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Match 11 (17th scheduled), 2008: 27 September

Ibiza CC vs Pimlico Strollers CC

Fun in the sun - the Strollers’ silly season finale in Ibiza! (part 1)

The Strollers ended a memorable season in (or with? – Ed) very fine spirits on their end of year tour to play Ibiza CC in two matches over the last weekend of September. However, at the outset on Friday morning paranoia was widespread that this year’s lousy UK summer weather had followed the team out as the rain in Spain had fallen mainly whilst the Strollers were on the plane and when they landed a monsoon was in full flight - threatening to put a damper on the whole inchelada.

The assembled were left with little option but to head straight for their San Antonio hotel and directly to the bar where they met up with the smaller advance party of Strollers who had made the trip out the previous day. Aside from the odd sumo smackdown the night before all appeared to be on good form and Gav issued his side with their official tour kit which featured a new team crest as a nod to their whereabouts – ‘The Ministry Of Strollers’.

Sadly the squad numbers were depleted with the unfortunate withdrawals of both Jake and, at the eleventh hour, Julian – so it looked as though all of the thirteen Ibiza-bound Strollers would see some action over the weekend, so to speak. Minor disaster struck however when the sun finally poked it’s head out in the afternoon and, as he set off for the beach in glee, Deavs slipped on a flagstone, landed heavily and cracked two ribs in the process (it transpired later). Soldiering on though, Deavin joined his team-mates for a late dip in the sea before the touring party headed out for the evening’s festivities.

Fast forward to midday on Saturday. The sun was up, the heat was on and the sight of  the dozen forlorn Strollers in the hotel reception was nonetheless an impressive one as all appeared present and correct despite nursing their inner struggles with assorted varieties of hangover – Deavs however would not be playing as, in addtion to his battered rib cage he claimed to have eaten some dodgy paella and was now suffering on several levels.

With Ibiza CC kindly laying on transport to their ground at San Jose – an astroturf pitch more often used for football – the sides met and, by 1.30pm, the game was on. It may have perhaps not been the most popular decision made during his tenure at the top but, when he won the toss, Gav chose to field first – the theory being that the hot conditions should allow the Strollers to sweat out the toxins of the previous evening’s revels before batting.

Simon opened the bowling with a typically accurate line although Chris, appearing on his first tour, was unable to apply similar pressure and the Ibiza batsmen hit their straps early. With Graeme brought on quickly as first change, the combination of spin and seam did not appear to deter the home side from their progress as they frequently  found the gaps in the field. After the first  ten overs the score had passed 70 and the Strollers worried that they may have to chase down a very large score indeed. But when, having made 46, Van Byfeld lofted a drive high up towards long on, Guy – back on Strollers duty for the first time in 3 years – set himself well and pouched an excellent catch, earning Graeme the crucial first breakthrough. Unfortunately the exertion of his endeavours caused Barker to strain his groin and he limped off to apply ice in the sensitive area.

Holmes, conversely, turned up the heat with a second wicket shortly afterwards, bowling Cooper through the gate, but Ibiza’s batsmen powered on to pass the hundred with a flurry of expansive cover drives and boundaries through the V, capitalizing on the understaffed field. K***** however (having brightened up following an sly early-innings nap hiding behind the boundary) began to exert more pressure with some probing leg spin and eventually managed to trap opener Feasey LBW for 70.

From here the game entered a period of stalemate with the Strollers now acclimatizing to conditions and fielding better all round. Graeme completed his spell with two wickets to his name and was ably replaced by Harsh – also making his touring début - who gave the batsmen continuing problems with good variation. George took over from K***** and also beat the bat on a couple of occasions before his near namesake Browne began to judge his flight and hit a huge six over the football net on the boundary. Knoakes had managed 23 as well before Harsh sent down a low one and had him dismissed leg before before collecting his second wicket by bowling Fowler.

Sensing he was running out of partners, Browne chanced his arm and lashed out for the final phase of the Ibiza innings bringing up the 200 before Simon returned to bowl him out for 35. A sharp return from Dickie from the last ball of the innings saw the run out of Ambrose with Ibiza closing on 218-7.

