Post by arf on Dec 14, 2008 8:55:17 GMT
Middlesex record 1st victory!
The 08-09 cycle took a turn for the better when Middlesex finally secured their first win of the season! The match saw the last two winners of the Ron Banham Trophy face each other and in a close encounter it was Middlesex that came out top 8.5-7.5. Magnificent effort guys!
It should be stated from the outset that if Middlesex were to control their own destiny in seeking qualification to the ECF stage the match was a must win; a win that was obtained with your author leading by example. Yes I played a captain's innings! This gave us a 2-1 lead building upon two quick draws. Surrey fightback and obtain two wins to lead 4-3 after seven. This proved to be the only time they would lead the match as wins by Martin and Dave Ebbett see Middlesex regain the lead - 5-4; a lead we were never to relinquinsh. With Jim's win stretching the lead to 7-5, the question was ,'Where were the other 1.5 points coming from?' This question was raised as we were not ahead in any of the final four games and we also have to consider the following:
Surrey are one of those counties that seem to have 'Fortuna' firmly on their side. I suggest you look at the SCCU commentary on their 2007 semi-final match against Yorkshire - see attached link www.sccu.ndo.co.uk/0607/matchbcf.htm#U175.
This typifies the luck Surrey have during my tenure as captain and it would be no surprise if Lazarus-like they pulled off a similiar feat again. How did we obtain the 1.5points to achieve victory? Mike's result sees Middlesex gain the first of three required draws - score 7.5-5.5. Peter, Nevil and Jon's games were still better for Surrey and it looks as though Surrey could pull off yet another miracle, but then strange things happened. Peter's opponent on having the best of 'Good Knight v Bad Bishop' endgame concluded - or couldn't be bothered? - that he had no more than a draw. Score 8-6, Middlesex cannot be beaten. Despite a terrific rearguard action by Jon he finally admits defeat so Surrey reduce the margin to 8-7. The result of the match now hinges on the final game Chan v Atako. Now I don't know about you but one of the things I do as both player and captain is double check the match position before deciding on how to conclude a game. A case in point is the ECF Open semi-final match against Herts in June. Steve Coles confirmed the match position. The score stood at 7.5.-7.5 and a draw meant we would be elimanated by board count. By checking in he did indeed pull out all the stops and ground out a win. This win ensured Open team reached its first final in over a decade. Game details - tinyurl.com/6o4alm
In a must win situation, don't you try to pull out all the stops to see if you can win? Personally I say yes, however inexplicably Nev's opponent decided not to do any of the above, repeat moves and agree a draw. Middlesex stumble over the winning line - Ok so the records will show that we won so who cares how we got over the line! Well done to you all.
Match highlights? Too many to mention but the ones that stand out:
Martin continues his impressive county performance by recording his third win of the cycle. He currently has 3.5/4.
Dave Ebbett had a comprehensive win against Julien Shepley, the hard work was done in a dynamic middlegame in which he was able to generate a kingside attack to which Julien succumbed.
Mike and Dave White were involved in games were any inaccuracy on their part meant they would have slipped to defeat. And so it goes on.
What does this mean in the scheme of things? This result combined with Essex's surprising draw at home to Sussex means that at the halfway stage the table is a close one with all teams separated by 2points:
League table
1 Essex 3.5pts
2 Surrey 2
3 = Kent, Middlesex and Sussex 1.5
So far this season it seems as though all teams are fairly evenly matched! Just the way you would like a competition to be run!
Mid season report goes something like this:
To date it has not been possible to field the strongest XVI however the teams that have taken up arms have performed well and if luck were on our side the draw against Kent would have been a win as would the reverse against Sussex. The Essex match has been the only ocassion in which we have been outplayed. Don't worry they'll get their's!
Despite sitting in mid-table position it must be noted that:
1) The second half of the season traditionally is our strongest suit. 2) We have three home matches starting with Kent on the 3rd January 2009 and have the shorter away trip to Essex.
Although close we are still on course to qualify for the ECF stage. So thank you all for your efforts.
Match details - www.sccu.ndo.co.uk/match2.htm