What a start - Diamond

 

I woke this morning (Sunday) full of hope for a good day’s cricket and a win. With everything I have suffered over the last five days at Lord’s, I did wonder where this optimistic idea had sprung from. Maybe it was the fact that it was our last home game of the season and the lads would not want to finish at home on a loss, maybe it was just the optimist in me who believes Middlesex will always win when they take the field.

 

Knowing the A40 was under reconstruction I decided to go in on the A4 and come up the M41 from Shepherd’s Bush to the A40 and then into town. Good move except for the fact that the A40 Westbound had been shut overnight by an accident and was still shut at 11am when I got to the junction at the top of the Northern roundabout. People were being sensible for a change and allowing traffic to turn right by not blocking the whole junction, just most of it. The rest of the journey in was easy, parked up by 11.30.

 

What had given me the idea it was a 12.00 start I don’t know, still 45 minutes to read the scorecard and listen to the One Day International on the radio as the Middlesex Room didn’t have it on at the time. Pakistan 61-3 in the 19^th… they were none down the last time I had checked on my car radio, brilliant.

 

In bright sunshine Sussex won the toss and put us in to bat. The announcer then lets us know that Wright replaces Compton, losing the toss is careless but one of your best batsmen in recent weeks even more so. Pakistan 78-5 in the 28^th over, sometimes good things do happen. The fact that Sussex are minus Adams is also a bonus though personally I love watching the fellow bat. He is replaced by S.Heather and J.Lewry replaces L.J.Wright. Pak 94-6 in the 21^st over and struggling. This becomes 102-7 as Sussex take the field.

 

Janet’s Take on the Pre-match stuff

 

Here I am at sunny Lord’s in my ‘reporting t-shirt’ sitting in the Allen stand @11.15am. Wicket is Mound stand side. I take a nostalgic look and drink in the atmosphere as I realise that it is going to be a long hard 8 months or so until I’m back at ‘the Home of Cricket’

 

S.A.D - I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder which seems to get worse each year, it usually sets in late August, however given the season we’ve had I feel I’ve had it all season.

 

The Team - I bought a scorecard and the team is as follows: Smith, Weekes, Shah, Styris, Morgan, Compton, Hutton, Scott, Louw, Silverwood, and Peploe. However earlier Wright was seen marking his run-up with ‘white wash’ (or what ever they use to mark run ups with) so I knew that he was playing. It then came over the tannoy that Wright was replacing Compton.

 

The toss - This took place at 12.15pm and it looks like we lost again as Ben H was saying sorry to the dressing room. Indeed Sussex did win the toss and elected to field.

 

It is satisfying to see Lord’s so full and I am surrounded by an ‘Invasion from the South Coast’. They appear friendly and chatty.

 

Last chance Boys – Diamond.

 

Smith and Weekes open and second ball Lewry has “Legend” trapped LBW, a sad way to go in possibly his last innings at Lord’s. Solid applause from the crowd which was sizable and the Sussex team as he left the field.

 

I noticed Ed Smith was playing in an un-numbered shirt which seemed strange. The second over was no better than the first with Shah’s wicket falling to Kirtley for 2, LBW again. 0-1 had become 8-2 in the space of seven balls. It then seemed an age before Scott Styris appeared, so much so that the umpires had quite a long chat to him about it and at one stage I thought they were going to time him out. The third over was a major improvement… a maiden from Lewry.  (Pak 124-8 JD gets a wicket).

 

Middlesex progress slowly taking 4 or 5 from each over (Pak 135-9 JD gets Khan). Nearing the end of the 8^th over it is obvious that all is not well with Styris and a drink and the physio are called for. With the score on 29-2 he retires hurt. Morgan replaces him only to have the physio come out to him at the end of the 11^th over , he also retires hurt, in a way we are 41-4!! Not good at all.  Ten minutes are added to the Sussex innings for all this treatment and Styris slow appearance at the start of his innings. ( Pak 154-9 at the close of their innings, would we get that many?)

