On a roasting hot afternoon, the Ramblas fell agonisingly short of victory against old foes Locksbottom, despite a century from Keiran Gibbons.
Following on from the previous week’s washout against Telston & Mereworth, Ramblas skipper Matt Rudgyard welcomed back Chris Thomas and Geoff Parrett to the fold, as well as Drew Smith, making his first appearance in over a month.
After winning the toss and electing to bowl first, Rudgyard opted to open the attack with James Dilley and Michael Cooper. The pair bowled well in tandem and it was Cooper who made the breakthrough, trapping King LBW for 25. The bowler should have had a second wicket an over later when he had Charman plumb LBW attempting a sweep, but the umpire was unmoved.
Thomas and Parrett replaced Cooper and Dilley and while the duo performed well in tandem, their efforts went unrewarded as Charman made the most of his reprieve. The combination of a fast outfield and a sloped pitch meant boundaries were plentiful.
Keen to keep his bowlers fresh, Mark Loughlin and Smith came on in place of Thomas and Parrett respectively. While Smith’s first over was erratic, he soon found his rhythm and nabbed the second wicket of the innings, clean bowling King for 36. Tom Howgego came into the attack for a quick two over cameo, nabbing the prize wicket of Charman for 125, thanks to a sharp catch at deep square leg by Cooper.
Dilley and Thomas returned to the attack to finish up the innings, each picking up a wicket; the former clean bowling Haridas for 0, the latter snaffling a simple caught & bowled chance to dismiss Barton, also for 0.
Locksbottom finished their innings on 237-5, a terrific effort from the Ramblas in the field considering the hosts looked on course for 270+.
Both teams sought relief from the heat in the interval. Some chose to re-energise with sandwiches and water, others with sangria. Every athlete is different…
Gibbons and Loughlin opened the batting knowing that they needed to get the team off to a strong start if the Ramblas were going to have any hope of winning. The pair did not disappoint, bad balls were dispatched to the boundary and sharp running turned ones into twos, as they took the Ramblas past the hundred mark in the thirteenth over.
Gibbons brought up his half century an over later, much to the delight of the watching Ramblas. But, the joy was short lived as Loughlin was caught in the covers for a well made 33 to take the visitors to 124-1 at the halfway mark.
Jason Christensen was the man in at first drop and ably supported Gibbon in keeping the scoreboard ticking over. Some strong bowling from Locksbottom saw runs harder to come by and the run rate creep up. Gibbons, after 35 overs in the field, was feeling the effects of the heat but that didn’t stop him from reaching a magnificent maiden century for the Ramblas in the thirtieth over.
Alas, Gibbons was caught in the deep the next over for 101 as he sought to increase the run rate. He returned to the sidelines to a hero’s welcome, a brilliant knock in testing conditions.
Smith was the next man in and alongside Christensen the pair aimed to take the Ramblas over the finish line. Sadly, despite their best efforts, and a 31 run partnership, some brilliant death bowling from Lockbottom meant the Ramblas lost by 16 runs.
While the defeat may feel like a tough pill to swallow, it was a great game that went down to the wire. There were plenty of positives to take into the next match, which incidentally with be the 250th in the club’s rich history.
Ramblas MVP: It was a great all round performance from everyone in the heat, but there can only be one choice. For a beautifully crafted 101 that gave us a shot at victory, this week’s MVP is Kieran Gibbons.