Wick 1xi beat Mitcham 1xi by 3 wickets

The Wick 1XI broke a few hoodoos last weekend. Previously we'd shown a tendency to beat the stronger teams and contrive to lose to the weaker ones. We'd also been struggling at home (a relaid pitch perhaps?) whereas been excellent away. On Saturday we beat the team at the bottom of the league at home. It was an important victory in what was the yellowest of potential banana skins. It was a little close for comfort, but a win is a win.

Batting first Mitcham threw the bat at anything wide. Some good bowling went unrewarded with gully and backward point seeing plenty balls fly in its direction of edges. But as the openers settled some more arthodox shots emerged, and Mitcham progressed well. The bowling was committed on a flat surface, with Ted in particular showing great discipline, and as usual Ali being very unlucky.

The breakthrough came from Iain Tong whose versatility is proving a valuable asset this year, Fin taking the first of 3 catches. Wickets fell fairly regularly thereafter, with most getting involved in the act. Special mention to Alex Dare who continued is fine debut season bowling 10 overs for only 22 and picking up two important wickets. A score of 182 was a decent effort from both teams. Mitcham, bottom of the league will have been happy with a score, whereas Wick fought hard and didn't let a poor start become a steep total. Run rate was never going to be a problem, it was whether we could play the clever inning needed to get over the line.

A source tells me that Alex Dare loves Dave's teas. I say he will soon tire of them. 7/10. No change.

The response required a confident start, and we got one. We lost three early wickets, but the rate was good and Ali and O'Mahoney in particular looked in control. The came the crucial partnership, with Raza and Murray proving excellent foils for each other, one finding gaps for 1s and the other looking to hit hard and pleasing the increasingly partisan balcony (Cheers Alison and co). Fin fell and Raza somehow managed to lazily contrive to put us under more pressure than was perhaps necessary. JMJ unfurled some glorious shots before being adjudged strangled down the leg side, which left Iain Tong and Davies to see the boys home with plenty of time if only 3 wickets left.

No obvious candidate for MOM, but id probably give it to Fin Murray. 38 runs in a vital partnership, 3 catches and a run out (even if it did come from his own misfield). We're on a bit of a roll and ever since Oxted we've felt like the Wick of old. Winning. Promotion is still very much on.

Wick xi vs Wine Trade


Wick 167-9 40 overs (Mackie 65)

Trade 123 AO (Wickets shared around)



Clark, Mackie, Madoc Jones+, Selves*, Chedwood, Gauvain, Webster, Chedwood, Nicholls, Smith, Collier





On a scorching hot day (what’s that? Ed) a Wick xi assembled from the young and the old and infirm despatched an unusually strong Wine Trade team by 40 runsish.



Skipper Selves won the most important toss of the year, condemning the Wine Trade to 40 overs in the field in 30 degree heat. The Wick deck looked hard and dry but was actually about as responsive as a deaf dog.



Wine Trade had assembled a side that included some familiar faces and some younger folk who looked like club cricketers and or ringers. You could tell this from the shirts they were wearing which had other cricket club logos on them. So it’s not like this author has an eye for talent.



Clark was tasked with seeing off the new ball with Mackie. He was successful for four balls of this task but the fifth (an absolute Jaffa naturally) took the inside edge and the leg bail. An opportunity for an early shower was declined as Clark’s anti-perspirant had not been tested by his brief stay.



Madoc-Jones replaced him and from the other end the Greggs van arrived and some nice looking pies were served up making our departed opener most cross. Mackie and MJ took advantage of the meat-filled bowling until one actually landed on the strip having swung one way and seamed back to defeat a bemused MJ. Wick in trouble at 20-2.



Skipper Selves experienced many of the same issues with the fiery opener from the Kingston end and despite an extremely cautious approach got another Jaffa and was returned to the pavilion. One half of Chedwood then amused the crowd by scoring approximately ten runs and then succumbing to having to run with Mackie and almost being unable to stand up. Charles eventually managed to get himself bowled to end his torture with the Wick’s second highest score on the day of 19.



Leo Gauvain – possibly on debut – was then run out by a combination of ambitious calling (Mackie), comical non studs cartoon running (Leo) and excellent fielding (Fiery Oppo Opener). We were then treated to a superb cameo from Luke Webster who smashed 14 runs in no time at all, 9 magnificent runs from a field splitting Nicholls and some nurdling from the remaining bats.



In the middle of all this mayhem, Mackie batted superbly (when he had the strike – I’ve never heard so much whinging) lofting spinners to the pavilion boundary and flicking and nudging the ball around elsewhere. Scoring 65 absolutely typical Mackie runs, he anchored the Wick reply playing the day’s outstanding innings. For the oppo, Fiery Opener delivered a stunning analysis of 8-3-7-3. The seven runs he conceded he did so in wides. Not a single run came off a Wick bat. He was either pretty much unplayable or… unplayable. That said he was bowling mostly to 4th xi batsmen… and might be 2s standard if he was Wick…



Tea. Absolutely standard DBW tea. Some unusually shaped buns. Didn’t try any new combos. Found some mustard which was particularly good on the ham sandwiches. 8.



The oppo’s reply began with a bat from Kempton (looked useful) and a bat from Brighton. The Brighton bat drilled one absolutely ravishing boundary through the gap between cover and point. Looked a million dollars. Was however VERY lucky not to be LBW to a Webbo full toss before being very unlucky to then be given out LBW for the first LBW when he wasn’t LBW to the second LBW. If you catch my drift. The Kempton opener also looked like he knew what he was doing but fell to both halves of Chedwood.



Selves at mid off instructed Ched to hit the top off stump telling him that he had an excellent off side field, apart from Wood standing at gully. The bat duly smoked a late cut at Wood who pouched a screamer. The rest of the side laughed like hyenas which is so much more upsetting for a departing bat who knows he has been dismissed by something approaching a statistical fluke.



Excellent spells from young Jack Smith and Mike Collier pegged the run rate back and both took wickets leaving Wine Trade in some disarray and behind the rate. To spice things up Selves then turned to the pastries of Clark and Chairman Mao. Clark’s first two filthy overs gave the Wine Trade a sniff of victory but eventually he managed to persuade a number of bats to fall on their swords. Nips at the other end bowled a bat who was trying to take a ball from middle stump and deposit it into the pavilion and removed the #10 more conventionally, caught Webster at point.



Beers were drunk. Wines were tried. A sunset (typical one) was observed. Stories were told. Some became difficult to understand as the evening wore on. Plans for world domination were drawn up before being disregarded in favour of even more ambitious ones. It was agreed that the Wick was a very fine place to play cricket indeed and that everyone who played there or is any way associated with the old place are jolly fine people. All good…

Staines and Laleham 4xi vs HWRCC

HWRCC 163-8 (42.5 overs) Clark 47, Fudge 30, James Doherty (u15) 30

S&L 164-8

S&L win by two wickets

Scorecard here...

Signing up for 4s cricket in a club that has only fielded a league 4xi this year was always going to have its frustrations. The clubs we play (and we of course)  don’t tend to cover their 2^nd tracks – in this difficult season the 4s have already missed 4 games due to adverse weather conditions, had a bye weekend, face another in the coming weeks and no one is playing any cricket next Saturday owing to a bike race closing the county down. So little cricket played… it’s heart breaking to think that the 4s might just have pulled off a stunning promotion this year as they’ve been competitive in every fixture they’ve played.

You’d think, with two cancellations in a row limiting the cricket and this weekend providing the only opportunity for cricket until August 4^th that people would be queuing to play. But cricket at The Wick is often a perverse beast and hero of the hour Adam Selves found himself prospecting for players on Friday night at an U15s game as we had (by some estimates) only six fit players available for our game.

In the end his hard work was rewarded with Cameron Bose and James Doherty – two U15 players – signing up on Friday night to make their senior debuts. And they more than held their own. More later. Along with a reluctant Chairman and some of the regulars Selvesy managed to assemble ten players including a just fit again David Fudge to make the trip to Staines and Laleham. And it’s no exaggeration to say that those ten should have beaten a spirited Staines side. But to quote our President “winners are grinners and losers tell stories”. So I’ll tell you a story. But not as a loser.

S&L’s seconds pitch is a bit of a horrorshow. No offence, as Clarky’s kids will often say before delivering a blistering piece of critcism, but from the makeshift changing facilities (a container from a container ship?), the bordering hockey pitch, the unkempt scrub surrounding and the general standard of the outfield, it’s not somewhere you’d want to play every week. Given our last trot out was at Valley End – one of the best 2s grounds we are likely to play on for many a year – this was, as they say, going from the sublime to the ridiculous.

The only excuse you could make for the track we played on was that at least there was a track to play on. The strip that had been cut was far too damp so we played on the previous week’s number which we are guessing had been pretty damp when it was last played on. It was bare at both ends and had absolutely no bounce – although it showed some signs of life later in the day after it had had an afternoon’s sun on it.

Selvesy was not successful at the toss this week and inevitably the Wick were asked to make first use. Rizzo’s difficult trot continued as he skied a ball that stopped on him in the first over. As Clark was to remark kindly later, if Rizzo went to a Run Shop with his AMEX card this season, they wouldn’t sell him any. Clark joined Fudge in the middle in the first over as result. It was tough going but both played aggressively, Fudge the first to deposit opener Cole into the hockey facilities at the Chertsey end. The ball often kept low and occasionally did ridiculous things but when the ball was overpitched it was dispatched and together they quickly put on a fifty partnership. Fudgey fell eventually having been undone by the pitch before James Doherty joined Clarky in the middle.

The oppo, sensing an abashed Colt, brought in the field… only to watch this Colt bash the ball all over the place including him tonking a six through cow off a modestly quick youngster. What an innings from Doherty! To have had such talent at that age… it’s enough to make Wickman weep.

