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Thursday, March 2, 2006
21st August 2005
London Saints CC v Viscount CC
Old Emanual, Kingston
Viscount CC 224 - 9 (probable score – the scorebook not being filled in for extras or the total) (40 overs): Young 83, Foster 40, Wathan 4-46, Burrell 2-43; London Saints 25 all out: Mr Extras 7, Morrison 3-2, Foster 4-5.
A bright sunny day, a superb location with a well kept ground with large pavilion and bar saw everything looking on the bright side prior to the match commencing however what is it about this summer. When the day is a scorcher we lose the toss and have to field for 40 overs in the steaming heat against strong batting sides and Viscount were not even in the top 3 batting sides we have faced this season.
Viscount batted first and it was clear that Calypso batting was to be the order of the day from this West Indian based team. Most of their batsmen took leg stump guards and were determined to hit the ball in the air very hard and just take their chances and this is certainly what their no. 3 Young (83) did. He continuously hit the ball in the air with a certain lack of control but everytime it seemed to drop between fielders. There was also a rapid fire 40 from Foster as the tail wagged furiously. A number of good catches were held from Wath, Eric, Freddie, Gary Burrell and Dewie and this helped to keep the total to just over 200.
200 was a score that the London Saints batting line up had little chance making but the London Saints batting saw a collapse of the proportion that only London Saints were prone to in years past albeit this being the worst collapse most of the playing team had been involved with. This was certainly to some very accurate seam bowling from Viscount’s opening bowlers with the highest score from the bat being 4 and with 3 no. ducks in the innings to Eric, Wath (Golden) and Hilda (not happy with a plumb lbw decision but this related more to the state of the match and the oppositions stringent umpiring during their innings) With the score at one stage 7 for 9 London Saints were in danger of making their lowest score ever by a significant margin. In the end the total of 25 matched the previous low score by the club.
There were the usual inane comments a particular favourite of Freddie’s related to his dismissal for 1 after a lengthy stay of around 15 overs keeping out the tight bowling. Moanin quipped that it was a bit of a long bat for just 1 and that he had actually done alright at the time as equal top scorer on 2. Well Gary 2 in 3 balls was not what the captain ordered, it was to hold your end up and bat for 40 overs.
What is pretty clear is that the extra 5 overs in the longer format of the game are a killer for the ageing London Saints side and that my vote is that 35 overs should be considered the maximum that we should ever be in the field.
Overall another dismal day in a summer that has seen record defeats and now an equalling of the record low score.
Man of the match : Paul Wathan – for a tidy spell of bowling including Paul’s hundred dismissal plus a good catch although I was inclined to go for Mr Extras.
The not so champagne moment – has to be Moanin taking a photo of the scoreboard when it read 9 for 7.
14th August 2005 - LSSC vs. Gents of West London
Victoria Recreation Ground, Surbiton
LSSC 133 All out (34.3 overs – T. Mayhew 51, Hilda 26, Old Man Jones 21)
Gents 92 All out (29.2 overs - Berkeley 3-29, Youth policy 2-14, Burrell 2-14, DT 2-24)
The Saints completed the double over the Gents with an excellent all-round performance featuring a decent score, traditional LSSC late-order collapse, tight bowling and an impressive display in the field – this correspondent even thinks he saw Moanin’ walking in at one stage. How our performance, especially in the field, can vary so much from one week to another is a mystery to me and coincidentally Freddie and his injuries won’t even get a mention this week….
DT may or may not have won the toss but either way we elected to bat first knowing we’ve not been doing so well recently when fielding pre-tea. Jonesie and Moanin’ opened on a sticky wicket which was always likely to prove hard to get the timing right. Jonesie displayed some new shots, including some lovely cuts and steers for 4 meaning he hardly bothered with his traditional leg-side tickle such was his form. Moanin’ continued his recent form too and was put out of his misery being bowled for 1 by Sanjay (I don’t need to describe the shot he attempted, we can all picture it, even those who weren’t there).
Trev came in at number 3 whilst Jonesie decided it was time to get out and was bowled for 21. The Towel and Youth policy got in and then out as the wicket’s stickiness led them to mistime shots but then Hilda and Trev built a crucial partnership and shared a handy 50 before Pete was out. Trev continued on his way to his 50, a highlight being a huge 6 hit on to the nearby Underground line.
Gent’s keeper was unlucky to get a nasty cut lip after being hit in the face to a ball going down the leg-side which Trev made a great wave at but merely distracted the keeper and not the ball. The keeper’s luck got worse as he was taken to A&E by Moanin and thus endured hearing about our man’s 5 catches this season and how he’s not seeing the ball properly at the moment.
