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Club Cricket 2019
- Thread starter Jason H
- Start date
I wasn't sure, as I said my foot was only up for a split second - but players on both sides were in agreement I got away with one. Having had the opposite fortune the previous week I guess it evens out. Of course, had I known for sure I was out I'd have walked, I'm very much a Proper Chap.
Our umpire sadly just ain't that good, but you've got to be grateful he turns out at all.
Our umpire sadly just ain't that good, but you've got to be grateful he turns out at all.
Incidentally, the week after the season finishes we have our Presidents Day 6-a-side tournament, and I've been asked to select my walk on music. In deference to my swashbuckling, devil-may-care attitude with a bat in my hand (my team mates greeted me on my return to the pavilion on Saturday with "batted Geoffrey") I've chosen Pretty Vacant by the Sex Pistols.
I shudder to think what song might blast out should I have to "bowl".
I shudder to think what song might blast out should I have to "bowl".
Greyhound
Well-known Exeweb poster
What about "Help Yourself" by Tom Jones?
Well, two weeks ago we marginally kept our hopes of avoiding relegation alive by beating our nearest rivals Stoke D'Abernon. Bowling first we restricted them to 177/9 off their 50 overs, although that was a recovery from 114/7.
In reply after my opening partner departed early (as usual) I chipped in with 21 before gloving a spinner down the legside to the keeper - Proper Chap, walked, etc. With our usual West Indian #3 Hopeton missing we drafted in another West Indian #3 from the 3s, Rohan, who top scored with 63. However, we lost three wickets on Nelson before recovering to win by three wickets. With Ripley winning again to ensure their safety we could only stay up by winning our last two matches and hoping Addiscombe not only lost but failed to pick up a single bonus point.
That hope evaporated on Saturday against promotion chasing Kingstonian aka the Cheats. Having lost their main square to AFC Wimbledon's academy they now play on the back pitch, and the wicket was clearly a back pitch wicket. Wanting to bat first as the pitch was likely to get even worse we lost the toss and fielded. Their "star" (who scored an unbeaten ton for only four times out in the return fixture and is an absolute ****) made 44 and was curiously reluctant to face our spinner, but at 6 they had someone who was different class (and a nice guy) and scored 124, going absolutely postal in a last wicket stand of 87 to lift them from 167/9 to 254 all out.
In reply my opening partner again departed early, this time charging the opening bowler to be out for 0 in the first over, FFS, and Hopeton joined me at the crease. He hit one mammoth straight 6 - the ball clearing the long straight boundary, the sightscreen, the fence another 20 feet back and the road before ending up in the front garden opposite - while they were retrieving the ball it rained, the covers came off, it stopped, we went back out and faced four balls with it chucking it down again, then back out again by which time the pitch was very spicy. The **** came on, removed my off bail for 9, then he finished with 4/3 as we capitulated to 64 all out, Hopeton scoring precisely half the runs.
We raced back to the club, where the 1s knew they needed 5 points to be sure of promotion and, having picked up 3 bowling points, needed to score 175 against the already crowned champions. This was a tall order with 7 down for 100 when I arrived, but our 1s VC raced off to nearest challengers Hampton Hill, then raced back with us 8 down with the news that they'd lost and that we were up. Our last two wickets fell soon after, but the champagne came out and a good night was had by all.
In reply after my opening partner departed early (as usual) I chipped in with 21 before gloving a spinner down the legside to the keeper - Proper Chap, walked, etc. With our usual West Indian #3 Hopeton missing we drafted in another West Indian #3 from the 3s, Rohan, who top scored with 63. However, we lost three wickets on Nelson before recovering to win by three wickets. With Ripley winning again to ensure their safety we could only stay up by winning our last two matches and hoping Addiscombe not only lost but failed to pick up a single bonus point.
That hope evaporated on Saturday against promotion chasing Kingstonian aka the Cheats. Having lost their main square to AFC Wimbledon's academy they now play on the back pitch, and the wicket was clearly a back pitch wicket. Wanting to bat first as the pitch was likely to get even worse we lost the toss and fielded. Their "star" (who scored an unbeaten ton for only four times out in the return fixture and is an absolute ****) made 44 and was curiously reluctant to face our spinner, but at 6 they had someone who was different class (and a nice guy) and scored 124, going absolutely postal in a last wicket stand of 87 to lift them from 167/9 to 254 all out.
