The sun was out in full force as the Ramblas took on old rivals Chevening, aiming to bag their first win of a promising season. And while the rest of the country were waiting to see who would be getting their hands on the Premier League title, Ramblas skipper Michael Cooper’s only concern was ensuring he didn’t get sunburnt.
There were no selection issues for Cooper ahead of the fixture, with Chris Thomas, Rahul Saha, Drew Smith, John Loughlin & Duane Hall coming in to replace Johnny Stocks, James Dilley, Steve Fitch, Jason Christensen & Al Murray.
Basking in the sun pre match
However, the hosts struggled all week to scrabble a side together but Chevening’s captain Johnny Recaldin managed to get a side out that included several youngsters and some new to cricket. With the sun beating down and the host’s boasting an inexperienced side, the captains agreed on a twenty over a side game and that the Ramblas would bat first.
Cooper elected to open the batting with twins Mark & John Loughlin, confident that their quick running between the wickets would keep the scoreboard ticking over. The pair looked solid against a good opening attack, their speed between the wickets, combined with a fast outfield, meant the Ramblas were going at seven an over. At the halfway mark of the innings and the score on 73-0, the pair were retired by Cooper with Smith and Luke Sheridan replacing them.
The Loughlins, always quick between the wickets
Smith & Sheridan built upon the strong platform built by the openers, the latter signalling his intent with a enormous six down the ground with just his third ball. While Smith was initially watchful, he soon opened his arms hitting a sweetly timed six over the long on boundary.
Luke & Drew at the crease / Rahul on ball fetching duty
Sheridan continued to smash the ball to all parts before the partnership ended in the eighteenth over when Smith was caught for a 14 ball 17. The pair put on 59 runs in seven and a half overs.
Stocks came in at five and ensured that Sheridan kept most of the strike. Sheridan reached his fifty with another almighty six as the Ramblas finished on 155-2.
Luke reaches his first 50 of the season
After a quick break between innings, the Ramblas took to the field aiming to defend a decent, if not imperious, total. Saha and Parrett were tasked with opening the attack and the combination of pace and spin kept the Chevening openers honest. However the excellent batting track meant that anything loose was punished as the hosts kept up with the required run rate.
Saha made the breakthrough with the final ball of his spell, clean bowling Curnow for 11 with a fantastic delivery. The wicket gave the Ramblas a boost and only had to wait until the following over for the second wicket. A sharp stop in the field from Parrett off his own bowling, and a risky single taken by the batters, saw the bowler throw the ball to Matt Rudgyard behind the stumps who sharply whipped off the bails.
The Ramblas celebrate Rahul’s wicket & Geoff’s run out.
With the openers bowled out, Parrett and Saha were replaced by Thomas and Hall respectively. However, with the other opener, Tinsley, still at the crease and in great touch, the visitors knew that there was still plenty to do. The new bowlers felt the effect of Tinlsey’s big hitting ability but luckily for the Ramblas, when Tinsley reached his deserved fifty, he retired to give other batsmen a go.
After a two over spell, Thomas came off in place of Cooper. The Ramblas skipper bowled well in tandem with Hall who kept his head up despite getting some punishment from the batsmen. Cooper was unlucky not to pick up a wicket in his first couple of overs but a couple of tough chances off his own bowling went begging.
Thomas came on in place of Hall and swung the game in the Ramblas favour with a wicket maiden in the seventeenth over. The wicket came courtesy off an outrageous catch from Sheridan, running in from the boundary to take a diving catch, dismissing Chevening’s number four for 42.
The pair combined in Thomas’ next over when Sheridan took another excellent catch on the long on boundary edge. Despite some concern from the fielder that he may have stepped out of bounds, the Chevening sidelines confirmed the catch.
It was left to Cooper to bowl the final over and after conceding just the two runs, saw the Ramblas home to a 14 run victory. It was a fantastic game of cricket played in the true spirit of the game and the Rambas picked up their first win of the season.
Teams shake hands after a thrilling contest
Ramblas MVP: Shout out to John & Mark Loughlin for their unbeaten 73 run opening partnership, but for following up his 56* with the bat by taking two crucial catches, this week’s MVP is Luke Sheridan.