A depleted Buccaneers team ventured to Cambridge on Sunday in the club’s inaugural fixture against the Philanderers CC.
Following some frantic emailing and a wonderfully receptive host, we scrambled together a team of ten, with four Philanderers providing their able support to our cause.
At a sunny Fitzwilliam College a negotiated toss ensured that the Buccs would take the field first, worrying somewhat that the Philanderers has just last week made short work of Cambridge University Second XI. With an attack spearheaded by a pair that the opposition captain claimed were his two finest seamers, we were able to keep the scoring in check and started to exert some pressure in the field.
It was the introduction of Richard Hobbs’ crafty off spin that started to make inroads into the Philanderers batting line up. A brilliant hattrick that included a couple of batsmen that our guest players ensured us were key scalps in keeping the final total to something respectable had the Buccs dreaming of a backs against the walls victory. On field skipper Angus Berry claimed two scalps with his left arm spin (described as ‘dobs’ in the score book!) setting us up nicely for the final push with 10 to go. Alas it appears that our hosts generosity extended to their batting line up, pushing some of their more talented players down the order. Their skipper marshalled the lower order expertly, combing lusty blows with excellent running, propelling the Cantabrigians to a more than handy 224.
Following a spot of tea the Buccs padded up knowing that a solid display might just get us close. It appears that the Philanderers captain wasn’t lying when he said he gave us their town best bowlers as the replacement opening pair struggled early for consistency early on. A number of wides, some powerful hitting, and a decent opening stand between Berry and Philanderer #3 gave the boys on the boundary more and more hope.
After 10 overs the Buccs were sitting quite well at 60 odd for 1. What followed was an alarming collapse as Bucc after Bucc and Philanderer after Philanderer succumbed to a series of poor shots, good catching, a couple of fiesty spells. We lost our 9th and final wicket for 112, losing by the same score.
Our thanks goes to our very gracious hosts, not only in providing a cracking setting on a lovely Sunday afternoon but for being so sporting given our selection issues. Thanks also goes to Richard Hobbs for scrambled together the six we did bring and to our guest players who all played their part if a game played very much in the right spirit.
Some beers under the setting sun were enjoyed by boths teams, the Philanderers looking forward to their season following their second victory in as many games and the Buccs looking to bounce back against the Armadillos at Sheffield Park next week.
Scorecard: Philanderers win by 112 runs
Innings of the Philanderers
224 – 6 (40 overs)
Buccaneers Bowling
Bowler Overs Maidens Runs Wickets
J.Rutt (Philanderer) 7 1 21 0
R. Davidson (Phil.) 8 1 52 1
T. Clarke 5 0 41 0
R. Hobbs 8 1 32 3
A. Berry 8 0 31 2
R. Philips 4 0 41 0
Innings of the Buccaneers
112 all out (30 overs)
P. Leary (Phil.) Bowled 16
A. Berry Caught 21
O. Metcalfe Caught 17
B. Dean (Phil.) Caught 10
T. Clarke Caught 2
R. Davidson Caught 4
J. Rutt Bowled 8
R. Philips Caught 0
R. Hobbs Not Out 6
W. Kentish Bowled 4