HWRCC 268 - 4 (Davies 84, Nomaan 58)
Roehampton 172 (Farrell 100) Tong 4-27
HWRCC won by 96 runs.
Scorecard
When people ask me what I do for a living the conversation normally goes something like this:
'I work in regeneration'
'Regenewhat? Is that to do with flowers?'
'No. Imagine a area is sh*t....no jobs, it's messy, no-one can count etc etc. Well we try and make things better'
'Ah......another Beer?'
The above isn't technically true. The whole regeneration thing is, but I'm actually a professional (unpaid) cricketer who has a side job in regeneration that happens to be 9-5 monday to Friday. And this is the reason why.....
Roes won the toss on what looked to be a bit of a green top. It was however hard as nails and was clearly a batting deck, again. Upon insertion (ahem) the Wick again started brightly with Ali and Davies being aggressive when given the opportunity. The duo again put on another great opening stand of about 80 odd before Ali snicked one behind. Day, living a life more charmed than Aladdin, then scored 44 (for 3) in another decent partnership with Davies who continued his good form looking untroubled. Raza's late (late for a number 4 at least) introduction immediately saw the injection of some violence into proceedings, with a some large hits and some lovley poses to boot. Bonay and the Rash mopped up at the death to ensure we posted an excellent 268 off 41.5 overs. In fairness Roes actually bowled pretty well, especially the Mr Fuchs who kept a tidy line and lengh throughout. I suppose when your confidence is high and you're playing well runs just come - which is what happened on Saturday.
Teas - as standard. There was a wedding the previous day and some of the potatoes had mischievously found their way into the spread. And there may have ben some cold onion bhajis (dunno where they came from). 7.5
I said earlier that Im a professional cricketer because I will not be remembered for my ability to 'regenerate', rather it will be my playing of the great game - successfully or otherwise. We knew our response in the second innings had to be patient and measured, yet aggressive. These days you have to work for your wickets, and Saturday was no different. Tuggles and Tongbola started off and despite an old ball, found errors with the bats. Unfortunately we also found errors, principally with our catching - one at cow and one inexplicably behind the wicket. Amends would be made later however.
A decent opening stand was finally broken by the star of the day with the ball - Tong. There followed a tightening of the screws as the run rate grew and wickets started to tumble. An early declaration had given us time to take 10 wickets and as the pressure built so did the wickets column with Ali and Tong making inroads. No-one bowled poorly all day, but it was the turn of Raza who sparked the run for the finish line, with some wiley stuff. At the other end the Roes opener was soon running out of partners. With 8 overs to go and only 2 in the hutch, Tughral returned and saw a few large hits out the ground, with Farrell reaching a well earned 100. Next ball however he holed out to deep square where JMJ took a fine running match-winning catch in front of the baiting crowd and the sun set over the Millennium Wood. The vocal chords of AJ and Unsworth keeping the game as animated off the field as on it. The very next ball Tughral twirled his magic and it was over in a flash, Wick win by 96 runs.
