The Ramblas returned to winning ways, courtesy of a thrilling three wicket victory over Tatsfield on a scorching hot Sunday. While Glastonbury may have been grabbing much of the media attention, those in the know were aware that Tatsfield was the place to be. Who needs Wet Leg when you have fine leg…
Captain Matt Rudgyard had largely the same team as last week’s defeat to Chevening, with James Dilley, Danial Ahmed & Ganesh Ghube slotting into the XI in place of Jason Christensen, Chris Thomas and Stuart Dilley. Rudgyard won the toss and sensibly elected to bowl first on a day that only got hotter.
Ghube and Dilley opened the bowling for the Ramblas and the pair bowled beautifully in tandem, testing the batsmen with the pace. Unfortunately for them, a fast outfield and an in form opening bat meant that the hosts kept the scoreboard ticking along.
In order to prevent his bowlers wilting in the heat, short, sharp spells were the order of the day, so after four overs apiece, Ghube and Dilley were replaced with Michael Cooper and Steve Fitch respectively. The change reaped dividends immediately when Cooper bowled Harber for 15. With Tatsfield’s remaining opener on the charge, Cooper felt his wrath, conceding two maximums to bring up his fifty. But it was Cooper who had the last laugh, dismissing Ellis thanks to a juggling catch from Mark Loughlin at deep mid wicket.
Fitch’s five over spell was miserly, conceding just 14 runs in five overs. His nagging line and length kept the batsmen on the back foot and was unlucky not to pick up a wicket. At the half way mark of the innings Tatsfield were 96-2, well placed to kick on and put up an intimidating total.
Geoff Parrett and Duane Hall replaced Cooper and Fitch in the attack, and the duo continued the fine work of the previous bowlers. Backed up by some fantastic ground work in the field, the bowlers kept the batsmen in check despite the odd boundary being conceded. Alas, despite their best efforts they were unable to dislodge the set batsmen.
Rudgyard brought back Ghube and Dilley for the death overs and they bowled beautifully in tandem, conceding just 22 runs in the final 6 overs and picking up four wickets between them. Dilley grabbed his first of the game when he clean bowled Glover for 40 with a ball that kept low. Ghube was also the beneficiary of the uneven bounce when he bowled Naughton for 69.
Dilley picked up the other two wickets in his last over, trapping Hendry LBW for 4 and seeing Wheatley caught thanks to a great catch by Cooper at point. Tatsfield ended their innings on 192-6 and the Ramblas knew that they had clawed their way back into the game.
After a brief respite from the heat, both teams returned to the field as the Ramblas looked to chase down 193 for victory. Johnny Stocks and Loughlin opened the batting with both initially struggling to get used to the variable bounce of the pitch. J. Stocks fell victim to a ball that kept low and bowled him off an inside edge for 5. Rudgyard was the next man in but his stay at the crease lasted just four deliveries before he was bowled for a duck. The Ramblas were 11-2 in the blink of an eye and in a bit of bother.
Dilley was in at four and alongside Loughlin helped rebuild the innings. Some sharp running and a flurry of fiercely hit boundaries brought the Ramblas over the required run rate as they reached the first drinks break at 72-2. The drinks break proved to be the perfect tonic for Tatsfield as Dilley was out the first ball after drinks for a 17 ball 27.
The wicket brought Laurie Stocks to the crease and the batsman ably supported Loughlin before he was run out trying to give Loughlin the strike. Ahmed was in at five but was unable to get on the scoresheet before being bowled. While the batters failed to get runs themselves their efforts took the visitors on the cusp of the century mark.
Ghube was the next cab off the rank and was in fine fettle, his wristy style dispatching the ball to all parts. Loughlin was playing a perfect innings, sending any loose delivery to the boundary and running hard to convert ones into twos. Loughlin brought up his second half century of the season to cheers from the sideline. Their partnership was worth 77 runs and was ended when Ghube was trapped LBW for 33 off just 22 balls.
Parrett came to the crease and in partnership with Loughlin took the Ramblas to ten runs shy of victory before Parrett was caught behind for 4. Nerves started to jangle on the Ramblas sidelines as Hall strode to the crease, but they had no need to be concerned. After a couple of singles reduced the runs required to eight, Hall seized the moment, clubbing two boundaries in the space of four balls to clinch a three wicket victory for the Ramblas.
It was another fantastic tussle with Tatsfield, following on from the home victory earlier in season. A game played in the proper spirit, and energy sapping heat that saw the Ramblas claim their third win of the season. Can the Ramblas make it back to back wins when they take on Telston & Mereworth next week? Watch this space…
Ramblas MVP: Shout outs to both James Dilley & Ganesh Ghube for their sublime bowling at the death to go with the swashbuckling efforts with the bat. However, for his expertly crafted 79* that helped guide the Ramblas to victory, this week’s MVP is Mark Loughlin.