A trip into the depths (ish) of Kent saw the Ramblas avenge last year’s defeat with a well-paced run chase, with a four-wicket win largely thanks to the work of Mark Loughlin and Geoff Parrett.
With minds and conversation directed to Berlin, an early start and a 35-over game was agreed, as the Ramblas started proceedings in the field, with Chris Thomas (one scalp, courtesy of a classic Jonny Stocks catch) and Ganesh Ghube maybe not quite at their usual levels of parsimony – the latter particularly forgiven as he was tasked with bowling from the trickier end and dealing with a discombobulating slope.
Replacing the openers were Michael Cooper and Steve Fitch, both of whom were soon thankful for the recent introduction to the team of Ghube, with the former snaffling a wicket thanks to a brilliant forward dive at point, before Fitch claimed his first of the season thanks to a more regulation take at mid-on. Fitch was soon adding another to his – and the team’s – wicket column, this time dismissing the well-set Leybourne skipper, as Kieran Gibbons took a brilliant tumbling catch on the run from deep square leg.
Alas, while there were some high points in the field, there were also times the Ramblas fell below their usual standards and the hosts were always getting the scoreboard to tick over. The retuning Al Murray was unable to serve up anything dangerous, largely down to injury, so J. Stocks and Geoff Parrett were brought into the attack.
The former’s easy-on-the-eye action caused the batters no end of trouble and in partnership with his old pal Parrett, the two put the squeeze on – albeit with the lion’s share of the glory going to the latter, as he took two wickets, both bowled. His second was a piece of magic, drifting the ball in before it spat off the surface to nick the top of off stump. His masterly seven-over spell was topped off with a direct hit by Mark Loughlin on what was, in truth, a suicidal call for a single from the batter.
Ghube was brought back in and dismantled the stumps with his fast left-arm swing for a richly deserved wicket, leaving the hosts 202/8 from their 35 overs. With a few chances going down in the field and some boundaries that should have been stopped, it felt like a total that was a good 20-25 more than it should have been. Still, there’s been an uncharacteristic resilience with the bat this season, so the Ramblas knew a steady start could set the foundations for success.
It was Loughlin and Gibbons who were tasked with setting said foundation, which they more than did in the face of some good lines from the Leybourne bowlers. Well-called singles were accompanied by the necessary boundaries off the loose balls to ensure the chase was always in touch with the run rate in a masterclass of a foundation-building opening partnership.
Alas, Gibbons departed for 16 with the score at 37, before J. Stocks entered the fray only briefly to be replaced by brother Laurie Stocks, in search of his first runs for the season and to rebuild the Ramblas chase with Loughlin.
And rebuild they did, L. Stocks getting off the mark to cheers from his team-mates and showing no sign of settling, as he drove and pulled to the boundary to ensure the onus wasn’t just on his partner to take the fight back to the hosts. Loughlin reached a serene half-century and quickly went from 50 into the 70s thanks to a big couple of overs as the Ramblas reached drinks without further loss and already over halfway to their total.
Drinks, however, did the trick for Leybourne, as Loughlin (79) and L. Stocks (20) departed not long after their refreshments to see the score go from 115/2 to 136/4. That 74-run Loughlin-Stocks partnership, though, had put the Ramblas firmly in control and with plenty of overs to play with, it was still a case of playing the balls on their merit and chipping away at the total.
Captain Matt Rudgyard had replaced Loughlin and was quickly into his stride with a near run-a-ball 14 to keep the momentum up before being bowled, while Ghube – never one to die wondering – was looking for the big shots until he was out for a fairly quick-fire 10.
The score was now 156/6, with Thomas joining Parrett in the middle and the hosts smelling blood as the fielders crept in. Overs were not a problem, with plenty left to get the remaining 47 runs for victory, but a wicket – especially that of Parrett – would have swung the pendulum further in the favour of the fielding side.
That unorthodox stance of Parrett again lulled an opposition into a false sense of security, with some mighty boundaries leaving them to question “Where did this come from?” and there was a slow dawn of realisation that this Ramblas team can (at times, granted…) bat deep.
Barring one near mix-up between the wickets, the pair serenely chipped away at the total, with Parrett expertly nicking the strike and a very worthy choice to seal victory and a 47-run partnership – even if he had misread the score and was looking for a second when only one was needed – as the Ramblas won by four wickets in an evenly-matched game.
Despite being below their best with the ball and in the field, there were still some fine performances from Fitch, Ghube and Parrett, while the solid start from Gibbons and Loughlin was brilliantly built on by Loughlin, L. Stocks, Rudgyard and Parrett to secure a third win on the bounce.
Ramblas MVP: A brilliant knock in its own right by Laurie Stocks was great to see, but it’s one for them to fight over on the tennis court this week, as we can’t split the match-defining innings of Mark Loughlin or the all-round genius of Geoff Parrett.