That was a real slog of a victory against a decent Roehampton team on a fine surface. Its not coming easlity but its 4 from 4 and to a man we're feeling strong. MOM - G. Tong with 14 - 27 - 4. Class
Showing posts with label Zo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zo. Show all posts
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Monday, 23 May 2011
Match Report - Sunday xi vs Hampton Hill
"The team wondered why it took Zo so long to get the ball back" - Ed
HWRCC Sunday XI Vs Hampton Hill CC Sunday 1st XI
Hampton Hill 91 Tong G 3 for 4 Swaine 3 for 13
HWRCC 92-1 Zohaak 57 (Retired bored)
HWRCC won by 9 wickets
A Saturday Wick Wash had the wind in the Sunday XI’s sails as they blew onto the field for the first round of the Bushey Park League. Spirits were high and even the gale blowing could not stop Zo’s voice traveling to the Hampton Hill opener and requests for Zo to stop chatting long enough for a ball to be bowled, blew back. Graham Smith took an early wicket as the ball was flicked off the pads and Mo Bal leaped in the air at square leg, palmed the ball up then caught it one handed. It was a great catch and worth the match fee alone to watch at close hand. Hampton Hill’s No.3 came in and played a couple of nice shots and Smith and Vijayakumar plugged away keeping things tight. Graham Tong came on and off again having removed 3 for 4 including a hat trick chance. Rob Swaine then got in the action in his first over with Phil Miles taking a great catch at slip. 44 for 5 and Hampton Hill were getting blown over. Everyone had a bowl (not Zo) and a big hitting No.10 helped pull Hampton Hill to 91 all out off 39.3 overs. Mo got a couple of good stumpings with some nice work from Matt Rudolph and Swaine picked up another couple. The game may have been over a bit quicker with a few held catches but special mention must go to Hampton Hill’s opener who batted 105 balls for 22 and carried his bat. Zo’s chat had clearly not worked on this batsman. Tea was nice. [Lazy - Ed] Zo opened: 57 off 32. Zo retired, leaving James Madoc-Jones and Matt Rudolph to see the boys home. It may have been over quicker but Zo put the ball in the Allotments and he had to go and ask for it back. Zo then lost £10 in a darts match to bring him back to earth. Wick League wash done. Special thanks go to Riley and Alison for bringing a professional feel to the day. Riley’s T20 standard of wide calling on a Sunday making him Hampton Hill's fourth highest scorer.
Hampton Hill 91 Tong G 3 for 4 Swaine 3 for 13
HWRCC 92-1 Zohaak 57 (Retired bored)
HWRCC won by 9 wickets
A Saturday Wick Wash had the wind in the Sunday XI’s sails as they blew onto the field for the first round of the Bushey Park League. Spirits were high and even the gale blowing could not stop Zo’s voice traveling to the Hampton Hill opener and requests for Zo to stop chatting long enough for a ball to be bowled, blew back. Graham Smith took an early wicket as the ball was flicked off the pads and Mo Bal leaped in the air at square leg, palmed the ball up then caught it one handed. It was a great catch and worth the match fee alone to watch at close hand. Hampton Hill’s No.3 came in and played a couple of nice shots and Smith and Vijayakumar plugged away keeping things tight. Graham Tong came on and off again having removed 3 for 4 including a hat trick chance. Rob Swaine then got in the action in his first over with Phil Miles taking a great catch at slip. 44 for 5 and Hampton Hill were getting blown over. Everyone had a bowl (not Zo) and a big hitting No.10 helped pull Hampton Hill to 91 all out off 39.3 overs. Mo got a couple of good stumpings with some nice work from Matt Rudolph and Swaine picked up another couple. The game may have been over a bit quicker with a few held catches but special mention must go to Hampton Hill’s opener who batted 105 balls for 22 and carried his bat. Zo’s chat had clearly not worked on this batsman. Tea was nice. [Lazy - Ed] Zo opened: 57 off 32. Zo retired, leaving James Madoc-Jones and Matt Rudolph to see the boys home. It may have been over quicker but Zo put the ball in the Allotments and he had to go and ask for it back. Zo then lost £10 in a darts match to bring him back to earth. Wick League wash done. Special thanks go to Riley and Alison for bringing a professional feel to the day. Riley’s T20 standard of wide calling on a Sunday making him Hampton Hill's fourth highest scorer.
