Wick 218-5 Edmonds 63, Clark 47, Laight 36*
Oppo 90ish JMac 5-26
Scorecard
A crushing win against a young and old Egham side vindicated Skipper Linter's controversial decision to bat first on Kingsfield this week. Following a succession of early “bowl first” finishes this season, the skipper decided to set up the game this week and back a strong attack to bowl out the oppo. In the event his bowlers had too much for Egham with JMac McMullan the pick with a useful 5 for 26.
Our half of Chedward had begged the skipper during the week to field first so he could get on the Britneys and watch the other half (playing 2s) from the balcony. Splints though took one look at the deck and decided it was a bat first type of deck and he was probably right.
Ched took the first ball once Splints had won the toss and was accompanied by Clark. The pitch was a standard Kingsfield number with two of everything - two paced and bounce that was up and down like a dwarf in a New Zealand bar with rugby players in town. Perfectly playable of course but a test for anyone expecting cricket week main square decks….
Hawes from the Everest End was decently brisk and swung the ball away and instantly earned the respect of both batsman, beating the edge and delivering a number of Kingsfield jaffas... balls that swing and then seam off the compliant surface… providing a true challenge. Being a 4xi game no one is good enough to get an edge on them - but they are a thing of beauty for the student of cricket aesthetics. The challenge comes from trying to rearrange your thoughts with a pack of close fielders telling you the bowling’s too good for you etc etc.
The plan was to see off the opener, see off the shine, bat 'til drinks and then take stock. Once a look had been had, Clark played some aggressive shots in a reasonably composed stay at the crease. He was severe on anything pitched short but his timing was a little off and in combination with a slow outfield found himself running far too many threes for his or Ched’s comfort. Ched played cautiously and patiently while Clarky biffed a few – with a couple of streaky edges thrown in - and the pair almost ticked off all of their objectives until Clark patted a nothing ball tamely to mid off in time to get first go at the drinks waiting on the boundary edge.
The change bowling was by and large one side of the wicket which kept the scoring rate respectable. The Wick were 80-1 approximately at drinks but with a solid base and batting to come could be quietly confident of setting a sound total.
Tanzeel came and went unluckily top edging a pulled full toss to long leg. Rob Ritchie played a typically belligerent innings and smote one of the changed bowlers over his favourite boundary for a maximum. When Rob perished Unsworth briefly prospered before Kirky played a gem of an innings to register his highest league score, pulling anything short mercilessly along the floor to the midwicket boundary and later smashing some big shots down the ground to remain 36*.
Charles was the glue to the innings though and started to cut loose, eventually achieving a well deserved 50 before powering into the early 60s. He was undone in the end by a wild swing chasing a declaration total and it fell to the skipper to partner Kirky to the 45.5 ball and 218 for 5. It was a well balanced assembly of runs but perhaps we could have pushed on a little quicker. But these are mere trifles. Ched was seriously ruing Splinter’s decision to bat at this point. Wickman will wager it’s the first time he has batted for 42 overs in any form of cricket. It was hard work with excellent application and patience were on show. But it was a physically and mentally demanding knock which will hopefully prepare him for further challenges in the season ahead.
Dave did not serve trifles at tea sadly. But he did surpass himself. There was mass refusal of the cream cheese and spring onion but everything else was wolfed down. Coronation chicken made a reappearance (bravo, encore etc etc) as did beef. The sweet elements were so popular that when Clarky returned to load his plate (went too large on the savouries) there was nothing left! For that and the misjudgement on the cream cheese this is a 9.5. Highest mark ever awarded by Wickman for a home tea. But it was one of Dave’s finest.
Egham’s chase began positively. The oppo skipper is a good cricketer and began at quite a pace. Olly King was bowling from the Mariana Trench end with a surprisingly brisk crosswind which made it difficult for him to shape the ball away this week. So we were treated to the best batting of the day as Bartlett whipped a succession of balls off middle and middle and leg savagely through midwicket.
At the other end Linter bounced a Surrey Ladies trained bat and then mercilessly beat her neck and crop with a perfect awayswinger shaped from leg stump to hit middle and off through a defeated forward defensive. That this was only a ball after we believed he had pinned her in front with a sand shoe crusher was all the more sweet.
Replaced by the number three who looked more than competent this was where the game was “on”. For a while Egham were exactly on the rate that Clark and Edmonds had set earlier. The question was though, would they be able to last 45 overs?
The answer came relatively quickly. Olly nipped a perfectly pitched ball back up the slope to kiss the top of #3’s middle stump. #4 and the skipper looked busy and punished bad bowling for a couple of overs but the introduction of JMac changed the course of the game. He bowled Bartlett off his pads with an inducker and then perhaps with the worst ball of the day he convinced the remaining top order adult batsman to glove one down the leg side to the keeper who collapsed like a gorilla hit by a vet’s dart into a heap and pouched it at the same time.
There was not then a great deal of substance to the rest of the innings. JMac cleaned up another bat or two, one with the sort of peach that should sign up with TMac’s agent to secure a role as a giant fruit in the next film version of James and the Giant Peach. Dom Lown removed a couple – one utilizing the keeper’s legendary matrix skills “it’s like a 2s retirement home out here” the other a drag on as a reward for his tight off stump line. Boooooooooooom. Egham all out in 26.3 overs with JMac registering a very decent 5-26.
It’s too early in the season to be drawing any conclusions. After the narrow low scoring squeak at Valley End at least this game had some quality and structure to it. When England were making a meal out of killing off New Zealand a week or so ago in The North commentators were asking about the “style” of the cricket being played. Well… this was fairly ruthless. Today the 4s top the table and have opened up a 15 point gap… you couldn’t ask much more of them. There will be sterner tests ahead, you can be sure.
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