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PRT A 125-3 (2 points) beat PRT B 124-3 (0
points)
And so it came to pass that Portland's two
premier teams should meet at Redlands to do battle in the final
week of the Dikes Supermarket, Stalbridge Six-A-Side
Cricket League Division One. There was far more at stake
than the paltry 2 points that were on offer, as the two
captains knew only too well. The sides had
been chosen just seconds in advance of the toss, in that
age old playground tradition of the Captain's choosing sides,
and lo Richard Stewkesbury called correctly and John Ryan's
side took to the field. With five players a side, and the teams
already picked, it was of course pre-ordained that one man
should turn up late, and yes it was Jan Davey and it was
decreed by those on high, up on the balcony, that he should
spread his talent evenly and play for both sides in the
role as pinch hitter. So after these distractions, the match finally got
under way.
Just to clear matters up before any confusion
arises "PRT A" led by their fearless commander-in-chief, John Ryan, with
his able adjutants Scott Males, Mark Nott,
Tony Quayle and Tony Morris; while "PRT B", a rag-tag
collection of scoundrels and yahoos, were controlled by
their "captain" Richard Stewkesbury, consisted
of Dave Blackman, Bill Trevett, Bill Gates and Jones.
On to the game, and what a game of cricket
it was, which of course is a blatant lie as the game was
a low scoring affair, as everyone(well, all but one) tried
their damndest not to get out to their teammates, for fear
of retribution at the first nets session the following Sunday.
It was PRT B in bat first and Stewkesbury sent in Gates
to open with Blackman. Ryan, seeing the threat, countered
with his own trump cards and opened the bowling himself,
accompanied by an able deputy in Scott Males. Dave took
the strike and already had his sights set on a juicy long
hop from that man Ryan, and the runs were soon enough ticking
over. Gates also took his fair share of runs as the partnership
thrived until the reverend faltered, surrendering his highly
prized scalp to JR.
Stewkesbury was next in and it was the skip
who looked like a man who could do a lot of damage with
a sublime forward defensive coupled with a trademark heave
across the line for easy runs on the onside. Alas it was
not to be the fairytale all had envisioned and the big man
was on his way upstairs when he was caught of the netting
by Jan Davey to end a very promising fledgling partnership.
This brought Trevett to the middle and he was there to see
Dave retire after a well-crafted knock, bringing forth the
arrival of Jones.
Trevett made his mark immediately as he
smashed a ball off Ryan that looked a sure-fire six, until
Morris blocked it will his ankle causing a lot of pain for
both parties. Ryan, seeing his player in such discomfort
and with limited movement, tossed the ball to Morris and
told him to start the first of his 3 overs. With a close
field set for the big man, he didn't disappoint and helpfully
pushed his initial deliveries to the obliging fielders.
With Nott causing problems to both batsmen with his left-arm
deliveries as he found some extra bounce in the wicket,
the pair looked to Morris' overs to release the pressure
and score their runs and he was fortunate to go for only
47 runs from his hobbling spell.
Jones then Trevett retired after sharing
50 runs between them in a marathon innings by indoor standards,
as Jan came to the crease followed by a returning Blackman,
helping PRT B to 124-3 with a final flurry of runs,
and Morris got his reward as Jan was caught by John
Ryan off the final ball of the innings.
The teams changed ends, so to speak, and
Jan was thrust into the role of opener for PRT A by virtue
of not taking his pads off in the interval between innings.
He was partnered by the free-running and free-thinking Tony
Quayle, but the pair were restricted by Trevett and Stewkesbury
who opened the bowling for PRT B. It was Quayle who was
out first caught off the wall as he tried unsuccessfully
to work Stewkes down the leg side. Nephew replaced uncle
as Nott was in at number 3, and found it hard going against
the flight and guile of the Duke, who played with his adversary
mercilessly, before releasing him from his torment as his
looping shot was held by the delighted Jones at short leg,
bringing Scott to the crease. It was the
same at the other end, as Trevett tied Davey in knots with
a line from around the wicket, though Jan managed to retire
after facing a spell of Jones.
Gates was given the ball to replace Trevett
and was effective immediately as he claimed the wicket of
Morris who faced his one and only ball of the evening, before
he relieved Ryan of scoring and umpiring duties for the
rest of the game. The captain had rarely been in trickier
situations than these in his illustrious career, but he
dug deep and destroyed Gates with a salvo of boundaries
as he blitzed his way to 20 by the end of the over.
Scott managed some customary cuts for singles, and also
managed a scrambled four as the captain urged him through
in his dogged pursuit of the winning runs. Retirement for
Poindexter followed soon after and Jan replaced him as the
final over ticked round with just 15 needed for victory.
With Davey on strike, Stewkesbury gave Gates
the ball knowingly, as he knew of Jan's weakness against
spinners. This was soon dispelled as Jan hit 11 off the
first 3 deliveries, and with the pressure mounting one man
cracked. Unfortunately for PRT B it was Bill Gates who had
been tossing the ball up to Jan in an attempt to lure him
out of the crease, but alas he sent it way down the offside,
giving up a wide and the winning 4 runs, as PRT A grabbed
the 2 points and Stewkes' B-team ended the indoor season
with an unenviable 100% record.
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