Match Report - 1xi vs Kempton - by Mat E Dee

1xi 152-9 (52) beat
Kempton 1xi 65ao (c.30 overs)

Great toss to lose this one. Overnight rain had left the pitch dank and warm to touch. The weather was overcast and cloudy, with it expected to clear up through the day. I was of course delighted then to be strapping the pads at 1320.

Ali and Davies started watchfully against disciplined bowling from Kempers. A difficult pitch (albeit slow) meant patience was the key. After seeing off the shine, both fell caught behind leaving the Wick teetering at 16-2. Day joined Raza and found things equally difficult but ate up some time allowing the deck to improve and runs to be accumulated later. When O’M joined Raza Kempers were on top, but a classy partnership progressed the Wick score slowly. O’M in particular looking serene with some wonderful driving and manipulation of the crease. His wicket was a total surprise, but Raza’s innings continued. You make your luck.

Mackie came and went, having ran about 10 but only scoring 2. Neither Tughral nor Tong were able to add much to the score. Cronin, battling hard on a difficult track propelled the Wick to a defendable 152 off 52 overs. (Kempers would get 43 to get them). This was probably below par, but not by much. Sure conditions were improving, but the pitch was like a teenage boy's face and would dry in this state making the bounce unpredictable. The extra pace could also work in our favour given our attack.

Teas – some potato salad and I think some scone action. 8.5 Id say.

Ali and Tong opened up, in conditions that would lead to wickets....the question being how many. Both lacked something at the start, but found their range soon enough. The ball was swinging an Tong took out an off stump to start proceedings. Ali, being tight without repeating the heroics of last week, kept plugging and beating the edge with some regularity. Tong – fresh from his 3rd place in the Miss Ghana 2011 competition, was replaced by Vishva who also began to make the ball talk. The rate started well for Kempers, but the Wick reigned them in with some discipline and some athletic fielding from Day and others.

Day replaced Ali and with the aggression of a firework up his arse chuntered in like Hoggard used to. He seared one in first up, lbw and things went from good to excellent sooen thereafter. Vishva nailed the #3 with a ripper and then immediately took out another. Day at the other end was bowling like a man possessed. Caught point (great catch from Mackie), bowled, caught sq leg, ct 1st slip and ct 2nd completed a quite ridiculous return of 5.2-5-7. That’s 7 wickets. And 5 runs. Some real pace and venom in many of those balls and no less quality in the supporting fielding cast.

Great stuff.

MOM – Adam, Raza and Cronin did well with the bat, but Daisy’s spell would win any game. Wallop.

Caption Competition...

SAT TEAMS - 25TH JUNE

SAT 25TH JUNE

1ST XI V Kempton (H)

1 Ali 2 Davies © 3 Day 4 Raza 5 O'Mahoney (+) 6 Mackie 7 Cronin 8 Tughral, Zo 9 Tong 10 Abeyrante, Vishva 11 Tughral, Zam

U: B. Sissen S: A. Whitcher

M: 12:00 S: 13:30

2ND XI V Dorking (A)

1 Cole 2 Rashid 3 Fudge © 4 Weerakoon, Naveendra 5 Crowther 6 Clements Tom 7 Copeland H (+) 8 Tanveer, Fahad 9 Breakwell 10 Unsworth 11 Lown

U: S. Riley S: N/A

M: 11:00 S: 13:00

3RD XI V Walton on Thames (H)

1 Risman 2 Ratnage 3 Singh © 4 Byrne, Dan 5 Hirsch 6 Rudolph, Matt (+) 7 Oliver, Robbie 8 Charlton E 9 McMullan 10 Linter 11 Ilyas, Aqeel

U: N/A S: N/A

M: 12:00 S: 13:00

WICK

WED & SUN TEAM NEWS

Wed XI vs. Hampton Hill C.C. (Away)

1) High (c)
2) Rashid
3) Cronin
4) Davies
5) Byrne
6) O'Mahoney
7) Clements +
8) Oliver
9) Abeyrante
10) Weerakoon
11) Vijayakumar

Meet @ Hampton Hill - 17:30
Start - 17:45

SUN XI vs. Sutton C.C. (Home)

1) Tong (c)
2) Jackson
3) Madoc-Jones J +
4) Miles
5) Dann
6) Madoc-Jones D
7) Vijayakumar
8) Nehru
9) Smith J
10) Bal
11) Smith G

Meet - 13:30
Start - 14:00

Saturday teams to follow.

WICK

India and DRS... Just Asking...

The BCCI has vetoed the use of DRS in the forthcoming Test series and Wickman thinks he knows why. Two words. Graeme Peter Swann.

If you were sending a side over to play in English conditions and were already worried about fronting up to pace, swing and seam of the calibre of Anderson, Tremlett and Broad what would you do tactically to negate the threat of England?

There's little you can do about the quickies. But you might have a look at England's most potent weapon of recent years and decide that if you could knock out one of HIS major weapons you would. The LBW. It's widely accepted that Swanny is getting more wickets than folk such as John Emburey and even The Turbanator because umpires have been convinced to give more LBWs on the front foot to off spinners in particular.

Wickman hasn't got access to exact stats but Swann gets more LBs than anyone did in the past bowling offies. And that's because umpires started giving them following the introduction of Hawkeye - the technology telling them that more balls were hitting the stumps than was accepted before.

So it stands to reason then that if you take out DRS, Swann will get fewer decisions in his favour. Now here's where you would have to get really deep into the numbers. Does Swann get given a significant proportion of his LBs on DRS reviews? Wickman feels as if he does get another 25%. Just a feeling mind. So have India pulled a fast one?

It depends. I wonder how many Swann victims have got away with ones sliding past leg stump or being hit outside the line playing a shot due to DRS? It could be similar. And given that we think that umpires are more likely to give them on the front foot now - with, it stands to reason, more reason to doubt... taking out DRS might actually backfire on the Indians. Imagine MSD - apparently the most vocal opponent backed up by (surprise, surprise) other senior bats including Tendulkar (you wouldn't hear bowlers asking for it to be withdrawn) - being trapped just outside off stump (marginal but DRS wouldn't give it) and someone unimpeachable like Aleem Dar sending him on his way.

Poetic justice. So will Indian chickens come home to roost?

Just asking...

Thames Ditton vs 1xi - Match Report by our man with the snorkel, Matty D

"Matty D believes toss will be important at Thames Ditton"

Thames Ditton 1xi vs HWRCC
HWRCC 92 Vishy 20*
Thames Ditton 80 Nomaan 7-40

Scorecard

Forget what you think you know about cricket, cos you aint seen nuffink yet. Saturday was an incredible game in a season that is fast becoming one for squeaky bums...

We played Thames Ditton in the cup earlier in the season and won well although not totally convincingly. The weather was however always going to be a leveller and the greenest of green tops welcomed us at the Village Green. They did however have covers, which actually meant the difference between a match and no match. At 1310, in dry but sunny conditions both teams were warming up, before the heavens opened and fleeing to the clubhouse I was reminded of Sanderstead from 2010. Nail biting stuff.

