Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Mad Dogs of Connecticut
Saturday 25 July 2009

Pirates of the St Lawrence stormed to their sixth win of the season on Saturday, beating the Mad Dogs of Connecticut in resounding fashion at The Candy Fields.

Batting first, the Pirates got off to a flyer. Daz Bullivant, for whom the runs had been flowing all morning, made it off the toilet bowl to flay the bowling attack to all parts. “Welcome, lads!” was the call as the first ball of the morning was driven over mid wicket for four.

While Bell pushed the 1s and 2s, Bullivant was in savage form. He struck 6 boundaries, as the pair amassed 76 in 13 overs. Bullivant was out to a leading edge back to the bowler for 40 off 44 deliveries.

Senyo Nyautse strode to the wicket to join Bell , and the carnage continued. “It was like a Great Dane and a Terrier running between the wickets,” said Daz Bullivant. “Which one was I?” Bell asked later.

Nyakutse was in merciless form, whipping boundaries off his legs and driving frightfully through the covers. The pair put on 40 before Bell was undone by a submarine that hit a pebble and shot along the deck.

Steady Eddie Palmer arrived and showed exactly why he left the Dogs and became a Pirate. Mixing delicate sweeps with elegant 19th-century drives, he and Nyakutse negated the threat of spin and pushed the score close to 200. They added 77 for the third wicket, before Palmer lofted Harrison to cover.

Captain Harrison was the pick of the Mad Dogs bowlers. His miserly leg spin accounted for Nyakutse next over. The big man was bowled attempting a slog sweep. Nyakutse’s innings of 72 from 65 balls had put the willies up the opposition and took the Pirates to a commanding 196 for 4 with 8 overs to go.

Thiery Milot, who had been practising with a ball in a sock all week, and the experienced Rich Horne ran riot in the final overs. Milot’s calls of “Hwaw, fuck!” could be heard atop Mont-Saint-Hilaire, as they scrambled singles. Some big blows over cow corner took the Pirates to 239 for 4 in 40 overs.

The Mad Dogs came out guns blazing in reply, spanking and edging 38 off the first four overs. Roche beat the bat on several occasions, without luck, as the score rattled to 71 for 0 at the 10 over drinks break.

A quick game is a good game, goes the saying. Not on this day. At 88 for 0, the Pirates were staring down the barrel. Greg Brander then found the edge of Howden, which was brilliantly taken by Horne standing up, only for the batsman to stand his ground and the umpire to call, ‘Not out’. It was a skidmark on the underpants of The Candy Field’s history.

Brander raced in next ball and Howden belted it to cow corner, where it was gobbled superbly by Hugue St-Jean. Brander then removed dangerman Kimberley in his next over, bowled for 29. Suddenly the Pirates were back in the hunt.

Bell brought on spin from both ends. Nyakutse stifled the run rate and beat the bat on numerous occasions. St-Jean went wicketless as the middle order managed some lusty leg side blows.

Bell, after a maiden, picked up Blomfield in his second over, stumped on the second attempt by Horne. Hugue St-Jean then claimed the catch of the season. Daz Bullivant, keeping the ball full and the batsmen guessing, induced a false drive over extra cover. St-Jean, pedaling backwards, thrust out his right arm behind him and, at full stetch, flicked the ball with his fingers, catching it on the third attempt. It was an extraordinary catch by the south shore specialist.

Bullivant’s 6 overs went for just 21 runs, and he picked up two wickets, bowling big-hitting Bush for 11. Bell was on a hattrick after two bungled sweep shots, the first top edged to Brander at 45 degrees, the second top edged to keeper Horne. He then bowled Farricker with a quicker delivery on his final ball of the day to finish with figures of 4 for 29 in 8 overs.

Andy Myron and Tez Milot bowled two overs at the death, securing a famous 25-run win for the Pirates.

Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Mad Dogs of Connecticut
Saturday 25 July 2009
The Candy Fields, Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Match type: 40 overs per side
Weather conditions: Hot mamma
Toss won by: Mad Dogs
Result: Pirates of the St Lawrence won by 25 runs

Pirates of the St Lawrence Innings

Darren Bullivant c&b Blomfield 40
Angus Bell (c) b Blomfield 29
Senyo Nyakutse b Harrison 72
Ed Palmer ct Corkin b Harrison 25
Thiery Milot not out 20
Richard Horne (wk) not out 23
Phil Roche DNB
Greg Brander DNB
Hugue St-Jean DNB
Nic Hoolahan DNB
Andrew Myron DNB

Extras 30
Total 239 for 4 in 40 overs

Bowling

Bush 2 overs, 0 wickets, 19 runs
Howden 8 overs, 0 wickets, 41 runs
Blomfield 8 overs, 2 wickets, 44 runs
Moore 7 overs, 1 maiden, 0 wickets, 45 runs
Parag 3 overs, 0 wickets, 33 runs
Harrison 8 overs, 2 wickets, 22 runs
Lanham 3 overs, 0 wickets, 20 runs

Mad Dogs of Connecticut Innings

Howden ct St-Jean b Brander 51
Kimberley b Brander 27
Blomfield st Horne b Bell 36
Moore ct Bullivant b Nyakutse 2
Parag ct St-Jean b Bullivant 32
Harrison (c) ct Brander b Bell 11
Trappler ct Horne b Bell 0
Bush b Bullivant
Farricker (wk) b Bell 0
Lanham not out 10
Corkin not out 2

Extras 33
Total 214 for 9 in 40 overs

Bowling

Phil Roche 3 overs, 1 maiden, 0 wickets, 12 runs
Nic Hoolahan 2 overs, 0 wickets, 26 runs
Greg Brander 6 overs, 2 wickets, 40 runs
Senyo Nyakutse 8 overs, 1 maiden, 1 wicket, 35 runs
Hugue St-Jean 5 overs, 0 wickets, 37 runs
Angus Bell 8 overs, 1 maiden, 4 wickets, 29 runs
Darren Bullivant 6 overs, 2 wickets, 21 runs
Andrew Myron 1 over, 0 wickets, 8 runs
Thiery Milot 1 over, 0 wickets, 10 runs