Sultans on fire: 10.5-man team sets win record to maintain league lead

Pride comes before a fall and all that, but something odd has happened to the Sultans this year.

Whereas last season saw us sneak one victory pretty much thanks to the ability of Steve Loonstra, we now appear to have developed the happy knack of being able to grab games by the scruff of the neck and, well, win. And win well.

So it was in front of our largest crowd of the season on Saturday (five) when a brilliant opening stand of 100 between debutant Swiers – who was due at the Bull And Last for a shift at 3pm – and Cricket Sage Skinner set up the perfect platform which even we couldn’t throw away.

Batting first after Skip won his second toss on the bounce, the crack SAS team played with patience and skill against an accurate Calypso attack.

The rest of the Sultans kicked back on the boundary as the openers notched up the runs, getting to drinks with a few minor scares. This point in the match normally marks the beginning of the rearguard action but today we appeared to be on easy street.

Well, we were until Swiers and Skinner both fell short of their 50s, having been given the nod to throw the bat, before Faint and Skip were out in quick succession.

The less said about Skip’s innings, the better, to be honest. He came, he saw, he was out for 0 trying to force runs on the leg-side.

This halved his season average to 0.5. If it’s any consolation, Brearley only averaged 22 in Tests. Better grow that beard back.

Only Dicko, dealing mainly in lusty boundaries, provided any resistance in a middle order collapse which saw Palmer LBW after possibly the most misjudged leave ever, the consistent Doghouse bowled by a straight ball for 1 and McGovern left with another duck to put on the wall.

If Dicko’s 21 had lit the touch-paper then Earnshaw’s knock was a Howitzer of an innings with the ball smacked all over in a hugely entertaining rapid-fire 34, including five fours in a row. He eventually fell as fast bowler Rawlings’ fourth victim of the innings, with fellow Calypso seamer Bugg also finishing with a well-deserved haul of four scalps.

Newcomer Andrews then showed some good clean hitting in making 12 while latecomer Rankin kept the strike rotating well to leave Calypso needing a walloping 196 to win.

After the demolition job carried out last time by Earnshaw – and the absent Rampant Conley – it should have been all bets off as to who was to take the new ball.

But cunning Skip tossed the cherry to left-armer Andrews, keeping his prime strike weapon under wraps. While his first ball (which was actually bowled with an old ball) went for four byes the Cornishman was soon getting movement in the helpful conditions.

Completing the new-look opening pair, Doghouse took the second over and managed to get it in just about the right place.

Four tight overs followed before Andrews made the breakthrough, clean bowling Bugg in a wicket maiden.

Doghouse, keeping one end fairly tidy and bowling his seven over straight through, struck twice.

Meanwhile the off-spin of Rankin, who had replaced Andrews, was a delight to watch but probably not play as he achieved turn and bounce on the once-again unpredictable Hampstead track.

One spitting delivery caught the edge of Goddard who was brilliantly pouched, one handed, by Skip after a cunning deflection from the wicket-keeper. If he carries on like this we’ll have to set up a Catch Of Skip’s Season award.

Rankin struck again before Skip’s leg-breaks brought a flurry of runs for the oppo and eventually a wicket as his F&G paid off. In an action-packed cameo he was also unlucky not to get a stumping and even saw one delivery hit the fielders’ hat placed behind the keeper, giving away five runs and leading both teams to ponder how this rarity is marked down in the scorebook.

Proving there was real depth in bowling, Faint also impressed with his accurate medium pacers and managed to extract some fine bounce which resulted in a spinning edge well taken by McGovern at square leg.

While wickets fell at regular intervals, with five Calypso batsmen out for single figures, it was far from one-way traffic as Rawlings made a fine bid for man of the match by smashing a brutal half-century, including a lofted straight drive that was a one-bounce four.

When three more boundaries in a row were knocked off the bowling of Palmer there were early twinges of tension among the 10 men in the Sultans field (Swires having long since departed to serve up posh Scotch Eggs) that the Sultans were beginning to lose sway in the game.

But then came Earnshaw. It could be deemed a touch unfair to unleash the beast for the final few overs but his introduction was the perfect way to see off the game.

Once again he was a couple of yards faster than anyone on the day, and proved too hot to handle even for the returning Rawlings who edged a snorter to Skinner who took a fine one-handed catch to finish the innings.

The Cricket Sage is in fine form with bat and gloves this season. If we had one, and we probably should, he would have been man of the match for once again laying the foundations of victory with a cultured innings and a good show behind the stumps. He even umpired at square leg sitting down at one point.

So. Two wins out of two – a record run of victories – and a net run rate of 2.07 puts the Sultans in a strong position a third of the way through the season.

In this crucial month of four league games, we appear to be hotter than July.