It was the turn of the batting line-up to let us down this week, as the Ramblas ended their season with a humbling defeat to Ash Village.
A lost toss, a pitch with more than a few demons (is there an unluckier man in cricket than Laurie Stocks at present?) and some loose shots meant the Ramblas were looking down the barrel – a familiar sight of late – at 25/6 and 46/8, before some late-order hitting from the left-handed duo of Ganesh Ghube (24) and James Dilley (46*) helped the visitors scramble to 117 all out.
Following consumption of a resplendent tea (Geoff Parrett’s little face telling it’s own story at how good it was), the Ramblas headed out to try and restore some pride.
Ben Butcher’s frankly ridiculous figures of 8-3-6-0 certainly helped put the squeeze early on, with Mark Loughlin and Ghube backing him up superbly from the other end, as the hosts patiently nudged themselves to 39/0 after 17 overs.
Alas, despite some excellent work across the fielding effort, that same tightness of line and length deserted the rest of the bowlers, as the hosts upped the ante and ultimately cantered home to a comfortable 10-wicket win – the first time, we think, that the Ramblas have failed to take a wicket in a game. That’s right, folks, we’re still breaking records out here…
Ramblas MVP: Ben Butcher’s astonishing figures and Ganesh Ghube’s all-round efforts are worthy of mention, but if it wasn’t for the late-arriving and big-hitting James Dilley, the game would have been over a lot sooner.
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Despite a bumpy end, it’s been another cracking season – our first under a new captain – and with some great new additions to the collective, next year is something to look forward to. Indeed, 25 April 2025 will mark 15 years since our first ever game (I’ll leave you to decide if we’ve got any better) – something to celebrate.
Get well soon Stu and we’ll get back to winning ways soon enough next season. COYR.