With 3 overs to go, we were on 131-6 and aiming for 150 however it was time for a “saintso collapso” as a sudden burst of ducks (Tiger, Little Stevie, Gary B) meant we collapsed to a slightly disappointing 133 all out. Two of the last 3 wickets coming from yet more run-outs (see Champagne moment).
Snarler made a surprise visit at the Tea break but (un)fortunately he was merely checking in on his team’s progress and hadn’t brought his whites along. Rumours abound that he was merely seeing if his rabbit, Andy Mayhew, was playing and seeing as Andy wasn’t, he decided not to bother.
DT and Pete opened up with excellent spells and even with a very short boundary on one-side, the batsman had to work hard and take risks to score their runs. Both bowled their full 7-overs straight through and with a combination of good accurate bowling mixed in with the occasional surprise crap-ball managed to dismiss the first 5 batsman through good catches and knocking the stumps over.
Youth policy and Gary B came on and continued this excellent effort with both going through their 7 overs – Gary B taking Sanjay’s key-wicket to an edge taken by Monotub. Sanjay walked which was a credit to him as I’m not sure the umpire had given it. With intermittent rain, there was no way we were coming off and the skipper appeared with his holiday beach-towels to dry off the ball – Johnny looking distinctly peeved that he wasn’t put in charge of them after his historic efforts in this area.
With just 1 wicket left, The ex-Towel and Tiger came on hoping not to throw it all away and it was with some relief (for me anyway) that a classic slow long-hop delivery from the Tiger was hit down Jonesies throat on the boundary and he doesn’t miss those….. often.
Man of the Match
Our four bowlers (DT, Pete, Gary B and Youth policy) worked as a great unit, which combined with tight fielding & good catching (8 catches were taken with only 1 dropped and that was a tough one wasn’t it Johnny) meaning Gents, whilst scoring sufficiently for the run-rate, kept losing key batsmen at regular intervals.
However, Trevor’s half-century and 2 catches (admittedly both were dollies off DT) wins him the award. This in spite of Trev taking a man of the match award off me at Nelson Cup, I’m not one to bear a grudge and his innings was crucial in getting us to a respectable score (I’ll get him back next season…… or the one after… or the one after that)
Freddie’s [Champagne] moments
Close contenders were Trev running out his mate, Stevie, for 0 by going for a suicide second run. [Stevie having been good enough to step in when Arran was forced to pull out pre-match to go on holiday] and also Garry B’s call for a sharp-single in the last over to his partner, Monotub, who was still recovering from an impressive pirouette after missing an attempted pull to the boundary. Now, who reading this report would have guessed that was the shot Monotub was playing? Anyway, both batsman ended up at the same end and with Monotub still spinning in his crease, it was Gary who took the out.
In both cases a rarely seen bird, a Platinum duck, was conjured up as neither Stevie or Gary B actually faced a ball! The duck trophy is now wide open with White Viv and Gary B tied on 3 ducks each and a multitude of others close behind on 2.
I’m going to have to give the award to Trev (reluctantly given the above blackmark) as he brought up his 50 with a fat-man ‘3’ which in itself is a great way to reach a landmark (sod hitting a boundary, running 3 is a near-miracle in my book). The fact it was his 3rd fat-man 3 of his innings makes the feat all the more remarkable.
Lastly we retreated to the Victoria pub for a swift half and found Georgie Best there waiting for us. On seeing us arrive, he swiftly exited stage-right before he could get Moanin’s autograph and 5-catch tales… lucky for him, not so for the rest of us.
Haberdashers have it all sewn-up!
7th August 2005 – 40 over match
Old Haberdashers 304 for 5 (Keenan 2 for 47)
London Saints 57 all out (Griffiths 14)
OK, OK, so it was only a month ago that we reported on London Saints CC’s heaviest defeat in their history – well that record didn’t last long. The corresponding fixture in 2004 saw us lose narrowly in a splendid match; this time the university aged, professionally coached sons turned up and gave us a going over with the bat.
Things didn’t look too bad early on as Steve Keenan removed the openers cheaply although this was followed by a couple of solid partnerships. Things only got away from us when Haberdasher’s no.6, Pryor, came in during the 26th over and scored as comprehensive a century as we’ve ever come up against finishing with a total of 126 not out.
In these circumstances what you need is a solid start, opener Gary Cronin didn’t like what he saw and was promptly bowled for a duck! This very much set the trend but the real turning point came when umpire John Griffiths signalled Freddie lbw for 0. OK, he had a tough decision to make but he really should have given it more thought. Before raising his finger, couldn’t he have given one moment’s consideration to the poor individual that has to drive Freddy home and thus be subjected to an in-depth analysis of the offending decision (as well as the usual medical ailments).
