Strongroom snare big win in Jaguar country
Dulwich, 5/29/2010
Strongroom won by 145 runs
Strongroom: 266-5 [M.Mellor 70, D.Gower 59*, R.Woolhouse 57]
Jesmond Jaguars: 121 [U.Roy 5-43]
View the Scorecard
One of our rare Southbank fixtures. Jon won toss and batted on good track in cloudy conditions. Adam Chataway (usually Jaguars) played his second game for Strongroom. Jaguars had two players turn up very late. Rich and Martin scored fluently in a sparky opening partnership, broken when Martin drove over the top of one despite looking well-set. Peter joined Rich to steady the ship and both looked calm and ticked the scoreboard over. Jaguars dragged the run rate back to closer to 5 than 6 per over, but Peter and Rich stood firm and were building a very useful platform. Latecomer and usual opening bowler Mounsey came on and bowled a typically testing spell, including bowling Peter, Rich (after completing a spritely 50) and Jon with full deliveries that were slanted back in. Mark then played a Mellor classic, combining watchful defence with ruthless strokeplay (sixes sailing over trees etc) and causing bowlers already struggling with wet ball to fret over getting it wrong. Mark raced to 70 before falling to a weird run-out in which Dave G should have been dismissed – Jaguars so desperate to see the back of Mark that they took advantage of Mark’s and the umpire’s uncertainty over whether the bowler got a touch to a shot that went on to break the non-striker’s stumps with Dave G out of his ground. No one will know how much more punishment Mark would have dished out, but the damage wasn’t fatal as Adam joined lucky Dave G and together they carved, edged and frantically sprinted their way to a lively partnership that saw Strongroom to a daunting total. Jaguars had tricky damp conditions to deal with as light rain fell through most of Strongroom’s innings, but Strongroom had batted really well as a unit.
After a very decent tea, the Jaguars’ top order took the attack to Strongroom, blazing away to 40-1 off 4 overs with a series of glides to third man and straight thumps over the tight in-field. Gradually, Strongroom adjusted the field and their lines to pull the run rate down, exert more pressure and take wickets. The opening bowling pair of Martin and Ujjal did a fine job. Martin bowling a waspish, aggressive spell and Ujjal showing a vast improvement on (by his standards) moderate displays in the last few games. Ujjal claimed to have had an epiphany before the game and promised his skipper to cut down slightly on pace and find tight lines and lengths before uncorking some 'magic', and he lived up to this by bowling a splendidly probing 8 over spell. Ujjal was rewarded with 5-43, his first 5 wicket haul for Strongroom, and the eighth best figures in recorded Strongroom history - a fine effort against quality opposition. Ujjal’s fifth wicket came off the last ball of his final over – to an extraordinary diving (to his left) one-handed Mellor special at backward point from a middled square drive off a rare full toss. Ujjal and Martin’s early wickets left the Jaguars under huge pressure, and this mounted as Strongroom debutant Charles Fellows-Smith came on to torture the middle and lower order with some moderately paced but perfectly pitched wobblers. At the other end, Matt Scotland (in his first proper Strongroom game) struggled with wides and a dodgy shoulder but also carried threat whenever he got it right. Charles mopped up the last few wickets and the game ended with Jaguars bowled out 145 runs short with 5 overs remaining. Although not always elegant, Dave P put in a very effective performance behind the stumps, including a couple of classy takes down the leg side and some by-now characteristically pragmatic, grubber-stopping with the pads. All-in-all Strongroom delivered a much improved performance over the previous week’s loss to LBS.
This was a thumping win but more hard-fought than the score might indicate. Strongroom played some very good cricket, with everyone making a contribution.
Written By: D.Gower
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