Refreshers v Kew
6 August 2023
Result: Refreshers won by 20 runs
There was something of a scramble to field a full XI in the lead up to the game but that was achieved at the 11th hour with the loan from Kew of 14 year old Young Oscar. That generous concession was made with the attached condition that he “bat up the order” and that he wouldn’t be available to bowl due to an underlying injury.
On arrival it was clear that the Kew Green had not been spared the inclement weather of Saturday. The outfield was damp. On the walk out to the toss the Kew captain explained that the 1st XI wicket had been covered all day yesterday and seen no cricket. Nevertheless, our modest fixture wasn’t thought worthy of using that track and we were towards the outside of the square on a pitch that didn’t appear to have been covered since the introduction of the same in the 1960’s.
The pitch was wet through and the Kew captain did not hesitate long before inserting the Refreshers after seeing the coin reveal a “Head”.
Ali Bajwa KC and Young Oscar made a circumspect start, entirely appropriately in the conditions. The Refreshers found themselves 14-0 after 7 overs which, in hindsight, was very respectable. One quick single too many called by Young Oscar led to Bajwa’s run out for 9 to the most unlikely of direct hits from mid-off, a great shame given this was a wicket requiring time at the crease to profit and Bajwa looked increasingly comfortable.
Young Oscar spooned a simple catch having been dropped the over before and the Refreshers found themselves in the unpromising position of 20-2 after 11 overs.
Things didn’t get much better – Henry Law (5 off 15) was positively butchered by Jonathan Prince in another run out, admittedly the victim of a sharp piece of fielding at mid-wicket.
Prince – no doubt racked with guilt – redeemed himself with the best of the Refresher knocks, managing an excellent 20 from 28 which was worth rather more than the bare figures in the circumstances.
Unfortunately wickets fell with regularity at the other end, largely to catches which were well held by Kew. It was a surface which, taken together with the slow outfield, required risks to be taken to score runs. Those risks were duly taken by the Refreshers and – almost exclusively – ended in dismissals.
Sacha Sandelson second top scored with 12 and was perhaps the most unfortunate – falling to a very sharp catch at mid-off to the hardest hit ball of the inning.
In the end the Refreshers capitulated to 66 all out when Finch holed out to mid-on, leaving Jory Snr stranded on 0 not out at the non-strikers end. They batted only 25.2 of the allotted 40 overs.
The innings finished so early that tea had not been prepared, and it was agreed between the captains that it would instead be taken at the 15 over mark of the Kew innings (if that over were to be reached). In the end, and in surprising circumstances, the generous spread waited until the match was over.
Defending 66 did not appear likely but Kew had not reckoned with the impressive opening pair of recent Marlborough leavers – Sacha Sandelson and Tom Stephenson-Green. Sandelson bowled with impressive pace and carry given the wicket whilst Stephenson-Green arrowed in sharp off-breaks from the Cricketers Arms end.
Scoring was difficult and even before the first wicket fell in the 3rd over with 8 runs on the board it did not promise to be an easy run chase. Sandelson’s first strike was quickly followed by two wickets in Stephenson-Green’s second over. Kew were reeling at 8-3 after 4 overs. The scrambling for pads in the Kew changing room could almost be heard from the square.
Kew’s demise was slowed only by an extraordinary performance of “pitch gardening” by their number 5 – he appeared confident he’d be at the crease some time to enjoy the fruits of his labour. Reader: he was not.
Another wicket fell to Sandelson in the 5th over, followed by the ‘Gardener of Kew’ in the next. After 6 overs Kew were 16-5 and the 51 runs required to win looked a long way indeed.
There followed what, in the context of this match, amounted to a period of quick scoring – two wicketless overs which went for 14 in total. 16-5 had become 30-5 and the game appeared back in the balance.
An inspired decision by Sandelson to bowl round the wicket to the set number 6 paid immediate dividends. The first ball was a bluff, full and straight with the field set for a short-pitched delivery. The batsman took a stride to the leg and wafted outside off stump but, alas, it was not quite straight enough. The next delivery was the short ball he had been expecting and he could do little more than fend it back to the bowler. The partnership had been broken. As is so often the case, one brought two and at the end of the 9th over Kew were 31-7. Sandelson had 4, Stephenson-Green 3 – they had both settled into an excellent rhythm.
There followed the longest, if not most profitable, partnership of the match. Kew’s numbers 7 and 9 adopted a policy of digging in and trying to extend the innings. They did not show much attacking intent. Stephenson-Green continued to wheel away and proved difficult to score from. Sandelson took a 6th over to attempt to secure his fifth wicket but his exertions entitled him to a break thereafter, replaced by Finch.
In all, the pair batted for 9 overs together adding only 4 runs. After 17 overs the score was 41-7. It allowed Finch to return the somewhat improbable initial figures of 3 overs 3 maidens 0 runs for 0 wickets.
Finally, in his 9th over, Stephenson-Green broke the partnership. It required something special. Kew’s number 9, in a rare concession to attempting to score runs, flashed at a delivery with some width. He only succeeded in finding the outside edge of his bat but, such was the force with which the shot was attempted, it positively zipped past the gloves of Akhtar at wicket keeper. Jory KC had been stationed patiently at slip all innings without a chance but leapt to his left, always the more difficult side for a first slip to catch against a right-hander, and snaffled the extremely sharp chance safely. A begrudging acknowledgement from the batsman followed as he returned to the pavilion. The partnership had been broken and the Refreshers were within touching distance. Kew were 43-8, requiring 24 more to win.
It all ended rather quickly in the 19th over, Finch’s dot-ball streak broken at 19 with an inside edge to fine leg before a rather meek shot from the Kew number 10 offered the simplest of caught and bowled chances. The Kew 11 could scarcely have looked less convincing at the crease, wielding his willow rather more like an axe for chopping wood than a cricket bat. Full and straight was enough first ball and the game was won – Kew all out for 46. Refreshers winning – remarkably – by a relatively comfortable 20 runs. Only 3 bowlers were required – 4 wickets for each of the Marlborough boys and 2 for Finch.
It was a fixture which, if played on a decent surface, might well have yielded some aesthetically pleasing cricket. Both sides fielded well and there was clearly ability in both batting orders. The wicket did not allow for that but, with disciplined bowling, did make for a dramatic fixture. In all, 20 wickets fell for the scoring of 112 runs in just over 42 overs. The ECB pitch inspectorate would not take long to return their verdict, if invited.
Team: Bajwa KC, Oscar, Prince, Law, Dunn-Walsh, Sandelson, Stephenson-Green, M Jory, Finch (C), Ahmad, R Jory KC