After last week’s defeat to Washington CC, the Ramblas regrouped and headed to old foes Chislehurst looking to bounce back.
As part of the new rotation policy, Simon Triggs, Jason Triggs, Laurie Stocks, Geoff Parrett & Chris Thomas, with Rehan Qureshi, Drew Smith, James Dilley, Luke Sheridan and debutant Qahir Bandali coming into the XI.
Once again Ramblas skipper Michael Cooper lost the toss and Chislehurst elected to bat. Cooper opened the bowling with Mark Loughlin and Dilley, hoping that pace early doors would get the visitors off to a strong start.
Alas, despite some solid bowling from the pair, neither were able to pick up a wicket. Cooper and Doug Danks replaced Dilley and Loughlin respectively. Cooper’s five over spell was very much one of two halves and after losing his rhythm was replaced by Qureshi.
Cooper chases the ball / Drew keeping calm
Danks however was looking back to his best and eventually made the breakthrough when he claimed the wicket of Assad Mahmood for 42 thanks to a simple catch at mid-wicket by Sheridan.
Qureshi was bowling well in tandem with D. Danks and picked up the second wicket of the game when he bowled Latif for 68 with a peach of a delivery that burst through the batsman’s defences.
Dilley and Sheridan came on in place of Qureshi and Danks to finish off proceedings. Sheridan bowled well in his first outing with the ball for the club but it was Dilley who picked up the final wicket, when Turner mistimed his pull shot and was caught at mid-wicket by Loughlin.
Luke, balletic with the ball
Chislehurst finished their innings on 224-3 leaving the Ramblas with a large, but by no means insurmountable total.
The Ramblas opened the batting with Johnny Stocks and Alex Danks, and the pair started well before A. Danks was bowled for 7. Qureshi came in at first drop and immediately started piling up the boundaries to help the visitors keep above the run rate.
Pictures courtesy of Niamh
Alas, the partnership was ended with the score on 46 when Stocks called for a quick single but was sent back by his partner and was run out for 8. Smith came in at four with the plan to stick with Qureshi who was batting beautifully. However, Smith could only rack up a single before he was caught off the bowling of Khanna.
Loughlin was the next man in but he couldn’t repeat his heroics from the previous week and was bowled for 3. Debutant Bandali came to the crease at six but was only able to watch as Qureshi was bowled for 59 and then Sheridan was bowled the very next ball.
Rehan reaches his fifty
These dismissals precipitated an old school Ramblas collapse, with Bandali, Matt Rudgyard and Dilley all being dismissed for ducks. It was only a glorious cameo from D. Danks that made the scorecard look vaguely passable. When he was clean bowled for 27, the game was over and the Ramblas lost by 100 runs.
Cooper trudges off the field
In what was a chastening defeat for the Ramblas, all we can do is dust ourselves down and look to get our first win of the season at Wrotham St George.
Ramblas MVP: For a stylish 59 to go with 1-19 with the ball, this week’s MVP is Rehan Qureshi.