MATCH REPORT by Tom Bloor

Matches between the Walthamstow Horizontals and the Sundown Specials are among the oldest established fixtures played by either side. Today at the Sundown Specials home ground near Woodside Park, the Horizontals chalked up a first win against their old opponents in nearly five years.
Horizontals’ skipper Craig Murray lost the toss but due to the heat of the day - unusually warm for early May - was not displeased to be asked to bat first. The visitors also had the advantage in numbers, being 11 strong to the home team’s 9. The outfield was fast, the wicket was green but on the whole well-behaved, though the occasional ball kept low. Prospects looked good for the Horizontals, and yet they found the going sticky. The extras column comfortably recorded the highest score. Next best was Richard Burgess. His lengthy knock as number one batsman earned him 33 runs It also provided the platform from which the Horizontals were able to claw their way to a total that just about achieved respectability (though at that point never really looked like a winning score). Most of the other batsmen were unable to make it to double figures. Only Simon Warren bucked the trend, with a swashbuckling 21. He was finally undone when the Sundowners introduced a floppy-haired, pace bowling namesake into the attack. The somewhat surreal entry ‘Simon Warren bowled Simon Warren’ was duly pencilled into the scorebook. On the field, scoring slowed again after Simon’s dismissal, and wickets continued to fall. The Horizontals were soon all out for 127, the innings wrapped up some half-an-hour before the scheduled tea-break.
Tea was brought forward and served up over a succession of courses, all accompanied by a television broadcast backdrop relaying the Premiership’s final reckoning to the large numbers of people crammed into the overheated bar.

Back out in the fresh air, the two teams resumed their contest, with the Sundowners chasing a rather less-than-awe-inspiring 128 to win. As the teams took to the field, Aarif Saiyed, who had earlier scored his first runs for the Horizontals, stated that he had ‘a good feeling’ about the way the game would pan out. Given the low total required by the opposition, others in the side were perhaps less confident. It was clear there was little prospect of a draw. The Horizontals would have to bowl the opposition out.
Matt Webster, opening the bowling, made the best of starts with a wicket in the first over. Amit Shanker, bowling up the slope, secured the next breakthrough. And then together they proceeded to run through the batting side. The Sundowners threatened to rally for a while, when their version of Simon Warren was at the crease. He played some powerful shots in a defiant performance with the bat. Perhaps sadly, the Horizontals’ own Simon Warren didn’t get the chance to repay his nominal doppelganger in kind, by bowling him out. Amit and Matt were well set by then, and their bowling was in the ascendancy. Craig Murray was the only other bowler used, and he was only required for 3 overs. Amit finished with a five wicket haul costing a mere 27 runs, while Matt took 3 for 38. Two fine catches from the captain and vice-captain added to the general sense of well-being. Richard held onto a wickedly spinning ball, which he juggled for a while, finally securing it at the third attempt. Earlier in the innings Craig had seen off one of the Sundowners’ potential match winners with a breathtaking diving catch, running in from the on-side boundary. The Horizontals won the match by 48 runs and Aarif’s belief in a positive outcome had been vindicated.