Weather may have curtailed their season opener the previous week, and threatened to do the same this week, but thankfully the rain stayed away and the Ramblas season got underway against first time opposition, Eltham CC.
Ramblas skipper Michael Cooper had no problem fielding a side, even with two players dropping out during the week. With Jason Christensen and Steve Fitch missing due to injury and illness respectively, Rob Dolby stepped into help out, as did fellow Ex Blue and Ramblas debutant, Andy Hind. And it was a moment for celebration as John Loughlin became the next player to reach fifty appearances for the club.
Buckley excited for the new season / Jon gets his baggy blue
Cooper lost the first toss of the season and in a move that caught everyone off guard, the hosts elected to bowl first. John and Mark Loughlin were sent out to open the batting for the visitors and the pair faced a tough test against a quality opening attack and a slow outfield.
J. Loughlin was the first Rambla to be dismissed in Mead’s opening spell, trapped LBW for 2 in the third over. Johnny Stocks was the man in at first drop but could only score 2 before being bowled by Mead. Hind was the next man in, and the next man out, clean bowled by a sharp Mead inwsinger for 1.
The Ramblas suddenly found themselves 15-3 off nine overs and in a bit of bother. Dolby was in at five and along with M. Loughlin helped rebuild the innings. While M. Loughlin was struggling a little with his timing, Dolby was helping to up the run rate with some big boundaries. The pair took the score to 41 before M. Loughlin was caught at mid wicket for 12 attempting to accelerate the scoring.
Matt Rudgyard was the next man at the crease and unfurled a delightful cover drive that saw the ball race to the boundary as the visitors sought to kick on. Alas, this wasn’t to be as Rudgyard and Dolby were dismissed in successive overs. Dolby was first out, caught at square leg for 32, followed by Rudgyard who was bowled for 7.
Ben Sheridan and Drew Smith were tasked with getting the Ramblas back on track and the former looked in great touch early doors and the duo took the score to 78 before Smith fell to a fantastic caught and bowled effort.
Geoff Parrett joined Sheridan and together they kept the scoreboard ticking along, with the former unfurling his usual array of big shots. Sheridan continued to rotate the strike and some brisk running, converting ones into twos, put pressure on the fielders. They took the score past the century mark before Parrett was clean bowled by the returning Mead for 13.
James Dilley was the man in at 10 and partnered Sheridan well, the latter now more comfortable at the crease and hitting some delightful boundaries to plunder more runs at the death. Dilley was also in an aggressive mood racing to 13 before he was bowled by the Eltham skipper.
Cooper was the last man in but could only managed a single before he was bowled in the second ball of the final over and the Ramblas finished on 130 all out. A slightly below par score but the visitors showed grit and determination with the bat to give themselves a chance.
After a quick turnaround, the Ramblas headed out to the field looking to claim the win. Dilley and Cooper opened the bowling, with the opening attack hitting their stride from ball one, with Dilley making the breakthrough in his first over when Swain mistimed his shot and Loughlin took the catch at mid wicket.
Dilley picked up his second wicket in the fifth over when Hanington picked out Parrett at long on, and it got even better three overs later when Cooper dismissed Fisher thanks to a simple catch by Parrett at square leg.
The Ramblas had put themselves in a strong position thanks to the opening burst from Cooper and Dilley, who were replaced by Smith and Parrett. And while Smith struggled with his length, Parrett bowled beautifully and was unlucky not to pick up an over in his eight over spell.
Despite the visitors best efforts, Eltham continued to stay above the run rate. Loughlin and Sheridan came into the attack but the Ramblas pacemen couldn’t break the partnership. With the game all but over, Dilley and Cooper returned to the attack but Eltham hit the winning runs as the hosts won by 7 wickets.
Handshakes all round after the game
While it wasn’t the start the Ramblas wanted, it was a good performance with plenty of positives to build on as we look to take on Belvedere next week.
Ramblas MVP: Shout outs to Rob Dolby and James Dilley for their efforts with bat and ball respectively. But for a mature knock that belied his years, which helped the Ramblas get to a decent total, this week’s MVP is Ben Sheridan.