Rammy Dads (130–7) bt Edgworth Tavs (109–7)
“A brand new discovery reveals that the dragon has venom like a snake.
“The bite will eventually prove fatal, but it’s going to take several weeks.”
It’s a bit from a wildlife documentary that’s always haunted me. A Komodo Dragon from Indonedia hunts a bison in a swamp. The dragon bites the bison’s back leg then follows it around for day after horrible, painful day. The wound never heals, the poison spreads around its body. Eventually, a long time after that one initial bite, the bison keels over weak and helpless. And it’s dinnertime for the dragons.
Tavs were that bison on Thursday evening. In the midst of a glorious spell of hot weather, dust kicking up from the track like the clouds of it we get when Waddi opens his wallet, the home side fielded first.
All was set pretty fair until the Rammy Dads’ lower order struck towards the end of the opening innings. Their 52 runs off the last three batsman acted like that poisonous dragon bite and the Tavs, like that poor bison, limped through to the close unable really at any point to muster the swift run chase required.
Cricket, like nature, red in tooth and claw.
Tavs fielded first with 10 men — well, 10.5 with Matty, all black t-shirt, tan shorts and flipflops — filling in for the delayed John Cass. It’s been a beautiful summer for cricket, and with the sun still high and barely a cloud in the Edgworth sky, KC opened the hosts’ bowling efforts. (That’s Keogh and Clemence, incidentally, not King’s Counsel or the Kennel Club).
Tavs were soon in amongst the wickets, with Matt K dropping to the floor like a stone to divert a drive onto the non-striker’s stumps. With the unfortunate batsman out of his ground, that was his race run.
Alan too induced an injudicious swipe from one of the Dads, the ball swirling in the air before a cool-as-a-cucumber Keogh snaffled it. He almost had too long to think about it — with some catches you’d rather your instincts take over.
But Dads bounded back admirably, the scoreboard ticking over in part thanks to the occasional bobbling ball beating a fielder for four (cough, Toby, cough) or Smallwood behind the stumps unable to gather the odd wayward legside delivery.
It was nip and tuck stuff. Great presence of mind from Alan, in close saving the one as the ball was powered towards him along the ground. One batsman set off, the other didn’t — we recognise this, don’t we Tavs? Alan took his time, surveying the scene like General Mikhail Kutuzov in War and Peace, then lobbed it calmly to Smallwood who removed the bails and sent the batsman packing.
Thump! Twelve beauties of pace from Dave-O into the wicketkeeper’s grateful gloves, the ball moving nicely away off the seam. Thump! Twelve similarly pacy and tidy deliveries from Toby doing likewise, both bowlers with admirably cheap returns.
And yes, lovely stuff from Jason Smith, first pegging back a Dads’ off stump with a peach then inducing a cheeky thick edge which ballooned into the air for Smallwood to scamper round and scoop up just an inch above the turf.
But some unfortunate confusion right at the end of the Dads innings as to who could bowl and who couldn’t — an extra over each in the end for the whirling Will and evergreen Keogh. And effortful but unfortunately expensive spells from the final bowlers to close out the 20, and Tavs trooped off chasing 131 and probably about 15 more than would have been ideal.
The poisonous dragon bite, in other words.
The sun is getting ever lower these days as the second innings begins, with the Tavs opening partnership having to content both with tidy Dads bowling and irritating rays filtering through the trees at the Road End.
Nevertheless, some impressive bouncebackability on show from Rob, whose pricey two overs were counteracted superbly by a stout 27. He cycled through partners mind, with the likes of Will, Jason Smith and Alan coming and, sadly, going all too soon. But soon came able support from Toby, whose swishing blade more often than not made contact with the ball, and Tavs kept in the hunt.
But that bloody run rate kept climbing, and like that ill and dying bison Tavs never could quite struggle free of the swamp. Majorca Mick, skipper for the day in a baseball cap whiter than Maria von Trapp’s habit, hit a run a ball until a caught and bowled for 15. Smallwood had feet of clay for a time but once he got moving he pummeled a four straight past the bowler, otherwise nurdling away for quick ones and twos.
But the odd quick single or pair was never going to be enough at this stage. Dave-O entered the fray too late to make a difference, tried and was dismissed, and Keogh saw the Tavs’ innings home with two off his two.
And that was that. A somewhat tame and undramatic end to what was, for the most part, a pretty even-stevens contest. But you can’t get bitten on the back leg like that and expect to survive.
That’s nature documentaries for you — it’s all about survival of the fittest.
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Highlight of the match: Lovely, pitch-it-up swing bowling from Toby and Dave-O. More of the same, please.
Lowlight: A dog turd under a piece of cardboard right in front of the pavilion. Is this something you’re expected to take care of if you are Chair of Tavs? Asking for a friend…
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Best bowling: Yes two wickets for Jason Smith, but conceding just four runs from a dangerous, fast two over spell gives the accolade to Dave-O this week.
Best batting (must retire on 25): Two sixes. Nice one Toby.
