- Locksbottom 2nd XI vs The Twenty Minuters
- Starts Hill Recreation Ground
- 14rd May 2005
- Toss: Locksbottom 2nd XI
- Result: Lost by 1 wicket
- Man of the Match: P Cannon
| The Twenty Minuters innings | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H Lloyd Baker | LBW | b Abbott | 10 | ||
| M Maxwell-Scott | c High | b Thamba | 1 | ||
| L Willis | bowled | b Thamba | 72 | ||
| B Godsal | bowled | b Thamba | 4 | ||
| J Greayer | bowled | b Abbott | 15 | ||
| *R T C Groom | bowled | b Snashall | 9 | ||
| R Scott | bowled | b Thamba | 15 | ||
| P Cannon | c High | b Thamba | 0 | ||
| C Stevens | bowled | b Mosedale | 12 | ||
| A Curtis | c King | b Mosedale | 6 | ||
| W Scott | not out | 2 | |||
| Extras | (b 11, w 2, nb 7) | 20 | |||
| Total (all out, after 35.2 overs) | 164 | ||||
| FoW: 1-13, 2-17, 3-27, 4-71, 5-107, 6-141, 7-141, 8-154, 9-154, 10-164 | |||||
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbott | 11 | 1 | 40 | 2 | |
| Thamba | 9 | 3 | 25 | 5 | 1w |
| Bull | 6 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| Snashall | 4 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 3nb, 1w |
| Mosedale | 5.2 | 0 | 40 | 2 | 4nb |
| Locksbottom 2nd XI innings | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | bowled | b W Scott | 3 | ||
| Charlesworth | LBW | b Curtis | 4 | ||
| Mosedale | c Curtis | b W Scott | 71 | ||
| Wadwhani | bowled | b Cannon | 13 | ||
| King | c Greayer | b Cannon | 4 | ||
| Snashall | LBW | b Cannon | 14 | ||
| Bhocal | bowled | b W Scott | 0 | ||
| Bull | not out | 14 | |||
| Thamba | bowled | b W Scott | 1 | ||
| Abbott | bowled | b Cannon | 4 | ||
| Fanner | not out | 0 | |||
| Extras | (b 14, nb 4, w 19) | 37 | |||
| Total (for 9, after 41.3 overs) | 165 | ||||
| FoW: 1-4, 2-22, 3-48, 4-55, 5-59, 6-116, 7-145, 8-151, 9-162 | |||||
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W Scott | 15.3 | 3 | 52 | 4 | (12w, 1nb) |
| A Curtis | 5 | 0 | 25 | 1 | (3w, 1nb) |
| P Cannon | 12 | 1 | 29 | 4 | (2w, 1nb) |
| C Stevens | 4 | 0 | 26 | 0 | (2w 1nb) |
| L Willis | 5 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
Match Summary
A forecast promising sunny conditions, rumours of a mown outfield and a journey planned with military precision: the Twenties were champing at the bit on the morning of their long awaited first fixture of a new season.
A few cans of fortifying cider on the train to Orpington had Maxwell Scott and Willis discussing big scores, the latter with perhaps a little more conviction. Then a bus ride around the scenic villages of north Kent and a return visit to the welcoming little ground at Locksbottom.
The first portentous moment of the day saw Skip lose the toss, and he was susprised to be put in on what looked like a workable deck. Britain's Worst Opening Partnership™, having been relishing a lazy hour or two of hiding in the outfield, padded up in an atmosphere of mild, slightly drunken dread.
The first overs saw the usual flurry of dot balls as bustling left-armer Abbott and wily old-timer Thamba turned the screw. Maxwell Scott found the latter's nagging length tough to negotiate, and the ex-league star went past the bat a handful of times but failed to secure an edge. At the other end Lloyd-Baker scrambled a couple of doubles, then lofted Abbott over mid on to an audible sigh of relief from the watching Twenties line-up.
Sadly Abbott repaid the favour with interest three balls later, snaring Baker leg-before with a decision that looked a touch generous from the septuagenarian umpire.
Willis took to the crease with the usual weight of expectations on his shoulders. Despite an early boundary the bowlers still looked on top, with Thamba producing a second maiden, and finally removing Maxwell Scott after the talismanic opener snicked to keeper.
