Match Report by Tom Bloor

Having begun the season with a win and followed that up with a draw, the Horizontals acquired a full set of common results by losing at home to Oak Hill C.C. Richard Burgess, captaining the Horizontals, won the toss and decided to bat, a decision forced on him to some extent by a team-sheet initially short of a couple of players. The Oak Hill opening bowlers were two Afghani youths, the brothers Farad and Rashid, who both bowled at a pace not generally encountered at this level of the game. They cut a swathe through the Horizontal’s top order. Amit Shanker batting at 3, and the captain batting at 5 did offer some resistance however, both hitting a few lusty blows to the boundary, with Richard making 12 before he was bowled. His innings cost him a swollen toe, courtesy of an attempted yorker that pitched painfully on the aforementioned digit. Phil Stevens was perhaps the only batsman to look entirely comfortable against the Oak Hill attack. He accrued a patient 19 before being caught behind off the last ball of the openers’ spell. The bowling that followed put the Horizontals on a more even footing with their opponents. At six wickets down and with 51 runs on the board, Arif Qawi was joined by Raul Samma. Their partnership saw the total more than double, with Arif playing the anchor role while Rahul hit out with thrilling abandon, making a half-century before being caught in the deep going for yet another expansive boundary. Justin Roy now entered the fray and immediately signalled his intention to continue where Raul had left off, despatching his first ball for 4 and ensuring the scoreboard continued to tick over, despite the introduction of some more aggressive bowling. Justin and Arif batted until tea, unbeaten on 21 and 19 respectfully.
Following the tea interval the team captains agreed on the unusual step of taking a new ball for the second innings. This is common practise in the Indian sub-continent, where harder pitches tend to create more wear and tear on the ball, but has been unusual, if not unknown, in Horizontals’ matches to date. Under a lowering sky, opening bowlers Amit and Justin initially had the batting pinned down. Amit deserved more reward for his fine spell, which netted him the wicket of Oak Hill opener Naj. Justin employed his slower ball to good effect in bowling their number 3 bat. Now Mark, of Winchmore Hill C.C. under 14s, playing here as a guest of the Horizontals, produced an economic 4-over spell, which was treated with the utmost respect by the Oak Hill batsmen. Qais, batting at 4, was run out, the victim of a good throw from Amit and some smart glove work by wicket-keeper Saher, playing his first game with the Horizontals. Opening bat Whitt was still at the crease however, and, in partnership with Oak Hill skipper Cussell, proceeded to take the game away from the Horizontals. The batting side were soon dominating proceedings, with the ball regularly piercing the field and any catches on offer refusing to stick. Alistair Gaskell, fielding in the covers, made a valiant effort to dismiss the Oak Hill opener with what would have been a sensational diving catch. He saved 4 runs but was unable to cling on to the ball. Roger Skipper was obliged to leave the field temporarily after suffering a painful blow to the back of the head tumbling in the field at long on. Although Whitt was eventually bowled by Arif for 48 the damage was already done. No further wickets fell, despite the sterling bowling efforts of Roger and Raul. Cussell made 44 not out and steered his team to what ended up as a comfortable victory. Oak Hill won the match by 7 wickets, and with 8 overs still left to play.