HAVERFORD, Pa. - Haverford Cricket bounced back from a narrow loss to Malgudi Cricket Club to an imposing win against the British Officers' Cricket Club by nine wickets this Saturday. This is Haverford's third win against the rival British Officers' in just as many seasons.
Haverford won the toss and elected to field first on a hot, humid, and sunny day. The bowling and fielding effort was a masterclass in discipline and concentration, a product of the emphasis on mental fortitude in the game of cricket that has recently become a feature of Haverford Cricket. The new ball was taken by Senior Captain Raghav Bali and Junior Nathaniel Rolfe; the duo put on a hostile display of opening bowling that seemed to threaten a wicket with every ball. While the pace benefitted the batsman and mishits carried deep into the outfield, it was only a matter of overs before Rolfe was able to break the opening stand. Rolfe carefully varied his length with the batsman to induce a brilliant trap.
After pitching multiple balls at a full length, Rolfe unleashed a ferocious bouncer that the batsman could only hit as far as a prowling Jake Kutchins who completed a regulation catch at long off. Despite this early strike, Haverford's slower bowlers were punished by an experienced pair of cricketers from the British Officers'. With the scoreboard ticking, the captains turned again to pace to find a breakthrough, with Rolfe coming on for his second spell. The change was a brilliant move on part of the captains. Bowling again with venom and menace, Rolfe pushed a short ball that took the outside edge of the bat en route to wicketkeeper Matthew Leibold, who took his first career catch as wicketkeeper.
Despite this, the British Officers' seasoned players fell back on their reservoir of cricket experiences and continued to push ahead with the score. Kutchins was introduced in the death overs though and pulled out the stops to force the scoring to a standstill. In a brilliant display of intelligence and bowling, Kutchins roared to life with a brilliant toe-crushing Yorker that offrooted the batsman's off-stump to claim his first wicket. He saved his best for the final over of the innings.
Kutchins took three wickets in this over alone, the first coming off a brilliant run out from the covers region when the British Officers' departed on a quick single. Not one yet, Jake took two wickets in a row with his final balls of the over. The first was a good length ball that was top edged to midwicket, while his final wicket was a nasty Yorker that split the leg stump of the batsman. The late strikes pulled back the score, but still left Haverford College with an intimidating 128 run chase for the batting innings.
The opening batsmen Rolfe and Kutchins strode out to the middle with confidence and the mindset required to chase down the total. The duo took control of the game from the very first over, with both Rolfe and Kutchins deftly playing the ball through the gaps in the field to get started. Rolfe was the early leader as he displayed his full range of shots, favoring the square cut and cover drive as he hammered the ball through the offside for runs. The first boundary went to Kutchins however, with the ball being strong-armed through the square leg boundary with a well-muscled sweep shot. It was a harbinger of what was to come. Kuchins gained momentum at the crease and was visibly more comfortable as the British Officers' threw bowling change after bowling change at him.
Kutchins didn't flinch and responded with a resounding cover drive that shot past the offside fielding cordon to the boundary. The British Officers' next attempt to remove Kutchins from the middle was spin, another abject failure as Kutchins now displayed his ability to time the ball with a carefully judged glance that raced the ball away to the fine leg boundary. At the other end, Rolfe made full use of his raw muscle strength and pulled away a short-pitched ball to the midwicket boundary. Despite hitting well, Rolfe was finally undone by a nasty bouncer that took the glove on its way through to the keeper's gloves. Kutchins was now joined by Bali at the crease. Bali played a steady hand in the partnership as Kutchins continued to race away at breakneck speed. As Kutchins approached the personal score-cap of 40, he showed ever more confidence.
A pull shot at a low bouncer to the chest saw the ball to the boundary and Kutchins just a few runs short of the cap. Kutchins surpassed the limit of 40 with a spectacular six over square leg, with a crushing sweep sailing the ball over the tree line of Cope Field. Kutchins thus retired after a masterclass 42 runs from 43 balls not out; it will be remembered as one of the finest batting performances ever to have occurred at Cope Field. With this retirement, Andrew Cornell strode out to the middle to see the target off with Bali.
Bali continued his steady hand, using the pull shot three time to clear the midwicket boundary for four. Bali also showed his delicate shots, employing placement and well timed late cut to rotate the strike between himself and Cornell. Bali, who searched for form the prior weekend, successfully dug into the crease with resilience and determination to bring himself runs. With the scoreboard ticking along, Cornell found his boundary with a brutal straight drive through long-off for four. With the end approaching fast and many overs still to be played, Cornell drove the ball through extra cover; Bali and Cornell ran 3 runs on this shot, sealing the victory with over four overs to spare, with Bali ending on a 35-run effort not out.
The batting effort was a master class in its ability to so effortlessly chase down such a large total in such a short period of time. Fortitude and confidence carried the team through the chase, as did the technical aptitude of the top order. Kutchins in particular displayed his full range of all-round abilities and will look to carry forward this run of form through the year. For his stunning bowling efforts and herculean batting display, Kutchins was awarded the Man of the Match award. With this victory, Haverford Cricket draws it season level 2-2 and will look to continue its winnings ways through the season.