When your intrepid Ramblas finished their tenth season with something of a shellacking at the hands of Oakhill Taverners, they certainly didn’t anticipate waiting another 322 days before donning their whites. Alas, who knew a pandemic would be enough to stop the thud of leather on willow and gentle applause for a well-run single?
Although we’re navigating our way through this supposed ‘new normal’ (ugh), some things never change: namely, Ramblas skipper Michael Cooper scrambling around for players and dreary weather for the first game of the season.
Following a rare win at the toss, Cooper opted to put the 10-men Ramblas in the field, opening up with Mark Loughlin and Doug Danks – the pair both getting in the wickets early on; the latter snaffling the first thanks to a simple catch by his captain in the second over, and Loughlin bowling the other opener shortly after.
Conscious of the inevitable rustiness from his bowlers, Cooper opted to give his openers a breather and save some of their overs up his sleeve for later. That meant Ed Gibbs replacing Loughlin from the Tennis Courts End, who recovered well from a shaky start to claim a wicket thanks to a tremendous low catch on the move from Geoff Parrett at mid-on.
From the Gardens End, Thomas found his line early and was rewarded with the wicket of the Hildenborough captain, getting one to move away and elicit an edge to ‘keeper Matt Rudgyard. He followed that up with another in his fifth over that kept low on the batsman, leaving the visitors 124/5 after 18 overs.
That marked a good recovery from the Ramblas, as a strong partnership had started to form. But, just before drinks, the Ramblas were left pondering whether a dropped catch off the new batsman would prove costly…
…well, funny you should ask.
Parrett was the unfortunate bowler on that occasion (sorry again, Geoff…) and he and the returning D. Danks bowled diligently against the big-hitting left and right-hand duo with no reward, while Gibbs and Thomas came back into the attack and saw their figures get a whole lot uglier.
Finishing things up were Loughlin and Cooper, with the captain’s tricky-to-read pace garnering a well-deserved wicket LBW and Loughlin getting his second, a caught and bowled, in the final over. A 144-run partnership (including 82 from the batter dropped early on) helping Hildenborough to an imposing 269 from their 35 overs.
With tea provided by each player, the usual resplendent spread on show at the Ramblas was replaced by a menagerie of meals, from healthy quinoa salads to vegan hot dogs – and the odd appetising-looking pear…
Leading the charge for the Ramblas were the now luxuriously coiffured Alex Danks and Rehan Qureshi, faced with a challenging total requiring a run rate of 7.7. The pair batted beautifully from the off, racing to 63, before A. Danks was bowled by one that jagged back in.
Qureshi had already signalled his intent with a couple of sixes and, in tandem with Drew Smith, continued to pepper the boundary to keep above the run rate before Smith was caught for 11 with the score on 122 in the 15th over.
That brought in Rudgyard, who had identified the need to support the big-hitting Qureshi who had now reached his 50. The pair ran – and didn’t run – for a quick-fire partnership of 31 before Rudgyard departed for six.
Some tighter bowling, and Qureshi’s tightening hamstring, had helped slow down the run rate in the middle overs, and Captain Cooper and Loughlin departed without troubling the scorer in quick succession as they recognised the need to up the scoring rate.
With the score on 167 at the end of the 22nd over, the required run rate had crept up nearer to eight an over, but the hosts were still in with a shout.
Qureshi reached his century with a huge six down the ground and the Ramblas on the sideline begun to tentatively counter the possibility of victory. Meanwhile, Gibbs was proving more than simply supporting cast in the Qureshi show, piercing the field regularly to keep his side in contention.
With yet more boundaries from the bat of Qureshi causing fielders to rummage in the bushes, the hosts’ nerves were beginning to jangle. That jangle became more of a rattle, when, on 131, Qureshi departed having registered the third highest ever Ramblas individual score in the process.
Gibbs perished soon after for a career-high 34, meaning the equation was 41 required from four overs, with three wickets remaining. Despite some confidence in the tail-end, the Ramblas understood one big over was needed to get that run rate down to something more manageable.
Alas, Parrett couldn’t replicate some of his greatest hits, scoring three before heaving one to the fielder as he sought to accelerate. Despite Thomas pushing D. Danks through for some interesting singles, the pair couldn’t see it home, the former departing for a run-a-ball seven as he heaved across the line.
Thanks to Qureshi’s monstrous century, the Ramblas managed to take the game to the wire – despite being a body shy in the field – but ultimately lost by 29 runs.
Ramblas MVP: Rehan Qureshi. He got 131 from 85, FFS…
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