Phoenix v TTP

TTP, home, lost by 2 runs
TTP 104-7 off 15×8 ball overs
Phoenix 102-4 off 15×8 ball overs

Another last-ball near miss, but this one was quite the oddity, shall we say?
The game began in a fair amount of chaos with TTP reporting they were two players short. Faz, who had pulled out of the Phoenix side because he wasn’t feeling too perky but had come along anyway, agreed to make up their numbers alongside the Fixtures Secretary – the traditional sacrificial lamb when it comes to giving the opposition, especially TTP, something expendable.
The visitors started sedately, with the familiar figure of Jamie scurrying quick singles against accurate opening bowling spells from Sajog and Stuart R, and then Nusrat.
Tim weighed in with two wickets, as did Venki and the Fixtures Secretary was run out in a final over that saw Sajog take a catch off Gareth’s bowling.
TTP’s score of 104 did not seem like an Everest needing to be climbed.
Certainly not when Dave, having played himself in, started thumping their bowling to the boundary for another impressive not out knock.
It was the same with Ralph, who was brutal on anything down the leg side. He pinged one off the tree next to the car park and was invited to try the same thing straight after only to be caught by a fielder who had unsportingly moved himself directly under the branches.
Aidan did not linger long but we had 70 on the board, eight wickets left and plenty of deliveries to knock off the rest.
Except we didn’t. Something had changed and initially it was difficult to tell exactly what as our run rate slowed down to a plod.
The picture became clearer when the Fixtures Secretary was put on to bowl. The pink ball seemed to love the moisture-soaked evening air and pitching it up – normally an invitation to be put in the bushes on the artificial strip – resulted in lbw dismissals for Simon and Gareth. Or at least Stuart R decided they were, having raised a finger on a previous appeal only to offer a hasty clarification that he was actually in the middle of an elaborate nose scratch…
Graham and Tim were together at the end as the scoreboard somehow got stuck in the 90s; the former required a boundary off the last ball to earn the Phoenix their second-ever tie but his lusty blow fell just short and so did we.

TTP
Jamie retired not out 26
Niall c Garman b Sajog 3
Steve c&b Tim 14
Nav b Tim 7
Phil b Venki 14
Josh not out 5
Tanvir c Tim b Venki 0
J West run out 4
Paul c Sajog b Gareth 1
Total: 104-7 off 15 8-ball overs

Sajog 3-0-14-1
Stuart R 3-0-13-0
Nusrat 3-0-19-0
Tim 3-0-27-2
Venki 2-0-9-2
Gareth 1-0-5-1

Phoenix
D Garman retired not out 27
R Minter c Jamie b Nav 23
A Swain lbw b Nav 3
G Briscoe not out 18
S Lancaster lbw b J West 9
G Everson lbw b J West 0
T Harrison not out 2
Total: 102-4 off 15 8-ball overs