Club Dinner - Who got the other baubles?

Wickman felt a little queasy on Sunday morning. One too many celebratory something or others made the Sunday morning "you get up with them, no you" parental duties somewhat painful. Through the fug Wickman recalls that a number of gongs were handed out. Sadly he has no record of this owing to Mackie's Mum's tidying skills. So this "Still Life with Fielding Cup" will have to do. There were nominations in all the categories but Wickman's napkin on which all were hastily scribbled is long gone after an incident with a recalcitrant glass of surprisingly good Sandown Park red wine. Suffice it to say that those nominated were unlucky to miss out in a competitive season... Clarky picked up the fielding prize for topping the Fullers League dismissals table for 2006. Zam picked up the bowling prize for some quite delightful leg spin bowling which connoisseurs claim is the best seen from a young player at the Wick for many a year. AJ secured the batting prize for delivering real consistency and weight of runs across his curtailed season - and the small matter of two tons. If only he had stayed away from ironmongery perhaps he'd have outscored even Matty D and Gatesey. The much coveted player of the year prize went to Matty D. Matty could well have won the batting prize in another year and is turning into a player that can be relied upon to make a heavy contribution with his beloved BDM. However his captaincy swung the day. With only a couple of new additions to the Wick family Matty piloted the 1s through an unbeaten season for the first time in so long that no one can remember the last time it happened if at all. Frankly Wickman could see that trophy presented about 12 more times before the Wick has to give it back at the end of the season. Wickman loves Matty D or... Championees, championees etc etc.

David Kelly Didn't Die Down the Wick

Wickman, following nets, (here attended by Cranesy, Gatesee, Kamran and an active Dom) idly tunes in to the Conspiracy Theories documentary on BBC 2. Wickman, credulous fool that he is, genuinely believes that David Kelly wandered off into the woods, swallowed an amount of drugs and had a good go at slitting his wrists. A weak heart, a good bleeder or an amount of co-Proximal sorted him out. Wickman is very glad he wasn't a Wick member. If you were a Wick member, what better place to end it all apart from propped up against a sightscreen, looking directly down the wicket, and remembering the time you lofted someone from Old Tiffsluts over the sightscreen at the other end to win a game for the Wick? Or, at a pinch, perhaps you'd retire to the Millennium Wood for a bit of privacy... But Wickman says why defecate in one's own vestibule? Why choose a true beauty spot like the Wick to bring it to such a tumultuous end? Surely you wouldn't want the Wick swarming with Her Maj's finest? Surely you'd want to preserve the Wick's silent majesty? Preserve the deers' tranquility? No Wickman thinks that most Wick members would wash linen like that at home and would make sure that they never gave the local constabulary a good reason to come down to the club house...

Nets Again

Wickman is back from nets. Doddy is there, limbering up. A relatively quiet one tonight with only 25 members on show. 25. 25. 25 was the total number of people that would net between Christmas and Easter a few years ago. Some notable absentees tonight miss the fireworks as Cranesy and Clarky in particular pepper the roof and back walls with ballistics. Kamran is back and saves the best 'til last as he, too, picks off the pitched up and dents the facilities. Wickman swears he sees a weapons inspector towards the end of the session. Gateseeee looks as if he has failed to duck a bouncer. Extraordinarily Kamran's preferred bat is 25 miles away in St Albans and he worries that he might be back seeing it properly in 2 or 3 nets' time. The boys are quietly impressed. Doddy has done well to make it down. Reports reach Wickman that the combination of Six Nations and Hibby's card night might have rendered a few long term Wick favourites unable to net. But not Doddy, he is made of sterner stuff.