With the weather set fair, Pacific CC, led by JK, looking to capitalise on a side stacked with batting, won the toss and elected to make first use of the pitch. Much of the pre-match talk was of IDLCC’s notorious “quick,” however, as the openers marked out their run-ups, there was mysteriously no sign of him. Tristan and Mark made a steady start on a slow, sticky pitch, which made timing the ball difficult. While scoring and finding rhythm were a challenge, Mark channelled his inner Kumar Sangakkara to dispatch one of the openers for a glorious six over mid-off. Unfortunately, it was the introduction of spin that led to the first wicket as Mark skied one against the off spinner.
This led Jack Houlihan to the crease, who immediately set about a soon-to-be theme of the innings of taking Kamikazee runs between the wickets, in a running style later described in the pub as “running in treacle.” As the scoreboard ticked over steadily, Tristan, who had begun to strike the ball nicely, went walkabout in Jonny Bairstow style and was stumped. Despite some questioning of Mendel’s decision at square leg, a post-match review of the photo evidence seems to confirm that the correct decision was made.
Then came the introduction of the “quick.” For Millfields Park on a Saturday, the handful of dog-walking spectators came as close to witnessing prime Brett Lee as you will see in north-east London. What followed was a barrage of tight bowling, toe-crushing yorkers, and increased frustration from the bowler at the lack of a breakthrough from his end. Nevertheless, wickets at the other end did begin to fall more regularly. Siddarth played some elegant shots before departing, and Rowan and Akash came and went, hitting some lusty boundaries and scoring some vital quick runs.
As Pacific entered the last ten overs, we were in need of upping the rate. Jack finally found some form and came to life with a few boundaries, as Dan strode to the crease. Despite being unfamiliar with the number eight position, Dan injected a much-needed urgency into the innings, running hard and applying pressure on the IDLCC attack. The undoubted shot of the day came from Dan in the final few overs of the innings, as he got down on one knee and swept “the quick” for a huge and magnificent six over deep backward square. A shot AB De Villiers would have been proud of.
Pacific closed on a very defendable 213-6 with Jack scoring 89* and Dan ending 38*.
JK and Dan made a strong start to the innings, with Dan getting some early breakthroughs, added by an excellent catch behind by Amandeep. A regular theme of the bowling innings became the inconsistency of wide calls, as it appeared the first innings' leniency to the bowlers had all but evaporated, as the Umpire took the unusual position of standing as far back as the bowlers run ups.
As Akash entered the attack first change, IDLCC started a strong counterattack. Despite Akash picking up another wicket, it was becoming clear that how IDLCC played our spin attack was going to decide the game.
Step forward Shane Warne… Jack Mendel.
Mendel’s controlled spell of three vital wickets turned the game for Pacific. Ably assisted by a rotation of Rowan (who was the victim of some questionable wide calls) and JK at the other end, even as boundaries continued to flow, the frequency of wickets kept Pacific just ahead.
Although the calling of catches was somewhat limited, compared to IDLCC’s flurry of drops and Tristan bringing out the crocodile hands, Pacific held onto our chances. A few special mentions must go to Mark’s spirited display, flying around like a prime Jonty Rhodes, and Manav’s excellent fielding performance, as he took a high-pressure skier at mid-off. It turns out catches really do win matches.
With Dan finishing the game with another solid catch behind by Amandeep, the second in the league was soundly beaten. In what was truly an all-round team effort and being well led by JK, it is days like that which are why “I don’t like cricket…I [absolutely] love it!”
