Hampton Wick Vs Worplesdon & Burpham - Match Report

Hampton Wick 2nd XI vs. Worplesdon and Burpham 2nd XI

W & B 81 all out (33.3 overs) D Ford 7-17 off 17.3 overs HWRCC 82 -2 (19.5 overs) P Sayce 44 n.o

HWRCC win by 8 wickets – league table

Sayce, Goulborn*, Forbes, Cole, Lofting, High, Ewen, Copland Jnr +, Hill, Ford, Lown

You wait 3 weeks for a game then…

Our usual scribe Wickman is off improving his French this week (“Ou est l’estade de cricket”, “vous jouez au cricket?” “Je m’appelle Wickman” etc etc) so it down to wickman’s cousin to take over. (Who is wickman’s cousin?)

HWRCC turned up at home to find the wick looking glorious. The wicket looked like a wicket, the outfield was lush but firm, there were no ducks swimming by the boundary. The wick were thinking we would actually get a game today having had the previous 2 matches abandoned. There is no worse a feeling than getting a game called off. You spend all week thinking about the match, checking play-cricket, washing your kit, asking your wife for a green card to have a couple of beers after the match, when the heavens open up and decide to ruin your day. The recent rain has not been such a bad thing for the Wick, with record takings behind the bar for Saturdays after the decision is made at 1.30pm that if no cricket shall be had, then drinking all day and night is the next best thing.

On paper, HWRCC were in a funny position on Saturday with the amount of unavailables.. Fudge, Clark, Soppitt, Greenwood, Goodwin, Donnelly, Noor, Mackie all not available. So no skipper, no vice, no experience (Del) yet the side the 2’s put out still contained Ford and Cole from the ones. The side was also fielding young Harry Copland behind the stumps. 13 years old and making your league debut – not bad. Goldy, standing in as skipper (with the help from Fudge using a complex signalling method discussed later) won the toss and put the oppo into bat.

To say they started slowly is an understatement. Their scorer decided to do balls faced in the scorebook. The first 10 overs had gone by and only 4 runs had come off the bat. Ford opened up from one end bowling accurately with John Hill coming in from the other end with some good pace. It was dull – Dick Ewen shouting out he had been to livelier funerals then this game of cricket. As the bats decided that the thing between there hands would not be necessary, more and more balls began to hit the pads full and straight. This got fordy excited, with some menacing appeals. (So loud that my mum said she heard them on the Hampton Court flower show highlights show on BBC2 that evening). However, it was going to be one of those days when LBW’s were going to be as common as Jimmy C with a size zero.

The run rate continued to be slow and the pressure began to build up. Fordy eventually knocked over one of their openers with a cracking Yorker to break the stand. It was good pressure by the wick. It took us 12 overs to get the first wicket but the pressure and fielding remained the same. Out came their number 3 and back went their number 3 two balls later (I think asking for middle stump with bat facing forward was a sure sign). Another wicket fell to John Hill and at drinks they were 53-3.

After drinks, one of their bats, who had begun to get in, started playing some shots. Goldy, with the help of some interesting hand signals from the balcony from Fudgey involving a crutch and a bottle of magners gave the signal to bring on Coley for Lown. (At least we think that is what he meant). This seemed to do the job as the change in pace and extra flight bamboozled their good bat and he ended up playing on. From the other end, Fordy was in an angry mood. Getting no luck with LBW’s and the batsman not using the bats, Fordy began to clean up. He changed his angle to around the wicket and it paid dividends. From 68-3, Worplesdon were soon bowled out for 81 (they only had 10 bats but as their number 8 told us “don’t worry, he isn’t coming as his car broke down and anyway, he isn’t very good”). Fordy finished with figures of 17.3 overs, 8 maidens, 17 runs, 7 wickets – all bowled. 5 of these runs were from hitting the helmet. All 9 wickets that day were bowled.

