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Match Reports
Saturday 24th June: Dulwich 5th XI beat Bromley 4th XI by 125 runs
Dulwich 253-6 innings closed (David Straker 68, David Cook 63, Aidan Reeves 33*) Bromley 128 all out (Deb Biswas 3-19, Tarun Mahey 3-24, Dan Russell 3-41)
The Saturday 5ths recorded their fourth League win of the season at Old Elthamians ground on Saturday as they gained yet another 20 points to stay in second place after six games.
Having lost the toss, John Lawrence’s side were put into bat on what was a splendid Saturday afternoon. The pitch looked as though it could be somewhat variable, and though losing opener Dan Russell in the 6th over having mistimed a slower ball, Dulwich strode on comfortably. David Cook and David Straker made a partnership of 115 runs, before Cook was caught on 63. Cook returned triumphantly to the sidelines, having overcome the onslaught of sledging from one of the opposition. Out came Peter Rochford, who snapped up 12 runs for the Dulwich cause, helping David Straker on his way to a skilful 68, played with great patience yet also some flamboyant strokeplay, at one point playing a stunning lofted drive over mid-on which just touched down short of the boundary. Straker’s innings was cut short as he mistimed a drive through the covers, making way for Aidan Reeves. Rochford soon followed, as he looked to up the anty in the dying overs of the Dulwich innings. Reeves was joined by Ben D’Anvers, who played some lovely strokes through midwicket, hitting three successive boundaries. The pair combined well, taking a flurry of quick singles. Though having brought some real sparkle to Dulwich’s innings, D’Anvers lost his wicket as he was bowled by a yorker from Bromley’s hostile opener, Wong. He was replaced by Matthew Craig, who looked to continue the trend in quick singles, even managing to scrape a run after his partner, Reeves, was struck in the ribs, not surprisingly by Wong. The pair hung around, continually putting the Bromley fielders under great pressure to cut out the numerous singles being snatched by the two. Craig fell victim to Ranasinghe though, as he was caught in the covers, sacrificing his wicket to help Dulwich to the much coveted 250 runs that John demanded! With four balls left of the innings, and the score on 244, Deb Biswas stepped to the crease. Three quick singles were gained from the next three balls, leaving Reeves on strike for the last ball of the innings. Dulwich’s number 5 skipped around his crease, drawing a no-ball and a wide from the ruthless pace and swing of Ranasinghe, before hitting the last ball for four through mid wicket.
The team were in good spirit, and came out on fire! Deb Biswas opened up, and from the start had Briggs under raps. Biswas’ pace and ferocious bounce rattled Bromley’s opener, and on the fifth ball of the over, he fell victim to a brilliant catch from the bowler himself, who leapt in the air and dived backwards, almost breaking every vertebrae in his neck. Biswas’ bravery was not in vain however, and after a quick recovery, he combined well with Matthew Craig to ensure that the Bromley innings never got off to a good start. Craig’s nagging accuracy placed pressure on the batsmen, though never gained the rewards it was worthy of. Biswas continued on his killing spree, bowling Bromley’s number 2 out for 20. However, the explosive energy of Dulwich’s openers could not last forever, and so Dan Russell was given the ball. Though suffering from a headache and severe dehydration, Russell charged in and shook Bromley up. He took three wickets in 9 overs, for 41 runs, one victim succumbing to a brilliant catch from David Straker at mid-off. On 89 for four, after 20 overs, it looked as though the fifths were in control, and after Tarun Mahey bowled their captain out, all eleven men were positive that they could grab victory. It seemed as though John Lawrence’s wine gums bolstered everyone’s confidence, and Dan Russell continued to storm in, well supported by Mahey who also took three wickets in his allotted 6 overs.
And so followed a flurry of wickets, with the last seven batsmen managing to make 36 between them. Bromley finished on 128 all out, leaving Dulwich with a convincing 125 run victory. John Lawrence’s side left the pitch, knowing that they were a strong unit, who are fully up to the challenges ahead of them this season. Having won 4 of their six games, and 83 points out of a possible 120, the team is fully confident that they can continue to turn their good form into more match winning performances.
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