A Tale of Two Sitters
Woodmansterne won the toss and inserted
HWRCC 169 from 44 (Hibberd 69) lost to Woodmansterne (170-8)
Sayce, Cole, Hibberd, High, Whinney, Delbert, Clark+, Kennedy, Runsworth, Donnelly, Iqbal
On an ultimately unsatisfying day for the Wick 2xi the team found itself in the game it has been craving all season and bungled an opportunity to win and to stay top. A collective batting collapse which saw the Wick throw away a promising position at drinks and almost subside for 135 was rescued by Runsworth and Donnelly before a totally defendable total was rendered useless by the sort of fielding nightmares that Charles Wickens hopes never to see again in a Wick game.
This is not to take anything away from the opposition. Woodmansterne played the conditions and the crucial passages of the match far better than the Wick xi and thoroughly deserved their win. The marvellous Movell in particular bowled us out with an intelligent spell of Bertie Basset bowling mixing quicker balls, held back off breaks and other bits and pieces before smashing 12 off an over (with three of the truest bits of timing) just when we had brought some pressure to bear in the dying moments of the match. Despite others scoring more in their reply, he surely ripped the game from us and would pick up their MOM if there was any justice.
Clark lost the toss and was not surprised to learn that the oppo skipper fancied chasing our total. The ground was a mark or two off completely picturesque but is to date the prettiest that this corresp can recall this year. Woodmansterne opened up with a youngster who bowled an intelligent spell to the right handers and never allowed Sayce to settle. Saycey’s game cost him £15. Deduce from that how many runs he added to the total if you will. At the other end a wily campaigner bowled a very tight spell of away swing. Indeed had the Woodies’ skipper positioned himself anywhere but first slip the Wick would have been deep in the doodoo as both Hibberd and Cole edged the sort of straightforward slip catches to him that my grandmother (you will remember she is extremely old, with terrible curvature of the spine and prone to dizziness from previous reports) would have pouched with little alarm, stuffed the cherry into her pinny pocket and offered high fives all round.
Surviving these chances H&C painfully rebuilt from overs 10 to 20ish with the majority of the runs going to an increasingly fluent Hibby. Coley began to find his form lofting an offy over mid off for a well struck boundary before inexplicably holing out to mid on. The time to consolidate was upon us and to make drinks but Charlie unfortunately didn’t take the time to play himself in before spooning one up in the air to gullyish. However at drinks with Hibberd and Whinney in situ and really not much going on of note and the Wick poised at 80ish for 3 from 25 the game was, if anything, tilted in our favour.
Brainless batting then undid us. Hibberd and Whinney having nudged the total along (Hibberd passing fifty) Whinney subsided in a way that Charles Wickens cannot remember. Just when the situation required caution Hibby then miscued one to be unluckily (but out nevertheless) caught at midwicket on the short boundary. The very next ball Delboy poked one to silly mid on. Clarky was undone by one that was held back, playing his shot far too early. Duncan played back to one that he should have played forward to and the pre-match much vaunted middle order had thrown away the position.
Runsworth (a good Dickensian name – Dickens would always include characters in his novels whose names were intended to convey something about their character [Mr Gradgrind in Hard Times for example is a particularly unflambouyant industrialist]) then put the game into perspective by scoring a valuable 20 supported by first Tommy D and then Iqqers to drag us to 169 which was probably 30 more than we could have expected but also 30 short of par.
There can be no excuses for this display. The track was perhaps a little puffy and two paced but most batsmen will be rueing injudicious shots and poor technique today, not reliving a snorter than they got an unfortunate touch to or magic catch in the ring. Just plain lack of craft and lack of playing themselves in Hibberd, Coley and Whinney excepted. We didn’t even manage to get to 47 overs which would have applied just that slight bit more pressure in the reply and shows the rapidity of our capitulation – 7 wickets falling in 19 overs.
Tea looked better than it was. 7. DBW is looking a better tea technician as the season progresses.
169 – while short of par – was definitely defendable and Charles Wickens is confident that we probably would have removed the Woodies for less than 100 in 30 overs had we not fielded like pillocks. The stand in skipper demanded an extras free performance and the bowlers at least delivered on this, no one overstepping the mark until late in the day.
Whinney bowled beautifully. He won’t be this unlucky again in a game of cricket. He was too quick, too spiteful, too much of a handful for any of the Woodies he bowled to with the new ball. We were already into them as Tommy D strangled one opener down the leg side, Clark taking a tumbling snaffle. Whinney thoroughly exposed the other opener (he rushed off down the other end and aimed a heave at T Dizzle to get back to the safety of the pavilion) and the number three – who scored 55 valuable runs – did not play him at all well. This was fire and brimstone stuff. And here one of the two sitters of the title was grassed and the seeds of our defeat were sown. When the number three had scored 10 of his runs he was undone by a bouncer and fenced a cut shot away to point. Mr Takethisninetyninetimesoutofahundred just… dropped it. It would have been easier to catch it. Really. Inexplicable.
