Carpmaels

7th Jun 2016 - Alexandra Palace
Won by 44 runs - NRR = 2.2

The annual match against Carpmaels is always enjoyable, perhaps because it allows us to reacquaint ourselves with former giant of CIPA cricket Roger Lush. This year there was the added bonus of current CIPA cricketer Phil Scott turning out for his employers. The Carpmaels match has also in recent years been a closely fought contest, with Carpmaels sneaking a victory for the first time last year. CIPA were keen to put matters right this year...

Despite the weather having looked distinctly ominous all day, by 6pm it was dry if not quite sunny. It was decided by mutual agreement that we would bat first, due to the late arrival of many of the team. Late arrival is a good tactic,it seems, given the clear advantage of batting first.

The innings was opened by Nick King and Andy Grant, who started tentatively but quickly found that the pitch was true and the bowling eminently hittable. This theme continued throughout the innings, with retirements achieved by no less than four batsmen (Nick King, Jon Bailey, James Duffy and John Hull). Jon Bailey and John Hull hit the ball with particular force, whilst James Duffy overcame his fear of Phil Scott to record 32 (courtesy of dodgy scoring, possibly by Mark Dean).

The big shock (based on last week's excellent innings) was a relatively cheap dismissal for Bruce Torrance, who decided to mow across a straight one. The run rate slowed a little in the final overs of the innings, with Stuart Lumsden and Rob Jackson scratching around for form, before Andy Spurr injected urgency with two finely struck sixes in the last over.

With CIPA having set an imposing total of 181 of 3 from 20 overs, it might have been hoped that victory was all but guaranteed. Such assumptions seemed premature, however, when Carpmaels' opening batsmen made use of the true pitch to get off to a flier.

Chris Milton and Andy Spurr opened the bowling, and soon found themselves on the end of some punishment from Vish. This agony was compounded for both bowlers when Andy Spurr bowled an excellent slower ball which bamboozled Vish into skying the ball to mid-on, where Chris Milton never looked like catching it and proceeded not to. Indeed, this was the first of six catches dropped by CIPA over the course of the innings, with Bruce Torrance shelling two of those. Clearly some work to be done there for nearly all of us!

Fortunately, once Vish had retired, the Carpmaels innings was brought under control. Chris Milton bounced back from his mauling to get two wickets in two balls, with the hat trick delivery spearing through the batsman before going on to miss leg stump by a whisker. Andy Spurr overcame the disappointment of one dropped catch, only to see another go down, before miserly bowling by Bruce Torrance and Stuart Lumsden made victory all but impossible.

Nick King then recorded the enviable figures of 2 for 2 from 2, but this unfortunately brought Vish back to the crease. Stuart Lumdsen bowled the final over with our total impregnable unless (lots of) extras came into play. Our hearts sank when the first ball was a no ball that sailed over the boundary for six, but fortunately Lumsden returned to his favoured corridor of uncertainty and the victory in the end was very comfortable.

A significant amount of beer was consumed after the game. We were very grateful for the multiple jugs of beer purchased for us by our gracious opponents, and look forward to a return match next year.

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