An hour later after the heavens had tired, we ventured out to find an outfield moist but drying, and a track dry but green and even softer than before. This would be a crucial toss, or so you would think.

The odds of losing the toss 6 times in a row is 1 in 64. This therefore makes me as clever as Paul the Octopus, who correctly predicted the path of Germany successfully through the recent World Cup, only to say they would lose in the final, which they did. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10567712. If we had as many arms as he does we may be able to catch a bit better and make our lives a lot easier.

Rather than describing the game, I will show you the Blackberry message narrative between two Wick members (who shall remain nameless) – one who watched the entire game, the other who was a keen observer. Their emotional rollercoaster mirrored those playing and provide the clearest description of the action:

Day off Wick: Keep me updated on the score.
Day off Wick: 4 balls into the 3's game and the heavens have opened and stopped play. Pissing it down.
Day off Wick: Are you playing?
Spectator Wick: Just about to toss up here & heavens open....chucking it down
Day off Wick: Forecast got it spot on. Heavy rain from 1pm to 4pm across Surrey. In the bookies. Best place to be on a day like this.
Day off Wick: Got covers?
Spectator Wick: Yes, I reckon we'll be on in a couple of hours.
Day off Wick: Always the optimist.
Spectator Wick: Covers coming off.
Day off Wick: Who won the toss?
Spectator Wick: Haven't tossed up yet. Won't be using the lucky coin ;)
Spectator Wick: Starting at 14.30.
Day off Wick: Who's bowling?
Spectator Wick: We're batting, Matty D lost the toss...
Day off Wick: ATS
Day off Wick: Playing?
Spectator Wick: 11-1 after 6. Can bat for 44
Day off Wick: Who is out?
Spectator Wick: Nomaan. Bowled by Curtley Ambrose. 19-1 off 9. Difficult track, green.
Spectator Wick: 23-2 Mattyd bowled
Spectator Wick: 23-3 Kam bowled duck.
Day off Wick: Start doing a rain dance!
Spectator Wick: 38-4. Day bowled. Bonay & High in
Day off Wick: All 4 wickets bowled? Raining now.
Spectator Wick: Yes! Spitting, clear behind
Spectator Wick: Sunny now!
Spectator Wick: 51-4. High has hit 2 boundaries.
Spectator Wick: 51-5 High holes out. Caught mid off
Spectator Wick: 53-6 Cronin yorked. Turning into a bit of a Jakki (Jakki Brambles – Shambles)
Day off Wick: Bonay still in?
Spectator Wick: Yes with Zohaak
Spectator Wick: Er......no. Just caught at mid wicket. 53-7
Day off Wick: I'm surprised Matty was so desperate to play. Always think in conditions like today, anything can happen?
Spectator Wick: 63-8 Zam gets under a slower ball, caught mid on
Spectator Wick: 68-9
Spectator Wick: Zohaak caught 1st slip.
Day off Wick: What did we end up with?
Spectator Wick: 92 all out 41.1
Day off Wick: Deary me.
Spectator Wick: Bad toss to lose
Spectator Wick: 2-1. Nomaan wkt with 1st ball
Spectator Wick: 2-2 another bowled!
Day off Wick: Game on.
Spectator Wick: 11-3 Nomaan c&b
Spectator Wick: Suddenly 92 looks a long way off.
Day off Wick: Fact. Should have declared on 80 and given themselves more time to bowl the oppo out.
Day off Wick: All gone quiet?
Spectator Wick: Kam has dropped 2, 2 lbw's not given 52-3 now
Spectator Wick: 59-4. Their top man run out
Day off Wick: Run out! Chasing only 90! Schoolboy.
Spectator Wick: 60-5 played on
Spectator Wick: Kam catches 1 at cow 68-6
Spectator Wick: 68-7 Nomaan bowled
Spectator Wick: 68-8 kam bowled
Spectator Wick: 75-8. Curtley hit a huge 6. Facing Nomaan now...
Day off Wick: Curtley the key.
Spectator Wick: Riley has just given him lbw b Kam, plum in front of middle 80-9.
Spectator Wick: WICK win 80 all out
Day off Wick: WICKWASH
Spectator Wick: More like WICKWASHout.... ;)

...and relax...

A few points that you may have not picked up from the above:

1. Vish and Shri put on 24 for the final wicket. Vital, vital, vital.
2. Their opener was excellent – decent pace and got 5-50 from 21 overs unchanged.
3. The track was lethal, so 92 was below par, but not by much
4. Teas were very good – the softest bread Ive had in a while, although as always lacked the variety of HWRCC
5. Cricket is a game played in the mind....92 was 1 more than they were gonna get.
6. Nomaan got 7 wickets, and had 2 cathces dropped off his bowling (Day had one drop as well)
7. The run out turned the game – MattyDs throw from the boundary, Tuggles Zam demolishing the stumps to get rid of the danger man #4.
8. Cheers to Ali for scoring, Riley for umpiring following the 2 s cancellation, Lloydy, Lown, Sissen and Bonay’s mum for watching.
9. Epic.

MOM - Vish. Diving around like a gazelle in the field and scoring 20 vital runs at #10. Shri was the same. Neither got a bowl (despite being bowlers), but with the bat they made the difference and turned 3 or 4 points into 20. Nomaan is Nomaan. Class.

3xi Match Report by Lownsy

HWRCC 3xi vs Old Hamptonians (Friendly)
HWRCC 1
Old Hamptonians DID NOT BAT

Ratnage, Lloyd, Hirsch, Oliver, Soppitt, Rudolph +, Bendall, Charlton, Donnelly, Linter, Lown*

The 3rd XI were given a week off league cricket due to Old Tiffs falling out of the league. With 5 wins on the bounce, all were keen to keep up the standard of cricket, and a friendly against local rivals Old Hamptonians was just the way to do so.

With heavy rain on the Friday, the pitch inspection from Del did not sound promising (“we are playing on that? You have got to be joking. Let’s not be nonsensical about this.")

Having lost the toss, Wick were put into bat into what was now a 20/20 match. Ratnage opened up and left the first ball which pitched on middle and sort of tennis ball bounced to the keeper. The second ball was a bit straighter so Sam played a solid looking forward defence back to the bowler who fielded the ball. The third ball was a bit too straight and hit the thigh pad. But with height and going down leg, there was no appeal. The ball ran off towards fine leg and they ran a leg bye. Lloyd faced the next ball and again played a solid enough looking forward defence. 1-0 off 0.4 overs. Then the rain came. It was a bit like that scene in Forrest Gump when he is out in Vietnam:

“One day it started raining, and it didn't quit for four months. We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin' rain... and big ol' fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath. Shoot, it even rained at night..”

Everyone went back into the clubhouse for 45 minutes whilst we waited for the rain to stop. Once it did, the pitch was unplayable, and with it being a friendly, it was decided it was not worth chewing up the square. So we all got back in the cars and headed back to the Wick.

