“Rain Stays Away, Pearson Shines and Lightning Strikes
Twice”
Match: 23 / 599
Won by 1 wkt
|
Team |
Total |
|
OUP |
148 |
|
C. Roberts 3 - 32, D. Shorten
2 - 9 |
|
|
|
|
|
FFTMCC |
153 - 8 |
|
J. Pearson 78* |
|
|
The
omens weren’t looking good for this one as The MAD rocked up at Brasenose College
for a 1:30 start against our long-standing opponents OUP. For one thing, we
were abject in a highly forgettable T20 performance against the same team
less than a month previously, as documented in match # 595. A match so poor that the Champagne moment award should have been
replaced with the ‘warm Cava out of a plastic tumbler’ moment. We
were also unusually playing with 10 players, despite heroic efforts from our
long-suffering skipper as Russ rang around and emailed in increasingly
desperate attempts to find eleven misfits with nothing better to do on a
Sunday afternoon. Add to that, that the team had played on the preceding
Friday evening and were therefore carrying various knocks, pulls, strains and
fatigue after being forced into physical exercise twice within 48 hours, or
24 hours in the case of Lee who had a tournament the day before. At least he
won something then.
The
one thing that could give the team a mental lift was the memory of this
fixture a year ago (documented in match # 569). This was one of the most memorable matches from last season where
we had sneaked home by one run due to an unlikely late flurry of wickets. Skipper
Russ lost the toss and so we were fielding, but from there things went, how
can I say this, right! Shorten (5-1-9-2) bounded in for his first delivery, and
what a delivery it was, it pitched on middle, bounced, seamed, swung, and
arced beautifully to kiss the bail from off stump. Chuck away your Cava,
that’s the Champagne moment sewn up. Rundle (7-0-20-0) toiled for no reward,
but back came Shorten with S K Ravi sending one to mid-on and a lovely catch
from Pearson. Okay, that’s two on the Champagne list, we have a vote on our
hands.
Stock footage of Shorten hanging in the air with a ball. Replacing
Shorten was Roberts (7-1-32-3) developing a reputation as a form player.
Today he was definitely ‘on’ and it wasn’t long
before he’d picked up a bowled before one was smacked back at him very low
and very hard. No problem for Bob who nonchalantly reached all the way down
and plucked it just off the turf. This is getting interesting now, three on
the list and all would be worthy winners. Hoskins
(7-1-28-1) joined in the fun and again one was smacked back at him. This one
was again a one-handed beauty, he took it to his right at an awkward height,
dived, rolled, once, twice and came up smiling. Four on the list and it’s
starting to resemble this: Next
up was Reeves (5.4-1-27-2). A Kanchan lobbed it to mid-on, Pearson ran in to
take it on the bounce, but no! He somehow stuck out a paw and again plucked
it one handed. A truly remarkable take. Blimey we’re going to need one of
these: https://www.finewinedirect.co.uk/collections/champagne-methuslelah-6l Back
came Rundle, forcing S Lawrence to spoon the simplest (and I really mean the
absolute sitter of sitters) to Nuno at fine leg. Oh dear, we’re also going to
need one of these: About
5 minutes and 15 runs later he made up for it with a fantastic direct hit run
out. Right, let’s all chip in, empty the club accounts, we’re going to need
one of these: https://thechampagnecompany.com/champagne/champagne-bottle-size/nebuchadnezzar-15l OUP
had been really struggling on 46-4 after 18 overs, but thanks in no small
part to S Lawrence, had rallied to a very respectable 148, definitely
game on. At
some point during proceedings, we had the arrival of potential teammate /
Judas Jan Webster. Would he play for us, would he play for them, would he
umpire for a bit before leaving around 4:30 for ‘lunch’ with a friend? He did
inform us that OUP were a strong bowling line up today and so it proved.
Library footage of Pearson hitting a ball. Pearson
opened the batting and started to go serenely about his business seemingly
untroubled by any notion that rather a lot of runs needed scoring. At one
point he scored just two runs in 20 balls, but at least he was holding up one
end as a series of partners came and went at the other. Notable amongst these
was Russ (3) looking in reasonable touch until brilliantly run out from
square leg by a one stump direct hit. All those hours of getting this show on
the road was looking like time not well spent. JMO
got a golden duck, triggered LBW by Lucan with Russ breathing a sigh of
relief that it wasn’t him who had to raise the finger. With the
departure of Kaito, we were 71 for 7, effectively 71 for 8, due to our 10
men, in the 21st over. We were gone, we were absolutely
dead and buried. WinViz had reduced to a
number so close to absolute zero that it was freezing any nitrogen in the
vicinity. But
cometh the hour, cometh the guns in the bag. Out strode Bob (14) and played
the perfect foil to Pearson who was starting to open up.
He (Bob) did exactly what was necessary, keep out the good ones and attack
the bad ones. A valiant effort but once he went we
were still 30 runs short and running out of overs. Want a metaphor for
survival against the odds? Step forward Mark Rundle (12 n.o).
