In a wonderful piece of symmetry, the Ramblas started their tenth their season as they did their first, on a gloriously sunny Easter Sunday. And to show how far the club has come, there were several pre-match landmarks to honour.
Sam Ford, who joined in 2012 received his 2018 Players’ Player award and Ash Harriss, who also joined the club in 2012, received his 50th appearance cap. Ramblas original Steve Fitch was presented with his tankard to mark his 100th appearance for the club.
Pre-match presentations
Captain of the Ramblas Michael Cooper had a headache free week in terms of selection for the game against Chislehurst, with the aforementioned Harriss and Rich Ford stepping in to replace the absent Chris Thomas and Matt Rudgyard.
Despite losing the toss, Cooper got his wish as the Ramblas were asked to bowl first. And sticking with what he knows best, the skipper opened the bowling with his trusted duo of Mark Loughlin and Doug Danks.
The pair looked in fine early form with the ball but the quality of the host’s opening batsmen and a lightning fast outfield meant that the scoreboard ticked along at a decent rate. Loughlin was unable to pick up a wicket and was replaced by Fitch.
D. Danks finally made the breakthrough when he trapped Assad Mahmood LBW to take the first wicket of the new season. And in classic D. Danks style, he didn’t have to wait too long for his second wicket, three balls in fact, thanks to a sharp catch at slip from Loughlin to dismiss Das for a duck. Doug could’ve bagged a third wicket but a drop from Ed Gibbs meant he had to settle for figures of 7-0-44-2.
Doug in full flow is always a lovely sight
Geoff Parrett replaced D. Danks and bagged a wicket first ball when his trademark top spinner pinned opener Goyal in his crease and dismissed him LBW. Fitch thought he had a wicket off a top edge but S. Ford dropped the catch. Luckily for the ‘keeper a no ball was called, a point which he was at pains to point out that he knew pre-drop…
The drop
Luckily for both bowler and ‘keeper amends were made when another top edge was safely claimed by S. Ford and Fitch was off the mark for the season. Parrett picked up his second of the day to dismiss the dangerous Dash thanks to the angriest one handed catch you will ever see from Gibbs.
Players celebrate Geoff’s wicket and salute crowd
Fitch was replaced by housewives favourite Gibbs who picked up a wicket in his first over when Shanker spooned one up in the air and the bowler took a simple catch off his own bowling. Parrett then picked up his third wicket of the day when an inside edge was snaffled by the ‘keeper.
Ed picks up his first wicket and nearly gets a run out
After finishing his five over spell with figures of 5-1-21-3, Parrett was replaced by R. Ford whose first two overs kept control and had the visitors thinking of restricting the host’s to a score of around 170. Alas, the big hitting of Scott Harris saw him take 26 off R. Fords final over and put the pressure back on the Ramblas.
Gibbs nabbed his second wicket when he clean bowled Sheakh but not before there was a discussion about the rules around a double bouncer. Fortunately for the Ramblas, professional umpire D. Danks stepped in and advised that as the second bounce was inside the batsman’s crease, the wicket stood.
Chislehurst’s strong batting at the death meant that they finished their 35 overs on 232-8 to leave the Ramblas with a daunting, but by no means impossible, target to chase.
The Ramblas tucked into a decent tea in the sunshine and got themselves in the mood to get among the runs. Harriss and Alex Danks opened the batting for the visitors but A. Danks’ stay at the crease only lasted three balls before he was bowled by Sheakh for a duck.
Disaster strikes for Al
S. Ford strode to the crease a little earlier that he’d thought but together with Harriss rebuilt after a wobbly start. While S. Ford was initially watchful, Harriss was his usual attacking self, dispatching any loose ball for a boundary. The pair took the score to 53-1 before Harriss played one big shot too many and was clean bowled by Assad Mahmood for an excellent 31.
Ash going big before going home
Tom Danks came in at four and supported S. Ford in chipping away at the target thanks to some sharp running. The pair took the score past the century mark but despite their best efforts, the strength of the host’s bowling attack meant that the required run rate kept creeping up.
An elegant leave from Tom / Umpires and scorers focused on their craft
In a desire to get above the run rate, T. Danks perished for 21 when he was clean bowled by Arshad Mahmood. Cooper came to the crease but his stay only lasted two balls as he was also bowled by Arshad Mahmood but was at least there long enough to see S. Ford reach his half century.
R. Ford was the next cab off the rank and he looked to dig in as S. Ford started to move up the gears as he raced from the fifties to the eighties in no time at all. R. Ford managed to pick up four runs for the cause before he was clean bowled by Harris.
The game all but over, attention quickly turned to S. Ford’s potential century (potentury?) and luckily he had a partner in Loughlin who was able to run very quick singles to ensure S. Ford got as much of the strike as possible.
Sam & Mark finish the innings with a flourish
With the third ball of the final over, S. Ford brought up successive centuries for the Ramblas to ensure that, in spite of defeat, the visitors had something to celebrate.
The Ramblas finished on 190-5 as they lost by 42 runs, but the scoreboard doesn’t tell the full story. Against a strong outfit, the Ramblas acquitted themselves admirably with both bat and ball and laid down a strong marker for the rest of the season.
Ramblas MVP: Honourable mentions to Geoff Parrett for his excellent spell of 3-21 from his five overs, and Ash Harriss for a great knock of 31 at the top of the order. But for an excellent 103* after keeping for 35 overs, this week’s MVP has to be Sam Ford.