At the other end Clarky almost wept as having hit the ball hard and pushed the field he miscued an off drive which held up in the pitch and holed out at long off to a catch that never looked like being taken until it was taken. He was not amused to hear that the fielders shared his incredulity as he trudged off a couple of runs short of a well deserved 50.

Kirky and Selvesy picked off singles, Kirky playing a number of flowing off drives, Selvesy milking balls off his legs. Splints too manoeuvred it around. Some of the urgency of the earlier bats though had deserted us and the innings became a quest to balance a score of 160 with overs taken. This duly done the skipper pulled the plug with us eight down sparing us the indignity of being bowled out chasing runs on what was a tough deck.

For the oppo, young Nathan Hunt bowled extremely well and deserved more than the late wicket of a bemused Splints. Skipper Gyves used the conditions well and removed both Fudge and Clark for an economical return.

Tea was below average and in keeping with the sense of dilapidation felt earlier. The actual tea that comes in cups had never been boiled. It was so luke warm that any of the fathers in the side would have been happy to serve it to a six week old baby were it simply milk. Which it might as well have been. There were sandwiches, a bit of fruit and some cakes. But this was poor fare indeed. The example of Ickenham’s jam sandwich tea was once again brought up for some perspective along with another game where pizzas and chicken wings had to be ordered. This did add perspective but perspective can’t be eaten and it was agreed that we were eating a 3 out of 10 offering.

When we returned to get on with seeing if we could bowl S&L out The Wick were quietly confident, even if we did have 10 men and the skipper was making vague threats that he’d have to bowl. With Linter, Fudge, Jack Smith, Mao, Cameron B, James D and Selvesy as possibles – and on that track – we had a right to be confident if not overly so having seen S&L bat earlier in the season at our place.

And the early signs were promising. If our fielding had been top notch and catches and run out chances had been accepted (let’s say four went begging early on) we’d have been home by 6pm watching the end of the 2s game.

Sadly cricket is a cruel mistress as we know. No sooner had she tickled us into arousal and had us slavering at the thought of a win, she put her clothes back on, asked to be paid for services rendered to date and phoned our wives to tell them we’d been up to no good.

Selvesy threw the ball to Fudgey and we anticipated fireworks from the quickest bowler on either side. But in his very first delivery stride his supporting foot buckled underneath him and it was clear that he had suffered a very serious injury. The game was suspended for an hour while first an ambulance was called (sad to say it took a long time to come), then it parked on the square and Dave was made as comfortable as possible before being eventually removed to casualty. Milky Bar – who had bowled beautifully to this point – accompanied him and those remaining grappled with the enormity of seeing a team mate’s season ended abruptly and cruelly.

It was decided that the game should be completed if possible. S&L (who behaved impeccably throughout and showed empathy for David’s situation) loaned us a string of players to act as substitutes and we set about trying to win with eight players and severely depleted bowling resources. Despite the odds being now stacked against us, a very brave effort was made to take the game to S&L. And if a couple of chances had stuck we might have won. But it was not to be.

Selvesy strode into the breach and almost won the game single handedly. Spotting that the pitch was difficult to time the ball on he bowled nice little swinging deliveries, always aiming at the stumps, and in what seemed like no time had broken through and proceeded then to take a Michelle. Notable spells from Jack Smith and Cameron Bose, coupled with an unlucky spell from the Chairman, kept us in the game.

But one bat for the oppo, playing well in the conditions, gave S&L the innings they needed to build around. Dropped early, Hitesh Pabari then picked the shots he wanted to play and then hit the ball hard through cow and straighter. Very little got past his bat whatever was tried and by the time he was out he had scored a brisk 63 and only a handful of runs were required. We generously donated 26 runs in extras to help him and opener Mann (also dropped early in his innings) to get S&L within sight and they stumbled over the line some time after 8.15 with The Wick only 2 balls from an improbable victory.

MOM Selvesy. In a sobering week for availability he deserves it simply for assembling enough players to complete the fixture. But to then not just marshal the team in desperate circumstances but also to very nearly bowl us to victory with 6-45… outstanding stuff.

Oxted and Limpsfield 1xi vs HWRCC 1xi - Match Report by Matty D

HWRCC 1xi beat Oxted & Limpsfield 1xi by 3 wickets.

For scorecard click here

Wick successfully overcame a few nervy moments to record a win that keeps them in contention for Champions League places and with an outside shot still of promotion. In this tight league there is plenty still to play for.

Having won the toss maybe three times in 2009 (and not lost a game all season), Davies bad luck continued in 2010 by winning what must be toss #8 (out of 10). A lovely flat track and a pretty ground was supplemented by a Summer Fair which included a live band who played Kam’s ipod collection with gusto. Dire Straits, Take That, S-Club 7. You name it.

Wick bowled first due to the threat of weather taking hold at some point. Nomi and Fahad put on a great opening spell – plenty of dots and play and misses. Unfortunately two drops (one hard, one very hard) meant the openers got away with it somewhat. A change of bowling to Day and Tong brought a quick flurry of runs, but this was only temporary as Day beat the best bat on the day to take a vital wicket. Kam then nabbed one on the stroke of drinks, leaving Oxted on 80-2 from 28 overs. Slow but sure. Post drinks Kam continued to keep a lid on progress, ending up with only 18 runs conceded from his 13 overs. Tong at the other end kept plugging on what was really a batsman friendly track and was rewarded when Immo took a sharp one at goolie. The scorecard shows three decent scores 1,2,3 and not much else and credit for this goes to the aforementioned two and towards the end a burst from Nomaan whose fast a straight bowling brought deserved success in what has been an unlucky bowling season for him thus far.

144ao was below par on a flat track, but credit must go to the bowlers who kept control and were patient when needed. Also some honorable mentions in the field to Lloydy in particular whose presence kept up the chatter and morale in what was to be honest quite a boring afternoon in the field.

Teas were plentiful but a little disappointing. I haven’t eaten sandwich quarters since I was 12, but these days I need more than bitesize sandwiches to keep me going. Thankfully the tea lady was VfM ;). 7/10 for that alone….ask Iain.

The response started off brightly, although Nomaan will be livid at skying one early doors. Iain joined Fin and the runs were coming at a healthy rate, 4s/5s until two quick wickets (Tong, I and Day) putting a temporary halt in progress. Rashid provided some stability before being triggered. All the while Finbar was playing carefree cricket, keen to hit through the line into the large vacant spaces in the outfield and beyond. The fact that he pulled a muscle in his back (he’s got some back too!) makes his performance even greater. Four huges 6s over a 5-man leg side boundary ring speak volumes of the belief and ability of the fella. These were some big hits.

Inevitably he fell eventually, riding his luck once too often, but his 59 deserve the MOM (and POW) awards. JMJ and Davies then looked to see things through. Conditions were easy and the bowling good without being lethal, it was all about knowing the scoring areas. A period of calm followed as the runs came but only at 3s and as the light started to fade a little the pressure built (and the rubbish chat in the middle). Then as JMj and Davies had decided to accelerate somewhat, the ball flew to the boundary where a fielder managed to break his collarbone in stopping the ball. Thereafter followed a 30m delay as an ambulance was called and the light got worse. He was fine but upon resumption the game quickly became a bit of a shoot out. It was approaching 8pm and with 20 needed and 4 wickets in hand, we decided to go for it and finish it off. They brought a quicks back and JMJ fell leaing Tong, G and Davies to see things home without too much fuss.

Ambition was the buzzword on Saturday – we showed the desire to win the game slightly more than Oxted and were rewarded with the points. Fin demonstrated that in abundance with his maiden 50 for the Wick 1s.

Valley End CC 4xi vs HWRCC - Match Report by Wickman

Mohit's lucky that the skipper is out in the middle...

HWRCC won the toss
Valley End 196 a/o Jenkins 84 Clark 5-16
HWRCC 197-8 Clark 81

Detailed scorecard here

“I think Clarky may have found his level” (Pinball, Club Day, 1 July 2012)

What a game of cricket. It had everything. In the end it boiled down to Mohit and Splinter putting on a 9th wicket partnership to seal victory with last minute call up Sunny gnawing his bat handle and the stand in skipper sucking down the Marlboro Lights. Occasionally everything falls into place and as Mohit smacked a four to bring the scores level that feeling that all's right with the world in the best of all possible worlds flooded over Clarky.

It had not been thus all the way through the day. At the beginning it was the usual Wick tale of players assembling from all parts (the Chairman generously stood down at the last minute because we had 12, only for the man he stood down for to get TFC), the stand in skipper turning up with just enough time to toss up before the stated start time (having had to fetch his monstered spinner from a nearby station), the Wick getting hammered for 30 overs before clawing their way back into it and then assembling the perfect chase despite having been skittled the previous week.

What a game of cricket. When Wickman finally arrived at Valley End he found, to his delight, that the Valley End revolution has progressed so far that the beautiful 1s ground of yesteryear is now where the 4s play. If you haven’t had the pleasure, it’s a fabulous ground hewn out of farm fields, surrounded by tall trees, benches to spectate and with a meadow beyond one boundary. All the boundaries have boundary boards, there were more sightscreens than you could shake something long, brown and sticky at, there’s an electronic scoreboard, covers… oh me oh my. This is what Wickman attends cricket matches to write match reports for. This was an absolute privilege for 4s players and something to be savoured for the rest of the season.

And it was a jewel of a day. The sun was out with a light breeze. The wicket was ever so slightly green but, covered, was hard and dry. The outfield had had a Brazillian cut and was rapid. As close to perfect as a 4s cricketer is going to get.

On winning the toss, Clarky inserted the home side. The track was not dry enough for half trackers, but the outfield surely was and Valley End got off to a very quick start. Short balls and full tosses were despatched. A wicket for Gayan caught behind (the youngster should have walked but didn’t) gave us early hope and then one for Splints (a bit filthy but it’s in the book) made us feel good… But we lacked control and from early on men were posted back. The 3rd wicket partnership was a heart breaker - particularly after Baird declined to walk for a caught behind off Splints.

