Lord Procter Nicks Victory on Nelson’s pitch

Mitcham 1st XI .v. Effingham 1st XI

Sat.13th May 2017 – Fuller’s Brewery Surrey County League – 1st Division

With their new opponents in Division One, Effingham’s 1st XI travelled to the first of new venues against Mitcham CC. A unique and famous ground where players have to leave the comfort of the pavilion and cross a main road to get to the wicket, carefully negotiating busy traffic on a bus route! Cricket has been played on ‘The Green’ since 1685, having once been watched by Lord Nelson.

Effingham won the toss and decided to field first due to the damp wicket from early morning rain. Opening bowler Matt Dixon claimed Effingham’s first Mitcham wicket with only one run on the board. A steady partnership took the score to 43 when Nick Procter claimed the first of his five wicket haul. The score immediately became 43-3 with Procter’s second wicket, which quickly sent both batsmen who had shared the stand of 42 back to the pavilion. A series of short partnerships slowly built the innings and the scoreboard struggled to register three figures, Mitcham finishing with 101 all out. Apart from Nick Procter’s very economical 5-18 in 9 overs, the visitor’s other two successful bowlers were Dixon with 3-22 and Josh White, who picked up 2-21, both having bowled 8 overs.

Effingham made a steady start with an opening stand of 31, but Nick Procter was then dismissed for a fairly swift 24 off 27 balls. The encouragement of reaching almost a third of their target before losing the first wicket, was soon checked at 34-2, when Ed Cooper departed for 9. Chris Adlam, on his debut, was next to go at 47-3 and the target of 102 seemed a little further way than it had done earlier. This brought Farid Butt to the wicket and with 6 to his name, he suddenly developed an acute bout of cramp and had to retire hurt, having been carried off after a long delay. This unscheduled pause in play seemed to disturb the concentration and the next two wickets fell at 62 and 64, with both Chris Fewson and Mark Collin back in the pavilion. With five wickets down and 38 still needed for victory, the visitor’s earlier confidence was not quite so evident. Jake White compiled a very timely 14, before becoming the first of only two LBW’s, despite frequent appeals during both teams’ innings; at 78-6, the result was finely balanced and a close finish was anticipated. This became more apparent when Charlie Forbes was out for 9 at 88-7, although a towering six a few balls earlier had lifted the mood. Farid Butt returned to continue his innings and with a runner not permitted, short singles were not an option. Ten runs later, with Butt and captain Adam Burlison gone, 98-9 guaranteed a very tense finish.

With the last pair at the crease, Matt Dixon and Josh White saw Effingham home with a one wicket victory, thanks to a couple of welcome singles and an inside edge for four to maintain their 100% record.

Ray Pritchard