The Lee

Sunday August 23 at The Lee

Strollers lost by two wickets

Strollers 386-6
(40 overs; Oliver 146no, Wall 82, Pittams 51, Bourke 23, Broster-Turley 12no)
The Lee 389-8
(39 overs; Rogers 2-65, Broster-Turley 2-70, Oliver 1-17, Salvesen 1-52, Boyes 1-63, Hodgson 1-63)

On yet another fine warm sunny day on this amazing un-English summer the Strollers assembled once more to do battle with The Lee.

It is a fixture that skipper Glen Oliver clearly enjoys as The Lee are a social bunch and tea is a fine affair, and perhaps it is also one that frustrates him (maybe The Lee won last year...).

There were actually some clouds in the sky (for geographers they were of the cumulus variety – the fluffy ones that often coincide with fine weather) suggesting some intermittent breaks from the intense heat of most of the previous dozen fixtures. With all set fair, Oliver returned from the toss muttering that he didn't dare tell his team that they would be fielding. To the surprise of most he did not have to, for Oliver had won a toss – and wanted this recorded in the match report.

Sean Bourke and Rob Wall were selected to open on what promised to be an excellent batting track, assisted by some short boundaries and the tawny shade of outfield that we have become used to this summer.

They may have been surprised when opening bowler Jack Stark sent down a few quick rib-rattlers, while from the other end Michael Stark looked fairly accurate. By the end of the third over, Bourke had had enough and over the course of the next eight deliveries he amassed 22 runs, aided it must be said by the gift of four overthrows.

Unfortunately it was not to last, with the tighter bowling of Michael Stark resulting in a fine slip catch taken by Jack Stark with the score on 39 and Wall having only managed a couple of singles and a two.

Mike Pittams was in at No 3 and set to work with his trademark quick singles. It was not to last – Pittams clearly decided that the short boundary and fast outfield made scoring fours much more attractive and it wasn't long before Wall also gave up on the idea of singles and cheekily lifted the ball over the slips for four.

The Lee were not of a mind to accept this for long, inserting a fly slip to encourage Wall to play proper shots, which he duly obliged with and the scoring rate edged up above five an over. It was around this time that the Pittams family started to arrive. Early discussions suggested that the sound of food being unwrapped on the boundary was often a precursor to the Pittams wicket falling. We managed to avoid this and in due course Pittams brought up his fifty with a mighty smite over mid-off.

Michael Stark had now finished his eight-over spell (one wicket for a creditable 41) and was replaced by the young Nikhil Choudhury. This succeeded in tempting Pittams into a cover smash that unfortunately landed safely in the hands of the fielder patrolling the only long boundary.

And so Oliver arrived at the crease. He proved less respectful than his predecessors, or possibly he found that scoring singles resulted in giving the strike to Wall, who was only interested in scoring in fours at this stage. So after a few overs during which he had only scored two, a flurry of fours and a six rectified matters and the scoring rate increased.

Wall and Oliver were to share a partnership of 124 for the third wicket – scoring at around ten an over – before Wall missed a straight one and the bails fell. He departed having made a fine 82. Andy Boyes came in and immediately went out again and Strollers were on a respectable 249-4 with Hugh Martindale joining Oliver at the crease.

It might be said that the pressure of facing a hat-trick ball brings out the best in Martindale's batting. A field brought in to give the bowler hope only resulted in what may have been a top edge first ball four. He then played a supporting role, scoring only four more singles in a partnership of 104 while Oliver hit boundaries and farmed the strike.

When Martindale missed a straight one (again from Choudhury) Oliver was approaching his 150 and the overs were running out. Ed Boakes came on to bowl the last over and new batsman Steve Rogers could only score one four before giving a catch to Daniel Boakes, leaving Freddie Broster-Turley to come in to face the last two balls.

In almost identical shots, these were despatched over the short midwicket boundary for six, possibly resulting in the highest ever strike rate (600 runs per 100 balls) for a Strollers batsman. And so the innings ended with Oliver unbeaten on a fine 146 and The Lee were set a target of 387 to overhaul rhe Strollers' highest-ever total.

The Lee do provide a very good tea, and sufficient of it to mean that there was still cake on offer at the end of the match. Your match reporter appreciated this as too much cake prior to fielding does not bring out the best in the Strollers.

Happy with their total, the Strollers took to the field with Broster-Turley and Salvesen opening the bowling. Both suffered from an immediate onslaught from The Lee batsmen despite some reasonably accurate bowling.

The breakthrough came when a straight drive was launched back to Broster-Turley, who, failing to get out of the way, took a very smart caught-and-bowled. Broster-Turley stayed in the action with another wicket (caught Bourke) and a smart catch at extra cover off Salvesen.

But the score was moving on, still well below the required rate but above that achieved by the Strollers in the first dozen overs. Jim Hodgson and Rogers came on to bowl and Strollers took another catch (Wall this time). When was the last time the Strollers took all their catches? Then Salvesen took a diving catch off Rogers at (shortish) extra cover. Possibly the fastest move by Salvesen of the year...

But the score was still moving on. Still not quite at the required rate, but the Lee had George Perceval and Sam Harris at the crease and these two moved the score on with some disdain for reasonable bowling. Harris eventually fell for 80 to another catch (Boyes).

Boyes then came on to bowl, replacing Hodgson, and took the only bowled wicket of the innings. Unfortunately for the Strollers, this brought Jack Stark to the crease, who, with Perceval, attacked the Strollers bowling and brought their target within range with only a few overs to go.

Having scored his century, Perceval retired allowing Oliver to trap young Choudhury lbw, before Salvesen was asked to come on to bowl the final over, with less than 10 runs to defend.

Asked not to bowl down the leg-side, Salvesen bowled his worst over of the day and conceded several entirely leg-side boundaries. And so, in what may only be called a one-day run-fest, The Lee came out winners by two wickets in the final over.

Probably one for the record books: most runs scored by Strollers; most runs scored by an opposition; most runs scored in a defeat; most runs scored in a day. Possibly the best catching performance by the Strollers in a while but catches only win matches if the opposition scores less than you!

As ever the Strollers consoled themselves with a beer or three, generously provided by skipper Oliver.

Capt: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Hugh Martindale.

Match fees: Alastair Macaulay. Match report: Tom Salvesen.