After working like a Trojan through last weekend's intense downpours, groundsman Graham Boxall managed to get the Shepherds Bush CC pitch playable... only for the home team to dramatically underperform and hand victory to rivals Crouch End.
In the end, the delayed match at Bromyard Avenue in Acton was the only one to be played in the 1st Xl Premier Division.
Indeed, it was the only match in the top five divisions of the Middlesex County Cricket League to survive the rainstorms.
Won the toss
Crouch End won the toss (no surprise there – some fans reckon the last correct coin call was before decimalisation) and put Bush in to bat.
But in an innings lasting 36 overs, the home team were all out for 137. It left Crouch End a straightforward target to aim at, and in just 19 overs they had reached a total of 142 for 1 to claim maximum points and go top of the league.
A rueful 1st Xl captain Ali Easton said: "It was a very disappointing result. Having worked hard to get the game on, with Graham our groundsman doing an incredible job, we then proceeded to play poorly and unfortunately hand Crouch End a valuable 10 points."
Only Mitch Crayn, the Aussie marksman from Bush's linked Northern District CC in Sydney, Ikjot Thind and Hugo Hughes even made it into the twenties as wickets tumbled, with Crouch End bowler Pratik Patel dominating the attack, taking six wickets for 49 runs in a phenomenal display.
Previously reliable openers Joe Carrasco and Marcus Howard were skittled out for 0 and 2 respectively, with the captain also out for a duck after facing five balls.
In reply, Dhaval Narotam scored 73 before being caught by wicketkeeper Fin Trenouth off a ball by Easton, while second opener Atharva Prasad (44) and Mangal Velji (11) steered Crouch End home.
Putting record straight
Easton pledged: "We'll be working hard in training this week before looking to set the record straight with a win against Brondesbury this coming weekend."
On paper it looks a simpler challenge, with Brondesbury marooned at the foot of the table, although they did manage a draw in their last outing. The match will be played at Bush's Bromyard Avenue ground, starting at 11am.
However, the Shepherds Bush 1st Xl redeemed themselves on Sunday 7 July at Acton, winning their T20 semi-final by four runs after Acton won the toss (yes, again) and put Bush in to bat. The total of 123 for 7 proved enough. Acton were set a rain-adjusted target of 67 from 8.3 overs, and fell short by four.
"We batted positively on a difficult wicket and ended up coming out on top when the rain hit, winning on [the Duckworth-Lewis readjusted figure] by four runs," said Easton.
"It was a great performance from the lads, and we now play the winner of Richmond v Finchley next week, then hopefully move on to the MCCL T20 finals day at Stanmore CC on Sunday 21 July."
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
