On a brisk evening at Chiswick, Dodgers prepared for a first ever fixture against opponents Commons Old Boys. We arrived to the welcome news that, our astro pitch having been claimed by another side, we were free to take the closer grass wicket instead. Now just to put on a display worthy of our proximity to the pavilion!
Charlie and Mike D again opened the scoring, finding gaps and capitalising on a short leg-side boundary. Far too soon, however, they were both bowled by the quick and accurate deliveries of Lester. Harry's arrival at the crease with Jatinder helped steady the ship, as the two built a steady partnership. Harry delivered a well-made 13 before being caught on the boundary trying to up the run rate, while Jatinder could smell an impending 25* when he fell LBW (and controversially at that, according to some watching from the picnic benches). Dave struggled to get his eye in and was caught early, but the incoming power-hitting pair of Krishnal and Satiya steered us north of 120 with some exquisite boundaries. Krishnal was perhaps underestimated when he walked out wearing his work attire, but was taken more seriously after scoring ten runs in his first three deliveries... Following those retirements, and with only a few balls left to face, Matt and Brendan tried their best to finish strong but the tidy death bowling from COBCC's skipper limited Dodgers to 128, an underwhelming total considering the circumstances.
Abhi began the bowling for Dodgers, troubling the openers with his pace, and after a slightly expensive first over from Gary he too helped smother the runs early. Even still, the opening batsman was in good touch and retired sooner than we'd have liked. Satya's introduction brought two quick (and very much needed!) wickets in a brilliant maiden over, including a sharp catch from Mike, but a pair of sixes in his sophomore effort meant that our opposition stayed ahead of the required run rate. Dave did well to come back from an unlucky first over where our fielding let us down, conceding only a couple singles in his second over. By the time of our final bowling change, with Krishnal and Matt coming into the attack, the required rate was low enough that even a well taken stumping by Charlie and some heads-up fielding from Brendan and Harry wasn't enough to swing the momentum back in our favour. The game finished in style, with a sky-high six delivering the final decisive blow.
In hindsight, the Dodgers total was always on the light side, and credit is due to the consistently strong bowling that kept it short, but we can hold our heads high in our attempt to defend it.
Man of the Match votes: Krishnal 7, Abhi 2, Satya 2
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