SCORECARD

It was a day of sporting occasions: the Euro 2012 final, the second ODI between England and the Aussies, and this battle of the titans at the Graveyard. Your correspondent recognises that the outcomes of the first two of these clashes will be widely reported elsewhere, and therefore will attempt to redress the balance a little by focusing on the third.

In the build-up to the game, the early indications were that wheels were coming off: first, Tucker’s car (being treated to a nice new set of Pirellis) was delayed on the ramp at KwikFit in Kings Heath; then Chiz saw one of the castors of his kit bag shear off and roll under a bench as he bounced it up the steps of the pavilion.

Skippers-du-jour Ian Nutt and Ric Bowl strolled to the middle, got down on their hands and knees to inspect the pitch (the covers were still on), and then Ric called ‘heads’ and elected to bat. The Village batting line-up certainly looked formidable, with one or two familiar faces in there who we knew were capable of posting big totals.

Mike Ralph and Ash Hussain opened the FitBowling tidily. Ralphie, at the City End, battled through stiffness to have The Don smartly caught behind for 1 in his second over, before hobbling off after his third for a dose of codeine and a spell of recovery in the gully. He was replaced by a couple of overs of Brentnall twizzlers (still experimental but nontheless promising) and then by Raj. Raj recovered well from a nervy first over and finished with 1-30 off 6 overs, including the valuable wicket of the Village number three Smith for 23. Smith was caught well at midwicket by Ash, who all this time had been frugally plying his trade at the Golf Course end, completing his spell of 1-16 from 6 with the wicket of opener Omar. Rich Brown chipped in with four tidy overs, and at the drinks break the innings was delicately poised at 83 for 3 off 20 overs, and Village number four Amar threatening to break loose.

After drinks, Rich added three more overs for the wicket of Village number five Ramiz, while Ralphie returned refreshed to the City End. He bowled with pace and vigour to a 7-2 field, taking the wicket of number six ‘Dave’: the Village were 101-5 now with 13 overs to go. The FitField responded excellently to the situation: the Village batsmen found themselves unable to farm the strike (or even to remember the location of middle stump), and runs dried up.

Tahir replaced Ralph at the City End and immediately claimed Amar’s scalp with a sharp return catch. Amar’s 65 was the top score for the Village, and when he’d gone, the rest followed meekly: Tahir and Nutter cleaned up the last five wickets for 11 runs in five overs.

Your correspondent has already praised the fielding, and will do so again now. The Village were bowled out for 138 in 37 overs with no fewer than eight catches (including Chiz’s at slip) and a stumping. Fine work.

Tea was up to its usual high standard, with Tom’s cakes and biscuits (sponsored by Aldi) giving everyone the sugar rush they needed. Thanks as always to the fine folk at Ashfield for laying it out and brewing several welcome pots of builders’ tea.

And so to the chase. With Tom being the only regular opener in the side, it was Chiz who stepped up to the mark, add he did so in some style. After seeing off the openers (for 19 runs in eight overs), the runs started to flow. It was Chiz who freed his arms, taking 13 from the ninth over including a six over midwicket. Tom’s supporting role was valuable, for although he scored only 11 from 43, he played the straight ball solidly and it was this that allowed Chiz the freedom to express himself. When Tom perished in the 17th over, he and Chiz had accumulated 65 and set a sound platform to win the game.

Chiz’s half-century came in the 20th over from 63 balls, and Tahir now joined him to perform with the bat – contributing 37 runs from 32 balls including seven fours, squirting boundaries cheekily behind and then driving them gloriously on the on-side as he settled in. Victory could have come on the last ball of the 26th over, as Tahir hit straight and then – as though he were teasing – refused the single as the ball was fielded on the boundary. Instead the game was won three balls later as Chiz pushed to mid-off.