A muggy July evening in Chiswick saw Dodgers seeking to get the season back on track, having not actually won a game since late May! English Heritage are now a part-time side and a shadow of their former selves, so this was a perfect opportunity for us to restore self-belief and get back to winning ways. Jatinder, skippering Dodgers for the first time, lost the toss and Heritage, clearly mindful of the bat-first advantage revealed at this year's World Cup, put Dodgers in to field.
The Dodgers pace attack was soon firing on all cylinders, with Bilal, Charlie and Adam all swinging the ball mercilessly from the start. Pressure was already building on the oppo by the time Dodgers welcomed back NJ, who put his fractured finger behind him to bowl a couple of tight overs and dismiss the dangerous Heritage opener. Tom W and John H dropped the velocity a little before allowing our quicks back to bowl out the last, and Heritage fell just short of 100. Adam ended with the stunning figures of 4-3-2-2, putting him in pole position for the Man of the Match award. Special mention also to Tom B for his exceptional wicket keeping, revealing the strength in depth that Dodgers has behind the stumps.
With NJ and Tom B leading our charge and stacks of batting behind them, there was little chance of Dodgers emulating India's implosion against New Zealand earlier in the day. Both openers were soon slashing the ball through the covers and walloping any bad deliveries over the boundary ropes. NJ retired for 29* with a majestic lofted drive, and Tom followed soon after with 27* beautifully crafted runs of his own. With over half the required total in the bag within the first six overs, Tawhid and Damian introduced a sense of mature calm into our batting and ensured that the paying spectators did not feel cheated of their ticket price. We reached 100 in the 14th over without loss, our 10-wicket victory making Jatinder officially the most successful Dodgers captain of all time.
To be fair, this is the only fixture that English Heritage have as a team this year, and we were always favourites to win. Yet it is a reflection of our development as a competitive outfit that we were able to overcome them so convincingly. Now to take that same conviction onwards against sterner opposition for the rest of the season. Forza Dodgers!
Man of the Match votes: Adam 7, NJ 2, Jatinder 1, Charlie 1
Scorecard
The Dodgers pace attack was soon firing on all cylinders, with Bilal, Charlie and Adam all swinging the ball mercilessly from the start. Pressure was already building on the oppo by the time Dodgers welcomed back NJ, who put his fractured finger behind him to bowl a couple of tight overs and dismiss the dangerous Heritage opener. Tom W and John H dropped the velocity a little before allowing our quicks back to bowl out the last, and Heritage fell just short of 100. Adam ended with the stunning figures of 4-3-2-2, putting him in pole position for the Man of the Match award. Special mention also to Tom B for his exceptional wicket keeping, revealing the strength in depth that Dodgers has behind the stumps.
With NJ and Tom B leading our charge and stacks of batting behind them, there was little chance of Dodgers emulating India's implosion against New Zealand earlier in the day. Both openers were soon slashing the ball through the covers and walloping any bad deliveries over the boundary ropes. NJ retired for 29* with a majestic lofted drive, and Tom followed soon after with 27* beautifully crafted runs of his own. With over half the required total in the bag within the first six overs, Tawhid and Damian introduced a sense of mature calm into our batting and ensured that the paying spectators did not feel cheated of their ticket price. We reached 100 in the 14th over without loss, our 10-wicket victory making Jatinder officially the most successful Dodgers captain of all time.
To be fair, this is the only fixture that English Heritage have as a team this year, and we were always favourites to win. Yet it is a reflection of our development as a competitive outfit that we were able to overcome them so convincingly. Now to take that same conviction onwards against sterner opposition for the rest of the season. Forza Dodgers!
Man of the Match votes: Adam 7, NJ 2, Jatinder 1, Charlie 1
Scorecard
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| The victorious XI |
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| Our invincible openers |
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