..vs Zootallurgy?!

by "ZCC lifetime acheivement award" winner, Simon Baxter:

Match summary; in order of unbelievable cricketing achievement.

1. We won
2. Baxter scored a couple of runs
3. Amos got a hat-trick
4. We lost

Tuesday June 19^th, was arguably the best cricket weather for the year – sunshine, and a light breeze. Coupled with a full and strong Zoots squad, we were set for a competitive match against Chemistry. Alas, their cancellation on match afternoon was a real blow, mostly because we still had to pay the match fee.

With 10 zoots, we turned on a 5v5 game. As for the rules; it was a twenty20 test-match with two innings per side, 10 overs per innings. All non batsman fielded, no umpire and the “out” batsman rotated to keeper. Plus everyone on the bowling team had to bowl two overs per innings. Scoring was by shouting out the cumulative total (hence lack of stats in this report!). Baxter and Chandler were captains – however Baxter had a secret weapon. A Sleeping (occasionally limping) Giant, an untapped resource, A-Master-Of-Sport and honey trap, for buzzing batsman.  

The Baxter Bushrangers were sent into bat, with Baxter scoring an inevitable duck from the third delivery (Chandler). Yet Amos, Eggeman, Kumar and Kodandaramaiah rallied to give a batting average of 18.4 per batsman (including Baxter) and a first inning total of 4/92. Bowling was tight-ish from Chandler, Martin, Grady, Paul and Rutter.

In came the Chandler Challengers. Martin scored plenty of 4’s from Baxter, before being bowled.  with a final score of 3/90, there was only two runs the difference. Everyone batted well.. Martin did hit a massive 6 from Kumar, but wasn’t counted (Bowling was too slow? Too Comic? Wrong arm?)

With the game tighter than ever, Tarun and Ullasa opened, with an unprecedented run rate, for Zoots at least. Eventually one was out and in came Baxter, who amazingly didn’t get a duck, and even ran 4 on the last ball of our innings. We had a total of 4/115, a 20 over total of 207. TWO HUNDRED AND SEVEN.

Some may have thought Baxter opened with Amos bowling to limit, and write-off the damage Chandler Challengers were planning, - Yet, it was time for the ultimate strategy to be revealed. Time for the weapon to be unleashed. First run-out from his bowling, then three astounding, consecutive wickets. Two caught, another bowled. A genuine hat-trick, which is quite impressive when the batting team only has 5 players.   

I would say, this was one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played in my 5 1/2 seasons, apart from the games where the whole team won, of course. The game finished with almost all players in the Granta reflecting and wondering why we can’t score 200 runs every game and why we all can’t bowl like The Professor, William the Conqueror, BILL AMOS!