Iqqers bowled a wonderful spell dispensing with the number five caught at slip brilliantly by Whinney. The boy has some reactions. “Hand Junaid” troubled all the bats and gave the skipper control for a brief period. Others would begin to build pressure but we leaked boundaries from leg side full tosses just when we didn’t need to almost always from the first ball of an over. Having given them 51 overs to chase our total down boundaries needed to be at a premium, but weren’t.
The fifth wicket partnership (the reprieved Patel and the young opening bowler) swung the match decisively in the Woodies’ favour. Again inexplicably the No 6 prodded one to cover which should have been taken but Mr Findawaytodropit did. This – to add to the first howler worth 45 – cost us another 25 priceless runs. And here the game was truly lost. We briefly got back into it as the No 3 holed out at long on from a Cole special, the No 6 feathered a returning Whinney behind and some panic set in to produce a run out that was so comprehensive that Clark even had time to fumble the throw before removing the bails.
The skipper gambled on keeping his quicks on in the post 7.30pm gloom but Movell, mentioned earlier, took us to the cleaners backing himself and his eye to finish the job with three coruscating fours in one T Dizz over. Junaid was brought back as he was the only bowler able to swing the thing with any consistency and defeated him next over but the damage had been done and it was too much of an ask to take the final two wickets with less than a boundary needed. One tight LBW aside there was nothing doing and Woods crept over the line.
Shame. Big shame. We should have won this game there is no doubt in Charles Wicken's mind. It is truly devastating to create the chances you need to win a game and see them squandered. There were other half chances many of which might have turned the game again – a close run out, a couple of “drops” – but we were the authors of our own failure here, no question.
And that is the tale of two sitters. A proud undefeated record stretching back to 2006 surrendered along, no doubt, with the lead in the championship and a handy buffer of points. As the Woodies said in the bar we’ve been dragged back into the pack. We simply must perform better next week.
MOM Iqqers for coming back at the death and almost turning them over.
[Here's a picture of Runsworth and some fantastic breasts - Ed]
Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club * 1863 - 2013 * 150 Glorious Seasons
Sunday 27 July 2008
Woodmansterne 2xi vs HWRCC 2xi - Match Report by Charles Wickens
A Tale of Two Sitters
Woodmansterne won the toss and inserted
HWRCC 169 from 44 (Hibberd 69) lost to Woodmansterne (170-8)
Sayce, Cole, Hibberd, High, Whinney, Delbert, Clark+, Kennedy, Runsworth, Donnelly, Iqbal
On an ultimately unsatisfying day for the Wick 2xi the team found itself in the game it has been craving all season and bungled an opportunity to win and to stay top. A collective batting collapse which saw the Wick throw away a promising position at drinks and almost subside for 135 was rescued by Runsworth and Donnelly before a totally defendable total was rendered useless by the sort of fielding nightmares that Charles Wickens hopes never to see again in a Wick game.
This is not to take anything away from the opposition. Woodmansterne played the conditions and the crucial passages of the match far better than the Wick xi and thoroughly deserved their win. The marvellous Movell in particular bowled us out with an intelligent spell of Bertie Basset bowling mixing quicker balls, held back off breaks and other bits and pieces before smashing 12 off an over (with three of the truest bits of timing) just when we had brought some pressure to bear in the dying moments of the match. Despite others scoring more in their reply, he surely ripped the game from us and would pick up their MOM if there was any justice.
Clark lost the toss and was not surprised to learn that the oppo skipper fancied chasing our total. The ground was a mark or two off completely picturesque but is to date the prettiest that this corresp can recall this year. Woodmansterne opened up with a youngster who bowled an intelligent spell to the right handers and never allowed Sayce to settle. Saycey’s game cost him £15. Deduce from that how many runs he added to the total if you will. At the other end a wily campaigner bowled a very tight spell of away swing. Indeed had the Woodies’ skipper positioned himself anywhere but first slip the Wick would have been deep in the doodoo as both Hibberd and Cole edged the sort of straightforward slip catches to him that my grandmother (you will remember she is extremely old, with terrible curvature of the spine and prone to dizziness from previous reports) would have pouched with little alarm, stuffed the cherry into her pinny pocket and offered high fives all round.
Surviving these chances H&C painfully rebuilt from overs 10 to 20ish with the majority of the runs going to an increasingly fluent Hibby. Coley began to find his form lofting an offy over mid off for a well struck boundary before inexplicably holing out to mid on. The time to consolidate was upon us and to make drinks but Charlie unfortunately didn’t take the time to play himself in before spooning one up in the air to gullyish. However at drinks with Hibberd and Whinney in situ and really not much going on of note and the Wick poised at 80ish for 3 from 25 the game was, if anything, tilted in our favour.