The Wick took this non-walking badly. Together opener Jenkins and Baird put on 108 as the Wick toiled in the hot Sun. Given we thought we had had him every flick off Baird’s legs was a dagger in the heart, every beautifully caressed off drive like ashes in the mouth. At the other end Jenkins made the most of the bad balls we served up and hit ten fours. Sad to say there were many poor balls which were punished. We were not on top form. The Wick just did not settle in the face of mostly risk free batting.

It didn’t help that we shelled catches like Eastern European migrant workers pick strawberries. Catch after catch was refused until we could drop no more. Paddy counted seven that were put down in all parts of the field and none were particularly difficult. When drinks arrived the Wick were seriously under the cosh and looking like a scratch Sunday side and had conceded so many runs that Clarky was considering gunning everyone down before impaling himself on a stump. Jenkins had profited most and in the way of these things was making a big contribution having been given so many lives.

At drinks more esprit de corps was called for and it was pointed out that we could be out there for another couple of hours chasing leather if things didn’t change. The fielding had deteriorated to the standard of the clowns' scene in Dumbo. Jenkins was making merry on an outfield that was either a four or one type of track and Baird looked like the kind of character who could go on to score big. Something had to happen.

Many of you, like Wickman, will lull yourself to sleep from time to time thinking about that perfect game of cricket. Obviously during that perfect game, you will play a blinder from a position of extreme peril and will end the day adulated (if that’s a word) by your peers and written about by gushing journalists. From a position where most of what the skipper had tried went wrong, without warning it all went right. There was no rhyme or reason for any of it other than a vague hunch that it was time to change things around before Valley End bent us over and rogered us senseless.

First Sohail came on and changed the game by pinning the miscreant Baird in front. He bowled full and straight and with pace and deserved his wicket. At the other end, Clarky decided that someone needed to take the pace off.

Rapidly calculating that Mackie was hoping to be brought on despite only being able to stand on one leg (not going to turn out well) and an injured Unsworth was reluctant (and probably risking a season ending injury) the skipper decided it was time to look around the outfield and find someone else who could serve up some slow stuff that might hit the stumps. With instructions to Dutchy to be brutal in his feedback if his bowling was too filthy Clarky then brought himself on (for the second time this season… and the second time ever in League cricket), bowling wobbly induckers off four or five paces. The early signs were not good, but he managed to convince the new and dismayed Barkham to play on from a lowish full toss. An over or so later he removed the opener Jenkins LBW for 84 with a slightly better full ball. Suddenly the Wick had both ends open and were back in the game.

And then it seemed the skipper could do little wrong as, hardly believing his luck, he bowled three more bats who groped around his gently swinging deliveries and didn’t seem to concede too many runs. It was a golden arm spell – greeted by incredulity initially, until later, some people may have been convinced that he could actually bowl. This terrible confidence trick played on Valley End precipitated a gargantuan collapse from 142-2 to 179-9. Some late hitting from Toms and Gale got VE to 196 from 46 – not before Paddy took a stunning caught and bowled and finally castled Toms to end the innings.

What a fight back. The Wick were being raped up until drinks and were fearing a 240+ mauling. At tea, on the back of collapsing last week, they had no right to be confident but were at least back in the hunt given the by now excellent deck and glassy outfield. Tea was as least as good as one of Dave’s and scored 8 without even really trying.

Over tea the skipper debated the batting order and decided that everyone from the previous week’s shenanigans should drop a place where possible to give us length in the tail. Sohail and Miles opened up for the Wick with instructions to get rid of the shine. Given that most weeks the Wick 4s are notverymany for 2, this week’s 21 partnership was a boon and did get rid of a bit of shine and gave us something to build from. Mackie briefly accompanied Miles but quacked with the score on 32, caught behind and TFC. Miles then subsided soon after for a well boshed 19 and the Wick were 33-3, with our “worm” falling behind Valley End’s.

Dutchy and Clarky then put on 43 with Dutchy the more confident. He pulled a six and cut savagely, but when he fell in the early 20s the Wick were 77-4. There was still much to do – but plenty of time. Gayan joined Clarky and the two made it to drinks with approx 120 needed at six an over. It would need a big team performance to get home from here. Gayan batted beautifully, technically correct, and played a strong supporting role as suddenly things started to kick off at the other end.

A decent young leggy Ames was introduced to partner Barkham who had bowled straight up and down from the pavilion end and here the game for the first time flowed in the Wick’s favour. Gayan played very straight and nudged singles around while Clarky started to go after it. There was no point fannying around with six an over needed so he targeted the leggy and treated him harshly off front and back foot eyeing the cover and straight boundaries. With Barkham tying things up at the other end, the leggy was either going to go for runs or take wickets. In the first part of his spell he went for runs. The partnership grew and grew and turned into 77. Clarky smashed him into the nearby meadow and manoeuvred him through long on and off. Gayan worked bad balls away at the other end. Clarky passed 50 and continued to try to put all the pressure on VE but eventually played one shot too many and was caught on the boundary at square just when he should have been finishing the game. Around 40 needed.

But if the skipper was cursing himself for letting the side down, the side then took over and biffed fours and ran hard. It all got a bit tight and nails were chewed. Paddy smacked it around but, like Gayan, was bowled, as the leggy started to flight it having bowled a little flat at Clark. Unsworth also perished (not before he had the dream sledge retort – oppo – “his bat says Big Edge on it” [Unsworth smashes a four] – Unsworth - “it also has a big middle” Ithangyou) as Ames dragged the game Valley End’s way with four priceless wickets. With less than 20 needed and the Wick running out of balls and wickets any result was possible – but gloriously Splints clagged a four as did Mohit and we got over the line.

Both sides could have won the game. In the end it was all about dropped catches. The Wick put down Jenkins four or five times and let other bats off too. Valley End let Clarky off on 20ish and then again on 47 as a simplish stumping chance went begging. The whole game might have been wrapped up by 5pm if both teams had played perfect cricket. In the event neither did so we had a thrilling denouement at 7.30 as the shadows lengthened. Amazing game. Kudos to both sides for trying to win it come what may. Let’s hope the rest of the season is as exciting as this. If it is we’ll all be re-writing the scripts for our daydreams – not just Clarky.

Wick in Disaster Movie Style Loss on Kingsfield - Match Report by Wickman

Shortly after tea, the Wick innings was in some turmoil... Ed

HWRCC 4xi vs Ashford
Wick win toss
Ashford 93 (Mcmullen 5-35)
Wick 57
Ashford win by more than the margin suggests - for teams and detail click here

In the 1970s cinema goers were treated to a series of disaster movies. The most notable are The Poseidon Adventure (ship turns upside down, most are drowned) and The Towering Inferno (large building catches fire, catastrophic results). Eerily, post 9/11 and Costa Concordia, they don’t seem so far fetched.

Proper money was spent on these films. They had all star casts, stunning (for the time) special effects, proper scores and large scale sets. Nothing shonky here. The film industry handed out gongs, fortunes were made and we revelled in the hideous predicaments and moral dilemmas that the scriptwriters doled out.

The end of The Towering Inferno is described thus:

On the ground, Claiborne finds out through Jernigan that Mueller did not survive and is heartbroken, but is given her pet cat. Duncan consoles Patty over Simmons' death. Roberts says to Susan that he does not know what will become of the building, but perhaps it should be left alone as "a kind of shrine to all the bullshit in the world". O'Hallorhan says to Roberts that they were lucky tonight and that it could be much worse when fire safety is not taken into account. Roberts agrees to consult with O'Hallorhan in the near future. The fire chief drives away, exhausted.

And The Poseidon Adventure:

Rogo leads the remaining survivors — Rosen, Martin, Nonnie, Susan and Robin — through the watertight door and into the propeller shaft room. They hear a noise above the ship and bang on the ceiling/floor to get the rescuers' attention. They cut through the hull and help the group out of the ship. The survivors, the only six alive after the disaster, fly off to safety by helicopter.

Top quality stuff as you can no doubt tell from these short excerpts. Wickman particularly likes the detail about the pet cat.

On Saturday, over at Kingsfield, an equally unbelievable disaster movie style script was written by the 4s and acted out in almost stunned silence.

A top cast for the movie, sitting atop the table despite a couple of weeks off for rain and bye rounds, took on one of the more robust looking clubs in the league, Ashford. The track was surprisingly good given the rain of the previous couple of days (no special effects) and the prevailing South Westerly wind was busy drying it out. Selvesy had no hesitation in inserting the oppo.

This turned out to be the right decision. Gayan and Paddy opened up. Once they both found the right length the batsmen looked less than comfortable. Few scoring shots were in evidence and together they took a grip on the game. In the way of these things it took a couple of fairly shocking balls to actually take wickets (a perfect nibble from an away swinger was declined at first slip first). A short ball that didn’t get up accounted for opener 1 and a waist high and barely legal full toss produced a catch at mid off for the skipper to get rid of 2, both to Paddy.

MS, Clark and Risman then perked up a bit as a very incompetent looking number three belied his black trainers (deary, deary me) and started playing some very authoritative looking shots including a perfectly lofted four straight back over Gayan’s head. It was about to get interesting until something filthy from Paddy had him bunting it up in the air to Mo – who made no mistake in the covers. You must credit the bowler for putting so much pressure on, that the first time a bad ball came along it created wickets.

The Oppo kept at it, particularly Ciaran Lewis, a younger player who held their innings together while regular wickets fell. Splinter, struggling slightly unmanfully with flu, bowled well within himself and with good control down the hill – but again took his first of two with something he was less than proud of before producing a peach to take his second wicket.

