Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Mad Dogs of Connecticut
Saturday 24 July 2010

Pirates of the St-Lawrence let slip victory by 15 runs on Saturday in a heated clash against the Mad Dogs of Connecticut. Battling under leaden skies, with 90 per cent humidity, Phil Roche got the home team off to the perfect start when John Moore gloved his first ball behind. No one appealed, unsure of where the ball had struck him, but Moore, to his great credit, walked from the field.

Unfortunately, he was the last dawg to walk. Woodbridge, on 3, chased a wide delivery from Wigley and edged comfortably to keeper Palmer. Everyone heard it, but the batsman and opposition umpire remained unmoved, despite Woodbridge later admitting he heard the noise but ‘didn’t see a deflection’.

Lawrence batted beautifully for 31, he and Woodbridge adding 90 in quick time for the second wicket. Bell then struck with his first ball, enticing Lawrence down the wicket with a grenade. The Guyanese yorked himself, then somehow tripped over and, continuing the follow-through with his bat, split his head open. Blood seeped onto the carpet and Lawrence hobbled off groggily.

Bell struck again soon after, trapping Lanham lbw for 7. With Maha heading home with a strained hamstring, Wigley returned and, bowling with varied pace and cut, accounted for Thakur, caught by Palmer.

Woodbridge, having whacked sixes and fours to all parts for 76, top edged Wigley and was caught by Bell, racing from midwicket out to backward squareleg for a fine, towering, swirling catch. The 73 runs added after edging behind ultimately changed the result of the game.

The Pirates ran through the rest of the batting line up, but not without more freakish injuries. Sanil once again charged Bell, tripped and was stumped, wrenching his knee in the process. Various other bodies were patched together with sticky tape by Nurse Roche. It looked like the match would finish with eight players.

Ram Rampersaud, presumed AWOL at the start of the day, arrived an hour and a half into the innings, having driven seven hours from New Hampshire. He picked up two wickets in his solitary over, Krishnan pocketing a fine catch on the midwicket boundary to add to his earlier run out.

Krishnan came out guns blazing in the second innings, hooking twice to the fence. But the heat and humidity took its toll, with both openers falling to rushes of blood.

Steady Eddie and Rampersaud added 50 for the fifth wicket, playing with caution against snow cones dropping from the clouds. Another 20 runs, and they would have carried the Pirates home, but Rampersaud was cleaned up by a brute from Stubbs, and Palmer walloped a half-tracker to the midwicket boundary, where Lanham, diving, claimed the catch of the day at the second attempt.

Phil Roche played the role of Michael Bevan once more, punching and clipping to all parts. Stoltz and Wigley swatted at the other end, but the Pirates’ overs began to disappear quicker than Kat Roche’s banquet. Lawrence’s 4 overs for 9 runs sounded the death knell, as the Pirates fell agonisingly short by 15.

Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Mad Dogs of Connecticut
Saturday 24 July 2010
The Candy Fields, Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Match type: 40 overs per side
Weather conditions: Scotland meets Papua New Guinea
Toss won by: Mad Dogs
Result: Mad Dogs won by 14 runs

Mad Dogs of Connecticut Innings

Lawrence (c/wk) ct Stoltz b Rampersaud 31
Moore ct Palmer b Roche 0
Woodbridge ct Bell b Wigley 76
Lanham lbw Bell 7
Thakur ct Palmer b Wigley 4
Kimberley (c) ct Krishnan b Rampersaud 11
Stubbs ct Krishnan b Bell 2
Sanil st Palmer b Bell 3
Kaytes run out (Krishnan) 2
Major not out 3
Moore not out 0

Extras 24 (Byes 7, Leg Byes 0, No Balls 0, Wides 17)
Total 163 for 9 in 40 overs

Bowling

Phil Roche 8 overs, 3 maidens, 1 wicket, 23 runs
Nick Wigley 8 overs, 2 wickets, 22 runs
Raja Maha 3.1 overs, 0 wickets, 7 runs
Tom Wisden 3 overs, 0 wickets, 20 runs
Lukas Stoltz 3.5 overs, 0 wickets, 12 runs
Thiery Milot 3 overs, 0 wickets, 25 runs
Angus Bell 8 overs, 1 maiden, 3 wickets, 18 runs
Andrew Granville 1 over, 0 wickets, 21 runs
Andrew Myron 1 over, 0 wickets, 7 runs
Ram Rampersaud 1 over, 2 wickets, 1 run

Pirates of the St Lawrence Innings

Sundar Krishnan ct Moore b Sanil 11 (2×4)
Angus Bell (c) ct Kimberley b Woodbridge 5
Eddie Palmer (wk) ct Lanham b Moore 26 (1×4)
Thiery Milot ct Lawrence b Major 6 (1×4)
Ram Rampersaud b Stubbs 25 (1×4)
Nick Wigley lbw Moore 6
Phil Roche not out 31 (1×4, 1×6)
Lukas Stoltz b Lawrence 6 (1×4)
Tom Wisden not out 5
Andrew Myron DNB
Andrew Granville DNB

Extras 28 (Byes 4, Leg Byes 0, No Balls 2, Wides 22)
Total 149 for 7 in 40 overs

FoW (1-17, 2-20, 3-32, 4-82, 5-98, 6-110, 7-122)

Bowling

Sanil 8 overs, 1 wicket, 23 runs
Woodbridge 8 overs, 1 maiden, 1 wicket, 33 runs
Major 4 overs, 1 wicket, 19 runs
Kimberley 3 overs, 0 wickets, 11 runs
Moore 8 overs, 2 wickets, 24 runs
Stubbs 5 overs, 1 wicket, 26 runs
Lawrence 4 overs, 1 wicket, 9 runs