Chaos here,

Day 2 of the “put Swaine to bed” series. We came into todays game on the back of handing out a cricket lesson, but we were yet to dismiss Swaine from class. As is customary in the Sykes cup, we were away yet again but as teams find out, it matters not. My team talk in the cupboard they call a dressing room was fairly straight forward, “keep this lot petrified of us”. The first task of the day was to win the toss and Chaos delivered. As the coin landed I noticed the opposition captains facial expression changed from desperation to pure terror. I informed him that we would be batting first and to go tell his lads to get their whites on like a good boy.

The message for the batting unit was to keep them out there in the heat for the full 50 overs and pile on the agony. We know if things aren’t going their way they fall out in lumps, a decent score and they struggle to find the inner-fight to compete. Our ever present opening pair left the cupboard and strode out onto the pitch to set the tone. Shoki, torpedo in-hand, must have thought we were playing a t20 today and went about blasting their opening bowlers. Immediately we were on the front foot and the fielding side were eyeing up another battering. M1 was watchful and played an experienced role allowing Shoki to bat with freedom as he sured up the other end. The 50 partnership came up in just 8.4 overs, Shoki on 43* (25) and M1 1* (28). Soon after, the destructive club favourite brought up his half-century in 33 balls which included eight 4s and three 6s. The pair were in no mood to let the good start go and reached their 100 partnership in 110 balls. Swaine heads had already dropped as M1 and Shoki gave them nothing to feed off and punished anything slightly off line or length. It is well known that when these two fire we become a very hard team to beat due to the depth of the batting order.

Eventually the heat and running between the wickets got to Shoki who was visibly struggling with tiredness/injury to his bionic legs. On 98 he went for one maximum too many and was caught at long off, leaving the field to rapturous applause from the travelling fans and neutrals. With spin currently bowling from the far end, Chaos decided to promote the Mumbai Master to number 3 so he could put it to the sword as he does so stylishly. Just 10 runs into their partnership, M1 wandered a little too far over and lost his leg stump playing his signature slog sweep, departing for an experienced 38. At 151-2 in 25 overs we were still finely placed to kick on and teach the 300 run milestone which is psychologically massive in league cricket. JR and Mogs went about their 85 run partnership, proving the left/right hand combination works well. Mogs is a man who operates at a different level against spin, tucking into their part-time off spinner as though he was bowling him throw downs on a Tuesday night.

When Swaine see our name on the fixture list they must get cold shivers thinking of JR at the crease, the Shovel continuing his fine record against them. Eventually he was caught behind for a well-made 39 (53) which is a serious injection to his strike rate from last week. Strangely, Siraj decided to time his first ball to cover who is a pro cricketer (for now) and run, which turned out to be fatal. Just 2 runs later, Mogs was caught at fine-leg attempting a pull shot from their angry Welshman, leaving us 238-5. This brought yesterdays dynamic duo, Chaos and Slay, to the crease. The teams 250 was brought up in 43.3 overs, I knew we would need to get as close to 300 as possible if we were to put them under any kind of pressure in the 2nd innings. Chaos and Slay understood the assignment, taking it to the bowlers and peppering the boundary. They reached their 50 partnership in just 37 balls, Chaos 17* (16) and Slay 26* (21). The finish was just what we needed, in the last 6.3 overs of the innings, the pair put on 75 runs and we finished on 325-5. Swaine looked tired and demoralised from their stint in the field during the hottest part of the day and chasing it to all parts in the closing stages.

At half-time the changing room was understandably confident after amassing such an imposing total. We knew however, that today was a different day and they possess class players in their batting order who can cause damage on their day. Like yesterday, our opening batters, opened the bowling in the absence of the injured flying archer Rudgey. Unlike the previous day, their opening pair saw off the early danger and managed to get to 50-0. The introduction of Nads proved to be a master stroke from Chaos, as he removed their opener caught by Chaos himself at long-on. Shoki then clean bowled the other opener with a seed, leaving their dressing room on the edge at 62-2. As to be expected, their overseas Sharma and captain Holliday batted very well and we had to be at our best to keep the run rate down and allow scoreboard pressure to take over. The pair brought up their 100 partnership and at 163-2 in 26 overs the game was very much in the balance.

Having had a quiet weekend with the bat, Siraj was not to be denied his match defining moment. He removed their captain stumped having dragged him out and beating the outside edge with a lovely piece of leg-spin bowling. In our time of greatest need, step forward the Mumbai Master. A team is judged on its ability to win the big moments, and this team is littered with men who live for the big moments. Mogs, bowling from the short boundary, removed their overseas and county pro (for now), in quick succession with 2 pieces of tremendous off-spin bowling. The game had changed on its head, going from 163-2 to 191-5 and their danger men back in the tent looking forward to their 60 mile journey home.

Swaine brought up their 200 in 36.2 overs, leaving them 126 to win in just over 13 overs. Chaos decided to bring both Walmsley brothers into the mix to finish the job, seam from the short boundary and arm balls from the other. At this point Chavez went down in the outfield clutching his hamstring which resulted in us having 10 men for a few overs before bringing on the flying archer as a sub fielder. Having valiantly carried water for the boys all weekend, he took his chance instantly at short 3rd man getting into their batsmen with some verbals. We had missed him this weekend and hopefully this was the last game we have without him.

Slowly the brothers chipped away at the batting order, despite them still in touch with the rate but always slightly behind the 8-ball. M1 coming in from the short boundary nipped one back and clean bowled Singh and shortly after had Yaqoob caught at mid off with a clever piece of bowling. The pair took 2 wickets each, and a direct-hit run out from the shark in the ring, Siraj. The last man falling to Chaos at long-on, fittingly caught by man of the weekend Slay, who made absolutely no mistake. Swaine succumbed to 277 all out, 48 runs shy and their season on the brink of ruin at the hands of your boys from the graveyard.

Another fine performance from the boys and another strong message sent out to the league that we can put these to bed comfortably twice in one weekend when most struggle to get anywhere near them. We march into the Sykes Cup semi final where go in search of our first home tie in 7 cup draws. The test for us as a team now is to carry this momentum on in the league next Saturday. As vocalised in the dressing room, I couldn’t be prouder of the team and how they applied themselves after losing 3 players midweek. Special mentions to Shoki for his carnage 98, he stamped our authority all over this game from ball one and made it an uphill task for them to keep up with us. Moggy’s innings in the middle was a pleasure to watch, and then the way Slay attacked them in the dying overs got us up to a massive score. The bowling unit, as always deserves massive credit, in batting friendly conditions they stuck to their task and fought hard working in partnerships.

Next week we travel to Barkisland where the air is thin and a few have a bit to say for themselves. I’m looking forward to seeing 3 or 4 of them after their antics last season. We’ll be looking to see them over the sacred white line and drag them into deep water. It will be interesting to see if they talk as much with a gob full of salt water.

Til next time,

It’s been Chaos