Bramshaw Boys outgunned by Merlin Men 13th July 2014

Merlin (250-5) recorded just their second victory of 2014, defeating Bramshaw (141-9) by 109 runs On a sweltering day at Bramshaw's picturesque New Forest ground, captain Steve Bristow won the toss and nervously opted to bat first in what would be a 35-over contest. With an outfield typical of forest grounds at this time of year, resembling glass, and a good-looking strip and short boundaries, not to mention the temperature touching 30 degrees one wonders why he was hesitant - perhaps it was Merlin's shaky record so far this year and paucity of victories. Nevertheless, batting it was to be and with Mike Edwards and Rob Parsons striding out to open in the blazing sunshine Merlin's changing room must have felt that conditions could not be bettered for a run feast! Early optimism was dashed, however, when Edwards run of poor form continued, playing back to the left-arm spinner and guiding a ball to slip for just a single. After several knocks down the order, skipper Bristow had rightly promoted himself back to number three and, with Parson’s help, began to blunt the Bramshaw attack. The partnership was ticking along nicely at 4 an over, when out of nowhere Parsons was gone for 17, bowled by Patel. At 58 for 2 in the 14th the sense was that it was time to accelerate, and with 64 runs coming in the next 9 overs Basi did this perfectly, contributing 42 well-made runs including five 4's and two 6's. Jamie Symonds then joined the skipper and another 65 runs were added in just 7 more overs, nine 4's coming in his 43. When Symonds was out the score had climbed to an impressive 187-4 at 29.1 overs but there was a feeling that 250 was needed in such batsman- friendly conditions, and the rumour was 360 had been made on the ground the day before! Jon Adams then joined the skipper, who had long since passed 50, and started scratchily with no runs to speak of since early May. But with a couple of paddles to leg going for four, he began to find his form, hitting sixes first over cow corner and then straight and in the next over two pulls over deep square leg for two more maximums. A 22-ball fifty resulted, and though the skipper perished for a well-made 73, Merlin reached 35 overs with an excellent 250-5, debutant Allen contributing 2 not out. Tea was a sumptuous if sweaty affair with the sun blazing into the well-worn pavilion. Perhaps it was only during tea that Merlin realised just how young the Bramshaw side was and the feeling had to be that taking two or three key at the top of the order would make 250 look a long way off for this youthful eleven. Veteran opening bowler Wood opened up from the bottom end with a mild breeze at his back and a firm deck to bounce the ball off. Increasingly, Wood looked a handful going past the outside edge with pace and carry and with his opening partner Adams finding some away swing at the other end Bramshaw were forced to fight for their wickets from the off. Any shot through the ring was going for four so runs came, 18 coming off the first 3. But Adams, buoyed by his rapid half-century, was bowling with confidence, perhaps too much as he overstepped when having opener Patel caught and bowled. No matter, the irrepressible Adams was not to be denied, first having Patel caught at mid on by the reliable Symonds, then two balls later surprising the experienced Strickland with one that bounced to have him strangled down the leg-side, well-held by stand-in keeper Basi. In the very next over, the classy looking Jones flicked to leg, only to find Adams involved again taking a simple catch at short fine leg. 18-0 had become 19-3 and Bramshaw were rocking. The next 5 overs yielded only 11 runs apart from a mighty six over long on from stylish left-hander Arnold. Then, in Wood's sixth over, Adams intervened once more to swing the match decisively in Merlin's favour. Arnold seemed to have flicked firmly off his hip when Adams dived full length to his right to take an excellent one-handed catch at backward square leg. Rarely can a Merlin player have had such an hour on the field - with 51 runs, 2 wickets and 2 catches in the space of 16 overs either side of tea. In time-honoured Merlin tradition the abuse was unrelenting with Adams ironically nicknamed "superstar" for the remainder of the game. Once Wood took his third thanks to an Edwards catch (47-5) and with the majority of Bramshaw's more established batsmen safely dispatched, the game took on a different feel. Barnsdall (0-13) and Edwards (2-20) operated in tandem and made scoring tricky, with Edwards in particular employing some crafty flight and a finding a little turn bowling left-arm ‘orthodox’. With the game losing a little impetus the skipper turned to Merlin stalwart Jeff James to keep things interesting which he certainly did in what seemed a single-handed attempt to get the innings finished. One over was completed in the astonishing time of 1 min 10 seconds and then another shaved a few seconds off that. Meanwhile, Ram and Rowlands put on a decent partnership to give the Bramshaw innings some respectability, Ram eventually by Basi off James for 61 and Rowlands being bowled by Edwards for 25. James finished with the highly creditable figures of 7-2-18-1. The innings was finished off with three over spells for Allen, the debutant (1-15), and P. Adams, the chairman (0-14), with Bramshaw pleased to survive the 35 overs without being bowled out, finishing on 141 for 9. Overall, a comfortable victory for Merlin, with excellent batting from numbers three to six and illuminated by a striking performance from a player who all agreed should have played this way much more often. Credit to Bramshaw who were excellent hosts and whose future as a club is in good hands if their young players continue to show the application and talent they displayed in this game. JA