Brockwell 49ers vs Calypso CC - Match Report

When Alexander of Macedonia was 33, he cried salt tears because there were no more worlds to conquer. If only he had lived another 2,332 years to witness the warrior spirit that bonded the Brockwell 49ers in the heat of battle on May 10th 2009.

A lost toss made no difference to the order of play, as Calypso CC opted to bat and made steady progress during the opening session. Hamilton opened the bowling from the Toilet end but struggled to keep things regular, bowling without any solid form and missing the target completely on several occasions.

Down at the Lido end, Husbands kept the 49ers out of deep water, bowling a consistent line and length and leaving Calypso's openers very little to play with. This, combined with an excellent display in the field from an army of debutants, meant that boundaries were scarce and the 49ers very much afloat.

Hamilton relieved himself at the toilet end, opting to unleash Ian Tonkinson instead. Straightaway Ian caused a stink in Calypso's top order, bowling with pace, accuracy and, at times, real venom. He was desperately unlucky to not take a wicket, squirting past the edge several times and pushing hard for the breakthrough.

Back at the Lido end, things were still going swimmingly for Husbands, though before long he too had to be replaced - making way for Adam Taylor, who immediately dived into the attack with a fluid combination of line and length.

Not long after the drinks break, Calypso's opening batsman retired tired - a credit to the constant pressure he faced on the field and the 49ers' thirst for a wicket.

The first real breakthrough came just a few minutes later, when James Smart took a neat catch at short mid wicket from the bowling of Hamilton, who was looking much tidier in his second spell.

Suddenly things started going the 49ers way, with wickets falling quickly and cheaply. Tom Partridge glided in from mid on to take a fine catch from a flighted delivery by Ruari Dowdney, who was bowling consistently straight medium pace, and making a real splash at the Lido end.

And then came the best spell of the day. An unforgettable piece of bowling from Micky Fish, who battered Calypso's middle order - netting three wickets in as many overs.

Calypso had lost their rhyhthm, and simply couldn't find the runs as the wickets continued to tumble. Heath had Hampstead in raptures with his first delivery - a viscious full toss that bamboozled Calypso's number six and took out his middle stump.

A wicket too for Evans, who got his fill from an excellent catch at long on. And finally, a little magic from stumpy, who secured a run out from short mid wicket.

After a 34 over session, in which the 49ers showed real determination in the field, Calypso CC were unsteady on 155 for 8. And following a half hour lunch break, both teams were hungry to resume.

1st up for the 49ers were Le Tonk and Stumpy - and while Calypso's steel drums were decidedly quiet, our openers showed their mettle and survived the first few overs easily.

Soon enough though, Ian was unlucky to be given out LBW by Micky Fish. Smelling something rotten, Le Tonk gestured to his bat, indicating the ball had in fact caught an edge before thudding the pad. But the Fish was having none of it - Ian was gone.

And so began the Adam Taylor show – an innings that gave us almost everything but singles. There were fours, sixes, lost balls and dropped catches. In what seemed like hardly any time at all, Adam had reached 50 and gracefully made way for the captain.

All the while, Stumpy had been nibbling away at Calypso’s total in the bravest - and ironically the second biggest innings of the day. He was eventually bowled on the off stump for 26 and was greeted at the boundary by rapturous applause.

Hamilton made a quick 22, Husbands a resilient 10 and Heath a stylish 16 before Dowdney came in to surely finish things off. But no.

Sadly the 49ers tail quacked rather than wagged, as four consecutive wickets fell for no runs. Our retired messiah came back onto the pitch with six runs needed for victory. The atmosphere was electric and the pressure unquantifiable for the two 49ers on the square.

A couple of singles and the odd bye later, two runs separated two teams. The support from the boundary was phenomenal, but in the end, the pressure proved too much for both players, whose styles became unnaturally defensive.

Eventually it was Ruari who fell. In a scene reminiscent of Maximus Aurelius’ final confrontation with Commodus, he edged to slip, the battle was lost and we all went to the pub – a fitting end to a truly awesome day.