In a twisty-turny tale of cricket capers, the Brigands squared off against the XIIth Men in the first T20 match of the season, with more drama than a soap opera and more puns than a dad joke convention.
Losing the toss and forced to bat first on a damp wicket, the Brigands’ top order crumbled faster than a poorly constructed sandcastle.
Gerry Northwood kicked things off by chopping on, setting off a chain reaction of wicket woes that even Houdini couldn't escape. Dave Hendersonn, Jim Morris, and Dave Turner followed suit, falling quicker than autumn leaves in a gusty wind.
With the scoreboard resembling a sad trombone solo, XIIth Men sniffed victory but a beacon of hope emerged in the form of Zeb Jay, arriving fashionably late with his camping gear still in tow, from his Duke of Edinburgh exploits, ready to save the day.
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the Brigands All Rounders Club, Gray, Wood, and Ladenburg, swung their bats like medieval knights in shining armour to guide their team to a respectable 100 run total.
XIIth Men, led by the flamboyant Gursant Singh, started cautiously, with Neil Wood’s opening bowling resembling a slow-motion replay. But a fine example of a full toss from Gray, bowling uphill, was gleefully snapped up by Morris at Square Leg, sending one of the XIIth Men packing.
In a whirlwind of boundaries and retirements, Singh took matters into his own hands, dispatching the ball to all corners of the field with the finesse of a maestro conducting an orchestra. However, Gray kept the Brigands in the game, snaring two wickets in two balls, leaving him tantalisingly close to a hat-trick, only to be denied by the umpire, even if it was going onto hit the stumps* (The bowler thought so).
As the game hung in the balance, with wickets tumbling like Jenga blocks, XIIth Men edged closer to victory. With just one ball remaining the ball was sent flying past square leg to seal victory for XIIthe Men.
Both teams shared a hearty laugh and a few commissary pints at The Bat and Ball, proving that win or lose, cricket can be a jolly good time.
Match report by Lee Gray
Comments