29th of May, 2022.
The date will forever be etched in my memory.
When I started playing what resembled cricket, I never dreamt of being part of a club that was playing its 2000th game since its founding.
Inspired by a record company of the same name, Pacific CC went from strength to strength under the guidance of its founder Peter Hollman (father of current Middlesex player Luke).
As I surveyed the field before the game, I couldn't help thinking of the tennis courts where I spent the past decade honing my backhand slices.
Little did I know that I would one day play at the same field in a completely different sport.
As the Pacificos gathered to play against the Old Fallopians, there was more than a hint of nervous excitement which I tried to conceal.
Soon our skipper for the day, Mutz, went in for the toss. Having won it we decided to bat.
Our openers Toby and Ben went about trying to construct a solid foundation on what looked like a pitch with variable bounce.
Soon Ben fell to one that kept really low. Ben has this uncanny habit of getting starts, but hasn't gone on to score the biggie as yet. Tantalising as ever.
A little later Toby succumbed to one that kept low as he chopped it onto the sticks.
His wicket always brings about an anxiety in the ranks due to his consistency which helps build a good foundation.
Kieran looked uncomfortable throughout his stay at the crease due to the deck helping the skiddy bowling.
Simon played pretty well to hang around under these conditions and also had a bruise on his abs to show for it.
Newcomer Saqib, with a pulled hamstring, played far better than some of us with full fitness. He is a big unit and some of his shots attested to that.
Jack, Harry and John hung(in) there to add valuable runs. Their fall brought skipper Mutz to the crease who played a run-a-ball innings to take us to the decent enough target of 176. Ahmed, the A-Bomb, stood defiantly against the bowling to support Mutz.
Given the smallish target, we set about bowling to an attacking field set by the skipper. If we were to win this one, we had to take 10 wickets.
Simon bowled a menacing spell with plenty of near misses and edges which made us believe.
The middle overs turned out to be best for us, as Hungin went about bowling snorters at the Fallopians’ top order.
Four wickets followed in his devastating spell full of yorkers and good-length rippers.
Ahmed, Harry and myself bowled our spells reasonably well to support John. Harry picking up a 2fer to supplement the in-form Hungin.
With 8 wickets down and less than 10 runs needed, Mutz decided to go for the kill, but unfortunately the oppo crossed the line gasping for breath. The final over we bowled had its share of excitement with a near miss, a wicket and a what-could-have-been.
Probably they exacted revenge for the hammering our T20 squad gave theirs in the midweek fixture.
But we made them earn their win. Which is what really mattered in the end. Lots of positives to do well in the coming weeks.
A special word of mention for Mr John Shaw who at 78 years of age showed that for most of us the road that lies ahead is still long and winding.
What a sporting spirit and what enthusiasm. He also got two scalps for his efforts.
Hats off Mr Shaw.
P.S. It was a personal milestone as I celebrated my birthday.
What a happy coincidence – although, at my age, the candles cost more than the cake.
Regards, Manav