Wick looked very good in the field. Pressure was on the bat from the start from everyone. Harry Copland, playing in his first league game for the Wick, had an excellent day. He was very tidy to the quickies and sharp as Delboy’s tongue after a few cocktails when standing up to Coley. It was actually a bit scary some of the stumping attempts he tried. This boy is Wick.

So we headed in after 2 hours in the sun for a DBW tea. 6.5/10. However, as we sat down to eat, the oppo skipper informed us that we should be going back out due to the time. Now I know rules are rules etc, but when you have had monsoon rain for the last 3 weeks, the one thing I would want to do is make my time in the sun last as long as possible. But this was not to be. So out trundled Sayce and Goldy (with sandwich in pocket) to get on with knocking off the runs. Both started well, with some good looking shots benefiting from some below average fielding, including running a single, then running another 4 overthrows as no one fielding realised the ball had been hurled to the boundary but not hard enough. Goldy then was unlucky to be bowled round his legs followed by Cole, who seemed to get the ball to hit bat and both legs before bowling him. Sayce was then joined by Forbes, who like Sayce began to play some lovely looking shots to knock over the runs. It was left for Dick to signal a wide with the scores level to bring home the 20 points for the Wick.

Overall a funny day of cricket. 20 points by 4.40pm, although sounding great, was slightly unsatisfying. Only 4 guys bowled, all the wickets were bowled and 4 guys batted leaving 3 unavoidable TFC’s. Having not played cricket for so long, we were left looking for Hibby to give us something to do. MOM goes to Fordy with a devastating spell which was just too good. Another mention to Harry Copland who performed with great maturity and really is one to watch. The lead at the top is now 32 points thanks to Lingfield beating Merrow (however Merrow still have a game on us).

So there are 7 games left of this season, Fudge, Clark and Soppitt, who up until this game had all played nearly every game this season, are back next week. We are heading towards the “business end” of the season where every game is important. Yes we are top, but we have a weekend off and 3 teams within 20 points of us (if they win their game in hand). Availability is looking great these next few weeks so with a massive push from everyone we can do well in this league. As Wickman would say

“Viva le Wick!”

Collapso cricket sinks Guildford on cabbage patch

Guildford City vs HWRCC 2nd xi

Guildford won the toss and took to the field.

HWRCC 192-8 Sayce 50, Forbes 39, Soppitt 34

Guildford City 151 Soppitt 3-7, Ewen 3-36

Sayce, Lofting, Forbes, Fudge*, High, Clark+, Soppitt, Ewen, Greenwood, Hill, Lown

After every away game in the Fuller’s League this year the visitors are required to fill in a form. The form is an official record of the facilities visited. What happens with the data collected is not year clear. Perhaps, shortly, the Wick will receive a letter. It will tell us what we already know. That the outfield is a bit bumpy. That it keeps low at the Millennium Wood end. That deer dump on the grass. That we have excellent parking.

The forms marking Guildford City’s 2nd xi ground will be equally emphatic. Unfortunately the Old Guildfordians ground at which the 1s usually play was being used for a running event. All over Guildford slightly overweight females dressed in inappropriate lycra were dragging jiggly bits towards the ground, more in hope than expectation one surmised. Anyway, with the whole area under a sea of picnicking supporters and muffin tops, no cricket would be played there.

Which left your correspondent and his team mates to drive around Guildford, briefly stopping off to ask directions from a bemused Worplesdon and Burpham groundsman before arriving at something which resembled down town Bagdhad. Curated by Guildford Council this ground is a Barry Crocker bearing about as much resemblance to our own fecund pastures as, as Hamlet remarks of his dead father and his uncle, a Hyperion to a satyr. It was not the lush green meadow of the picture here...

Hyperion, Gentlemen, lest you forget, was one of the Titans. He was father to Helios, the Sun God. Shakespeare is suggesting that he was an all round good guy and someone to be looked up to. A satyr, on the other hand, is a grotesque creature, half-man and half-goat, symbolic of sexual promiscuity. A dirty sort of smelly thing, always rutting and probably, after rain, smelling rather grim. Shakespeare is not fond of satyrs. He is suggesting that a satyr is contemptible. The comparison, then, that he draws, is designed to tell us that the one is excellent, the other beneath contempt.

