Apparently, there was some other sporting event happening in the evening, so some players were getting a bit nervous about a late finish. After a quick phone call it transpired that Dulwich had been told it was a 1:30 start, because of course, 1:30 starts are usual on a Sunday, right?

Eventually the oppo turned up, and we were invited to field, in a match reduced to 35 overs due to the late start. Although the Ploughmans team was very strong, it was quite light on pace bowling after the late withdrawal of Walton. On the other hand, when the two quicks on offer are Waqas and Azha, you’re doing alright. Skipper Max Gumpert revealed that his bowling strategy had come to him during a drunken evening. He opened with Waqas and Mo Khan, perhaps the largest discrepancy in bowling speeds in any opening partnership, even with Waqas coming in off his short run (presumably in deference to the young opening bat). Duray had a word with the oppo umpire, who encouraged Waqas to go full gas. So it was very much a tale of two ends. Mo was unlucky that the batters really went after him, presumably because they weren’t getting much to hit from the other end.

The young opener had never looked comfortable against Waqas, and was eventually bowled. The other opener, Paul, the senior player in the team, looked more at ease, but still wasn’t scoring much against Waqas.

Stephenson replaced Mo, and managed to beat Paul’s bat. There was a big noise that everyone on the field heard, except apparently for Wolledge behind the stumps who didn’t appeal, and the umpire who, perhaps influenced by the lack of interest from the keeper, gave it not out. The opposition still went after the spinners, so Stephenson was unlucky to have not got that wicket.

Eventually, Waqas was taken off. Paul was presumably happy to have got through that, without realising what was coming next – Azha. Azha picked up a couple of wickets from catches, but Paul still went after him (somewhat bravely, perhaps).

It took the introduction of Cobbett to remove Paul. In not the first jug-dodging of the match, he went for 94 off 58. Cobbett achieved the somewhat unusual feat for a Sunday of getting two LBW decisions. Even more surprisingly, these were both given by the oppo umpire, although it has to be said they were two of the easier LBW decisions you’ll ever see. Cobbett also picked up a wicket from an excellent low catch at silly mid off from Ainslie.

After Paul was out, the innings changed pace markedly. At one stage, a total of close to 300 off 35 was looking on the cards, but then the brakes came on. Gumpert picked up a couple of wickets, and Nair one. Mo came back and was unlucky not to get a wicket. The last pair of batters hung around before bravely going for a second run off the last ball of the innings. In one sense it was admirable that they tried to get as many runs as possible from the innings (Eoin Morgan would have approved), but on the other hand, there was only really one outcome, and there was an easy run out. Dulwich finished on 196ao from their full 35 overs.

We opened with Nair and Cosgrove. Cosgrove was soon out, edging behind, which brought in Gumpert. At the other end, Nair was looking solid, until he was caught for 29. That brought in Pretorius. As Umar commented on Plough On, you wouldn’t want to be a bowler at that point, and sure enough, Pretorius got off the mark with a six. Gumpert, as always, was hitting the ball hard. It wasn’t just the bowlers who were scared, at one point he smacked the ball back to the non-striker’s end and hit Pretorius. Fortunately, it was on the pads rather than anywhere more painful. The pick of the shots was a drive from Gumpert that bounced off the nursery roof and into the side door of the changing rooms.

The pair put on 117 together before Gumpert was bowled off his toe for 99 (79 balls) – apparently the first time he has been out for 99. At that point there were only 17 runs needed, and Ainslie helped Pretorius see it home. The final act being with 2.5 overs to go, 4 needed to win, 5 needed for Pretorius’s half century, he didn’t quite get enough on it for the required six, so he finished on 49* (36 balls).
Despite starting an hour after the match on Hollies, we were still finished before them, which gave us enough time to get started on the beer, warm up for the football, and reflect on yet another outstanding innings from Gumpert.

Match report from Andrew Cosgrove