Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Bengal United
Sunday 3 June 2012
by Neville Cardus (channelling through Prashant Bhawalkar)
Photo by Kat Roche

The Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Bengal United match in Mont-St-Hilaire will remain epic for a number of reasons. These include a fiery spell and hattrick of run-outs from the departing Tom Ford, the return of opening bowler Roche, a penetrative performance from the ever-improving Sakrani, and a memorable display by debutante Sabrina Arciero.

Had the players believed the dire predictions of the weather broadcasts, there may never have been a match. As it was, a number of them turned up, hours late, rubbing sleep from their eyes after a night of drunken revelry under a thunderously-moist Montreal sky. However, groundskeeper Bell and Estonia-bound Filer, playing in his last game, knee-deep in puddles from seven in the morning, performed miracles in preparing the ground, draining 3,000 litres off the wicket before play.

“Aye – get here!” was texted to several Pirate members who had the audacity to ask if the match was still going to proceed as scheduled, underlining the fact that not even nature can match its wits against a resilient Scotsman.

Batting first, the Pirates scored 164 for 10 in 40 overs. Chief among the run getters were skipper Horne (34) and Wisden (23). Granville (17), Filer (19), Roche (12), and Islam (19) also made useful contributions. On a windy day, where the ball was swinging wildly, the Bengalis conceded 20 extras. Chief among their wicket takers were Maninder and Mughis, with 2 wickets apiece.

The Pirates began impressively, with opening bowlers Roche and Bhawalkar keeping a tight leash on the Bengal openers. This set the stage for devastating spells from Sakrani (3-28) and Ford (2-15), who broke the back of the Bengal batting. But it was Ford’s hattrick of runnouts, and sensational diving catch from short fine leg, that ultimately made the difference in a six-run thriller. Topu Das top scored for Bengal with 27, and there were 33 extras. Debutant Arciero impressed one and all with a deceptive spell of bowling that resulted in a wicket, lofted straight to deep extra cover. With 2 overs and just seven runs needed, Granville swooped from cover to produce a fourth and final run out.

In a low-scoring encounter, the Pirates proved that tight accurate bowling, backed by first-class fielding, can induce even the most impressive batting line ups into making mistakes.

Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Bengal United
Sunday 3 June 2012
The Candy Fields, Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Match type: 40 overs per side (11 wickets)
Weather conditions: Like the first appearance of sunshine for Noah
Result: Pirates of the St Lawrence won by 6 runs

Pirates of the St Lawrence Innings

Extras 20 (Byes 3, Leg Byes 1, No Balls 6, Wides 10)
Total 164 for 10 in 40 overs

FoW (1-32, 2-52, 3-100, 4-115, 5-116, 6-147, 7-151, 8-154, 9-155, 10-159)

Bengal United Innings

Extras 33 (Byes 4, Leg Byes 0, No Balls 7, Wides 22)
Total 158 for 11 in 38 overs

FoW (1-19, 2-20, 3-37, 4-73, 5-83, 6-101, 7-101, 8-111, 9-116, 10-154, 11-158)