Olly King once again showed that despite his years he’s a quality prospect barely bowling a ball offline in a spell of 6-1-9-1 which totally tied an end down. He might have added more to the wickets column had not our fielders turned into Tommy Cooper style jugglers from a couple of simple chances. Inevitably after bowling so perfectly his wicket came when he dropped short and a shot was played across the line. Plumb LBW. It was that kind of day for us.

When the bowling rules intervened, Usman replaced him and bowled a succession of maidens as Ashford sought to take some time out of the game. Paddy returned at the other end and produced two quality wicket taking balls when he pitched the ball up, knocking back the off peg twice. There was time at the end for Clark to reward Usman with a second wicket with a tidy stumping of an over aggressive #11 and we were off to tea in the very happy position of having sent back Ashford for 93.

Tea. Absolutely the same. 8. Ashford said their tea is better – so looking forward to that. If selected. At this point in a 70s disaster movie all the cast are usually having a posh dinner not thinking anything is amiss, someone’s drunk and there are shots of a small fire or an undersea earthquake that is happening somewhere. No one quite notices. For us it was that the oppo sat on the Wick tables at tea. It was a bad omen.

At halfway a look in the book would tell you that the Wick were well on top. Only lessons to learn were that catches need to be held (cost a few runs this week) and 21 wides (one every other over) is just too many. Would we have been chasing nearer 60 with a bit more discipline? Perhaps… Generally the fielding was of a high standard, energetic and had contributed to the pressure built by the bowlers. There were no byes this week – Clarky’s first trot out this year with the metal gauntlets was a creditable one.

The Wick had brought enough batting this week to chase 93. But they had reckoned without Anwar and Hussain. Anwar simply blew the top order away while Hussain made sure there were no easy runs on offer and picked up wickets of his own. But the difference was Anwar’s spell from the top end. Tall, rangy, with a shortish run and whirling action, he was a yard or two quicker than your correspondent has come to expect this year. For comparison think a shade off Shaun Whinny pace. Really.

In a lesson to us all he bowled full and straight and attacked the stumps. Perhaps one ball an over was not in the right place… but that said he wasn’t offering up half volleys on leg stump. First MS unluckily kicked Hussain on to his stumps before Anwar castled Risman. Worse was to follow as Miles played on to him and Selves and Clark found themselves in the middle with the Wick 10-3. A familiar story this season but not insurmountable. Returning to our opening theme of disaster movies, this was now the bit where either the boat has capsized or the towerblock is ablaze. Problems early doors – but perhaps the cast hasn’t quite worked out what’s in store for them.

In an attempt to rebuild and nudge the score along both bats knuckled down in an attempt to see off the openers and perhaps get through to drinks. But the lack of balls to hit meant that Ashford were largely able to continue unhindered. Plan B in a disaster movie is where a core group of characters band together and attempt against the odds to lead any survivors to safety. This Plan B then came up short as Clarky played down the wrong line and played on too. Paddy was then given a taste of his own medicine and departed second ball to another roaring straight one. It would be up to the skipper and the tail to see if they could pull something out of the fire.

19-5 was not a happy place to start pulling from though. And that soon became 27-8 as Selvesy got a good one, Uzzy popped one up to silly mid on and Mo became the final batsman to succumb to the pacy stuff from the top end. Gayan and Splinter (unfortunately wearing a blue, fleecy sleveless Gilet [on tour it would have got him sent home with an empty bank account]) made a forlorn attempt to battle back but Ashford had overs in hand and not even the stodgy block out for a point was on the cards. Things were wrapped up by an LBW and a run out as Splints tried to nick the strike. Utter humiliation had been averted but we had been done up good and proper by a quality bowling attack and could have no complaints. Somewhere in the region of 57 runs was cobbled together, leaving us wistfully wondering what might have been if the lines we bowled had been a little tighter.

Unlike in a disaster movie there’s no need to panic here. Usually in a movie of this kind there is a villain – someone has cut corners or hubristically made light of a situation with potentially devastating consequences. Not here. This was a good team performance with the ball but a collective top order failure with the bat, brought on by a good standard of bowling. Wickman prefers to give credit to Hussain and Anwar with the ball and young Lewis with the bat for accomplished performances. Readers will be pleased to know that there were no lives lost in the making of this film and that no one was given anyone else’s pussy to look after. Wickman thinks that’s right anyway.

The return game will be eagerly anticipated. And with the promise of that tea to look forward to as well... MOM, for volume of wickets, goes to Paddy.

3s Season to Date - Warning... long... By Nate

One of the best things about captaining the 3s last season was the opportunity to select a team, which was made up of some established Wick members, some exciting new players and some future club stars. Last season we saw Robbie Oliver and Matt Rudolph make the step up to senior cricket and new recruits Ilyas, Byrne and Clements playing instrumental roles in our promotion. This season these players have all moved on but despite a change in personnel I am pleased to say that the 3s are still as strong as last year thanks to a fruitful recruitment drive, an improving colts setup and some standout performances from familiar Wick faces.

Match 1 vs Old Rutlishians
Rained off

Match 2 vs Walton on Thames (H)
Hampton Wick: 191 for 8 dec (50.5 overs) – S. Kemp 61
Walton: 53 for 6 (50 overs)
Result: Winning Draw

Our first league game of the season was against Walton on Thames and the Wick put out a side, which contained two Wick debutants (Charith Cabraal and Gayan Karunanayak)along with one U16 (Jamie Craddock) and two U15s (Dan Kemp and Johnny Mcmullan) who were making their first senior appearances. The Wick won the toss and decided to have a bat. It was a formula that had worked well in the past and on the first dry Saturday of the summer it seemed like a good option. However, a lack of middle practice started to show as the Wick were 60 for 4. This brought Sam Kemp out to the middle to join Harry Copeland. Both players batted in their own way, Harry (37) trying to nurdle the singles and Sam (61), playing a typically Kemp like innings punished Walton’s slower bowlers. This helped the Wick to 191 for 8 declared.

Whilst tucking into the first DBW offerings of the summer we were delighted with the batting recovery but were unaware that we had scored about 100 runs too many if we had wanted to make a contest of this game. Walton (who claimed they went for it at the start) responded with a score of 53 for 6 from their allotted 50 overs. Ultimately we had an inexperienced bowling attack, which was not able to finish Walton off. However, it was great to see Mcmullan (J), Craddock and Kemp (D) all take their first senior wickets and to get a glimpse of what could easily be a 2s attack in the near future.

Match 3 vs. Chessington (H)
Hampton Wick: 206 for 8 dec (50.5 overs) – Collier 70
Chessington: 98 all out (35 overs) – Cabraal 7 for 19
Result: Win by 108 runs

Our second game brought Chessington to the Kingsfield. This was our first test against a team that was established in Division 1. Chessington won the toss and decided to bowl first. The Wick lost an early wicket after Risman was bowled by the Chessington opener but recovered well thanks to a 70 run second wicket partnership between Goldy and Ian Collier. This stand came to an end when Goldy (38) mistimed a back foot cut shot and was caught. Ian carried on to make 70 and was supported by Copeland who made 44 not out, which took us to 206 for 8 declared.

With the memories of Walton still fresh in the memory we were determined to avoid the same result as the previous week. Thankfully this time the pitch was offering much more for the bowlers and using the old ball we were able to strike early with Charith Cabraal taking his first wicket by bowling Kendall with the score on 19 and then removing the other opener with the visitors on 22. Chessington then began to fight back putting together a third wicket stand of 40 until this partnership was broken by Gayan who had their captain caught behind with the new ball. Charith Cabraal then returned for a second spell and with an excellent display of consistent line and length bowling from Charith and some full quick bowling from Junaid Illyas at the other end, we managed to bowl Chessington out for 98 and win convincingly. The man of the match was Charith Cabraal who ended with figures of 7 for 19 from 12.

Match 4 vs Cheam (A)
Cheam: 301 for 5 dec (52.5 overs)
Hampton Wick: 228 all out (43 overs)
Result: Loss by 73 runs

After our first win of the season we were on our travels to play Cheam, on a batting track with small boundaries. Unfortunately we were missing a lot of players from our previous game and knew that this would be tough. The Wick started well and before coming off due to an injury, Unsworth managed to make the breakthrough in the 4th over. Cheam’s batsmen were capitalising on any bad balls but with 1 wicket from Junaid Illyas and 1 from Gayan we were happy to get to drinks conceding at a rate of 4 an over. When Junaid struck early after the break we started to feel on top with the opposition 120 for 4. Sadly this feeling was short lived. Henry came in and after surviving an extremely close LBW shout went on to make 100 and get Cheam to 300 for 5 declared.

To the credit of the Wick we decided to make a game of it and with a boundary off the first ball we attacked the target getting off to a flying start until Singh fell for 48 with the score on 56. Unfortunately the middle order couldn’t follow on from this until a 7th wicket stand of 100 between Ratnage (49) and Unsworth (41) kept us up with the run rate and made us believe that a winning draw was on the cards. However, once these guys were out the tail was unable to hold on for the draw and we were bowled out for 230 with 2 overs to go. This was a good effort against a team who were top of the league.

Match 5 vs East Molesley (A)
East Molesley: 142 all out (42 overs)
Hampton Wick: 143 for 9 (40.2 overs) – Singh 67
Result: Win by 1 wicket

The following game against East Molesley was the complete opposite to the Cheam match. Molesley were bottom of the league and Wick availability was so good that the 3s were awarded the luxury of picking Fudgy. Hampton Wick won the toss and elected to field first. Some poor fielding allowed East Molesley to race to 40 after giving a life to each of the openers. A bowling change then brought Fudge into the attack who picked up two wickets in his first over (both caught behind). Apart from their number three who stayed in for far too long and could only hit a tame drive to mid on or mid off, East Molesley put up little resistance. Fudgy picked up another two wickets, Lownsy bowled beautifully (15 overs 4 for 44) and Charlton and Bal finished with 1 wicket each.