Anyway, enough of this drivel – we took a right old tonking but the teas were as ever, excellent and believe it or not, Paul Pearce will soon be reporting on London Saints’ return to winning ways!
Man of the match
Obviously this is an honour only bestowed upon London Saints players. John Griffiths gets it as his bowling was relatively controlled against supreme batting and he was the only batsmen to reach double figures. This fixture originally came out due to John having attended Haberdashers School many years ago – one can only assume that there was a change of cricket coach in the intervening years.
Champagne moment
Earlier that morning when Geraint Jones snapped up Kaprowicz to level the Ashes series – the rest of the day went somewhat downhill after that!
WEST XI vs LONDON SAINTS at Berkhamsted CC.
31st July 2005 - 35 overs
So I said to the skipper: "We need 10 to win, we've five wickets to spare and plenty of overs left - but I can't think of a champagne moment."
After all, London Saints were moving steadily to victory, chasing a total of 137 to win.
Little did I know that there was to follow one disastrous "champagne moment" after another as, incredibly, we conspired to lose the game.
Playing for the first time amid the rolling farmland surrounding Berhamsted CC under a beautiful summer sky, our old foes from West XI were sent in to bat.
West XI's Vyas looked in good touch against Steve Keenan and Gary Burrell and had raced to 30 of his side's first 36 runs when he was bamboozled by a loopy slower full toss from Lord Lucan. Aaron "Sorry I can't make the game, Skipper, I fell asleep on a footpath" Frood gratefully accepted the catch at mid-wicket.
There then followed some tight bowling which slowed the run rate - but it was Pete Berkeley's devastating seven-over spell of three wickets for seven runs that put London Saints in the driving seat.
There was a brief stoppage when a ball from Dave Thomas bounced off keeper White Viv's knee and hit first slip Paul Pearce right between the eyes. Unorthodox, but at least he saved a boundary.
Pearcy left the field to get patched up and later came back heroically with a Lone Ranger-style cross of plaster across his nose.
Aaron then bowled a tidy 1-22 off six overs and John Griffiths weighed in with 2-26 to restrict West XI to 135-9 off their 35 overs.
It was a good, workmanlike fielding performance, with six catches held and a smart run out by Wheeliebin Griffiths.
The task for Saints seemed straightforward - exactly four an over.
And, despite the loss of openers White Viv and Moanin' Cronin, Saints were cruising at 70-2, with John Griffiths playing some good shots - ably assisted by his future father-in-law Tony Grimes.
No doubt FFIL was composing his speech for the wedding reception about how their partnership was a match made in heaven destined to bring happiness to all who know them. But, alas, it was not to be.
Both were despatched in rapid succession by George Roper-lookalike Laing, whose slow left armers have been the scourge of the summer for the Saints.
George's wickets brought Paul Pearce and Pete Berkeley to the crease. Pearcy continued his batting form, while Pinch-hitting Pete steadily built up the runs to bring the score to 127-5.
The victory was surely ours, and it was that moment which I made the above comment to the skipper.
But the match was transformed in 20 minutes of madness.
First, Pearcy was caught by George Roper. Freddie Wingfield then strode (or was that limped?) to the middle, struck four runs and then was involved in a kamikaze run out, which left Vyas, Freddie and the stumps in a heap. When the dust had settled, Freddie was outraged to learn that he had been given the finger by the umpire and no amount of remonstrating would convince the man in the white coat to change his mind.
Aaron - no doubt surveying surrounding hedges and park benches for a place to sleep the night - arrived at the crease and promptly lofted his first ball to George Roper at mid-on.
Enter Lord Lucan, who proceeded to do exactly the same thing with his first ball and suddenly Saints were 127-8.
Gary Burrell then joined Pete in the middle, only for the two of them to get in a mix-up over a quick single and Pete's seemingly match-winning innings was ended on 23.
With West XI fired up, it was left to Gary Burrell and the skipper to steer the team home, but two runs short of the West's total Dave was run out to leave the home side cock-a-hoop and London Saints shell-shocked.
CHAMPAGNE MOMENT: Contenders were Gary Cronin's catch at mid-on - which he somehow managed to hold on to at full stretch over his head while gazing myopically at the horizon - and Pearcy's DIY nose job courtesy of Dr White Viv which left an impressive blood stain on the grass at first slip. But honours, once again, have to go to FREDDIE WINGFIELD for another cameo performance which included: another pulled muscle; an attempt at a catch in which his arms and legs flailed around like a breakdancer in a blender; and his attempt to avoid being given run out by attending to the injured Vyas - presumably in the hope that the umpire would have forgotten about his decision by the time play recommenced. Nice try, mate.
MAN OF THE MATCH: PETER BERKELEY. For his spell of 7-3-7-3, which included his 100th wicket for London Saints, and his 23 which nearly steered us to victory. We won't mention his strop over his run out though.
