Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Mad Dogs of New York
Sunday 17 August 2014
Photo and match report by Sparky Rodmell

Ground staff all over the cricketing world have come in for some criticism in the past few months. But even the most talented would have struggled with The Candy Fields on Sunday 17 August 2014. Persistent rain throughout Saturday and most of the preceding days had done wonders for such scenery as could be made out under low cloud, giving us lush deep-green foliage: but the mat was sodden, spattered with mulch from attempts to mow the grass, and (due to a cock up of what to do with it the night before) laid with a curious swerve at the top end.

Pirates gritted their teeth and batted first; the openers tapped their bats nervously on the skiddy surface. Attempts to judge the low bounce were not always well executed, and three wickets fell to mishits as the top order tried to move the run rate on. Bell (33) made an impromptu appearance to steady the ship for a while before retiring to deal with domestic commitments. Whereupon the main objective for Pirates seemed to be to play out the 25 allocated overs without being all out first.

All batters struggled to turn this effort into any runs. But Captain Woodall, having rewritten the batting order to stem the crisis, came in and dug out an innings of 45 not out – his highest to date. Mad Dogs also struggled with the wet conditions and their attempts to control the slippery ball were not enough to avoid a generous supply of extras. Lunchtime approached, the sun finally reappeared, and Pirates ground on to a total of 129.

Defending a modest total, Woodall decided on a simple strategy. Noting from the previous match that Mad Dogs’ batters almost all preferred to attack on the leg side, he asked the bowlers to find and stick to a line just outside off. For a while it worked perfectly: Mad Dogs’ openers looked uncomfortable playing straight, and two wickets fell early; and mid-odd and the covers kept themselves busy blocking singles as the batters struggled to put together attacking shots.

Bari and Choudhry adapted to the tactics and put together a crucial third-wicket stand, counter-attacking with some huge straight drives, keeping Mad Dogs ahead of the required run rate. But when their partnership ended, the following batters struggled to maintain the turnover of runs and a close finished beckoned. The field closed in as it became clear that the result would come down to singles. Rodmell flung himself around goalkeeper-style at short extra cover to fend off scoring chances and to pouch an improbable low diving catch. Nine runs were needed from the last twelve balls; then Ghugari bowled five dot balls and it was nine from seven; but then bat found ball and Mad Dogs achieved the target with two balls to spare.

Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Mad Dogs of New York
Sunday 17 August 2014
The Candy Fields, Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Match type: 25 overs per side
Weather conditions: Sunny skies
Result: Mad Dogs won by 3 wickets

Pirates of the Saint Lawrence Innings

Extras 15 (Byes 4, Leg Byes 2 No Balls 2, Wides 20)
Total 129 for 7 in 25 overs

FoW (1-11, 2-14, 3-35, 4-39, 5-89, 6-95, 7-95)

Mad Dogs Innings

Extras 26 (Byes 9, Leg Byes 0, No Balls 0, Wides 17)
Total 130 for 7 in 24.4 overs