With a seemingly easy target of 143 the Wick started positively again and when Singh was bowled (67) we were in a strong position of 80 for 2 with Collier and Fudgy at the crease. Collier followed soon after, run out for 11 and Fudge along Ratnage looked like they would steer us home to a 7 wicket win until another Wick collapse struck and from a position of 133 for 3 and needing 10 runs to win, we slumped to 141 for 9. After refusing to get his whites on a couple of overs earlier this brought Lownsy to the crease as the rest of the 3s looked on behind nail less fingers. Gifted with a low full toss the tension was relieved as Lownsy pulled it for 4 past the short fine leg and we could celebrate a deserved victory.

Match 6 vs Guildford (H)
Hampton Wick: 61 all out (34.2 overs)
Guildford: 63 for 5 (31.4 overs)
Result: Loss by 5 wickets

In the 6th game of the season Guildford 3rd XI , who were sitting at the top of the table made the trip up to the Wick. This was going to be a big challenge but with the likes of Sayce, High and Soppitt returning to the 3rd XI for the first time in at least 2 years we felt that we had a good chance of getting something from the game.
Guildford won the toss and decided to bowl first. The pitch was soft due to the rain and with sunny weather forecast and a good chance that it would get better to bat on as the day went on, it was a good toss to win. The Wick started well moving to 30 before Sayce was given out LBW. Singh fell soon afterwards for 27 and then, due to a lack of concentration that was required on a difficult wicket and some tight bowling from Guildford, the Wick slumped to 61 all out from 34.2 overs.

Despite the terrible batting performance we decided to come out fighting. When Cabraal removed their opening batsman in the first over we started to apply some pressure. Cabraal, Donnelley, Charlton and Craddock all bowled full lengths and some excellent fielding meant that Guildford had to work for every run. With a wicket to each of the bowler’s names and a run out, Guildford eventually won by 5 wickets in the 32nd over. This was a good come back by the Wick and in the end it seemed that we were only twenty or thirty runs short of potentially winning this match against a strong opposition.

Match 7 vs Oxted and Limpsfield (H)
Oxted and Limpsfield: 89 all out (38.5 overs)
Hampton Wick: 93 for 5 (26.3 overs)
Result: Win by 5 wickets

We took our bowling form into the game against Oxted and Limpsfield. This was another match where, due to the rain on the kingsfield the toss would be important. The Oxted skipper did the first bit, winning the toss, but decided to bat first, much to the relief of the Wick captain. The Oxted openers were looking to get off to a flyer but they were driving at balls that weren’t there to be hit and after some tight bowling down the hill from Lown he deservedly removed the Oxted captain, caught behind for 16. This wicket was followed up soon afterwards with an identical delivery that felled the number 3.

At the other end Junaid Ilyas was bowling with some good pace and striving to find a full length. His hard work paid off when he had the other opening batsman caught at point as Oxted were 45 for 3. Ilyas was replaced by Dan Kemp who bowled a great spell picking up numbers 4 and 7 in a 5 over spell that went for 9 runs. Junaid then returned and took another 3 wickets taking his tally to 4 for the match. Whilst this was going on, Cabraal was bowling a 12 over spell down the hill. This spell yielded two wickets and only conceded 7 runs as a result of some extremely consistent line and length bowling, which the Oxted batsmen could not get away. Oxted were all out for 89 runs with 13 runs coming from the miserly bowling of Lown and Cabraal down the slope.

The Wick went about the run chase in positive fashion again and were looking comfortable until the 7th over of the game when a bowling change at the top end saw the score go from 20 for 0 to 20 for 3 with all three batsmen caught behind. This gave Oxted a sniff but Jo Hirsch (27 not out) joined Sayce (35) at the crease. Both men dug in, waited for the bad balls and were able to see us home to a comfortable victory, which now leaves us 5th in the league.

In summary it has been a good start to life in Division 1. The 3s are fifth in the table having played the top two teams in the league. With only two teams going up to the premier league, promotion will be a tough challenge but if availability remains good a top 5 finish would be an excellent achievement and will be something that we can build upon.

Wickman Goes All Foodie - review of La Cloche at The Lion

Wickman, more usually found reviewing cricket teas, was at a loose end on Jubilee weekend. With the rain falling biblically and the hordes in London waving bedraggled Jubilee tat at well-heeled folk in fancy carriages there was nothing to do but head out for lunch.

Since the head man at the reasonably newish French bistro at The Lion in Teddington's Wick Road has generously decided to reward the Wick Man or Woman of the Week with a £50 voucher redeemable against food and booze a hungry Wickman decided to see what was on offer for the lucky recipients. Wickman used to live (naturally) in Wick Road and in times of less responsibility could be often found in its welcoming rear supping a few light ales.

Those days have long passed. The landlord but one - a sports mad Aussie who kept a sensational cellar and was a pillar of the community despite his dubious accent - had moved on. The owners gave it to a golf obsessed chap who was seldom there to run it and you could see that the place was gently sliding down hill. From time to time Wickman and Mrs W would weave up the road and eat - but towards the end the chef - whose food was lorried in by 3663 and re-heated - had given up the fight and his or her one contribution was to sprinkle chopped parsley over every dish - including the puddings. It filled a hole and you could feed the kids cheaply if Mrs W was out and didn't know any better. Gastronomy was there none. Eventually the Landlord went bust - probably as he tried a tricky chip on the 16th fairway at Surbiton while unlucky punters tried some tricky parsley covered chips in the eating area of his now doomed boozer.

Now - let me be clear - Wickman shills for no man in his personal life despite doing a lot of shilling professionally. You must take the following review at his word because despite the sponsorship mentioned above this review was always going to be honest. And despite the old Lion turning into a venue which did for gastronomy what The Bolsheviks did for royalty in 1917, Wickman retained a soft spot for the local boozer that nursed him through the long summers of having toddlers who would be refused entry into a Maccy D so loud were they in their constant keening if asked to sit still for longer than the time it takes to load a Peppa Pig DVD into the Doovde player. It was Wickman's Lion where he watched the 2003 RWC final and drank a vat of cheap Scotch and cried with drunken joy and any change was a baaaaad thing.

So on arrival finding that the boozer is now transformed into a bright bar and capacious restaurant stretching like a Narnian wardrobe back into what used to be a grotty function room Wickman was... Overwhelmed. Overwhelmed that it wasn't the same as ever but also overwhelmed that it immediately looked like a place where you would get good eats. The waiting staff were on to us quickly and courteously, found us a good table, rustled up some drinks and made sure Mrs W (who ALWAYS sees a table she'd rather sit at) was happy before explaining the menu and urging us to try various things.

The menu is French - but rural French. On a Sunday there's a nod to the British Sunday lunch but surrounded by classic rural French cooking too so if you were entertaining the gastronomically challenged (to his chagrin - that's a French word for bitter, bitter despair - the junior Ws who accompanied on this trip are about as adventurous when it comes to food choice as Paddington Bear) then both sides of the channel are catered for.

At approx £17.50 for two courses and £20 for three Wickman was pleased to see pan fried foiegras on the menu alongside some seriously garlicky looking snails (a perfectly acceptable use of parsley please note) but plunged into asparagus accompanied by oeufs en cocotte. For the uninitiated oeufs en cocotte are gently baked eggs with cream and in this case with something good and herby - memory fails Wickman but he's thinking it must have been feathery dill. The asparagus dipped in the eggs was magnificent. Lips were smacked.

Mrs C I mean W had of course decided to make life difficult. Many years ago she had supper with the model Marie Helvin in one of London's finest restaurants. Faced with some of the finest delicacies known to humanity Ms Helvin ordered something off menu like Elephant Eggs on a bed of Unicorn Testicle. This was produced somehow and the celeb then ignored it drinking only water that had been flown in from barrels rescued from the Titanic. Or something. This has spolied Mrs W ever since and she can no longer order concisely or from the stipulated choices. This did not phase our excellent waitress. Mrs W decided to order two starters, one as a main course etc etc and began with a goat's cheese tartlet on a bed of green things. It ooooozed perfectly across her plate and Wickman felt keenly that he might have eaten that as well had Mrs W not hoovered it down like a Dyson dressed for a day out.

The junior Ws looked on with a slight sneer while piling in enormous cotchels of freshly baked bread.

The wine list was excellent. Mrs W sipped demurely (post tart) at a glass of very reasonably priced and elegantly pale Rose... And Wickman discovered something to make him happy called a Pichet. This is not a wine - but the perfect measure of wine for a non driver. A 500ml carafe of seriously chewy Rioja arrived in time for him to enjoy it alongside a not at all chewy sirloin while Mrs W nibbled at gravadlax which makes her happier even than Mr W. Mr W had thought long and hard about perhaps confit of duck (delicious) and sniffed like a dog at human supper time as a beautiful beef daube (stew - fabulous herby, meaty stew) passed him on the way to another table.

The little Ws threw up a surprise. Not the eldest who plumped as per for pasta but the youngest demanded an omelette fine herbs - the gooiest thing filled with things like chervil and chives. This dear readers is the height of omeletty sophistication and just the sight of young W licking eggy juices from around her mouth seemed to make parenthood feel better after all those chicken nuggets of her youth.

There was time for Eton Mess and a Chocolate Mousse followed by some fiercesomely strong coffee. The Little Ws contentedly wolfed down ice cream and rudely played with their iPods. But no one minded. Despite the smart surroundings there was a relaxed vibe. The service was well informed, smiley and accommodating, the bill manageable. It compared very favourably with the rather arrogant and factory feel of The King's Head in Teddington. Mrs W decided that La Cloche was more enjoyable and the food was decidedly more authentic. She urgently entreated Wickman to get out and start playing cricket to man of the match winning standards. But Wickman sadly shook his head and informed her that Wickman is retired.

Wickman is not sure but he think he heard her mutter under her breath that she'd go and find a real man that would play cricket for her instead - like Clarky...

