Mulholland vigil paves way for Fergusson and Peters Fireworks
1st July 2023 @ Roseburn Grass
Murrayfield DAFS 177-5 (45 overs)
L Mulholland 50, B Peters 41*, S Fergusson 35
beat
Edinburgh Accies 2s 100ao (34.5 overs)
P Dhwoj 48*, S Fergusson 4-11, T Ritch 2-14
by 77 runs
With some pretty heavy rain throughout Friday many of us were wondering whether we would even play. But for those that have played at Roseburn for a number of years you can pretty much guarantee its going to be windy and it definitely didn’t disappoint. This meant that the pitch and outfield were drying out pretty quickly but it was still definitely a bowl first wicket. Skipper Tyagi had opted for his own coin this week after unsuccessful trips in previous weeks using the coin of a fellow dinosaur in the team who can sometimes be seen impersonating a wicket keeper.
Surprise, Surprise the opposition skipper called correctly and like last week we were batting first on what can be best described as an early season Scottish wicket, only issue was that it was the middle of summer! Out strode Lewis and Maggy knowing they were going to be in for a tricky start. It proved as much as runs where very hard to come by with Mulholland hitting a couple of lovely drives which immediately held up as they hit the lush Roseburn grass we all know and love…….
With the score on 11 and for those that have been playing with Maggy for a number of years the inevitable happened, LBW again, wandering in front of his stumps and missing a straight one when in no bother at all. Looking into the Archive shows this is Maggy’s 250th LBW dismissal from his 300 innings for the club. A simple stunning stat!
So with 7 overs gone we were 11-1 but to be honest after last week no one was overly concerned knowing what the pitch was like.
Up next was Mr Spicy himself, Mike Buchan, hoping to improve on last week’s showing with plenty of Paprika and Chilli powder mixed into his innings. Over the next 20 overs the scoring was slow but mainly down to the good cricket shots being played by both Lewis and Spicy not being rewarded due to the outfield, good fielding and a very two paced pitch. They did however keep the scoreboard ticking over with their wickets intact, something we have struggled to do in recent weeks and it was refreshing to have a decent platform. With 25 overs gone and the score on 58 Spicy who was creeping into Scotch Bonnet territory with some lovely shots looped one up to gully and departed on 16 from 62 balls. Slow going but a very important innings.
Next up was Mr Spectangular himself, Sim Fergusson looking to increase the run rate and capitalise on an improving pitch, used ball and a tiring attack. Meanwhile at the other end Lewis was continuing to defend the good ball and take advantage when the ball was there to be hit. Another 10 overs went by with the rare sight of a 3 by Mr “one pace” himself (Sim) - although I can’t see it in the scorebook, I blame T Ritch who was no doubt talking about his recent trip to Greece, again….. Sim hit a lovely six back over the bowler’s head and Lewis finally managed to muscle a few over the boundary ropes. Then with Lewis on 49 he had two easy singles turned down by Sim at the other end, one can only assume he was dreaming about the Crusaders Super Rugby league win the week before or becoming the all time barbecuing world champion, maybe it was just him showing his age!
At the third time of asking Sim finally woke up and got Lewis to a very well made 50. A superb innings on a very difficult pitch, I’d rate this as a better knock than his 139 against Accies in the reverse fixture at the start of the season. Lewis was particularly happy with this knock and mentioned that he wanted to pay tribute to his hero Dom Sibley who he had taken inspiration from.
108-3 after 38 overs gone with Brad walking to the crease. Not the sight I would want to be seeing if I was the opposition. It didn’t take long to get him going and scoreboard became to climb steeply. Sim rather innocuously was caught behind in the middle of this for a well made 35. Out strode captain Tyagi fresh from a swashbuckling zero the previous week and quickly smashed a 6 before departing not long after for 8. Brad at the other end was continuing to hit the ball very hard, some going to the boundary and some not. With 17 balls remaining and the score on 137 I came to the crease with the sole aim of trying to get Brad on strike. 1st ball clipped for 1 and Bradley was on strike. The next aim was to keep Brad on strike at all costs with him seeing the ball incredibly well. The next 4 balls saw what I would describe as some crazy running that paid off. I was always running to the danger end and made the opposition panic. 3 balls with 2 run each time, I think its fair to say that I’m not going to get any spectators for my batting (zzzzzzz) but probably a few for running between the wickets.
