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Match Reports for the Saturday Sixth ElevenSaturday 25th August 2007: away to Nat West Amblers 2nd X1
Dulwich 210-6 after 40 overs Nat West Amblers 180-9 Match won by Dulwich.
The long running series of cricket matches between Dulwich 6th's and the Nat West Amblers owes much to the Herman Melville Classic "Moby Dick". Melville describes how a team of whalers sail the seven seas in order to satisfy one man's obsession: the defeat of the Great White Whale. Many times, Captain Ahab Smith has led his team against this formidable foe in the tempestuous and treacherous waters of Copers Cope Road, Beckenham: each time victory has eluded Ahab and his motley crew of gnarled, wizened old Jack Tars and novice matelots. Too many times have Dulwich returned empty-handed with nothing but bruised egos to show for their efforts. Yesterday, however, Dulwich broke the mould and finally subdued the leviathan. This victory was made all the more remarkable by the complete absence of Ahab, who had removed himself to a Mediterranean haven in the Iberian peninsular, presumably to nurse his one good leg. Pan "Queequeg" Pylas was left in charge of the good ship Dulwich and at the casting of the runes elected to bat in a 40 overs a side tussle with Nat West beast. Cross and Watts (the latter a newcomer but nevertheless a seasoned veteran seafarer from the Old Josephian whaling fleet) were the first pair of bravados to sharpen their harpoons and lower their boats. 52 cuts were inflicted on Nat West before Cross succumbed. The beast only found itself in a greater struggle against the mighty antipodean Edis, who, with a number of hefty pulls and drives slashed deep in to the, by now, ailing Moby Dick. Nick Rochford, Pylas, Patel and Osborne also inflicted a few surface scratches on the epidermis of the Whale but it was Edis' 76 in quick time that ensured the destruction of the beast.
The parsimonious Patel replaced Baggott and produced an exceptionally economic spell of 8-1-16-1. Almost imperceptibly, at first, Dulwich began to slow the marlin's hot pursuit of Dulwich's 210. The introduction of Gibson's cunning flight and guile, not for the first time, proved to be a telling blow when the pugnacious Nisson (53) holed out to cover where the athletic Edis caught one of two excellent running catches off Gibson's searching and probing off-spin. Edis himself added to the carnage with an accurate and pacy spell of 8-0-20-3. Mullaney also played his part in reining in the runaway fish with a spell of 8-2-25-2. The eight over limitation did present Pylas with something of a problem as it was clear that he was running short of "death" bowlers. A Macchiavellian masterstroke by the Greek solved the problem: aware that among Gibson's many and varied talents was the ability to disguise himself as a number of other people, the off-spinner was reintroduced into the attack from the Sydenham End wearing a false moustache and a different bowling action and, to this day, the Amblers' scorer remains in ignorance of this deception. Gibson obtained another wicket and Dulwich found themselves safely within the harbour walls with their catch intact.
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