In terms of tea report, we didn’t stick around long enough to get a tea. However after a stop off in Sainsburys on the way back, I had a really nice southern fried chicken wrap and bag of Doritos, Lloydy went for a Moroccan chicken and cous cous dish and Linter had a BLT sandwich. 7/10

MOM went to Dave Bendall for his signaling of the leg bye – struggled with the balance after lifting his leg up and almost fell over, but composed himself enough to give a tap on the thigh which allowed Ed to note down correctly.

Blog Eases to 20,000

The Blog has received more than 20,000 page impressions since its birth. Wickman is not entirely sure what this means for the future of Wick cricket but it seemed signficiant enough to mention. The magic number was reached during the team announcement for Saturday.

Post Match Beers - Saturday

Gents and Alison. The clubhouse has been hired out on Saturday evening so we need to make ourselves scarce post match. Celebratory Lash is at The Forresters in Hampton Wick. Riley - mind the furniture...

It's all for the greater glory of the Wick...

Directions...

Teams - Saturday 18th June

SAT 18TH JUNE

1xi vs Thames Ditton (a) Meet at 12.00
1 Ali, 2 Davies ©, 3 Day, 4 Raza, 5 O'Mahoney (+), 6 High, 7 Cronin, 8 Tughral Zo, 9 Tughral Zam, 10 Abeyrante, 11 Shinde

U: TBC
S: A. Whitcher

2xi vs Maori Oxshott (h) Meet at 12.00
1 Cole, 2 Rashid, 3 Fudge ©, 4 Singh, 5 Crowther, 6 Clements, 7 Weerakoon, 8 Copeland H (+), 9 Fahad, 10 Webster, 11 Goodwin

U: S. Riley

3xi vs Old Hamptonians (a) Meet at 12.00
1 Hirsch, 2 Ratnage, 3 Lloyd, 4 Rudolph (+), 5 Soppitt, 6 Oliver, 7 Charlton, 8 Donnelly, 9 Lown ©, 10 Linter, 11 Ilyas, Aqeel

Wick Folk in Cricket and Drink Shocker

A select group of individuals headed out to Old Deer Park last night to drink beer and watch cricket. It was a T20 game between Middlesex and Glamorgan. Well. What did you expect? The best (read least blurry - Riley lad you need to see a doctor) pictures here...

"Kilner and Bonay wait to see who will buy the first drink"

"Matty D's Emma Freuds were acting up so he stood throughout"

"Fudgey turns on the charm with Mummy D while Amooray listens in to pick up tips"

"Fudgey fills his boots while Pinball looks as if he already has"

West End Esher vs 1xi - Match Abandoned

But not before Kammy scored 82* out of 137...

Scorecard

1s still in the promotion spots... table

Match Report - 3xi vs Chertsey by Nate Dawg

Wick Win Top of the Table Clash

Hampton Wick 3xi vs Chertsey (kingsfield)
HWRCC 121 all out Clements 47
Chertsey 101 all out Charlton 4-18
HWRCC win by 20 runs

Scorecard

Rather sexy looking table

On Saturday the 3s hosted league leaders Chertsey. With 1 point separating the two sides and third place Woking not having a league game it provided a perfect opportunity for the Wick to move to the top of the league.

Thankfully, after the downpour on Friday night, the sun was shining on Saturday morning and although the wicket was damp and spongy the forecast suggested that we would get the game in. The Chertsey skipper won the toss and elected to field first. It was a good toss to win as the ball was swinging around corners and the pitch was assisting with some variable bounce. Anthony took full advantage of these conditions, removing Ratnage and Singh with the first two balls of his first over. At this point I should mention that he was only 14 and could only bowl 6 overs. He returned figures of 2 for 6 from his spell so we were happy to see him taken out of the attack.

After the loss of the two early wickets it was an uphill struggle for the Wick. The main objective now was to bat for as long as possible, knowing that a score of 150 would be a good effort on this wicket. Byrne came in at 4 and lead the rebuilding effort. He was supported by Risman and Lloyd. Despite not getting many runs they hung around in difficult conditions seeing off the opening and first change bowlers. Things were beginning to look better for the Wick until Byrne was eventually given out LBW (although there was a lot of bat involved) by Ratnage.

With the score 70 for 5 Chertsey decided not to continue with their faster bowlers and brought on their spinners Pulling and Raeside. They continued to take wickets and slow our progress but Tom Clements managed to keep the scoreboard ticking by punishing anything short from the bowlers. He was the last man out but his important innings of 47 helped us to a total of 121.

At this stage Chertsey may be forgiven for coming off the field thinking that they had done enough to retain 1st place in the league. However, I felt that we were only 20 runs light of a very competitive total and after a quick tea we got back to Kingsfield to do some fielding drills and to be prepared to show them that we were not going to hand them the victory.

Tommy D and Aqeel opened the bowling. Chertsey moved onto 25 for no loss as Tommy struggled to find his usual length and Aqeel, who was getting some late in-swing, was unlucky not to get a wicket. This prompted a change in the bowling as Eddy Charlton replaced Tommy D. Ed made an instant impact keeping a good off stump line with the ball moving away off the seam and bowled Houghton with an excellent Yorker. He looked like their most dangerous batsman and with this wicket we were on our way as Ed soon claimed the other opener who edged to slip and the number 3 who chipped one up to Byrne at mid-wicket.

With the score on 80 for 6, rain interrupted play. Chertsey were on the ropes and they knew it. As the rain came down they were huddled together in the Kingsfield shed trying to come up with reasons not to come back. It seemed like they were ready to take a winning draw. Thankfully the rain lasted about half an hour and after another 15 minutes, in which Chertsey were making up rules to take as much time out of the game as possible, the match recommenced.

Chertsey came out positively hitting a few boundaries but their resistance all but ended when Aqeel bowled their captain with a full delivery that he was looking to smash away. Aqeel then made short work of Raeside and finshed the innings off by removing the middle stump of the number 11.

This was another good victory for the 3s. We have been used to posting big totals this season and closing the game out after the first innings. It was good to see that we have enough belief to handle the pressure of defending a low total. Clements (47) and Ed Charlton (4-18) were the outstanding performers in the game. The MoM goes to Ed Charlton for a magnificent spell of bowling, in which he cleaned up Chertsey’s top order batsmen.

That's Just Not Cricket - 2xi vs Godalming - A view from the Balcony

"Green Top at Wick 'Not Cricket'" - Ed

HWRCC 2xi vs Godalming
Godalming 99 (Fahad 4-18)
HWRCC 100-4 (High 47*)
HWRCC wins by 6 wickets

Scoreboard

Godalming made the trip to the WICK on Saturday and in a tight league where the top 5are separated by just 10 points every game seems to have an added sense of importance attached to it. Godalming did the double over the 2s last year (gifted two wins by inadequate displays) and yet despite us finishing 30 points ahead of them in the league the Balcony felt that we really owed them one.

