The sun was out in all its glory as the Ramblas headed to Chevening to take on their oldest foes Chevening Amblers. After a disappointing results against Petts Wood the previous week, the visitors were keen to bounce back quickly with a strong performance.
Ramblas captain Michael Cooper had a relatively easy week in terms of selections, with Danks brothers Alex and Tom, Ed Gibbs, Johnny Stocks and Dave Gambie all returning to the lineup. However, a late injury withdrawal from last week’s fielding hero Haydn Evans, meant the visitors were a man short.
On a hot day with a good pitch and fast outfield, Cooper was keen to bat first, confident that his strong batting line up could set a decent target. Despite losing the toss, Cooper got his wish and the Ramblas were put into bat.
A. Danks and Ash Harriss opened the batting for the visitors and Harriss was immediately into his stride, hitting two boundaries in the first over. The pair dealt mainly in boundaries in the early overs, thanks to the quick outfield and the odd loose ball from the Chevening bowlers.
Ash & Al aggressive from the get go
The partnership reached fifty runs in just the eighth over as they dominated the opening bowling attack. A change of bowlers didn’t equate to a change of fortune for the hosts as Harriss and A. Danks continued their efforts to build a strong platform for the innings.
A. Danks was first of the pair to reach his fifty, bringing up the century partnership at the same time, with a nudge into the covers for a single. Harriss only had to wait another two overs to bring up his fifty, smashing the ball over the bowlers head for a boundary.
The pair celebrate their fifties, keeping the scorer busy…
The scoreboard continued to tick along nicely for the Ramblas, with the 150 partnership reached in the 23rd over. After Harriss plundered four boundaries in an over, the race was on to who could get their century first.
A. Danks was the first man to reach the milestone, but both batsmen reached their centuries in the same over, with the partnership setting all kinds of Ramblas records.
Tons up for the pair
The partnership was unbroken as the Ramblas finished their innings 266 for no loss off their 40 overs. Harriss led the way with 132* with A. Danks finishing on 119*.
After setting a daunting targeting, the Ramblas tucked into tea as they looked to get the energy needed to finish the job.
Cooper elected to keep with his tried and tested opening attack of Mark Loughlin and Doug Danks. Loughlin was looking back to his best, cramping the batsmen for room with his pace and control. While his five over spell went wicketless, it put early pressure on the Chevening openers.
With Loughlin keeping it tight one end, it forced the batsmen to attack D. Danks. The bowler took a bit of punishment in his first two overs, but after some inspired field positioning from Cooper and Tom Danks, D. Danks made the breakthrough in his third over. Ranaweera, attempting to go over the top of the in-field, only managed to find Geoff Parrett at deep mid-on who took a simple catch.
Doug in action, as the Ramblas celebrate the first wicket
D. Danks picked up his second wicket two overs later, dismissing the other Chevening opener thanks to a simple catch from T. Danks at mid-wicket.
D. Danks and Loughlin were replaced by Parrett and Gibbs respectively and Gibbs was immediately among the wickets. After getting his side to the fifty mark, Fenton was clean bowled by Gibbs attempting to heave a full toss into the crowd.
Ed picks up his first wicket
Gibbs only had to wait another over to get his second wicket of the day, this time thanks to a short ball that Recaldin popped up to Loughlin, who took an easy catch at square leg. Two balls later Gibbs had his third wicket (and tenth of the season), when a delightful inswinger clean bowled Dinsmore for a duck.
Parrett, not to be outdone by Gibbs efforts, also picked up a wicket in his first over, thanks to a sharp catch from Cooper at mid-wicket. The hosts had slumped to 58-6 and were in plenty of trouble.
Geoff & Coop combine for the sixth wicket
Chevening fought back well and took the score to 87 when an attempted switch hit from Leppard saw him trapped LBW and Parrett had his second wicket of the day.
T. Danks and Stocks replaced Gibbs and Parrett, and both bowled excellently in the late stages of the innings. Stocks nearly had his first wicket of the season but an outside edge eluded Gambie. With Chevening playing cautiously as they attempted to put on a decent score, further chances were hard to come by for the pair.
Agony for Johnny as the edge flies past the ‘keeper
The Ramblas skipper brought himself and Loughlin into the attack, looking to pick up the final two wickets. Cooper grabbed the first of the two required when he clean bowled E. Isaac. Loughlin then wrapped up the innings when he dismissed R. Isaac thanks to a fantastic catch from Parrett, who ran in from the long-off boundary to snaffle the chance.
Handshakes all round following the win
A comprehensive victory for the Ramblas saw them pick up their second win of the season, in what was a fantastic team performance. Next up, the Ramblas are at home to Hackney Umpires as they look to avenge a defeat to them last season.
Ramblas MVP: Shout outs to Geoff Parrett (2-25), Doug Danks (2-29) and Ed Gibbs (3-14) with the ball. But there’s no surprises with this week, with 132* and 119* respectively, the co-MVPs are Ash Harris & Alex Danks.