It may have been a tough start to our tenth season but that didn’t stop friends and family turning up in their droves for the Ramblas Family Day.
Ramblas past and present, and hopefully future, came along to see Brewers Bashers once again take on Rozy’s Rascals for the Ramblas Cup.
Seven players were making their Ramblas Cup debuts and after winning the toss, Rascals’ captain Rozy Trotter elected to bat.
Team lineups:
Brewer’s Bashers: Lucy Brewer (c), Chris Thomas, Dave Green, Ruth Moir, Matt Rudgyard, Rehan Qureshi, Drew Smith, Johnny Stocks
Rozy’s Rascals: Rozy Trotter (c), Michael Cooper, Mark Loughlin, Geoff Parrett, Cheryl Rudgyard, Laurie Stocks, Steve Fitch
The Bashers & Rascals ready for action
Trotter opened the batting with Loughlin and got off the mark before a frankly insane piece of running saw Loughlin run out without facing a ball. The Rascals’ captain, keen to keep the strike, ran down the track despite the protestations of Loughlin, who dutifully sacrificed his wicket to protect his skipper.
The Rascals took the score into double figures before Trotter was caught by Qureshi off the bowling of Smith. These two early wickets brought Ramblas originals, Parrett and L. Stocks, to the crease.
L. Stocks rolled back the years with some gloriously timed strokes as the Rascals looked to rebuild. However, the rebuild was dealt another blow when Parrett was run out for 1. Cooper joined L. Stocks at the crease and together they managed to chip away at the scoreboard, but with a wicket not conducive to batting, runs were very much hard to come by.
The partnership was broken when Cooper was clean bowled by J. Stocks for 5, with C. Rudgyard the next cab off the rank. C. Rudgyard wasted no time in getting stuck into the bowlers and raced to 5 before she was bowled by Smith. L. Stocks was then partnered with Stitch and the pair managed to make the scoreboard look a tad more respectable before Fitch was stumped off the bowling of C. Thomas for a well made 12.
The fall of Fitch meant that Trotter had another chance to get some runs but alas, she was clean bowled by Thomas first ball. Thomas was on a hat-trick but was denied by a rare forward defensive from Loughlin, whose stay at the crease didn’t last much longer than his first as he was caught by J. Stocks off the bowling of Thomas.
Parrett’s next stay at the crease was even shorter, bowled by Smith for a second ball duck. This brought Cooper back to the crease to attempt to support the ever present L. Stocks. And the pair took the score to 86 before L. Stocks finally fell for 23 thanks to a fantastic catch by Smith.
Despite the wicket being a tough one to bat one, the Rascals were aware that they were 20 or 30 runs shy of a good score but after a quick change of innings, they took to the field determined to stop the Bashers from retaining their crown.
The Rascals got off to the perfect start when Loughlin trapped Green for a third ball duck, and thoughts of an upset were on the the minds of the Rascals. Those thoughts were quickly dispelled when Qureshi walked to the crease. Qureshi, along with Smith, punished any loose balls as they raced to a fifty partnership in the eighth over.
Sensing the need for a breakthrough, Trotter brought back Loughlin, who rewarded his skipper’s faith but having Qureshi caught behind for 13. Moir was the next batter in and she ably supported Smith as the pair took the score to 71 before Moir was bowled by Fitch for 3.
Rugyard was in at five and immediately signalled his intent to finish the game quickly with an early boundary. But the Brewer’s keeper was undone by a pea shooter by Fitch and was clean bowled for 5. J. Stocks came in and was watchful early in his innings but a delightful late cut for a boundary brought the scores level.
A rush of blood to the head saw J. Stocks stumped off the bowling of Cooper and in came the Bashers’ skipper to finish the game off, which she did thanks to a misfield from Trotter.
Brewer’s Bashers claimed their second Ramblas Cup victory and Rozy’s Rascals were left to lick their wounds and plan next year’s revenge. Spirits were soon lifted thanks to another excellent BBQ put on by the Fitch family and the chance for everyone to eat drink and be merry.
The sweet taste of victory