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Friday, 20 May 2011
Match Report - Frimley vs 1xi - by Matteeee Deeeee
"Matty D hears that Dazzle fancies opening up" - Ed
HWRCC 168 Normy 67
Frimley 128 Day, Shri, Normy all 3 for
HWRCC 1xi beat Frimley 1xi by 40 runs
Davies, Razzle, Dazzle, Izzle, Zazzle, Zozzle, Nozzle, O'Mazzle, Navezzle, Tozzle, Shizzle Scorecard Ah yes. Frimley. That ol’ Chestnut. Placed alongside the idyllic Siemens UK HQ and Frimley Park Hospital roundabout, Frimley CC is a surprisingly friendly place (don’t know why I say surprisingly) with a lovely little clubhouse and a regular band of followers and incredibly biased but passionate nevertheless cheerleaders. Not all of them wear short skirts – which is a good thing – but they do provide a sense of occasion for what is as always the highlight of my week – Wick cricket. This week a number of us decided to almost miss said occasion through a variety of laziness, confusion and lack of planning. Its not unusual and to be honest if everyone turned up on time (or even near to on time) It would be a first. And everyone does inform you when they are going to be late, which I suppose is a minor blessing. Gatesy once told me at 2pm that he was going to be late. He then arrived at about 2.45 having been driven back from a function he was working at in Devon. He was still in his work gear and reeked of alcohol. He nevertheless still managed to score 50 and from memory won us the game. It takes all sorts in cricket. A young and youthful XI (From being the 2nd youngest 3 years ago Im now the 2nd oldest!) were confident of beating a Frimley side that have the players to cause upsets. Last year we got 260 and had them about 230-8 on one of the flattest tracks you will find. The ground is also small, fast and bumpy which means that it can rain boundaries. Think Taunton only with better telephone signal. Tails always fails apparently so we batted. Adam feathered one early on before Rashid joined Ali for an innings building partnership. Taking the score calmly onto around 60 at 3s, Rashid was then caught at mid off for the 3rd week running having done all the hard work. Two opening bowlers with no place but just enough guile had managed to keep things steady, but with the score ticking on we were confident at this stage with plenty of batting in the hutch. But where were these change bowlers? Surely they must have at least a 3rd bowler somewhere....It took 30 overs to see someone else, which is a shame in many ways. However the plan was working – Ali thought he was playing baseball for one shot, Day skewed one to point, Raza was strangled down the leg side and Davies was clearly tired after getting up so early and missed one from the 1st change bowler who had a striking resemblance to Adam Selves in both appearance and cricketing style. The Asian ethnicity being the only obvious difference between the two. Naveendra was joined by Zohaak making is competitive batting debut and moved things on from what was a hideous collapse. A bit of luck and few bludgeons ticked the score along, but the nagging straight stuff seemed too much for us and the wick was eventually bowled out for a patry 168. This was an improvement on last week, but at least 50, if not 100 sort of where we should have been. Everyone gets ducks, it’s when you get in and then get out that should keep you awake at night. Teas are always a good at Frimley – theres something about mass produced baguettes that are almost white in colour and chewy.....with creamy tuna mayo.....oh yess! 8/10. To be fair, 168 is probably a normal score for us, in fact it was arguably better than our average. We’ve done this before – in fact we do it most weeks. ‘Matty – can I open up today. I fancy a go.’
‘Yes Alex – you may’ Tong and Day were on the money straight up, but we were clearly still asleep. In all 4 catches were shelled (of varying difficulty) and one run out missed. In between all that, and a few meaty off drives by Mr Lion who after having bowled 17 overs opened up, the Wick bowlers were doing us proud. Joey was pretty sharp. Rupert could certainly crank it up. But Day is something else. 3 wickets accounted for 3 of the top 4 – invariably just done for pace – simple as that. Shri then came on and bowled a superb spell of controlled fast bowling – regularly hitting an awkward length and on a great line. 3 wickets also, all bowled (twice uprooting stumps). Ali again continued his improved bowling from 2010 with 3 more wickets and Tong returned to take the final one. It wasn’t all plain sailing however. From 74-9, Frimley ended up on 128 thanks to some courageous if unorthodox hitting from #11 who should have batted top 6. True the ball was starting to get a bit wet and the pressure was completely off, but nevertheless his T20 knock made the game a lot closer than it was. Well played Sir. MOM – it's got be Ali for his runs and wickets, but the key to victory was perhaps Day ripping out the heart of the Frimley batting line up and the support offered by Shri at the other end. Again, the team woefully underperformed, but it is 3 wins in 3and like Man U you don’t need to be any good to win things. Im an Arsenal fan btw. Im all over this Saturday...
