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Match Reports
Saturday 8th July 2006 South Thames League – Division Two Streatham & Marlborough 4th XI 127-8 innings closed Dulwich 5th XI 128-4 Result: Dulwich won by 6 wickets Dulwich brought themselves back on track last Saturday as they continue to fight for top spot in the South Thames League Second Division. Having managed only a losing draw the week before with a severely weakened side, Dulwich managed to find full strength again as they beat Streatham and Marlborough by 6 wickets at the London South Bank University ground in a game they never looked like losing. Having lost the toss yet again(!), JL’s side were asked to bowl by the opposition captain, who must have had a fair amount of confidence in his batting order. Such confidence was unfounded though as Matthew Craig applied a stranglehold on the Streatham top order, conceding a miserly 19 runs in his 15 overs. Matthew was ably supported by Kieran Reeves, who used his nagging line and length to make an early breakthrough, with the score on 7. Kieran was unlucky not to take another wicket as one chance went down in the covers, though he managed to bowl his 10 overs conceding a respectable 31 runs. Few of the early Streatham batsmen stayed at the crease for any length of time, the exceptions being skipper Mark Matzen who made a patient 29 and Newton Moss who hit some breezy attacking shots in his 27. The run rate was particularly poor, and paid tribute both to the tight bowling and the sharp fielding of the 5th XI. The opening duo were fully supported by the sheer pace of 14 year-old Ashley Yiltay (2-37), and the phenomenal off-spin bowling of Tony Ebert, the latter of whom took 2 for 32 from 14 overs. In addition, a marvellous throw from Ashley Yiltay ran out the visitors’ number 6. The Streatham order continued to crumble, yet in the dying overs of the innings, numbers 7 and 9 decided to surge onwards and give the ball some real welly. Some truly beautiful shots were played, though excellent fielding from the Dulwich side made sure that the total was less than threatening. Dulwich certainly faced some stubborn resistance from the lower order, and found it quite hard going bowling against what seemed an array of left handed batsmen. However, they stuck to their task and the Streatham innings closed on 127 for 8 wickets. Fortunately, the Dulwich fielders only had to watch Chris Reardon bat for 5 balls, the bowlers having been keen to prolong the 8th wicket partnership to keep him standing on the boundary. It was fair to say that Dulwich felt confident that they would be able to accumulate the 128 runs in their allotted 45 overs. They opened with Clive Saunders and Glen Bowley, though when Saunders was caught at mid on in the first over, the job looked like it could be a tad harder than first imagined. Bowley was joined by David Cook, and together they managed to put on 35 runs, against some very accurate bowling. Cook eventually fell victim to a yorker from Sharp, having scored 8 runs. Shakir Ali walked out to join Bowley, who was batting well, managing to strike the ball hard yet right into the gaps, at one point avoiding three fielders who were standing within around 2 square metres of each other. The two big hitters stayed at the crease for a while, during which time Glen reached his half-century, hitting a lofted drive back past the bowler. Unfortunately, he was caught out 7 runs later at mid-on, with the Dulwich total on 89 after 18 overs. Shakir Ali and Aidan Reeves managed to bat out the next 8 overs together, the former smashing the Streatham attack to all parts of the ground, not letting any field placements faze him. Reeves played a supporting role, letting Ali take the game to the opposition. Chris Reardon’s sledging made the two all the more determined, though Shakir Ali’s innings of 34 was ended by a tremendous catch on the mid wicket boundary. Reeves was then joined by Peter Rochford, who immediately continued the onslaught, smashing 7 runs off a similar number of balls. The 128 target was reached with 19 overs to spare! Dulwich walked off perfectly happy, discovering once again their miraculous form this season which lands them 20 points ahead of third place.
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