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Saturday 11 July 2009

Match Report

The Lord’s Taverners v Dr. James Hull’s XI

Lord’s Cricket Ground

The Dr James Hull 'Drillers' XI won by 2 runs (Duckworth-Lewis).

To view the match scorecard please click here.

This was a tough one: we wanted rain - and plenty of it - in Cardiff to help the beleagured England boys, but cloudless skies all day at Lord's for Founder's Day.

Alas, the last period of the Chris Adams Lord's Taverners' game against dental magnate James Hull's ever formidable 'Drillers' was played in heavy drizzle, which eventually brought proceedings to a soggy end. (The silver lining in the cloud was of course that they gave up in Cardiff, too). Still, we should be grateful there was as much play as there was.

As ever, the Drillers batted first. Strange, that. Two apparently genuine dentists opened (James Allison and David Wilmot) and soon had the Tav opening bowlers - Graham Rose and Gus Mackay - grinding their teeth. David Wilmot (49) in particular cut loose, dealing almost exclusively in fours. Once James Allison departed, No 3 Angus Irens soon followed, victim of umpire R*****d K**shaw's generous decision to award Graham Rose a seventh ball in an over. This flagrant disregard for the rules of the game at the very Home of Cricket may have left Angus as nauseous as the proverbial highly coloured squwarker, but it managed to win K**shaw the John Bromley Memorial Trophy for outstandingly bizarre behaviour on the field of play.

Last year's winner of that Trophy, South African star Herschelle Gibbs, came in at No 4 and proceeded to try all manner of stunts clearly designed to try and retain the silver bowl, including several attempts to decapitate the match commentators and scorers...but he had to settle for building the highest score of the day (86) . His partner for much of the time was Glamorgan's Mark Wallace, whose 79 was made up of four 6s, thirteen 4s  and just three singles.

Wallace's Glamorgan team-mate Alex Wharf was just getting into his stride when - like match sponsor James Hull - he was snared into giving a sharp catch to skipper Chris Adams by one Chris Tarrant, revelling in the extra respect that comes with being the new Tav President.

Pick of the Tav bowlers was nonetheless thespian Ben Jones, who 'shattered' Herschelle Gibbs's stumps before accounting for Chris Salmons and Ben Horlack.

The Drillers' final score: 262 for 8. A stern challenge as always. But would the gathering storm clouds help or hinder the Tav reply? Messrs Duckworth and Lewis hovered in the wings, ready to advise.

Chris Adams devised a cunning Taverner batting order, with the major talent at his disposal sprinkled down the order. Opener Nicholas Brown impressed with the bat (28), thus more than justifying his place in the side, bought at an auction. Sotheby's? Christies? His partner, East-Ender star James Alexandrou went cheaply, as did Ben Jones. International rugby union referee Chris White proceeded to stop the rot with one of his most impressive Taverner knocks to date (32) but at 109 for 4 things looked wobbly. 

But while Herschelle Gibbs the bowler wrought havoc with his tweakers, despatching not just Brown and White but Frazer Hines and Chris Tarrant, Surrey trialiist Rory Hamilton-Brown (70) and Kent's Twenty20 specialist Luke Wright (32*) tucked into the Driller's increasingly rain-sodden attack with such gusto that when finally the players were driven from the field the Taverner total had reached an impressive 194 for 7, with the summit in sight.

But how to call the result? Tavs clearly well ahead on run-rate, but having lost more wickets than the Drillers at the comparable stage.

So it was that Duckworth and Lewis did their stuff. Had a computer with the relevant software not been to hand, God knows whether the scorers could ever have worked it out. And the Tavs might well have been declared the winners. But a couple of clicks on a mouse and there it was. Drillers victorious by just two runs.

Man of the Match, James Hull decided, was Rory Hamilton-Brown with his double-quick 70 - one of many double quick innings on the small playing area.

Great to have Debbie Frindall and Carole-Ann Bromley along to hand over trophies at the presentation ceremony. K**shaw still pleaded not guilty over that seven-ball over, but funnily enough he was more than happy to walk off with the silverware.

Thanks to all and sundry for taking part, watching, organising etc. But as always, the biggest hooray for James Hull. Generosity personified. Impossible without him and his ineffable good humour. Huge thanks from us all.

Chris Adams's Lords Taverners: Chris Adams, Graham Rose, Gus Mackay, Charlie Dale, James Alexandrou, John Lever, Rory Hamilton-Brown, Luke Wright, Chris White, Frazer Hines, Ben Jones, Chris Tarrant, Nicholas Brown, Clive Radley.

Umpires: Richard Kershaw, Barry Norman, Mike Denness, John Price, Nick Irens.

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