Ickenham CC v Hornsey Cricket Club 1st Team on Sat 07 Jun 2008 at 13.00
Hornsey Cricket Club Lost
Ickenham 1s v Hornsey 1s
Ickenham won by 23 runs
Ickenham 178 all out (46 overs; Joel Gregory 4-40, Ian Gregory 4-61)
Hornsey 155 all out (48 overs; Chetan Patel 52*, Alex Scrini 31)
This was the fourth consecutive Saturday where the firsts have been left with a bitter result to chew on. Upon losing the toss (Ian's fifth successive loss of the season) we were asked to field on a postage stamp of a ground, but where lesser attacks would have been flayed to an invitingly close boundary rope the Gregory brothers bowled as well as they've done all season. Galvanised by an early run out, we beat the bat endless times and whipped out their middle order for a handful of single figure scores. When Ian clutched onto a single handed return catch to extinguish their overseas opening batsman for thirty, the sole score of note at that stage, we had them 73-5 off 27 overs. Unfortunately (you all knew that word was coming) their number six – who was lucky to escape being trapped LBW on his first ball – threw the bat around and in making 73 was the only player to make the ground look as small as it was. They pulled themselves up to 178 all out, a competitive total but one we felt confident in overhauling, especially with 54 overs to whittle down the chase.
Sadly the run chase could barely have started worse; we crumpled to 16-3 in the seventh over, with a few soft dismissals turning our confidence to distress. After such an horrendous beginning we were always struggling to catch up, and set an exasperating trend for losing wickets just as we seemed to be regaining parity. Screens looked like converting a thirty into a decisive innings until he snicked behind, while Duncan and Gurj both fell just as they looked to be settling in. When Ian joined Chet at the wicket at a miserable 100-8 (following a questionable LBW decision against Joel) we finally produced a fifty partnership, and the pair of them made steady and unruffled progress by running sharply and murdering the bad balls. Suddenly Ickenham started looking nervous, they started giving away a surfeit of extras and didn't seem to know where the next wicket was coming for. Once again, just as the match was reeling back into sight, it slipped back out of our hands – after milking their part-time spinner Ian was lured out his crease for the final delivery of an expensive over and promptly stumped. Will went soon afterwards, leaving Chet not out for 52 as we suffered a 23 run defeat.
As grim as Saturday evening's dressing room felt, and as unpromising as the league table reads, it's worth remembering that there's still plenty of time – 13 games – for us to do ourselves justice. The defeat to Ickenham was another game where we've come off worse against a side we had the measure of but failed to put to the sword. When we play at full intensity the opposition are fearful of us; the key to turning this season around is for us to maintain our intensity for longer, instead of hitting the patches where we switch off or start treading water, which is what has cost us so far. The forthcoming home game against Harrow Town will be the ideal match to kick-start the campaign.
Author Johnny Marr
Ickenham CC Batting
178 for 10
| Cooper |
30 |
Caught |
| Budd |
7 |
Run out |
| Summerfield |
8 |
Bowled |
| Gibson |
3 |
Bowled |
| Taylor |
5 |
Lbw |
| Sims |
73 |
Bowled |
| Waller |
14 |
Caught |
| Gibson |
3 |
Bowled |
| Waller |
6 |
Caught |
| Waller |
0 |
Not Out |
| Nightingale |
2 |
Caught |
Hornsey Cricket Club 1st Team Bowling
Hornsey Cricket Club 1st Team Batting
178 for 10
Ickenham CC Bowling
| Gibson |
14.0 |
4 |
43 |
4 |
10.75 |
3.07 |
| Nightingale |
6.0 |
1 |
21 |
2 |
10.50 |
3.50 |
| Gibson |
11.0 |
1 |
23 |
2 |
11.50 |
2.09 |
| Sims |
14.0 |
1 |
37 |
1 |
37.00 |
2.64 |
| Summerfield |
3.0 |
0 |
16 |
1 |
16.00 |
5.33 |