Woodlawn: match drawn. Yawn.
Isambard 259-8 dec. (38 overs) (D.Tierney 87, D.Bywater 54 not out, R.Gardiner 31). Woodlawn 200-7 (38 overs) (S.O'Brien 3-45, Bywater 2-30). Match drawn.
Upon arrival at the station, deep in Henry VIII country, standard club procedure was immediately followed: walk to ground, spot off-licence on the way, drop off kit, head back to off-licence. At the ground itself, some members of the team were a little preturbed to be getting changed in a children's nursery (which doubled as Woodlawn's clubhouse), although some professed to enjoy the experience.
Captained by Sir Richie of Gardiner, the team were delighted to hear that we would be batting first, and less delighted to hear that it was a time game. Undaunted, the majority tucked into some cold ones, as two of Isambard's more elegant batsmen took to the crease to open the innings. Tierney and Hankin looked unflustered, and started at a good pace, before Andy was cut off in his prime on 19, looking in excellent touch.
Richie Robinson came out at number three, and had spent very little time at the crease before spanking one of the opening bowlers over extra cover for a glorious six. Robinson has looked a likely batsman every time he's batted this year, but again was out earlier than the spectators would have liked. DT was ticking along nicely at the other end, taking advantage of a benign track, and scoring all around the wicket with aplomb. Pete Brooks strode out like a colossus, and battled his way to a mighty four, before being castled. Woodlawn already appeared to try and slow the scoring rate by bowling their overs very slowly - the first 30 overs took two-and-a-half hours - which didn't go without comment from the Isambard umpires.
Geoff Collins strolled to the crease looking like a man on a mission, although it transpired that his mission was to get back to the beers ASAP, as he was bowled all over the place for two. Isambard were 107-5 (or 5-107 if your ancestors were transported), and had already lost more wickets than they had become accustomed to this season. Gardiner, unusually batting down the order, opened his account with a six, and batted with none of the Boycottian grit and determination we have come to expect. The Kiwi pair added 68 in quick time before Gardiner was dismissed, but this bought no respite for the toiling Woodlawn bowlers.
Batting at a ridiculously low No.7, Yuvraj Bywater was next man in, fuelled with a reasonable amount of amber nectar. Always a dangerous combination. DT eventually perished on 87, but Yuvraj marshalled the "tail" well, scoring an average-boosting unbeaten fifty in the process. Isambard finished on 259-8 from 38 overs. Yes, that's right, 38 overs.
After some suitable nourishment, Isambard took the field with a degree of nervousness, unsure as to how the opposition would tackle what was a challenging target. Pleasingly, the two openers started in fairly brisk fashion, although it paled in comparison to Bywater's earlier assault. Windscreens O'Brien picked up three wickets in his opening spell, and although the run rate was decent, it became apparent that the Isambard total was never under threat.
Once Shand, batting at first drop for Woodlawn, departed for a good half century, the race was on to take wickets before the game was over. Dave Bywater grabbed a couple, Webb cleaned up the number six, and Isambard eventually used eight bowlers in their attempt to dismiss the home side. The final five overs saw the first appearance of Isambard's spin twins, Bailey and Tierney, who were unable to make the breakthrough. Woodlawn eventually reached the respectable total of 200-7 from 38 overs before stumps were drawn.
With credit to Woodlawn, they batted with more aggression than has normally been seen this season by sides set a large total. However, Isambard were clearly the better team, so to only have a draw for their troubles still leaves a somewhat bitter taste in the mouth. Can we play a 40-over game next time please?
Match report by Paul Bailey.
