Agricola

24th Jul 2013 - Chiswick
Won by 45 runs - NRR = 2.25

CIPA ITMA CC’s first away match of the season was to be against Agricola in the leafy suburbs of Chiswick. The corresponding fixture last season proved to be a humdinger, and the players knew they were in for a tough evening. That being said, pre-match murmurings on the Twittersphere appeared to be more concerned with how well CIPA would cope in the knowledge that there would be no 'Fifty Shades of Brown" buffet waiting for them at the close of play.

Most players managed to locate the ground without too much difficulty and arrived to discover a lush, verdant wicket surrounded by an outfield of scorched earth. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that this pitch would favour the batsmen, meaning that the outcome of the match would surely be decided on the toss of a coin. Never afraid to guess, Captain Lumsden expertly negotiated the coin toss and elected to bat.

With the sun high in the sky and sound of low flying aircraft overhead, John Hull and Justin Wilson got off to a flyer. However, in an uncharacteristic show of form, Wilson played a loose stroke and edged the ball to the keeper. He was initially hesitant to walk, knowing that falling at such an early stage in his innings would blow the 2013 run chase wide open. Shortly after, Hull was caught out by a vicious inswinger which, for had it not rasped him on the pads, was destined to tear out middle stump. There was a suggestion that the ball had pitched outside the line of leg stump but Mark Jolly, having recently graduated from the Erasmus school of umpiring, was quick to raise the finger. With no DRS available Hull reluctantly trudged back to the picnic bench.

A strong third wicket partnership between James Shearman and Simon Thomas got CIPA back on track. Shearman, slightly more restrained than usual, played some elegant stokes to get to a swift fire 26. Thomas hit a well-worked 25 and, in doing so, increased his career average to a respectable, if not slightly artificial 88.

Chris Milton decided to take stance 3 feet outside his crease in order to negate the late inswing. However, he was outsmarted by a fairly tame yorker and was sent packing for 1. With Captain Lumsden and Andy Spurr now at the crease, the Captain’s orders were clear for all to see - ramp up the run rate and put the game beyond doubt. In what has been a particularly tough season with both bat and ball, Captain Lumsden hit some beefy boundaries, seemingly buoyed by the prospects of marriage. Unfortunately, after a swing and a miss he was back on the picnic bench for 15 contemplating what could have been.

Spurr, as usual, had been run counting in his head and set himself up for a grandstand finish. Needing a six to finish on the heady heights of 30 not out, he drove straight down the ground, hoping to clear the short boundary rope. To the groans of all around, the ball landed a foot short and he had to settle for 28.

Andy Grant and Rob Carpmael were the next batsmen in. Grant was out for 7; stumped whilst trying to hit Agricola’s spinner into the Thames. Tony Williams, knowing that his real skills lay with the ball, didn’t put up much of a fight and was clean bowled for 0 (quack quack). Mark Jolly then entered the fray…

In years to come, Wednesday 24th of July 2013 will be remembered by most as the day on which the future King of England was named. However, for the members of the CIPA cricket team who were present at Chiswick on that fateful day, it will be remembered for one thing, and for one thing only. It was the day on which Mark Jolly hit a boundary.

With 3 overs to go, two wickets in hand, and a bowling attack who looked in much need of their next nicotine fix, Jolly and Carpmael were presented with a perfect opportunity to put Agricola to the sword. 4 runs and 18 balls later, the innings was over. Agricola had been set a target of 150 to win.

Williams and Spurr were tasked with opening the bowling. Williams bowled with precision and aplomb, despite having a grade 3 calf strain which had threatened his participation in the lead up to the game. After firing down a couple of his customary leg side looseners, Spurr bowled a tight line throughout his spell and even took a wicket. After 8 overs, the run rate was well below 4 and victory was surely in sight. However, Captain Lumsden was not content with just limiting the run rate; he wanted wickets and turned to Rob Carpmael for answers.

Carpmael, arguably the find of the season, was finding the footholes and causing all sorts of trouble for the batsmen. With his revs consistently hitting the 'red' zone it was only a matter of time before the wickets started tumbling. The batsmen, getting increasingly frustrated by their inability to hit the ball, were now swinging wildly. When bat did finally hit ball, it could only make contact with the thinnest of edges. Shearman, alert as ever, was quick to snaffle up the ball with consummate ease. If only the same could be said for the other fielders, with Wilson, Spurr and Carpmael all putting down regulation catches during the course of the innings. In what was probably the best spell of bowling all season, Carpmael was rewarded with two more wickets, both resulting from astute fielding on the part of Captain Lumsden and Shearman.

Grant, Jolly and Milton all jumped on the wicket bandwagon and took the remaining wickets to finish off the tail. All in all, it was a good run out for CIPA, who will return to Chiswick next week in an attempt to seal the home and away double over the Treasury.

Batting

Player	Runs scored	How Out	4s	6s	SR
Justin Wilson	11	Caught	2	0	138
John Hull	5	LBW	0	0	71
Simon Thomas	25*		3	0	109
James Shearman	26*		4	0	137
Chris Milton	1	Bowled	0	0	50
Andy Spurr	28*		5	0	233
Stuart Lumsden	15	Bowled	3	0	188
Andy Grant	7	Stumped	0	0	47
Robert Carpmael	8*		0	0	73
Tony Williams		Bowled	0	0	0
Mark Jolly	8*		1	0	160
Extras	15				-

CIPA - 149 for 6 off 20
Scorebook

Login to see and make comments