Pirates of the St Lawrence versus The Mad Dogs of New York
Saturday 17 August 2013
By Neville Cardus (channelling through Prashant Bhawalkar)

The annual rubber between Pirates of the St Lawrence and the Mad Dogs of New York was greeted by the sort of scorching mid-summer conditions that lead to matted hair and irritation heightened by insects entering human crevices. Batting first, the New Yorkers demonstrated how potent the heat can be when combined with a road trip, lack of sleep and alcohol consumption. Arriving at the ground a trifle out of sorts, they lost their first wicket in the first over bowled by Bhawalkar. Arora, in search of a flying start, attempted to glide an outswinging delivery down the leg side. But instead of sailing over midwicket, the ball took the bat’s outside edge and flew to Wareing at point.

From then on, it was grit all the way as opening bowlers Bhawalkar and Kelly Morton dug in and subdued the batsmen. The latter, in particular, displayed great maturity on the back of his three-wicket haul against Gujarat. Bowling a tight line, he picked up the wickets of Armitage and Bari, both bowled, and conceded a mere 12 runs in his seven overs.

Shortly after the opening bowlers were taken off, Jaiswal departed having blocked his way to 31, an inspiring effort for one who had spent much of the previous day in a car. Slow bowlers Sharma, Vadnerkar, and Badugu effectively tightened the noose. Sharma, in particular, gave only two runs off the bat in a five over spell. In Ranatunga-like fashion, Badugu snapped two late wickets to ensure that Moore’s assault didn’t have any lasting repercussions.

In addition, the Pirates were exceptional in the field with Julius, Wareing, Kelly Morton, Badugu, and Hasan displaying great agility and anticipation. Hasan, in particular, held on to a scorcher of a catch at short third man.

Eventually, the visitors reached a respectable score thanks to Moore who employed the sweep to great effect. Hitting 7 boundaries in his innings of 42, scored off 34 deliveries, he ensured that the Mad Dogs reached 148 all out in 39.2 overs.

When the Pirates batted, the pace and bounce generated by Kiwi giant Coutts clearly troubled them, with the result that five top order batsmen found themselves resting their feet in the pavilion with only 46 runs on board. Coutts was well supported by the wily Harrison and Moore, whose effective changes of pace were something of a novelty for the home team.

It was at this point that Julius joined skipper Varma to form a Clive Lloyd-Viv Richards partnership. While the left-handed Varma scored freely, playing delicate strokes, Julius went on a rampage taking the aerial route. The visitors, whose body language had till then indicated that they had the game all wrapped up, suddenly began to display a collective sagging of the shoulders. Julius’ 60 off 48 deliveries – his first half century – was one one of the Pirates’ masterpieces of the season.

In the end, Vadnerkar and Kelly Morton finished the job for the Pirates, driving them home with four overs to spare. In spite of the margin of victory, the match was only truly decided when the Pirates hit the winning runs. Like so many great games, it could have gone either way till the very end.

Pirates of the St Lawrence versus The Mad Dogs of New York
Saturday 17 August 2013
The Candy Fields, Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Match type: 40 overs per side
Weather conditions: Sparkling enough to ensure a return
Result: Pirates won by 3 wickets

Mad Dogs Innings

Extras 24 (Byes 2, Leg Byes 0, No Balls 4, Wides 18)
Total 148 for 10 in 39.2 overs

FoW (1-0, 2-27, 3-32, 4-50, 5-66, 6-89, 7-119, 8-127, 9-143, 10-148)

Pirates of the St Lawrence Innings

Extras 9 (Byes 7, Leg Byes 0, No Balls 0, Wides 2)
Total 150 for 7 in 36.1 overs

FoW (1-22, 2-22, 3-23, 4-41, 5-46, 6-131, 7-143)