"A man's errors are his portals of discovery."
~ James Joyce (1882-1941) Irish novelist.
This week we played Thornbury as the second part of our split round. Again it was at our Como Park home and there seemed to be a sense of déjà vu as I arrived for the game to see many of the same people from both sides going through their pre game routines.
After last weeks heart breaking loss that replicated the dramatic loss against the top team National CC the week before, I was hell bent (as I am sure were the rest of my team mates were) to finish the first half of the season off with a win. We really should have won last week.
What would we do differently this week? Firstly, our plans in dealing with Thornbury batsman Hagan who compiled a match winning fifty five in last week’s game were certainly going to be different. Last week we failed to restrict Hagan’s pet shot of planting his left foot down the pitch and smacking the ball back over the bowlers head. This week we resolved to plant two good fieldsmen at mid on and mid off and set them back a little to virtually dare Hagan into committing Hari Kiri. Would Hagan fall for such an obvious trap? I certainly thought he wouldn’t be able to resist.
As per usual, we were batting first and instead of being slated to go in at number three as is my custom, I was penciled in at number four to allow the brilliant Ben Higgins to come in at number three. “Hurricane” Higgins is a young lad in his late twenties who stars for our South Yarra CC First Eleven. To this point Hurricane was averaging 116.33 and we thoroughly expected that he would tear Thornbury to shreds. Hurricane ever the self effacing chap that he is certainly did not make any lofty proclamations.
Also new to the team this week were Santosh a young medium fast bowler joining his room mate and country man Vishnu in bolstering our bowling battery. Alun “Tinker” Hume the Yarras resident Irishman who had been missing so far this season due to spending time up in the Northern parts of the country. Conrad De Souza was also back after an extended absence with a broken finger. So in terms of batting and bowling, our team was considerably strengthened, so I was feeling rather confident of reversing last weeks result.
Mr Natural and Strachany got us off to a solid start scoring at about three runs an over. It was good sensible batting that was only marred by Nat not grounding his bat when running a two off a lusty Strachany stroke thus having it reduced to a single. All that effort expended for just one run. Not exactly a hanging offence, but it was the prelude for what was to happen next.
The lads were just starting to get themselves in a position to launch an assault on the Thornbury bowlers when the first wicket fell in the most unusual circumstances. Strachany walloped a delivery over mid on and an easy three runs beckoned. As the lads ran, Strachany started to almost lap the less svelte Mr Natural. As they crossed each other mid pitch for the second run, Strachany in frustration bellowed “come on Nat” in obvious frustration at a certain three being reduced to two runs due to Nat’s inability to keep up the pace. Somehow, Nat misunderstood and interpreted the “come on” to imply “let’s run a third”, even though the ball was already nearly in the bowlers hand as he stood perched over the stumps. Nat comfortably made his ground as the bowler took the ball over the stumps when Nat inexplicably turned and started running a few paces in the opposite direction – all this while the shocked bowler was standing by the stumps with the ball safely in his hand wondering what the hell Nat was doing. It was with unexpected glee that he whipped off the bails with Nat standing all of two meters out of his ground bewildered at what had just transpired.
Surely he must have seen that the ball was already in flight to the bowler’s hands as he was just about to complete the second run? Nobody could possibly have that little awareness…surely? My mind immediately cast back to round one when Nat accidently ran me out when a comfortable single was there to be had when he watched the ball rather than respond to the call or at the very least negate the call. So keeping that in mind, it was perhaps not such a surprise that Nat had met his demise in such bizarre circumstances. Nat made sixteen and looked set to tee off until his brain explosion.
Hurricane Higgins entered the fray with the score sitting on 1 for 42, a wonderful platform for this prodigy to launch an assault on the Thornbury bowlers and put us in an unassailable position. Hurricane and Strachany advanced the score to sixty five when Strachany departed for a well made twenty five. In their partnership of twenty three, Hurricane had contributed a subdued two runs. Apparently, this is par for the course for Ben Higgins who by all accounts starts off each innings in a very careful, watchful manner until he sizes up the bowlers and conditions and then proceeds to annihilate all comers.
I walked out to bat in the unfamiliar number four slot – I am fairly certain the first time in my cricketing life that I have batted in this position. The score was 2 for 65 and Benny Higgins was at the crease – I was already thinking to myself, “I just have to rotate the strike over to Hurricane and he will make it happen – and then when I have got my eye in, I will be able to join in the carnage”. At least that was the plan.
As I reached the centre, Hurricane offered “it is coming through straight up and down with the occasional one keeping a little low – you will be fine. It is the end of the over, so you don’t have to face first up”. Reassuring words from a master batsman, so I felt quite confident that I was not only going to get to bat with someone I respect enormously, but that we would knock up a big partnership to boot.
