The Ramblas were unable to gain revenge of old foes Hildenborough as the hosts secured a 49 run win to claim the clean sweep for the season.
Captain Michael Cooper once again had no troubles finding a side to travel to Hildenborough, with Luke and Ben Sheridan returning alongside Ian Dacre who was making his yearly pilgramage to the Ramblas fold.
Hildenborough won the toss and elected to bat first. Mark Loughlin and Chris Thomas opened the bowling for the vistors, with the former bowling an excellent three over spell. While Thomas struggled with his rhythm, he still kept the pressue on the hosts.
Mark & Thommo open the bowling
Geoff Parrett and Drew Smith came on in place of Loughlin and Thomas respectively, and the pair backed up the openers’ efforts with the ball. Parrett in particular was bowling beautifully, plenty of flight and guile to bamboozle the Hildenborough batters.
Parrett got his reward when he clean bowled Martens for 19 with a delivery that kept low and beat the opener’s defences. The Ramblas spinner finished his spell with figures of 7-1-34-1.
Ramblas celebrate Geoff’s wicket
Cooper and Dacre were the next bowlers in the rotation but despite some early promise, and with wickets in the hutch for the hosts, they were the vicitm of some more aggressive stroke play as the run rate increased. Cooper picked up the wicket of the Hildenborough captain, trapped LBW with a full delivery that pinned him at the crease.
Thomas and Smith returned to the attack alongside Rehan Qureshi but the Ramblas were unable to pick up any more wickets as Hildenborough ended their innings on 219-2.
Ramblas bowlers toil in the field
After tucking into an excellent tea, the Ramblas set about chasing down the target. Loughlin and Johnny Stocks were tasked with kick starting the innings. Alas, the visitors got off to a nightmarish start, with both openers back in the pavilion inside three overs.
Loughlin was clean bowled on the very first ball of the innings and Stocks was run out after some miscommuniation saw both him and L. Sheridan at the same end.
Disaster strikes for Mark
The Sheridan brothers started the rebuilding effort against a strong opening attack, trading mainly in singles but punishing anything loose. L. Sheridan hit an enourmous six but just as he was getting into his stride, he was caught behind for 12 by a ball that reared up on him.
Qureshi was in at five and combined well with B. Sheridan as the pair looked to take on the new bolwers. Some lusty blows from Qureshi took the score to 50 before he was bowled for 14 off just thirteen deliveries.
Smith joined B. Sheridan at the crease and helped the Ramblas chip away at an ever increasing required run rate. Conscious of the loss of early wickets, the duo were all about low risk, high quality shots. They took the Ramblas to the 100 mark just as B. Sheridan notched up his third fifty of a fantastic season for the young batter.
Ben salutes another excellent fifty for the season
Understanding the need to kick on, B. Sheridan was bowled for 57 and returned the pavilion to thunderous applause from the Ramblas faithful.
Rudgyard came to the crease and announced his arrival by dispatching the ball through the covers for a boundary. He and Smith took the attack to the hosts, keen to keep the Ramblas in the contest. Rudgyard was looking in imperious form before one big shot too many saw him caught in the covers for 21 off just thirteen deliveries.
Parrett joined Smith but the pair weren’t together long before Smith was caught and bowled for 49, cruelly denied a deserved half century.
Heartbreak for Drew as he departs for 49
With the game all but gone, Cooper came in to bat with Parrett and the pair looked to notch up as many runs as possible. The pair plundered ten runs to take the score to 177 before Parrett was dismissed on the penultimate ball of the innings.
The wicket brought Dacre to the crease, with one ball for him and his mongoose to face. A combination of a suicidal call from Cooper and a misfield from the bowler saw Dacre scramble through for a single to rack up his first runs for the club since 2019.
Ian salutes the pavilion for his 1*
It was a case of what if for the Ramblas, as some key moments of the game didn’t quite fall the visitors way. But despite the defeat, there are plenty of positives for the Ramblas to take through the business end of the season.
Ramblas MVP: Honourable mentions to Geoff Parrett for his excellent bowling performance, as well as Drew Smith for his contribution with bat and ball. However, for his composed knock of 57 that kept the Ramblas in with a shout, this week’s MVP is Ben Sheridan.