Knott’s men off the mark in the BUCS prem as they take a step toward safety
It was a balmy evening as the UWMCC 1st XI gathered for their 5 hour epic trip up to Newcastle. The road was long, the journey dull, the backache a plenty. As rumours grew that Dom Gill would be sharing a room with the driver, the team convened for an evening beverage, as captain Knott, a moulder of men, issued his pre-match team talk.
As the sun rose over Tyneside, the UWMCC men sauntered to the local golden arches for a hearty breakfast. Captain Knott claimed that he had no sleep as a result of Khatri’s perpetual snoring. A claim that Khatri wholeheartedly denies.
Khatri was questioning the credentials of Captain Knott of placing him behind the stumps, after cleaning up John Faal in an intense warm up session. Knott winning his first toss of the year, after having to forfeit it at Leeds as a result of poor navigation, decided to insert the Northumbria XI. A fiery opening burst from Mark Phillips and a master class of swing bowling from Dom Gill and Aashil Pindolia left Northumbria 85/4 when the rain came.
After entertaining themselves with table football in the changing rooms, the UWMCC went back into the field in a rain reduced 34 over a side game. Northumbria, in light of the fewer overs, managed to get to 184/8 when the heavens opened up once again. Accurate bowling from Tim Young and Nick Phillips, was let down by substandard fielding and a suspiciously short leg side boundary. After a great deal of negotiation and despite a very proud groundsman who remained adamant that Cricket should not be played in anything bar 45 degree heat, Knott was able to broker a Gentleman’s agreement for a reduced 20 over innings for the UWMCC.
Ben Marjot and Varun Anand stepped into the crease requiring 123 off the allotted 20 overs. Despite good strokeplay from Marjot, the UWMCC found themselves 26/3 as the Northumbria pacemen troubled the star studded lineup. Surely the UWMCC couldn’t throw away a win in the BUCS prem? Knott was beginning to fret on the sidelines, but this was premature as Siddarth embarked on an aerial assault on the Northumbria spin attack, with hefty blows over extra cover, finishing on 57* as he lead the UWMCC to their first ever win in the BUCS premier division.
Is this the beginnings of something special as a confident UWMCC set their sights on the visiting Newcastle XI next week?