I looked down at the pitch and it was dry and cracked with a one inch by a one and half inch hole in the middle of the pitch just short of a length at one end. I tried not to worry too much as sometimes some pitches look worse than what they end up playing.
Coinciding with my arrival at the wicket was a Thornbury bowling change. Thornbury bowler Evan Kane paced out his run up and I had to almost do a double take at this bloke who could not have even been five foot tall. Throw in the fact that Kane is also completely devoid of any hair and I was somewhat flummoxed as to how this little guy was going to make any impact on the mighty Hurricane Higgins.
Kane ambled in and flighted a top spinner that Hurricane stroked along the ground to mid on where there was no run. The next delivery by Kane pitched just outside leg stump, spun off the pitch and crashed into Hurricanes outstretched pad with his bat missing the ball as it unexpectedly kept a little low. “Hurricane is sizing him up here before he goes wham” I thought to myself. The next delivery was pitched in pretty much the same spot and again it crashed into Hurricanes outstretched pad. “This is looking a lot more difficult than I expected…this little bloke can bowl!”
The very next delivery Kane pitched the ball a fair bit shorter. It seemed like a stock leg spinner but pitched in line with the stumps. Hurricane seeing how short it was instinctively moved back and across and took an almighty swipe attempting a big pull shot. The ball barely spun, but it kept wickedly low and it cannoned into Hurricanes right thigh as he was in full follow through from this attempted big stroke. It was smack bang in line with the stumps and my heart was in my mouth as the Thornbury players went up in unison. The umpire had no hesitation in raising his finger in the affirmative.
Hurricane was out for two and I think I needed smelling salts to revive me as I had gone into shock. Next batsman in was Alun “Tinker” Hume the genial Irishman. “We’ve got to rebuild the innings here Tinker” I said and Tinker nodded his head in agreement. The next two balls from Kane gave Tinker a bit of difficulty.
The next over was the last over before drinks and I was finally going to be facing up. The Thornbury bowler John Viner bowls at speeds that could be considered medium to fast medium. His first delivery to me slid down the leg side and I was unable to get any bat on it. The second delivery was pitched up into my pads and I peeled off a nicely timed on drive for an easy single. It was a relief to get off the mark early and I proceeded to watch the remainder of the over as Tinker nearly got himself out by thumping an off drive straight to short mid off where the force of the shot broke through the hands of the fieldsman breaking his finger and running away for us to run two. The rest of the over was uneventful with Tinker taking a single off the last ball and we trudged off to drinks with my mind racing as to how we were going to kick start our innings. I knew nothing of Tinkers abilities as a barn storming batsman.
Tinker faced the first over after drinks from Kane and was immediately like Hurricane in some bother dealing with the leggy. Tinker then breathed a massive sigh of relief when he chopped a delivery from Kane just millimeters past his leg stump and we ran a single. As I stood up to take strike against Kane for the first time, all that went through my mind was “play the first few defensively to get a feel of what he is doing”.
Kane’s first delivery floated towards me and I took a stride down the wicket with my bat next to my pad to smother the spin. The ball drifted down the leg side and pitched about six or so inches beside my right foot hitting the bowlers foot marks on the crease. By the time I turned around I heard ball hitting wood and the whoops of joy from the Thornbury wicket keeper and surrounding fieldsmen. The ball had clipped my leg stump. I had been bowled around my legs – a freak delivery.
I trudged off with a couple of the Thornbury players yelling out “Warney” in appreciation of what their leg spinner had just done. I was angry at myself thinking of ways that I should have combated this delivery. I could have stepped to leg and let it hit my pad – it would never be given LBW…I could have…
As I took off my padding and I started to calm down, I began to realize that there was precious little I could have done to have dealt with such a great ball that was the first I had faced from this bowler. It was a magnificent delivery that Kane himself never replicated for the rest of the innings which led me to believe that it was simply a freak delivery that he did not intend.
That is cricket sometimes.
Nashi "False" Alam turns one to leg.
Nashi came in next and inspite of some lucky escapes batted sensibly and hung in there with a rampant Tinker going on the attack. With each smacked boundary from Tinker, I could almost hear the chorus of “You can’t beat the Irish”. Tinker was playing a blinder. Nashi was eventually out for a stubborn ten and in tandem with Tinker had advanced our score by forty seven to 5 for 115. Conrad in his comeback innings strode in at number seven and with Tinker put on a partnership of forty eight when Tinker was eventually controversially deemed run out when he looked to be marginally in for a sparkling sixty one.