This left the twenties on 17 for two, and there were murmurings of discontent back at the pav. But with Godsal joining Willis a partnership looked to be in the offing, and the Salopian journalist produced a thumping drive off Thamba — the first boundary from that end — to provide a taster of what could be coming.
Sadly it was not to be. The God was off two overs later with only four more on the board as the same bowler took his revenge, pushing back the middle peg.
Thankfully with Greayer joining him in the middle Willis was in no mood to capitulate. Steadily he began to find the fence, ably supported by the jaunty proddings of the Fixtures Sec. Together they put on 44, with Willis pressing the accelerator and beginning a scoring run that saw him plunder 32 from 15 deliveries.
When Greayer fell, bowled for 15, the Twenties looked more comfortable on 71 for four, if not yet out of the woods. The Skipper continued the support role ably as Willis smashed Abbott and Bull to all corners, but after a gritty nine the gaffer was back in the hutch. R Scott then provided his usual entertaining cameo, blasting 15 from 16 balls, but when he was bowled by the returning Thamba yet another Twenty had made a start but failed to go on. Still, with batting to come and another upstanding performance from Willis the visitors looked comfortable on 141. Skip issued orders to support the young Antipodean in a push for another 40 or so.
But the very next ball Thamba underlined his class, sending Cannon on the long walk, caught behind, for his fourth of the day. With seven down the Twenties were becalmed, and the hoped-for target of 180 looked much further away.
A quickfire trio of boundaries from Stevens marched the score along, but when Willis departed, bowled for 72, again by the irrepressible Thamba, the innings looked to be tailing off. Mosedale bowled Stevens after six more dot balls, and despite a plucky last-wicket partnership from W Scott and Curtis the total, at 164 from 35.2 overs, looked defendable but fragile.
After a hearty tea the Twenties took to the field and looked for wickets with a typically aggressive early-innings field from the skipper. W Scott looked in fiery form from the off, his slingy action producing no little pace down the hill and he began with a maiden.
Curtis looked in fine fettle at the other end. A boundary from his first delivery brought an instant reply as the bon viveur trapped Charlesworth LBW to make an early breakthrough.
Home number three Mosedale joined High, and for five overs the runs came slowly, mainly in the sundries column, and after seven Locksbottom were tied back to 16 for one, nine of which had come in extras. The home pair looked less than comfortable against the pace of Scott, who despite a couple of leg-side hiccups had put together a confrontational spell. He gained his reward a couple of overs later, smashing High's stumps and dismissing the young glovesman for just three. Twenties looked in business.
Mosedale had other ideas, and in an uncanny echo of the visitors' number three knock the all-rounder dug in and started to build an innings. He put on 26 with Wadwhani — who was bowled after a customarily brutish opening from Cannon — then continued with King and Snashall to take the score to 99 for five. Both the latter were also snaffled by Cannon, who served notice on what could be a big season with an opening spell of eight overs, with three wickets for just 20 runs.
Crucially Locksbottom had time on their side. With 16 remaining they needed only four an over to win, and Mosedale looked in ominous form.
Stevens joined the attack with an expensive first over, but found his rhthym and provided able support for Cannon. However, the breakthrough was not forthcoming and it took the return of Scott, this time up the slope, to dismiss Bhocal. Willis chipped in with some deft leg breaks at the other end, but despite passing the bat repeatedly the proud son of Sydney found the edge elusive. Mosedale began to push on, adding 29 with the gritty Bull before succumbing to Scott for a laudable 71, caught with ice-cool aplomb by Curtis.
Wickets were the key now for the Twenties, as they had too few runs to play with. The home side needed just 19 from the remaining 8 overs, and Bull looked immovable. But Thamba made just one before being bowled by Scott, and with two batsmen remaining Locksbottom found themselves on a knife edge.
Abbott poked and prodded for his four, but a flurry of extras had pushed the score to 162 when he was bowled by the returning Cannon, who seemed to relish the pressure and the aid of the slope.
Two runs to get and a single wicket in hand. The match teetered on the brink, but a heart-breaking wide from Scott and a pushed single by Bull took the home side over the line. A deserved, if narrow, victory in a hugely exciting contest.
