Washington Cricket Club - 40th Anniversary Year

Peter Kloss reporting.

The Washington came up against what this (dry) season is unfamiliar territory - a damp pitch. This, combined with losing the toss, was their undoing, although they didn't help themselves with several mistakes along the way...

It had rained overnight and the uncovered pitch had soaked up quite a lot of water. The UCS groundsman put the heavy roller on immediately before play - in hindsight a poor decision as this brought moisture to the surface making the pitch damper for a while. Luke Mitchell, taking the helm for the Wash for the first time was unlucky to lose the toss and be inserted by UCS – he surely would have bowled should he have won.

Nick Bunney (7) and Mohammad Amin (16) opened for the Wash and things seemed to be ticking along nicely, the score reaching 20 after 4 overs against medium pace bowling. However Bunney was then given out after a bizarre set of appeals, we think LBW, although caught (off his foot) was also a possibility. However he is sure he didn’t hit it and the ball was going down leg – ah well. Devesh Dutt (15) came in and played a good innings in his relatively unorthodox style. He and Amin took the score to 30.

Batting was certainly not easy. The pitch was very slow, the ball seeming to take an age to reach the batsmen after pitching. But also there was quite a lot of bounce in the wicket, particularly for slower bowlers. It was these elements which caused all batsmen trouble, and were the undoing of several. Extremely careful and cautious batting was the order of the day. To cap it all the boundaries were long and the outfield slow, giving poor returns for good shots.

Amin was caught with the score on 30 – his personal contribution of 16 his best yet for the Wash, and top score on this day. Brian White (an unbeaten centurion last week) as is the way in cricket, pulled a short ball straight to square leg to get out for a duck! By this time the UCS skipper had brought the slower bowlers on and they had more success with the pitch conditions. Ash Cruickshank (2) was bowled and then there was an unfortunate mix up and run out with Mike Turner (2) left stranded. Dutt was caught next ball and a couple of overs later David Gluckman (2) ran himself out taking too sharp a single. The Wash were 51 for 7. Kloss (8) hung around for a few overs as Sam Clark (2) was stumped going for a big heave, but then Kloss went caught in the gully and Russell Pendry (1) was bowled shortly afterwards, leaving Stuart Marsh stranded on 4 not out.

Washington were all out for 66, the low score a mixture of bad fortune because of the pitch, but there were some poor shots and a couple of self-inflicted run-outs in there too.

Following tea, Sam Clark (2-27) and Russell Pendry (0-12) opened the bowling. Starting with a slow bowler was sound thinking given the success of the UCS bowlers. However UCS came out blazing all guns in the first 3 overs, scoring 26 for the loss of their no.2. Possibly they figured with the conditions and such a low total to get, aggression was the best way forward. However the pitch had dried significantly since being rolled 2.5 hours earlier. Peter Kloss (2-14) replaced Pendry and immediately put the brakes on with a maiden. At this point all the bowlers started to get considerable swing through the air and it was this that enabled the Wash to get a bit of a grip on the game and halt a complete humiliation. Clark had another man caught in his next over and then Kloss removed the danger man Craig (for 30) with a beauty which swung away and forced an edge, taken sharply at 2^nd slip by Brian White.

Luke Mitchell (1-7) came on and had a man caught behind off his glove attempting to hook. Kloss then took a wicket bowled with another outswinger and UCS looked much more uncertain at 46 for 5 in the 10^th over. The runs had dried up too with 3 maidens on the run.

However Rosenthal and Ulah dug in and steadied the UCS ship, aided by the Wash bowlers losing their length a little and bowling some full tosses. Mitchell gave way to Stuart Marsh (0-7) but by this time the game was over and UCS reached the 67 required in the 15^th over.

Speaking after the game skipper Mitchell said “I thought we had a sniff there after about 10 overs, but it wasn’t to be. If we’d scored around 100 it would have been interesting. Well done to the guys in the field sticking with it and getting us half way there. I guess in the end though the pitch, losing the toss and a few rash moments undid us. Let’s hope for better luck next time.”

Man of the match: Mohammad Amin for his top score for the Wash

Packing the kit: Hmmmm....