North Enfield’s ground looked a perfect
midsummer’s picture on Sunday, the ancient oak just inside the top boundary particularly
majestic. Ten Mandarins took the field
at 1.30 despite the usual delays on the M25.
They included two players making their second appearance for us - James
Hewlett, who debuted at HMT earlier this month, and Chris Morgan, who last
played for us on tour 28 years ago. The eleventh
man, who appeared at 2.30, shall remain nameless: regular readers will
correctly guess his identity.
North Enfield batted first. Hurst was as threatening as ever on a
slightly faster pitch than we’ve seen before at this venue. Somerville gave a very passable impersonation
of a regular opening bowler at the other end.
The North Enfield openers steadily accumulated 71 before Cooke, these
days an off-spinner, took a catch off perhaps the worst ball he bowled,
provoking a characteristic Mandarins discussion of the correct interpretation of
the no ball law as it relates to high full tosses.
At one point the opposition, powered by an impressive
92 from Jones, representing the middle of three generations of Joneses on the
field, looked likely to get close to 250 from their 40 overs. But Captain Baxter used his somewhat limited
bowling options well, both he and Baker taking wickets. Two wickets from a returning Hurst (8 overs,
2 maidens, 2 for 20 – curiously enough the only bowling analysis recorded in
the score book) slowed the rate in the last few overs. 224 looked very challenging, but with an
exploitable slope down to the bottom boundary, just about within the bounds of
possibility
.
Opening the batting, Baxter scored freely
off Miss Jones, representing the junior generation of the family, but Devenport
at the other end proved trickier, some combination of guile, flight and no
obvious lateral deviation removing Hewlett, Somerville and Wilmot in quick
succession; at one point he had three maidens, two wickets for no runs. To complete the top-order rout, Baxter then decided
to call a quick single from the non-striker’s end as Davidson nudged one gently
to mid-wicket, perhaps reasoning that his partner would be safe unless the
fielder managed a direct hit. Result:
direct hit: out.
But it’s never over till it’s over. Cooke and Warren put on 112 for the sixth
wicket through a combination of faster running than any seen from the Mandarins
in many a year, fine stroke play and some lusty hitting, including three sixes from Cooke. North Enfield eventually brought on Sanders,
by some way the fastest bowler of the day.
He made short work of Baker and Hurst, the latter bowled second ball
after having backed so far to leg the previous delivery that what would have been
a wide had he stayed put instead passed runlessly between bat and pad. David Williams skillfully kept the momentum
going almost to the end, with ten off the penultimate over, until, with two
balls to go, Morgan fell to another fast straight one from Sanders.
So no Mandarins should-have-been-a-draw conversations
this time. The result properly reflected
the balance of an excellent, genuinely exciting game, played in the best of
spirits throughout.
Nick
Davidson
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