Rosenfeldt puffs as we come up short at Esher

Esher 239 (50.5 overs - Tallent 73, Moores 49, Porter 4-40, Chetwode 2-47, Copleston 2-50) drew with Old Cranleighans 232 for 6 (44 overs – Gates 61, Merry 58, Copleston 53, Ahmed 2-45)

Fresh from back-to-back wins the previous weekend under Henry Watkinson, the captaincy was handed to Tristan Rosenfeldt. After listening to his self-promotion while we trekked across India, it was time for the big man to show everyone whether he was all hot air. Signs that it was came when he immediately announced it was “without doubt a prouder moment than my future wedding or first-born’s birth will be”.


On a pitch in wonderful condition, Esher won the toss and confidently decided to bat. With one short boundary and a lush outfield, it certainly looked a day for the batsmen. This was proved to be the case when after 27 overs of the new regime, with the skipper relying on Mike Chetwode and Alex Craven to get the early wicket, Esher were trundling along comfortably on 117 for 0. This score certainly did not reflect the quality of bowling, but emphasised the woeful fielding. The absence of Damien Hill (who stumbled out of a Clapham nightclub the night before and no doubt made a few 3 or 4am phone calls to certain female members of the OCCC India tour before eventually hitting the sack) from the field for the first hour didn’t help.


Johnny Gates, a man with a burgeoning reputation for not being able to catch a cold, shelled two in as many overs to take his season’s tally of drops to four, much to Chetwode’s amusement. Chetwode bowled his usual tight line, a perfect example to many of the youngsters playing and was unlucky not to have a better haul to his name.


The breakthrough came when Moores was caught behind by Rob Merry, via the back of the bat as he shaped to sweep Hill. It was at this point that Chris Porter came into the attack. Taking just a few balls to get into his stride, he took his first wicket of the day in his second over with a ball that jumped … cue wild celebrations and a Porter clenched fist.


It was a renewed buzz and atmosphere around the field that greeted Sohail Ahmed (one unnamed OC, finding out he was a Pakistani Academy player, chirping “well, you’re gonna be embarrassed when you get a duck”). It is his third season at Esher and he has no doubt adapted to Surrey life wonderfully, and promptly got off the mark with a well struck six. However, life at the Academy had in no way prepared him for Eds Copleston.


Having been found out on the turning wickets of the subcontinent as a man who offers no spin at all, Copleston and Porter become our very own Warne and MacGill. After being smacked for 10 in his first over, Copleston deceived Sohail with a cleverly flighted, slower, held-back delivery that dropped marginally short of the man at wide mid-on. He was clearly flustered, and Porter immediately picked him off, caught well at deep mid-on by Chetwode, exorcising the demons of the week before and his knuckle staying firmly within his skin.


This started a mini collapse. Copleston took a slip catch to remove Esher opener Tallent for a well made 73. Trusty, in only his 2nd game for us and a tennis player at school, showed his cricketing credentials with some solid ground fielding and topped off an outfielding performance with a well-judged catch in the covers … the same, however, couldn’t be said for Mark Shapland, who shelled an easy enough chance to deny Porter his first five-for for the club. The stares exchanged between them were reminiscent of the times Mark failed to deliver the bread and milk within three minutes of the break time bell going. A definite no-no.


Porter bowled well throughout and ended up with 4 for 40. Copleston picked up two wickets for his efforts, Rob Merry with some sharp glovework to get a stumping and Eds bowling the one that went “straight on” (the variation in action so very hard for the naked eye to pick up on). It was down to Craven and Chetwode to come back and polish off the tail with, backed up well with some good catching in the outfield, particularly from Jon Greeves, university housemate of Hill (the man who joined in the fielding banter with a scream of the name ‘Michael Jackson’, we still don’t know why). Between innings the teams trudged off for a wonderful BBQ and a couple of well-earned drinks.


Gates walked out purposefully - and full of chicken, steak and several sausages - to open the innings with Shapland, both being given a chance to make up for their dropped catches. Gates started well, looking solid in defence. This lasted all of four balls when Gates tentatively prodded one to mid-on and backing it up with a call of “Yes … no … wait ... no … yes … shit” which left Shapland run out without facing a ball. Shapland joined Sam Langmead as early-season victims of Gates’s calling.


Rob Merry, batting at No. 3, started his innings without the same fluidity he had the previous week, playing and missing at a few outside off stump, the run rate slowly rising. Gates on the other hand looked like a man with a point to prove, driving beautifully through the off and tucking away delicately off his legs. Merry found his touch, hitting two big sixes to overtake Gates and record his second consecutive fifty off 65 balls, including four fours in six balls. He was bowled, bringing Porter to the crease. He eased himself back into batting with a couple of solid fours before yorking himself with some poor foot movement.

At the start of the last 20 we were 116 for 3, 124 needed. Copleston kept us up with the run rate as Gates reached only his second OC fifty off 77 balls in a flurry of boundaries, before losing his head and being stumped for 61.

Copleston then took charge of the chase, running between the wickets like a man possessed and making a run-a-ball fifty, even though Esher were leaning heavily on Sohail who was tough to get away. Hill did a fine job in rotating the strike and proved to all that he can do a role at different times of the innings, particularly finding the straight boundary.


When Hill departed, sharply caught behind when trying to force one through the off, the game was evenly poised, but it turned when Sohail had Copleston caught superbly by Ahmed at deep mid-off for a well constructed 53.

Twenty off two overs was never going to be easy and the pedestrian Rosenfeldt and Greeves struggled to get the bowling away, not for lack of trying. Rosenfeldt, who perseveres with an over-tight shirt as if wearing it will defy the laws of calorific intake, showed his worth when he pulled a buttock muscle while swishing – in a John Inman manner – and missing. It rounded off a wretched day for the would-be skipper, but underlined he has the swollen ego and lack of fitness that the job demands.

We finished eight light but it was a great early-season game and at least Rosenfeldt avoided the humiliation of squandering our unbeaten record.