Dorking vs HWRCC 1xi - Match Report by Matty DeE

Wick beat Dorking by 1 run, winning off the last ball.

For scorecard, click here

It's not difficult to separate out what really matters from what doesn’t, but it's hard to remember this distinction. Saturday was a season-defining (possibly cricket-career defining for some) victory for the Wick which had everything you could want in a game of cricket apart from maybe a touch more sun.

This report could have been some kind of ode to the real beautiful game (it did have a touch of Hollywood about it), but I write as the news of Tom Maynard’s death fills the online news stands and everything is put into perspective. RIP – he had the skills to make it all the way and accidental or deliberate, your passing is our loss. I will never forget Saturday, but at the end of the day it’s just a game of cricket.

Blimey – where do I start.

The Wick put out a relatively youthful looking team against a strong Dorking side that boasted a few real quality players – one of whom has a contract with Sussex CCC. Dorking are a strong batting team and the evidence of our unsuccessful T20 game against them few weeks back was that they had a few ‘characters’ shall we say. The track was flat, if a little slow due to conditions, but essentially good. A short boundary one side (and straight) also encouraged runs throughout the day. A quick chat at the start encouraged some aggression and a bit more ballsiness than in previous weeks…to get in their faces somewhat. If we were to win this one we needed to give it back.

Daisy and Nom started brightly, the former bowling a beautiful spell with the wind but with little assistance off the deck, the latter manfully running into the gale (poor old Keith – all day standing into 30mph). Pressure of dot balls eventually told and Rudolph swooped in from cover and ran out their skipper with a calm piece of fielding. But the quality batsman continued to arrive.

The track was flat and getting better as the sun came out. The fielding was below par but we stuck to our guns and kept a lid on the runs – keeping them to no more than 3.5 until towards the end. Tong didn’t find his areas but Raza bowled with control and containment, and Dare at the other end didn’t disappoint with another high class demonstration of flight and guile…the highlight being the dismissal of the Sussex contracted player (Rollings), caught behind to a good snaffle from Boney. Alex Dare is 14 and possibly 5ft tall. Jordan Rollings is 7ft (yes – taller than Joey) and looks the part. Remember this contrast.

Some classy late order hitting from the young Leverock (16 years old! – If you were there you would have been very impressed) and a classy innings from #4 (70*) meant Dorking ended up with 240-5 declared. A very good total but not beyond our reach. 50 overs was also about right on what was a good track.

Teas – people had suggested that it would be a belter. I was left disappointed. Variety sure, but relatively bland and I'm big on my sauces and spices. It was just a bit too dry and ‘English’ for my taste. 5/10.

OK – here’s where the fun starts. Matty Rudolph had been given the brief by myself to annoy the hell out of the oppo by chatting all day. He didn’t disappoint. Keith asked me to calm him down after 3 overs (he was fielding at 3rd man -) [Reminds me of a young AJ - Ed]. I responded by bringing him into the circle. More please Matt. He was like a broken record and he kept us going all day in the face of some hooligan-like taunting from the clubhouse that bordered (and crossed occasionally) the line between banter and bullying. Rudolph ran out their skipper, fielded like a gazelle and took two steepling catches in front of the mob. Matt has a lot to work on but his determination is on a par with anyone I’ve ever played with. Top lad.

A re-worked batting line up saw young Finbar (who batted #11 against Stoke a few weeks back) be rewarded for a string of impressive performances with an opening berth with Ali. Both went off beautifully. The oppo were keen to point out that Rollings (actually a quick bowler – from 7ft), was a quick bowler. Ali took little notice and smote him everywhere, racing to about 28 off maybe 15 balls. Finbar wasn’t far behind, happy to use his 3lb bat to find the boundary. Fin had almost caught Nomi up when he fell for 29 and the score on 60-odd. A great start after 12 overs. Boney went first ball and Davies survived the hat trick. Ali didn’t last too long thereafter – a superb catch in the gully which left us teetering at 75-3. In came Daisy, who had an air of control and aggression in his eyes. Together they scored 90 runs at a fair lick, looking in little trouble as the rain fell (and no doubt stopped the ball swinging). This was Alex’s best innings for the Wick because it contained the correct mix of brute strength and also control that befits a player of his quality.

His wicket brought in Rudolph who was subject to a barrage of abuse more akin to feeding time in a zoo. He hung around for a while but the quality of the attack told in the end, which brought Raza to the crease. We will return to Rudolph at the end. Davies then holed out (again!!!) which brought in Nav to partner Kam. Our run rate was perfect, but we needed 80 off 18 overs with 4 wickets in hand. This was a crucial partnership and they didn’t disappoint. I’ve made many mistakes as captain but putting Kammy at 7 this week was a great decision and his experience was vital at this time – harrying singles and also bludgeoning the occasional boundary. Nav also played with calmness and control we see so often in the nets (and that he has shown for the 2s already this year).

Obviously it then got a bit hairy as they brought back their real quicks Leverock and Rollings (7ft). Nav was yorked at 222, leaving us 19 short 7 down. Then, with victory within grasp, Kam fell to a fast Yorker. And then Charlton too! So help me god.

It was the penultimate over and big Rollings had 3 cracks at the young 14-yr old Dare.

#1 – Yorker. Dot.
#2 – Yorker. Dot.
#3 – Yorker. Dot.

Alex set himself for this delivery and his size 6 bat was only seemingly just about strong enough to keep it out. He couldn’t have got any lower playing the shot, almost below the height of the bails. The cheers raised the roof!

Last over – Wick need 3 runs, Dorking need 1 wicket. 2 runs for a tie.

#1 – guided by GT to 3rd man. 1 run.
#2 – AD on strike. Play and a miss. Dot.
#3 – No run.
#4 – No run! OMG.

2 to win, 1 to tie.

#5 – Alex hits it to mid on. GT goes, Alex has no choice. We didn’t come this far to die wondering. The ball is fumbled and Alex dives in. Scores are level! The boys go mental.

Last ball – 1 to win and we can’t lose, but they can take half the points with a dot ball (or a wicket).

#6 – GT dabs it into the off side and sets off. Alex slips on the greasy turf but eventually sets off like a hare. Cover swoops in and the pick up is decent but the throw not the best and Alex dives full length and makes his ground as the stumps are demolished. The boys are on the field and I think Ed Charlton may have been crying ;). Pure unadulterated joy as the youngsters from thee wick take full points in Dorking’s back yard. An epic epic run chase and fully deserved morally and technically. Brilliant.

Dorking have a few very very talented players – mostly bats but some serious players. Rollings was a credit to his profession – it's true Nomi took him apart and it wasn’t his day with the ball but he took it on the chin and came back when it mattered at the end. Gracious and classy. He also scored a slow but important 60 at the top of the innings. He and others conducted themselves with dignity throughout and accepted the result for what it was. A few of the others quite frankly got egg on their faces and deserved everything they got. They seemed more focused on trying to bully us and neglected their own game. Shame.

Dorking should get promoted. They’re easily the most talented team we’ve played thus far. Which is ironic because we beat them and managed to lose to numerous others.

A brilliant day for the Wick in the face of lots of talent and even more besides.

Man of Match – Daisy. Excellent innings and very good bowling performance too against a strong line up.

Man of Day – Matt Rudolph. Because he did what I asked and doesn’t give a sh*t about what anyone else thinks.

2xi vs Old Emmanuel - 9 June (ahem) by Immy

HWRCC- 2xi vs Old Emanuel
HWRCC- 2xi won by 5 Wickets

For scorecard click here

It was back home, to a damp wicket and very slow outfield due to rain throughout the week. But fortunately it was dry on match day but very windy. WICK won the toss again (lucky coin) and this time decided to bowl first but keeping in mind that we would have to prepare our ourselves to chase a target.

Fahad got an early breakthrough, the opposition's opening bat caught at slip by Byrne. From the other end Aqeel was struggling to bowl into the very strong wind. Old Emanuel's bats took the advantage and played some big shots. They were scoring at a brisk rate (it was 81/3). It was a hard time for the skipper, with helpful suggestions comming from all over the place to spread the field. But the skipper didn't panic, took the gamble and brought Aqeel back from the other end and it worked. And finally we put the breaks on. Aqeel end up with 4/35, Fahad and Fudgey got a couple, and we bowled the opposition out for just 102.

DBW was surprised because he wasn't expecting an early tea. The bowlers had done their job again and now it was all up to our batting to get the runs. Fudge and Byrne looked good in the middle but again we lost early wickets and we were 27/3. The Skipper and Rudolph held the innings together and took the score to 61. Finally some runs came out from Immy's bat! But he got out in a most unfortunate way, smacking the very first ball from a left arm spinner to silly point. The fielder had no idea where the ball was, which hit his thigh and then stuck in his arms. Normally when the batsman hits that hard, closing fielders turn their back and try to hide from the ball. But he didn't have enough time to react. That made 61/4. Zohaak came in and fired a quick 22 with 2 huge sixes. At the other end Matty Rudolph batted superbly, played some lovely shots without any fear (scored 27 not out). AJ went in to secure the win for WICK at the death.

Another good performance from all the players. We should have got that target for less than 5 wickets, we still need to improve our batting. At the end of the day another victory. Well done! WICK 2nd XI top of the table with 56 points

MOM: Aqeel Ilyas 4/35

Woodmansterne 2xi vs HWRCC 2xi - Match Report by Immy

Woodmansterne 2xi vs HWRCC
HWRCC 183/9 50.5 Overs
Woodmansterne 118/10 29.1 Overs Fahad 6-33, Naveendra 4-24
HWRCC wins by 65 runs

Click here for scorecard

It was Derby day in Epsom, so we had to leave early. Keith suggested that we take the M25 to avoid the traffic. The Sat Nav kept telling us to turn around but we followed the M25 route, trusting Keith. The journey was 3 times longer than the normal route. Interestingly, the guys that took the normal route reached Woodmansterne earlier...

