Sunday June 2, 2018: 1.30pm. 40 Overs
Toss: Putney, Bat
Nepotists: 10-90, 24.5 Overs (Styles 26, Kiso 23, Werren 15)
Putney: 10-106, 35.4 Overs (McLoghlin 1-5, Styles 4-27)
Result: Loss
Scorecard: Here
Follow The Nepotists On: Instagram / Facebook / Twitter
When Mick McLoghlin (AUS) held onto a cracking catch at covers, which if he’d not touched would have travelled for 6, the Nepo record of ‘bowling’ all the opposition was stopped in its track. This was the 8th Putney wicket to fall.
Losing the toss and being asked to bowl, we got off to a flier on a pitch that offered three variants. Slow and low, slow and even lower, slow and out, all of which played in the bowlers’ favour if bowled on the stumps.
The first wicket fell in the 2nd over, the 2nd wicket in the 3rd, the 3rd wicket in the 6th, the 4th in the 8th, the 5th in the 14th, the 6th in the 15th, and the 7th in the 19th with a drink’s break to celebrate the stumps being rattled 7 times, and only 55 on the board.
The want to ‘bowl’ all the batsmen was perhaps more in the mind than deliveries which saw Putney add 51 for their last three wickets to reach 106. Actually, 51 was added by the 8th wicket! Though a small total, chasing 107 to win is still better than chasing 108, and lot better than 208 and so forth, and nothing which we hadn’t done before, but looking back, we’d rather have had a win chasing 56 than a loss chasing 107, but I digress.
After Kiso Kanth (SL) took the 8th wicket, his first for the Nepo’s, and was subsequently dragged due to him having bowled his quota of 8-2-45-1, Pawan Sharma (IND) delivered his first ball since 2002 and took the 9th wicket, a high ball caught by Steve Werren (AUS) behind. Mick delivered the final blow in his 8th over, bowling Putney number 11 and creating what will need to be verified as Nepo World Record of 8 bowled in an inning.
We were lucky it was 8 as Pawan grassed one catch, Nick Grieve (NZ) had one caught behind off his regular one no-ball per spell, and I had an LBW that was so out it barely warranted an appeal let alone penalising the batsman for not upholding the spirit of the game by walking.
Nonetheless It was our best bowling effort of the season with myself ending the inning 5-3-4-1, Ryan Styles (AUS) a blinding 8-2-27-4, Nick 6-1-13-2, Kiso 8-2-43-1, Mick 7.4-3-5-1, and Pawan 1-1-0-1.
We whacked 100yards through the scrub to the clubhouse next to Putney Cemetery for pasta salad and pizza, which gathered 7.9 on the RichTea Scale, brought to you this week by Ryan Styles before collecting the kit and whacking our way back to the field to nudge and snick our way to 107.
A small target became more difficult with Carl Hoar (ENG), Pravan Kara (IND), and Pawan all back in brambles and stinging nettles that bordered the ground, for zero after 7 balls. It our worst start ever and the first time I’ve seen Time Hardy (ENG) batting in the first over, and whom was soon joined by Steve, elevated to 5, in the 2nd over.
In respect of the inning so far, Steve and Time’s 27run partnership put my ill-ease and ease with Kiso, Ryan, Mick, Nick, myself, and Kahuna still to bat, if required. When Time was bowled, bringing Kiso to the middle, I was still confident with 25% of the target erased. I didn’t fell so good one over later when Steve was caught for 15, with the score still 27.
Ryan joined Kiso and continued his merry season form carting 26 off 28 before being bowled by one that didn’t keep low or lower, it just went past the bat and took off stump. 6-58 meant a change of umpire, and I marched off with Ryan to pad up.
No sooner had I found gloves to complete the preparation than I walked to the middle, past Farokh Engineer, to join Kiso after Nick was bowled for 0 and Mick LBW for 0, confirming Magic will never umpire again!!
I helped Kiso add 6 more by getting him to run more in one over than he had in 36 overs in the field before he was caught at slip for 23, which left the birthday boy Kahuna and myself to take the Nepo’s home, with 27 runs still to win. Getting Kahuna to run more than Kiso was a challenge but run he did, made his ground each time, and together we put on 10 before I too fell to a blinding catch at first slip from a drive that was there to be hit, I just didn’t hit enough of it.
There were still 15 overs to bowl, that’s what disappoints me more. Forget all other wickets, I didn’t have to play any shots, just not get out. With only 1 run per over to win, runs come without effort but being rolled for 90 with so many overs left hurts more than the loss.
We bowled ourselves to victory and subsequently batted ourselves to defeat against an attack that wasn’t our most challenging, but you must play the ball and, in this case, the pitch on its merit.
A low and slow defeat, just to mirror the pitch.
Yours in Nepotism,
Sparrow
SCHWIM MOMENT: Kiso for his whopping out of left field 6 to the right of field
NACA: Kiso Kanth (SL). For 2 years Kiso said he will reply to the Monday availability email yet never did. When finally doing so, for Northwood, he didn’t turn up to the ground closest his home! After 1 failed selection, and 2 cancellations, Kiso made his debut and even voting for himself, won the NACA for said reasons, plus midway through the NACA asking if he could leave!! Very NACA!