26th May – Calypso Collapso (141ao / 34.5 ovs) bt Brockwell 49ers (99 ao 28.2 ovs) by 42 runs Scorecard | Gallery (with thanks to John Bugg) “Why, why can’t this moment last forever more?” These words may as well have been uttered by a victorious Calypso team last Saturday as by Swedish Eurovision winner Loreen, who was also to record a famous victory later in the day. Calypso Collapso hit their 2012 straps straight away, recovering from a middle order collapse to dispatch traditional opening day opponents Brockwell 49ers by 42 runs with an unnervingly competent display in the field. This despite the lack of any pre-season training. Perhaps there’s something in not wasting all the good shots and deliveries in the nets. Calypso batted first, with Goddard and Bugg in their customary positions. Bugg struggled to impose himself and after facing 11 balls was out for two, chipping an uncharacteristic shot straight to forward square leg, almost as though he was still offering catches in as part of the warm up.
Extras were also flowing as Brockwell struggled early to limit the wides and byes. These freebies masked, to a degree, a middle order collapse following the departure of Goddard for 41, who was annoyed with himself for offering a relatively simple caught and bowled chance. The impressive Driver (4 for 16 from 7) gratefully held on. Ellerby, Riches, Proctor and Bingham added 7 between them, a run which contributed to some nerves on the boundary, following early expectations of a total in excess of 150 on the uncharacteristically true early season Parliament Hill pitch. With Bidri starting well at 9, Wallace hit a quick-fire 4 before becoming the second of Elliot’s three bowled wickets. This brought last man Wales to the crease with 110 on the board after 27 overs in support of Bidri, who played some lovely shots on his way to 28. It was a reinvigorating last stand which lasted into the final over and took the total to 141, widely considered to be a defendable target. Half Time Tea Talk It’s often said that catches win matches and, perhaps for the first time, Calypso held on to all of theirs* to contribute five of the wickets taken in a victory closed out within 28 overs. Vernuccio and Bidri got into position well for their two early dismissals to help put Brockwell under pressure. Bugg’s opening spell of four overs was firey and richly deserved the wickets of the top three (one caught, two bowled), hopefully signalling a better haul than 2011, when it was widely felt that he didn’t get the results for his efforts. Someone else for whom 2012 promises more is Bingham, who ran in and bowled his 7 overs straight, with little indication of the demons which dogged his 2011 season. He was rewarded with two wickets at 10 apiece, going for just 3 an over. It’s a shame that ‘Farcical Run Outs win matches’ doesn’t rhyme, or you might hear it more often. It’s certainly the case that such a dismissal, followed shortly by a freak catch turned the game ultimately in favour of Calypso. The run out occurred when Riches got down to a ball at mid off, but couldn’t control it, which encouraged the batsmen to go for a second. Wales collected the loose ball and flung it wildly back beyond the far end and the stranded keeper. Goddard was a spectator as the Brockwell partners saw the opportunity for a third – without factoring in Bingham calmly throwing down the stumps from some distance and sending the dangerous looking Driver back to the boundary. Taylor had been looking ominous for his 32 when, in Bidri’s next over, he attemped to swat the ball back past the bowler. Bidri got his hands to the ball but couldn’t keep hold of it. Fortunately, Wales who was backing up the catch was able to dive forward and complete the dismissal, to everyone’s surprise. Wales started with a maiden but went for the usual 4 an over with a couple of full tosses. Wallace came on and took one for one off two overs, the wicket coming when Heath looped one back at him, trying to get something off the square. Ellerby bamboozled Edwards with an over of mixed quality, saving the straight ball till last and retiring himself after one over. Proctor’s low key day (bowled for 2, 5 overs, 22 for none) picked up with the final ball of the day as he took a catch off Wales from the second ball of his second spell, switched to the Toilets end. It’s fair to say that the win was celebrated in a low-key manner at the time, but as attention switched (for some at least) to Baku, it’s fair to say the prevailing emotion in the Calypso camp was one of euphoria. * not including two slip chances, they’re bloody hard.
Still searching for their Jonathan Trott at three (Rob wasn’t available), Vernuccio assumed the playmaker role on dayboo (as he no doubt would have pronounced it) and built a neat partnership with the steady Goddard,
Some excellent work from Bugg, who produced a chilled chocolate and biscuit cake early doors so as to prevent it melting in the remarkable heat. Jane also produced some excellent cheese scones to maintain her baking opening spot. The break also saw some lovely pasta salad and a huge variety of processed pork and pastry – always a winning combination. A solid contribution from Martinez helped ensure that there was enough to go around. However it was noted that there was no Jamaican Ginger Cake, but given that Goddard had batted so well, we’ll let him off.
