Camden I v St Giles III (away)

31/05/25

FOXY IN THE RUNS

No squeaky bum time as Thirds cruise to victory

St Giles III (7pts) 194-8 lost to Camden (20pts) 198-6 by four wickets

With the Thirds travelling to Dry Drayton looking for a third win on the bounce, your correspondent had Test Match Special stats man Andy Zaltzman look into when that might last have happened. As recently as 2022, came the reply. The last two matches of 2021 and the first two of 2022. In 2018, the Thirds won six in a row, but that is nine short of the record set over the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Those were the days. Days, at least.

Returning to the side along with Ketul and Clarke, Fox-Teece wasn’t concerned with winning runs. Nor how many runs he might make. No, he was concerned with the runs. In the event, the fenland crooner – jacked up on imodium – was able to take to the field against rivals St Giles III. Captain Redfern wasn’t overly bothered with losing the toss. His side would have the chance to bat second – a formula that had worked in the previous two matches. Runs were hard to come by, with Farid and Subbu conceding just five from the first four overs. Wickets were proving even more elusive. It wasn’t as if the St Giles openers weren’t offering chances. Clarke – sporting new gloves to go with his new hip – grassed a chance off Subbu, and some increasingly suicidal running went unpunished. The breakthrough eventually came in the thirteenth over, with Krishna pouching a catch off Farid. With Karan and Rizwan (0-35) going wicketless, the Thirds would have to wait until the twenty-eighth over – Ketul’s first – for the second wicket, caught by Clarke. Redders’ men would have been content with a score of 113-2. Not so content with Redders (0-22) leaking sixteen from the next over, but the skipper had the good sense to take himself off. Ketul could bowl through at the pavilion end, and the remaining five overs at the other end could be completed by Subbu, Farid and Karan. Sutton took a catch off Subbu (1-36), and 146-3 soon became 167-7 with four wickets in as many overs. One each for Farid (2-23) and Karan (1-37), and two more for  Ketul. The bespectacled all-rounder would go on take another, finishing with the impressive figures of 7-1-25-4. A word, too, for Clarke. Three catches here and, for those who remember Clarkey in his pomp, it was great to see the veteran keeper back to his best.

The same may not have been said of Fox-Teece, but his whites had remained white and he was able to open the batting as the Thirds looked to chase down a target of 195. Which was not the case for Sutton, who had landed awkwardly on a shoulder while attempting one of his side’s many failed run-out chances. One man’s misfortune is another’s chance, however, and Krishna – getting off the mark with an imperious straight six – looked in the mood to take it. With Foxy joining in the fun, the visitors were off to a flyer. 75-0 after ten overs. 100 up in the fourteenth over. It came as a surprise, then, when Krishna was bowled in the following over. Still, a Thirds’ best of 43 was a fine effort. And 108-1 had the Thirds in pole position. Could Captain Redfern steer his side to victory? Not with 12, no. Even if they were all in sumptuous boundaries. The skipper’s wicket precipitated a collapse from 134-1 to 152-6, with Fox-Teece caught short (of the long-on boundary!) for an excellent 63, Ketul caught behind for 13, and Irtaza bowled for 2. All of which brought Farid and Subbu together again. The Finishers. And they were in a hurry to get things done. The big-hitting pair had added 40 in nineteen balls when, with three to win, Subbu (21) was bowled. Clarke (1*) watched as Farid (21*) found the fence to seal victory with eleven overs to spare. “I should get injured more often,” quipped Sutton.

Man of the Match: Ketul Saharan