Dennamite display not enough to defeat Ripley CC

The annals of cricket are filled with heroic displays in a losing cause. But perhaps none will overshadow the accomplishments of Tim Denny, who scored 110 runs, took five wickets and claimed the second ever hat trick in Carpe Vinum history, yet somehow conspired to be part of a team comprehensively beaten in the end by Ripley CC.

The stage was set for a glorious day’s cricket at one of Surrey’s most idyllic grounds, scarcely a cloud in the sky and temperatures resembling July rather than May. It was, therefore, a perhaps ill judged decision by Carpe captain Jonny Hilliard to elect to bowl under the blistering sun despite winning the toss.

Carpe’s bowlers started brightly, tempting Ripley’s batsmen into rash shots and getting good movement with the ball. However, catches fell agonisingly short. numerous appeals went to the umpires unanswered and Ripley’s score continued to grow. It wasn’t until a change was made in the bowling that the wickets started to come. First Nik Darlington took a deceptively nonchalant catch off Swapnil Patne to despatch Ripley’s opener, before claiming two wickets of his own.

Carpe’s tails were suddenly up, but the remaining opener, a ringer from South Africa, performed admirably to steady the ship. In fact he did more than that, clearing the ropes on numerous occasions. His century passed almost unnoticed, but Ripley's rocketing score didn't and the Carpe faithful began to worry that a long afternoon awaited. Then came Carpe’s next flurry of wickets, courtesy of Denny.

After threatening with each successive over, Denny finally broke through, spattering stumps everywhere. His next delivery saw the ringer scoop the ball straight back into his welcoming hands. Displaying the poise and sportsmanship typical of Carpe Vinum in moments of triumph, Denny roared like a bull before slamming the ball into the ground as though he were a wide receiver scoring a touchdown for the San Francisco 49ers. The field gathered in close for the hat trick ball as the next batsman, a young boy, quivered at Denny’s snorting approach. The ball pitched. It nicked the outstretched bat. Wicketkeeper Jimmy Greene snaffled it at his right knee and Denny went into raptures.

This should have signalled a swift end to proceedings for the Ripley tail. New batsmen appeared, were caught out and returned to be replaced by younger, smaller models, as though Carpe was playing a team of Russian dolls. At the other end, however, the No. 8 batsman proved himself to be a consummate performer, swashbuckling to an unbeaten 69 and leaving a weary Carpe team with a daunting target.

That target became more daunting still when Alex Keith returned runless to the hutch in the first over, swiftly joined by Steve Haag and Jimmy Greene, before Strong was caught for a golden duck. The middle order scarcely had time to remark that they had better put their pads on before they were out in the middle.

Charlie Whitting joined Denny at the crease and together they set about rescuing Carpe’s innings. After a cautious start facing the spinners, Denny started to flex his muscles against the quicks, finding boundaries and clearing the ropes. Nearby house owners were proven wise to have bars over their windows.

While Whitting held out at the other end until the drinks break, he departed shortly afterwards, bringing Darlington into the fray. Strong running quickened the run rate and when Darlington was caught and replaced by Patne, the rate quickened even further, but Denny was tiring. A strain sustained early in Ripley’s innings was hampering his progress between the wickets.

Denny was finally out trying for another boundary. The ball was caught when it fell short and with it Carpe’s chase fell short also. Patne was dismissed soon after and the rest of the tail – Ed Thomson, Hilliard and Alex Crabb – were unable to add to the score.

Promising start ends in thumping

Carpe Vinum CC slumped to their first defeat of the season as their batting line-up was blown away in the face of an enthusiastic and fierce bowling attack.

Carpe’s season usually begins with a victory, purely on the basis that the first match tends to be an intra-club fixture, so regardless of the result Carpe still wins. However, with a discouraging turnout of players, other opposition was sought and found in the form of Wickham House CC.

Carpe were asked to bowl first at Fulham’s South Park, so under glorious Bank Holiday sunshine and with a sellout crowd of picnickers and dog walkers, the team set about their task with relish, probing the openers’ defences and chasing after the ball with an energy that was only matched by spectating spaniels and terriers. The wicket itself was unreliable and tricky to judge, often hurtling past the batsman and clear past the unfortunate keeper Alex Keith, who battled manfully behind the stumps throughout.

The breakthrough came through Captain Johnny Hilliard, whose aggressive bowling, which yielded only 15 runs in seven overs, was rewarded when two batsmen in quick succession were sent back to the boundary with their stumps rearranged.

Before long Toby Adamson and Sanjay Bremakumar were getting in on the action, each taking wickets that fizzed past the bat and crashed into the stumps behind. Wickham were being well contained and Carpe’s confidence took another boost when Luke Bettesworth took over the bowling at the Pavilion End, sustaining what was a venomous attack and taking the wicket of a batsman who had just started to look comfortable.

However, this brought No.7 to the crease, a man who was to prove to be Carpe’s nemesis. His first two deliveries were casually clipped to the boundary. The third ball was edged to the slips and Bettesworth came agonisingly close to taking the catch that would have exposed Wickham’s tail. It was to prove costly.

While Bremakumar took another wicket and Hilliard narrowly avoided impaling himself on the stumps taking a fine catch off his bowling, yet the No.7 batsman remained, living dangerously but profiting by it. Dropped by Hilliard just before his half century and clattered on the skull by a Bettesworth high yorker, he dug in, ably assisted by his partner, to reach 79 not out and take Wickham’s total to 191 seemingly out of reach.

That total seemed even further away when Carpe’s first wicket fell before the first over was complete, Jamie Denny clean bowled for five. Whether it was early nerves, ferocious bowling or the treacherous wicket, none of the batsmen was able to settle and start scoring. After Keith was despatched for four runs, Oliver Grimes started to go after the ball, but to no avail, returning to the hutch runless. Hilliard joined him next ball, with Charlie Walker and Bremakumar also both failing to score before being run out and caught respectively. Bettesworth was injudiciously given out caught behind, the ball clipping his pads before being juggled by the keeper and caught by the slip for an outrageous wicket that signalled the end.

There was a late rally as ‘Ed Thomson’ scored a quickfire 24, displaying a range of shots never before seen from the West Country man. Christopher Strong was holding out well at the other end, but it was not to last. Thomson was clean bowled looking for another boundary and then Strong went the same way as the spinners were brought into play. When Adamson went for two, it left Charlie Whitting stranded at the crease on three not out and Carpe out of wickets and still 127 runs short.

It was a chastening start to the season for Carpe, but the team can be proud of their display in the first part of the match and can look forward to playing on a less dangerous wicket at their sparkly new home ground in Wandsworth very soon.

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