The asterisk is a remarkably versatile symbol. In cricket, of course, it conventionally signifies “not out” – usually a sign of a batter’s job well done, and always a welcome boost to the batting average. Elsewhere it is a protector of PINs, redacterof classified information, and a veil of decorum when taking the p**s. It can also indicate that some kind of caveat or qualification is in order, or that some achievement, say a Tour de France won with the help of performance-enhancing drugs, is tainted.
No qualifications or caveats were needed to describe the weather in the week leading up to this match against the Broken Wanderers. It was hot and dry – not just hot and dry by local standards, but hot and dry by any standards. The result was a home pitch and outfield that looked more like the Antigua Recreation Ground than the North Walls Recreation Ground, an impression only enhanced by the cheerful if distracted support of the Pimms-drinking picnickers who had assembled earlier to celebrate the Pope’s birthday.
Wanderers won the toss and sent us in to bat on a pitch that was producing telltale puffs of dust even before a ball was bowled. Benno and the Pope exercised early caution, especially after the Pope nearly had his papal headpiece dislodged by a well-directed bouncer first ball up. Benno (17) was just starting to cut loose with some signature scythes through the offside when he was well caught off a pull shot. That brought to the crease our President (4), who started with an effortless drive down the ground. Unfortunately, he thenreceived a bizarre, wind-assisted delivery that looked to be passing a foot down leg but instead crashed into the base of middle. Skip arrived to steady the ship, but could only watch as the Pope (18) failed to exorcise the demons in the pitch and was bowled by a short-pitched shooter. He was followed nextball by Head of Trout (0), caught off an equally unplayable good-length lifter.
Mindful of the treacherous conditions, Skip and OC started to rebuild by taking the attack to the opposition spinner. This approach yielded a few much-needed boundaries, including a trademark OC swat over midwicket for six, before OC (13) was caught trying for a sequel and Skip (10) skipped past one to be stumped. The flurry of wickets left father-and-son pair Sepia and Jules with the task of restoring some respectability and leaving us something to bowl at – a task they ably completed via a combination of stout defense, canny deflections, and impressive running between the wickets. Perhaps the highlight of our innings was the 3 runs taken to deep point in our last over, with the momentum from the final sprint leaving Sepia closer to the boundary than the batting crease. After our allotted 35 overs, Sepia (20 not out) and Jules (11 not out) had taken us through to 117/6.
Taking the field, we knew we needed early breakthroughs. We also knew that in Farmer Chris and the President, we had just the kind of wicket-to-wicket-with-a-hint-of-lateral-movement bowlers the pitch and situation called for. Sure enough, the President (3-25) artfully removed one opener in the fourth over, and F. Chris (1-28) followed suit by removing the other in the next over, both clean bowled. When the President castled their number four in the sixth over, and repeated the trick a few overs later to dismiss the next man, we had rattled the furniture four times and Wanderers were teetering at 37/4.
What happened next was the key moment of the match.
Striding in at number 6 was the opposition skipper, Raddon – a quality player with both bat and ball. Indeed, such was his quality that upon guiding his first ball into the gloves of OC behind the stumps, he opted to stay at the crease, and his supportive father, umpiring at the bowler’s end, backed up that decision. After a frank exchange of views between Raddons Snr and Jnr and our venter-in-chief, Sepia, we swallowed our frustration, refocused, and set about trying to prise out the remaining wickets.
Despite some committed fielding and penetrating bowling, however, we ultimately didn’t have enough runs on the board. Rupe (0-33) came close on several occasions to getting the prize wicket, and although the Pope (3-22) managed to remove a few from the other end, it was left to our nemesis Raddon to perform the last rites off the bowling of Head of Trout (0-10). In the end, both teams could agree that theasterisk next to Raddon’s final score of 56 was well-deserved… but precisely what that asterisk really signifies will remain a matter of some debate.
The Racqueteers Cricket Club 