Greene Denied Century but Carpe Romp to Victory

Sunday was a glorious day by all accounts for Carpe Vinum CC. The sun blazed all afternoon over a village green pitch that could have been plucked from a magazine for the nostalgic. The Seven Sports CC of Chertsey, Carpe’s hosts, only added to the occasion. They provided the team with sumptuous tea and a post-match dinner and proved good company. But they also provided Carpe with that most cherished of delights: a win!

Seven Sports, so called from a collection of teams that gathered together way back in 1947 of which only the cricket team survives, elected to bat first on what was a flattish pitch that kept the ball low. Their openers started brightly, pouncing on loose balls and benefitting from some dropped catches. They had put on 50 runs before the first wicket fell, David Johnson bowled by a storming ball from Sanjay Bremakumar that spattered his stumps across the turf.

He was replaced by his seemingly identical brother, Paul, who continued in the same vein as the score kept climbing. But, following on from his heroics last week, Bremakumar struck twice in one over and once again soon after, with Johnny Heald claiming a scalp for himself. This collapse brought the youngster Jack Johnson (same family!) to the crease. The 12 year old acquitted himself well, surviving some vicious bowling from Skipper Keith to reach 12 unbeaten at the end of his innings and would later take two Carpe wickets. His sister Rachel, a mean bowler herself, supported him to the end after their uncle Paul was dismissed by a fine catch from Dingwall off Hilliard.

The target of 135 for victory looked attainable but when Bremakumar was dismissed trying to slog the second ball, the game was far from safe. However, an outstanding innings by wicketkeeper James Greene, who had been a safe pair of hands throughout Sevens’ innings, steered Carpe to a crushing victory with almost 15 overs to spare. Denied a ton by the cautious and precise innings of Dingwall at the other end, Greene had to settle for 95, almost all of those runs coming from thunderous fours as he battered the increasingly demoralised Sevens bowlers. Dingwall departed for a fine 32, Sanny Bremakumar joining him in the hutch moments later. It was left to your faithful correspondent to see out the win with Greene out in the middle, the two runs not out an essential part of this fine victory.