 

Some very good Sussex fielding was restricting our score and Mushtaq Ahmed on in the 18^th over slowed us even further. The shots Smith was getting away were classy and mainly went for fours though at least two threes were run. At 20 overs the run rate was 3.3, an urgent need to step it up to get a defendable score was apparent. The 100 comes up in the 24^th over and Smith’s 50 off 82 balls with 7 fours in the 25^th over. The 27^th over sees the hundred partnership posted, a rare beast in one day cricket for Middlesex this year. Mushtaq is still appealing for everything, he will never change. An inspired bowling change by the Sussex skipper saw Nash come on to bowl the 27^th over, no wonder the hundred partnership came up during it the boys took 15 runs off it!

 

At 30 overs the run rate was up to 4.5 from 3.3 at 20 overs. 31^st over sees Hutton depart for 40 bowled by Mushtaq only to remain on the field as a runner for the returning Morgan. Smith is by now playing some super cricket shots to all parts of the ground, the 150 comes up in the 32nd over Smith 76, Morgan 7 .Mushtaq’s 8 overs for 1 wicket cost him 31 runs. Smith then tries to lift Arafat into the Tavern stand and is just short, a rather tired shot well taken by Heather, 161-4, becomes 163-5 when Morgan attempts the same shot with the same result off of the same bowler. 2 runs and 2 wickets off the over . Can Scott and Louw get the 37 needed to get to 200 total. In a word, NO.  Louw is cleaned up by the first ball of Arafat’s next over for 6 runs, 170-6 and Peploe goes bowled by Kirtley for 3, 175-7.177-8 Scott bowled by Arafat for 5 and the house of cards is collapsing like usual. Arafat finishes with figures of 7 overs 4 for 29, not a bad return at all. Kirtley bowls Wright with the fourth ball of the last over for 2, 185-9 and the non reappearance of Styris ends the innings.

 

 

Janet’s Take on the Middlesex Innings

 

And they’re off, Smith and Weekes come out to bat……………. funny Smith has NO number on his back. Lewry opens the bowling and…………..and the worst possible start when he traps Weekes lbw second ball. Doesn’t he know we want Weekes to go out on a high! Despite getting 0 Weekes got a standing ovation.

 

Well Shah’s in now and I’m hoping for another century from him, as he gets off the mark with a 2. Kirtley is bowling from the Nursery end and now Shah lbw and we are 8/2. Is this going to be a ‘Danse Macabre’ or a Quickstep to safety? Shah did NOT get a standing ovation. Now where’s the next batsman, he’s rather slow. I think he could have been timed out. Phew Styris has arrived at the crease. Well that was a lucky 4 through the slips.

 

What a circus - now there’s more delay as Styris calls for the Physio, and then eventually goes off hurt. Morgan then comes to the crease, scores 5 runs twists awkwardly and he too calls for the Physio and eventually limps off. Can it get any worse? Will Morgan and Styris be fit to field? Have we got enough reserves at Lord’s?

 

Benny boy to the rescue - Smith and Hutton take the score to 108/2 when Chris Nash is brought on to bowl. Ben has hit him for 6, and 4, and another 4 making 16 from (what turned out to be) Nash’s only over. Hutton was finally bowled by Mushtaq for 40 just when he was going well 136/3 (5 short of 100 stand between Hutton and Smith as the score was 41/2 when Morgan retired hurt). Hutton stayed on the pitch as runner for the injured Morgan. Smith looked like he was going to get a ‘ton’ when he holed out and was caught by Heather off the bowling of Arafat for 87 (161/4) in the 35^th over. Ben Scott is next at the crease. Morgan added a further 3 to his score before his shot was a carbon copy of Smith’s and he was caught Heather b Arafat for 8 (163/5). To be fair Morgan’s movement was impeded. Louw is in and out for 6 being bowled by Arafat (170/6). 

 

Note to management: if you haven’t signed Arafat yet please hurry and sign him quick.

 

Peploe was yorked by Kirtley in the 38^th over (175/7) and Scott was bowled by Arafat for 6 in the 39^th over (177/8).  (Arafat 7 overs for 29 runs and 4 wickets).  Wright was out lbw to Kirtley leaving Middx on 185/9 as Styris NOT batting.