Which sounds harsh. But, like the Latvian Police, also fair. After a while the surroundings grow on you. But this is like the dangerous “office effect”. The office effect is a long observed phenomenon. It is where a perfectly ordinary member of the opposite sex joins a company and is immediately marked as a five of out of ten. Were the member a female she would be attractive, but largely unremarkable. Over time the individual’s personality, charisma and good eggness shine through and they unaccountably creep up to an unmerited eight out of ten. There is then a need for recalibration to bring people back to their senses because if a truly outstanding candidate were to join the company, with the scale so obviously out of whack there would be dangerous talk of tens or even, God forbid, elevens. And as everyone knows, there is no such thing as a ten out of ten.

Dear reader, I hope, despite these wanderings, that you are getting the picture. That, like a well directed telegram, the message has arrived. It was a stinker. The pitch was a patchwork of bare earth and closely mown tufts of grass. It was bereft of sightscreens. At one end we were lucky to have a half white mock something or other house behind the arm. At the other there was a children’s playground, and, gloriously, a dark red van belonging to Her Maj’s postal service. You couldn’t make it up. The pav was functional shall we say. There was no parking. All day dangerous looking locals walked dangerous looking dogs round the outfield. After Lingfield’s showers which, on weekends during the winter, might spit out icicles, Guildford’s were hot enough to cook lobsters humanely.

The pitch would play a decisive role in the game. Like an allrounder who boshes a quick fifty, pouches a couple of catches and takes four for, it was always involved. Whether producing a scuttler to bowl their unlucky opener for 49 before he took the game from us or in producing prodigious turn for their skipper’s offies or in putting doubt in the minds of nervous chasing batters it got involved in a big way. Every time you thought it had finished contributing it would stick its hand up or go through its bowling warm up motions in an exaggerated fashion to let you know it was there. Only seven batsmen made double figures.

Hmm. That’s almost 800 words without actually mentioning the game. Perhaps I had better get on with it. Fudgey lost the toss and, like Cilla Black belting out a catchphrase (Surprise, Surprise!) with the audience assisting, we were inserted. We were asked to watch Paul Sayce, on debut, and MS, bat. While MS looked untroubled he perished by edging one onto his stumps without playing as he has been known to. Forbes joined Sayce in the middle and a strange sense of calm descended on your humble scribe. As these two bats caressed and creamed the ball around the park it was very pleasant to be wearing the Dove, the Magenta and the Black. Class. Real class. Nothing belted, nothing smacked, nothing muscled all a joy to watch. Oh the off drives. Oh the glances. Oh oh oh oh oh. They put on almost 100 for the second wicket. Really, really good. Sayce perished eventually for 50, Forbes for 39. Both deserved more.

When Forbes played on too, echoing Lofting’s dismissal, Fudge, then High, then Clark displayed more lower order talent than middle order, collapsing, as they did, like the Hindenburg or R101 but without the loss of life. They went down in flames. Between them they managed to contribute 23 runs to the cause. It was left to Soppitt, once again, to mix aggressive shot making and aggressive running, to build us a defensible total. His 34 runs were invaluable. Doc swung baseball style at a couple to entertain us late on (loud Mooooooos were heard from the sidelines) and we took tea having declared on a useful (if slightly worrying) 191 from 50 overs.

And so to tea. Lloyd Grossman, that excitable foodie, would have struggled to find something to extend his vowels and consonants about. Welllllllllllllllll. Whooooooooooo’s in the kidchin todaaaayyy? There were no truly exciting ingredients. Lloyd gets excited by unusual ingredients. Ohhh. Kohlraaaaaaaabi. Mmmmmmm yesssss gooooooooooseberry. Fresh mushrooooooooooooms. Nope, there was nothing like this. Oh for a DBW tea. And it’s not often you see me write THAT! 6. No more, no less. 6. A D at A level. A pass, but not something you are going to rush home and tell your Mum and Dad about.