In reply my opening partner again departed early, this time charging the opening bowler to be out for 0 in the first over, FFS, and Hopeton joined me at the crease. He hit one mammoth straight 6 - the ball clearing the long straight boundary, the sightscreen, the fence another 20 feet back and the road before ending up in the front garden opposite - while they were retrieving the ball it rained, the covers came off, it stopped, we went back out and faced four balls with it chucking it down again, then back out again by which time the pitch was very spicy. The **** came on, removed my off bail for 9, then he finished with 4/3 as we capitulated to 64 all out, Hopeton scoring precisely half the runs.
We raced back to the club, where the 1s knew they needed 5 points to be sure of promotion and, having picked up 3 bowling points, needed to score 175 against the already crowned champions. This was a tall order with 7 down for 100 when I arrived, but our 1s VC raced off to nearest challengers Hampton Hill, then raced back with us 8 down with the news that they'd lost and that we were up. Our last two wickets fell soon after, but the champagne came out and a good night was had by all.
Alistair20000
Very well known Exeweb poster
Sneaking Ben Stokes in a place down the order in a Club game was just not cricket.
Was Jack Leach in at 11 to partner him ?
Well, we finished on a rather surprising high given both our oppo were in the promotion hunt until the last week or two and our own selection headaches, the 1s being a few short meaning they poached from us, but without players really able to come up from the 3s due to them needing a win to be sure of avoiding relegation so we had a few players "dropped" from the 3s to the 2s. Our skipper got the hell in midweek and handed selection to me, then on Friday night one of the 1s players stated that due to work he could play home only, so the 2s skipper swapped meaning I was handed the reins.
Anyway, hoping to lose the toss I accidentally won it and decided to bat, with the thinking that at least we'd be done quickly. Sorting out my batting order I asked Gary O'Connell where his son Dan was, only to be told he'd be along later as he couldn't bat due to hurting his wrist playing Football.
So, I went out to bat with a 15 year old making his 2s debut, and I was served up three short ones in the first over to have us 12/0, yay. I hit another couple of boundaries (including probably my best shot of the season as the bowler didn't learn his lesson, tried to bounce me and I hooked him for a one bounce 4) before being sawn off, not for the first time this season, by our umpire as I tried to turn a leg side full toss through midwicket for 21. My partner battled to 9, but we were soon 75/5 - at which point Dan, who decided he could bat after all but said he'd give it a try and see how it went, strode out to the crease. He and another "dropped" player steadied the ship but at 116/6 when Dave Knill joined Dan at the crease I was hoping we could scrape 150.
We finished on 221/6. Dan hit 71 not out, Dave 52 not out.
We begun Purley's innings well, Gary decided his boy couldn't hog the glory and got their opener to nick behind in the first over to have them 0/1. Their skipper took us to the cleaners in the reverse fixture but we got him chipping to mid off for about 20, the second of Gary's four victims. Our keeper, Darwish, has been nursing a bad finger for several matches now, and he took a blow to it and decided he couldn't wear the gloves any more so I reprised my old Alec Stewart role in taking the gloves.
With Gary bowled out of his 10 overs (4/23), I turned to Dan, who said he'd give it a try but had tweaked his groin while batting - given his batting with a bad wrist yielded a brilliant unbeaten 71, I had every faith in him to bowl through the pain too, and so it proved. After a couple of buffet balls he had the ball on a string, pitching middle and off and fizzing past the bat into my gloves on the top of off. One straighter ball squared up their other decent bat who scored runs against us before to be trapped LBW.
The Kempton races taking part next door possibly denied me a catch, a faint nick off Dave Knill not heard by their umpire (in his defence the fairest umpire we'll come up against all season), but we did team up soon after for a caught behind.
In the meantime Dan then came up with the filthiest hat-trick I've seen in a long while. The guy who survived the caught behind swung across a straight full toss. Next guy came in and had another full toss first up which he chipped to short extra for a fine reflex catch. That was over, and in Dan's next over the batsman played a defensive shot only for the ball to trickle back onto the stumps and barely flick the bail off.
Their 10 and 11 swished around for a bit before Dan got one of them to chip the ball to backward point and that was it - 138 all out and Dan finishing with 5/29 to go with his 71, the O'Connells taking 9/52 off 16.1 overs.
