AGSFP’s 3rd XI made the journey to the scenic Burnett Park in Banchory to play the last Grade 3 match of this sunny summer in drizzle which turned to heavy rain just on 1pm.
The rain stopped half an hour or so later and the sun came out, but not enough to dazzle the Banchory captain and another toss was lost by Johnston, FP’s fielding. The remainder of the FP’s team were already taking the pitch as the toss was being taken – Sandeep, Siddarth, Lord, debutant Gubbala, Guru, Diago, Satya, Shriram, wicketkeeper Kingshuk, and very last minute addition Uday.
Shriram opened the bowling and took a couple of overs to get over the shock, but settled down and beat the bat on several occasions. Siddarth made a welcome return to the 3rd XI and bowled an accurate opening spell which saw him take the wicket of opener Campbell, LBW for 2, Banchory 27 – 1, 7.2 overs.
Opener Morris had been hitting the full tosses thoughtfully provided by FP’s bowlers to the boundary, but in new bowler Guru’s extended first over, Morris was bowled for 21 (2 x 6, 1 x 4), Banchory 40 – 2 off 12 overs.
Banchory raised their 50 in the 15th over, but, Rowett was out for 1 next over by Guru, well caught by wicketkeeper Kingshuk , score 51 – 3. Siddarth was given a breather having bowled an excellent spell of 5 – 3 – 3 – 1.
Batsmen Ambrose and Douglas were batting well for Banchory and added 58 runs for the 4th wicket in 12 overs before Douglas presented Gubbala with his first wicket for FP’s, edging behind where Kingshuk again made no mistake, Douglas out for 31 (1 x 6, 4 x 4), Banchory 119 – 4 off 28.3 overs. Next over from Gubbala, Ambrose was out LBW for an excellent 51 (1 x 6, 4 x 4), 124 – 5 in 30.3 overs.
The wickets now came at regular intervals, Sandeep having Banchory skipper Thornton very well caught at slip by Gubbala for 9 (1 x 4), then bowling Ramesh for 7, Banchory 154 – 7 off 39.1 overs. Richards was gaining confidence with every full toss he hit to the boundary, but Sandeep struck again when Kingshuk took a sharp stumping to dismiss Manu for 3, score 154 – 8 off 40.3 overs.
FP’s were hoping to wrap up the innings quickly, but Richards and Morris continued to hit out and added a swift 34 runs to frustrate FP’s as Diago, whose first 3 overs cost 3 runs and Siddarth suffered over the last few overs. P. Morris scored a quick 23 (1 x 5, 2 x 4) but was run out by a great direct hit by Diago. Last batsman Groves joined in the fun by swatting Diago for a boundary, Banchory eventually ending their innings on 197 – 9 off 46 overs.
The rain had not slowed the outfield by much, but the request to the FP’s team to keep the ball off the ground as much as possible was taken to literally by the bowlers who bowled far too many full tosses.
Bowling for FP’s, Sandeep 4 – 0 – 23 – 3, Gubbala 6 – 0 – 23 – 2, Guru 7 – 0- – 39 – 2, Siddarth 12 – 4 – 32 – 1, Diago 6 – 1 – 26 – 0, Shriram 6 – 0 – 29 – 0, Lord 5 – 0 – 24 – 0. Wicketkeeper Kingshuk performed well taking 2 catches and 1 stumping, the ground fielding by FP’s has been better, but it’s been a long, hot season.
FP’s had been on a losing streak since losing by 1 wicket to champions Knightriders way back in June, a not so magnificent seven games lost by varying margins, and to beat Banchory on their own ground would take a great performance.
Openers Siddarth and Lord looked in good form as they added 22 in 5 overs, but Lord, having just stroked a lovely straight drive to the boundary, was caught and bowled by Manu for 11 (2 x 4). Siddarth had just turned a legside delivery to the boundary, but next ball same delivery, different outcome as he was bowled for 14 (3 x 4), FP’s 37 – 2 off 7.5 overs.
Debutant Gubbala had been dropped by the Banchory keeper, but was then out caught for 7 (1 x 4) off the bowling of Richards, FP’s 53 – 3.
Guru was as usual punishing any inaccurate bowling which was fortunate for FP’s as wickets fell at the other end. Johnston was out caught behind one handed by the keeper for 0 off Douglas, then Diago was out plumb LBW to Richards for 1 closely followed by Satya bowled by Richards for 0, FP’s struggling on 81 – 6 off 17 overs.
But Guru found Shriram to be in his best form for a while and as long as Guru was at the crease, victory was just possible. However, the very next ball after having reached another excellent half century, Guru played a rather injudicious shot and was bowled by Rowlett for 51 (1 x 6, 9 x 4), FP’s 105 – 7 off 22.3 overs. This left the tail with little hope of scoring the required runs, and judging by previous performances this season, even less hope of surviving the 22 overs remaining.
But it took a further 8 overs to prise Shriram from the middle as he discovered the joy of playing a defensive innings. Eventually he was tempted and caught off Rowlett, scoring 15 (3 x 4), but had used up valuable overs as Banchory moved in for the kill.
Inexperienced schoolboy Kingshuk and in form Sandeep then batted with great self-control and concentration as Banchory tried desperately to dislodge the determined duo. FP’s had long given up any pretense of winning, but Banchory were unhappy with the umpire who gave several wides, thus giving the bowler a chance to make amends for a bad ball against batsmen who were doing well to survive.
Kingshuk played his best innings for FP’s battling under great pressure before he was out caught off the accurate Manu for 14, including a couple of good shots to the boundary off his legs. FP’s 153 – 9 off 41 overs.
New batsman Uday went in to bat with the sun disappearing behind the trees, shadows all across the wicket and all 10 Banchory fielders within 15 feet of the bat as the game moved to a gripping conclusion. Uday’s first ball was a heart stopping swish but he was then told FP’s were not looking for the win (!) and then very calmly batted out the last few overs to deny Banchory the victory which only a couple of weeks ago would have looked a formality.
Vice-captain Sandeep had carried over his great defensive batting from the previous match against Portcullis and got behind every straight ball to thwart the best the Banchory bowlers could bowl. Sandeep batted for 14 overs and scored 2 runs to help give FP’s their best result since that Knightriders match way back in June.
It was good to see the batsmen playing the correct type of innings given the match situation. This was a very exciting match to end the season, showing that a draw can be more exciting and satisfying than playing a cup tie type result every week.
FP’s ended 156 – 9 off 44 overs. Wicket takers for Banchory, Manu 3 – 37, Richards 3 – 39, Rowlett 2 – 27, Douglas 1 – 25.
Man of the Match – Sandeep, took 3 – 23, fielded well and batted with great determination for the team
Champagne Moment – Kingshuk’s first stumping for FP’s illustrating the progress he has made this season
