13th June, 2021 | ACME | Westcott, Bucks
ACME Heritage vs ACME Upstarts
ACME Heritage 138/7 (30 ov) lost to ACME Upstarts 139/7 (28.3 ov)
ACME wins again at ACME FEST scorcher.
Mick Johnson writes;
This was the second ACME Fest and the event grows in stature. We were blessed with cloudless blue skies, unblemished save for a hungry red kite and the take-off and landing of a single propeller plane.
We could have been in Galle. The Rothschilds have kindly planted some semi-mature oaks to shade the crowd. ‘A copse, not an orchard’ – informed leading arboricultralist Jean Reid, later to be seen elegantly perambulating the boundary with Luka, the more obedient of the canine spectators. Luka also did a spot of umpiring early on.
The first event was the junior Acme Youth game which was well attended and enjoyed. Photos will be posted as I do not have the vocabulary to describe how joyful this game was. As is proper, I will not single out the stand-out the future Acme stars, but they know who they are.
On to the secondary event. The two teams are intriguingly given the handles of Acme Heritage and Acme Upstarts. If the actual boundaries of the pitch were as blurred as these two distinctions, there would be more fours than on the river at Henley on a Saturday. Early and Bowden, beaming in their new ‘Upstart’ status, belied their age – Early bowling tidily at the start of the innings and Bowden pouching a sharp catch at gulley.
Heritage batted first and it was all about partnerships: the first of the father/ off-spring opening pairs, Kethanaa and Kethes Singar, put on a sprightly 26 before both were dismissed - Kethanaa caught by the ungallant Upstart skipper (Marshall) and then her father, bamboozled by the unplayable Early. The following partnership of 40 between Bahyr and the stratospherically risen (batting order-wise) Prest was, for my eye, the revelation of the innings -deft touches mixed with animalistic clubbing.
Dil was the senior partner in the following partnership with the under-par Suva, who was clearly unsettled by the decision by the Heritage skipper to make him wicket-keeper. Brutal is the best description of the final partnership of the innings between Reid and the AussievWelsh Koch, putting on 37 before Sir Norman gave way to the under-dressed but resurgent talent of Mooney. Johnson - did not bat. Innings complete at 30 overs – 137 for 7.
The bowling was as democratic as could be with 7 wickets spread amongst 8 bowlers. The pick of the bowlers was new boy, Niranjan who failed to strike but bowled his 4 overs for 6 runs having not bowled a ball for (he says) 20 years. Nishan looked dangerous at first change. Tea was superb – a mixture of Sri Lankan delicacies, Al’s mum’s delicious tart, Nigel’s wholesome sausage rolls and some splendid cakes (see photos) including the ‘ACME cake’ made by Nirosha.
For the Upstarts, Scott and son Ethan Kelly put on a creditable opening stand of 12 before they were brushed aside by the guile of Reid. Early then batted through what seemed the entire Upstart innings, scoring 7 runs, but being the rock around partnerships of 55 with Marshall (30n.o.) and Zaheer, and 13 with Niranjan. Prest eventually got the better of both Early and Niranjan (to some swift glovework from Johnson, taking over behind the stumps from Suva). The game was evenly poised when the real meat of the game was brought on: Kethes (quick and accurate), Suva (nifty leg breaks) and Prest (thoughtful,
spinning both ways) against Haris, Hoskin (30 n.o.), Vatsan and Bowden. Upstarts won by 3 wickets with 9 balls spare.
Putting aside some dodgy VAR decisions, the game was played in excellent sprit. The supporters brought an added dimension to the game and the players are, as always, appreciative. The evening was pleasantly balmy and a commemorative ACME cap and bag of wine gums were presented to the Player of the Match, Kethanaa.
More photo's available at:
Full Scorecard:
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♥♥♥💯so happy to play with so many lovely people .beautiful people game .