Guidlford were to be allowed 45 overs to overhaul us. And the way they set about the target it looked as if they intended to do it in 35 and get off home to watch some light entertainment on the box. My oh my did they play and miss to begin with. Goodness gracious did they try to leather the ball through mid off and miss. Crikey O’Reilly did they hit the ball hard when they connected. They put on lots for the first wicket. 70-ish. When four balls were bowled they despatched them. They could have charged postage and we wouldn’t have blinked. It was good batting. Clark grassed the only chance standing up to Krusty – a thickish edge that didn’t stick and looped to the floor. For a while it looked expensive.

While John Hill and Krusty bowled well, they will not come up against batting of this calibre every week. They will get away with more than they did another day. Ditto MS – who took the first wicket – the first of four great catches pouched by The Wick. Driving uppishly the very good Mohammed hit one towards Soppitt who managed to dive forwards and scoop one up inches from the turf at mid off before hanging on to it and doing a number of forward rolls. Genius and just the breakthrough we needed. Iqbal then smashed MS out of the attack – two huge consecutive sixes disappearing in the arc between long on and the stumps. He looked set to score big and take the game away from us.

With GCCC’s excitable wicket keeper at the other end things looked grim. GCCC passed 100 with only one wicket down. But the team hung in and an outrageous scuttler turned the tide to the Wick. Ewen, who had begun to get inside the head of both bats pitched one on a good length which pea-rolled. If it hadn’t crept through to bowl the bat, it would have been difficult to refuse as an LBW (note: none were given on Saturday despite some double and treble appealing by their keeper). The pitch helped us out – they must have been cursing the Council for putting them up on this rubbish.

All of a sudden things didn’t look quite so clever for GCCC. There was a sniff of fear about them. Early on, when the ball was disappearing to the boundary, there was some VERY cocky spectating going on. You would have thought they were 200-2 rather than 100-1. But now? Silence. Eerie. A very nervy looking No 4 came to the wicket. Scratched around and hoisted one of Ewen’s dobbers over Del’s shoulder. He pouched a second, excellent, catch. Quack. Mahmood, who had, as they say, given it the Barry McGuigan when we batted proceeded to let his team down by missing a straight one from Doc. Quack. Doc bowled excellently all day to return figures of 9-4-24-1. Control. Aggression. Subtle away swing. Really good.

The ‘keeper seemed to be Guildford’s last hope as panic set in. We mentioned this to him. Dick mentioned to him that his crossbatted style was unsuitable for the conditions. He ignored us (although clearly riled) and crossbatted a number of fours and a six. He seemed very pleased with himself. Right up until he slap / pulled the excellent Soppitt at shoulder height two yards to John Hill’s left. Hilly threw himself at the ball and held on to a quite stunning effort to remove him. And with his dismissal went all GCCC’s swagger and self belief. Rehman smacked one back at Dick who clung on to a one handed c&b. The skipper missed one from Del. Hussain was caught by Dom at full stretch over his head (goodness there was some fine catching) from another fine Del- ivery (see what I did there?). Aktar – not looking particularly proficient with the bat – called through his sluggish batting partner for a sharp single to Sayce. Saycey was having none of it and ran him out by so far that he wasn’t in the frame. Quack. A young player who hadn’t taken much part in the game then received the ball of the day from Lown who moved one away off the pitch to knock over the off stump. Quack. We had taken 9 wickets for approximately 40.

What a win! What a great game of cricket! To be so far behind the game and come back so emphatically. To stick at it and hang in there in the field when your cricketing brain said GCCC had it in the bag. Another win batting first. There cannot be enough superlatives to describe Del’s performance. 34 valuable runs to boost a meagre total. 4-1-7-3 with the ball. Two catches that turned the game around. He deservedly walks away with MOM. No TFC for this game as everyone turned up, everyone contributed something, everyone was part of a truly excellent team performance. Well done boys – it was an important one with others near the top of the table all winning. Let’s keep this level of performance going through June…

Something for the weekend...

