Pirates of the St Lawrence versus South Shore Royals
Saturday 28 September 2024
The Candy Fields, Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Result: Pirates won by 8 wickets
by Phil Me-In

Cricket is a game played by 11 fools and watched by 11,000 fools. So said George Bernard Shaw a long time ago, although he clearly wasn’t thinking about the Pirates as 10 players and one supporter set off for the Candy Fields in the autumnal morning mist. Faz, destined for a starring role in this week’s match report wasn’t one of them, injury preventing him from taking to the field, and nudging our one lone supporter – hi Fallon! – ever closer to a deboooooo.

The South Shore Royals started cautiously against pinpoint bowling from a luckless Andy (0-10) and when Mohamed held a screamer in the covers from Gabriel in the second over, we were on our way. The Royals then changed gear into T20 mode, swiping across the line and helping Gabriel to an odd bowling analysis: 0-17 off one over, and 2-10 of his other three!

Kazi (1-10) dismissed the dangerous #3 bat with his first ball to bring top scorer Saurabh (32) to the crease – a crease he was unwilling to depart, blocking balls and nudging singles as the last man standing, with not one, but two runners doing his bidding. He kept us away from a delicious lunch (channa daal, alu gobi, dim curry) for 5 overs until Angus (2-17) finally had him stumped, with a captains committee meeting overturning the square leg umpire’s on-field decision.

Cricket is a team sport played by individuals – a saying beautifully illustrated when Mohammed but his body behind a lusty blow to prevent a certain boundary at long-off, only for the batsmen to cross, and Angus sniffling up an easy catch at his usual mid-wicket position next ball. Gabriel did rather more to gift Philipp (2-8) another wicked diving forward at point, and at 45-4 after 9 overs the Royals’ innings was stuttering.

Enter Bradley (0-25), channeling his inner Faz, determined to make a game of it. One bouncer was so short it risked taking the bowlers head off in his follow through, but it was the inventive mix of daisy cutters followed by head-high beamers that really kept the batsmen guessing. Bowling in tandem with Pierre (3-14), the score quickly moved on to 80-5 after 13 overs. Sent out to graze at cow corner, shoulders slumped, Bradley looked like a man who couldn’t quite remember why he’d given up a beautiful Saturday for this sh*t.

But cricket is nothing but a game of moments, and it took just one delivery, smeared in his general direction, for Bradley to move from drowning in sorrow to walking on water – a stunning grab running to his left making it all worthwhile. When Philipp held onto another catch at square leg from the bowling of Pierre, and Kazi timed his backpedal at mid-on to perfection to gift Angus a wicket and the opposition were 92-9. The stage was set for Saurabh’s rearguard action that took the Royals to a below-par 112 all out.

Our response got off to flyer. Wisely stationing himself at the non-strikers end, Andy was still to face a ball when Mohamed – all exquisite timing, explosive bat speed, and effortless devastation – had moved the score to 41 in the third (!) over. Andy departed for a well made 9 when Mohamed already had his half-century under his belt and looked hungry for more: 60-1 in the 6th over. One huge hit over cow corner saw the ball still rising as it crossed the boundary, in serious danger of hitting the electricity wires in the distance.

Surya (9*), batting for the first time since your correspondent frequents these parts of the cricketing universe, initially struggled to pick up the leg side line of attack, but soon found his rhythm with deft glides through gully and a powerful sweep shot behind square leg. At the other end, Mohamed carried on his merry way, eventually retired by skippers’ decree 15 runs short of a century. Gabriel didn’t trouble the scorers, but Pierre (2*) saw to it that the Pirates cantered to their third victory of the season with 15 overs in hand.

“A short game is a good game”, the skipper likes to say. Cheers to that!

Up the Pirates