Scorecard

Oakfield Parkonians Cricket Club 5th XI v Walthamstow 4th on Sat 30 Jun 2018 at 12.30
Oakfield Parkonians Cricket Club Won by 139 runs

Match report I’ve been given instructions to keep this match report short, so: Parks beat Walthamstow convincingly by 139 runs, having posted 259 in 40 overs, at Fords Sports Ground on 30 June 2018. It was a hot day - 28c - and we ate Samosa’s at tea. Walthamstow were a great bunch of guys and it was an incredible match. That concludes the match report. Thanks.

For those who want to read what happened, it’s below:

30, 21, 5, 19, 31. These are the scores for batsmen one to five. They don’t exactly make the scorebook glow. 90 -t hat’s the score for batsman 6. That set the scorebook alight. Had he continued for a few more overs then he would’ve started a bush fire. It was Vijay Vijayanathan. Let’s call him VJ, because frankly I’m not typing ‘Vijayanathan’ every time.

VJ came to the crease with the score on 116-4 following a small platform by the top order. Bal Diocee - for all the 4’s he hit in this innings of 30, including 3 back to back, played a defensive stroke that he turned into a glance of his hips, shimmying onto his back foot in the process. To be fair he won’t remember playing it and is unlikely to ever play it again but that was a classy cricket shot. Weird to praise a defensive stroke but if you’ve batted with him, you’d realise how rare that stroke was. A special mention to Inderjit Singh - he played a composed innings of 31, head down and left some deliveries (they beat his bat actually), and resisted temptation to ‘slap’ the bowlers around. But that only lasted until the change of bowler: the next guy went over the ropes for a 6, then a 4 and then another 6. Parks 130-5.

Back to VJ. Following a measured start, he didn’t hesitate to turn it to mayhem latter in the innings. He looked possessed by the cricketing gods and turned back the clock. This was a man who looked like he was enjoying the delights of the game like he was playing it for the first time. Which honestly, would’ve been back in 1869 when W.G Grace was the worlds best batsman.

Cuts, pulls and drives. Quick singles, a passion to push harder and faster with each run and a will to occupy the crease because, simply, he could. Blocking the good balls - many of them there weren’t - and running as quickly as batting partners half his age. And one stroke: a drive he lifted over mid wicket to the boundary stands out. He reached his 50 pretty sharpish but then refused to slow down, racing towards the 90’s and helping Parks towards their commanding total of 259-8.

The rapid fire round came after VJ’s departure: the young dolphin - Sammy Varnes put on 18, playing with maturity and nonchalance that was so effective the score kept climbing. Along with Talha Raja and the young Karan Bansel in his first league game; they showed maturity at adult cricket that I lacked as a youngster. But then, I didn’t have the leadership the Parks 5th XI. Lucky them.

Samosas. Sorry, I meant tea. During which Talha and this writer made it through a bowl of watermelon on our own. No. We did not share. I blame Talha.

So here we go…

The Parks 5th XI were designed to promote the depth of our club, develop colts, and provide Parks with a platform for the future. Amongst all these objectives, it also gave players the opportunity to play with freedom by using the time to develop other aspects of their game. That’s how I interpret it in any case. The 5’s have seen a number of players transition to higher XI’s but what it has always prided itself on is identifying talent:

Talha Raja (6-0-19-0) and Karan Bansel (6-0-26-1). Colts. These two young left arm opening bowlers kept tight lengths, composure, focus and decent pace. Running in with undisturbed rhythm, unfazed by the odd boundary; they strangled the opposition, parching their thirst for runs like the summer heat. Chasing 260 isn’t easy but when you’re facing two bowlers who restrict you to 7 runs after the first five overs, 8 after six, and as a team you only make it to 48 -1 after 12; winning quickly begins to feel like climbing Everest in your boxer shorts. What came next from the Parks bowlers was built on the efforts of these two young talents for the future.

That’s not to say Walthamstow didn’t put up a fight: A Khan made a superb 42. Fluid straight drives, great footwork and held his own while wickets fell around him. This writer patted him on the back as the teams changed ends because he was batting with style and grace. Nothing agricultural about his stroke play. He was a man out on his own, surely feeling like he was fighting Goliath with a rubber band - not a sling.

Inderjit - please stand up & take a bow. The rounds of applause were loud and well deserved. 6 wickets, including a hat trick, to add to his 31 quick runs. Finishing with figures off 8-0-39-6, he was the pick of the bowlers. Bowling with pace that came onto the bat, very few bad balls and making the batsmen play with a full and straight length. Inder deserves his place along VJ as stand out performances in this game.

But wait. Did I tell you his hat-trick ball was down to the reactions of Sammy ‘the dolphin’ Varnes? The batsman - school boy error, standing outside his crease thought he’d done enough to survive the hat-trick ball as it flew over the top of his stumps. Sammy, sharp as a German razor blade, took the bails with a return throw that confused the batsmen, and most the field, until he gathered his senses and realised what had happened. 9 down. One to go. Cue Andrew Beavan (7.1-0-33-3) to prove why he is number two on this list (read carefully): http://opcc.hitscricket.com/pages/page_9029/Alltimeaveragesbowling.aspx

10 down. All out. Handshakes. Shower. This was Parks cricket.

Oakfield Parkonians Cricket Club 5th XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
12nb 9w 9b 2lb 
for 8 wickets
32
259		        
Balvinder Diocee b U.Khan 30 6
Tariq Jameel lbw b: W.Lone 21 4
Umar Arbar lbw F.Blassberg 5 2
Sachin Fing ct H.Azam b: F.Blassberg 19 3 1
Inderjit Singh b A.Hussain 31 3 2
Vijay Vijayanathan ct H.Azam b: F.Blassberg 90 14
Andrew Beaven b T.Khan 6 1
Samuel Varnes b F.Blassberg 18 2 2 1
Talha Raja Not Out  6
Subhash Patel  
Karan Bansel Not Out  1

Walthamstow 4th Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
W.Lone4.0035135.008.75
U.Khan8.0046146.005.75
F.Blassberg8.003649.004.50
H.Azam2.002700.0013.50
A.Hussain7.0124124.003.43
T.Khan8.0055155.006.87
A.Khan2.001200.006.00
N.Knight1.001300.0013.00

Walthamstow 4th Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
3nb 22w 1b 2lb 
for 10 wickets
28
120 (27.1 overs)		     
A.Khan ct U.Arbar b: A.Beaven 42
A.Hussain ct S.Varnes b: K.Bansel 11
A.Khan ct S.Fing b: A.Beaven 16
N.Knight ct U.Arbar b: I.Singh 0
M.Cole b I.Singh 4
T.Khan ct A.Beaven b: I.Singh 9
F.Blassberg b A.Beaven 10
D.Dhanoa lbw b: I.Singh 0
W.Lone b I.Singh 0
U.Khan st S.Varnes b: I.Singh 0
H.Azam Not Out  0

Oakfield Parkonians Cricket Club 5th XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Karan Bansel6.0026126.004.33
Talha Raja6.001900.003.17
Inderjit Singh8.023966.504.88
Andrew Beaven7.1033311.004.60