Match Report - 2xi vs Stoke D'Abernon

Season back on track following Stoke D’Ab thriller

Fudge, Clark, Hibberd, Cole, Golb, Wright, Soppitt, Kennedy, Powell, Hill, Iqbal

HWRCC won the toss

Stoke D’Abernon 141 (47.4 overs)
HWRCC 2xi 142-6 (Hibberd 39)

With 9 points only separating the top five teams in Division one 2nd xi this was a really important win for HWRCC. The maths of the division suggest that the team that puts together a string of victories and strong performances could clear up. The only unbeaten side in the Division we are, nevertheless, behind four other teams. Five teams below us have won either more games or the same number. Wins are precious boys, and this one cannot be underestimated.

A united team performance from a relaxed HWRCC side wrested a game from Stoke D’Abernon that at 82-1 they were dominating and looking ominous in. While the left handed combination of Tufts and Engelen was in situ the chains on the scoreboard were being pulled more often than those in the Clark household the morning after a fiery Ruby and 10 pints of real ale. But a critical breakthrough from man of the match Paul Hibberd, bowling Engelen through the gate with a jaffa that could have happily been turned into a chocolate covered mini cake treat in the McVities factory, precipitated a collapse of almost Sodom and Gomorrah proportions.

Leaving the biblical references aside (its not Wickman’s strong suit after all) the day had dawned, as the weathermen would have it, overcast. To the untrained observer it was clear that rain had fallen overnight and conditions would be moist. Wickman detected this from puddles in the back garden. Hilly, who had clearly been reading his BBC statistics, proclaimed that humidity would be at 96 per cent. This was not jumper weather gentlemen and jockstrap temperatures would be set at “discomfort” all afternoon.

The deck looked okay from the pav steps, but close up, and especially if one tried to use one’s studs to mark one’s guard, one could tell it was damp under there. The outfield was also retaining more water than one of Jimmy C’s Saturday night conquests. A few diuretics wouldn’t sort out the outfield and frankly neither would they have much effect on the future Mrs Cs. This would have a profound effect on the cricket because the deck was slow and bouncy – affecting timing – and the ball would be difficult to maintain in mint condition owing to the light covering of water on the outfield.

Amazingly an opposition skipper failed to call correctly and we found ourselves in the unusual position of bowling first. No sooner had we begun than Hilly persuaded skipper Dickson to cut one straight to Duncan at point. Nice to see another side 1-1 after our early season travails. Then, though, a really quite disturbing thing happened. An opposition pair put together an 80 run partnership without offering a chance.

The bowling – from Hill, Powell, Iqqers, Kennedy and Hibberd was all there and there abouts. The “spot” was located. The occasional ball ballooned a little off the pitch. There was not much in the way of leg side tosh. But slowly and surely – and often off singles stolen from under the noses of some of our better fielders – Tufts and Engelen put together a really fine looking partnership. Some really good shots were played. Neither looked in any trouble whatsoever. To the cries of well bowled they merely raised an eyebrow and knuckled down to receiving the next ball.

Eventually though something had to give. Disciplines were maintained. People took to bowling at just the one side of the stumps. Fielding was sharp. And then Hibby just smashed one through Engelen’s guard. It was a game changing ball. Pitched on a length and three inches outside off stump the bat decided it had to go and essayed a drive, eschewing the safer option of a forward defensive. The ball nipped off the seam and bowled him through the gate to howls of delight. Game on.

Stoke D’Ab then dissolved in the face of accurate bowling. From 81-1 their numbers 4, 5 and 1 all departed in short order. Watson who would later outkeep Clark, spooned one up into the gap between mid off and mid on. Microsoft Soppitt gallantly called it “Hibby’s” and Hibberd made 20 yards to take a fine tumbling catch while Del watched on from a mere metre or two away. The new batsman Lawes then smashed Hibberd to the cover region only for Fudgey’s hands to intersect with its trajectory inches above the turf. Try taking that one fingers up… Catch of the season currently. Tufts then perished driving at a fuller ball from Kennedy only to hear the familiar rattle of timber.

