Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Dartmouth College
Saturday 15 August 2009

Pirates of the St Lawrence staged an extraordinary fightback to come within a chest hair of beating Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire on Saturday. Chasing 311 for a famous victory, three Pirates bludgeoned half-centuries, as the team posted a record 282 for 8 in 35 overs, falling short by 29 runs.

Just like the England team at Headingley, the Pirates preparations were thrown into disarray when alarm clocks woke them up at 4.30 am. Matters were made worse when Brian Llewellyn-ap-Dafydd creamed a deer with his car just 10 miles from the Ivy League town.

After a delayed start and a pre-arranged toss, the Pirates, with four subs in tow, skipped onto the Astroturf field for a 35-over duel in temperatures pushing 34.

Phil Roche and Greg Brander took the new ball and extracted venom and steepling bounce off the spongy surface. The Dartmouth openers poked and prodded, looking unconvincing as they slugged fours either side of squareleg.

With the outfield quicker than a snooker table, and short square boundaries, the Pirates faced a flurry of runs. But Roche came to the party, removing Apurva with a swinging yorker that crashed into middle stump.

Brander claimed the next wicket, caught by Andy Myron, thundering across from mid on like a Jack Russell on manky crack. With the ball swirling and seemingly out of reach, Myron licked his hands and plucked it out the air at full pace.

The slow, tennis ball bounce and short boundaries were punishing on the spinners. With the stumps impossible to hit, the run worm ballooned, as ball after ball sailed over the fence.

Former Auckland Under 17s wicketkeeper Richard Horne was forced to remove the gloves and roll his arm over. In only his second delivery for the club, the ball rocketed to long off where substitute Apurva bagged a one-handed stunner over his head. Horne, with 1 for 1, was momentarily top of the club’s bowling averages.

The next wicket arrived through a generous retirement, as number 3 Warren walked from the field on 61. It brought Govind to the crease – a man who recently scored 127 in 44 balls, including 7 sixes in 7 balls.

More than 100 runs and three drinks breaks later, Bell enticed Chris from his crease for Horne to whip off the bails. Brander returned next over and had Govind caught in the honey trap at long on for a pacy 91.

It sparked a collapse for the Dartmouth undergrads. The Pirates rallied around like men posessed and the hosts danced like mad men down the wicket. Both Bell and Brander struck again in their next overs, and super-sub Pal picked up 2 for 8. Horne ended the innings with four stumpings, as Dartmouth College reached a whopping 310 in 35 overs.

With jockstraps so sweaty, batting wasn’t easy second innings. The bounce, which had proved so lucrative for the hosts, required time to adjust to, and Hugue St-Jean fell pulling like a baseballer in the first over.

Bell, still dressing, had to complete the job in the middle to avoid being timed out. He and Horne set about rotating the strike, nurdling into the gaps and scoring at a run a ball.

The tall New Zealander and the little Scotsman targeted the weaker fielders before unleashing their big guns. Horne, with his trademark pivot, smote a series of pulls, while Bell drove straight and high over the covers.

Horne reached his first 50 for the club and Bell, his sixth of the season, in a stand of 134 in 18 overs. The spell was broken when Horne edged left-arm paceman Prince to the keeper for a magnificent 61, including 10 fours.

Phil Roche, this year’s pro, looked in top form, timing every ball, before falling for 11 to the slow, looping bounce, driving low to the hands of extra.

Enter Greg Brander. The Australian, after 3 hours sleep, 4 hours driving, and all day in the sun, had just stepped on his spectacles, crushing them beyond use, but showed no fear as he cut his first ball for four.

The Star from St-Lazare dealt only in boundaries and wides, as he and Bell added 45 in 4 overs.

Going for gold in the last 8, Bell whipped to short mid wicket on 87 – the second time this season the he has fallen on the Devil’s number. His innings included 12 fours and 2 sixes.

Brand Power continued to scythe and pull as the Pirates unlikely run chase suddenly seemed possible. Andy Myron motored down the crease and back again for overthrows, as the field grew more frustrated and the spectators cheered from the stands. With a heave over the fence and into Vermont, Brander brought up his first 50 for the club.

The Pirates continued to scramble at every opportunity, but a spate of wickets in the final overs’ slog stifled the dream. Myron holed out to square leg. Brian Llewellyn-ap-Dafydd, still haunted by the deer in his headlights, was unlucky to be yorked first up. Erfan Chowdhury would have been stumped sooner, but at the split second the ball hit the stumps, he was bending down to pick up his glasses – saved by a finger.

Brander was last man out for a dazzling 66, including 9 fours and 2 sixes, as he drove high and selflessly to long on.

It was an astonishing onslaught by a Pirates team far from the comforts of their Candy Fields. With the battle for the batting averages on, Cap’n Daz and Eddie Palmer will be ruing a missed opportunity.

Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Dartmouth College
Saturday 15 August 2009
Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
Weather conditions: Pipin’ hawt – and even hawter second inningz
Result: Dartmouth College won by 28 runs

Dartmouth College Innings

Apurva b Roche 13
Amitavo (c) ct Myron b Brander 30
Warren retired 61
Chris st Horne b Bell 39
Prince ct (sub) b Horne 4
Govind (wk) ct (sub) b Brander 91
Vinay c&b Brander 7
Raj not out 21
Yash st Horne b Bell 3
Samer st Horne b Pal 2
Praveen st Horne b Pal 2

Extras 37
Total 310 for 10 in 35 overs

Bowling

Phil Roche 7 overs, 1 wicket, 48 runs
Greg Brander 7 overs, 3 wickets, 50 runs
Hugue St-Jean 4 overs, 0 wickets, 60 runs
Angus Bell 7 overs, 2 wickets, 45 runs
Andrew Myron 1 over, 0 wickets, 19 runs
Richard Horne 4 overs, 1 wicket, 37 runs
Brian Llewellyn-ap-Dafydd 1 over, 0 wickets, 15 runs
Erfan Chowdhury 2 overs, 0 wickets, 21 runs
Pal Nag 2 overs, 2 wickets, 8 runs

Pirates of the St Lawrence Innings

Richard Horne (wk) ct Govind b Prince 61
Hugue St-Jean c&b Apurva 0
Angus Bell (c) ct Yash b Praveen 87
Phil Roche ct Apurva b Warren 11
Greg Brander (wk) ct Raj b Apurva 66
Andrew Myron ct Vinay b Warren 8
Brian Llewellyn-ap-Dafydd b Praveen 0
Erfan Chowdhury ct Govind b Prince 3
Pal Nag not out 8

Extras 38
Total 282 for 8 in 35 overs

Bowling

Apurva 7 overs, 1 wicket, 44 runs
Vinay 7 overs, 0 wickets, 51 runs
Prince 7 overs, 2 wickets, 47 runs
Raj 4 overs, 0 wickets, 44 runs
Warren 5 overs, 2 wickets, 37 runs
Samer 2 overs, 0 wickets, 22 runs
Praveen 3 overs, 2 wickets, 27 runs