Brainless batting then undid us. Hibberd and Whinney having nudged the total along (Hibberd passing fifty) Whinney subsided in a way that Charles Wickens cannot remember. Just when the situation required caution Hibby then miscued one to be unluckily (but out nevertheless) caught at midwicket on the short boundary. The very next ball Delboy poked one to silly mid on. Clarky was undone by one that was held back, playing his shot far too early. Duncan played back to one that he should have played forward to and the pre-match much vaunted middle order had thrown away the position.
Runsworth (a good Dickensian name – Dickens would always include characters in his novels whose names were intended to convey something about their character [Mr Gradgrind in Hard Times for example is a particularly unflambouyant industrialist]) then put the game into perspective by scoring a valuable 20 supported by first Tommy D and then Iqqers to drag us to 169 which was probably 30 more than we could have expected but also 30 short of par.
There can be no excuses for this display. The track was perhaps a little puffy and two paced but most batsmen will be rueing injudicious shots and poor technique today, not reliving a snorter than they got an unfortunate touch to or magic catch in the ring. Just plain lack of craft and lack of playing themselves in Hibberd, Coley and Whinney excepted. We didn’t even manage to get to 47 overs which would have applied just that slight bit more pressure in the reply and shows the rapidity of our capitulation – 7 wickets falling in 19 overs.
Tea looked better than it was. 7. DBW is looking a better tea technician as the season progresses.
169 – while short of par – was definitely defendable and Charles Wickens is confident that we probably would have removed the Woodies for less than 100 in 30 overs had we not fielded like pillocks. The stand in skipper demanded an extras free performance and the bowlers at least delivered on this, no one overstepping the mark until late in the day.
Whinney bowled beautifully. He won’t be this unlucky again in a game of cricket. He was too quick, too spiteful, too much of a handful for any of the Woodies he bowled to with the new ball. We were already into them as Tommy D strangled one opener down the leg side, Clark taking a tumbling snaffle. Whinney thoroughly exposed the other opener (he rushed off down the other end and aimed a heave at T Dizzle to get back to the safety of the pavilion) and the number three – who scored 55 valuable runs – did not play him at all well. This was fire and brimstone stuff. And here one of the two sitters of the title was grassed and the seeds of our defeat were sown. When the number three had scored 10 of his runs he was undone by a bouncer and fenced a cut shot away to point. Mr Takethisninetyninetimesoutofahundred just… dropped it. It would have been easier to catch it. Really. Inexplicable.
Iqqers bowled a wonderful spell dispensing with the number five caught at slip brilliantly by Whinney. The boy has some reactions. “Hand Junaid” troubled all the bats and gave the skipper control for a brief period. Others would begin to build pressure but we leaked boundaries from leg side full tosses just when we didn’t need to almost always from the first ball of an over. Having given them 51 overs to chase our total down boundaries needed to be at a premium, but weren’t.
The fifth wicket partnership (the reprieved Patel and the young opening bowler) swung the match decisively in the Woodies’ favour. Again inexplicably the No 6 prodded one to cover which should have been taken but Mr Findawaytodropit did. This – to add to the first howler worth 45 – cost us another 25 priceless runs. And here the game was truly lost. We briefly got back into it as the No 3 holed out at long on from a Cole special, the No 6 feathered a returning Whinney behind and some panic set in to produce a run out that was so comprehensive that Clark even had time to fumble the throw before removing the bails.
The skipper gambled on keeping his quicks on in the post 7.30pm gloom but Movell, mentioned earlier, took us to the cleaners backing himself and his eye to finish the job with three coruscating fours in one T Dizz over. Junaid was brought back as he was the only bowler able to swing the thing with any consistency and defeated him next over but the damage had been done and it was too much of an ask to take the final two wickets with less than a boundary needed. One tight LBW aside there was nothing doing and Woods crept over the line.
Shame. Big shame. We should have won this game there is no doubt in Charles Wicken's mind. It is truly devastating to create the chances you need to win a game and see them squandered. There were other half chances many of which might have turned the game again – a close run out, a couple of “drops” – but we were the authors of our own failure here, no question.
And that is the tale of two sitters. A proud undefeated record stretching back to 2006 surrendered along, no doubt, with the lead in the championship and a handy buffer of points. As the Woodies said in the bar we’ve been dragged back into the pack. We simply must perform better next week.
MOM Iqqers for coming back at the death and almost turning them over.
[Here's a picture of Runsworth and some fantastic breasts - Ed]
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1 comment:
There was also an appalling run out that was not given. A yard out. This is the lad who went on to score 45. The umpire lifted his finger and then remembered which team he was on...
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