Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Bengal United
Saturday 9 October 2010

Cloaked in fleeces and thermals to fight off a scrotum-tightening chill, Pirates of the St Lawrence extended their winning streak to six games as they rumbled Bengal youths by 7 wickets in the last battle of 2010.

Roche sounded the death clunk fourth ball, bending one through an Alistair Cook-sized hole between bat and pad to remove Sonu.

Irish wolfhound Legault looked in impressive form at the other end. Beating the bat frequently, it came as no surprise when a pie finally got the wicket. Maninder latched onto a full toss and Roche, haring in from fine leg, over-ran the ball before leaping backwards at the last second to bag a screamer.

Former Surrey Under-12s’ star Dan Brodie produced another magical first over, deceiving Dibarkar with a long-hop that plopped into middle stump long after Dibarkar had imagined it travelling deep into the forest. Brodie then convinced Zia to slash another short ball to cover where Krishnan, dressed like an ewok, pouched the ball in his wooly gloves. Krishnan, only minutes before, had let out a scream from squareleg after spotting what he believed to be a snake. Even after identifying it as an earth worm, he asked to be moved.

Spin-twin John Carter was in peak form for the start of his domestic season Down Under. Watched by the Australian selectors, he let rip from the Terminal End, forcing the dangerous Rajin to top edge a pull to Bell at short midwicket.

At 58 for 5, Savage and Finkelberg came on to keep the squeeze, tying down the Bengals for five overs. Bell removed Topu lbw with his second ball and then had Salvi sky a snow cone to Melaram at mid-off.

But the Bengals came with batting depth. Part-time Pirate Usman rescued the innings, stroking patiently through the covers and sweeping to the fence. In contrast, his partner Mahfuz stepped to leg and swung with all his might. He left Rampersaud, who’d once again driven four hours from Vermont, traumatized. Melaram put and end to the madness by gobbling another catch at mid-off.

In came axeman Edward, whose long-handle mowed two monster sixes as the Bengal total threatened to morph into an end-of-season banana skin. Melaram taught him to respect his elders, cleaning up the stumps, but not before an irksome 25 had been inflicted.

Egged on by the promise of needing six off the final ball for his first fifty, Usman charged and launched Melaram over long-off for the maiden maximum of his career, only to discover he’d finished on [a magnificent] 42 not out.

In reply, Bell and Brodie blunted the Bengal attack, showing the British way. In the face of a barrage of pace, they were content to wait and nurdle. Brodie got off the mark on his 20th delivery. With some lucrative cuts and pulls, the score accelerated to 50 in the 13th over.

In a rare lapse of concentration, Brodie clipped the ball straight to short extra cover and set off on a suicidal single on 23. He was run out at the striker’s end when sent back.

Promoted after his session with a bowling machine, Matt Legault came in at first drop. He survived a ferocious assault from Mahfuz as the paceman returned, and steered him elegantly off the legs for four. He and Bell added 24 in quicktime, when Usman, bowling a teasing line and length, had Legault stumped attempting a sweep.

Bell brought up his seventh fifty of the season with a punch down the ground. He and Roche added 62 in 10 overs, bringing the game within a whisker of its conclusion. Bell was finally out – just 24 runs short of 1,000 for 2010 – line driving a long-hop to a semi-legal floating fielder behind the bowler’s arm.

Roche, wanting to finish the game before night and frost appeared, launched a rapid assault of seven fours and a six, notching up his fourth half-century of the summer, taking his average to a remarkable 88.75, and carrying the Pirates to their 11th win of the season.

Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Bengal United
Saturday 9 October 2010
The Candy Fields, Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Match type: 35 overs per side
Weather conditions: Distracting, with a slight tightening of the scrotum
Result: Pirates of the St Lawrence won by 7 wickets

Bengal United Innings

Dibarkar (wk) b Brodie 18 (1×4)
Sonu b Roche 0
Maninder (c) ct Roche b Legault 14 (1×4, 1×6)
Topu lbw Bell 19
Rajin ct Bell b Carter 10 (2×4)
Zia ct Krishnan b Brodie 1
Usman not out 42 (3×4, 1×6)
Salvi ct Melaram b Bell 1
Mahfuz ct Melaram b Rampersaud 17 (2×4, 1×6)
Edward b Melaram 25 (1×4, 2×6)
Fahim not out 6

Extras 15 (Byes 0, Leg Byes 0, No Balls 3, Wides 12)
Total 167 for 9 in 35 overs

FoW (1-1, 2-24, 3-52, 4-54, 5-58, 6-87, 7-100, 8-122, 9-150)

Bowling

Phil Roche 6 overs, 1 wicket, 20 runs
Matthew Legault 4 overs, 1 wicket, 29 runs
Daniel Brodie 3 overs, 2 wickets, 12 runs
John Carter 4 overs, 1 wicket, 15 runs
Robert Savage 3 overs, 0 wickets, 12 runs
Ben Finkelberg 2 overs, 0 wickets, 16 runs
Angus Bell 7 overs, 1 maiden, 2 wickets, 27 runs
Ram Rampersaud 3 overs, 1 wicket, 16 runs
Brahma Melaram 4 overs, 1 maiden, 1 wicket, 17 runs

Pirates of the St Lawrence Innings

Daniel Brodie run out (Rajin/Usman) 23 (2×4, 48 balls)
Angus Bell (c) ct Mahfuz b Dibarkar 67 (5×4, 81 balls)
Matthew Legault st Dibarkar b Usman 8 (1×4, 14 balls)
Phil Roche (wk) not out 54 (7×4, 1×6, 46 balls)
Ram Rampersaud (wk) not out 5
Robert Savage DNB
Sundar Krishnan DNB
John Carter DNB
Ben Finkelberg DNB
Danny Singh DNB
Brahma Melaram DNB

Extras 14 (Byes 2, Leg Byes 0, No Balls 3, Wides 9)
Total 171 for 3 in 33 overs

FoW (1-64, 2-88, 3-150)

Bowling

Mahfuz 7 overs, 1 maiden, 0 wickets, 26 runs
Rahim 7 overs, 1 maiden, 0 wickets, 29 runs
Edward 6 overs, 0 wickets, 33 runs
Usman 7 overs, 1 wicket, 34 runs
Salvi 3 overs, 0 wickets, 15 runs
Sonu 1 over, 0 wickets, 9 runs
Dibarkar 2 overs, 1 wicket, 22 runs