With the local area having seen its first real soaking of the spring/summer in the days leading up to Saturday's match, we were greeted with a green pitch and a lush outfield. Despite its greenness on top, it was firm below and promised to do plenty early on but with bright skies and drying wind this would be an important toss to win. Skipper Fudge did just that and had no hesitation in asking the oppo to bat.

If you have ever played at Godalming you will know that is the best batting track in the league. If you haven’t, think of an Oval net with short boundaries and a bare outfield. The bounce is true and the pace prefect enabling batsman to play through the line and get maximum reward for their shots. However Godalming is not the norm so you can understand Skipper Fudge's surprise when he saw the surprise on Godalming faces on being confronted by a green top. The pitch was already in their heads as the majority of the team stood looking over it, cursing. Fudgey for one doesn’t mind a sporty track and we all think that a fair contest between bat and ball always makes for a better game and invariably an early finish (hiccup). Runs scored in testing conditions or even good bowling to exploit a helpful pitch live longer in the memory than a boring run fest and a dull draw. That’s just not cricket.

So The Wick had the psychological advantage, now The Wick had to make the most of winning the toss by bowling well and taking its chances. Webster (legitimate excuse) arrived 20 mins after the start of play so Dom Lown and Fahad Tanveer (late with no legitimate excuse) took the new ball. Both made an excellent start, bowling tight lines and joining the dots before Tanveer made the breakthrough having the opener Stow caught behind. You often hear the saying “bowling in partnerships” and we saw real evidence of that on Saturday as Lown continued to bowl well and keep things tight whilst Fahad claimed the first three wickets of the innings. On another day Lown would have grabbed a couple himself however a return of 0/19 from 7 proved to be the perfect foil for his partner. Fahad bowled with pace and control, cart wheeling Dawson’s off peg before being too quick for skipper Tunna (normally caught fishing outside off stump according to legend) and bowling him too. Godalming were 21-3 and furthermore were still seemed distracted by a pitch that actually hadn’t contributed at all to any of their dismissals.  

Skipper Fudge in his new role of a “batsman who bowls, but not quite enough to be considered an all-rounder for fantasy cricket purposes” replaced Lown and once again (to the continued amazement of his team and himself) found consistent lines and lengths at a quick enough pace. By this time the Godalming batsman Wright and ex-skipper Harms were digging in and although still struggling to time the ball, they were at least getting in behind the ball looking to build a total that would at give them a chance of returning home with some points. 21/3 became 51/3 before the skipper struck with a ball that pitched on middle stump and jagged away from the left handed Harms. Harms did well to get an outside edge on it and Harry did well to get to an excellent catch low down. 51/4!

Webster, who had now been on the pitch long enough to allow him to bowl, replaced the excellent Fahad and immediately caused the batsmen problems. Wright was caught (more groped, gathered and clutched) by Jackson at cover for 19 and Powell plucked at silly mid-off by Naveendra for 0. Godalming were on the rocks at 61/6. Enter Hale and Haine. Hale who was by far the most vocal of the Godalming players regarding the state of our pitch continued to mutter and shake his head during his brief and uneventful stay at the crease. Perhaps he should have put more energy into smashing short and wide balls from the tiring Fudge than bemoaning the surface however he neglected to take up these invitations and when Fudge finally relocated his radar he cleaned him up with a ball far too quick for this no.6.        

So that brings us on to Haine. We don’t normally comment on oppo players except in passing but Haine is a strange chap and invited speculation in this particular instance. He too was apparently unhappy with the conditions and proceeded to what we can only describe as sulk for the length of his innings. Between balls he mainly spent his time with his arms crossed, looking to the ground, or on other occasions he would spit and phlegm on the track (that's just not cricket) making it even greener that it already was. One gets the impression he would have rather have been anywhere else but the WICK on Saturday and based on his behaviour we shared the same sentiment. He was eventually dismissed in uncertain circumstances. Given out for hitting the ball on to his boot and being caught again by Naveendra at silly mid-off there was confusion as to whether or not it had hit the boot, the ground or his spit? Either way, Nav took a great catch and he was back in the hutch. Wickets 9 & 10 followed shortly after and Godalming were dismissed for 99. Tanveer finished with WICK best figures of 4/18, Fudge 2/22, Webster (who has been excellent this year) 3/20 and Nav 1/14. Our old friend E X Tras top scored with 25 and the WICK required exactly 100 from exactly 60 overs to win.

Tea was Tea. A typically great home spread that always gets an 8 or a 9, but bagged the higher of those two marks this week for pre-Wimbledon strawberries. What more is there to say? Nothing! So we will briefly touch on teatime habits and two players in particular that caught this scribe's eye.

This is my 18th consecutive season playing at the WICK and your correspondent has worked out that in that time I must have averaged at least 15 DBW teas a year, it follows that I have eaten somewhere in the region of 800 cheese and tuna combination sandwiches in over 270 sittings. And in those years I have shared tables with some of the WICK greats including Flux, Mansfield, Kennedy, Culham & Bloom but this Saturday I had the pleasurable company of Risman and Lown. “Riso” is a legend in his own time, WICK through and through. He has played at the WICK for years but if anything he seems to be getting younger, not older!! And maybe I have discovered his secret? Sweet no Savory! A plate full of cakes, scones, muffins and biscuits were accompanied by a strong cup of tea, this is the diet of a man who has played cricket in three (maybe four) decades for the WICK. Is it the sugar that he thrives on or the reluctance to try and DBW egg sandwich? Whatever the answer it works for him and will dramatically effect the way that I “tea” from now on. Lown on the other hand goes for a balanced approach piling up a plate full of sandwiches and savoury items before making his way to the sweet end of the table where he carefully selects which biscuit or cake will be his pudding. These are carried separately to the savoury items (careful not to cross contaminate the two) back to his seat before being placed direct onto the table. This caught Riso’s eye in particular as he remarked about the cleanliness of the table, but Lown seemed satisfied in the knowledge that DBW had properly wiped down and with his job (bowling) done he tucked into his hearty meal.

So to the run chase! Another low total, with plenty of overs but in true WICK style there would be the odd hiccup and nervous moment before we could celebrate a well deserved 13 points. The biggest of those moments came at 25/4 with Cole, Fudge, Goulborn & Jackson all dismissed by the impressive Dominic Dawson but (as the balcony pointed out) with the batting order just about right it was concluded that we had all got out on purpose in order to let the men in form finish the job.

Mackie and High in particular were watchful early on and then clinical later on as they accelerated their innings perfectly to see the WICK home by 6 wickets. At this level High is the most talented batsman in the league and could (provided he stays with the 2s and doesn't get a well deserved call up to the 1s) win the league for us. His destructive style was too much for Haines who bowled shorter and shorter the further and further High despatched him. More foldy armed sulky poses would follow.

So we are now in the top 2, and with the unpredictable Maori in town next Saturday, we will be hoping for another green top and another home victory.

That is Cricket!

MOM - Fahad. It is one thing winning the toss in helpful conditions but it is another bowling brilliantly in them and taking 4 for not very many. He set up the match for High and Mackie to finish.

