BaNES Vs Venturers, Tuesday June 09th

Venturers 109-6 (20), BaNES 76-9 (20)

Play-Cricket Results

We were back to rather cold, windy weather. Ajay Bhatt was playing against us: this happens four or five times a season, but it is impossible to tell which opponents will have recruited him. He has occasionally played for us. He always does well against us: this time he caught Joji’s miscue off his own bowling and removed Jonathan and Steve for ducks. By then, we were 87-6 and sinking rapidly. Most of those had been made by Krish, who was dropped off the second ball of the match and again later, and had retired compulsorily on reaching 30, and by Sam, who made a relatively fluent 22 and then suddenly got bowled. Imran and Dinesh scraped together another twenty or so, which at least gave us something to bowl at.

It was plenty. Imran trapped Ajay straight away, and Dinesh demolished three others, leaving them at 12-4 after six overs. There was no way back from that. Joji added a fifth, a caught and bowled that he almost didn’t see in time, and Mizan a sixth. Jonathan and Debangan did more damage, but the only notable event was when Krish fell into a hole while waiting for a routine catch off Gregory to arrive. He did at least manage to climb out in time to stop it going for four. A photograph of the hole has been widely circulated. It would suit a vole, or a very small rabbit, but it’s not big enough for an election candidate seeking a hole so as to be photographed filling it in with a JCB Patriotic Holefiller. The reprieved batsman did a bit of damage to Gregory’s figures, and we failed to get the last wicket, but we won easily.