Match Report

Springer Shatters Sathya’s Stronghold

Twenty Middleton Stoney cricketers represented the club yesterday. Eleven took on The Law Society at Middleton Park, while a short distance away, nine of us—plus a loanee from the opposition—took on a Bicester team led by MSCC stalwart, Sathya Vadivale.

Many thanks to Rob Barton for arranging the fixture and to the selection committee for getting the right people to the right place at the right time, managing several last-minute changes. At 10:00, we had 12 players ready to go, but by 12:00, we were down to 9! We have a very healthy demand for game time from our players, and it was great to be able to offer this fixture.

Matt Carpenter lost the toss, and Sathya put us in. With one eye on the weather (heavy showers forecast), we agreed to a 35-over match and a shorter tea break. In a surprise appearance, the sun was shining as Jon Springer and Mark Ford-Langstaff made their way to the middle.

Jon scored quickly, smashing the bad balls to the boundary and keeping the fielders busy. Mark, also in control, supported Jon, and the fifty partnership was up in no time. Newsome was the pick of the opening bowlers, delivering some big inswingers, ably supported by Lindsey at the other end. Both were quick to appeal and were vociferously backed by their teammates. It was therefore a surprise to everyone when Mark was adjudged LBW to the quietest appeal of the day, having missed one that should have disappeared over backward square leg.

Matt joined Jon, and the two began picking up a multitude of twos in what looked like an excellent cardio session. The sun still hadn’t gone in, and there were a few wistful glances towards the distant cloud cover. Matt lobbed a catch to Sathya at point with the score on 119, which brought Elliott to the crease. He looked good for runs against familiar opponents but mishit one and was caught for 19.

Next in, Anirudh Sharma got busy quickly, biffing seven boundaries and saving Jon’s legs. With only a few overs remaining, Jon was able to track his score on the distant scoreboard and secured his century with several overs to go. Well batted, Jon—a splendid innings and very well deserved.

A few balls later, Matt declared, confident our total of 222 would be enough. Bicester kept going until the end, ably motivated by Sathya and ready to give chase on what can be a high-scoring pitch. Would Matt regret his decision?

Paul Wordsworth and Asif Kamal were trusted with the new ball, and Paul picked up an early wicket as the batsman managed to hit his own wicket. Youngster Sidhu looked very stylish as he accumulated runs, while new bat Azad was rather more muscular in his approach. One or two bad balls per over were put away, keeping Bicester in the hunt. In truth, our fielding display was lacking, and we should have done better at keeping the ball dry. Matt’s frustration was building, but a ten-minute drizzle break to protect the younger players allowed him to suggest we up our game.

Anirudh and MSCC for the day, Billy, were introduced to great effect. Anirudh bookended his four-over spell with maidens and took a wicket in both his second and third overs. Billy proved to be an excellent leg-spin bowler, turning it prodigiously and threatening the outside edge ball after ball. His five overs cost just six runs, and it was unbelievable that he only took one wicket. Between them, the course of the match was changed, and the outcome never in doubt.

Shaan bowled 8 overs and picked up two wickets, delighting us with his Ronaldo celebration and the pure joy in his success. Matt and Elliott (bowling spin) took us close to the finish before Billy returned to bowl the final over, picking up a second wicket, snaffled by Stevyn Jackson keeping wicket.

Bicester finished on 145 for 8 after 35 overs. MSCC won by 59 runs.

Thank you for the game, Bicester and we look forward to playing you again next year.

Mark FL