Report by Tom Serby:
After so much hot weather we were due some rain, and it arrived in some quantity in the morning - but not enough to postpone or dampen the enthusiasm for resumption of Remnants cricket at Fitzwilliam for a new season. The opponents were a Coton side containing a mix of familiar and new faces.
Coton's opener was a very clean hitter who looked to have been spending a lot of time recently with ITV4 and set about Naveen Chouksey's (0/26) generally tidy opening over to the tune of several threes and fours, IPL-style. When he took a single off the last ball and prepared to face the first ball of Felix Serby's over opening from the Windsor Road end, one did slightly fear for young Felix's wellbeing; not a fear shared by Felix who trotted up off his lengthy run-up, found a good length straight away and beat the flailing bat with an inswinger to record a wicket with his first ball of the season. Felix finished up with the day's best figures, 2/13, and all the Remnants bowlers, including Mihir Chandraker (0/23, teasing with prodigious turn both ways) and Atta Rehman (2/23, and tidy) did a good job and generally shared the wickets around, including a brace for John Moore (2/18) in his guise as a death bowler, floating up a tricksome mixture of twirlers which kept skipper/keeper Andy Owen busy with close and one actual (well taken) stumping opportunities.
Highlights in the field was just about everyone, with the older Remnants enjoying a brief April window before pulled muscles set in and the younger cohort, Mihir and Felix throwing themselves around impressively. Coton closed on 121/8 off fifteen eight-ball overs of the luminous orange ball.
Remnants response stayed more or less on track mainly through a middle order stand between Jeff Beaumont (11) and Eli Ellwood (8), but when they went the match had turned perhaps towards Coton. Atta Rehman (43*), however, out IPLed the anonymous Coton opener and, importantly for much longer hitting the winning runs in the final over.
A close game played in good spirit being an excellent start to the season.