WICK

Getting Wick With... Adam Selves

"Selvesy in preparation for his Best Wick Moment"

Committee member Selvsey is currently hors de combat owing to his other half producing a new Self. But what lies behind his obdurate batting and opposition tormenting slowies?

1. Nickname: Selvesy, (or Brittle Fat Head in the good old days - always injured when playing rugby)
2 Highest Score for HWRCC: 30 not out vs Old Wimbledonies (down as unsure on play cricket - as if the site itself could not believe it)
3 Best Bowling for HWRCC: 6-37 vs Esher
4 Favourite Away Ground: Streatham & Marlborough
5 Favourite Food: Iberico Ham
6 Favourite Singer/Band: The Verve
7 Favourite Movie: The Big Blue
8 Favourite Book: Anything by Hemingway or JG Ballard
9 Favourite Pub/Club: Sailers return, Weymouth, Dorset
10 Favourite Crisps: Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper
11 Favourite DBW Sandwich: Salami
12 Favourite Quote: "What is human life but a game of cricket" 3rd Duke of Dorchester.
13 Childhood Sports Hero: Neil Back
14 Best Wick Moment: Being carried home by Chedwood after cheese and wine night.
15 Worst Wick Moment: Breaking my wrist dropping a catch off my own bowling in my first game (trials match 2009) then not saying anything and playing on as not wanting to look soft at a new club. Missed the whole season as the wrist set out of place while having a good night out in Barcadia.
16 Invite 3 People to Dinner (Dead or Alive): Hemingway, Ballard and Dickens (all loved the sauce).

2011 CLUB CURRY NIGHT...

A BIG thank you to everyone who attended the WICK curry night on Saturday and especially to our club sponors the Hampton Wick Tandoori for catering the event!!

The food was FANTASTIC!!

Don't forget that WICK, membbers, families and friends can get a 15% discount at the Hampron Wick Tandoori on the presentation of a 2011 Fixture Card.

WICK

Match Report - 1xi vs Roehampton by Matteee Deeee

HWRCC 268 - 4 (Davies 84, Nomaan 58)
Roehampton 172 (Farrell 100) Tong 4-27
HWRCC won by 96 runs.

Scorecard

When people ask me what I do for a living the conversation normally goes something like this:
'I work in regeneration'
'Regenewhat? Is that to do with flowers?'
'No. Imagine a area is sh*t....no jobs, it's messy, no-one can count etc etc. Well we try and make things better'
'Ah......another Beer?'

The above isn't technically true. The whole regeneration thing is, but I'm actually a professional (unpaid) cricketer who has a side job in regeneration that happens to be 9-5 monday to Friday. And this is the reason why.....

Roes won the toss on what looked to be a bit of a green top. It was however hard as nails and was clearly a batting deck, again. Upon insertion (ahem) the Wick again started brightly with Ali and Davies being aggressive when given the opportunity. The duo again put on another great opening stand of about 80 odd before Ali snicked one behind. Day, living a life more charmed than Aladdin, then scored 44 (for 3) in another decent partnership with Davies who continued his good form looking untroubled. Raza's late (late for a number 4 at least) introduction immediately saw the injection of some violence into proceedings, with a some large hits and some lovley poses to boot. Bonay and the Rash mopped up at the death to ensure we posted an excellent 268 off 41.5 overs. In fairness Roes actually bowled pretty well, especially the Mr Fuchs who kept a tidy line and lengh throughout. I suppose when your confidence is high and you're playing well runs just come - which is what happened on Saturday.

Teas - as standard. There was a wedding the previous day and some of the potatoes had mischievously found their way into the spread. And there may have ben some cold onion bhajis (dunno where they came from). 7.5

I said earlier that Im a professional cricketer because I will not be remembered for my ability to 'regenerate', rather it will be my playing of the great game - successfully or otherwise. We knew our response in the second innings had to be patient and measured, yet aggressive. These days you have to work for your wickets, and Saturday was no different. Tuggles and Tongbola started off and despite an old ball, found errors with the bats. Unfortunately we also found errors, principally with our catching - one at cow and one inexplicably behind the wicket. Amends would be made later however.

A decent opening stand was finally broken by the star of the day with the ball - Tong. There followed a tightening of the screws as the run rate grew and wickets started to tumble. An early declaration had given us time to take 10 wickets and as the pressure built so did the wickets column with Ali and Tong making inroads. No-one bowled poorly all day, but it was the turn of Raza who sparked the run for the finish line, with some wiley stuff. At the other end the Roes opener was soon running out of partners. With 8 overs to go and only 2 in the hutch, Tughral returned and saw a few large hits out the ground, with Farrell reaching a well earned 100. Next ball however he holed out to deep square where JMJ took a fine running match-winning catch in front of the baiting crowd and the sun set over the Millennium Wood. The vocal chords of AJ and Unsworth keeping the game as animated off the field as on it. The very next ball Tughral twirled his magic and it was over in a flash, Wick win by 96 runs.

That was a real slog of a victory against a decent Roehampton team on a fine surface. Its not coming easlity but its 4 from 4 and to a man we're feeling strong. MOM - G. Tong with 14 - 27 - 4. Class

Getting Wick With... Sir Matthew of D

Matty Bean Laden - Ed

Ah... Matty D. Wick man and boy, he rose up through the colts and sprang from the loins of a former Wick player. Now 1xi skipper it's a travesty that we haven't got Wick with Matty before. Here, in a nutshell, is Matty D in sixteen answers...

1 Nickname: MattyD, The Student, Skip
2 Highest Score for HWRCC: 127* away vs Ashstead
3 Best Bowling for HWRCC: I got 5 wickets on a Sunday 2XI fixture back in the day. The game was however abandoned - I was devastated.
4 Favourite Away Ground: West End Esher on the current circuit. Otherwise Eastbourne (139*)
5 Favourite Food: Andy Murray (Curry)
6 Favourite Singer/Band: Michael Jackson. End of.
7 Favourite Movie: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
8 Favourite Book: I do read but don't have a favourite
9 Favourite Pub/Club: Maybe the Teddy Arms on a midweek night?
10 Favourite Crisps: My head says McCoys, my waist says Snack a Jacks. McCoys it is.
11 Favourite DBW Sandwich: Tuna. Simplez.
12 Favourite Quote: BLOOMY
13 Childhood Sports Hero: Ian WRIGHT WRIGHT WRIGHT!
14 Best Wick Moment: It didn't involve cricket.... ;)
15 Worst Wick Moment: Godalming away 2008.
16 Invite 3 People to Dinner (Dead or Alive): Stephen Fry for facts, Jim Carrey for funnies and Cheryl Cole for Geordie banter. ahu

TEAMS - SAT 11TH JUNE

SAT 11TH JUNE

1ST XI V West End Esher (A)

1 Ali, 2 Davies ©, 3 Day, 4 Raza, 5 O'Mahoney (+), 6 Rashid, 7 Cronin, 8 Tughral Zo, 9 Tughral Zam, 10 Abeyrante, Vishva, 11 Shinde