With the news coming in that the 3s had won to ensure survival it was a good day all round - 68 year old veteran (and Andrew Long's Barbados drinking buddy) Colin Hearsum scoring 90 not out, albeit in a losing cause, for the 4s on the back pitch adding to the end of season merriment.
For me, it was an OK season at a level I thought was too good for me last year but where I played in every fixture this year. 350 runs at around 20 (HS 96), seven catches - four of them keeping, in one and a half matches and with just one bye, not bad for a stand-in. We go again in Div 5 next season, but with the 1s apparently about to recruit (or have returning) four or five players we could be pretty strong, which is great news.
Anyway, hoping to lose the toss I accidentally won it and decided to bat, with the thinking that at least we'd be done quickly. Sorting out my batting order I asked Gary O'Connell where his son Dan was, only to be told he'd be along later as he couldn't bat due to hurting his wrist playing Football.
So, I went out to bat with a 15 year old making his 2s debut, and I was served up three short ones in the first over to have us 12/0, yay. I hit another couple of boundaries (including probably my best shot of the season as the bowler didn't learn his lesson, tried to bounce me and I hooked him for a one bounce 4) before being sawn off, not for the first time this season, by our umpire as I tried to turn a leg side full toss through midwicket for 21. My partner battled to 9, but we were soon 75/5 - at which point Dan, who decided he could bat after all but said he'd give it a try and see how it went, strode out to the crease. He and another "dropped" player steadied the ship but at 116/6 when Dave Knill joined Dan at the crease I was hoping we could scrape 150.
We finished on 221/6. Dan hit 71 not out, Dave 52 not out.
We begun Purley's innings well, Gary decided his boy couldn't hog the glory and got their opener to nick behind in the first over to have them 0/1. Their skipper took us to the cleaners in the reverse fixture but we got him chipping to mid off for about 20, the second of Gary's four victims. Our keeper, Darwish, has been nursing a bad finger for several matches now, and he took a blow to it and decided he couldn't wear the gloves any more so I reprised my old Alec Stewart role in taking the gloves.
With Gary bowled out of his 10 overs (4/23), I turned to Dan, who said he'd give it a try but had tweaked his groin while batting - given his batting with a bad wrist yielded a brilliant unbeaten 71, I had every faith in him to bowl through the pain too, and so it proved. After a couple of buffet balls he had the ball on a string, pitching middle and off and fizzing past the bat into my gloves on the top of off. One straighter ball squared up their other decent bat who scored runs against us before to be trapped LBW.
The Kempton races taking part next door possibly denied me a catch, a faint nick off Dave Knill not heard by their umpire (in his defence the fairest umpire we'll come up against all season), but we did team up soon after for a caught behind.
In the meantime Dan then came up with the filthiest hat-trick I've seen in a long while. The guy who survived the caught behind swung across a straight full toss. Next guy came in and had another full toss first up which he chipped to short extra for a fine reflex catch. That was over, and in Dan's next over the batsman played a defensive shot only for the ball to trickle back onto the stumps and barely flick the bail off.
Their 10 and 11 swished around for a bit before Dan got one of them to chip the ball to backward point and that was it - 138 all out and Dan finishing with 5/29 to go with his 71, the O'Connells taking 9/52 off 16.1 overs.
With the news coming in that the 3s had won to ensure survival it was a good day all round - 68 year old veteran (and Andrew Long's Barbados drinking buddy) Colin Hearsum scoring 90 not out, albeit in a losing cause, for the 4s on the back pitch adding to the end of season merriment.
For me, it was an OK season at a level I thought was too good for me last year but where I played in every fixture this year. 350 runs at around 20 (HS 96), seven catches - four of them keeping, in one and a half matches and with just one bye, not bad for a stand-in. We go again in Div 5 next season, but with the 1s apparently about to recruit (or have returning) four or five players we could be pretty strong, which is great news.
Oh, and I had to mention the most important result in our division on Saturday. It was 2nd played 3rd as Cheam took on Cheats CC (Kingstonian), winner takes all in terms of the second promotion place. Kingstonian must have thought it was in the bag when they rolled Cheam over for 85.
Kingstonian: 39 all out.
Kingstonian: 39 all out.