Jagex took to the field against one of the auld adversary - Sharks - a team we have never managed to defeat. They never seem to be short a player, and are as competitive as you like, taking teams like us to the sword on a weekly basis. No wonder they've chosen a highly specialised apex predator as their mascot.
It was a pleasant evening at the improved ground of Girton, now sporting a rather spiffing new pavilion - where once there was a mouldy park bench. It's amazing what Cambridge colleges can achieve. We lost two players before the start of play, both around 5pm, so had to scrabble around to put two players in place in the last hour. By some miracle, I found two available souls, but it never helps having last minute shuffles, and no shows.
We lost the toss and started in the field. Parrish opened at one end and Lamble at the other, and things were initially quite tight. Missing a wicket keeper, Fardell had to fill in behind the stumps, using his hands, or ample frame, to stop balls in less than orthodox fashion.
The opening batsmen dug in for the first few overs, with one (Rob) scoring, and the other (Michael) choosing to bide his time - always sensible in 20/20.
Gibbins came in at the change, and bowled an exciting little spell full of dots. You could see one batsman in particular (Michael) was getting quite upset at missing slow paced ball after slow paced ball.
Edwards also came in, and bowled a, well, eventful first opening over. A couple of dots were followed by a no ball that hit the batsman in a (ahem) delicate area. He took some time to compose himself, but his response was quite something, hitting two consecutive sixes to allow himself to leave the field and get some ice on the offending injury. Sadly no-one offered to provide a pain relieving massage as well.
Sharks continued to score, but Jagex were fielding well, and several players distinguished themselves in the field. Lee put in a splendiferous springing sliding stop on the boundary to save a certain four, and was lively throughout. Hugh dropped a tough chance at mid-on, which would have gone through him had he not bravely put his hands to leather.
Gibbins continued in the same vein, and was joined by Brett. Brett saw his first wicket when a batsman tried to hook it round the corner, but instead gently chipped it up to a startled looking Richard Colledge to catch easily. The next batsman was bowled by a ripsnorter from Gibbins, which swung and removed the top of off. He's acquired a few new nicknames this season - Gibbins the Gibbon, Old Fart, and my personal favourite (given his body is crumbling) the 6 Million Dollar Man.
Shark's batsman Michael dug in throughout, demonstrating some wonderful forward defensive strokes, and engaging in liberal use of the exaggerated leave to preserve his wicket. He eventually retired on 25 not out, facing between 42 and 45 balls, depending on which scorebook you believe. In some ways, he was our 12th man tonight.
Edwards came back to bowl one of their batsman with a great ball to remove leg stump. He also acquired a new nickname courtesy of Richard Colledge - Jazzy.
Fardell let a fast ball go straight through his legs behind the wicket. Whoopsie. Other fielders did well, with Jeroen, Juzzy and Hugh all stopping decent balls that were racing away to the boundary.
Sharks finished on 136-3. We felt pretty pleased with this, as the wicket felt like it had 150 in it.
Fardell and Colledge opened. I'll be honest, wicket keeping is tiring and I was knackered. The Sharks opener was young, ran a lot before he delivered the ball, and was quick as well. I prefer pie bowlers if I'm honest. I managed to get dropped twice on my way to edging behind to the keeper for 7. Spectacular form for an opener.
Colledge, clearly not impressed by my shambolic display, hit some wonderful shots all round the ground, including the on-drive, and the cover-drive over the in-field. He even did some footwork, on his way to a top little 28*. Jones joined him for a bit, but the light had faded and the clouds had come in, making batting more difficult, so he scrapped and scraped around to eventually get 7 before being bowled.
Jeroen returned to the team, a welcome sight, and contributed a useful, if rusty, little 12, before also being bowled. Colledge retiring saw Brett and French play together for a spell, with contrasting styles. French playing orthodox and dealing with some tough bowling, whilst turning over the strike and letting Brett unleash the dragon, sisqo style, with some smashed 4's.
French fell, bowled, allowing Lee to pop in. Jagex were still in it, but a touch behind the rate. Lee, not one to hang about, targeted the best Sharks bowler, Brown - and hit him for consecutive fours straight back over his head. The scorebook says he got 10, but he definitely scored more.
With the game lost, Brett was briefly joined by Parrish for the last two balls. Parrish had two consecutive golden ducks to his name so far this season, our equivalent of a king pair, and was keen to avoid a third - not least as Wisden's anthology of cricket terms doesn't include a phrase to describe 3 in a row. He broke his jinx in fine form, hitting a massive single, and finishing with a massive 6 last ball. We finished on 119-5, so made a decent fist of the chase. Getting bogged down in the middle overs didn't help the chase though.
Sharks, as is tradition, kindly provided us with food and beers afterwards, and we reminisced about all of the fixtures that we've lost to them in the past.
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