01/06/24
OUT OF REACH
Thirds fall agonisingly short in low-scoring thriller
Telugu Association of Cambridge II (20pts) 141 beat Camden (8pts) 139-8 by 2 runs
The first day of June, the start of the meteorological summer. A three-jumper day at Reach, home of TAC, where Camden resumed their faltering campaign. No fixture the previous week had afforded Captain Redders a fortnight to work on his strained groin, and the skipper had been passed fit by Dr Hibbert. Ignoring the opportunity to make jokes about a man with a groin strain losing the toss, the Thirds found themselves fielding first yet again. It didn’t look a bad toss to lose, however, when Farid (1-21) and Rizwan both struck in their second overs – Farid cleaning up the opener and then taking a fine catch to remove the number three. The home side staged somewhat of a recovery, but then lost two further wickets with the score on 38. First, Karan – in his first over – saw Sutton take a catch in the covers to see off the dangerous opener for 22. Rizwan followed that up with his tenth wicket of a productive season – the left-armer going on to record the impressive figures of 8-5-18-2.
With TAC having amassed 56-4 at the twenty-over mark, it was clearly not a pitch conducive to expansive stroke-play. Perhaps safe in this knowledge, Redders had brought himself on for a trundle. The skipper might have been rewarded with at least one LBW, but it was Karan (2-34) who ended a fifth-wicket partnership of twenty-four. That brought the opposition captain to the crease. His first five balls saw three sweetly-timed fours, so it was a relief when his sixth – bowled by Redders – saw the umpire raise his finger. In his next over, Redders (2-19) struck again – Coe bagging the catch – to reduce the hosts to 80-7. Thereafter, with Baker and Adil into the attack, any hopes the Thirds might have had of wrapping things up early and retreating out of the icy wind were thwarted by a forty-three run stand for the eighth wicket. Captain Redfern turned to Krishna, but it was Baker (1-20) who made the breakthrough. Krishna (2-6) then did for the last two wickets – including a tidy stumping by Clarke, who had kept with great skill on such a capricious surface.
142 to win. More than it might have been, but a Thirds top order of Sutton-Coe-Robinson was made for chases such as these. Two runs from the first five overs had become eighteen from eight and a half when Coe (8) was adjudged LBW. With extras doing the bulk of the scoring, Sutton and Robinson fared a little better against the change bowlers. The fifty came up in the seventeenth over, and the veterans had added forty-seven by drinks. Twenty overs to go, 77 runs to get, nine wickets in hand. So far, so good. But things were about to change, with the next six overs yielding just twelve runs and the required rate climbing from 3.8 to 5. Worse was to follow. To lose one set batsman – Robinson run out for 17 – may be regarded as misfortune, but to lose two in two balls looks like carelessness. “I’d been telling myself not to hit into the wind all innings,” lamented Sutton (35).
65 to win, thirteen overs to go, and two new batsmen – Redders and Farid – at the crease. Two more, soon enough, as both fell for six – Farid well caught in the deep, and the skipper’s lean start to the season continuing. Krishna and Adil brought some much-needed speed between the wickets, although it was the speed of the ball off Krishna’s bat which caught the eye – a straight six bringing up the Thirds hundred. 37 runs required, six overs remaining – three of which to be bowled by the TAC skipper, whose opening spell had begun with three maidens. Six from his first over back – including a four for Krishna – kept the Thirds on track, however. Five more followed in the next over, leaving the equation at 26 from four overs. A slow-burner of a match was turning into a thriller. There was to be another twist. Having added a valuable 26 for the seventh wicket, Adil (7) was bowled. Karan scuttled a couple of twos to leave 21 needed from the final three overs. Krishna carried on the ‘we’ll get ‘em in twos’ mantra, taking eight from the next over. 13 from twelve balls. More scampering. The final over, 8 to win, 7 to tie. Has the concept of the Super Over been adopted by the CCA? It was a question that wouldn’t need answering here, alas. Karan (8) and Baker (1) were run out in an eventful last over, leaving Krishna unbeaten on 29. It was harsh on the left-hander, who faced just twenty-eight balls and took his side to the brink of a famous victory. Instead, falling an agonising two runs short made for a famous defeat. The narrowest ever by runs in the storied history of the Thirds, knocking into second place the 7 against Ashwell in 2004.
Man of the Match: Krishna Bulusu