Anyways, it was the first “timed game” for us this season. We won the toss again and elected to bat first. Byrne and Golbourn opened up for the WICK. It was looking a steady start from them but didn’t last long, with Goldy caught at point. And then wickets started tumbling from one end. Byrne showed a bit of resistance but was unlucky when the ball rolled on to his stumps and just flipped the bail. The positive was that everyone contributed with a few runs. Naveendra played a very good innings, holding one end open and also played some lovely shots. He is a class act. Surprisingly Aqeel supported him well (scored 20 with 3 fours). And together the took us to 183 which was looking unlikely at one point.

Then it’s all left to our reliable bowling attack. Fahad and Aqeel started the proceedings. Fahad looked in very good rhythm from the very first ball. He bowled really quick. Got the early breakthrough that the skipper was looking for. The opposition showed some intent to get the runs quickly. Their number 3 batsman was looking to get all his runs in boundaries. He got a huge nick to Matt Rudolph off Aqeel’s bowling. We all were convinced even the non-striker, but, like the driving route earlier, the Chairman thought otherwise. But the No 3 didn’t last long and got out for 24. Wickets then fell at regular intervals and it didn’t allow them to settle down. From the other end Junaid kept things quiet, but we needed to bowl them out. Naveendra was introduced and he was just too good with his line and length and took the last four wickets in no time. Jamie Craddock also bowled couple of overs, he is still very young, he has the potential to be a very good bowler!

It was again a very good performance from all 11 players. It’s the self belief, passion and energy which are winning games for us. Now 4 wins in a row! Great, keep going guys!

MOM: Naveendra Weerakoon - Scored 42 and took 4 wickets

Match Report Merrow 1xi vs HWRCC

1s lose to Merrow.
Merrow 178-6
Wick 145 ao

Click here for scorecard

I would classify last Saturday merely as a loss. We played some good cricket, as did the oppo, and we were on the wrong end of a good tussle. The fact that it has happened a few times already this year isn’t the point here.

Good game, some good performances but a loss. No more. The week before was a debacle on a par with Godalming 2008, but that’s an entirely different story.

Clearly the 1s are not playing to their full potential. We’ve played 5 and lost 3 of them. We didn’t lose any last year! There are perhaps a number of factors in this. Firstly we’ve never traditionally been a batting side, but when you’re ‘Reliables’ are not reliably scoring runs, it doesn’t matter how well you bowl and field, you won’t win. For the record I would classify myself as a ‘Reliable’.

Secondly, whilst I can honestly say that the standard this year has been slightly down on the top of Fullers Div 1 (its clearly better than the bottom of Div 1), the opposition have shown themselves (with one exception) to be wily. Difficult tracks have favoured relatively dour cricket. Our side is full of bravado and strike makers. Last week for instance 7 of 10 wickets to fall were caught in the outfield (not even in the cordon).

Thirdly we have lost 3 in a row at home. We’ve won our 2 away. New surface, new rules?

Fourthly cricket is played in the head and momentum can take you on a ride. But its up to you to address it when this happens and turn the corner. I always say if it was easy it wouldn’t be so enjoyable.

Having said that, and reflecting on how poorly we have played overall this year to date, we could easily be 5 form 5. Against Kingstonian, which actually felt a bit like a pre-season friendly for us, we came within 6 runs of winning. Against Sanderstead, a decision here or an edge that didn’t go to hand could have meant we walked home having been 100-2 only chasing 148. Last week the opposition relied heavily on a brilliant knock from their overseas – rarely will he have left the ball so well against persistent attack. 45-4 at drinks says it all. That 70-odd won’t be bettered this season.

Still lots of positives to look forward to – ideally with some good flat tracks that reward bravery (not stupidity). And then I look at the weather forecast. Oh well, I guess it’s up to me then...

MOM – Boney. Exceptional innings.

Tim Bresnan - Get Him Down The Wick?

Well obviously you would get Tim Bresnan down the Wick if he was thinking about playing Surrey Champ cricket. He'd probably get a bowl and he'd bat 7 for the 1s. Well, some weeks anyway. Probably he'd be lower down some times. The issues would probably be replicating his salary which is a bit outside our budget and he'd want some Northern beer on tap rather than Pride. Wickman thinks there are some passable Ales from up that way and it would be some company for Riley.

So why has he only played 14 games of Test cricket? Surely if he's good enough for the Wick he's good enough for England?

Wickman can't quite understand what it is about Bresnan which seems to divide opinion. But he thinks it's because he looks like a cart horse in the mould of Matthew Hoggard. This allows journalists to dust off their tired cliches about, well, cart horses, and trudging back to marks and Yorkshire dourness and all the other crud the press comes out with.

What Wickman thinks is that TB just needs a professional makeover and a spin doctor. If he had a quiff like Jimmy Anderson, or lots of floppy Malfoylike locks like Broady or maybe blinged himself up like some of the West Indian bowlers it would get him onto the team sheet every time. A litte bit of work and the Lily Allen brigade would be tweeting about getting him into her corridor of uncertainty in no time. After that would follow marriage to a pop star and endorsements from Mens' grooming product brands.

'Cos he's certainly good enough to play for England almost every time. So it sort of MUST be about image...

KP Retires from International Limited Overs Cricket

Ever one for the dramatic gesture, Keven Pietersen has stunned cricket fans around the world by retiring from International One Day cricket. He will continue to be available for Test Cricket (phew) and will play IPL.

What's absolutely screamingly transparent is that this has got nothing to do with retiring from International one dayers per se and everything to do with a break down in negotiations with the ECB. Reading between the lines he no longer wanted to play 50 over cricket but would have happily played International T20s but the ECB took a stand and said he couldn't give up just one form of the game.

So probably England's finest, most innovative, fastest scoring bats in the short forms (only Eoin Morgan can hold a candle) is now lost to us. Will he play left handed in Tests? Use the scoop? Reverse slog? Probably. But we wont get to see the same level of innovation in his cricket in England colours.

You have to sympathise with both sides don't you? The ECB can't move to a model where they have separate teams under contract for each form of the game can they? The cost and bureaucracy would be ludicrous. And making exceptions to the rules... that's enough to make even the most enlightened administrator shudder. And at the same time who gives a monkeys about 50% of ODIs around the world? If you are playing in dead rubbers (the Aussies gave up playing those in Australia a long time ago) it must be absolutely soul destroying. Every chance of getting dropped from the side for a run of poor form, no chance of winning a trophy? Wickman says pah! Which is probably what KP was thinking to having to play in 20 or so of them a year.

Wickman is fervently hoping something can be done. T20s without KP will not be the same...

Who Is Imran?

He's the new 2xi skipper and his team are top of the league. He shares a name with his cricketing hero, but what else should you know about Imran Rashid? Find out here with Wickman's handy guide to Immers...

Name: Imran Rashid
Wicknames: Immy, Immers

1. When did you join the Wick and why? Joined Wick in 2009 found people at Wick very friendly and cooperative especially when someone came from a different country. Never felt that i’m playing away from my home. Just putting playing conditions aside as they are completely different from Pakistan
2. Best knock for the Wick? There are some big scores but I reckon 69 against Oxted and Limpsfield CC when all the big guns failed and I was relatively new in the team. Was judged LBW by Nicholls. Can’t forget. Quite right Immy - you've joined a long list
3. Best bowling? 3 for 3 in 7 overs when we were only defending 122 runs on a good batting strip against Guildford City CC. And won the game!
4. A catch you remember... It was in close at gully, Joe Ewen [who he? Ed] was bowling and he has serious pace. It was slashed hard, I dived to my left and took it inches from the ground
5. What do you do in the Winter? Count days until the summer so I can start playing cricket again...
6. Who's your favourite cricketer? Tell us why... Imran Khan. He is the Legend
7. Who do you admire at the Wick? Why? Bob Sissen. Very kind, generous and compassionate. Is this THE Bob Sissen?
8. Best International cricket moment? Australia vs South Africa ODI when South Africa chased down 435 runs and made a world record. 
9. Favourite DBW tea element? Egg Mayo
10. Wick buddy? Paul Hibberd [who he? Ed]
11. Favourite oppo and why? Kempton CC
12. What one thing do you still want to achieve in cricket? My dream is to play at Lords and the Sydney Cricket Ground
13. Film + Book + Music? Favorite film “Hugo” Musical band “Strings”
14. Favourite Wick moment? When Announced 2xi Captain for 2012 season
15. Favourite crisps? McCoys Flame Grilled Steak

Who IS Wickman?

A question Wickman often gets asked is "Who IS Wickman?" He often looks evasive and suggests it might be Keith. Or Jelly. Or even Clarky. But the truth is stranger than these fictions. Wickman answers this season's 15 questions to give you some insight.