Frimley 128 Day, Shri, Normy all 3 for
HWRCC 1xi beat Frimley 1xi by 40 runs
Davies, Razzle, Dazzle, Izzle, Zazzle, Zozzle, Nozzle, O'Mazzle, Navezzle, Tozzle, Shizzle Scorecard Ah yes. Frimley. That ol’ Chestnut. Placed alongside the idyllic Siemens UK HQ and Frimley Park Hospital roundabout, Frimley CC is a surprisingly friendly place (don’t know why I say surprisingly) with a lovely little clubhouse and a regular band of followers and incredibly biased but passionate nevertheless cheerleaders. Not all of them wear short skirts – which is a good thing – but they do provide a sense of occasion for what is as always the highlight of my week – Wick cricket. This week a number of us decided to almost miss said occasion through a variety of laziness, confusion and lack of planning. Its not unusual and to be honest if everyone turned up on time (or even near to on time) It would be a first. And everyone does inform you when they are going to be late, which I suppose is a minor blessing. Gatesy once told me at 2pm that he was going to be late. He then arrived at about 2.45 having been driven back from a function he was working at in Devon. He was still in his work gear and reeked of alcohol. He nevertheless still managed to score 50 and from memory won us the game. It takes all sorts in cricket. A young and youthful XI (From being the 2nd youngest 3 years ago Im now the 2nd oldest!) were confident of beating a Frimley side that have the players to cause upsets. Last year we got 260 and had them about 230-8 on one of the flattest tracks you will find. The ground is also small, fast and bumpy which means that it can rain boundaries. Think Taunton only with better telephone signal. Tails always fails apparently so we batted. Adam feathered one early on before Rashid joined Ali for an innings building partnership. Taking the score calmly onto around 60 at 3s, Rashid was then caught at mid off for the 3rd week running having done all the hard work. Two opening bowlers with no place but just enough guile had managed to keep things steady, but with the score ticking on we were confident at this stage with plenty of batting in the hutch. But where were these change bowlers? Surely they must have at least a 3rd bowler somewhere....It took 30 overs to see someone else, which is a shame in many ways. However the plan was working – Ali thought he was playing baseball for one shot, Day skewed one to point, Raza was strangled down the leg side and Davies was clearly tired after getting up so early and missed one from the 1st change bowler who had a striking resemblance to Adam Selves in both appearance and cricketing style. The Asian ethnicity being the only obvious difference between the two. Naveendra was joined by Zohaak making is competitive batting debut and moved things on from what was a hideous collapse. A bit of luck and few bludgeons ticked the score along, but the nagging straight stuff seemed too much for us and the wick was eventually bowled out for a patry 168. This was an improvement on last week, but at least 50, if not 100 sort of where we should have been. Everyone gets ducks, it’s when you get in and then get out that should keep you awake at night. Teas are always a good at Frimley – theres something about mass produced baguettes that are almost white in colour and chewy.....with creamy tuna mayo.....oh yess! 8/10. To be fair, 168 is probably a normal score for us, in fact it was arguably better than our average. We’ve done this before – in fact we do it most weeks. ‘Matty – can I open up today. I fancy a go.’
‘Yes Alex – you may’ Tong and Day were on the money straight up, but we were clearly still asleep. In all 4 catches were shelled (of varying difficulty) and one run out missed. In between all that, and a few meaty off drives by Mr Lion who after having bowled 17 overs opened up, the Wick bowlers were doing us proud. Joey was pretty sharp. Rupert could certainly crank it up. But Day is something else. 3 wickets accounted for 3 of the top 4 – invariably just done for pace – simple as that. Shri then came on and bowled a superb spell of controlled fast bowling – regularly hitting an awkward length and on a great line. 3 wickets also, all bowled (twice uprooting stumps). Ali again continued his improved bowling from 2010 with 3 more wickets and Tong returned to take the final one. It wasn’t all plain sailing however. From 74-9, Frimley ended up on 128 thanks to some courageous if unorthodox hitting from #11 who should have batted top 6. True the ball was starting to get a bit wet and the pressure was completely off, but nevertheless his T20 knock made the game a lot closer than it was. Well played Sir. MOM – it's got be Ali for his runs and wickets, but the key to victory was perhaps Day ripping out the heart of the Frimley batting line up and the support offered by Shri at the other end. Again, the team woefully underperformed, but it is 3 wins in 3and like Man U you don’t need to be any good to win things. Im an Arsenal fan btw. Im all over this Saturday...
