Sundown Specials

Sundowners salvage some form of reputation

After last week's fiasco against Black Rose, we were determined to put in a more creditable performance against our oldest rivals Walthamstow Horizontals.

So much so in fact, that our sometime skipper, Mick McGowan, had insisted on a 12.30 meet in order that the team could take part in a session of catching practice immediately prior to the game.

The session was ignored by senior pro Smiler Herlihy despite clear evidence of a training need having been established over recent weeks.

Messrs Golding, Medlock, Reed and I, however, did take part in the session and promptly dropped the first five catches in front of an amused gallery of Walthamstow batsmen - McGowan predictably took the bat.

Before the game started the cricket world was rocked by the sensational news that Trevor Harwood had been drafted in to the Sundowners squad and had found himself a berth in the starting XI.

This was Trevor's first game for us since 1986 - a year when Everton were in between League Championships and should have been England's representatives in the European Cup.

You could get a pint of Walkers Best in The Clock for 65p and the Communards' onion-headed singer Jimmy Sommerville was top of the Hit Parade with Don't Leave Me This Way.

Chief tosser and, indeed, skipper Smiler won the toss and elected to put Walthamstow in on what was the ultimate green top. Dom and Dave (the Cat) Cattell opened the bowling with a combination of pace and accuracy. The batsmen struggled to assert themselves and it wasn't too long before The Cat had sent Needham packing. "Needham and weep, cowboy", a grinning Dave seemed to be thinking as the opener trudged off.

As has been the case on numerous occasions this season, an early wicket for us seemed to lead to a feeling of complacency throughout the team, despite the vocal encouragement of our 'keeper's daughter, and once again we failed to capitalise on a good start.

Maybe it was the smell of freshly baked bread and biscuits wafting across the ground that lured us into a comfort zone but a Horizontals' record breaking second-wicket partnership of 93 followed as [the excellent - ed] Dave Scally and Dom Hurst piled on the runs.

In fairness, no-one bowled particularly badly but it was left to the guile, spin and variation of flight (and quality) of Steve Golding who made the breakthrough when Hurst played on.

Dom then surprised all those present (himself included) by taking an ankle-high catch which he had thought was going over his head. The third of Golds' wickets was a comedy LBW as he trapped a kneeling Morris with a second bounce half volley plumb on the patella.

"How come Golds gets all these wickets bowling this sh*te when I end up with none?" moaned Medlock from square leg. How indeed.

At tea, we had bowled 47 overs and restricted Walthamstow to 173 for seven. An attainable target. An adequate tea of cheese, tuna and egg sandwiches followed by the unsurpassable Angel cake was just what was needed before we began the chase.

Captain Herlihy, by my reckoning still one jug in arrears for the season, opted for the attacking approach by sending in a pinch-hitter in the guise of Tony Medlock to open alongside, by inference, the rather dour me.

We got off to a good start, taking quick singles with Tony bludgeoning the odd boundary including one big six off Smart. The score had moved on to 38 from eight overs when Smart struck as Tony tried to sweep a straight ball that hit middle and off.

Golds quickly followed as did your correspondent: ignoring Smiler's instructions to anchor the innings I played all around an in-swinger which knocked out my leg stump.

A couple of comedy dismissals followed as Mike McGowan was brilliantly caught with a full length dive by Fitzsimmons whose first game this was for Walthamstow, and who was quite happily listening to the Test match on his Radio 4 floppy hat/radio as the ball began its descent.

Shortly afterwards the prodigal Sundowner Trevor returned to the crease. His first ball was played immaculately off his legs slowly towards fine leg who was standing a good 30 yards away and would have had to run at least 15 yards to field it.

Not unreasonably Trevor called "yes" and set off for an easy single, albeit in a curious arc shape as if he were running the first bend of a 400m race.

At the non-striker's end The Cat, however, had other ideas as he grimly stood his ground. "NO".

It was to no avail, as by now Trevor was coming off the top of the bend and was heading for the home straight. There was no stop-starting, no undignified dives in the manner of Mr Williams at Highgate Woods, just a simple "yes" followed by a defiant "no". And Trevor was run out first ball after 16 years of waiting.

Following the dismissals of the Cat ("cowboy bowler, ball never bounced") for seven and Herlihy for 12, we were rocking.

Cometh the hour, cometh the men. Dave Reed and Dom Pilgrim. In all honesty, despite some hopeful, and it has to be said fairly optimistic, appealing these two lionhearts batted out the remaining 12 overs for a draw.

After a decent bowling and fielding performance it was disappointing that, for the second week on the trot, our batsmen performed poorly.

Winners
Dom Pilgrim - probably the pick of the bowlers with figures of 15-3 -35 -1 and a superb rearguard batting performance at the end. And a catch.