By Will Macpherson
London: When the captain of Richmond’s fourth XI won the toss and invited North London Cricket Club’s third XI to bat first on Saturday, he was not envisioning a 424-run defeat that would end with his team bowled out for just two in one of the most one-sided games of cricket ever.
For North London’s captain Tom Spawton, it proved a great toss to lose. Playing in Division One of the Third Tier of the Middlesex League, his side, racked up a formidable 426 for six in their 45 overs, then promptly bowled Richmond out for just two in the space of 34 balls.
Spawton, though, was left wondering if it could have been even better. “One of the two runs was a wide, the other was a dropped catch at slip,” he told Talksport radio station. “We came away from the game thinking that we could have realistically bowled them out for zero.”
It was, according to Steve Deakin, Richmond’s deputy chairman and head of cricket, the “perfect storm”. The London club has a rich and proud history, dating back to 1862, and counts the great Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist among its former players.
But over the bank holiday weekend, they faced an unprecedented availability crisis, leading to fielding weakened sides containing players who do not usually play cricket, let alone for the club, including inexperienced teenagers.
“Our availability this week was really bad,” he said. “We had about 40 players unavailable across our five men’s teams. We were struggling already, then had seven dropouts over Thursday and Friday. That trickles down and affects the fourths. The captains were calling friends of friends of friends just to get our teams on the pitch.”
The scorecard for a club cricket match in which one side made 426 and bowled out their opponents for two runs.Credit: Via Instagram/bbccricket
Spawton realised before the game had even started that a win could be on the cards for his team, based on the opposition’s introductions and attire.
“They struggled to get a team together, what with it being a bank holiday,” he said. “There were a few lads saying ‘nice to meet you’ [to each other] before the game. There were a couple of lads wearing black trainers, which is a good sign [that they do not play often].”
Spawton’s own side was strong. With neither of their first or second teams playing, players who float between the seconds and thirds turned out for the thirds.
“It was the perfect storm, with a few lads who don’t play much cricket playing for us, and at the other end, a perfect storm with North London, who were able to put out a very strong third XI,” said Deakin.
“There’s no complaints from us. It’s a freakish thing. It was a perfect storm with a mismatch. We have all played mismatched games but they don’t often turn out like that.
“We are a strong club. We have five sides out on a Saturday and all five are in the top division we could possibly play in. We are the only club in the league that has that. We have a young side, with kids at school and uni and tend to get stronger in the latter half of the season. So we look forward to the return fixture!”
In North London’s innings, opener Dan Simmons smashed 140, but 92 made extras the next heaviest contributor, including 63 wides. In response, eight Richmond batsmen were out for a duck. Only the No.4 batsman got off the mark and made one while the No.9 was left hanging on nought not out. Spawton took 3-2, while his new-ball partner Matt Rosson took five wickets without conceding a run, and there was also a comedy run out – a key component of any great cricketing collapse.
“I felt for their lads after,” said Spawton. “It was a mixture of being embarrassed for them and also finding it quite funny.
“It’s not good for cricket. I did overhear a few of their lads saying, ‘Oh I’m not playing cricket again’.”
To make matters even worse, three of their players suffered injuries.
“Someone broke a finger, another got hit in the face, and a guy did his hamstring,” said Deakin. “It really wasn’t the day we were planning.
“The guys are being pragmatic about it and seeing the funny side. Hopefully the availability is better next week!”
