Haringey Libraries v RTCC at Holtwhites CC
Sunday 7th August 2016
(time game)
Haringey Libs 277-2
Beamers 214-4
Match Drawn
With an already threadbare Tavs team further reduced to just seven players on Sunday morning, there was a moment of uncertainty whether the game would still go ahead. A quick call to Haringey Libraries later though and it was agreed that we might as well try to make a game of it.
Up to Holtwhites we ventured then and captain for the day Eiran went about thrashing out a deal with his opposition number. After five minutes of frantic discussion, the format was decided: 35 overs per side, with them lending us two fielders at a time, who’d be able to bowl as well. A further two Librarians (?) would bolster our batting line-up when the time came, too.
So, a virtual nine-a-side, and the Haringey Libraries openers took to the crease on the bottom pitch, which sports a significant slope. Andy P opened the bowling from the far end and produced a tight seven-over spell that really deserved a wicket. Alas, it quickly transpired that their batsmen were equal to everything he threw at them.
The pavilion end meanwhile was reserved for our guest bowlers. First up was Conor, who bowled briskly but started off waywardly, before bowling one of the opener towards the end of his spell. His brother Gareth was still there though, and started to look more and more assured, timing the ball beautifully at times and utilising the sloping outfield to full effect, soon bringing up his 50 in double-quick time.
After Andy P had finished his spell, the runs really started to flow and our bowling options started to run thin. With the third of the Garnsworthy brothers (fourteen year old off-spinner Mark) keeping the batsmen honest from one end, my efforts weren’t quite so astute. In fact, my four overs disappeared at nearly 20 a pop, the only surprise being that the batsmen didn’t both end up at the striker’s end at some point as they were both salivating over the pies on offer. Jack and Richard took over and didn’t fair much better, with Gareth now well past his 100. The oppo captain watched on as umpire and decided that to set up a proper contest, some more tweaking was required.
The offer to turn the match into a timed game was made and eventually accepted. With the run rate close enough to ten an over, a declaration was imminent (signalled by Gareth retiring on 172* to at least give one more batsman a go). It finally came at the fall of a long overdue wicket on 277. Third Tav-for-the-day Dave was bowling at this point. Off his third ball, I misfielded a fierce drive at mid-on, which tempted the batsmen into a second run. My throw in from the deep however was good enough for Dave to affect the run-out. A wicket at last, but as we trudged off for an excellent tea it was clear that so far we’d been thoroughly outplayed.
Knowing that we’d have 40 overs to either survive or have a go at getting the runs, Simon and Andy P opened the batting. Haringey Libraries' approach continued to be positive in all departments: A slip and a gully were ever-present despite the “fielding restrictions” and while opening bowling stalwart Argent bowled over after over from the far end, there was an obvious desire not to suffocate our chase straight away. Their best chance would be to let us have a look-in and hope we'd start hitting out – and getting out – on what was still a very good batting surface.
Our two openers batted sensibly and steadily, mostly blocking out Argent's boomerang swing and going after anything loose. Simon hit a couple of sumptuous drives and cuts and Andy P soon found his rhythm too, unleashing those powerful straight drives which have been a constant feature of his batting this season. By the time Simon was eventually bowled, they had put on a healthy 50+ partnership in 16-or-so overs. A perfect platform to kick on.
Dom fell early to a sharp catch at slip off their first change bowler, but this brought Eiran to the crease. With Andy already motoring, the runs started to come easily. In fact, it suddenly seemed like an unlikely victory wasn’t out of the question. The new partnership had no trouble going at the asking rate, which had crept up to 9 an over, and Andy brought up a well-deserved 50. Eiran showed no mercy against erstwhile-Tav Mark, crashing some brutal shots to the boundary. By the time Andy fell, we were within a hundred runs of victory, with 13 overs still remaining. Jack joined Eiran, and despite the latter’s mantra not to be tempted to go for the runs, the former latched on to anything short, including a cracking hook shot which sailed all but a yard over an ashen-faced short midwicket.
Alas, Libraries now sensed that maybe they had given us a little bit too much leeway, and started bringing on the young guns. Runs dried up somewhat, and Eiran eventually got bamboozled by centurion Gareth’s slower deliver for an excellent 70. Six overs still remained and with potentially three wickets still in hand we were in a fairly safe position, but Jack and I were determined not to give them a sniff. The returning Argent was still huffing in and bowling just as well in his tenth over, and Gareth’s zipping off-breaks were a challenge to keep out, but despite some sometimes overzealous appealing and very aggressive fields, we persevered to secure the draw.
We settled down with a few cold beers on the Holtwhites balcony in the evening sun, a day well spent. What had started out as a day full of uncertainties had ended in an excellent Tavs performance and an equally excellent match. Full credit must go to Haringey Libraries for making sure the game went ahead and for setting it up as a contest where at times all three results were eminently possible. As they say, cricket was the winner.
Matthias
