Pirates of the St Lawrence versus South Star
Saturday 25 August 2012
By Lord Legless

So back to the Candy Fields came South Star for their second visit and, as with the first time, joining them was the star of our solar system, the Sun. And once again, it came blazing. Hot, you ask? The mercury bubbling at 33˚C and another 5 degrees of humidity damage on top of that had both teams staring dolefully out at the shimmering pitch from the relative cool of the pavilion, wondering if they were all completely insane.

Deciding that they weren’t in the least bit mentally unhinged, the teams took to the field for six hours of running around, with South Star bowling first, and brave Pirates Bell and Roberts opening the batting. Seamers Fahad and Neil took the first overs, zipping the ball down the pitch with speed and precision, and their early pressure took its toll as Fahad clipped Roberts’s outside edge and Navid made no mistake in the slips.

Aussie Daniel Robinson announced his arrival on the jute in no uncertain terms, as he thwacked his first ball for four. Working hard, making clever runs, and striking the ball with confidence, he and Bell raced to a 100 partnership, with Robinson making his first half-century as a Pirate in only 53 balls. With eight fours and a six already under his belt, Robinson powered a stray Sajid delivery to the boundary, only to be neatly snagged at the line by Usman, drawing a line under the Bell-Robinson partnership at 118.

Pirates wicketkeeper Mridha was next in, and began to find the boundary with speed and ease, while Bell, at the other end, continued his strong play, the screws in the back of his match-worn bat flashing in the sun. The pair raced toward a century partnership, but were thwarted at 95, when the captain was tempted out of his crease by Neil, only for the ball to strike his pad and roll back for keeper Ramzan, who sent the bails spinning with Bell on the wrong side of the tape. The skipper was applauded off the field with 80 fewer runs left in his bat (how many more are in there, you ask? Could be thousands…), including nine fours and one six.

Although Mridha continued to notch up runs at pace, his next partner Munawar was not so lucky, returning from a brief stint at the crease with a duck, having done well to fend off the pace attack for eight balls. Seasoned rookie Kelly Morton joined the red-hot Mridha in the center, and worked hard to frustrate the bowlers with a measured defence of his stumps. Looking for a sixth boundary, Mridha lashed at an off-stump delivery, but sadly the Pirates’ number four was fooled as the ball cut in, clattering the bails to the ground. 34 runs from 28 deliveries including 5 fours and a six was the Indian wicketkeeper’s contribution to the Pirates’ total.

With few overs remaining, Legault knew his assignment as he joined old friend and fellow Montrealer Kelly Morton at the wicket. The hometown pair worked hard to add runs and stay in, with Legault adding a valuable 15 runs off 16 balls, including two that found the boundary. Going hell for leather in the final over, Legault skied a Safi outswinger which was reeled in by Navid at mid-off.

Kelly Morton fell next, pushing hard to appease his captain, whose cries of “Swiiiiing! Swiiiiing!” from the pavilion led to Usman’s catch at long-on from a Safi delivery. The number six batsman joined his teammates in the shade with a stoic 6 off 23 deliveries, including a boundary.

Finishing matters off for the Pirates were Islam and Carter, the former making three runs off two balls, and the latter putting a single onto the total from the solitary ball he faced.

Lunch (generously provided by the visitors) was scarfed back, and the Pirates took to the field.

“Great! This’ll give us a chance to stand in the sun for a bit,” quipped Legault to Roberts as they walked out, the former having umpired for 25 overs, and the latter for 35. Roberts’s bleary look and broiled complexion was sufficient response.

Patterson, rejoining the Pirates’ ranks after a prolonged absence and a missed alarm clock, opened the bowling from the Woodland End, instantly giving South Star openers Usman and Neil something to think about with his pace and length. His partner in attack, Legault, from the Terminal End, had the ball swinging in the heavy air. This movement proved to be too much for all-rounder Neil, who swatted a shorter delivery to Robinson at point, whose safe hands sent the number two back to the pavilion with 7 runs.

Patterson was next to draw blood, causing Usman to hole out to Bell at short mid-wicket. The openers continued to pound the ball down the hazy pitch, giving split-duty wicketkeepers Ramzan and Navid plenty of trouble. Bhawalkar, having worked on his Sharapova-like grunting, relieved Legault and proved to be more than a handful for Ramzan, who knocked one in the air to the long-on boundary, where Legault made his first catch for the Pirates since June 16, thus putting to an end a string of 12 dropped chances.

Young Daud, who had caused trouble for the Pirates the previous week with a brave 11th-man stand couldn’t repeat his heroics with the bat as he fell for a duck, bowled by a determined Bhawalkar. Patterson continued his hard work at the Woodland End, and had it pay off yet again as Navid skied a ball to Kelly Morton, who made no mistake at long-off, sending the second of the wicketkeepers back to the pavilion.

Wily spinner Carter temped the South Star batsmen into swinging, causing lightning to strike the same place twice as Legault snagged a powerful drive at the long-on boundary, sending Stellar captain Fahad on a long walk back from the center, followed not long after by Sajid, caught deftly by Robinson off another bedeviling delivery from his countryman.

Kelly Morton found pace and swing with the well-worn ball, nicking Nasrat’s outside edge to land in the mitts of wicketkeeper Mridha, whose feats of dexterity behind the stumps saved more than one extra for the Pirates.

“I thought it was going wide!” he said of the next wicket, with a smile, as Kelly Morton managed to swing the ball onto Daneesh’s leg stump after the batsman had stepped in to allow it to pass behind him.

Putting on a brave stand at number 10, Safi added 39 runs on the board despite a valiant pace effort by Islam and some spin trickery by Roberts. Bell scattered Saquib’s bails on 7 with an inswinging yorker. The batsman remained to run for Safi, who, unfortunately for him and South Star, was caught flat-footed in front of his wicket to another in-ducker. The umpire’s outstretched finger went up in response to the spirited Pirates’ appeal, bringing up Bell’s 150th wicket for the Pirates, the game to an end, and a Pirates victory by the comfortable margin of 80 runs.

Pirates of the St Lawrence versus South Star
Saturday 25 August 2012
The Candy Fields, Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Match type: 45 overs per side (11 wickets)
Weather conditions: Gas mark 9
Result: Pirates of the St Lawrence won by 80 runs

Pirates of the St Lawrence Innings

Extras 59 (Byes 20, Leg Byes 5, No Balls 2, Wides 32)
Total 257 for 7 in 45 overs

FoW (1-11, 2-129, 3-224, 4-226, 5-226, 6-249, 7-253)

South Star Innings

Extras 44 (Byes 4, Leg Byes 3, No Balls 2, Wides 35)
Total 177 for 11 in 32.1 overs

FoW (1-17, 2-24, 3-48, 4-49, 5-63, 6-85, 7-86, 8-91, 9-125, 10-152, 11-177)