They biffed, they scampered and it all came down to
the final over and three needed for victory. Could The MAD do what OUP had
failed to 12 months previously? You betcha! A full toss which Pearson (78 n.o) swatted away and that was that with four balls to
spare. A remarkable win.
Stellar performances from Rundle, Pearson and
Roberts (left to right). One
footnote is that OUP innings added to 146 on scores plus extras and 148 on
the cumulative total. The MAD achieved 149 on cumulative total and 153 on
scores plus extras. That could have been awkward if Pearson hadn’t
definitively hit those winnings runs. So, a
great win against good humoured, sporting and very very well-matched opponents. Hope it makes all that organising worthwhile skip. Let’s crack open a bottle of
something bubbly. ’Reevsie’
|
*
Statto Scorecards
|
Far From the MCC versus Oxford
University Press Played at Brasenose College, 9 July
2023 Oxford University Press won the toss
and elected to bat Far From the MCC won by 1 wkt Far from the MCC debuts: n/a |
23 / 599 35 over match |
|
Team |
Oxford University Press |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
# |
Batsman |
How Out |
Total |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
FOW |
|
1 |
R. Jackson |
b Shorten |
0 |
|
|
|
1-0 |
|
2 |
S. Holford * |
c & b Hoskins |
30 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
3 |
S. K. Ravi |
c Pearson b Shorten |
3 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
4 |
B. Coney |
b Roberts |
6 |
|
|
|
4-43 |
|
5 |
M. Boullé |
c & b Roberts |
4 |
|
|
|
5-43 |
|
6 |
S. Lawrence |
not out |
35 |
|
|
|
6-71 |
|
7 |
A. Reddy † |
c Rundle b Roberts |
9 |
|
|
|
7-93 |
|
8 |
A. Kanchan |
c Pearson b Reeves |
13 |
|
|
|
8-118 |
|
9 |
S. Singh |
b Kawada-Williams |
13 |
|
|
|
9-133 |
|
10 |
J. Paul |
b Reeves |
8 |
|
|
|
10-148 |
|
11 |
C. Elliott |
run out (Williams) |
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Extras |
NB6, W14, LB2 |
22 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
(all
out, 34.4 overs) |
148 |
|
|
|
|
|
# |
Bowler |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wkts |
Econ |
|
|
1 |
Shorten |
5 |
1 |
9 |
2 |
1.80 |
|
|
2 |
Rundle |
7 |
0 |
20 |
0 |
2.86 |
|
|
3 |
Roberts |
7 |
1 |
32 |
3 |
4.57 |
|
|
4 |
Hoskins |
7 |
1 |
28 |
1 |
4.00 |
|
|
5 |
Reeves |
5.4 |
1 |
27 |
2 |
4.76 |
|
|
6 |
Kawada-Williams |
3 |
0 |
27 |
1 |
9.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Team |
Far from the MCC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
# |
Batsman |
How Out |
Total |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
FOW |
|
1 |
C. T. J. Williams |
b Singh |
12 |
(15) |
2 |
- |
1-20 |
|
2 |
J. W. Pearson |
not out |
78 |
(102) |
9 |
1 |
2-27 |
|
3 |
R. P. Turner * |
run out (Ravi) |
3 |
(8) |
- |
- |
3-51 |
|
4 |
L. G. Ainsworth † |
lbw b Kanshan |
16 |
(17) |
2 |
- |
4-54 |
|
5 |
D. Shorten |
b Elliott |
2 |
(6) |
- |
- |
5-54 |
|
6 |
J. D. Hoskins |
lbw b Elliott |
0 |
(1) |
- |
- |
6-62 |
|
7 |
M. K. Reeves |
b Paul |
6 |
(11) |
1 |
- |
7-71 |
|
8 |
K. A. Kawada-Williams |
b Jackson |
1 |
(4) |
- |
- |
8-119 |
|
9 |
C. D. Roberts |
b Kanchan |
13 |
(24) |
- |
- |
|
|
10 |
M. S. Rundle |
not out |
9 |
(18) |
1 |
- |
|
|
11 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Extras |
W5, LB2, B2 |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
(for
8 wickets, 34.2 overs) |
153 |
|
|
|
|
|
# |
Bowler |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wkts |
Econ |
|
|
1 |
Singh |
7 |
0 |
29 |
1 |
4.14 |
|
|
2 |
Paul |
6 |
0 |
29 |
1 |
4.83 |
|
|
3 |
Elliott |
7 |
2 |
27 |
2 |
3.86 |
|
|
4 |
Kanchan |
7 |
0 |
19 |
2 |
2.71 |
|
|
5 |
Jackson |
5.2 |
1 |
19 |
1 |
3.56 |
|
|
6 |
Holford |
2 |
0 |
19 |
0 |
9.50 |
|
|
MOTM: J. W. Pearson Champagne Moment: J. W. Pearson’s
wonderful catch off Kanchan (b Reeves) Buffet Award: K. A. Kawada-Williams MAD
Moment: C. T. J. Williams’ awful drop
at short fine leg (dolly) |
Opposition:
V019 / 032 Ground: G040 / 101 Captain: C024 / 076 Match No: 35 / 223 |