2019: Lord’s 14 July. Headingly 25 August. Wray Crescent 21 September.
Forget Trent Boult stepping on the boundary, forget those six runs deflecting off Ben Stokes’ bat, forget the super over, forget Jack Leach and those glasses, forget Stokes’ reverse hit into the western terrace, forget Lyon’s run out fumble, remember the name Rizwan Siddiqui!!!
Pacific won a classic by one wicket in the 40th and final over on a gloriously sunny September day at Wray Crescent. This is the match from 2019 your grandchildren will ask you about. Were you there? If not read on, and you can pretend you were, just like the Oval 2005, Sydney 2003, Wembley 1966, and Dunkirk 1940.
Riz scored a superb 96 not out off 46 balls with 16 fours and 4 sixes to take Pacific home in a game we looked like losing for most of the second innings. The hitting down the ground off the spinners was particularly brutal.
Honourable mention should also go to Phil Smith who not only showed Jack Leach-like obduracy at the other end batting at No 11, but also run-making finesse when he skipped down the wicket in the penultimate over and hit a four over the infield towards midwicket. It was then that the heads of many of the oppo dropped.
It all started with Pacific losing the toss and being asked to bowl when conditions were at their hottest. Black Rose got off to a solid start before Pacific took three wickets in relatively quick succession. Phil Smith got the first, LBW, and bowled with excellent economy throughout his eight overs. Glen Leeson likewise, mostly utilising his height and bowling back of a length to keep the batsmen tied down, with fuller balls in between picking up some vital wickets: two LBWs and one caught.
A strong partnership did develop for Black Rose where runs came reasonably easily, but this was broken when Toby took a good catch on the boundary at cow corner.
Special mention should go to some of our dropped catches during the innings. I took one in the face off Toby’s bowling at long on and Riz had five dropped – including three in one over! – but given how he batted afterwards, perhaps the team should conspire to do this every time?
Pacific went into bat chasing just below 250 to win and batting was initially difficult. A young, tall opposition seamer named Alfie Buxton (from North Midds and an England age-group player) bowled very well, finding bounce and swing and was rewarded with four wickets – all of which were won by him rather than gifted by the batsmen.
Toby with 69 and Sam Farnham with 26 steadied the ship with two very important innings. When Riz eventually came to the crease with Pacific six down there was still much to do, but in hindsight, it was never in doubt.
HF
