Isambard vs. Edmonton II (A) - Friendly

14th September, 2008

Bucolic

 
Isambard 268 all out (38.2 overs) (D.Bywater 73, R.Collins 65, S.Johnston 61).  Edmonton 2nd XI 97 all out (34 overs) (Bywater 3-14, Lindsay 2-9). Isambard won by 171 runs.
Isambard were promoted to face the might of Edmonton's 2nd XI "“ including a pitch bigger than the average London back garden for once "“ but it was really business as usual against opponents who, despite their billing, bore more than a passing resemblance to the hosts' usual third team.

Following a couple of logistical nightmares with crashes on the A10 "“ none related to big-hitting from the visiting batsmen, although surely it has to be a matter of time "“ Isambard chose to bat on a sunny autumn afternoon.  The innings saw various players trying to hit the cover off the ball, against an attack which varied from the sublime (D.Hinnigan 5-1-21-1) to the ridiculous (Barker 8-0-80-2).  Isambard certainly weren't short of batting "“ Raymondo at No.8 and Codling at No.9, for goodness' sake "“ but the batsmen seemed destined to find, as we were told afterwards, the only two fielders on the team who could catch.  D.Hinnigan and Bilson mopped up three outfield catches apiece, and fair play to them.

Given the propensity of the batting-filled line-up to treat the match as an early rehearsal for the 2009 IPL, it was down to someone to try and post a few runs to give the scorecard some aesthetic appeal.  So a pat on the back for Dave Bywater, Ray Collins and Steve Johnston "“ followed by a slap round the face for not scoring the tons which were doubtless available to them.  Your correspondent was at least amused by various Edmomnton spectators slagging off the bowling/fielding/captaincy abilities of their counterparts on the pitch, in between trying to keep track of the fall of wickets.

After another good tea, skipper Richie Gardiner opened the bowling with fellow seventh-state pairing Mat Lindsay and Nick Tuohy.  Lindsay bowled five tight overs, nabbing a couple of wickets, before handing over to his team-mates.  Bywater, perhaps Isambard's most natural first-change seamer, took three wickets, with Collins, Gardiner, Johnston and Mark Wembridge, of all people, bagging one apiece.

Aside from middle-order contributions by Hinnigan and Bilson (again!), Edmonton were content to meander to the inevitable defeat without undue resistance.  Rather like a six-sheets-to-the-wind Mark E.Smith, Edmonton folded under the onslaught of Isambard, complete with double-wicketkeepers Nat Parbhu and Simon Codling, being reminiscent of the early 1980s Fall in terms of power and noise.  Indeed, the late John Peel could have been referring to the "˜bard when he said "They are always different;' they are always the same."

Keith "˜Paul Morley' Williams
 
 
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