Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Colonial Cavaliers of Boston
Sunday 14 June 2009

Sunday’s Twenty20 went down to the wire as Tom Wisden stroked a single off the final ball of the match to hand the Pirates a second famous victory in two days.

The Pirates had earlier bowled out the Cavaliers for 97, aided by the visitors’ extraordinary booze consumption in the hours prior to the game.

Rob Savage struck in the first over, bamboozling opener Braham with his impRobaball. The wickets were shared around. Debutants Andrew Myron and Dan Thomassin, picked up two a piece, as did the experienced Bhajooram Sukhdeo, .

Thomassin struck with his very first ball in cricket, trapping Monty lbw before collecting a caught and bowled two balls later. “I’m loving this,” said the plucky Quebecor, who is off to Italy on Tuesday for a month of cricket on the continent.

In response, the Pirates rocketed to 17 in two overs before Hoolahan missed a straight ball with an attempted hoy, and Bell fell caught and bowled for 14. Oosthuizen creamed the shot of the day through extra cover before being caught attempting a repeat. Myron hung around before being bowled. At 25 for 4, the Pirates looked in grave danger.

Then Bhajooram Sukhdeo and Doctor Rob Savage came to the crease. They batted patiently at first, scrambling extras, and soon began to smite balls over the infield. Sukhdeo launched a six over midwicket, and Savage, playing the innings of his life, unleashed his inner beast. The pair bullied the Boston seamers, bringing the Pirates ever closer.

Then distaster struck as both batsmen fell for 25, with 9 still needed for victory. Erfan Chowdhury carved uppishly through point and narrowly missed being run out coming back for a second run.

It went down to the last over, with 1 needed. Take-your-time-Tom-Wisden, haunted by a first ball duck in Vermont 7 days earlier, blocked 4 deliveries before jogging a leg bye on the 5th. Umpire Bell was forced to call ‘dead ball’, as half the fielders were moving and shouting.

Wisden returned to the striker’s end unfazed, but could not pierce the infield once more. On the final delivery of the day, he lunged forward and poked the ball wide of extra cover. The batsmen hared up the wicket as extra cover slipped and failed to gather, handing the Pirates a victory by the narrowest of margins.

Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Colonial Cavaliers of Boston
Sunday 14 June 2009
The Candy Fields, Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Match type: Twenty20
Weather conditions: ‘Fuckin’ oath’
Result: Pirates of the St Lawrence won by 3 wickets with 0 balls remaining!

Colonial Cavaliers Innings

D Braham b Savage 1
J Evans lbw Thomassin 5
P Whitelam b Hoolahan 41 (2×4, 2×6)
P Cashin c&b Thomassin 0
L Hewitt ct Hoolahan b Chowdhury 1
J Mallinson ct Oosthuizen b Myron 3
J Fry (c) hit wicket b Myron 2
G Paul b Sukhdeo 5
D Tetley run out (Bell) 17
B Loomes b Sukhdeo 2
M Montgomery not out 4

Extras 16 (Byes 0, Leg Byes 0, No Balls 1, Wides 15)
Total 97 all out in 19 overs

Bowling

Rob Savage 2 overs, 1 wicket, 6 runs, Econ. 3.00, SR 14.00
Tom Wisden 2 overs, 0 wickets, 16 runs, Econ. 8.00, SR –
Erfan Chowdhury 2 overs, 1 wicket, 16 runs, Econ. 8.00, SR 12.00
Dan Thomassin 3 overs, 2 wickets, 16 runs, Econ. 5.33, SR 11.50
Andrew Myron 2 overs, 2 wickets, 14 runs, Econ. 7.00, SR 8.50
Bhajooram Sukhdeo 2 overs, 1 maiden, 2 wickets, 5 runs, Econ. 2.50, SR 6.00
Nic Hoolahan 2 overs, 1 wicket, 12 runs, Econ. 6.00, SR 12.00
Ray Nowrang 2 overs, 0 wickets, 4 runs, Econ. 2.00, SR –
Angus Bell 2 overs, 0 wickets, 8 runs, Econ. 4.00, SR –

Pirates of the St Lawrence Innings

Angus Bell (c) c&b Hewitt 14 (3×4)
Nic Hoolahan b Kilpatrick 3
Shaun Oosthuizen (wk) ct Cashin b Kilpatrick 4 (1×4)
Andrew Myron b Kilpatrick 0
Bhajooram Sukhdeo b Mallinson 25 (1×4, 1×6)
Rob Savage ct Fry b Mallinson 25 (4×4)
Ray Nowrang run out 1
Erfan Chowdhury not out 2
Tom Wisden not out 1
Dan Thomassin DNB
L.J. DNB

Extras 23 (Byes, 1, Leg Byes 2, No Balls 2, Wides 18)
Total 98 for 7 in 20 overs

Bowling

Kilpatrick 4 overs, 3 wickets, 14 runs, Econ. 3.50, SR 9.66
Hewitt 4 overs, 2 maidens, 1 wicket, 18 runs, Econ. 9.00, SR 24.00
Paul 2 overs, 0 wickets, 17 runs, Econ. 8.50, SR –
Andrews 2 overs, 0 wickets, 9 runs, Econ. 4.50, SR –
Mallison 4 overs, 2 wickets, 15 runs, Econ. 3.75, SR 13.50
Montgomery 2 overs, 0 wickets, 11 runs, Econ. 5.50, SR –
Cashin 2 overs, 0 wickets, 6 runs, Econ. 3.00, SR –