Beggars Capitulate Again
28 June 2007 Richard Boock
WIS Stadium Newtown
It was difficult to know whether the 95-84 loss to That Team was a new Nadir
for the Beggars, or just a continuation of the last one, but this team has
either seriously lost its mojo or their pre semi-final bluff has taken in
even themselves. A surge of betting against the Beggars in Delhi and Karachi
shortly before the final partnership allied with an unknown umpire making
crucial "mistakes" must be noted too.
The bald facts however are rather easier to understand: the last partnership
between the dashing and hitherto reliable Stephen Metherell and his slavish
and lesser imitator Josh Williams, required a mere 15 for victory and failed.
That it was Metherell, the very lungs of the team, at fault has left this
correspondent bemused, bereft, and questioning his love of the game.
What shaped up as an interesting tussle when the Thats' first partnership
yielded 36 runs quickly swung the Beggars way when the ever reliable Russ
Hewitt, reborn as a pace bowler very much in the Gary Robertson mould, bowled
a stunning negative 12 over followed by a negative seven effort from Josh "I
only need a couple of Syrrah to Warm-up" Williams. The latter conjured up
Gary Troup's glory day of New Zealand left arm seam (rather more than Murphy
Su'a). Though this partnership recovered to registered a laborious 1 and
though the remaining That batsmen batted well, tight fielding and bowling
kept the score under a hundred and the odds in Karachi well in the Beggars'
favour
The run chase began well with the ever under-appreciated Gregory top scoring
once more in a solid partnership of 32 with the reliable Te Kare. Following
this was 20 runs from kevin List and Russell Hewitt. "Captain Kev" List's
comic antics, running between the wickets like a mincing blind man groping
and sniffing his way to stinking long drop, distracted selfishly from a calm
and authoritative innings from man of the match Hewitt. New boy Tim Jeffries
and the departing Sam Roose added a composed 29 and at 81 with 15 needed the
Beggars seemed home.
But it was not to be. The first two overs yielded precisely nothing and a
visibly distressed Metherell reminded some observers of the descent of Kim
Huges and Jeff Crowe into cricketing idiocy. All the well judged calm of
Williams was undermined as his partner flayed incoherantly and unluckely,
seemingly safe conservative shots landing miraculously in fielders hands, and
a nicely judged single adjudged out by the hitherto (and hopefully
henceforth) unheralded umpire Hanse Cronje.
And so it came to the last two overs and still 15 required. As a surprisingly
calm recovery was mounted, the pathos grew as the out of sorts Metherell
bravely (if illegally) intercepted a Williams cannon ball with his head to
prevent it being caught, leaving a bruised ear to match his ego and
reputation. As tension rose in the last over a devastated Metherell thought
his coservative dink into the side nets had leveled the score with two balls
remaining only to see the ball somehow contriving to land in the groping
fielders hand. A flailing Williams could only add a single leaving 7 required
from the last ball. Proving his ticker had not failed with his technique,
Metherell charged the bowler and made a strong connection. For a brief but
beautiful moment it appeared he had defied the gods, the fates, and Satan
himself. But it was not a night for poetry. The ball sailed wide and a
heartbroken and shattered Metherell surveyed a glorious career in tatters. In
the confusion there was a meaningless runout but it was hardly noticed as a
broken man departed the stage.
ENDS
