Haverford won the toss and elected to bat first on an overcast and humid day. The British Officers' opening bowlers successfully capitalized on the conditions, successfully swinging the new ball both into and out of the batsmen. Opening Batsman Nathaniel Rolfe was bowled out by a peach of a delivery in the first over, with a fast good-length ball swinging past the inside edge and slamming into the off-stump.
With the innings in early trouble, Raghav Bali arrived with the delicate task of guiding Haverford's innings through the early phases of the game. Raghav Bali and opening batsman Andrew Cornell did just that, putting on a 27-run partnership for the second wicket which brought Haverford into safer tides. The partnership highlighted the strength of both players. While both played conservatively, Cornell and Bali exchanged the strike frequently to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Cornell made excellent use of the straight back, driving the ball though mid-off and mid-on to find the gaps in the field. The pick of his shots was a lofted straight drive that slapped the ball straight back over the bowler's head and went all the way to the boundary for four. Not to be outdone, Bali violently drove through the covers to pierce the boundary line as well. The partnership lasted for nearly six overs before Cornell was undone by a stunning catch at midwicket.
Bali went through a couple of partners rapidly as the innings was shaken by smart bowling from the British Officers'. Senior Captain David White showed early intent and aggression, viciously pulling the ball through midwicket for four, but the same aggressive intent led to his undoing by a full length ball that unpredictably dipped at the last second. Jake Kutchins, however, successfully stabilized the innings and partnered magnificently with Bali. Showing incredible judgement with the bat, Kutchins was rock-solid in defense and allowed Bali the freedom to open his arms. With the flow of wickets stanched, Bali violently swept the ball through square leg for four, which was followed up mere balls later by an even more vicious hook shot that rocketed the ball well over the fine leg region for six.
Kutchins helped anchor the innings with smart drives and glances that rotated the strike; the pick of his innings was a well-timed slog sweep that shot the ball through the fine leg boundary for four. The duo tided Haverford to the end stage of the innings, but both fell before the innings was complete. Raghav Bali struck a personal best 39 runs off 46 balls while Jake Kutchins was most adept in his 36-ball stay for 18 runs. Haverford's tail was seen off by accurate bowling from the British Officers', with Haverford posting a solid 103 runs in the batting effort.
Haverford's bowling gave the exact response needed to restrict the British Officers' ability to score runs; with 25 overs in play, the British Officers' faced a doable required run rate of just over four runs per over. Junior captain David White slammed his foot down on that ambition in the first over, sending in two bouncers as his first deliveries before following up with a toe-crushing Yorker that sent the middle stump flying. The British Officers' promptly felt the presence of Raghav Bali in the bowling attack in the very next over. Fresh from his batting masterclass, Bali bowled with no mercy to the British Officers', varying his lengths from bouncers to Yorkers in a single over.
Bali swung a full-length ball away from the batsman to find the middle of the bat with his fifth ball. Unfortunately for the batsman, the ball was slapped straight to Sophomore Andrew Cornell at extra cover, who plucked the ball out of nowhere to make the catch. The British Officers' dug into to defend their creases, but the defensive measures led to another wicket. Bali speared in a ball through the corridor of uncertainty, forcing the batsman to play at a lightning-fast full-pitched delivery. The ball found the outside edge of the bat. The edge travelled rapidly and went extremely low, but David White, fielding in the slips cordon, dropped to the ground to pry the ball with his fingertips a mere inch off the ground to claim the catch.
The display of fielding left the British Officers' top order decimated, sitting on five runs for the loss of three wickets. Far from done, the middle order set-about the business of rebuilding the innings for the British Officers. Haverford's bowlers maintained their lines but the British Officers' capitalized on anything pitched even fractionally short, slamming the ball numerous times to the square leg boundary to haul themselves back into contention. The partnership for wicket motored onto the half-century mark and had the look of a game-changing stand.
However, Freshman Ethan Flicker sent in a topspinning delivery that bounced a little high and induced the mishit from the batsman. Junior Isfar Munir held onto the chance at wide midwicket to derail the British Officers' chase. With momentum on the side of Haverford again, Ethan Flicker found further success when a slower delivery was skied high straight into the hands of Nathaniel Rolfe at mid-off. From here, Haverford's ground fielding, which had already been exemplary in support of the bowlers throughout the innings, was thrown into sharp relief.
The game was a masterclass in defensive efforts from Haverford; a highlight of the ground fielding was a sliding stop on the ropes by Andrew Cornell which prevented an almost certain boundary. With the pressure mounting, the sixth wicket partnership was forced to hit big in an attempt to reach the finish line. Raghav Bali was reintroduced into the attack here, and found success, with a short-pitched delivery slapped to Junior Richard Phillips at point, who successfully held on to a juggling catch in the penultimate over. Bali ended the most successful of the Haverford bowlers with figures of 3 for 15 off five overs.
David White held his nerve in the final over, bowling a maiden to complete the 11-run victory.
For his outstanding performance with both the bat and ball, Raghav Bali was awarded the Player of the Match distinction. Haverford will look to carry this momentum forward into the Philadelphia International Cricket Festival, of which Haverford is a host ground. The first match is scheduled against the Wandering ANZAC's on Thursday at 9:00 a.m., followed up by a rematch against familiar foe Merion Cricket Club at Merion's home ground on the same day at 3:45 p.m.