Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Bengal United
Saturday 9 June 2012
by Neville Cardus (channelling through Prashant Bhawalkar) with additional commentary from Jock Strap
Photo by Kat Roche

The Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Bengal United encounter on 9 June affords a scorecard that cunningly masks the true spirit of an intense clash. The eventual Bengal margin of victory of 47 runs does not indicate the high drama that took place in a fluctuating encounter.

Fielding first, the Pirates had United at 53 for 5, thanks to some ferocious swing from Roche and Legault. Roche bowled aggressively and managed pace and movement, while Legault swung the ball away from the bat consistently. Among them, it was Legault who took the first wicket thanks to a spectacular catch by skipper Bell, diving forward from short midwicket. This was followed by the introduction of Bhawalkar, who immediately managed to extract bounce and movement, striking one of the batsmen on the helmet and following it up with a chest blow. When asked how he managed to obtain such uncharacteristic bounce, Bhawalkar shook his head in an ambiguous manner and said, “I introduced some of the moves from the Kama Sutra into my bowling action. This gave me leverage and flexibility.” The tall paceman from what used to be called Bombay ended with figures of 3 for 19 in 5 overs.

He was taken off after the 20th over, allowing the Bengal batsmen leeway to recover from the glare of his seductive moves. The second coming of JC — John Carter, not Julius Caesar — had streaks of veni, vidi, and vici in the form of the wicket of Maninder Singh. Coming off the back of his Disney film success this spring, the New South Welshman did anything but turn the other cheek in the face of aggressive batting from the Bengal middle order. Chief among the wreckers was Shiva, who batted at no. 7, and scored a belligerent 51 with 3 sixes. He was given strong support by Moghis, who smote 29 runs in 17 deliveries with a boundary and two sixes. The introduction of king-of-swing Tidy later in the innings led to a minor collapse, that ended with the Englishman taking his second three wicket haul of the season. Throughout the 40 overs, the glovework of Barrett was exceptional.

Eventually, the Pirates were set a target of 195.

Mahfuz, however, had other plans. Bowling a quick, accurate spell, he was positively unplayable and ended with 3 for 15 from 6 overs. Skipper Bell, once again, showed his mettle by scoring 61 not out from 84 deliveries – his third half century in five innings this season – with 5 boundaries and a six. He was ably supported by Roche who scored a fluent 21, and Legault (14). The three ensured that the Pirates – at one stage in mortal danger on 76 for 6 – managed a reasonable total of 147 for 10 – a score that masks what was by all accounts a severe whipping.

Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Bengal United
Sunday 9 June 2012
The Candy Fields, Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Match type: 40 overs per side (11 wickets)
Weather conditions: Pleasant then building to a Tandoori oven
Result: Bengal United won by 47 runs

Bengal United Innings

Extras 20 (Byes 4, Leg Byes 1, No Balls 0, Wides 15)
Total 194 for 9 in 40 overs

FoW (1-19, 2-35, 3-43, 4-53, 5-53, 6-95, 7-151, 8-164, 9-194)

Pirates of the St Lawrence Innings

Extras 21 (Byes 8, Leg Byes 2, No Balls 2, Wides 9)
Total 147 for 10 in 40 overs

FoW (1-13, 2-15, 3-19, 4-43, 5-76, 6-76, 7-114, 8-129, 9-145, 10-147)