U: K. Nicholls
S: A. Whitcher

M: 12:00
S: 13:30

2ND XI V Godalming (H)

1 Cole, 2 Goulborn, 3 Fudge ©, 4 Mackie, 5 Jackson, 6 High, 7 Weerakoon, Naveendra, 8 Copeland H (+), 9 Tanveer, Fahad, 10 Webster, 11 Lown

U: S. Riley
S: G. Unsworth

M: 12:00
S: 13:00

3RD XI V Chertsey (H)

1 Risman, 2 Ratnage S, 3 Singh ©, 4 Byrne, Dan, 5 Lloyd, 6 Clements Tom (+), 7 Oliver, Robbie, 8 McMullan, 9 Charlton E, 10 Donnelly, 11 Ilyas, Aqeel

U: N/A
S: N/A

M: 11:30
S: 13:00

WICK

Selection Committee - A New Play

*All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.*

Dramatis Personae:
Wick Skipper (No actual Wick skipper, obviously)
Wickman aka Chairman of Forgetting to Register Overseas Players and Selectors (not THE Wickman, obviously)

Act One: A mobile phone is ringing. It plays the BBC's TMS theme tune (naturally).
Wickman: Hello Wickman?
WS: No it's Wick Skipper
Wickman: I didn't think it was Wickman, I am Wickman.
WS: Ahu. (The face).
Wickman: Yes, yes, yes. What do you want?
WS: Good news Wickman, a mate of a mate is friends with an international cricketer who is available to play for us this weekend.
Wickman: Erm. Brilliant. Who is it? Don't tell me it's Mohammad Amir or Salman Butt or anyone like that?
WS: No it's someone else. Like them, but this is a fictitious cricketer who has been banned from all cricket, not a real one. None of our characters in this bear any relation to real people.
Wickman: Oh good. But he has been banned from all international cricket, yes?
WS: All cricket full stop that's under the jurisdiction of the ICC
Wickman: Ah. Like the cricket that we play at our fictitious club?
WS: Perfect
Wickman: Ahu
WS: (The face)
Pause... Wickman: Sorry?
WS: I made The Face.
Wickman: Okay
WS: So shall we play him then? We'd probably win.
Wickman: Oh yes. Fantastic idea. What are our options? Is he overseas?
WS: Well tehnically he wasn't out of the country in the qualifying period because he was busy in court. And he's doing a couple of NVQs in groundsmanship at Kingsto... erm... Made Up University... to pass the 4 years 8 months he's got left on his ban
Wickman: Okay so he's student visa. Bishty bosh. Perfect. No problem there. But don't we have to tell them he's first class?
WS: He's not. He's been sacked by Pakist... I mean the fictitious country he played for and naturally none of the counties will touch him with a shitty stick.
Wickman: Perfect. So he's qualified. What does he think about playing?
WS: Hee hee hee. I told him it was a private game at a private ground.
Wickman: Genius! Lively! Good Turkish!
WS: I thought you'd like it.
Wickman: Shall we get him to pretend he's one of the lapsed members and sneak him in that way?
WS: Standard
Wickman: Actually let's get him to pretend he's Shaun Whin... someone who played for our fictitious team last year
WS: Acutally Wickman I guess a few of the lads will have seen him playing fictitious test cricket
Wickman: Good point. He should play under his own name. There are plenty of people who play cricket who share that name. We'll pretend he is called that, but he's not the cricketer who's actually called that. And then when people ask why he's called that, looks like the person who is called that and has an identical bowling action to the person that's called that, we'll say he just looks like him and models his game on him.
WS: This is GENIUS Cla... Wickman

Saturday... 1.31pm

Umpire: Left arm over
Oppo Opener: *takes guard, looks up* Fcuk me that looks like a fictitious Test Player! Slips: Correct, he looks like him but it's not him *sniggers all round*
Oppo Opener: (as ball flies past nose at 93mph)Fcukmethatwasquick! And it really looks like Fictitious Test Player!
Oppo Skipper: I'm ringing the league and the Daily Star
Wickman: NO. NO. NO. NO. NO
WS: Busted...
Chairman Mao (or some other fictitious chairman): Wickman... that's another fine mess you've got us into...

T20xi vs West End Esher

M. Mackie*, C. High, M. Kilner, I. Rashid, A. Mahoney+, T. Goodwin, P. Vijayakumar, Naveendra, Fahad (tbc), P. Mcmullen, A. Crane [who he - Ed?]

Fixture details

Call Mmmmmackie for travel co-ordination, maps, rugs and general hand holding etc

Standards, Standards… Read all about them! - Match Report by Fudgey

"Someone in the cordon shouted 'see'" - Ed

Southern Kenley & Railway vs 2xi
Southern Kenley & Railway 92 (Abeyrante 7/15)
HWRCC 94/3 (Mackie 44*)
HWRCC WON BY 7 WICKETS -

Scoreboard

Saturday saw the WICK 2xi travel to recently relegated Southern Kenley & Railway desperate to get back in the saddle and ride as quickly as they could away from the dramatic fall they suffered at Woodmansterne the week before.

Southern Kenley & Railway (SKR for the rest of the email) is a nice ground. A cricket haven, surrounded by a concrete jungle! Having never been to the West Indies before the skipper quickly claimed that he thought it had the look of a colonial West Indian ground and that he could imagine Jamaican club cricket being played in such surroundings. The outfield was parched and the strip bright yellow. With short boundaries and warm conditions this had runs written all over it!

As a captain who bats this is a nightmare scenario. Your heart is shouting BAT, BAT you fool! Fill your boots! Yet your head (the part of your body that can still picture last week’s fall) gently coughs and says, sorry mate, but you’re going to have to bowl. The lucky coin carried on its merry way and as a head came down, I looked down at my feet, shook hands and said “we will bowl”.

The WICK 2s are a good side; in fact they are the best bowling side in the league and pride themselves on high standards in the field. 2011 stats show that only Woodmansterne currently take their wickets at a lower run rate (thanks to us - last week) and NO team in the league thus far has managed to score more than 150 against us. Even on such a batting strip we would back ourselves to bowl well, hold our chances and restrict the opposition. This is exactly what we did.

Leader of our attack, Unsworth, was this week partnered with the new ball by Fahad Tanveer ("Fast Cars" for the rest of the email) but could only manage 2 overs before he was struck down with a shoulder injury. Webster took over at the clubhouse end and was immediately into a good rhythm. Webbo & Fast Cars ("Sleazy Wine Bars" for the rest of the email) caused the SKR openers some real difficulties however they were both showing some fight and aptitude that from the scorecards on Play Cricket had looked as though it had been missing from SKR’s first 4 games. This resistance would not last for long however and Sleazy Wine Bars ("Never been behind bars" for the rest of the email) made the breakthrough, clean bowling Griffin (not Peter) for 13. Webster had the other opener caught by Vish at backward point and no.3, behind by Mackie, and we were well on top.

