tip deflecting the ball on to the stumps at the non-striker’s end, and then with a second stumping, the ball bouncing back from Benny’s gloves on to the stumps. It was now properly dark, with four overs left and 34 runs required. The absence of light seemed to work in favour of the batsmen, as they connected well enough with the reduced pace of Angus and Will to squirt the ball into the huge space on the leg side. More than once the ball was ignored by fielders, who had no idea that it was coming their way; singles became twos or even threes. As far as the scorers could tell, also unable to see the action in the middle, Hurlingham reached the target with seven balls remaining – defeat for the Stragglers by 2 wickets.