Match Report

After their first loss of the season the mighty Lavant licked their wounds and dusted themselves off ready for the future challenges ahead. This week we were back on the road once more visiting Ashling for the all important ‘local derby’. 

On a ragingly hot day and the sun baking the ground, the Lavant skipper (who managed to arrive on time this week) was wondering if he could do the toss from the comfort of an air conditioned car, but alas it is more traditional to stand in the middle under the blazing sun, so the toss went up and (much to the frustration of the away skipper) went with the home side who (unsurprisingly) elected not to bowl in the hot conditions!!

Slowly trudging back to break the news to his team (who had gathered under some shade) the Lavant skipper had to rally the troops, wake up a few from their naps in the heat and tell Steve to put down his antipasti and get them all revv’ed up for a bowl!

GAME ON!

A wise man once said that ‘when one door of opportunity closes another one opens’ which is something the Lavant skipper had been looking forward to as he was able to deploy Chris ‘John’ Maclean who was a specialist with a new ball. Chris, seemingly ignoring the hot conditions, roared into action! After a slight adjustment with his landing area Chris started getting the new ball to talk, extracting swing through the air which pinned back the Ashling opening batsmen. 

Chris delivered exactly what was required from an opening new ball spell. Offering nothing, constantly challenging the batsmen’s defenses, but most importantly, keeping the runs down. Chris was finally rewarded for his efforts clean bowling one of the openers in his 6th over ending with 1 for 15 from his 7 over spell and setting the tone for the game.

At the other end the Slayer had returned! Due to the very high bar he has set this season it came as a shock to the team that he was unable to hit his areas first up and was uncharacteristically loose for his first couple of overs. After a brief ‘pep talk’ from the Lavant skipper (and the shepherd’s crook being shown to him) James responded with aplomb. 

3rd over came….he was back on it! Finding his normal tight lines a wicket came clean bowling the other opening batsmen.

4th over…wicket maiden! Beating the batsmen that was snaffled by the keeper for smart stumping.

7th over….In a moment of ‘I’ll show you’ from the #4 batter James saw him coming and bowled it wider for the keeper to do the rest and pick up another stumping! James completed his 7 over spell with 3 – 22.

With Ashling reeling from the explosive start by the away side the Lavant skipper had the luxury of turning to his premier bowler Tam to come on and keep the pressure on and boy did he deliver! Tambo might have looked a bit hot and bothered but it didn’t show! Bowling 4 overs on the bounce I can’t remember him bowling one bad ball!! I must say the hardest thing as captain is finding a way to manage the bowling unit when trying to keep the runs down. Knowing how precious Tam’s overs could potentially be, the choice was to let him go and bowl through or do the more sensible thing and hold him back for later in the game. The decision was made to save him for later so Tam finished with 0-6 from his 4 overs and certainly kept the momentum going!

At the other end Peter started strongly and looked to keep things tight and build on the solid start by Chris and James. Showing some flight and cunning he was rewarded in his 2nd over, picking up the wicket of the dangerous looking #6 batter extracting an outside edge that was able to bring a momentous occasion in the Lavant season…..A CATCH AT SLIP!! Justin (who was still nursing his bruised hand from last week) pouched the catch. Tragically in the next over Peter found it hard to control his lines and lengths and the Ashling batters (who were looking to counter attack) climbed in. Fearing for the run rate Peter was taken out of the firing line finishing 1 for 17 from his 3 others.

The Lavant skipper next approached ‘Super’ Steve who had returned from his holiday in Italy. After some slight concerns about how well he might do considering he had spent most of his time since he arrived rubbing olive oil to all parts he seemed to mutter ‘mamma mia’ and get on with it…and boy did he ever! The team weren’t sure what exactly he was doing in Italy but he bowled like a man possessed! Getting the ball down at a rapid pace. With the ball whizzing past the batters edges cries from Steve of ‘bellissimo’, ‘brillante’ and ‘magnifico’ after most balls brought puzzled looks from the rest of the team who didn’t have a clue what he was going on about. In his 6th over Steve struck picking up a plumb LBW and a smart caught and bowled! Steve finished with 2 for 13 from his 5 overs!

So what next? From a distance the trumpets could be heard. The sound of the marching band getting closer. Suddenly a town crier appeared. “MAKE WAY FOR THE KING” was the cry. The Lavant players all suddenly dropped to one knee. Yes, by order of the royal court King Richard had arrived ready to bowl!

The King got into his work straight away and not only did he deliver a wicket but also A SECOND CATCH AT SLIP! Taking the edge of the #7 batter Justin again was able to scoop the ball safely into his bruised /  rotten paw. King Richard continued his good work bowling tight and giving away nothing. At the end of his spell Richard clean bowled the #8 and picked up the #11 (and final wicket of the game) smartly caught one handed by James C stationed at point.

The bowling unit had delivered! On a sweltering day Ashling were all out for 89 in the 31st over! 

Tea was taken and eaten in the shade by most of the team as they looked to cool off from their efforts. Drinks were drunk, bananas and lucozade were consumed and Steve was last seen looking for pizza….

With the run chase on, the Lavant skipper walked to the middle with Harry looking to be watchful and oversee a calm and measured run chase….

…..which didn’t happen!

The Lavant skipper out for a duck (playing onto his stumps). Harry also out for a duck top edging and being caught. 

Tam looked in good shape but was run out for 3. Lloyd also looked good but was clean bowled. In next was Will looking to build upon his heroics from last week’s game and cracked away a bounty but was also clean bowled!

5 wickets down with not much on the scoreboard the team were scrambling to find bats and pads and an air of panic had certainly kicked in. However there were two men who were up for the fight. In came Chris and Steve (who had to put down his half eaten gnocchi) looking to steady the ship and boy did they ever. From the moment the pair of them got to the middle an air of calmness seemed to descend. Playing smart both men were watchful and looked to see off the final overs of the Ashling opening bowlers (who had run amok through the Lavant top order). It wasn’t just a block-a-thon mind…..both men found ways to counter attack knowing runs still needed to be scored off any bad balls.

Suddenly an air of calm had descended over the Lavant side and the dread started to slowly turn to enjoyment as the team started to enjoy and appreciate the batting partnership.

Once the opening bowlers had been taken out of the attack no mercy was shown to the change bowlers with both men dispatching balls to the fence with Steve showing his class and Chris deploying his customary power hitting. The momentum had shifted, the flow of the game had turned. Now Ashling looked concerned and with the scoreboard moving rapidly the chase was back on!

In the 21st over Steve and Chris (much to the appreciation of their team mates) took the side home. After a terrible start and looking like the whole batting order was going to collapse in a heap it showed true grit and determination from Chris and Steve to stand up and be counted. Both men absorbed the pressure and fought against the momentum of the Ashling bowling who must have thought they had a chance of blowing away Lavant line up. 

I was never worried….honest!

Yet again the strength and fight shown by Lavant came through for the win which was important for 2 reasons. 1) Bouncing back from the defeat the week before and 2) Withstanding a total batting collapse!

With everyone contributing to a great win the team (after cooling off a bit) shuffled off to the local pub to enjoy the nice summer evening and celebrate a great win.

Joint man of the match goes to Chris and Steve as they both played an equally crucial part (with bat and ball) so much so I couldn’t separate them as they both deserved it!

Champagne moment goes to Justin for the slip catches! 

Well played everyone, we move on to the next!