Final day spanking of Battersea secures deserved promotion for Wick 3rd XI
HWRCC - 259/8 off 47.5 overs (Charlie High - 80-odd runs)
defeated
Battersea Ironsides - 160 all out (Crane 5 for 34, Jimmy C 3/32)
What a brilliant day. Even though it is now a few days since we secured promotion to the Surrey Championship, i'm still pinching myself that this has all happened. Hampton Wick's 3rd XI team, following their first foray into the league, have been promoted at the first attempt. Lively!
After a season of more ups and downs than Devine Brown on Hugh Grant on the sunset strip, it all came down to this moment: if we secured at least a winning draw against Battersea Ironsides we'd be promoted to the Surrey Championship. Destiny was in the hands of 10 wick boys + Risso. The question was: could we produce under the pressure?
Having arrived at the club early on Saturday morning to listen to how hung over Fordy was from his previous night's endeavours (i really just wanted a bacon sandwich....but this is the Wick i guess so you pretend to listen, don't you?), the anticipation amongst the team was growing. Despite concern from some quarters in the team that we might be building this game up too much (i wonder why?), the time soon came to head over to Kingsfield, warm up and calm the nerves - there was no time to even analyse if we were overhyping it.
After a few choice words from Captain Lloyd ("enjoy the occasion, believe, etc"), we were as pumped as we were ever going to get and ready to start the match. While some players talked about the mathematics of winning draws, losing draws, etc, there was a genuine belief that if we played strong and positive cricket, we could give this Battersea side a run for their money. And this was a good Battersea side by the way.
So on a muggy but beautiful Wick afternoon, Battersea won the toss and sent us in to bat. This was probably not a bad result all things considered, as our history of chasing totals this season has not been that impressive. The previous week was still fresh in our mind, and that we just managed to scrape home chasing 139 was potentially an omen that batting first was the way forward. It also meant that if we got a big score, we would surely put the game beyond Battersea's reach. This was our best and deepest batting team of the season, so there were no excuses.
Risso and Lloydy kicked off the innings for the Wick, and the runs soon flowed. Perfect. Risso only knows one way to bat and that is: hit out or get out. Luckily for Risso in the early overs, the chances for Battersea were few and far between, and we were ticking the scoreboard over at about 4 runs every 6 balls. With the assistance of Lloydy from the other end, we had soon reached 50 for no loss after 14 overs and things were going nicely. Perfect.
But this was no ordinary Battersea side, and they clearly hadn't come to just make up the numbers. Soon enough we realised we were in for a tough match. Lloydy was bowled all ends up to a fuller pitched delivery and Cransey, coming in at number 3, didn't last much longer, being caught at square leg to a simple catch despite making a promising start to his innings (ats). When Risso was cleaned bowled a handful of overs later, the boys on the boundary line started to get worried. At 60-odd for three we needed to knuckle down and get some runs. So who would stand up?
Enter Charlie High.
Having performed so well with the bat this season, and after getting out so cheaply on a number of occasions, the question of whether we could get a big total was simlpe: which Charlie High would we get today? Luckily for us, it was a Charlie High who, with surprising maturity, scored runs.
The arrival of Charlie High and Duncan to the crease, and their subsequent partnership, was a massive turning point in the match (though not the biggest). Putting on a 100-odd run partnership, the pair were simply awesome, and made Battersea sweat through every over. Charlie, when the pressure was on, rose to the challenge. Hitting 4s and pushing 1s and 2s, it seemed like he would bat all day (although that never happens). Duncan, from the other end, just needed to hold his end up during the Charlie onslaught, a job he did magnificently well. We had soon reached 170-3 off 30-odd overs and looked set to get a big total. We now needed to turn the screws.
Despite the inevitable removal of Charlie and Duncan, Zohac, Matty O'd, Jimmy C, HC and TC all chipped in to help finish off the innings. On a decent Kingsfield track, we had reached 259 for 8 at after 47.5 overs. A bloody good total. Over to you Battersea.
Teas - not that a lot of us were focused on this aspect of the day, it must be said that this was a shabby offering from DBW. I would expect more from the Chinese re-education camps that some Tibetan protesters may have frequented over the years. The food wasn't even ready for eating when we arrived, and some went as far as to say that the selection of food was pure "gash". I would agree. 5/10.
The total had been set and now we had to defend it. This was the time to deliver, and there was no room for travellers (although there is always one to be fair). Even run would count and every wide / no ball would be crucial. We were determined. This was our time. Believe!
During the huddle, the players talked about leaving nothing left in the tank at the end of the match and to put everything we had into it. A pumped Dominic Lown did just that with his first over. With a rip snorter of a yorker, Lownsy smashed their openers stumps apart. You could see how much the wicket meant to him. It was writ large on his face, and you couldn't help but feel inspired. 1 down and 9 to go. COME ON YOU WICK!
However, as pumped as we were, the wickets didn't come quickly. Matty O'D, teaming up with Lownsy from the other end, struggled to find his length and couldn't get the next breakthrough we were looking for. And while Lownsy was bowling as well as ever, Battersea had managed to race to 50 for 1 after just 15 overs, and were well within the run rate. We needed a wicket - simple.
In order to shake things up a bit, Lloydy brought Jimmy C and Duncan into the attack. Despite a "gash" first ball, Jimmy followed up with four further cracking deliveries. His sixth ball jagged back at pace and took out the batsman's off stump. Bedlam. 2 down and 8 to go. In his very next over Jimmy, removed their number 4 batsmen. He played one down the metropolitan line when the district would have been better. The ball went sailing to Adam Crane at first slip. 7 wickets to go.
Despite being 3 wickets down at the break, Battersea were still well within the run rate and looked like they might trouble us. However, after the drinks break, Harry C took a beautiful catch off Jimmy C's bowling and made it 4 wickets down - 6 to go. Come on!!
The turning point in the match occurred when Adam Crane was thrown the ball to try and do a bit. What happened was pretty special. After bowling three wides with his first three deliveries, the signs weren't good. But then it all changed. Cransey took two wickets in two balls - one bowled and one caught, and it was goodnight nurse. Cransey looked as shocked as anyone, but as proud as punch at the same time.
And he wasn't finished there. Taking a further three wickets (another 1 bowled, a caught behind and another catch at mid on by TC) the game had ended as a contest, and we could taste promotion. Battersea were 150 off for 9 and we needed just 1 more.
The last wicket came from the most unlikely of sources. With fielders crouched around the batsmen, a short push to silly-mid off was followed by a sharp direct hit on the stumps by Lloydy. The batsmen, who had already downed a few pints during the lunch break, simply couldn't put his bat down in time. The umpire put the finger up. Cue bedlam. We were there!!!
The high fives were passed around the team as the boys sensed how great this accomplishment was. Our first season in the league. Promoted. And as we walked off the ground, i'm sure i saw a few tears in Risso's eyes (i can't be sure....but let's say there was), which showed just how much this meant to everyone.
The night ended on a high with the refrain of "promotione" being sung at Wick HQ long into the early hours of the evening. Emotional. So sweet. I didn't want to leave the club that night and wanted to keep soaking in the atmosphere. I eventually stayed over and slept on Matty D's coach with a towel around me because i had nowhere else to go. Lively, but beautiful.
Congratulations to all teams on magnificent seasons. This is what it means to be "Wick", and i'm still pumped.
Jimmy C (filling in for Wickman Junior, who cannot get daytime release on Saturdays. ATS)
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