MATCH REPORT by Tom Bloor

This 40 over game was played at Barrowell Green, less than a quarter of a mile from the Horizontal’s current home ground. The close proximity of the council dump brought back memories of Low Hall. Richard Burgess, skippering the side, won the toss and elected to field first. The day was fair but very cold.
The Exiles were largely a youthful side. Alan Bryant, in his first game for the Horizontals this season, was surprised to recognise one of the opening batsmen as a student who had only recently left the school where he teaches. The other opener was the talented S. Daig, who by the time 20 overs were up, had made 50 with the opening partnership still unbroken and the score up around the 80 mark. He then retired to allow his fellow batsmen to get to the crease. This was not the last the Horizontals would see of him, however.
Richard rang the changes throughout the innings, employing his bowlers in short spells. After a slow start, Alan was soon into his stride and his perseverance was eventually rewarded with the wicket of his former pupil. He ended his spell with figures of 1 for 32 off 6 overs. Rahul Samma and Jai Mishra both bowled well, and suppressed the scoring despite not taking a wicket. David Scally and Simon Warren claimed a wicket a piece, for 32 and 30 runs respectively, while Arif Qawi, in a sharp spell of 3 overs, took 2 wickets for just 5 runs. Amit Shanker’s 3 wickets cost him 10 each. There were some very good moments in the field, too. Barry Needham, the team’s safest pair of hands, enhanced his already glowing reputation with two fine catches. David safely pouched a skier. Richard took one behind the stumps and Jai juggled a chance but managed to hold on. He also executed a superb run-out, dashing in from the covers to pick up and throw down the stumps from an acute angle. Daig, the opening batsman, returned to add a further 30 runs to his half-century before he was last man out. The Exiles finished with a total of 180, a good score on a ground where the slow outfield stifled many a potential boundary.

After a tea that included a bowl of hot chips, hand-fried on the premises, the teams left the warmth of the pavilion and returned to the more bracing conditions outside. The Exiles, spirited in the field from the outset, proceeded to play the game with the volume turned up to 11. Their ground fielding was very good, denying the Horizontals plenty of runs. Richard and Arif opened the batting and found the going a little slow, though Richard raised the temperature a notch with a sweetly struck six that seemed to sail, effortlessly, off the middle of his bat. He was out for 12, which brought Amit to the crease. With Arif departing for 20, and the required rate creeping up to 6 an over, the Horizontals had to speed up their scoring to have any chance of winning the game. Barry was out striving to push the score along. This brought Simon in to join Amit with some 15 overs remaining. The fielding side quietened a little as Amit and Simon began to hit out, the banter having only succeeded in provoking the batsmen to accelerate the scoring. A number of dropped catches added to the Exile’s frustration. The game became tense and exciting. The dwindling overs meant the batsmen still had to hit a boundary and a single or two, every couple of balls. They kept up the pressure however, batting with skill and aggression. A magnificent 6 from Simon finally seemed to tip the balance in the Horizontal’s favour. They won the match by 7 wickets with 3 overs still to go. Simon finished on 47 not out, leading some to accuse him of jug-avoidance, while Amit made an unbeaten 68, his contribution with both bat and ball once again proving decisive to the outcome of the match. Some members of the Horizontals repaired to the club bar after the game, where the opposition generously provided them with the jug Simon had avoided earlier.