Name: Wickman
Wicknames: Wickman

1. When did you join the Wick and why? 1863. I was living very close to the Wick (in fact i was closest to the Wick) and was personal friends with the De Crespignys. They decided to establish a cricket club and I didn't have anything planned for the Summer.
2. Best knock for the Wick? Was seeing it like an Association Football back on the 1926 Sussex Tour. Sadly bats were not what they are today and I couldn't get the ball off the square. Scored 17 in four hours, all singles
3. Best bowling? Have never been brought on despite sending signals to various Captains. Was almost brought on in 1945 just after the war when we were short of able bodied players
4. A catch you remember... Gatesy's off the last ball against Old Sluts a few years back in the dark. Clarky was keeping and said for the only time in his life he was hoping the bat didn't feather it to him because he couldn't see the ball.
5. What do you do in the Winter? Go through old scorebooks. Polish old balls with beeswax in time for nets. Whiten my pads. Glue the green pimples back onto my batting gloves. Marvellous stuff this Superglue.
6. Who's your favourite cricketer? Tell us why... No doubt about it, Ian Botham. As they say he used to empty the bars at cricket grounds at a time when the rest of the England team were filling them up.
7. Who do you admire at the Wick? Why? Keith. Turned it round from the dark days of the early 2000s.
8. Best International cricket moment? Headingly 1981 on the Monday. Simply unbelievable.
9. Favourite DBW tea element? At the moment it's the fruit slices. Can't get enough of them. Saw them fresh out of the Mr Kipling wrapper before the last game. The moistness was like a Wick deck in April. Superb.
10. Wick buddy? The Rev de Crespigny
11. Favourite oppo and why?
12. What one thing do you still want to achieve in cricket? Would like to see the Wick reach a Premier Division in Surrey. Which team will get there first? The 3s and 4s are a season away from it...
13. Film + Book + Music? Film: Any of the new dangled talkies Book: have you GOT a Kindle? What's all that about? Music: I'm a big fan of Hibby and the Eskimos
14. Favourite Wick moment? Seeing the look on Mickey McMahon's face after some of the younger lads found Frank Henry Bean where I'd hidden him in the score box after we got raddled at his wake...
15. Favourite crisps? My body is a temple

Not Troubling the Scorers

This isn't a name and shame post about the number of ducks on Saturday. So AJ can rest easy. Although Wickman may return to the subject at a later date. Be warned.

Nope. This is a post about the phrase "He didn't trouble the scorers". Which has always struck Wickman as odd. As you will know if you have ever been asked to do the book for a bit while some other git is farming the filthy dobber you just got out to, the best kind of scoring is sticking a dot in the bowling analysis. What could be easier? Ball whistles through to the keeper and you just press the pencil down in the bowling analysis. The only way it could get any less troublesome for the scorers is if it's tea time. Then the scorer is scoffing DBW's finest treats and checking to see if there's any talent sunbathing on the outfield that they couldn't see from the box.

The absolutely last thing the scorer wants to have to do is deal with a wicket. And if the unlucky victim has just failed to register any runs there's a strong argument that they've only just finished dealing with a wicket before you got in and got straight out. When a wicket falls you have to close off the innings, write in the batsman's total (at least you don't have to add much up), write in the time of dismissal. Count the minutes in the innings. Stick in a W. Try to work out which oppo fielder caught it. Write in the fall of wicket total. Who's the not out bat and how many are they on? Write in the number of the bowler and bat in the annoying strip down the bottom which shows what happened in what over. Then work out who the next bat is. And whether or not anyone crossed. etc etc.

So the next time you are trudging back disconsolate from the middle thinking "at least the scorers will be better off without me" think again. In fact rewind. Think about the poor scorer. Instead of trying to thrash the ball into Selvesy's allotment (and probably break his ipad which is all he seems to do down there - wink wink Selvesy - HD is it?) pat it back to the bowler. Repeat...

Guess Who the Zulus Are…

The Wick bowling attack has S&L 9 down but can't make the final breakthrough

HWRCC 4xi vs Staines and Laleham
HWRCC 194-8 (45.5 overs) Clark 79, Miles 46
Staines and Yawnham 89-9 (45 overs)
HWRCC winning draw (4pts) by 105 runs

Zulu is a film that we watch at Easter and other bank holidays. It commemorates the battle of Rourke’s Drift in 1879. It’s a rollicking good watch.

The Brits were trying to take over Southern Africa. No doubt we were pretty keen on diamonds, gold and nice beaches. Quite rightly the local populace were less than impressed.

Thousands of them gathered together at Isandlwana and kicked seven shades of shit out of the Brits and then surrounded a handful of fleeing infantry, engineers and the wounded at a missionary station in Natal. The Brits had guns, officers, a bit of pluck and skills. The oppo – Zulus – had numbers (about 4000), plenty of very sharp looking spears, one or two rifles and the geographical advantage.

11 Victoria Crosses were won at Rourke’s Drift. Wave upon wave of Zulu warriors charged at the station – eventually the Brits fell back in a last ditch stand – and following the fiercest hand to hand combat you can imagine eventually the Zulus decided enough was enough and withdrew. In real life this was because a relief army was on its way. In the film there is singing of songs – Zulu warriors saluting the bravery of their foe, the Brits belting out Men of Harlech.

Today’s game of cricket was a bit like the battle of Rourke’s Drift. It was, like that battle, eventually a draw after waves and waves of Wick pressure were repulsed by S&L. But there the similarity ends. If the S&L mob are handing out Victoria crosses this morning it would be a shame. And the men of the Wick will not be singing songs of praise for their bravery. And Wickman doubts very much that Staines will be returning the favour either.

The Staines skipper had, like the Brits, lost a battle before he got to the Wick – the 3s skipper had taken all his batting. So a rag tag army turned up to Kingsfield, won the toss, decided to bowl (ATS – Clarky would have done the same) and gave up at tea, never chasing the target.

That said, he had bought his best attack with him. Which makes it all the more surprising that Miles and Clark put on 125 for the first wicket, batting authoritatively and accelerating well after they’d seen the shine off. There were a few edges and the odd drop – Clarky was palmed over the boundary for one of his sixes and Miles was put down by a bowler – but this was not a streaky partnership. It was hot out there and they thoroughly demoralised the oppo and ground them into the dust.

The oppo started with some control – four of their five maidens were bowled in the first 8 overs – but once the batsmen got used a pitch that had some skiddy pace in it – they plundered runs at a rate of 5 an over so that by over 30 125 had been amassed. There were some good looking shots out there. A pulled six and a bullet quick off drive from Clarky, late cuts and chunky drives from Miles were the highlights. The perfect platform had been set for those who would follow.

Miles departed a boundary sort of his fifty caught at mid off attempting to find that boundary. Lloydy drove down the wrong line and was bowled. It’s often like that after you’ve sat and watched for 30 overs. Clark eventually perished with the score on 155 from 36. A fightback by S&L at this point snuffed out much acceleration (Edmonds and Usman tried to give it some tap) and we reached 194 from 45.4. There was some muttering about umpiring decisions – but as these are our teammates they are our umpiring decisions…

The pick of the oppo bowlers was opener Cole and Gyves Jr was surprisingly rapid. He’s going to be a handful in a couple of years. Rafiq sprayed it around a bit and picked up a few wickets. Gyves Sr took a couple of wickets when the slog was on.

You know of course, in hindsight, that this was too many runs. Why did the acting skipper of the day bat on this long? S&L came third in this league last year and have regularly put decent scores on. His reasoning was to give them the same number of overs back as they should have been capable of chasing. In the event we probably could have declared after 30 overs and still won the game. Because S&L never really made even a token attempt.

Tea – Wickman has been away a long time and had forgotten DBW’s arts. It was magnificent to be back tasting that special sauce in the egg sandwiches etc. As per there was nothing different and there were no home baked cakes so it’s a very creditable 8 and exactly why Clarky came out of retirement.

The Staines innings was largely an abomination – the hideous mutated offspring of an alien beast, a Chernobylled Zebu and one of those American women who has had too much plastic surgery. Did anyone on their side really believe there was a chance they could chase this? Wickman doubts it. A couple of shots were played in anger, but the leading scorer for S&L was our old friend E X Tras who amassed 38. Which meant that all of S&L’s batsmen together put on a measly 51 from 45 overs. Crap really.

For S&L the Colts Hunt and Gyves look like proper cricketers who in the future will make many runs for S&L - but in the engine room of the S&L reply they were not going to be able to move things on quick enough. Perhaps Rafiq and Carty might have been able to make a go of it, but neither really got in for long enough.

Our bowling was good. Three colts – Jack Smith, James Hoppe and Olly King – between them produced the figures 17-6-25-3 – which was very good indeed. Jack was 5-3-2-1! All bowled with admirable control and did exactly what was asked of them. Phenomenal stuff. Usman bowled 9 overs of interesting looking off spin and took a wicket. Collier too. Splinter and even Clarky took a wicket each. But when a side has decided to shut up shop – which probably happened round about the 10 over mark – balls have to be hitting the stumps to have a chance of taking wickets and not enough of ours were. A couple of stiff chances were put down in the cordon but the standard of the fielding was good.

In such situations tempers fray and there were some fractious moments. The umpires need to be on top of things and look like they know the rules – which wasn’t the case here. A bump ball catch was appallingly adjudicated causing annoyance all round – eventually Wickman thinks the right decision was made – the batsman was reinstated – but that was largely done through negotiation as the umpires conspired together to give the benefit of the doubt, largely on the testimony of the batsman.

Elsewhere one of their bats started complaining about our over rate when the skipper and keeper were mid conference – which earned him a sharp retort about pots and kettles which he didn’t like – before hilariously running himself out the next ball and then, for all the world, looking like he was going to murder Lloydy. Unedifying…

We took wickets regularly but no attacking shots were being played towards the end and it became harder and harder to winkle folk out. One of the oppo played French cricket for his entire innings and got very upset that he was receiving some needle. He celebrated the draw hard at the end. It didn’t feel like anyone should be handing out medals...

Staines went away whining that we had bowled our overs slowly and were in some bad humour because of it. Here are the facts: Staines and Laleham took 3.5 hours to bowl their overs. Due to Clark smashing some of it into the bushes they wasted some time looking for balls certainly. We bowled ours (including three extra overs of extras) in 2.45 hours. 45 minutes faster. Erm – 16.36 overs per hour. Staines and Laleham bowled theirs at 12.85. A bit crap really.

These mutterings aside it was a good game for the Wick. In hindsight we had far too many runs. But we had 45 overs to bowl the oppo out and that should have been enough. To get so agonisingly close was a bit of a bore but a dominant performance should be some comfort. The Zulus didn’t manage to get a victory at Rourke’s Drift despite the Brits being about 8 down on a very dodgy track… No doubt the top Zulu would be saying that they’d had the best of the game too…

MOM Clarky. Runnssss.