There was then a mini-revival as Gottschalk (particularly proficient behind square) and Stevenson got on with it and attacked. Eventually Stevenson attempted to get after Cole once to often and was caught and stumped all in the same Matrix instant by Clark. Even the umpiring Ewen was moved to comment later that Clark’s glovework was fast – although this could have been a sarcastic reference to the by now 14 byes that he conceded…

At the other end Wrighty was given his first trundle for the twos and immediately made everyone sit up and notice by hitting the pitch hard and getting some shape at the same time. Trundle he did not. His first over produced a Yorker to bowl Gottschalk off his pads and he later persuaded Ewen to give Harkett out LBW to one that did nothing but rap the shin of Harkett with that shin in front of middle. Wright’s figures of 4-2-1-2 were ruined by him conceding a run off the bat from his final ball, this disgusting aberration forcing Fudge to swap in Powell to excise the final few. Junaid – in a second spell almost as miserly – picked up the stubborn McCarty who was unfortunate to squirt one back onto his stumps.

As with previous weeks, with most of the batting back in the hutch, and with 8 and 10 looking unconvincing and telling the fielding side that they themselves WERE unconvinced, we could not provide the breakthrough. Ten or so overs of stuff that beat the bat but could not locate the three stick-like things with the other two sticks balanced on them passed before eventually Junaid took his wicket and Fudge and Clark combined to effect an efficient run out of Mills who had been called through for a fairly ambitious single. This lead Stoke D’Ab to 141 – joint highest scorers against the Wick this year.

This of course mattered not a jot because in occupying only 47 overs they would allow us 48 back. On form this season this was not enough runs. But, pictured the other way around, if we had assembled 180 and asked them to get them in 47 then we might be looking at another winning draw. That’s why winning the toss is so vital. Interestingly all Stoke were trying to do was bat 52 overs to put more pressure on us in reply so we did bowl them out in timely fashion. Well done boys.

Tea. Ah. It looked so good at the end of the trestle table as the 40th Anniversary of the previous evening had yielded Bombay potato and vegetable pasta. However the potato had not been peeled and was NEW! (inexcusable) and Dave had substituted simple curry powder for the preferred bright cocktail of turmeric, coriander and chilli. Disappointing. Also chickens must have been on strike as the salad cream sandwiches had hardly a lump of egg in them. To top it all the rolls had been cut and buttered so early that exposure to O, H and He and other trace gases had begun to curl the edges. What started out looking like a 7 crumbled away to a 5, cherry and fruit cake notwithstanding. A second cup of tea on the balcony cheered Wickman up, but not enough to merit an upweighting.

The reply started brightly as Cole and Hibberd assembled 21 runs very quickly. Coley unfortunately followed a decent away swinger and guided it to Watson who took a good catch low to his right. This brought a belligerent Fudge to the crease and together he and Hibberd made light of the Stoke attack and could even have been described as dismissive. Eventually though Fudgey tried one too many lofted shots to experienced and wily offspinner Lawes who bowled him with a quicker Yorker. Hibberd, who is occasionally vulnerable if tempted too often with spin, holed out at midwicket to the off-spin of Stevenson and when Golb managed somehow to get himself bowled by the same player the Wick was in the throes of its own mini-collapse at 71-4. First Wright and Clark (with a partnership of 30) and then Wright and Soppitt (38) took the Wick to the brink for Duncan to arrive in time to score the winning runs.

The brisk pace at which the Wick went after the 142 for victory probably offered Stoke a slight window of opportunity in this game. We should think more about building partnerships. One wicket should not bring two, and even three, certainly if the second of the wickets is caught in the deep. Similarly there was no need for Clark to go aerial as Wright and Soppitt showed afterwards that discretion was the better part of valour. However this was a pretty good win and the aggression in the batting spoke of those up top trusting those down below to finish the job if necessary. Amusingly Powelly may be changing his traditional parking space next time the 2s are at home. Having spoken earlier to Clarky about it being “his spot” (right next to the pedestrian gate, just inside the fence behind square) he watched in horror as Clark smashed a full toss high into the air towards… his car. Had the wind not been with the shot it could well have landed right in the middle of the sun roof. In the event it crashed into the new storage area and all (including Clarky – Powell has had military experience after all) breathed a sigh of relief.

It was also a good game of cricket so thank you Stoke D’Ab. The thing was played in good spirit, banter was offered freely by both sides (Clarky says only the Wick are generally noisier and more encouraging of the bowlers) and the result was in doubt for most of the game. The spirit in the side was further enhanced by the distinct pleasure of having Dick umpire us in his own inimitable style and Billy in the scorebox counting balls and minutes. What a joy to discover that a run a ball innings is, indeed, a run a ball innings. There was even a couple of classic deer invasions (Hilly did NOT look comfortable at fine leg). It was nice to see Stoke in the bar afterwards – something we should probably remember the next time we play away and are in a hurry to get to back to HQ.

MOM Hibberd. No TFC. Which says a lot.