SandhurstSandhurst vs Frimley Green Cricket ClubFGCC

Opposition won the toss and chose to bat first, clearly hoping the rain gods would do them a favour. It had already rained, more rain was predicted, and yet both teams bravely agreed to play 38 overs, gambling on British weather.

Rohit and Naren opened the bowling so beautifully that the batsmen immediately regretted winning the toss. First over: 1 run. Third over: Rohit unleashed an inswinger so gorgeous it deserved its own fan club. The batsman tried to block it, but the ball politely curved around the bat and knocked the stumps over.

While Naren kept things tight at one end, Rohit was running a demolition business at the other. He got one LBW, then another caught at slip. The third batsman protested to the umpire that it hit his bat, not his pad. We all stared blankly until we realised he thought he’d been given LBW. His face, when we told him he was caught behind, was priceless, like someone who’d just realised he’d been arguing the wrong case in court. It was maiden wicket over for Rohit. At 22/3, their hopes were fading faster than the sunlight in September.

Drizzle started, but both teams continued because stopping would mean admitting defeat to the weather. Ritesh and Hafiz came on and continued the suffocation. Hafiz bowled a maiden, Ritesh bowled two.

Hafiz then decided to entertain himself. First, he got an LBW. Then he switched to spin. One outswinger, then an inswinger - the batsman was so confused, he complained later of bowler doing cheating (just jokingly). The inswinger took the bails off and the batsman stood there like someone who’d just seen a magic trick and wanted to check the magician’s sleeves. At 57/5, the game was basically ours.

After 26 overs, rain arrived with full enthusiasm. We had to get back to the pavilion and wait. We waited. And waited. After a while, opposition skipper announced that if rain didn’t stop in another 20 minutes, the game would be abandoned. Nobody liked that as we wanted a result, not a soggy no-contest.

Our prayers were answered and weather gods relented. Miraculously, the rain stopped. Overs were reduced to 32. Opposition now came out swinging like they’d been told it was a T20. We got one more wicket (run out) and they made 121 in 32 overs. Duckworth Lewis method revised our target to 129 in 32 overs.

Rain delayed our innings too and when it finally stopped, Amit and Shiv opened (with zero pressure). In third over, Amit lobbed one to mid-wicket and was dismissed cheaply.

Senthil joined Shiv and they put on a nice 30+ runs partnership until Senthil was LBW in the 10th over. Ankur arrived, saw the widest wide ball in cricketing history, stretched like a yoga instructor, top-edged it, and gifted slip the easiest catch of his life.

Rasheed came in next, but before any meaningful partnership could happen, Shiv smashed one straight to mid-on. We were 52/4 in 14 overs, but there was absolutely no panic. We had more batsmen waiting than the opposition had hopes.

Swaroop arrived with the resolve that we’ve given enough wickets already. He and Rasheed built a calm, sensible partnership, punctuated by violence. Swaroop hit three sixes and then a hat-trick of fours on three consecutive balls, three identical punishments to the bowler. Rasheed joined the fun with three boundaries of his own.

They finished the game in 27.2 overs. Swaroop was heartbreakingly close to his half-century, but the target ran out before he could reach his milestone.

Thanks to our bowlers keeping the run rate lower than the temperature, our batsmen had a chilled chase. Rain tried its best to ruin the day, but perseverance won. Comfortable victory, great team effort, and one confused batsman still wondering how he got out.