With the 1s and 2s both playing Guildford City in the league this weekend it's a useful indicator of where HWRCC's two league teams have got to this year. Last year the 1s and 2s both clung on to record losing draws. While the 1s secured the Championship and confirmed an unbeaten season, the corresponding 2s fixture was played out in biting winds by a Guildford team which bore little resemblance to those that played the other 15 or so games that season. As we can see from this graphic, Guildford are strong enough to provide training at all levels, so The Wick should get a good game.

This weekend sees a strong 1s and experienced 2s pit themselves against City. The 1s line up with new finds MacArthur and Kamran in the side joined by Zammak (winner of the 2006 bowling prize) and Joey Ewen - on fire in a division where he doesn't need to hit the stumps to take wickets.

The 2s see a league debut for batsman Paul Sayce, further batting strength in the guise of Mike Forbes and a return to the side for Dick Ewen, making his way back to league cricket after serious injury in 2006. Dominic Lown, Derek Soppitt, The Doc and John Hill, all sporting ridiculous single figure averages, will all need to have the ball prized from their fingers.

And there's a 3s team out as well, facing up to Thames Ditton who play in the Fullers 3s league. This is extremely encouraging for the future of the club as many of the assembled are 2s players in disguise. And don't even ask about the unavailables...

Hampton Wick 1st XI Vs Kempton

Davies*, MacArthur, Lee, Razzi, Bishop, Jackson, Cole, Forbes, Ewen, Jones, Webster.

Hampton Wick won the toss and elected to field.

Kempton 134 all out. Ewen 7-30 Razzi 3-21 Dows 48

HWRCC 136/4 Razzi 42 Bishop 30* Porter 2-33

HWRCC won by 6 wickets

Kempton were quite aggrieved as Bishop knocked off the last couple of runs to sink them to a 6 wicket loss. Kempton felt it had all come down to the toss of a coin, and that the Wick's sticky wicket favoured the side batting second. Granted the wicket was as lively as King Herod in an Early Learning Center, but the way they approached their innings defied belief.

Joe Ewen bowled well for his 7-30, but he will bowl better this season without such handsome rewards. From the very first ball when opener Watts flayed a ball which threatened little, to Dan Lee at point, you wondered whether Kempton had walked out to bat with their eyes closed, and not felt the puddles splash up their legs. When the Kempton skipper followed soon after in almost identical fashion, again to Lee at point Joeys began to taste blood and rather liked it.

Dows and Ricks then began to rebuild the Kempton innings and mixed aggression with a willingness to wear the snorter. They were brutal on anything shy of length and HWRCC bowled too short on a day crying out for a full length.

A thought must be spared for every bowler who bowled from the the Millenium Wood End, as the wind was strong enough to produce Acme style facial distortion, and made a measured run up a bag of liquorice allsorts. With the wind at his back though Joey finished his opening salvo following a rain break with the wicket of Ricks for 39.

Kamran replaced Joey and Barrell did likewise for Webster. Kamran got his reward for patient and disciplined bowling, removing the Kempton 5 and 6 before finally coaxing Dows (48) to give further catching practice to Dan at point. His fourth catch at point and to be honest I was beginning to wonder if I shouldn't give him the gloves and move to point myself just to see some action.

With Dows gone Davies showed no hesitation in bringing Joey back into the attack to finish proceedings. Joey duly obliged and did what all good fast bowlers should and mopped up the tail with a minimum of fuss. Matty D's insistence that every over would be his last obviously had the required affect and it was akin to watching a hunter taking out ducks with stinger missiles as they come in to land on a park pond. Kempton 134 all out and it was HWRCC who went into tea the happier XI.