After a hostile spell from Never been behind bars, Vish entered the fray and bowled what turned out to be a career best spell. Bowling in tandem with Webster who finished with 2 for 33, both bowlers mixed up their deliveries perfectly having great success with slower balls and cutters on what, remember, was still a belting deck. Vish in particular bowled with great variety, but kept the ball straight claiming two wickets clean bowled and 3 more LBW. Backed up superbly in the field by some very good ground fielding, SKR never got away and although they stuck around for nearly 40 overs (again testament to the pitch) the WICK had once again done a great job with the ball.

Tea was taken on the top floor of the two tiered clubhouse with access to a long balcony and great views over the playing area. Tea itself was adequate with plenty to go round, but an over reliance on shop bought sausage rolls and warmed through samosas meant that only a 6 could be awarded. Although the Rosie was very good! No budget bags being used here! I also have a problem with very long tea tables and the proximity of ours to the opposition's, but that’s just me.

As I mentioned at the start of this report we set ourselves very high standards in the field and quite rightly so as they are more often than not delivered but even the call that followed the first ball of Vish’s spell on Saturday might have been expecting a little too much. “Come on Vish, line and length” was the cry from the slip cordon as Vish sent down a loosener short and wide of off stump that went harmlessly through to the keeper. Apparently now we don’t allow our bowlers the luxury of a ball to get loose. But then again the cordon, in its wisdom, might have known something we didn’t as the next ball careered into the no. 4’s off stump and the offending slip fielder shrugged his shoulders and said “see”.

I mention our fielding as we perform very much as a team, in what is the only facet of cricket that is actually anywhere near a team game. The 2s are a close knit bunch and with the core of the side playing under the same skipper for 5 years now we know what makes each other tick. I think we like the security of relying on each other and backing each other up, celebrating other’s triumphs and sharing our disappointment.

You can do this in the field but when it comes to batting it is very much each man for him-self and personal standards are all that matters. A chase of 92 on that pitch with our team was never going to be a problem and despite the loss of Naveendra early on, contributions from Cole, Jackson & Crowther along with a classy 44* from Mackie meant we breezed home in just 20 overs.

Mackie is a great example of someone who has very high personal standards and like any true cricketer (especially a batsman) is obsessed with stats. He is determined to score runs on any given occasion and detests a Saturday afternoon given up where he doesn’t trouble the scorer. He would have looked at the score we required to chase on Saturday and immediately thought that there was enough time for him to improve his average with an unbeaten score. This is how every batsman should be. When it comes to batting, cricket is a team game, played by individuals and it is those individuals and their match winning performances that get you promoted.

So the 2nd xi moves into a big month of cricket mid table and still well in the promotion push. I have been telling anybody who can be bothered to listen that this is going to be a very strange season as I think there are 7 of the 10 teams in our league who on their day could beat anyone and get promoted. Ironically if we had beaten Woodmansterne last weekend we would be top of the pile. As it is we are 4th and have only beaten the bottom three sides that are yet to register a win between them. It’s a funny old game.

MOM – Vishva Abeyrante for an excellent spell of 11-4-15-7

WICK

Match Report Wednesday xi vs Linden Park - by Wickles

"Someone bowled some left arm rubbish... guess who?" - Ed

Linden Park 239-8 (40 overs)
Hampton Wick 196-4 (40 overs)

Strange thing mid-week cricket. Unlike DBW teas you are never sure what you are going to get. The Wick X1 boasted 2 oldies (Lord Culham & The Chairman) a bunch of talented colts and the return of Dutchy behind the stumps. The oppo had 4 first teamers plus an assortment of older colts. The skipper (The Chairman) won the toss and elected to field. For the first 20 overs thing were relatively tight. Shri and Ed Charlton opened followed by the return of Pete Culham who bowled 5 accurate balls and a 4 baller per over. Robbie Oliver also bowled a tidy spell. The run rate increased with the return of Ed, who then proceeded to retire with an injured Achilles and the introduction of some left arm rubbish – guess who? James Madoc Jones and Joe Hirsch bought a few wickets. Towards the end of the innings the fielding sagged with The Chairman and Charles Edmonds doing very good Gary Sprake impersonations (Gary who?). Linden Park ended with 239- 8 from their allotted 40 overs.

Teas were the usual plus a bonus of scones with strawberries and cream 7/10.

Six an over was a tall order plus some of the Linden Park guys treated the game more like a test match rather than a Wednesday afternoon friendly. It turned out the Linden Park skipper was a Seagulls and Sussex fan. Apart from that the skippers had little in common. The oppositions skipper spent the next 40 overs either barking orders or taking the p*ss, particularly at the expense of a young colt known as “Milky”.

Back to the cricket. A solid start saw the Wick at about 40-1 after 10 overs with Joe Hirsch edging to gully. This was followed by the highlight of the afternoon. Harry Copeland and James Madoc Jones batted with a great deal of skill and determination, running numerous 3s and 4s on the large outfield. They put on over 100 for the second wicket and at around 160-1 with 8 overs left it was game on. The loss of Harry (56) and then James (75) saw the run-rate slow. Pete Culham went first ball whilst Matt Rudolph and Charles Edmonds struggled against a variety of left arm bowling. The Wick ended up 196-4 from 40 overs – a great effort against a more experienced team.

MOM – James Madoc Jones. The oppo stayed behind for a few drinks and listened to endless anecdotes from Brian Phillips about the strength of Kent cricket (perhaps that’s why Pete made a swift exit after the match).

Wickwash Count...

THREE... mwa ha ha ha ha

What Else Happened on Monday...

"Sri Lanka Bring In New Bowling Aid" - Ed

Bank Holidays. Don't you love them? Monday was a classic. Outside it was chucking it down in Wickman's new secret lair in Sunbury-on-Thames (gone are the closest to the Wick days). On telly the England vs Sri Lanka game didn't kick off until well after lunch and Wickman was only watching with half an eye as he attempted to wrestle with some work stuff.

Wearily he watched as England came out to bat to give Bellend a chance to get a ton and Morgs a few balls to ease it around waiting for Bellend to get there. In the decision to send him out Wickman sensed a bit of humanity which was missing when Atherton declared on Hick all those years ago and a tacit nod to the commentary box and those of us watching that the game had slipped beyond England.

Wickman vaguely registered there were 50 odd overs to bowl. With Jayawardene batting at 5 or 6 for them having assmebled a very competent ton in the first dig and the wicket looking a little bit less spicy than you would hope on the 5th day, he very nearly almost turned it off and got off his arse to finish massacreing a DIY job upstairs. But then lethargy set in and so Wickman settled down to watch his email and the Test out of the corner of his eye.

There were about a 1000 patient souls in the stands who were pleased to see some cricket after having to wait all day. Wickman guesses that they, like him, imagined Sri Lanka getting to 140 for three and with England only having three front line bowlers to rotate, endless dross from the commentators about make up for the side at Lords and acres of "do we really need six batsmen and Prior look what happens if a bowler gets injured" yawn yawn yawn.