In the penultimate over Brad “monstered” a six at the housing end and we managed to fit in another couple of crazy 2s. Into the last over Brad hit a no ball for six and mullered a 4 to Cow and you guessed it more crazy 2s including the last ball where it was Brad who managed to get “up and down”. He finished on an excellent 41 not out and we had pushed the score to an above par 177. The pitch had improved but it was by no means as good as June when we had all the good weather.
Accies had some firepower in their batting but we were confident of defending the total. Strawberries tarts were calling so we all settled down for some half time Scran.
Tom fresh from his “Squashies” was all fuelled and ready to go. Not sure what was in those sweets this week, but he proceeded to bowl all over the place. The wind may have been a factor, but I prefer to blame it on the sugar overload. Safe to say I wasn’t overly happy having to keep to that. At the other end Sakib started well with a good line and length and eventually the batsman decided to heave him over legside for 2. Next ball he tried exactly the same to a much fuller ball but only succeeded in under edging the ball onto his pad and through to me for a regulation catch, 5-1.
At the other end Tom suddenly sprung into life with an excellent first 5 balls to the left-handed number 2 who played and missed at a couple. The sixth ball was probably the worst of the lot as it slid down leg side only for the batter to guide it straight to Sakib at short fine leg, 5-2.
The next 3 overs were extremely tight with both new batters struggling to get going. As Sakib finished his 6th over he rather casually strolled to the boundary for some water. As he looked up all eyes were on him as Tom was at the top of his mark and the batter was ready to go. With most of us shouting to hurry back, Sakib casually strolled back in what seemed like an eternity, I don’t believe he is related to Sutha but they both seem to be gasping for water all the time. Sutha is well known for asking for water within a couple of balls of being at the crease.
It was in the 7th over Tom got another breakthrough with the number 3 mistiming a shot through the leg side and it looping to skipper Tyagi, his 4th catch in as many weeks and he almost looked confident over this one, certainly no flailing arms as we have become accustomed to seeing. The score was now 10-3 and we were well on top.
Over the next 8 overs the number 4 and 5 really dug in and started to build a partnership with the scoreboard gradually going up. Given how Lewis and Spicy batted we knew that any sort of platform like we had could set them on their way to getting the total.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man, Finally (as shown in scorebook) Sutherland Ross who after seeing his first over get hit for 9 was under pressure to get skipper Tyagi the wicket he required. He duly obliged taking the edge and a flying Maggy taking a very smart catch, 38-4.
“Finally” and Jared, who had also come on at the other end bowled well in tandem restricting the batters as the number 4 Dhwoj started to look very impressive. The number 6 should have departed in Jared’s 3rd over but unfortunately Sakib couldn’t hold onto a difficult but makeable chance. However, 2 overs later Jared had his man as he served up a short long hop which the batsman smashed to leg only for Sakib to dive one handed taking an absolute blinder. He was delighted and did a little bow to all of us after the catch, 53-5.
The number 7 showed some resistant smashing Tyagi for 6 on the third ball of his spell which had alarm bells ringing with Dhwoj well set at the other end, but it was the introduction of Sim replacing Jared which did the trick. All the more vital given Dhwoj had dispatched Tyagi for consecutive 4s in the previous over. After struggling to get Sim away in the first 5 balls he tried a shot that wasn’t there to a full ball and Sim cleaned bowled him, 73-6. This was quickly followed by their skipper at number 8 who Viv clean up, 75-7. The Roseburn Bar was starting to call out, but we knew that with Dhwoj still there they always had a chance.
Dhwoj had started to become more expansive with his shot selection and seemed to have a particular liking for Viv, He managed to take the score along to 95 before Sim had the number 9 easily caught by Jared, 95-8. Jared then came on at the other end to replace Tyagi, Dhwoj struggled to get him away in his over and didn’t manage to get himself back on strike for the next Fergusson over. It was in that over Sim clean bowled the number 10, 100-9 and then the number 11 two balls later to secure the win by 77 runs.
A great all round team performance by the lads showing what can be done with the bat if there is a good platform and with the ball when it is backed up by excellent fielding. 10 games gone, won 5, lost 5 and sitting in 5th place.
Skipper Tyagi having a well earned victory kebab.