Match reports

Old Albanian Cricket Club Sunday Cavaliers v St Albans

Scorecard

Old Albanian Cricket Club Sunday Cavaliers v St Albans on Sun 16 May 2010 at 2pm
Old Albanian Cricket Club Lost 66 runs

Match report

The Cavaliers arrived at Woollams confident that they could reverse the defeat of the previous weekend, equipped as they were with a much fuller arsenal of weaponry in their side. Returning were Jim Handford, Lance Boyd-Clark and Ellis Thorpe, which gave their batting much more depth. However, St Albans had a side boasting a number of Saturday 1s players, so the Cavs knew their work was cut out.

With showers scheduled for mid afternoon, and with the track looking a belter, both captains were desperate to win the toss and have first use of it. The visitors won, and were soon ammassing runs a plenty. It was clear that the St Albans line top-order were going to punish anything wayward, so it was helpful to them that skipper Fraser Tant in particular served up a diet of full tosses which raced across a fast outfield to the boundary. The Cavaliers' cause wasn't helped by some woeful fielding; one of the openers was dropped five times on his way to 78. Eventually the breakthrough came with 50 on the board, and the introduction of Jim Handford and Lance Boyd-Clark to the attack stemmed the flow of runs to the extent that, by the half-way stage, St Albans were only just over 100, albeit with 9 wickets left.

A strict talking to over drinks left the Cavaliers in no doubt that their effort in the field needed to step up a gear if the team is going to have any success in league cricket later in the summer. Unfortunately, any efforts to improve were scuppered as the rain began to fall, a drizzle at first before developing in to a full-on storm. With the ball resembling a bar of soap, it was virtually impossible for the bowlers to have any control, while any chances in the field were 50% harder - such that the only wickets to fall were clean bowled (Rankin, Penhaligan and Boyd-Clark claiming the scalps.) Tant gambled and brought himself back in to the attack for the final few overs, but 31 runs came off his final two overs and saw St Albans post a commanding 285/4.

Over tea, the heavens really opened, and an abandonment seemed likely. However, after an hour's delay, the Woollams micro-climate kicked in and the sun was out. The Cavaliers' innings got off to the worst possible start when Ellis Thorpe was out lbw in the first over without scoring - try as he might, the umpire simply could not give it not out, hitting Thorpe's back leg, ankle high, in front of all three. Jim Handford and Lance Boyd-Clark rebuilt carefully, and despite losing Handford for a careful 30, the cavaliers reached drinks with 100 on the board, going at the same pace as the opposition. However, the score would have been more but for a sticky outfield that made fours very hard to come by; some lovely timing from Boyd-Clark really wasn't getting the rewards it deserved.

To make a serious effort to win, someone needed to build another partnership with the Australian, who at least was salvaging some pride as his countrymen were suffering at the hands of The Duke of Sunderland and his england Twenty20 stars. But out-of-sorts star batsmen Todd Baines and Jon Gregory came and went cheaply, and Alex Demain looked assured until he holed out at midwicket. A Tant cameo of 19, and an innings from Ben Rankin reminscent of his halcyon days, kept things interesting, but when Boyd-Clark was out for a fine 83, the game was pretty much up. Rankin was last out for 17, leaving Tim Firmin stranded on nought not out, as the team finished on a credible 219.

"Aw look", commented Boyd-Clark, "it's not about my knock, this was about the team and we didn't win so it counts for nothing. Sure, it was nice to have found a bit of form, especially with my rentals over from the colony, and I'd have been made up to get another 17, but it wasn't to be. Maybe if we'd have batted first in much better conditions, we might have got a result."