Sydenhurst Ramblers Match Reports 2009
(from July)
Won by 7 wickets
Tom Williams made very early inroads into the visitors’ batting with three wickets in his first two overs; despite useful knocks from Prabhakar, Marians and Stanning, the Nomads never really recovered from such a rocky start and Subodh Chhabria (2/16) and Ben Copeman (2/13) bowled their leggies and offies to good effect later on. Stanning and Prabhakar also bowled lengthy spells to try and curtail the Ramblers’ reply and things might have got tricky at 43/3. However, skipper Simon Swainson (62*) joined John Hamilton (67*) in a calmly-paced century partnership which saw the Ramblers home with four overs to spare.
Drawn
Sunbury’s South African overseas player dominated proceedings with a thunderous, unbeaten 159. All the Ramblers bowlers plugged away valiantly in the face of this onslaught and it was nice to see the father-and-son combination of Simon and Tom Wilson pick up a brace of wickets apiece. We never really threatened to get close to the Squires’ total but debutant Doug Foster gave our scorecard some respectability with a fine innings of 82*.
Drawn.
The Wayfarers ran up a good total in formidably quick time taking just 38 overs to amass 267/3. Tom Williams took 2/41 but Richie Chibisa and James McGovern bowled the tightest spells. Jack Austin (51) compiled a good half-century for the Ramblers and James Straker (27) and Ben Copeman (29) played useful knocks, but we never got close to the target and had to settle for a draw.
Won by 54 runs
A good game of cricket saw Jim Walters crack a marvellous century, his first for the Club, before lunch. Several others chipped in with useful contributions, notably Alan Foster (37). Skipper Robin Hudson applied the acceleration with a hurricane 51* before the declaration. Brook’s innings also featured several useful scores, but no one went on to a really big innings. This was largely due to a splendid spell of leg-spin bowling from 14 year old Sam Milliken-Smith who took his first five-for in adult cricket finishing with the outstanding figures of 5/78. Sam will be presented with a Club cap for this notable effort and we hope it will be the first of many such hauls in Ramblers colours. It was great to see some important names from the recent past donning the green and red again, like Alex Anderson, Chris Coe, Alex Johns and Simon Fisk.
Won by 12 runs
A cracking match saw the Ramblers squeeze home by 12 runs on a beautiful day at Brook. Alan Foster (36) gave the Ramblers a sound start but wickets fell regularly despite Alex Manley’s 29, to leave us 76/4. John Hamilton then joined Sam Keir (24) and they put on a watchful 69 either side of lunch. Tim Copeman (39) then came in to join Hamilton (91) in a century stand. The Emeriti were asked to chase 263 to win in 48 overs and made a good start reaching 147/2 with fifteen overs to go, despite a fine spell by Ed Daggett. Martin Underwood’s lengthy spell down the hill eventually bore rich fruit and an analysis of 6/70 whilst George Tarrant bowled his leg-breaks to good effect. Some fine catches were taken but the visitors were in good shape at 235/7 with skipper Phillips (40*) and Travers (34) going well and four overs left. David Prynne then talked himself on for a second spell and sent down an over which yielded 11 runs, courtesy of wides and four-balls, but also two crucial wickets, one thanks to a smashing catch by Ben Copeman. The Emeriti kept going for the target in exhilarating style but Tarrant snared the last man to get the Ramblers home by a whisker.
Won by 4 wickets
This was a notable victory in that it was our first win against the Stoics for 14 years. The Stoics chose to bat on a lovely morning and progressed steadily to 115/4 off 34 overs at lunch. Alex Manley bowled a very tight spell although he did not get the wicket he deserved and Ed Daggett got through a lengthy stint of accurate medium-pace. Throughout the afternoon the Stoics lost wickets at regular intervals as the Ramblers’ talented spin attack of George Adolphus, Subodh Chhabria and George Tarrant wheeled away, with Chhabria particularly accurate finishing with the fine figures of 4/82. The Stoics’ No.3 bat, Watts, held firm and eventually reached an excellent century after a frustrating last wicket stand of 48. An aggressive second wicket partnership of 166 between George Adolphus and Harry Schofield put the Ramblers in the driving seat. Both struck the ball beautifully cleanly and there were several delays for lost balls as Adolphus hurtled to a superb century with 5 sixes and 14 fours. Schofield eventually fell for a rousing 80 and there was a mini-collapse from 209/2 to 215/5. Tarrant (20*) and Manley (33) steadied things with sensible batting against tight bowling and keen fielding to bring the scores level with an over to go, and not even Manley’s dismissal could prevent the Ramblers getting home for a memorable victory.