Strollers limp to Lions loss
posted: June 4, 2025

After our Portuguese adventures, it was a new-look Strollers side that took to the field last night to take on the Mill Hill Lions – newfound oppo sporting slick all black personalised pyjama kit and headed up by former Highgate Irregular Yash Singh – for our first evening T20 clash of the season at Old Camdenians. With newcomer Adam Campbell joining our ranks alongside no fewer than five ringers drafted in from excess playing staff from the Lions (including Yash himself!) to join a core group of existing Strollers, we got to know each other quickly as we were sent into the field upon losing the toss.

Against all expectations, our collective efforts looked surprisingly co-ordinated, with Abhik making our first breakthrough so see off Urmani, the opposition's skipper, in the fifth over followed by an exhibition of great catching with absolutely nothing put down all evening. It didn't come without cost though, with Spencer badly injuring his knee as he rushed from behind the stumps to catch Kekul only to clash heavily with Sanket who charged in from square leg ...ouch!

Having finished his spell, Abhik took the gloves and we continued to make frequent inroads to keep the oppo relatively at bay after a hurried start. Whilst Aussie Justin, batting at five, took control as he unleashed a flurry of powerful shots, wickets tumbled around him with Spencer, Aaron and Dave G (making his first appearance of 2025) picking up a scalp apiece. Débutant Adam impressed with his left arm swing as he collected a brace and, for a time, it looked like we might tame the Lions and restrict them to a sub-150 score. Unfortunately our final two expensive overs cost us dearly and the oppo closed on a more challenging 166-6, Justin unbeaten on a well-deserved half century.

Our response didn't get off to the best of starts, with both Gav and Yash dismissed early without troubling the scorers. Asif shot a few attractive shots through the covers before holing out to Tariq and Abhik misjudged one to Rathwani and was sent back for just a single. At 44-5 things didn't look promising but Sanket looked to make amends for his earlier run in with the skipper as he began setting about a powerful counter attack.

Spencer, limping in at seven, could only manage to hobble a couple of forlorn singles before calling for Dave to scamper on as a runner until he chipped one up to Panket. Dave, in trademark style, took this as his cue to take the ball out of the equation and joined Sanket with a barrage of of boundaries that took us past the hundred mark and gave us the faintest hope of an upset.

Ultimately, it was sadly too little too late and despite a spirited effort, both batsmen were dismissed in the final overs,  Sanket departing for a towering 75. Aaron and Adam remained to conclude our innings without further loss but, alas, the game was gone and we lost by the conclusive margin of 31 runs. Nevertheless had been an enjoyable contest and our warm thanks goes especially to Yash and his team mates for bolstering our numbers. However, with Spencer heading off to hospital for scans on his knee we anxiously await news of the vice skipper's fitness for the remainder of the season. Keeping fingers crossed!

Gavin Richardson
03.06.2025

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