Scorecard

Pinner Cricket Club Saturday 1st XI v Aldenham 1 on Sat 25 Jun 2022 at 1300
Pinner Cricket Club Won by 56 runs

Match report Partnership of 59 for 3rd wicket between Ramachandran and Dixit
Partnership of 58 for 5th wicket between Ramachandran and Moeeniddin

Pinner 1s vs. Aldenham, at Montesole park - Match report
Missing the combined services of Daniel ‘sweets and gum supplier’ Langan , Jack ‘f****d off to South Africa’ Tucker and James Baker who by the looks of things is at one of those festivals where you spend a majority of your time competing with 99 other people to use a portaloo, the Pinner 1s arrived at Montesole determined to win this big game against Aldenham to hopefully close the gap on second place. We welcomed back Shaunak 'The Big Shau' Deshmukh and Kavit ‘definitely not as nice a human being as Manish Babar’ Dixit, back in the side after unspeakable acts of kindness on a stag do in Bristol last week.
The visitors won the toss and decided to put Pinner in to bat on what looked like a slightly soft and damp surface. Our stand-in, high flying (literally, he is on a flight as I write this) skipper Rohitesh Dhawan and Manish Babar got things underway, but in the second over, Manish, by his own admission, missed a straight full toss from left armer Chris Hewett to be given out LBW for 1. Two overs later, Ro (6) got a wonderful ball from the same bowler that went on with the angle and settled in the hands of the slip fielder. 13-2 in the 4th over and we had a job on our hands against a hostile opening spell from two very good bowlers. Kavit joined me in the middle and we decided to see off the opening spell but equally looking for any opportunities to punish any loose balls as well as rotate strike. The pitch was offering variable bounce which Kavit seemed to get the brunt of but with a mixture of luck and watchful batting, we were able to pinch singles to keep the score ticking along. The odd bad ball was dismissed and we brought up a 50 partnership in the 17th over. Kavit (23) received yet another ball that jumped off a good length but this time, he could only glide it into the hands of second slip and Pinner went into drinks in the 20th over at 78-3. Raj, who had bided his time until drinks, cut loose soon after the break and his attacking shots changed the momentum of the game. By the time Raj was out caught for 20, we had 32 runs in just 4 overs after the restart. Despite losing Raj, Salman was able to step in and keep the momentum going. Both of us added runs at a good clip, with Sal dishing out the boundaries, while I just kept ticking things along and eventually bringing up my first half century of a so far bleak season. After a 58 run association, of which Sal scored 41, he was out soon followed by Nicholas Lawrence (😎 in the same over but only after he’d smashed two fours in two balls. Shaunak (5) and John Hoh (10) both added important contributions and with some enthusiastic running between wickets, we were able to keep scoring despite the loss of wickets. I was run out for 80, choosing unwisely to take on one of their stronger fielders and two quick wickets followed. However, by then we’d had a par score of 212 on the board to defend.
Being very aware of the danger posed by opposing skipper and undoubtedly the league’s best batsman, Chris Munroe, Rohitesh was very clear with his strategy of operating an in-out field to try and starve their superstar batsman of boundaries. Felix ‘did I ever do anything to piss off Leeroy?’ Hoh got us the first breakthrough in the 3rd over, inducing an edge from their other opener. This was followed by a counter attack from Chris and Aldenham started moving at a good clip, moving to 45-1 in the eighth over. Motivated by calls of ‘Papa Bear’ delivered in Kavit’s best Kiwi accent, Kunal delivered a double breakthrough getting No.3 and No.4, trapped LBW offering no shot and caught behind off consecutive deliveries. The game continued to be evenly poised as Felix (6-0-32-1) and Kunal (6-0-35-2) finished their opening spells with Pinner trying to cut off too many boundaries and Aldenham keeping the required run rate in check. The visitors however lost two more wickets in somewhat quick succession, Nick taking a shart caught and bowled in his first over and Sal doing unexplainable things to rearrange another batter’s stumps. After his first over, Nick (3-0-24-1) really struggled with his rhythm and was taken for runs in his next two overs, prompting Ro to think about a spin option. Just around that time, Sal (8-0-18-2) who we all know relishes responsibility in the big games and big moments, stepped up to deliver an unplayable ball that was leaving the batter in the air, pitched and then seamed in to clatter the top of middle and off. The batter on the receiving end was Chris Munroe and Pinner were cock-a-hoop, sensing that this was the moment that would settle the match in our favor. Aldenham were now with backs firmly against the wall at 101-6 in the 18th over. That wicket immediately started to dry up the runs with Kavit and Sal, followed by Shaunak (3-0-12-0) bowling tight lines. The 7th wicket pair for the visitors were defiant and started to raise their hopes with a few lusty blows and a couple of misfields. The rain clouds were threatening too but by this stage, we had clawed things back enough to ensure Aldenham were just behind the required rate in case of a stoppage. Kavit (7-0-34-1) broke this important 49 run partnership, bowling their number 8 off an inside edge with a well flighted delivery. Ro decided to get me on for a couple of overs before the spearheads Felix and Kunal delivered the death overs, so I handed over keeping duties to Manish. I managed to get two wickets in my first over, caught and bowled and then a plumb LBW. In the very next over, a mix up between the last pair meant an easy run out and all of a sudden, the game was won and by a convincing margin of 57 runs. The game was played in great spirit by both teams barring a couple of instances when things got a bit heated in both innings. Good luck to Aldenham in the rest of their season.
While this is no criticism of the volunteers on both teams who took on scoring duties, it is worth noting that we missed Alan Kay, his colorful pens and meticulous scoring. We sometimes take it for granted, but to do what he does, week in week out for us is exceptional. Get well soon AK!
Dick of the day: Nicholas Lawrence for lounging around on the grass watching what he claimed was Johnny Bairstow performing erotic acts at Headingly, even as the rest of us completed our warm-up. Photographic evidence attached.
Player(s) of the match: This is very difficult to do without appearing to be a self involved prick, but since I have no problems with that characterization, I am naming myself alongside Sal as players of the match for our all-round contributions. Notable mention to Jack Tucker for assisting me with his absence (My stats without JT in the side read Batting Avg. 80, 2 wickets for no runs and 0 dropped catches. With JT in the side, Batting Avg. 7, 3 dropped catches). He has confirmed he is looking for a house and a job in South Africa. Selfless. Stay there, mate.
This was a special win against a very good team who will be there or thereabouts as we look to win promotion this season. The middle order batting fought back in a tough situation against good bowling, our bowlers were very good against a formidable batsman, the energy in the field was relentless and we played for each other. A fantastic collective performance when it mattered, against a top side and as Felix put it in the post match team huddle, “this was THE best day I’ve had in a Pinner shirt”. I can’t argue with him on that. Come on the mighty Lambs!!
PS: This match report will be available in braille, audio-book narrated by Jack Tucker on Audible.com, e-book and in hard copy at local newsagents in the Pinner area. If you would like to frame a copy, let me know.

