Eddie Commons carries his bat under the Brondesbury lights

London New Zealand travelled to Brondesbury for the annual Friday Night Lights fixture.

In true LNZ fashion, two late additions were required on game day after sickness struck down a pair of stalwarts. Cometh the hour, cometh the mighty Rez, and alongside him came an LNZ debut for Thomas Mitchell. Skipper for the day Vaughan Robertson played the "joint-most Kiwi hockey caps" card to ensure we got the XI on the park.

In a return gentlemen's agreement, LNZ took the field first, repaying Brondesbury for a similar favour in a previous year. It seemed like a good idea at the time, although with a well-stocked bar sitting just beyond the boundary after a long week at work, perhaps batting first may have had its merits.

Opening with Cal and Vinay, LNZ made an excellent start. Settling into what can only be described as a fearsome South Island strike bowling partnership, Vinay struck with his very first ball and added another later in the over. He finished with outstanding figures of 4-30 from his 4 overs.

This brought Brondesbury skipper Nik Puri to the crease. He steadied the innings impressively, playing some classy strokes and anchoring the reply with an excellent 47. While he remained at one end for much of the innings, wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, ensuring the home side were restricted to a competitive but chaseable total.

Some would argue Frosty was criminally under-bowled, finishing with 1-6 from his solitary over, while Dom Askins also chipped in with 1-22 from 4 overs. Lauchie and Coutts both bowled well and were unfortunate not to pick up wickets of their own.

Behind the stumps, debutant Eddie Commons enjoyed an excellent first outing, taking two catches and keeping the extras column refreshingly low.

Chasing the target, Frosty and Lauchie opened the innings and quickly put the pressure back on the home side. The only real concern was Lauchie's long-running feud with the pink ball. Runs came quickly, with Lauchie even managing to injure fellow Kiwi and future LNZ player Jag with one particularly fierce strike.

Unfortunately Frosty's evening took a turn for the worse after being forced to run a three. He survived exactly one more ball before departing.

Eddie joined Lauchie and the pair took LNZ to around 70 before Lauchie succumbed attempting one big shot too many. Third time proved the charm for the fielding side and LNZ were two down.

Then, in traditional LNZ fashion, wickets began falling at fairly regular intervals.

One debutant may or may not have burned his skipper with an enthusiastic call of "two" when only one was available. As Vaughan trudged back to the sheds for a duck, words along the lines of "you'd better be there at the end" may have been exchanged.

Whether inspired by those comments or fearful of the consequences of not delivering, Eddie produced a superb innings. He carried his bat through to the finish, guiding LNZ home alongside the mighty Rez, who somehow found himself batting at number ten.

We'd like to think fear was the motivation. In reality, it was probably skill, composure and some excellent shot-making.

Welcome to the club, Eddie.

The post-match awards produced some healthy debate. Cal was named LNZ Man of the Match for what was described as a venomous opening spell to remove the dangerous Nik Puri. Others argued that Vinay had been thoroughly robbed after his outstanding 4-30, and many would agree that four wickets in a T20 is not a bad evening's work. Nevertheless, the judges were swayed by the perceived venom.

For Brondesbury, Nik Puri deservedly collected their Man of the Match award for his classy 47.

Both teams then retired to the bar for the traditional post-match festivities. There were reports of some light recruiting by the locals aimed at a couple of LNZ players. Hopefully loyalty prevails and they'll be back in black next season.

All in all, it was a fantastic Friday night of cricket, played in great spirit between two clubs that always enjoy each other's company.

Game one of three: completed.

Photos

Player of the match presentations at Brondesbury

Cal and Nik receive their player of the match awards