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Match Report - Old Hamptonians vs 2xi - by Fudgey
"Police track down Old Hamptonians' covers" - Ed
CLOSE BUT NO MONTECRISTO HWRCC 2xi 110 Charlie High 44 Old Hamptonians 111-7 Webster 5 for 19 Kidson 48* Old Hamptonians win by 2 wickets Scorecard The 2s kicked off their league campaign on Saturday against Old Hamptonians. Having beaten Old Hamps three times in the last year we were confident that a fourth victory would be heading the Wicks way. Old Hamps is a funny place to go as you would assume that being in the grounds of Hampton School the facilities would be out of the top drawer. Unfortunately for the second week running the wicket looked to have seen better days, we were informed that the local Pikeys had ripped the covers and rain had got through. It appeared more that the local pikeys had cut pieces out, maybe to decorate their caravans or wedding dresses. We knew it was going to be a day where the toss may prove to be crucial, and in a way it proved to be so. Unfortunately the toss was lost and we were asked to make first use of the wet wicket. The first few overs were navigated successfully but not without the odd problem due to the bowl leaping off a length or going along the ground from the same spot. Scowen was bowling well from the shallow end with his opening partner Blair doing the same from the deep end. The score had progressed nicely onto 10 when Coley straight drove one back at the bowler, who somehow managed to deflect it onto the stumps only to see Fudgey not quite make his ground and walk off despite the oppo umpire giving not out. Coley & AJ moved the score onto 32 before Coley tried to work one to leg which straightened and he was caught via the leading edge. AJ followed next over after being cleaned up courtesy of an inside edge off Kidson. The Wick were struggling at 32-3. Worse was to follow shortly after as birthday boy Mackie contrived to glove one behind in an effort to leave it. This brought Charlie High to the crease who along with Matt Kilner took the score on to 66 with an array of attacking yet controlled stroke play. Kilner was unlucky to get a near unplayable ball from Scowen which he did well to edge through to the keeper. The Wick were 66-5 and soon 66-6 when Zohaak was caught of the same bowler. What followed was Charlie hitting some lovely boundaries and everyone else struggling to keep him company, resulting in the Wick being dismissed for 110 in 28 overs and Charlie top scoring with a nice 44. It was decided we would go straight back out as tea was not quite ready. We knew quick wickets would be key and Webbo opened up the bowling like a man possessed getting the ball to go both ways and had both batsmen in trouble. His first over resulted in an edge behind which Harry diving one handed could not quite grasp. It did not take long of him to get in the wickets though as he produced a peach to remove Carson’s bails and another to bowl Stone. Old Hamps were 15-2, maybe, just maybe. Joey B was the next to break through as Mahadkar tried to drive on the up only to pick out the bucket hands of Fudge at cover (20-3). Webbo continued to produce the kind of balls that gave Mr Mcvitie an idea for the name for his orange and chocolate covered cakes and picked up another wicket to reduce Old Hamps to 24-4. Tea was taken and the game was nicely in the balance. Upon resumption Webbo (Riley) picked up his fourth and fifth wickets to reduce Old Hamps to 35-6 and we knew the game was there to be won. Then the moment which changed the game, Kidson who the previous week had chanced his arm and got away with it skied one off Webbo to Harry behind the sticks, unfortunately the ball met with the grass and Webbo had to be satisfied with a quite brilliant 5-19. Despite Leggsy coming back on to pick up Blair and reduce Old Hamps to 65-7 The Wick never really looked like winning and courtesy of some lovely batting from Kidson 48* and some variable lines from the other bowlers Old Hamps chased down the target eight down. A disappointing start to the season but one which may do more good than harm and hopefully allow us to kick on this weekend at home to Cranleigh.