Pinner Cricket Club Saturday 1st XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
2b 3lb 
for 10 wickets
5
212		        
Manish Babbar lbw Hewett 1
Rohitesh Dhawan ct b Hewett 6 1
Hari Ramachandran Run out  80 12 1 2
Kavit Dixit ct Munroe b Chakranath 23 3
Raj Vernekar ct b Ahmed 20 4
Sal Moeeniddin ct Munroe b Ward 41 8
Nick Lawrence b Ward 8 2 1
Shaunak Deshmukh hit wicket Ward 5 1
John Hoh b Hewett 6 1
Kunal Gandhi b Chudasama 2
Felix Hoh Not Out  1

Aldenham 1 Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
V. Chudasama8.0137137.004.62
C. Hewett7.002839.334.00
A. Chakrawath8.0137137.004.62
S. Ahmed7.0037137.005.29
R. Chandel5.003000.006.00
M. Ward4.0037312.339.25

Aldenham 1 Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
2nb 19w  
for 10 wickets
21
156 (34.1 overs)		     
C. Munroe b Moeeniddin 48
U. Khaliq ct Ramachandran b F. Hoh 14
S. Sanghvi lbw Gandhi 6
K. Barot ct Ramachandran b Gandhi 0
A. Chakrawarti ct & b Lawrence 12
C. Hewett b Moeeniddin 10
R. Chandel b Ramachandran 31
V. Chudasama b Dixit 17
I. Haque Run out  1
S. Ahmed lbw Ramachandran 0
M. Ward Not Out  0

Pinner Cricket Club Saturday 1st XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Felix Hoh6.0032132.005.33
Kunal Gandhi6.0035217.505.83
Sal Moeeniddin8.001829.002.25
Nick Lawrence3.0024124.008.00
Kavit Dixit7.0034134.004.86
Shaunak Deshmukh3.001200.004.00
Hari Ramachandran1.01020.000.00
John Hoh0.10100.006.00