OUTGOING skip James Couldrey bowed out with a win as his team of Knight Roaders gave new man Matt Cocken’s Super Kings a real smoking.
After a week of trash-talking from the Super Kings, they were well and truly stubbed out as James’s side hit 161 with twoย tar-riffic knocks from Jack Caesar and newboy Will Gledhill.
Both scored 35 before they had to retire under the match rules designed to give as many players as possible a go in the 13-a-side game.
Soon-to-be-married Welshman David Hughes also made an impressive contribution hitting 21 before he was run out.
But, perhaps unsurprisingly on a disgraceful first day of the season pitch at Wandsworth Common, the innings did not get off to a good start.
Raju Mazumder was out facing his second ball, a vicious rip-snorted from Matt Small that took off off a length and brushed Raju’s glove.
Club chairman Mark Isham was next to go in bizarre fashion for 7, playing a drifter from Jamie Keating about five seconds early before the ball eventually arrived to break his stumps. Just.
Poor Mark, having completed his shot, could only watch before the Super Kings fell about laughing.
When last season’s wonderboy Sham De Silva went, clean bowled again by Keating for 6, the Super Kings were on fire.
Burning brightest was Keats, who who looked deadly as he bagged 3 for 12, but not before Will and Jack managed to steady the ship and take the Knight Roaders to a total.
In typical fashion, Jack blazed away hitting two sixes and three fours on what was an incredibly slow outfield.
Will however played more patiently, being cautious and holding the innings together. It wasn’t without chances though, both were dropped off birthday boy Leon Watson’s bowling before retiring not out.
James’s team included newboys Will, Jonathan Armstong and Chetan Patel, who was 13 not out at the end of the innings while Matt’s included Sandeep Chagan, who played in last year’s Intra-Club, and Leon’s brother Ben, who last played for The Road five years ago.
The innings closed leaving Matt’s team needing 4.6 an over off the allotted 35.
In response, another former skip Giles Fagan was out for a duck facing his fifth ball. On the sidelines, his son Freddie was heard uttering his first sentence: “Dad, you are SO embarrassing!’
Chris MacNichol, with 8, and Jon Malsingh, 6, didn’t last long, before Leon and Tom Parnell tried to stay in.
Then Tom was out bowled Isham, and Leon got run out for 9, having a strop and blaming his skip, the Super Kings were dragging.
Only Matt, wielding his new Newbury bat, managed to stem the tide as Guru, Sandeep, the late-arriving Matt Glover for a golden duck, Ben and Amir Alipour all fell cheaply.
Wicket-keeper Dan Sherman took two in his two over allocation, so did Shailesh Joshi while Dave got one, as did Mark, Raju and Dan Howard.
The Super Kings were not healthy. Leader of the pack Matt however refused to quit, finishing on 33 not out with Keats on 9 when the innings closed with the Super Kings well short on 115.
James’s team won the day lighting up the Super Kings who, despite their name, did not have the killer instinct.