This week Unicorns played the latest in their longest standing fixture of the club’s short history; a fourth match against Mermaids. The Birmingham University-based side has won one of the previous three encounters, with Unicorns winning one and the other a tie.
Jack Edmunds captained the side and called incorrectly at the toss as Mermaids chose to bat first on a warm evening at West House Sports Ground. Mermaids started brightly driving Chilton-Davies for four first ball of the innings before the opening bowler found a good line alongside Ann Sawyer, opening for the first time in Unicorns colours. With a top edge in Chilton-Davies’ second over bringing up the first six of the innings, Mermaids had got off to a steady start taking 22 from the first three overs. Then, Sawyer struck. Finding a nagging line outside off stump, Sawyer tempted the opener into a drive straight into the hands of late arrival Jake Williamson in the covers. The wicket checked the Mermaids progress and Lachlan Smith’s superb opening ball, a yorker well dug out by the new batter, was followed up by five more dots as he opened with a maiden. Ann Sawyer followed suit. Her wicket taking over was backed up by another well directed maiden, which was later confirmed to be her first ever! It earned her a post-match pint as well as the on-field plaudits! She returned excellent figures of 1-8 from her three.
Despite the early wicket Unicorns would not take another until the 14th over, as the Mermaids pair put on 80 for the second wicket to take the score past 100. In the 14th Abdul Kasim struck with Williamson again the catcher, this time having to contend with the dipping sunlight. Kasim took another in his next over, clean bowling the new batter but with Mermaids still having one set batter, a big score looked likely. As Mermaid ticked on at a rate of around 7 per over, stand in skipper Jack Edmunds picked up late wickets courtesy of a return catch, a clean bowled and Dilly Brainch’s juggling catch in the covers.
Chasing 149, stand in captain, flat-track bully and Mermaid assassin Jack Edmunds waited until the fifth over before heaving one of his five sixes of the innings. He and Williamson put on 58 for the first wicket before the latter was bowled for 15, just before Mermaids’ wicket-keeper, out in the centre, vented his frustration at his side’s fielding for the first time of many. After Williamson’s departure, Edmunds brought up his fifty with back-to-back sixes in the ninth over, the first over midwicket and then over square leg as he took charge of a 72 run partnership for the second wicket before Ravi Amruth was caught in the 14th. Joe Draper, a Unicorn debutant, drafted in late on hit a six of his own before Edmunds brought up a majestic ton with a flick for two, with Unicorns needing just 2 runs to win.
The comfortable win was seen off in the 16th over by 8 wickets and we travel next to Northamptonshire to face new opponents, Barton Seagrave! (Scorecard vs Mermaids)