“The Queries returned on Thursday for their popular fixture against Marlborough College. The setting was even more spectacular, given the beautiful weather – and the College XI were already in full prep as we trickled in… Well, 10 of the team did – which, after a few frantic and ultimately unsuccessful phone calls, meant that yours truly had to dust off his whites, bat No 11 if needed (-I was not), and more worryingly take to the field for a full dose of fielding punishment. Secretly, I was rather chuffed though, as I’d always coveted playing at this fabulous ground. But enough about me. We also had to contend with a couple of last-minute withdrawals, which meant welcoming Max Wyman and Angus Wrench (already a Query) to the fold, two fine cricketers and, as it happens, Marlborough Blues. Thank you very much to them for answering the call at such short notice.
The Marlborough boys were not without their challenges too, as all bar one of their Upper 6th had been compelled to prioritise an A Level Maths exam over their cricket.
We won the toss, which was good, because we’d already agreed to follow tradition and bat first in this declaration contest. And, we got off to a scorching start, with Will Pembroke and Jack Bramwell on sparkling form, dispatching the Marlborough attack with grace, aplomb and some strength. They hit an impressive 57 and 58 respectively before deciding to give the others a go. Tom Churchill came in with intent, smacking an early boundary and looking very good, but a switch to spin and a pitch where the ball was holding up a bit got the better of him as he mistimed and was caught. At this point we were 154 for 3 off 35 and looking comfortable. Significant contributions from Cooper Webster, Angus Wrench and AK Sharma then took us to 225 off 52, before Max Wyman (30) teamed up first with Zach Collister then George Stevenson in an aggressive assault to take us to 272 off 59. Our declaration was challenging, but we were very confident, and not a little wary, that the Marlborough opening pair would take the game to us from the very first over.
So, in marched two notoriously destructive young lads, one from the 5th Form, the other from Lower 6th. As feared, they set about our opening bowlers, George and AK, punishing anything even slightly awry. AK especially managed to beat the bat on a few notable occasions, but Marlborough quickly settled into a rate of around 10 an over – and we feared the worst…. Zach then took over and bowled tidily, but the Marlborough boys still looked very comfortable against the seam attack and the runs continued to accumulate. At 180 for no wicket after 26, skipper Joe Dorgan’s declaration no longer seemed remotely unkind; we were staring down the barrel of yet another defeat in this fixture. Clearly gripped by this haunting spectre, Joe himself stepped up to the plate to deliver a masterclass of pace bowling. With guile, variation and above all wisdom, he coerced the by now centurion Marlborough No 1 into hoisting to deep mid-wicket where AK’s ever-safe hands gratefully snaffled the catch. Break through! With one comes another, as they say, and their No 3 was on his way after the very next ball, beautifully yorked by the now incendiary Dorgan. Joe’s final figures of 11-5-37-3 were outstanding. Backed up superbly, as Joe was, by some excellent spin from first Cooper then Max, with his first Queries wicket, at the other end, the Marlborough rate dipped and the Queries tails fluttered. Fielding was superb, with Jack leading the way – highlight being a superb throw from deep to leave the bowler with the simplest of tasks to complete a run out. Catches, except for a couple of brutes, were well taken, and Marlborough eventually ground to a halt 33 runs short and 6 wickets down. An honourable draw.
Strategically the Queries now have a year or two to convince a couple of opening batsmen of the compelling merits of an A Level in Maths – and we might yet engineer our win!
A big thank you to Barry and Barry for umpiring, to Nigel for scoring, and to Marlborough College for a great game and for looking after us so well once again. Finally, a huge thanks to Pat Cutforth for presenting the Player of the Match Award and the Cutforth Cup itself.
Until next year,
James