And then this happened:

Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Paranavitana, 1.6 ov), 2-10 (Dilshan, 3.2 ov), 3-33 (DPMD Jayawardene, 12.5 ov), 4-36 (Samaraweera, 15.4 ov), 5-43 (Sangakkara, 17.2 ov), 6-43 (Maharoof, 17.5 ov), 7-43 (HAPW Jayawardene, 18.1 ov), 8-52 (Herath, 19.1 ov), 9-82 (Perera, 24.2 ov), 10-82 (Lakmal, 24.4 ov)

In less than two hours three England bowlers absolutely destroyed a Sri Lankan side that contains two of the world's best batsmen. It was unbelievable. And a little bit unreal. There were so few people in the ground and no Barmies that Wickman can remember that you could hear as clear as a Bellend, the fielders encouraging the bowlers. The guys in the commentary box couldn't believe it. The players couldn't. The viewers couldn't. The crowd wasn't big enough to create any atmosphere or tension. We just ran through them like an old school Middlesex League mismatch at some toilet in North London where we only brought 8 players.

No one could quite believe it. Even Bob Willis was unable to drone on about anything. None of the summarisers could explain it. All thoughts of selection issues were abandoned and we, and they, and England just bathed in it. Later Wickman was phoning a few people in a "Didyoufcukingseethatitwasunbelievable" kind of way. Many poeple hadn't bothered. And those that had were dazed and confused. Unlike everything in the winter it was just... weird.

And all of a sudden you have to ask yourself... how good is this England side in English conditions? Batting... Cooky... what can you say that wasn't said in the Winter other than now he's doing it in England? Well... Wales. Trott. Second in the averages to Bradman after 20 tests. Bellend. Wonderful to watch. 13 hundreds. Will outscore KP by the end of his career (but will be smashed by Cook who will play for another decade).

But the real revelation is the bowling. We now have a production line of fast and fast medium men who frankly have removed the hurt of watching 20 years of tripe, followed by that magic summer of 2005 and then a couple more years of mediocrity before this lot have spectacularly blossomed into... the World's best Test Attack. Yes Dale Steyn and Morkel are a handful. But has anyone else got the resources to outbowl us in these conditions? Four or five top class quickies and The World's Best Spinner? Wickman, gloriously, thinks not.

On this form Sri Lanka are not going to turn this series around. Their bowling is too weak without Murali, Vaas and The Slinger. Their entire strategy unravelled in Cardiff. Score 400+ and then bowl Murali all day from one end turned into "Ohsh1twe'vegotnothingbutpopguns" as we went past them for the loss of three wickets.

By the time India turn up with the World's best batting line up we should be in for a cracking series. Wickman is slavering at the thought...

Putney Rain on Wick Parade - 1xi Match News

"HWRCC Bowlers Confused by New Pink Ball" - Ed

Fullers Cup Match
HWRCC 235-8 45 overs Shat Bonay 56
Putney 158 - 4 20.5 overs
Putney chase revised target with some ease

Scorecard

A re-jigged 1xi were powerless to prevent Putney from chasing a revised target of 157 in 30 overs following a rain interruption on Monday. Bright innings from Bonay and Nomaan set Putney 236 to get - but a rain interruption reduced the target to 157 from 30 in very different conditions to the Wick knock.

In the event Putney managed the revised target with plenty of overs to spare. The Wick bowlers were condemmed by the wet outfield to bowl on a good deck with a bar of soap and Putney took advantage with few upsets. The Wick's cup run was terminated leaving the 1xi "free to concentrate on the League".

TEAMS - SAT 4TH JUNE 2011

SAT 4TH JUNE

1ST XI V Roehampton (H)

1 Ali
2 Davies ©
3 Day
4 Raza
5 Rashid
6 O'Mahoney (+)
7 Maddoc-Jones James
8 Tughral Zo
9 Tong
10 Tughral Zam
11 Shinde

U: K. Nicholls
S: A. Whitcher

M: 12:30
S: 13:30

2ND XI V Southern Railway & Kenley (A)

1 Cole
2 Weerakoon, Naveendra
3 Jackson
4 Mackie (+)
5 High
6 Crowther
7 Fudge (c)
8 Abeyrante, Vishva
9 Unsworth
10 Tanveer, Fahad
11 Webster

U: S. Riley
S: N/A

M: 11:00
S: 13:00

3RD XI V Sinjungrammarians (A)

1 Risman
2 Goulborn
3 Singh ©
4 Byrne, Dan
5 Lloyd
6 Copeland H (+)
7 McMullan
8 Ilyas, Aqeel
9 Donnelly
10 Charlton E
11 Linter

U: N/A
S: N/A

M: 11:30
S: 13:00

WICK

1xi vs Haslemere - Match Report by Matty D

"Nomaan made hay while the Sun shone - lots of it" - Ed

Spirited Haslemere Run Wick Close

HWRCC 185 Nomaan 78, Davies 57
Haslemere 145 Raza 3-10, Nomaan 3-28, Day 3-36

Scorecard

Haslemere arrived just in time for the toss, duly won it, and inserted the Wick on what looked a decent deck. Pretty flat, some grass but firm.

Ali and Davies opened up and immediately set about the task. Ali in particular making hay in the sunshine with a ball that wasn't swinging. A straight six in the first over set the tone. Davies wasn't far behind, throwing his hands through the ball when given the opportunity to do so. 40 became 90, became 129 in 20 overs, with no slogging, just genuine shots. Ali fell getting ahead of himself, trying to be a bit too clever, which in hindsight was an error. A sluggish Davies upon 50 then fell to the same bowler, a lazy shot being caught at midwicket.

And then things changed. The Haslemere left arm Ford-a-like found his areas and his swing which, while early at the start of his spell, was getting later and later. He ended up with 5 excellent wickets, clearing a path of destruction at one end whilst at the other the proberbial tease bowler took out the pin but controlled the ball well in a stiff crosswind. 129-0 soon became 150-7, a quite frankly ridiculous series of events, but if it can happen to Sri Lanka then it can happen to us too. Only Tong and Tughral Snr put together a partnership towards the end - thus giving the Wick a respectable if below par score of 185. We knew 129-0 flattered the pitch. It wasn't that good, but Ali in particular should be given credit for another stunning display of clean hitting.

Tea - DBW should write a book. 7/10, but the oppo would score it at least 9.

The weather offered to play its part - the wind had been strong all day, but a few drops [of rain or Jackson-like spills? - Ed] came along and threatened to disrupt the Wick in their pursuit of 10 more wickets. A strong opening burst on an unresponsive track from Day and in particular Shinde was rewarded by only one wicket. Shuffling things around saw Ali join in the fun, finding some shape. Tughral Snr also snared the important wicket of the imposing Haslemere skip. With wickets falling at regular intervals, and the Wick bowlers showing excellent control, the game was in our favour but Halsmere were still showing fight. Raza's introduction saw the final few wickets fall at the Wick pick up their 3rd straight victory against a decent Haslemere side who will win a good amount of games following their promotion last year.