 

Bowl well and we can win - Diamond.

 

Whelan on as sub for Morgan, Compton on as sub for Styris so that’s 8 overs of bowling Hutton has to find from somewhere straight away. Not a good start though Silverwood’s maiden was. Razzaq is taking English wickets in the ODI for fun it seems 106-6 in reply to a small total, could we do the same to Sussex? Eng 118-7, that man Razzaq again. In the fifth over Louw gets Prior’s wicket as he takes a swipe at a straight one 24-1. Silverwood gets Montgomery next over caught by Shah for 12 the same score Prior departed with.26-2. Shah then misses a good chance of Goodwin’s wicket as he edges Louw to slip, how costly would that prove to be? Hutton puts himself on to bowl and has Nash hole out to a good catch by Peploe for 14, inspired bowling change or desperation at having no fit bowlers? 52-3 at around the same time England win the ODI to square the series, not a good omen as they chased a low score and Sussex are doing rather well too. Wright gets close to catching Goodwin off Weekes’s bowling and injures himself in the process. Enter the 14^th man David Nash as his sub. We now have more subs in play than the Russian Navy!! The spinners are doing their best to keep the score down by containing Goodwin and some good fielding helps the cause.

 

We wait till the 24^th over for Peploe to bowl Heather for 11, 94-4. Hopkinson and Goodwin put on 48 before Hopkinson becomes Hutton’s second victim of the day, caught by Shah for 20, 142-5. The game is almost over as a contest when in the 40^th over Louw bowls Goodwin for a very fine 92, 183-6. The contest ends when Arafat strikes his first ball down the ground for four. Middlesex come up short again. So many subs and at the end we could not raise our game to periscope depth to give ourselves a chance, Silverwood’s last two overs going for 21 runs were particularly disappointing.

 

 

Janet’s take on the Sussex Innings

 

Silverwood bowled a maiden from the pavilion end and as their innings started cautiously. We had our first breakthrough from the last ball of the 6^th over when Louw bowled Prior (24/1). Not wishing to miss out Silverwood took Montgomerie’s wicket from the last ball of the 7^th over, ably assisted by a sharp slip catch by Shah. I missed photographing this as I was distracted by a friend and his 8 year old son.

 

Walking wounded - after bowling 4 reasonable overs for 19 runs Wright limped off. He told me after the match that he had damaged his calf batting. So a brave effort by him given that Styris and Morgan were off the field also. Whelan was on for Morgan and Compton on for Styris (I think), so who should come on to field but David Nash in Morgan’s kit.  By the 25^th over we had them 94/4 and well behind the D/L rate. Silverwood’s penultimate over went for 15 leaving Sussex 3 overs to score 19 runs which they did with 3 balls to spare.

 

 

Exit “Legend” - Diamond.

 

After the victors had left the field Paul Weekes was allowed to lead the side off and to take a final home round of applause which was well supported around the ground. As stated elsewhere I really hope this is not the last time I see Paul at Lord’s in Middlesex colours, it would be a total waste of talent to let him go. If you don’t play for us again here, Paul, so long and thanks for many great memories of a super player and a true sportsman, good luck in all you do and best wishes from the real supporters of this great club.

 

As for the result, Sussex deserved the win by sheer application and graft.

 

Ed Smith once again proved he has the skills to play this game really well getting 87 in an innings disrupted by all sorts of problems, however my man of the match award goes to our overworked physio, any chance we can have a fit team for next Sunday at Northampton?

 

Janet’s Concluding thoughts

 

Weeks led the team off to a standing ovation again. My eyes prickled I must admit. (I spoke to Paul after the match and he WILL not be back even if the club get desperate).

 

A brave effort and we ran Sussex a lot closer than some of the reports give us credit for. I felt it was a good match and I enjoyed watching it (much like the Glamorgan match at Southgate).

 

Message from Ed Smith - he will be back next year and will be doing his best to get Middlesex back to the upper echelons of cricket.