South keep the trophy in the 2017 North v South

On paper the sides were balanced in ability and in numbers with both teams looking to field 13 players on the day (despite the North at one point needing to involve 16 players). The day dawned overcast with a vague chance of rain.

Having found our original booking in south-east London was no longer available – they’d expected us the previous weekend – and after a mad scramble throughout the week to find a new venue, two full teams plus supporters arrived in West Hampstead. The hastily rearranged venue of Hampstead CC lived up to its reputation of hospitality by not only being able to host 26 NZ cricketers for the day's cricket with only 4 days warning but also screening the rugby. So we were able to watch South Africa’s abject failure to deal with a sublime and devastatingly dominant All Black side. A record score and margin of victory by the AB's over SA. Funnily enough, the day was going to be a bit like that.

The sides were all there for the 10:30am start except Barkle for the South. The threat of rain, the potential low light levels and the end of summer saw the skippers agree to reduce the match to 45 overs with XI named to bat and a 9 over bowling limit. So when Martin won the toss he was a little slow in electing to bat much to the confusion of the North who felt that the damp, green and spongey looking pitch would suggest the South's traditional reliance on their bowling attack would mean bowl first.

At this point it is worth mentioning that by captain’s mutual consent, the match was reduced to 40 overs part way through the South's innings and that in the day the North lost 1 more wicket than the South, extras were 3rd highest total for both sides, the North quite possibly had the 2 best bowlers of the day and the North scored two 50's to the South's two – one of which was somewhat more than a half-century.

However that is where the comparisons end.

Opening the innings for the South were Kieran White and Andrew Haines.

After a slow and solid start by the South openers with some probing bowling by Jimmy Walsh and Adam Horvarth the introduction of Scotty Baldwin saw the demise of Kieran White with the score at 48 off 10.3 overs. The score had just started ticking above 4 an over the previous 2 overs, the South looked set for what the skipper was after which was a score close to or around 220. It did to collective wisdom & experience seem to be a pitch suited to that sort of total. What do we know? Hereafter followed the one man show of Andrew Haines who chanced his arm once or twice, which is the way he plays. Incredibly well supported and observed at the other end by the reluctant number 3 of the South Ben Fulton the pair put on a partnership of 277 in 26 overs... 10 runs an over. When Ben was dismissed for 88 off 79 balls by Baldwin he had seen Andrew score over 150 of his runs and the score was at 325. 26 more runs were to be scored in the final 4 overs of which Andrew scored 25 of them. The South finished on 351 for 4 off 40 overs, with Baldwin taking 3 for 28 off 7 overs and Jimmy Walsh 41 off his 8 overs, extras were 3rd top scorer with 37. Andrew Haines finished 206*.

On his way to 206* Andrew passed the LNZCC Club record of highest individual score, the previous being 174* (?) and Andrew & Ben also set a new Club record for the highest partnership for any wicket 277.

In all Andrew hit nine 6’s and twenty-eight 4’s. Yes, that’s right; he scored a century in 4s.

From the North skipper Chris Hamilton...

The North innings had to be Chappell-Hadlee epic in reply. But this was a day that belonged to Andrew Haines and the South. An early wobble at 20/2 and hope of pulling off something amazing ourselves fluttered away like a disinterested spring-morn tui. Worthy batting notes for Andrew Neal 52 (27) who retired to tend to Gem who’d had a (thankfully not serious) DIY incident, Jimmy Walsh 57* (40) and a customary nuggety knock of 41 from Justin Fredrickson. Also noteworthy was a Michael Gane side-on run out, a Vaughan Robertson side-on run out; two caught behinds by the 1980’s veteran Richard Fish with the gloves, and an absolute scorcher of a catch by George Burdon in the slips cordon (off Sam Martin) to remove the dangerous Jonty Vavasour cheaply. The North ran out of overs, making a still respectable 254/7 at the end of the innings. Only 98 runs short then.

I would like to finish with Andrew Haines. Would the result have been any different had the North held on to the one chance Andrew offered, dropping him on 74? Who knows? It was a tremendous innings of powerful striking. We threw everything at him with aggressive new ball bowling, attacking fields, defensive fields, unusual fields: nothing fazed him. 206* (110) scored at more than a run a minute was a privilege to watch, even with Northern eyes. He deserved to break the records. And Northern congratulatory handshakes were replaced with hugs. Batted & "Full credit mate".

Thanks very much to John Mennis and Hampstead CC for hosting at such short notice. Lunch was a delicious and wholesome Thai Chicken Curry which was very much appreciated. Thanks too to the two umpires and to both teams.