Monday 9 May 2016

BBC Defeated by Mandarins


BBC Mishits 138 all out; Mandarins 139 for 3.

Mandarins won by 7 wickets.

You thought it was only certain politicians who had it in for the BBC. Well, it’s some of the civil servants too. Under blue skies at Burnham CC, the Mandarins won their first game of the season, the first under new Chairman, Nick Davidson, defeating the BBC Mishits with the 20 overs of the last hour unused.

Opting to bat, the Mishits made a frenetic start. But Gray pegged them back, with the decisive spell of the match: 4 for 16 in 5 overs. The middle order rallied, but 3 wickets for Suryakumar, one each for Coyne and McIntyre, and a brilliant run out by Brand with a direct hit from the covers, finished the innings in just 27 overs.

An opening stand of 84 between Temple and Brand saw the Mandarins well on the way to victory. Temple was lbw for 23, and Brand was out shortly afterwards for 52, including six fours and two sixes. Old men on the boundary recalled Mandarins collapses of years ago when victory was in sight. But, though Baker was caught on the drive, there were no further alarms, as the Chairman steered his side home with 26 not out.

This wasn’t entirely a case of New Model Mandarins. At least eight chances went down in the field. Though some fell into the ‘technical’ category, others were in the best Mandarins tradition

Mandarins XI: Davidson (captain), Baker, Brand, Coyne, Gray, Healey, McIntyre, McKeon C, Pharoah, Suryakumar, Temple

Paul McIntyre