JT Memorial Game – Wick Sunday 26th July

Wick xi – 274 for 6 (35 overs) Davies 120+, Bonay 30+, High 30+, Holland 30+, Clark 30+ for 5, Delboy Some, Bharat (quack)

Crossbats xi – 150ish all out. Bharat 2 for, Delboy 3 for, Leggsy 2?

Matty D leads confident Wick performance to remember JT

On a grey day reminiscent of the 2007 season the Wick hosted a game with much to remember between the club and our Crossbat friends. A fine knock from Matty D, ably supported by a guesting O’Mahoney, Charlie High and Marc Holland, set a daunting total in 35 overs that a Crossbats mid innings recovery struggled to match.

A strong turnout both in the pavilion and on the field was a fitting memorial for our much missed umpire, cricketing colleague and Club Man extraordinaire, John Tilley. The game was conducted in a spirit of friendship that he would have approved of and if there would have been a little too much horseplay for his liking he surely would have allowed himself a wry smile over some of the banter that accompanied proceedings in the middle.

Davies and O’Mahoney were brutal early on and a tough afternoon in the field beckoned for Crossbats. When Boney was eventually caught ¾s of the way back to the long off boundary after half an hour of extremely entertaining cutting, driving and pulling he was replaced by High who put on a big 100+ partnership with Davies who looked to be seeing it like a beach ball. Time and again Davies exploited the lack of a third man with brutal late cuts and the lack of cover behind square with hooks, pulls and deflections. This was a well deserved and finely executed century that would have graced any game at the Wick.

High – some might say circumspect here – played beautifully straight down the ground and eventually opened his shoulders peppering the long on boundary rather than his customary cow. On this form he promises much for the future. Holland nudged and biffed an efficient twenty something. Clark made 32 but was dropped five times and flayed around much like a man drowning in a paddling pool. Bharat was unfortunate to play an extravagant shot to the best ball of the day to depart for a truly spectacular duck and it was left to Delboy to sweetly time a handful of boundaries at the end to set up a truly daunting total.

For the Crossbats skipper Shandy Dunbar had some considerable nip, Mupes some truly extraordinary bowling stylings and young Tommy Robinson beat even Davies on a number of occasions. The horse bolted long before a series of catches (Clark benefitting the most although he confessed that not even being given five chances played him into any form) prevented Crossbats from exerting much influence on the course of the Wick innings.

Tea was an abomination was aberrant and abhorrent and scores -2. Not a single sandwich. Nothing but some biscuits and teacakes. Wickman – perhaps with premonition – rustled up something for himself before leaving his secret lair but otherwise would have been consuming his own muscle and fat reserves by the end of the game. Even some of the moister deer turds could have set his stomach a rumbling. The post match bar-be-cue made up for this on the way in but detained Wickman this morning and made him late for work as it rushed through his system on its way to the treatment plants by the A316.

Crossbats were soon in trouble in their reply losing early wickets to the flight and guile of MC and a spited Godhania looking to avenge his first baller in the Wick innings. There was a first baller in it for Crossbats too when a stumping was executed with such stealth that the confused batsman had no idea by what means he had perished and had to be ushered from the field like a defeated boxer in a prize fight. Not even Bharat was immediately sure how he had succeeded in ridding us.

For Crossbats Sphing and Tommy R mounted a mid innings fightback, making the most of attacking field settings and some occasional bowling from Dutchy. Tommy timed it quite effectively and was unfortunate to perish stumped with both feet parallel to the crease actually walking with a “Yes, I think that’s out” as Nicholls brandished the digit from square leg. Shping was technically correct in a way that would have pleased JT and struck the ball well and timed it extremely well except in eventually perishing. Wickman thinks it was at this point that Boney took a quite stunning catch at backward point, both feet of the ground, ball plucked a la Collingwood or Jonty Rhodes. A fitting way to go.

Captain Shandy then came in and smote a number of very large boundaries – one directly into the Millennium Wood. Opinion was divided but it was reckoned that if he actually possessed a proper bat and not something held together with Leccy tape and string, he would probably be able to hit it even further. He was lucky to escape two stumping chances off the excellent Leggsy but otherwise enlivened proceedings no end.

Delboy wrapped up the innings persuading Shandy to hole out at long on, a tailender to pop a catch to MC who was not so much at gully as silly gully (think closer than Clarky behind the stumps) and by deceiving the no 11 with a quick arm ball to bowl him if not neck and crop then certainly neck. Anyone who can tell Wickman what neck and crop means will be bought a pint. (Offer limited to one pint, to the first person).

The day passed with due ceremony. Alison was extremely feisty from the scorebox as is tradition – a few years back Wickman recalls her striding purposefully onto the playing area at Ewhurst to contest JT’s addition skills. But JT was not a bank manager for nothing and sent her away corrected and possibly even charged her for the time taken to put her straight. Here she was just annoyed by the recent re-stylings made by vandals to the scorebox and the door to it remained shut long after play before the book was produced – immaculate as always.

A raffle for the hospice at which JT spent his last winter raised a staggering sum. Our thanks go to Joey and Alison for putting the time in to making that a success, to Tom Gleeson for his generous donation of one day tickets against the Aussies (fittingly won by Muriel), to Haymarket Publishing http://www.haymarket.com for the kind donation of subscriptions to a number of fine titles and Shoes At Last of Surbiton for a fabulous voucher…

It will probably also be a long time before another muse for a painter of the stature of Lucien Freud visits the Wick. Wickman is guessing only a very few people will have established the link – and perhaps – if John himself hadn’t pointed to the source of his great pride – the fact would have passed us all by, very quietly and without exciting much comment – just like another of JT’s excellent umpiring performances.