For the second week in a row, a remarkable late-order partnership turned the Ramblas frowns upside down after a slog of a day in the field that saw them on the end of a comprehensive beating by London Itinerants.
Although the result (and some of the fielding… and bowling… and batting…) was far from ideal, the (long, long, long) day was punctuated by some real highs.
First, the self-styled Captain Chaos himself, Matt Rudgyard, was presented with his tankard for reaching 100 Ramblas appearances. A fine addition to the Ramblas family, the biggest surprise is that he’s not played more games, but we’re all looking forward to the next 100.
The Ramblas bowling and fielding effort definitely happened – the scorecard, alas, is the hard, cold proof of that. As are the scars on the bowlers’ minds and figures. So, suffice to say after 40 overs of hard toil in the field, the Ramblas trudged off feeling like a set of underpaid, underfed medieval farm workers, as the visitors piled on 319/7.
Thankfully, Ganesh Ghube was on hand to deliver the first of a double dose of joy in the second half of the day, as his gloriously delicious contribution to tea was roundly devoured by one and all. Indeed, following a shaky start to proceedings with the bat by the Ramblas, it remained very high in terms of conversation on the sidelines…
Ah yes, the batting. That, too, definitely happened – although barely, in the first 15 overs – and is again etched in history on the scorecard. In similar scenes to last week, the Ramblas fell to 26/5 before a brief riposte from Rudgyard and last week’s hero Duane Hall was snuffed out to leave the hosts looking not even down the barrel, but already face to face with the Grim Reaper at 82/7 with only 17 overs gone.
Mark Loughlin and Ghube were the batters in, but last men Michael Cooper and Chris Thomas were padded up as an early finish loomed. The latter, though, clearly hadn’t learned his lesson from last week…
After a steady enough start, the incumbent pair were soon bringing the smiles back to the faces of their team-mates on the sidelines and increasingly furrowed the brows of the opposition who saw and end to their hopes of tying things up quickly.
Ghube had now started to find his range, winding up for some big hits – including a couple of beautifully destructive straight sixes – with Loughlin also doing what he does best, calling through for smart singles and twos and getting his fair share of boundaries, too.
The pair soon reached their half centuries a few overs apart, with that milestone seemingly lighting a fire in Ghube who unleashed even more of his range – although the reverse sweep may be best left in the cupboard! Loughlin was playing the supporting role brilliantly, eager to help his team-mate to three figures.
Alas, that desire to reach the century saw Ghube fall agonisingly short, as he was run out for 98 in the final over, with the Rambas closing on 249/8 thanks to Ghube’s and Loughlin’s brilliant 167-run partnership. Rumours that Thomas is still in his pads can be neither confirmed or denied…
It was one of those days in the field (and for most of the batsmen), but that partnership – the joint fourth-highest in Ramblas history – put a completely different complexion on things and sent the Ramblas home with a spring in their step.
Ramblas MVP: Mark Loughlin put in a fine spell with the ball to stem the tide of runs, and was one half of the partnership that gave the Ramblas so much joy, so it feels churlish to pick between him and Ganesh Ghube, but the latter gets the nod, largely thanks to chicken and rice beating cheese and pickle sandwiches. Oh, and that brilliant 98 and 1/41 with the ball.