The late-June heatwave had relaxed its sticky grip just in time for Dodgers to take on St Peter's Dads in the pleasant sunshine of a Chiswick evening. Standing in briefly for Captain Ralph, en route from the train station, Vice-Captain Mike won the toss and elected to bat first on a good pitch with a lightning-fast outfield that offered the prospect of many runs.
Our opening pair of Charlie and Mike started off in blistering form, dispatching the bowling to all corners of the ground before each retiring unbeaten in quick order. Karan, Jack, Brendan and Dilpreet kept the score ticking over nicely, with several cracking boundaries and much good running between the wickets, while Satya and Abhi notched up the run rate still further, the latter opening his shoulders to send the ball flying over the long-on rope for a glorious six. John and Aamir raised the average age, if not the tempo, before Ralph was nobbled by a nasty one and Mike had to reappear as first retiree for the last ball of our innings. We finished on the grand total of 181 for 5, but given the speed of the outfield this was far from an insuperable score.
And so it proved. St Peter's Dads began their innings as strongly as we had ours, scoring freely off John's second over while Charlie held them down more economically. In keeping with the spirit of the encounter, Ralph rotated the bowling to ensure ten of the team would have at least one over each, so that Jack (channelling his inner wrist-spinner) and Aamir soon found themselves called upon to take over as first change. The Dads were aware of the need to keep the scoreboard moving, however, and by the half-way mark were fully up with the required run rate. The introduction of Karan and Dilpreet slowed their advance as wickets began to tumble, until Satya and Abhi effectively put an end to their chances of catching us. Ralph and Brendan closed the game out neatly between them, with Brendan bagging an early wedding present through his smart run-out at the bowler's end. Special commendation to Ralph and Charlie for their fearless wicket-keeping, the latter performing a series of acrobatic dives that would not be out of place in this month's World Aquatics Championships. It was a most enjoyable game, with well over 300 runs scored, and we look forward to the return fixture at Battersea Park next week.
Man of the Match votes: Abhi 4, Charlie 2, Karan 2, Satya 2, Dilpreet 1
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