The Strollers had applied themselves well to rein in the free scoring the opposition had enjoyed earlier in the afternoon – at one point the total had threatened to top 250 so the side ate their sandwiches satisfied that they had given themselves a chance of reaching their target. That is all except for K***** who, missing the cheese roll he had requested, declined to bat until he had eaten so a new opening partner for Harsh would have to be found.

Nevertheless in most Stroller sides De Dazzler would have been a first pick to open the batting so when after the interval he joined Harsh in the middle confidence remained high. However those watching from the boundary immediately noted the unconventional in/out field that had been set from the outset and, when the Ibiza pacemen ran in with tremendous accuracy, it became obvious that scoring would not at all be easy. Both batsmen did their best to play forward but, with there being absolutely no lift from the artificial surface, the ball appeared to die off the blade. Thanks to probing Ibiza bowling combined with some alert fielding boundaries were scarce and, after the first ten overs the Strollers had only reached 27, over 40 runs shy of where the opposition had got to at the same stage.

Ibiza turned the screws as Van Byfeld was brought on with his skiddy action – Harsh clearly looked to capitalize off the slower bowling but in his haste was beaten as one got through and the first wicket went down with the score on 33. Matters were compounded when, with a sense of urgency creeping in, ambitious running by De Dazzler caused his troublesome right leg to feel the strain so Chris was sent on as a runner. It worked for a while as Graeme, batting at three, joined Chris in a scamper to get the run rate up but, just as De Dazzler appeared to have found his groove with a couple of attractive forward drives, a poor call resulted in his demise on 21 with an all too predictable run out.

Having received a fairly pointed gee-up from his colleagues, K***** marched out at number four, bristling with confidence thanks to his recent form and began working the ball around in typical fashion. However, both Graeme and he saw a succession of well timed shots maddeningly earn just a single as the expertly placed field saved boundary after boundary and despite the impressive work rate the total only ticked upward. Eventually exasperation got the better of Graeme as he swung at one from Parmenter mistimed and was caught in the deep – also for 21 - by the Ibiza skipper Martin Makepeace at extra cover. Matt, next in, was immediately undone when Parmenter took a slightly questionable catch behind and the pressure was on.

K***** was then joined in the middle by Gav who, clearly with the bit between his teeth as first time tour captain, believed the match could still belong to his side and got straight down to business, first by taking the total over the hundred with a quick single and then, to the delight of his team mates, unleashing his mojo with three hard hit boundaries off successive balls from Knoakes - the last of these coming from a fierce hook shot that sent the ball “like a tracer bullet” past square leg according to Graeme,  who had been umpiring in just that spot.

Sadly the fireworks were not to last as, attempting to lob Knoakes’ next ball back over his head, Gav inexplicably failed to follow through the shot causing the ball to drop before the boundary where his opposite number Martin was waiting to take the catch …much to the chagrin of the Strollers skipper.

The last rites appeared to be on the wall as both Chris and George fell without scoring – Lucas particularly disappointed with Ibiza’s successful LBW shout – but Dickie, batting unflatteringly at nine, entertained with a lively cameo, demonstrating punchy aggression to compliment K*****’s continued judgement. Both batsmen appeared to finally ask some questions of the Ibiza fielders and the score edged up to a respectable, if insufficient, 150. Regrettably that score was not to be achieved as Dickie mistimed a heave off Feasey and was bowled. With Gav resisting calls to retire K***** on 32 not out for the last ball of the innings all around indulged in a touch of schadenfreude at the sight of S****’s dismissal as he took a swing at Martin’s final delivery, missed entirely and saw his middle stump go over and Ibiza win by a 70 run margin.

So… played one, lost one. Not the ideal start to the tour’s on-the-pitch endeavours but the Strollers agreed that, in their defence, the astroturf surface had certainly taken some getting used to both in terms of placing field settings and also as a batting track. That, and diminished abilities following a heavy night out, had contributed to the result and come Sunday, the Strollers hoped to be better prepared. That was the theory anyway…

story continues >>

Gavin Richardson
29.09.08

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