You are all familiar with DBW's tea so I won't offer a mark. Although I think he should be docked half a point every time he produces a clone of the week before and a half added every time he makes our eyes bulge with surprise.

As alluded to earlier Kempton felt the Wick had the easier of the batting conditions, but the way the top three approached the chase showed more than an ounce of thought and skill. Sam MacArthur and Dan Lee prodded and left, determined not to throw away their wicket as the ball continued to skip, and dart around. Even when Dan timed a ball beautifully off his legs through mid-wicket and into the car park neither got carried away.

Eventually Sam (14) was undone by a ball that reared off a length but Matty came in a continued with fervent application. Dan (16) followed soon after to bring in Kam, who played what he described as one of his most determined innings, despite his best efforts to run Matty out, who eventually fell for 14. The hard work had been done though as the ball was now soft, the wicket slightly drier, and the openers seen off.

Barrell joined Kam and their partnership of 58 was a lesson in application and patience from these normally free scoring batsman. Kam certainly rode his luck on more than one occasion, but the their gamble to go over the top against the older ball, allowed them to then pick the singles as the field spread. With plenty of overs to spare, all his team mates were dissapointed to see Kam fall short of his 50, but AJ came in and finished the job with Barrell with a minimum of fuss.

A couple TFC's, but this was because of a very good performance of Joey and the top order doing their job. Still a slightly rusty performance in the field but the team spirit was as evident as ever and everyone will have to opportunity to stick their hands up and make telling performances as the season moves on.

Also from everyone in the squad a huge congratulations to the 2's for not only getting their game on but winning it so well. You can't ask for any more than a Wick Wash.

1st XI Match Report Vs Shepherds Bush - Craft and Graft

28th April 2007 Shepherds Bush Vs HWRCC

Shepherds Bush won by about 100 runs

HWRCC won the toss and elected to field.

HWRCC: D Lee, A Jackson, R Cole, M Davies*, K Razi, M Forbes, T Crowther, G Jones+, S Whinney, D Ford, J Ewen.

It has become somewhat traditional that I start my match reports with an apology and I shall begin this year in similar form. If this match report is a bit up and down, and lacking imagination I am sorry, but after the first full weekend of the season I am exhausted. You can do all the fitness work and training you like over the winter, but it still doesn't prepare you for a full on weekend down The Wick.

The 1st XI reconvened on Saturday at Shepherds Bush with a bump rather than a bang. Our enigmatic fixtures secretary has come in for some stick for the choice of opposition this weekend but The Bush provided the 1's with exactly the kind of stern examination the boys needed.

Matty won the toss and invited the home side to bat. Joey and Kamran opened the bowling for the Wick and voices of encouragement that had been subdued for a long frustrating winter resounded round the ground. The track was generally slow and low, which meant there was a great emphasis of getting on the front foot, and the Shepherd's Bush opener certainly did. If we come across another player of his class all season it will be a huge surprise. His opening partner however never really got going as Joey got him to tickle one down the leg side for the keeper to claim a scrambled effort. Early blood to the Wick but a false dawn.

With conditions offering little for the bowlers, graft and craft became the watch words for the next 19 overs. The Bush batsman worked the ball around with great skill. The way they picked the gaps was a genuine lesson in batting for those of us who have struggled in recent times and think that the only way to get back to form is to blast the ball out the ground.

For the Wick it was a case of graft and waiting for half chances. At 110 for 1 at the 22 over drinks interval it would have been very easy for heads to go down and conceed 300+. Not a bit of it though. Team spirit galvanised a group of promising youngsters into a title winning side last year, and the early signs are that there will be a never-say-die attitude once again. The fielding effort led by new man Dan Lee in the covers and Pinball who stepped in at the last minute, was both committed and threatening.

Eventually the hard work paid off as the wise old head of Coley encouraged The Bush 2 and 3 to go large and they were bowled and caught respectively. Chances were few and far between all day but everything was taken.

