While not quite the longest day of the year, Dodgers' evening against Fleet Street Strollers is the closest we'll come to playing on the solstice this season- with poplar seeds drifting through the air and a murmuration of gnats on the boundary, it certainly felt like summer had arrived.
What also arrived was competent batting from Strollers, who opted to bat first owing to a lacklustre turnout of only 7 players. Of those (let's not say magnificent) seven, there were three in particular who carried them towards a solid, if chasable total of 149. Gregor, Glen, and Freddie all retired not out- luckily our opening bowlers Jack and Satya got their last laughs by taking the wickets of the G-men when reintroduced for the final two overs. That pair also took another batter each earlier, with a late run out courtesy of Stockers rounding out our wickets. Valuable spells from KJ, Will, Matt, and Karan who all battled well against the middle order. Of their big three only Freddie survived the innings, which featured several sixes over a very short leg side boundary, with Aamir the unlucky bowler trying to protect it.
Set 150 to win, Dodgers hungrily took to the chase with some optimism. Will got off to his typical flying start, including a flashy scoop shot, before being caught in the deep- KJ fared similarly, crunching a four and a six and almost immediately picking out the same fielder (Glen). Mike survived a first ball wobble but couldn't overcome the ~10 run ceiling plaguing our top order, which also claimed Karan after he guided two shots expertly to the off-side boundary. Remarkably for the Strollers, all four wickets fell to one bowler: Findlay. Satya and Jack arrived at the crease with Dodgers in precarious circumstances, but after settling in they made a commendable combined effort to rescue our situation, retiring not out together with the match in a winnable (if still challenging) position. Matt and Charlie didn't quite find the run rate required, but when the latter failed in the final over, with Dodgers needing 20 from five deliveries, captain Ralph nearly pulled off the impossible when he hit back-to-back fours to great celebrations on the sidelines! The miracle was not meant to be, sadly, and we finished a few runs shy.
As for our author, I'm such a fan of fielding that I volunteered to do it for both teams- and perhaps a bit too well for our opposition! Jack and Mike can attest to some precise placement denying valuable Dodgers boundaries, but at least I've done the sportsmanship of village cricket proud...
Man of the Match votes: Satya 6, Jack 5
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