There was still time in the innings for Vishnu to smash a towering six as he and Conrad and then Willo took the score up to 7 for 181 off our forty five overs. A competitive total and I felt with a bit of luck – enough to win this game. Nothing can be taken for granted however, as we have already painfully found out the previous two weeks where we lost both times at the death after looking in control.
Vishi took the new ball along with Willo, but unlike last week, neither bowler was able to make any inroads into Thornbury’s top order. Both bowlers were economical, but unable to make any impression on this deck that seemed to be getting slower. Santosh was brought on at first change for his first spell for the Yarras and with immediate success. Bowling a beautiful line Toshy got the much needed break through bowling Patrick Barry for a laborious twelve. The score was 1 for 46 and we breathed a sigh of relief as the Thornbury openers looked rather untroubled.
Next in was last weeks match winner for Thornbury, the attacking Amesbury Hagan. As earlier mentioned, all week I had been thinking of how to counter Hagan who had top scored last week with a buccaneering fifty five largely scored through planting his left foot down the pitch and heaving the ball back over the bowlers head with apparent disregard for the mid on and mid off fielders. Strachany set the mid on and mid off a little deeper than normal and we dared Hagan to take on the bowler and the field.
Hagan played some risky strokes as he did the week before, but this time he clearly looked restricted in his options and the pressure of the tight bowling was slowly suffocating him. Eventually, Hagan was dismissed by Toshy when he could not resist sparring at a delivery just outside his off stump – the much talked about “corridor of uncertainty” - and outside edged a catch to the keeper the irrepressible Tinker Hume who held onto a splendid catch. At 2 for 62 and having seen the back of Hagan, I felt that barring any unforeseen heroics from Thornbury’s middle order, we were well on the way to victory.
I hadn’t counted on the stubborn resistance of Johnny Viner who was batting beautifully. It should have come as no surprise, because last week Viner played the supporting role to Hagan’s match winning fifty five with a gutsy forty five himself sharing in a game turning partnership of eighty for the third wicket which brought Thornbury in sight of victory. Here he was again attempting to rally the Thornbury cause by batting with intelligence and skill.
Hazelman and McMath fell soon afterwards within one run of each other to bring the total to 4 for 72. Viner was playing a lone hand and it was apparent that as soon as we secured his wicket – the citadel would fall. And so it proved. Benny Higgins in a wonderful spell removed Viner when the latter attempted a risky shot and was caught.
By now I was so certain that we would win the game that my interest turned to the game being played on the oval alongside ours. Our First Eleven were playing against Monash University Gryphons and were marching toward victory in the most emphatic manner. As the afternoon wore on, we (Ben Higgins and I) noticed that South Yarra opening batsman Kim Price was still there.
Now Kimba has been in sensational form all season and would quite possibly be the most in form batsman in the MCA competition along with the one and only Ben “Hurricane” Higgins. Unfortunately for Kimba, he had made a sequence of excellent scores in the seventies and sixties without cracking the ton. His highest score had been ninety six compiled on the last day of the 2008/2009 season. Here he was surely about to break this barrier and post his first ton.
“He must be getting close by now?” I asked Hurricane and he agreed. Eventually we heard whoops of joy emanating from the Como pavilion and Kimba raising his bat in triumph…then a strange thing happened, first myself and then Ben Higgins broke out into spontaneous applause soon followed by practically every member of our team. We had stopped our game momentarily and we were all facing the other pitch giving Kimba an ovation and Kim didn’t let us down, after saluting his team mates in the pavilion, he turned and raised his bat in salute at us - his fellow club mates – on the adjacent oval.
Kim "Kimba" Price takes guard.
It was a magic moment that is very hard to put into words – but I am certain that Kim would have been delighted that he scored his maiden Yarras century at home where he was saluted from all directions. Kim is a lovely bloke and everybody was delighted for him. May this be the first of many!
Back to our game, the denouement was being played out and with each wicket we marched on closer to victory until Chips Pringle captured the last wicket and we could celebrate a good win. Toshy took 4 for 19 off nine overs of controlled medium fast bowling. Hurricane Higgins took 3 for 18 with his medium pacers and a fine catch to boot. It was a wonderful feeling to prosper in the last game before the Christmas break. Afterwards in the pavilion Strachany awarded joint Man of the Match awards – to Tinker Hume for his gutsy sixty one which rescued our innings and to Toshy whose four wickets included crucial top order incisions which were vital to our chances.
All up it was happy day and a nice way to go into the Christmas hiatus. I hope that we can finally start winning the crunch moments more often in games and win more games – we have deserved a lot more than our paltry two wins so far this season.
Anyways, I hope everybody out there has a happy Christmas and Happy 2010!
See you all soon!
Vic Nicholas
Melbourne
AUSTRALIA
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