Sunday saw the 2nds travelling to Leiden and trying to bounce back from their first defeat of the season. Clearly everyone was taking the match seriously – we were all at the club on time!

It was a warm day, but with no idea what a competitive score was on the Ajax pitch (short boundaries and long, lush grass – which was much to the liking of the biggest rabbit seen this side of Sellafield nuclear plant) the skipper elected to field first. On paper, Ajax have a very strong top 5, but Jan and Marvin did well to keep them down to 3 ½ an over for the first 12 with one wicket down. One big over followed, with their skipper hitting 22 off it, but he was out in the next over. Despite several vehement appeals, there then came a long partnership for their 3rd wicket. When that fell, in the 35th over, Ajax were well placed with 158 on the board. Throughout the innings, ACC had a great attitude in the field and after the 3rd, wickets fell regularly and Ajax were all out for 198 in the 48th over.


Given the short boundaries, we fancied our chances, but with rumours of rain and most of the team eager to ensure they were back to watch the football, the skipper was egged on by a few teammates to send in a pinch-hitter to take advantages of the early fielding restrictions. So captain greedy (opening the bowling and batting) grabbed the famous Mongoose and joined Doekhie in the middle for one of the most attacking opening duo’s you’re likely to see. We started slowly – 5 runs off the first over, but soon the run rate was up at 10 an over. There were very little in the way of singles – and even less in the way of intent to run them. By the time Marvin was out for 37, just after 6 overs, precisely 3 singles had been run. After the dismissal, the run rate understandably slowed, and Doekhies frustration led to a run out. To be fair to Rehmat, he would have been in his right to stand his ground, but nobly sacrificed himself to keep Doekhie at the crease. Considering Doekhie continued to bludgeon his way all the way to 78, it seemed a worthwhile thing to do. After this, the whole ACC middle order seemed to succeed in picking out fielders every time they went in the air, leaving us precariously balanced at 156 for 7. However, the other advantage of promoting a tail ender to be a pinch hitter, is recognised batsmen at numbers 8 and 9. Ajit and Umer batted patiently for 10 overs to creep our score closer to the target, which without going in the air was easier said than done with the long grass. Umer then decided to launch his new best friend out of the park for the 15th 6 of the innings before being bowled with only 2 runs needed. Ajit was joined by the experience of Jan Balk and after a solid forward defensive by Jan; Ajit joined the boundary party by flicking the first ball of the 40th over for 4 and it was high fives all round. It hasn’t been too often this season the lower order has been required, but once again it was great to see people step up when required.