Whilst the Bush skipper steadied the ship the rest of the side came and went without really registering in the memory. Shaun Whinney, making his 1's debut came into the attack and picked up 3 quick wickets, and seemed to wonder what all the fuss was about. Joey made his keeper work hard for another, Fordy got the final wicket to an LBW, and all the while Kam bowled a very tight line and length without reward.

Shepherds Bush finished 239/9, but given their position at drinks the boys had every reason to be proud of the efforts in the field. It was hot, most had little game time under their belts and the way the bowlers stuck to their task, encouraged by committed fielding spoke volumes about how far the club has moved on in recent years.

And so after 45 overs in the sun and the heat, it was off to tea to replenish spent energy. I'm afraid to say though that this was the only department in which our hosts let us down all day. Lacklustre would probably best describe it: 2/10

Dan and AJ opened up brightly. Whilst Dan manoeuvered the bowling in exemplary fashion, and played shots off the back and front foot with equal authority, AJ seemed content to wait for the bad ball. At one point it looked as though batting second might be to our advantage as the batsman had registered the conditions and made every attempt to get forward.

Eventually following a sumptuous drive straight back past the bowler for four, AJ lost concentration and looked for an even bigger shot. When watching the Shepherds Bush's Kiwi bat, what impressed me most was when he took Coley for four through midweek by moving his feet, and then as Matty moved the man from square leg to plug the gap, he waited for Coley to re-ajust his length and then milked him for a single into the then vacant square leg. Clever cricket, and the kind of thing the Wick batsman need to work on.

Coley came to the wicket in place of AJ, and started in determined mood if not a little scratchily. All seemed back on track as the pair played with patience, and the scored board ticked over in a steady fashion. When Dan mistimed one to mid-on, just short of his 50, Kam came in a looked in Bullish mood. He dispatched his 3rd ball over mid-wicket for 4 and hit the bowlers off their lengths. Meanwhile in the background Coley continued to acculmulate and play himself into form, with boundaries increasing in regularity as his timing improved.

Kamran went as the score moved past the 100 mark with a big drive, that if he'd connected with would have dissapeard back to Chiswick. It was not to be though and he skied it only as far deep long off.

That then triggered a collapse as Davies came and went without ever managing to get his feet moving, debutant Mike Forbes, got a good ball that nipped back through the gate and when Pinball left a straight one, the tail was left to play a supporting role to Coley. Garf offered little resistance and started where he left off last year with a duck, which brought in Shaun who is really starting to enjoy his batting. He was quick to crack a ball through point in the encraoching gloom and compiled a very encouraging 16.

With only Fordy and Joey, 7 overs and an impossible task left, Rich Cole looked to push on and went past fifty. When Fordy perished though Coley opened up to much and the Wick closed around the 150 mark ( I forgot to look at the scorebook), well short of the target.

The score suggests a sound beating but a lot of positives can be taken from the game, and we know the areas in which we have to improve. To lose to a good side like Shepherd's Bush will stand us in better stead than dispatching an ordinary side with ease. On our day we would push Shepherds Bush much closer and I would even fancy us to beat them, despite the huge difference in League positions.

Also there were 4 debuts for the 1's who all jumped right into the team spirit and fought shoulder to shoulder with their new team mates, in unfriendly bowling conditions.

Wick man of the match has to go to Coley for his wickets and runs, although special mentions to Dan Lee for his fine 42 and his fielding, and to Shaun for his 3 for and an encouraging knock with the bat. No one let anyone down though and it was an encouraging team performance typified by the team work ethic.

I must also put a mention in for our opponents and hosts. They were a fantastic bunch of guys and whilst I do not want to eloborate on events with a group of locals who were there for football game in the morning, I would like to thank them for their hospitality and the way they dealt a situation which threatened to spoil everyone's day. If you read this guys you are welcome down the Wick any time. On the same note, thank you to Ali our wonderful scorer who conducted herself with the class befitting a member of the Wick.