CREDIT:Â Hector Cappelletti a.k.a YahooOverCowCorner
Professional cricket seems to abhor a knock-out competition, especially in T20 Cricket. The cut, thrust and jeopardy of the whole concept has become anathema to the paid ranks in favour of certainty and a number of set matches to maximise ticket sales, television rights and any other aspect of the sport than can be monetised. Stakeholders like nothing less than witnessing their invested cash disappear in the flames of a shock result, regardless of the views of supporters. Thus, almost all professional competitions now feature a myriad of formulae, formats and stages to squeeze every last drop out of a saturated competition, the result of which are the flogging-of-a-dead-horse Super Sixes / Eights / Tens / Twelves or endless leagues that have become a staple of the modern professional game. Only when a competition reaches the point where any further league competition would become farcical does a knock-out phase emerge, although a professional competition doesn’t seem to have yet engaged in two teams emerging directly from a league into a final.
At amateur / club level, knock-out cricket still remains part of the season, particularly throughout the Premier Leagues. The emergence and growth of T20 cricket all but dictated that the highest levels of the club game needed to follow the professional game to some extent and T20 competitions began to appear in the Premier League structures as the new millennium progressed. The obvious time constraints on the highest level of the amateur game dictate that knock-out cricket is the most feasible option.
Of interest though, is the differing formats utilised by the various leagues in keeping their competition part of the calendar without over-burdening the players. Somewhat disappointingly, one’s local league, the Southern Premier League, has elected for a zonal group system for the current campaign, guaranteeing clubs a set number of matches.
In contrast, the surrounding Premier leagues (the Sussex and Surrey Leagues and the Home Counties Premier League) have retained the much desired straight knock-out format. The Home Counties Premier League features an interesting first round where four teams from the same area descend on one venue and play two semi-finals and a final on the same day with the triumphant club progressing to an overall Finals Day later in the season. Sussex, to the east, stage a large section of their respective competitions over a couple of weekends prior to the league starting in early May. Thirty-nine of the forty clubs in the Sussex League’s top four division take part in the Daniel Oliver T20 Cup (named after an instrumental figure in recent times for the Sussex League and a former Chichester player) with a preliminary round whittling down the entrants to thirty-two required for a simple, equitable knock-out competition played over four weekends throughout the season, culminating in a final at Hove’s County Ground.
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Indeed, it is to the coastal county that one heads for a Round One contest of the Daniel Oliver Cup and the most palatial surrounds of the Goodwood Estate for a contest between hosts Chichester Priory Park and Pagham, located down on the coast a short drive from Bognor Regis.
The latter win the toss and elect to field first in front of the distinctive Goodwood House. Opener Mike Smith bludgeons three consecutive boundaries at the start of the fourth over to manoeuvre the hosts into a commanding position. Messrs Smith and Simon Hasted take full advantage of the fielding restrictions and a fast outfield during the opening half a dozen overs. Pace off of the ball aids Pagham a little but Chichester still rattle along at almost ten runs per over as the innings moves into its second half and Hasted reaches a half century. Pagham begin to restrict the boundaries though with a particularly frugal spell from Connor Lennox proving critical. The dismissal of Hasted for 74 helps apply the handbrake further whilst skipper Nick Smith’s penultimate over of two wickets for just a single run highlights that Pagham have wrestled back the initiative.
Said initiative soon returns from whence it came though as Chichester’s opening bowlers, Miles O’Grady and Andrew Cookham, stymie any attempt to chase the still not inconsequential requirement of eight runs per over. Ollie Mason offers a riposte after the fall of the first wicket but Pagham require in excess of one hundred runs from the second half of their allocation. Left arm spinner Elliott Scott proves particularly effective with a trio of wickets. Mason’s exit in the fourteenth over all but confirms defeat for the visitors save for a late flurry of runs including a majestic six over mid wicket by Richard Bird. The reward for the hosts is a home contest against Bolney from Division 3 East on the first day of June.
The Surrey Championship’s Edwards Cup features the same number of entrants as Sussex’s Daniel Oliver Cup but provides the most interesting format though as their T20 competition includes a number of matches staged on mid-week evenings, channelling the unique atmosphere of evening cricket into the equation. Indeed, the decision to play the contest between Weybridge and Guildford on aFriday is rewarded with a healthy crowd probably in excess of 300 enjoying the early evening sunshine at the conclusion of the work week.
The match itself begins in extraordinary fashion as Guildford’s openers can only score runs from two of the first eighteen deliveries. Weybridge’s bowlers possess high class abilities and experience; New Zealander Joey Field from a first class career with Central Districts and recent success in the Super Smash, Luke Griffiths from a handful of Metro Bank Cup matches with Surrey. Field bowls with eyebrow raising pace and claims a pair of wickets and a maiden on route of figures of 2-10 from his four overs to put the hosts very much in charge. There is little respite from the change bowlers as Guildford’s batters are restricted to singles and twos with the very occasional boundary.
The visitors eventually pass fifty in the ninth over and begin to threaten an acceleration. Luke Griffiths returns to deter any renaissance but the partnership of Alex Sweet and Dominic Ortlepp-Atkins has gathered momentum, quietly passing fifty as Guildford begin to score off every delivery. Sweet reaches his own half century and boundaries become more regular as the innings enters its final phase.
The subtle ebbs and flows of a cricket match, even a T20 contest, have demonstrated how momentum easily shifts in a game as Guildford remarkably manage to post a total north of 160 despite the extraordinary genesis of their innings.
Weybridge’s response begins at 19.35 and with sunset at twelve minutes to nine one ponders the quality of light should the innings go the distance. Fifty-eight runs (including 22 extras) for just one wicket from the powerplay overs suggest that such ponderings may prove moot. Aidan Golding and Joey Field build on their burgeoning partnership in maintaining the hosts’ advantage and as the match enters its final quarter and the sun dips below the regency style houses at the Town End of the ground Golding and Field adeptly manoeuvre the bowling; the latter launching a delivery from former Berkshire spinner Oli Birts over cow corner for six to underline the hosts ascendancy.
Field records a match defining half century as the hosts reach their target amid the gloaming little more than five minutes before official sunset, albeit with fifteen deliveries remaining as Weybridge secure a home match against near neighbours Esher in the next round.
The dearth of knock-out cricket amongst the professional echelons perhaps engenders questions about who the various stratas of the sport are actually for? Much positive chat on social media about the women’s all-county knock-out competition highlighted that there is great appetite amongst supporters for the genre but the professional game is now so dominated by administrators and television executives that there is almost no chance of a grand return of straight knock-out competitions. There is simply too much money invested for such jeopardy to be accepted. Amateur and club cricket remain the domain of the players though where, to paraphrase Gideon Haigh, cricket makes money to exist. Whatever the varying reasons, knock-out cricket remains extremely popular with many British sports aficionados and, thankfully, club cricket still embraces the format even though the professional game treats the genre with general suspicion.
CREDIT:Â Hector Cappelletti a.k.a YahooOverCowCorner
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