North Walls, Sunday 3rd September, 2023
A September fixture can be a melancholy thing: the air is a touch cooler, the sun a little lower in the sky, the light fails that bit earlier. You might even sense, perhaps from a vantage point at deep midwicket, the tang of smoke drifting across the pitch from a distant garden where an industrious gardener is burning the first fallen leaves. Not this year. Not this fixture. It was hot. Height-of-summer hot. Continental hot. Thirty-plus, and humid with it. Hats never more diligently worn. Drinks never more eagerly taken. Even the normally indefatigable Tom Talks was heard to complain, at one point, that it was a bit much for fast bowling.
But that came later. Because the Racqueteers batted first – and batted steadily. One of our openers, Alex and Sepia, complained of being ‘dotted up’, but their batting style was entirely appropriate to the conditions, what with the heat, the humidity, the impressive consistency of Barely Bluies’ bowling and of course the track, with the familiar North Walls habit of Sometimes Staying Low, and occasionally Very Much Not. After Sepia (9) was caught, and Alex (11) bowled, Jules (5) and the Skipper (15) formed a strong-looking partnership that was not rewarded by as many runs as it deserved, due largely to the slower pace of the first-change bowlers (some fiendish spin from the north end) and the slower pace of the wicket. The fielding was sharp, too, given the relative youth of the opposition. (Stoppers’ old school team, but not old in that sense.)
After Jules and the Skipper were caught (the Skipper by Stoppers…), Tom Talks (16) and Mike Caldwell (29) came out swinging. They really found the boundaries: Tom was timing it beautifully, and the President’s drive was firing. Both fell to catches, though, one of them extravagantly athletic. Our lower middle and lower order could not contribute anything to rival their efforts. G (9) was given an early LBW by Sepia (this report is not the place to discuss exactly how far forward he was). The Bard (0) rapidly and foolishly run himself out. And then there were only a few balls for Flipper (2 n.o.) and Charlie Talks (n.o.) to face before our two hours were up. We finished on 130, after 35 overs. 26 of those runs were extras.
According to the rules of this time-limited Sunday game, Barely Bluies then had a matching 35 overs in which to chase down our total. The Racqueteers responded with one of our more impressive displays in the field. We gave away six extras: 1 bye, 1 leg bye and four wides. G took a fine stumping off Sepia – who took three for 13 with his flighty left-arm orthodox. (‘What does he bowl?’ one incoming batsman was heard to ask the Skipper; ‘unplayable spin’ was the laconic answer.) His other two wickets were LBWs, as was Head of Salmon’s (1 for 27). Tom Talks (1 for 24), in fact, was the only bowler to hit the stumps. Our fielding, too, was as sharp as this correspondent has seen it; Jules, the Bard and the President all flinging themselves to the ground at various points, without ill effects.
It took only 26 overs for Barely Bluies to pass our total, but it was still a game to be proud of – played competitively and in the best spirit, and with the best of teas kindly provided by Clare Talks, Spouse of Salmon.
Racqueteers loss by 5 wickets
The Racqueteers Cricket Club 