CLOSE BUT NO MONTECRISTO HWRCC 2xi 110 Charlie High 44 Old Hamptonians 111-7 Webster 5 for 19 Kidson 48* Old Hamptonians win by 2 wickets Scorecard The 2s kicked off their league campaign on Saturday against Old Hamptonians. Having beaten Old Hamps three times in the last year we were confident that a fourth victory would be heading the Wicks way. Old Hamps is a funny place to go as you would assume that being in the grounds of Hampton School the facilities would be out of the top drawer. Unfortunately for the second week running the wicket looked to have seen better days, we were informed that the local Pikeys had ripped the covers and rain had got through. It appeared more that the local pikeys had cut pieces out, maybe to decorate their caravans or wedding dresses. We knew it was going to be a day where the toss may prove to be crucial, and in a way it proved to be so. Unfortunately the toss was lost and we were asked to make first use of the wet wicket. The first few overs were navigated successfully but not without the odd problem due to the bowl leaping off a length or going along the ground from the same spot. Scowen was bowling well from the shallow end with his opening partner Blair doing the same from the deep end. The score had progressed nicely onto 10 when Coley straight drove one back at the bowler, who somehow managed to deflect it onto the stumps only to see Fudgey not quite make his ground and walk off despite the oppo umpire giving not out. Coley & AJ moved the score onto 32 before Coley tried to work one to leg which straightened and he was caught via the leading edge. AJ followed next over after being cleaned up courtesy of an inside edge off Kidson. The Wick were struggling at 32-3. Worse was to follow shortly after as birthday boy Mackie contrived to glove one behind in an effort to leave it. This brought Charlie High to the crease who along with Matt Kilner took the score on to 66 with an array of attacking yet controlled stroke play. Kilner was unlucky to get a near unplayable ball from Scowen which he did well to edge through to the keeper. The Wick were 66-5 and soon 66-6 when Zohaak was caught of the same bowler. What followed was Charlie hitting some lovely boundaries and everyone else struggling to keep him company, resulting in the Wick being dismissed for 110 in 28 overs and Charlie top scoring with a nice 44. It was decided we would go straight back out as tea was not quite ready. We knew quick wickets would be key and Webbo opened up the bowling like a man possessed getting the ball to go both ways and had both batsmen in trouble. His first over resulted in an edge behind which Harry diving one handed could not quite grasp. It did not take long of him to get in the wickets though as he produced a peach to remove Carson’s bails and another to bowl Stone. Old Hamps were 15-2, maybe, just maybe. Joey B was the next to break through as Mahadkar tried to drive on the up only to pick out the bucket hands of Fudge at cover (20-3). Webbo continued to produce the kind of balls that gave Mr Mcvitie an idea for the name for his orange and chocolate covered cakes and picked up another wicket to reduce Old Hamps to 24-4. Tea was taken and the game was nicely in the balance. Upon resumption Webbo (Riley) picked up his fourth and fifth wickets to reduce Old Hamps to 35-6 and we knew the game was there to be won. Then the moment which changed the game, Kidson who the previous week had chanced his arm and got away with it skied one off Webbo to Harry behind the sticks, unfortunately the ball met with the grass and Webbo had to be satisfied with a quite brilliant 5-19. Despite Leggsy coming back on to pick up Blair and reduce Old Hamps to 65-7 The Wick never really looked like winning and courtesy of some lovely batting from Kidson 48* and some variable lines from the other bowlers Old Hamps chased down the target eight down. A disappointing start to the season but one which may do more good than harm and hopefully allow us to kick on this weekend at home to Cranleigh.
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Tuesday, 1 May 2007
3xi vs British Airways - a Clough and Crane production
BA 1st/2nd XI vs. HWRCC 3rd XI – Saturday 28th April
D Ewen, A Risman, D Clough, A Crane ©, P Sayce, I Taylorson, D Nicholas, T Robinson, Z Tughral Jr, Alex Walters +, K Laight
There was an initial scare when we arrived at the well maintained, if not noisy BA facilities when we saw “BA 2nd XI vs. Young Lions XI”. Having a team with an average age low enough for the Arsenal team to point and laugh, we thought this wasn’t an error in team name merely a reflection of our burning desire to get our first game of the season under way. Cranesy, having captained last about 4 years ago, unsurprisingly lost the toss and we were put into the field.
