Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Inverhaugh CC
Saturday 2 July 2011
By our London correspondent Daniel Brodie

Pirates of the St Lawrence fought valiantly against a well-balanced Inverhaugh side on the first day of their Ontario tour on Saturday. Undeterred by the sweltering weather and a long drive the night before, the Pirates arrived buoyed by the late inclusion of former Quebec U19s’ captain Handy Mani and André Louis, Bell’s A-grade Kiwi ninth cousin, twice removed, by marriage.

If there was any need for further encouragement, the arrival at the ground sparked scenes of amazement as the Pirates pulled in to what appeared, after Jarry Park, to be an international Test arena. Milot stood for the first half hour photographing the grass wicket at close range, seemingly in shock. The boundary was marked, there was a pavilion, covers, nets, changing rooms, chairs, water coolers, and a grass tennis court and a pitch-and-putt lest the game start to drag. This was all in the backyard of host Bart Singh. Bell quivered at the sight of a mechanical roller chugging out across the square before a ball had been bowled.

Bell won the toss and elected to field on what looked like a wicket that would seam. Phil ”The Rochestar” Roche was given the opening over and began a spell that would have Inverhaugh begging for mercy. Charging in from the River End, the young Mancunian-Jamaican found pace, bounce and movement, ripping out the two opening batsmen in quick succession. The first, a ball that bounced and found the shoulder of the bat, was snaffled brilliantly by Doctor Savage at gully. Flying low to his right, he plucked the ball out of mid air, one-handed and with consummate ease. Roche’s second wicket cut the lanky opening batsman in half, taking the inside edge as Handy Mani proved how handy he is, pouching a simple catch to his left.

As if to show Roche who was the dominant oak in the bowling attack, Matt “Let’s Go” Legault, started to exert serious pressure at the Orchard End. The batsmen, now in panic, swung at everything, with the majority of balls flying in the air close to fielders. It was only a matter of time before Legault got his reward, with a cut hit hard at head height to Brodie at extra cover, the latter delighted to avoid serious injury by taking the catch. With the hosts at 10-3 in 5 overs, the game look set for a quick finish. Mercy was granted, however, and the foot was taken off the throat, as Roche resorted to his left-arm spin and then wicketkeeping.

Inverhaugh began to rebuild slowly, with Wisden and Middleton both bowling excellent spells to prevent an acceleration of the run rate. However, the rest of the Pirates struggled to deal with the stricter-than-international wide rule, and the run rate started to climb.

Handy Mani, who had removed his keeping pads for the ball, broke the deadlock after a fourth-wicket partnership of 102. Bowling excellent line and length, he first removed R Budhoo for 37 and then RB Singh for 50. With Bell at the other end, the run rate slowed and the Pirates seized the advantage.

Some lusty blows by ”Beefy” Cockwell in the last 10 overs, however, turned the game in favour of the hosts. Helped by 46 extras, the score mounted to a stiff 218 after 35 overs.

After a delicious tea of egg sandwiches washed down with Orange Pekoe, Savage and Brodie went out to the middle. Some excellent line and length from the opening bowlers slowed progress, with Savage being bowled by one that nipped back from left-arm Brar and rattled the top of off.

Brodie and Bell looked to rebuild. Brodie nudged singles while Bell opened his shoulders, cutting, driving and hooking to the fence. The pair added 62 before Brodie edged a rising ball to first slip. Worse was to follow. Milot, who was delighted to be playing on grass for the first time his career, strode confidently out to the middle, only to edge a pull to the wicketkeeper first ball. He trudged off, with the Pirates at 63-3, now in mortal danger after seemingly cruising at 63-1.

The wickets continued to tumble, with Bell being run out by a screaming direct hit by Bart Singh at mid off on 38, and Roche shouldering arms to a ball which cut in to castle off stump. There was some respite with a quick-fire 27 from debutant Louis, including a monstrous six over mid-on. But the Pirates continued to falter, and were soon all out for 130, left to rue an opportunity gone by.

Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Inverhaugh CC
Saturday 2 July 2011
Inverhaugh, near Guelph, Ontario
Match type: 35 overs per side
Toss won by: Pirates of the St Lawrence
Weather conditions: Inducing nausea and yellow urine, with a constant threat of thunder showers
Result: Inverhaugh won by 88 runs

Inverhaugh Innings

L Lee (wk) ct Savage b Roche 0
D Allenby ct M Singh b Roche 0
RB Singh ct Tyson b M Singh 50
G Budhoo ct Brodie b Legault 1
R Budhoo ct Bell b M Singh 37
N Cockwell not out 46
J Brar ct Legault b Louis 30
R Singh (c) not out 8
I Singh DNB
M Brar DNB

Extras 46 (Byes 1, Leg Byes 3, No Balls 5, Wides 37)
Total 218 for 6 in 35 overs

FoW (1-1, 2-9, 3-10, 4-112, 5-130, 6-193)

Bowling

Phil Roche 3 overs, 2 wickets, 5 runs
Matthew Legault 4 overs, 1 wicket, 33 runs
Tom Wisden 5 overs, 0 wickets, 30 runs
Roy Middleton 3 overs, 1 maiden, 0 wickets, 15 runs
Thiéry Milot 2 overs, 0 wickets, 19 runs
Robert Savage 3 overs, 0 wickets, 14 runs
Maninder Singh 5 overs, 2 wickets, 22 runs
Angus Bell 5 overs, 1 maiden, 0 wickets, 22 runs
Daniel Brodie 2 overs, 0 wickets, 16 runs
André Louis 2 overs, 1 wicket, 29 runs

Pirates of the St Lawrence Innings

Daniel Brodie ct RB Singh b J Brar 17 (2×4, 40 balls)
Robert Savage b I SIngh 0 (4 balls)
Angus Bell (c) run out (R Singh) 38 (7×4, 44 balls)
Thiéry Milot ct Lee b J Brar 0 (1 ball)
Phil Roche (wk) b J Brar 8 (2×4, 10 balls)
André Louis ct Allanby b M Brar 27 (1×4, 1×6, 31 balls)
Maninder Singh (wk) ct (sub) b RB Singh 3 (8 balls)
Matthew Legault ct I Singh b M Brar 3 (9 balls)
Roy Middleton ct G Budhoo b M Brar 2 (8 balls)
Tom Wisden ct Lee b G Budhoo 4 (1×4, 6 balls)
Tyson not out 1 (1 ball)

Extras 26 (Byes 1, Leg Byes 4, No Balls 0, Wides 22)
Total 130 for 10 in 29 overs

FoW (1-1, 2-63, 3-63, 4-70, 5-82, 6-94, 7-113, 8-120, 9-125, 10-130)

Bowling

E Budhoo 4 overs, 2 maidens, 0 wickets, 12 runs
I Singh 4 overs, 1 wicket, 15 runs
R Singh 5 overs, 0 wickets, 30 runs
J Brar 6 overs, 3 wickets, 28 runs
R Budhoo 2 overs, 0 wickets, 3 runs
RB Singh 2 overs, 1 wicket, 10 runs
M Brar 3 overs, 2 wickets, 11 runs
G Budhoo 3 overs, 1 wicket, 17 runs