Musket fire and a mammoth HAC total at Armoury House

Being one of the most well subscribed fixtures on the LNZCC calendar, MM Walsh did an amazing job in whittling the squad initially to 18 and then to 12, with 3 further subs for drop outs. Making welcome returns to the club were Messers Liam O’Donnell, Greg Collinge and Scott Anderson and such was the day that Andrew Barkle even made it inside the first hour of play! Unusually this was to be a declaration match, where HAC captain Liam Casey won the toss and elected to bat (mostly so that they could ensure the BBQ lunch was ready at the right time). What LNZCC were unaware of was that HAC had recently built an airstrip on Moorgate that also substituted as the wicket so even with MCC player Ross Haines opening with pace downwind and Josh Denize (Nottman Cap Match) opening with spin at the other any brief allusions to the ‘92 Cricket World Cup were quickly dashed as HAC traitor opener and sometime LNZCC scorer Ben Fulton was the first to bully the attack. Ben finally fell to some truly miserly (9.8rpo) bowling from Jonty Vavasour for a pretty sluggish 103 from 95 balls which saw first drop Sean Parry to the crease. Unfortunately for LNZCC there was no issue of nerves from waiting and Parry commenced to really get stuck into the attack lashing it to all parts of the ground in scoring 100 off 46 balls. Finally after 46 overs of brutalisation the HAC innings was declared closed.

HAC had put in a real effort this season and lunch was much improved from recent HAC outings with a BBQ, aided by Barks dashing a quick single to Tesco and back to keep the lads refreshed with a few Stellas (it is an army base after all).

Following the break and a decent laze in the sun, openers Chris Hamilton and Cheyne Voss strode out. Hamilton returned exceptionally quickly having spooned one to cover and was rightly spitting tacks. Voss and Collinge set about some really good play making, until Voss fell in identical fashion to Hamilton some 6 overs later. This brought together LNZCC’s best partnership of the day as Collinge and O’Donnell put on some quality stoke play for all to admire. Far better to watch than some flat track bullies. Unfortunately, once they fell there was a steady procession of wickets as the HAC field got their tails up and LNZCC started to feel the pressure of the run rate. With 4 overs to play in the day and 3 wickets in hand a draw seemed inevitable however the quick wickets of Vavasour and Barkle saw Anderson and Josh Denize left as the last stand with 2 overs to play.

With visions of Rorke’s Drift evoked by the constant volleys of the musket brigade rehearsals in the background, LNZCC felt confident the lads would hold out, however in a definite Shannon Gabriel-esque incident Josh Denize really went for it and the game ended with LNZCC 139 runs in arrears. All credit to the HAC team who played the conditions well. LNZCC took solace in winning the boat race after, ably anchored by MOM Collinge. This may have been the last time Nick Molscan turns out for LNZCC in the UK. Do look up one of the NZ chapters Nick.