A spirited display by the Plastics was not enough to avoid a narrow defeat, as the Taverners demonstrated their batting experience to chase down 170 with just 1 over left to play.
Despite their early season success, the Plastics went into this game with a number of question marks. Where would the runs come from without Alex? Could such a bowler-heavy squad hope to survive a full 35 overs? Would anyone step up and stamp their name on positions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11? Was Joey still even alive? The match started in worrying fashion with skipper Charlie reverting to old habits and losing the toss. Stripped of the opportunity to hide their batting abilities for as long as possible, the Plastics would instead have to go out and set a defendable total. There was optimism in the air though as the Plastics opted to try a brand new opening partnership of Niall and Peter. Disappointment followed as Peter fell victim to a LBW decision early on - a decision which will do little to quieten the persistent suggestions that umpires may be biased against the Plastics - but this disappointment was heavily tempered by the antics of his fellow opener. Despite the fears that Niall's destructive lower-order talents would be wasted by him opening, the gamble paid off as Plastics fans saw him chalk up a best ever score of 1, courtesy of a fine slap through the covers. He was unfortunate to subsequently spoon a half-volley straight down the throat of mid-on, but Plastics fans will be cautiously wondering if the search for Leo's opening partner may finally be over. Charlie and Mark dug in and formed a productive partnership, Mark in particular demonstrating superb maturity and concentration for a man who had thrown up on a train less than 14 hours ago. Defending the good balls and scoring off the bad ones allowed them to clock up a crucial partnership of 67, with Charlie happy to play a supporting role to Mark's increasingly destructive batting. 13 runs for Charlie and a superb 45 from Mark - a personal best - had seen the Plastics get right back into the game. Unfortunately Mark's dismissal - cleaned bowled by a good delivery - saw the start of a classic Plastics collapse. Charlie edged a wide one on to his stumps before Tom, playing in his first ever Plastics fixture, was given his marching orders on just one after playing around a low full toss - an lbw decision which he had absolutely no qualms with and didn't bring up at all over the next few hours. Crowd-favourite James meanwhile was frustrated to find himself marching back to the pavilion after missing a straight one, also going for just 1 run. Having gone from 70-2 to 76-6 in just 4 overs, the Plastics were rocking. With Maithri and Joey at the crease there were no questions about their batting talent, but many questions about Maithri's match form and Joey's temperament / blood-alcohol level. Sure enough, nervous spectators were treated to the sight of Joey attempting a number of wild but ineffective shots, none more so than an attempting heave off a 78-year-old spinner which deflected the ball onto his stumps. Miraculously though the bails held firm - the Taverners would need to find another way to dislodge the Australian from the crease. A close shave can often give a batsman a new lease of life, and Joey began to look increasingly settled at the crease - even demonstrating a "block" much to the delight of the crowd. As his confidence grew the fours and sixes began to stack up, with the Taverners becoming increasingly frustrated at the accelerating run rate. At the other end Maithri proved to be the perfect folly, rotating the strike and demonstrating his expansive range of shots. With Maithri bowled on 17, Matt (5 runs) and Jerry (2 runs) came in to support Joey in the final overs, the latter scoring a sensational ramp shot to put to bed any suspicions that he would "never have the bottle to do it in an actual match". The innings concluded with Joey getting caught on 62 - a new personal best - and a superbly entertaining contribution. The Plastics would now look to defend an imposing target of 170. Tidy starts from opening pair Jerry and Jamie kicked off the innings in promising style - both picking up early maidens. Then disaster struck. Strike bowler Jamie, having achieved impressive figures of 4-1-11-0 was hit by a sudden and vicious ailment. As he left the pitch, the Plastics exchanged nervous glances. They would need to find a way to win with just 10 men. There was plenty of decent bowling to come however, Tom's superbly miserly figures (4-0-10-1) piling on the pressure at one end, whilst Matt's pace and variety brought the wickets. An excellent 3-fer for the bald paceman, his energy and enthusiasm reaping rewards, and the prize scalp of their skipper and best batsman - taken behind with a superb catch by Peter. Joey and Maithri will both be frustrated with their figures, but figures often don't tell the whole story. Asked to bowl as the Taverners looked to accelerate, both bowled spells that could've seen handfuls of wickets on a different day. Indeed more than a 3rd of Joey's runs were conceded in one unfortunate 3 ball spell. Soon though his length was fixed, and just a single streaky 4 conceded off his final 2 overs, and the batsmen overheard muttering "he's only got one more over, try and see him out". It was a case of the good, the bad and the ugly for Maithri meanwhile, as he mixed unplayable deliveries with beamers. Indeed the Taverner's top scorer would later concede that "when he got it right he was causing me no end of problems". A fantastic run-out from Tom and Peter led to an exciting finish - the Taverners needing 30-odd off the last 5 overs with only 1 recognised batsman at the crease. A disciplined and classy display saw them reach their target with an over to spare, however, concluding a fascinating and entertaining game of cricket. Defeat can be hard to take, but the Plastics will look back fondly on a game which had a bit of everything - a close contest, fun, well-matched opposition, free food and drink at the pub afterwards and the discovery that Jamie was still alive.
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THE TEAMFormed from a collection of players who met on the internet via social cricket at Archbishop's Park, Plastics XI represents the foolhardy members of that group who decided they wanted a bash at proper cricket instead of playing with plastic balls. The team's ability is best described as "weak-weak". Luckily, our social media game is much stronger. Find us on: Archives
October 2021
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