All-rounder Gibson spins OE's into the knockouts

In stark contrast to the damp and dreary weather of the previous Sunday, the sun was shining on OE’s Mays Lane ground providing perfect conditions for the T20 extravaganza which had been planned. The late withdrawal of Mill Hill Village from their fixture did little to dampen the mood with the bbq fired up, the speakers (thanks Anish Patel) ready to go and MC Matt Holland, a late replacement due to the jet-set lifestyle of Tom Spencely, on the mic.

The innings would be opened by two all-rounders - Dom Goring and Rob Gibson - and despite the early loss of Goring; Gibson looked in fine touch from the get-go. He was joined by Charlie Scutt and the pair proceeded to make use of the hardness of the new ball early on by dispatching it to the boundary at regular intervals. Gibson looked set for a big one, particularly after dispatching a 6 high and handsome over midwicket, but fell shortly afterwards caught-and-bowled by one which perhaps held up in the surface a little, for 19. This brought Paul Lissowski (52) to the crease whose natural attacking flair (despite the lack of thigh pad!) was evident as he went through the gears and took the attack to the Exiles’ bowlers. The 50 partnership came and went, and Lissowski soon brought up his 50 with his 7th boundary (complemented by a single maximum). He fell shortly afterwards in what is arguably the worst way to get out in cricket, bowler Raja managing to get a fingertip on a firmly hit straight drive from Scutt which deflected it onto the stumps with Lissowski some way short of his ground backing up. Scutt soon bought up a 50 of his own with a 2 into the off side and although a cluster of wickets followed, including a case of ‘Yes-No-Sorry’ for Franzini, the run rate rarely slowed. Some brutal hitting from the previous day’s centurion, Sean Price (40), followed by a brief cameo from Charlie Busby meant that the innings was finished with a flourish and OE’s closed their innings on a huge 206-7 from their allotted 20 overs - anchored by an unbeaten 69 from Scutt.

In response the game looked set for an exciting run chase with the first over being taken for 11 - captain Bullard looking particularly dangerous in the early overs. However, some tidy bowling from George Franzini, who took the new ball for the second time in the weekend, and a wicket in his third over for Sean Price to compliment his explosive hitting, quickly stemmed the flow of runs. The required rate continued to rise with the introduction of Goring, Holland and Busby and the WASP reading must have already been well into single figures before the game well and truly put to bed with a double wicket maiden from Busby removing first Bullard for a 22 ball 30 and then Corsane for a duck leaving Exiles 54-4 in the 12th over still needing over 150 runs for victory.

If at this point spectators thought that the game would simply drift to its inevitable close - they were wrong: in stepped Robert ‘The All-rounder’ Gibson. Entrusted by his captain, Gibson was thrown the ball and after loosening up in his first over, what followed will surely go down in OE’s history as an ‘I was there’ moment. In a magical spell, composed of leggies, googlies, sliders, toppies, flippers and zooters, Gibson spun a web of mystery previously unseen at Mays Lane, ultimately yielding figures of 3-13 in his final 3 overs. And yet it could have been so much more….Warne had Waugh, Muralitharan had Jayawardene, and had Gibson had such a partner, certainly 4 or possibly even 5 wickets were a firm possibility. As it were he would settle with his 3, with Exiles finishing on 98-9 in their 20 overs. Whilst talk post-match was of the team performance and qualification for the knockout stages of the T20 competition, spectators and teammates alike hoped that the sight of Gibson, ball in hand, would be something they would see more frequently as the summer goes on…

A shout out to Jimmy Heavey for all his work in organising and running the day. With the win the T20 side maintain their 100% record and proceed to the quarter finals of the Sunday T20 Trophy with a group game to spare. The next round is expected to be scheduled in late July or early August so please keep your eyes out for the announcement of this fixture and try to get along if possible; all support is greatly welcomed!

Notable Performances: Charlie Scutt 69*, Paul Lissowski 52, Sean Price 40, Rob Gibson 3-22, Charlie Busby 2-4

MoM: Rob Gibson 19, 3-22