Ian opened the bowling and immediately found the spot, not giving the batsmen much room to manoeuvre, bowling with good speed. Derek from the other end was swinging it more than Ray Quin jacked up on Haribo. Alex behind the stumps, myself and Cranesy in the slips knew a wicket would come early doors if the opening bowling pair carried on like that and sure enough a swipe from a wider delivery gave Derek his first ever wicket in Hampton Wick colours when Dick Ewen collected a nice catch at gully. At this point they were scoring no more than 3.5 an over and we had them at a comfortable 25-1 after 8 overs.
Their number three was one of their 1st XI batsmen, no doubt about it. Anything short, anything not on the off stump, anything small, red, and kind of round got smacked for four. Kirky was on the wrong end of some fantastic shots. Tom Robinson, this season to be known as Juicy (Clough & Crane, 2007), was bowling good stuff on the spot, only to be given the same treatment. We found out soon enough that their number four was equally talented but inspirational captain Cransey picked up his vital wicket (albeit after his century) after a spell of tight bowling slowed their run rate. An attempted clip of the legs ended up in Ian’s safe hands.
After 30 odd overs the run rate we were looking to chase was in the region of 7 an over. And if it were not for some truly outstanding fielding from Paul, it would have been considerably worse. They had amassed a massive total of 244 after 38 overs and mercifully decided to declare.
The tea was distinctively average, and certainly not on a par with the facilities they’ve been provided with by the generous folk at BA. Paul asked Skip what the tactics were going to be after the batting order was read out, to which the all knowing Cransey announced “to score more runs than they did”. With genius like this it’s easy to see why after only on one season he’s made such at impact on the people at the Wick.
Dick and Rizzo opened the batting and had a solid start. They never really looked like troubling them, although they did manage to restrict us to only a few runs after 7 or so overs. Rizzo in an attempt to push the score along was unfortunate to be caught at deep mid off, which put me onto the field. Dick Ewen was dismissed not long after, leaving Cransey and myself in the crease. 26 runs later I was walking back with my head in my hands after swinging and missing a full toss which hit middle.
Cranesy was soon after cleared up by their leggie getting an inside edge onto the stumps, departing for a brisk 19. This left the two new boys Paul Sayce and Ian Taylorson at the crease. Paul followed his good work in the field with some wonderfully played shots including one (at least) sumptuous cover drive. With Ian backing him up well the score was moving on at a decent rate.
I forget how these two departed and on what scores exactly however I know Paul must have been around 30(?).
Along came another new boy Derek who looked to work the ball around and take advantage of any bad balls that came his way. Partnered with young Tom for a while who looked comfortable against both spin and seam.
Derek departed with around two overs to go looking to move the score along to a more respectable total. Bringing forth young Zohaak, clearly frustrated with his lowly appearance in the order he looked to prove a point but this point however lasted 2 balls as he slashed wildly and skied one to point.
Alex who had a good game behind the stumps came out with little more than an over to go hit a couple of strong shots, before doing something truly indescribable on the penultimate ball. Kirk came in played and missed and that was that. At least we were spared being all out.
Overall it was a good team effort against a stronger opposition, who were strengthened by their 1XI being called off. Particular mentions must go to Paul for manful efforts in the field stopping several powerfully struck shots in the covers, young Tom for bowling an excellent line and length though his overs, and finally Alex for a fine performance with the gloves.
Monday, 30 April 2007
Sunday xi vs Shepperton - by AJ
Having been 'stitched up' into filling the breach created by Goldy's finals, I was faced with having to motivate both myself, 6/7 other wick members, all of whom had consumed more than their fair share of Corona's/Magners the night before, and 4 bright eyed colts into a 45 over affair with Shepperton.
I could hardly complain though, having royally stitched the 2s up with their game with Old Emmanuel, and to a lesser extent, the 3s game away at BA.
The day was infinitely more enjoyable than the one occasion I captained last year, when Goldy gave me 4 players on the saturday night and cried off to play backgammon with his penpal. The outfield was pretty shoddy to say the least, but understandable given the lack of rain. The pitch was basically dead at the Millennium Wood end but played alright from the other. I won the toss and elected to bat (why would you choose to field first in 25 degree heat on a hangover?) much to the delight of the boys.
