Pacific got off to a faltering start in their debut in the North East London Cricket League after a catastrophic first over as they chased 205. But as the game was played in excellent spirits in the glorious sunshine of Hackney's bustling Springfield Park, with a few pints all together in the pub afterwards, both sides went home happy.
After being peppered by skipper Toby with various pre-game reminders in the preceding 24 hours, including a not-quite parental warning to "have a turd before you leave home" as there are no toilets at the ground, Pacific were possibly the best prepared as they could possibly be for their first assault on the NELCL. As well as being league debutants, it was a new dawn for Pacific in other ways, as we were sprinkled with four players who had just joined the team this season. One of them, James McGinnigle, opened the bowling with Ben Stockton and soon the little-and-large seamers had sent both Fields' opening bats back to the hutch lbw, with Gough-a-like McG bagging the important wicket of Robin Friend after initially struggling with his length as he adapted to the move from early season friendlies on astroturf.
First-change bowlers Oli Haill and Alastair Pusinelli, another 2018 newcomer, both kept things relatively tight against the opposition skipper and the left-handed number three. Pusinelli, a slingy-wristed seamer with a tidy action, gave the batsmen very little room and the fact he was unlucky enough not to take a wicket was more to do with the fact that the batsmen were so pinned down than anything else. At the other end, Haill initially troubled his fellow leftie, getting some surprising bounce and having what seemed like a good call for a legside glove behind turned down, with a stumping chance the same over. But after going in for drinks at 92-2, Fields came out firing after the break.
The excellently named Bing Stanley was brought on to replace his pal Pusinelli and the caps-backwards pair were soon unleashing two of their favourite choreographed handshakes in celebration as the spinner had skipper Vijay caught trying a huge hoick and not long after coaxed an edge to the velvet hands of Sumeet Sharma. At the other end, Tom Ireland struck twice as the leftie was cooly pouched by Pusinelli running in from the deep and then was given an lbw decision that he said was "probably just hitting leg".
It's maybe best to point out now that the league has just introduced neutral umpires this season, and for those who weren't counting that was four leg-before decisions for Pacific. The ump, who arrived around 15 minutes late for the 1pm start, later proceeded to give us the hurry-up for bowling our overs too slowly and, as he was keeping score on a pocket-sized scoresheet, also had more than one dispute with the scorers. He also made a short phone call at one point and was also alleged to have taken a selfie. But then Billy Bowden's probably done that too. "Also," said Ben in the pub later, "I don't think I've ever seen an umpire not adjust a single batsman's guard the whole game."
Among the big hitting towards the death, another newcomer Ben Snodin, who was probably poised to be brought on for a bowl, got under a massive skyer but with the sun in his eye, was hit in the face by the plummeting ball. His sunglasses perhaps saved his eye from worse damage but a cut and an immediate swelling around his eye were worrying enough to see him leave the field in search of ice and possibly medical help. Big boundary hits from Fields' lanky lower-order helped the 2017 league champions to finish on 205.
After a bring-your-own-tea where the highlight was Paddy bringing a chopping board and knife to slice his fresh pineapple, Pacific's were blissfully unaware of their imminent doom.
The first ball of the first over of our first innings in the NELCL saw Pacific first-time batter Bing bung a wide one straight to point. Bada-bing, for tousle-haired Aussie bowler Phil Clark.
The second ball rapped Tom, Pacific's 2015 player of the season, high on the pad to a loud and excited appeal from what was already a tight ring of fielders. The third ball rapped Paddy high on the stumps to send the bails flying and Fields into raptures.
Sumeet, calm as ever, left the fourth ball but the fifth from towering Clark him on the knee-roll and after a big appeal Fields had their third wicket of the over.
Pacific were 0-3 and the first over of the innings hadn't even finished yet.
It's fair to say that Mutz Siddiqui, having been number five on the batting order, was not quite prepared to be taking his guard in the first over and did well to be fully kitted out, though he still had his car keys in his pocket it turned out. He could well have been excused for thinking he should start the car, but Mutz, who was born just round the corner from the ground, is a relaxed figure at the crease and despite the three flat tyres, he soon got the Pacific innings motoring with some of his typical chips and biffed boundaries. With Toby composed as ever at the other end, the watching Pacificos' heart rates soon could return to normal at the boundary's edge and in the new WhatsApp live-score group chat, riveted as their distant teammates righted the sinking ship to rev up to five-an-over into the 70s.
But after Toby was given lbw "a mile forward and outside off stump", he said, Ben went at a run-a-ball 17 before snicking behind off the erratic wrist-spinner Rupert Ekblom, who Google tells me is a lawyer. The legal leggie then got another when Mutz was caught mis-timing, having registered the innings' highest score of 55. When Aly was run out yet again in his Pacific career, returning for a second but well out of his crease to a direct hit from well in the deep, the chase was looking forlorn but the new breed of McGinnigle and Pusinelli showed some fight before the chase finally petered out in the face of a late burst from Troy Utz.
We repaired to the Anchor & Hope just along the River Lea, a lovely old-school boozer where along with a perfectly Hackney mix of clientele we enjoyed some beers and the sound-system-on-the-back-of-a-bike playing 1990s drum & bass until the sun went down. Aly, Ben and the skipper later took up the locals' closing-time offer to cross the river to the marshes for the full old-school experience of an illegal rave, but couldn't find the party.
Skipper Toby felt the spirit of the day was best encapsulated in the words of opposition Aussie, Troy Utz: "We're glad you've finally joined the league. Pacific is a team that brings proper cricket culture."
OMAH
