Merrow Eat Words With Revenge on Menu

HWRCC 2xi vs Merrow CC 2xi (h)

Cole, Singh, Fudge, Hibberd, Clark, High, Soppitt, Donnelly, Iqbal, Lown, Unsworth

Merrow 84 (E X Tras 20*), HWRCC 85-2

HWRCC wins by 8 wickets

There’s very little to say about an ultimately disappointing game that left the balcony sages to conclude that Merrow must have availability issues this season. Having waited since the League dinner where Merrow ‘keeper Lock asked Lownsy with no hint of a smile “whether we were still bitter” that they had won the championship to shove that comment back down Merrow throats, when the game came round so easy was the stroll to 20 points that there would have been time for a 2020 game after and Clarky would still have made his restaurant booking at 9.00pm in Esher with time for a couple of vodka martinis to kick things off.

Merrow won the toss and chose to bat on what looked to be a good Wick surface. Rather lively for any other square, but good for the Wick. Lownsy took up where he left off last week removing the top three, all caught in the cordon off aggressive swing bowling a la Sidebottom, the only hint of alarm in Clark palming the No 3 to Coley at second slip. Fantasy points for Clark but not fantasy managers with Clark in their team. Sneaky. After a first game of the season when he couldn’t bend a banana, Lownsy is now looking very threatening having found a yard of pace in the nets.

Donnelly was gun barrel straight as per usual and deserved a better return than the one wicket he took – an lbw come bowled removing the gobby League dinner Wicky. He looked suspiciously at the deck. Those of us with lingering Wick memories will know that it’s a risky shot indeed to play back at the Millennium Wood end. Junaid, or, as Clarky has taken to calling him, “Iqqers”, then bowled a mature spell of five overs, also taking a wicket.

Coley, in his first game for the 2s this year, looked too good for Merrow’s middle and late order. Bounce did for a number of bats and a good legside stumping from Clarky removed the top scoring Merrow bat much to his evident frustration with the square leg umpire. Unsworth returned to the side from eating pies (sorry that should read University) and bowled a tidy spell exploiting the ridge to good effect. Hibberd was brought on as fourth or fifth change and promptly cleaned up the tail, two caught spooning the ball up and failing to get it off the square (Iqqers taking a running chance at square leg the pick) and comprehensively yorking a No 11 who was a ferret and no mistake. E X Tras top scored for Merrow.

The fielding performance was adequate. Three spills in the field again (although Fudgey is calling it two for the record books). However it was good enough to do for Merrow which is, after all, the point. Wickman does wonder though whether we would get away with it against some of the title contenders…

Tea. ATS. NO variation this week. 6.

There was not much to do in the batting department. Coley and Nate managed to perish to a left arm legger who was later savaged so badly by Hibby that he had to be taken off suffering from whiplash and shell shock. Fudge ended not out to bring his season’s average to a superhuman 106. Which is only beaten by the absent Wright’s career 2s average of approximately 200...

MOM is a tough call this week between Lown and Hibberd. This week it goes to Lown for removing the top three including the dangerous Mead who has scored runs against us in the past. And that’s it. Nothing else to say. Er oh yes. TFC. To Merrow. See you next week folks.