Mattyd and Zohaak opened up, and did pretty well, putting on 30 from the first ten, seeing off the new ball and picking off the odd boundary. Zohaak was playing with slightly more maturity than last year and was commendable in both defence and attack. He was followed by Garf, who proved (if briefly) that he can bat properly and get off his beloved 0, playing several effortless cut shots for four. He was unlucky to play on just after drinks and he was soon joined back in the hutch by yours truly, slashing at a wide one and getting a bottom edge to their eldery keeper.
All the while Mattyd was morphing from a man who had forgotten how to spell BDM into the player we all saw demolish attacks last year. His full array of pulls, hooks and drives were there for all to see, and he completely dominated our innings, making an accomplished 94. Indeed, this would have probably been a hundred if their players were a touch more honest with the boundary lines (alas, the groundsman has yet to paint them...ahem ahem).
Cranesey middled a bump ball into the hands of first slip and was unfairly given an over zealous send off by the oppo. Harry Copeland looked solid throughout his brief knock and his technique is definitely in good working order. Another of the colts, Alex Routledge surprised us all by middling 3 cracking boundaries in his knock of 16 (second highest scorer...oh dear) and was eventually undone by a pretty good slower ball. Fordy middled one done long off's throat and proceeded to unleash the full repertoire of his vernacular, a lot of eff's with the odd see you next tuesday thrown in for good measure. It's good to have you back mate.
We felt pretty confident at tea. 177 on a tough track was always going to be competitive. Tea was pretty special actually - how on earth DBW discovered to make a fruit salad is beyond me, but it was utterly faultless. A good deal of cold pasta was also served up, with all the usual trimmings of egg mayo, ham and cheese rolls. For once DBW had done something differently...
Our fielding and bowling effort was very decent compared to the general standard of the last few years. Appleyard and Fordy opened up, neither offering much to their rotund openers. Their Aussie had a decent eye (for a pork pie and a shandy too) and hit a couple of very well timed drives through the covers. Despite the atrocious state of the outfield, it was impressive watching everyone getting behind the ball and wearing the odd one in various parts of the anatomy (why I didn't wear a box to field in is beyond me. I must have a short memory of W&B last year).
Fordy was the first to make a breakthrough before Alex Routledge picked up 3 wickets on his senior debut. It should have been 4 but Craney dropped an absolute dolly at first slip off a well executed slower ball. If it had been a slice of Dairylea he would have caught it. Routledge bowled his full 9 overs on the bounce and didn't serve up much filth at all. Definitely one to watch this year. The Sith Lord (Steve Vaid) bowled a very consistent 9 overs, including a remarkable caught and bowled off an awful full toss.
Fordy's analysis was genius "that's the first time I've heard the bowler say 'oh sh*t' and the batsman to then say 'oh sh*t' to the same ball". Good cricket all round?? Merwin Man also bowled well on debut and was unlucky not to get any wickets.
At 120-6 (or something like that) with ten overs to go, it was game on.
Craney came into the attack and bowled arguably his best spell at the Wick so far. Bowling full and straight, no one managed to get him away and he made the captain's job a whole lot easier during their run chase. Fordy came back for his last 2 overs, going for 4 runs and crucially, he picked up the wicket of another of Shepperton's 'large' hitters of the ball. Game on. 19 needed off the last 2 overs, Appleyard came back into the attack and bowled a very decent last over, only going for 6 runs at a match defining stage of the game.
11 needed off the last over, advantage Wick. That was until Craney's first was deposited from a good length into the door of one of the garages. Their supporters (a good 15 of them) were going berserk. Trying to repeat the ball the next shot, Craney's cleaned the lad up, stumps all over the place. Job done. Their last man didn't get anywhere near the next 2 balls, and bizarrely took an aimless walk down the track only to be stumped by Harry Copeland.
This was a really good game of cricket and it was encouraging to see people taking it a bit more seriously than in recent times. The colts system is obviously in rude health, and it is up to us to keep providing them cricket on a saturday and sunday to allow them to progress.
See you in 2 weeks. aj
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