Steve Ducat remembers

For those of you who like to reminisce, here's a report of the 1999 second round match between OMT and Sherborne Pilgrims.  It doesn't make easy reading, even today, but it just shows you what pressure can do...

Sunday June 20 - Cricketer Cup second round v Old Merchant Taylors' at Sherborne - Won by 9 runs Sherborne Pilgrims 171 (J D Ricketts 67, J R Tweedale 53); Old Merchant Taylors' 162 (S P Ducat 64, A J Brand 57; W P Hargrove 7-9) Andrew Wingfield Digby's career in cricket extends back over a number of decades and has involved a wide variety of fixtures. But after mature reflection in Skipper's later in the evening after the conclusion of this match, he pronounced it "the most extraordinary game I have ever played in". There have been dramatic collapses by one side in a match in this competition before - and Pilgrims have often been that side - but rarely have there been two, of almost identical nature, which set up a stunning finish that would have been staggering at any level of the game. The day began in unmemorable fashion. Twenty minutes' rain over the Upper at breakfast time was never actually threatening and the game began in good time - with Old Merchant Taylors' warming up like a true club team (they compete in the Thames Valley League), winning the toss and inviting the Pilgrims to bat. First ball was short and punched through the covers by Warren; second ball was of good length, wide of off stump - no stroke, violent in-ducker, clean bowled. Enter Leeke to join Atwell, a partnership that promised good things until the bowler, Thompson, found Atwell halfway down the wicket alongside him and ran him out easily for a cameo 16. Ricketts was determined to dominate the bowling and encouraged Leeke to do likewise until the latter gave short fine leg catching practice in the thirteenth over with the score on 53. But by lunch Ricketts, now partnered by Tweedale, had displayed some fine strokeplay and had moved the score to 149 for three, from 35 overs. With fully 20 overs still to bowl, a big score looked in the offing, particularly desirable since the rumour was that OMTs were a better batting side than bowling. This scenario took a setback when Ricketts was bowled by Thompson in the third over after lunch for a solid 67. But with some batting still to come, it was by no means a disaster. Posting a big score looked much less likely two overs later, with Hargrove (two balls), Rydon and Wingfield Digby (three each) all not causing much concern to the fielding side. At 163 for seven, much depended on Tweedale if the total was to breach 200, but the feeling from the boundary was that he thought he was about to be left high and dry: net result, an uppish cut and a catch to cover five runs later. Peters and Jackaman scraped three runs between them, while Freeth never faced a ball. Seven wickets had fallen for ten runs from 50 balls, with still 9.2 overs of the allotted 55 available. OMTs began brightly, despite losing Baxall to an express delivery of Rydon's in his second over. Brand, their captain, joined Ducat and they played steadily through to tea almost exclusively against seam bowling - Freeth and Ricketts together bowled just two overs before the interval, which was taken after 25 overs with OMTs well placed on 90 for one. Ten overs later, Ricketts was at his wits' end, both batsmen looking comfortable and both having reached their fifties. What followed reminded older observers of the story concerning Ray Illingworth, when leading Leicestershire, who brought on Jack Birkenshaw in a hopeless situation - the result was that Birkenshaw took four for six and won the game, with the accompanying press headlines lauding Illingworth's inspired captaincy. What the former England captain had actually said to Birkenshaw was "lob 'em up, Jack, t'game's boogered". Ricketts accordingly tried Leeke (four runs and a wide off one over) and then handed the ball to Hargrove, who was only playing because Rintoul had cried off with a damaged wrist. Hargrove had been chuntering away in the scorebox area within the hearing of the retired senior pro for some time and he came steaming down the hill only to be belted by the OMTs captain high to deep mid-off where a grateful Ricketts took a comfortable catch. At 135 for two, the ball was still very much in the visiting team's court, though. Jaggard had been waiting with his pads on for two and a half hours, and one might say he was unlucky even to touch the next ball through to Jackaman. Three down. Hargrove's second over followed a similar pattern, two consecutive balls taking wickets - one bowled, the other caught behind (141 for five, and now it was getting interesting). But Hargrove was not done yet. In his third over, Ducat fell into the same trap as Tweedale and cut to cover. Hargrove had taken five wickets for four runs from 14 balls and the OMTs required 24 runs with four wickets in hand. Retrenchment was in order for the faltering visitors: Walter and Knowles duly buckled down against Freeth (who completed his 12 overs for 32) and Hargrove. Having scored just 12 runs in eight overs, Hargrove had Walter caught behind and Knowles ran himself out as the run-rate ground to a halt. The thought did occur to some that OMTs might even run out of overs (they needed 12 off the last five). Rydon came back to account for Sapra and then Thompson hit the first ball of Hargrove's ninth over straight to Ricketts at mid-off to complete a most improbable victory. Hargrove, just three weeks after getting married, ended with the incredible figures of 8.1-3-9-7. This is the second-best analysis in the Cricketer Cup's history, only Uppingham's Ashworth (8 for 42 in 1991 against St Edward's Martyrs) bettering it. For the Pilgrims, two players scored 120 runs, two others 34 and the rest managed six between them, with 11 extras. The OMTs innings was even more unlikely, with two players scoring 121, the other nine just 21, with 20 extras. A nine-run victory with 17 balls left - as close as that. Needless to say, OMTs did not come to Skipper's afterwards, missing not just Wingfield Digby's words of wisdom, but also the slow recovery of the Hon Secretary from near heart failure. It was a shame that there were so few Shirburnians and OS present to see this extraordinary contest - thanks to the eight who did watch some part of it; with around 20 followers, OMTs put us to shame.