Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Rolls Royce Aviators
Saturday 25 September 2010

A rampant performance in the field by Pirates of the St Lawrence produced a famous fifth victory in succession as they out-gunned Rolls Royce Aviators by 7 wickets at The Candy Fields. Surrounded by glorious fall foliage under brooding skies, the Black Caps rattled Rolls Royce for 100 before knocking off the target with 7 wickets and 17 overs to spare.

Andrew Granville and Tom Wisden steamed in for the opening spell; one producing great pace, the other, less so. But neither faltered in their accuracy, as they removed both openers for single figures.

Rolls Royce’s pro for this year, Matt, on loan from Nottingham, picked up the run rate with some lucrative lofted drives and cuts. A potentially devastating partnership with turncoat Krishnan was broken when the latter skied a pull of Granville to Bell at short midwicket.

Milot replaced Wisden at the Terminal End, and struck second ball, enticing TJ into a wide drive to Carter at short gully.

Carter was in stellar form in the field. No sooner had he been placed 15 yards in from cow corner, he claimed one of the catches of the season – a swirling effort, which he gathered like a rugby ball over his shoulder. It gave Rahul Patel his first wicket of the day.

Play was then halted for eight minutes when Danny Barker discovered a foot-long garter snake at extra cover. Hissing and readying for a strike, the snake was eventually removed by Milot with the aid of a broom handle.

At 61 for 5, the Aviators still had much batting in reserve. But, perhaps distracted by the local wildlife, their hopes were dealt a mortal blow when skipper Mahon miscued an Usman bomb, spooning it to the umpire’s spot, where Bell collected.

A knackered-looking Wisden, very much in the mould of Freddie Flintoff in his final Test, then ran out Matt from extra cover on 31 to make the score 65 for 6.

Gaining in confidence and offering more flight, Patel soon snared his second victim, as Roche pedalled from keeper to short squareleg to pocket a top-edged pull.

Middleton and Savage kept the Aviators grounded, the former trapping Vicky lbw for a blob, before Carter finished the innings with his first ball, cut softly to Milot at point.

With a storm fast approaching from Montreal, and an even greater tempest brewing with the wives and girlfriends back home, the players agreed to hold off on their barbecued sausages and baguettes and begin the second innings immediately.

A furry caterpillar at the Terminal caused a few more minutes delay. Opener Bell pleaded with the umpire and bowler to spare its life. The creature then magically disappeared, perhaps down one of the net holes for the winter.

Bell and Barker added 39 for the first wicket, against a barrage of pace and swing. Struggling for control with a wet ball and a whistling wind, the Aviators conceded 18 extras in the first five overs. With more practice and a larger first innings total, the innings could have been a horror story. Both batsmen survived several slashes over the slips.

Barker was the first to go, bowled by the deadly-accurate Vicky. The one-time West Island Whacker skipper was near unplayable, removing Bell for 26 in his third over – caught brilliantly with two fingers at the fourth attempt by Riyam, diving forward at short leg. Riyam, refusing a helmet, was then nearly killed at silly point when Phil Roche cracked a cut an inch from his head.

Roche ‘The Finisher’ continued his amazing streak of not outs (13 this season), reaching 29 this time to hand the Pirates their tenth win of the season, and taking his average to 82.

Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Rolls Royce Aviators
Saturday 25 September 2010
The Candy Fields, Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Match type: 35 overs per side
Weather conditions: Dark and brooding, but still important to wear suncreen
Toss won by: Rolls Royce Aviators
Result: Pirates of the St Lawrence won by 7 wickets

Rolls Royce Aviators Innings

Richard b Wisden 8
Riyami b Granville 5
Matt run out (Wisden) 31
Sundar ct Bell b Granville 3
TJ ct Carter b Milot 0
Brian ct Carter b Patel 11
Paddy (c/wk) ct Bell b Usman 0
Vicky lbw Middleton 2
Karan ct Roche b Patel 0
Chris not out 10
Paul ct Milot b Carter 8

Extras 22 (Byes 4, Leg Byes 0, No Balls 4, Wides 14)
Total 100 for 10 in 24.1 overs

FoW (1-6, 2-19, 3-29, 4-30, 5-61, 6-65, 7-73, 8-75, 9-78, 10-100)

Bowling

Andrew Granville 5 overs, 2 wickets, 10 runs
Tom Wisden 4 overs, 1 wicket, 16 runs
Thiery Milot 2 overs, 1 wicket, 19 runs
Arman Usman 3 overs, 1 wicket, 9 runs
Rahul Patel 4 overs, 2 wickets, 18 runs
Roy Middleton 4 overs, 1 wicket, 14 runs
Robert Savage 2 overs, 0 wickets, 6 runs
John Carter 0.1 overs, 1 wicket, 0 runs

Pirates of the St Lawrence Innings

Angus Bell (c) ct Riyam b Vicky 26 (4×4, 34 balls)
Danny Barker b Vicky 7 (24 balls)
Phil Roche (wk) not out 29 (4×4, 34 balls)
Thiery Milot ct Vicky b Matt 8 (16 balls)
John Carter not out 2 (3 balls)
Robert Savage DNB
Arman Usman DNB
Rahul Patel DNB
Tom Wisden DNB
Andrew Granville DNB
Roy Middleton DNB

Extras 29 (Byes 4, Leg Byes 1, No Balls 3, Wides 21)
Total 101 for 3 in 17.4 overs

FoW (1-39, 2-61, 3-87)

Bowling

Matt 4 overs, 1 wicket, 27 runs
Riyam 2.4 overs, 0 wickets, 22 runs
Vicky 6 overs, 1 maiden, 2 wickets, 16 runs
Ashok 4 overs, 0 wickets, 23 runs
Karan 1 overs, 0 wickets, 8 runs