Match Report - 1xi vs Sanderstead

Super confident Wick maintain 100% record

According to Alison, 5 wins out of 5 could well be a Wick league record. Given that it’s the first 5 games of the league season, and also given our performance against Godalming in the cup preseason, this represents a superb turnaround in the fortunes of the team. Lets not be mistaken here, we’ve deserved every single point we’ve got thus far. Our cricket has been dominant, adaptable and positive. We clearly have the talent to beat every team in the league, but in order to do so you need people to pull their fingers out. It happened in 2006, and its happening in 2008, with alarming regularity.

Toss #5 was won by Davies. 3/5 is a good return. Having said that, we’ve won batting first twice anyway (once out of choice), so the toss is generally the least important thing on my mind.

Sanderstead were a decent team. Research had suggested to us they had some good bats, but struggled slightly with ball in hand. Thankfully therefore the ones to pull their finger out this week were primarily Joey and Fordy. On the hardest deck of the year, Joey and Fordy strangled the Sanderstead top order. The rate was slow on what was a good track (despite the usual bit of Wickness – just to make it more interesting). Fordy ended up with 4, Joey with 1. Joey’s 1 however was the number 3 who was the best bat we’ve played against this year. Credit to Whinney who took a screamer at cover.

At 22-4 Sanderstead were struggling and the 5 and 6 together rebuilt the innings to 90-4. Intelligent patient batting against a relentlessly straight, and when required, either aggressive or patient attack. Tong made his 1XI bow with 11 overs full of menace and no little gas. 2 wickets. Great start for him.

Moment of the day – Kam having a face off with the #6 who had taken exception to relentless appealing for 3/5 balls in the over. As I said to the guy, if he used his bat we wouldn’t be asking the question, would we?. Ball 6, the ball is hit back to Kam, who collects it, quickly turns and runs out the non-striker and then explodes in a typical Kam-like tirade of joy, reminiscent of his first ball wicket of the Horley skipper which saw him jog (he cant sprint these days) around the pitch arms open as if he were David Beckham and Posh had suggested they try Swinging.

From 90-4 Sanderstead collapsed to 116 all out. The highest score against us this year has been 140, the average being about 110.

Teas – 4/10. Tired. Not enough egg in the mayonnaise sandwiches. Not as much cucumber as usual. Disappointing after the highs of Chicken Tikka last week.

Hibberd, promoted after some badgering during the week for Davies, opened up with Davies (say what you see….). Fresh from his 150*, he knew the writing was on the wall and that he had to play 1XI this week. The club is unbelievably strong at the moment which is great – other than the fact that the skippers actually have to pick a team which, as this weeks selection will show, is difficult (or not easy, depending which way you look at it).

Sanderstead started with the old ball and what we presumed the first change bowlers. Defending 116 isnt easy so the rationale was clearly to mix it up and try something different. Unfortunately for them both Hibberd and Davies were in unforgiving moods and raced to 37 off 6 overs playing perhaps only 2 false strokes. One extremely unfalse (or true) stroke from Hibby was so perfectly executed – a drive through the covers – that I was convinced I was playing in a Sunday game against Teddington Town at Taunton.

With the score at 50 off 8 overs, the game was over. But wait, the new ball has been taken and Hibberd has played across the line first ball and been bowled. The Sanderstead tails are up – is this another famed Wick collapse? Oh no, wait. Mr O’Mahoney has just flicked his third ball off his legs into the away changing room for perhaps the most elegant 6 I have ever seen. In my memory, only 2 hits have ever been hit at the Wick that rival it:

Importance – Fordy’s bludgeon straight to win our only game of a miserable season a few years back. One wicket wins are always priceless and in the situation this was priceless.

Power – David Childs farm into the Millennium Wood on his way to a phenomenal 100.

But destructive elegance wins out – O’M against Sanderstead 2008. His score was 1 at the time, and he had been receiving some stick for slightly excessive appealing. Bang! Absolute silence in the field, and to be fair to the oppo the bowler approached him at the end of the over and genuinely recognised the quality of the stroke.

Davies fell for 26 soon after, attempting to pull a short one into the scorebox and succeeding in missing a sweep and getting bowled. It was a grubber, but he should have known better. Kam came in and continued the onslaught, the win coming by 8 wickets and 117 being achieved within 20 overs with minimal fuss.

The oppo next week? The least of the skippers concerns.

MOM: Joey’s tight lines early doors? Fordy’s miserly 4 wickets (13-20-4)? Tongy on debut? O’M’s 6?

I’ll give it Fordy – 4-20 is a great return. Despite this, the performance wasn’t perfect, but the shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat was!