Who's that bloke with LSSC fast bowler Troy de Ruyter? Why, it's Merv Hughes, too old to get in our team now...
Pictured at Lord's on the first day of the first test on an LSSC outing. More pix to follow
LSSC 2005 cricket tour report (21st-24th July 2005)
Day 1: ‘So I said to Merv, you’re nothing but a fat, ugly, strine poofter’!
London Saints Cricket Club embraced the 4 day game as the annual tour effectively started on the Thursday with 12 members attending the incredible 1st day of the Lords test match. A splendid day was had by all as 17 wickets fell, lager was drunk and so were we (apart from that nonce, Johnny Quinn)!
Within the group we had a token Aussie in Troy de Ruyter who used to turn out for the team before his missus took charge! Anyway he was allowed out and by mid-afternoon was wishing he wasn’t as Harmy and friends skittled the Aussies. Seated to our left was a large group of yellow-shirted tourists hosted by a large stomached and large moustachiod Merv Hughes. Boy did we rip into him! At one point, Steve Keenan was heard to say, I say Merv, do you mind if I take a picture of you with my friend Troy’? ‘TDR’ was getting all sorts of stick and just as he thought his day couldn’t get any worse, a liquefied Garry Burrell fell over with full pint in hand which flew threw the air missing DT and Peter emptying it’s contents square over our teary-eyed Ginger Dingo!
Anyway, his day got better but fortunately he wasn’t allowed out for the rest of the tour saving us from a great deal of gloating!
It all got a bit hazy after that. All I remember is the following- Arran explaining why he didn’t turn up for the previous week’s match (he woke up in a field in Walthamstow with a girl he fancies) - Wath losing his new £70 golf top (teehee) - Garry crying over losing his mobile phone - an MCC member tripping outside the pub and spilling his pint over Troy!
Day 2: ‘So, fivers in for the winner then’!
In recent years it has become tradition for a number of the team to start the tour early by travelling down early on Friday to Frome Golf Club where we generally prove that we are equally crap at golf as we are at cricket. To make it interesting it was (sort of) agreed that the winner would receive £5 from each of the 8 other players. So after a few hours of hacking, Gary Cronin emerged as the winner by 1 point over Wath, Steve Keenan and Pete and consequently bored everyone rigid with a ‘blow by blow’ account of his round. He subsequently spent the rest of the weekend bemoaning the fact he hadn’t been paid and therefore wouldn’t be able to afford any ‘nosh’!
More importantly, after much debate it was decided that Freddie is a slower golfer than Trigger – something not thought possible.
Later on ‘Goutman’ (Andy Jones), proved what an old (very old) romantic he is by taking his wife, Susannah, out for a quick meal while their baby son, Charlie, slept soundly in their hotel room. By leaving the hotel premises, he found that the baby monitor was out of range and so returned to the 8 lads in the hotel bar and asked them to babysit. So there we were, a group of hard drinking, experienced tourists, all sat round a baby monitor listening to Freddie banging on about the technical intricacies of the machine, unable to experience Frome’s heady nightlife!
Day 3: ‘Who ate all the cakes’ – well John Griffiths actually!
23rd July – 35 overs
London Saints: 153 for 7 (Cotton 24, Cronin 21)
Witham Friary: 116 for 9 (Burrell 2-16)
Whilst Norton St.Philip have always provided excellent hospitality and opposition on the tour, we have generally struggled to find like-minded clubs for the 2nd fixture – often resulting in a sound trashing and in last year’s case, not speaking to us either!
Anyway, DT managed to unearth a new team in Witham Friary and an excellent day ensued. Yes, the pitch was dodgy as the strip is in the middle of the village football pitch and the opposition had a similar age range as London Saints match last week. They had a 12 year old in their line-up (in Somerset’s junior ranks) who sledged the batting order throughout (he would get his later).
LSSC batted first and the honour of facing the first ball of the tour fell to Goutman whose leg stump was removed – Golden Duck!
However, Steve Cotton and Gary Cronin put on a useful partnership with Gary playing some lovely strokes ‘down the alley’! With the help of a generous extras column we amassed a total of 153 for 7.
Highlight of the match was possibly the best tea in 25 years of LSSC cricket – I didn’t know that there were so many different types of cake! What made it even more enjoyable for Griffiths and Pearcy was that Speedtwin was away on his well publicised Thai fitness regime allowing them to take advantage!
Back to the cricket – DT used 11 bowlers in reply with Witham never really looking like making the target as they lost wickets at regular intervals and a rare tour win ensued as wickets were shared around. The improvement in our fielding has been evident this year and this innings was a fine example.
We were then treated to a post-match BBQ across the road at the village pub – a fantastic venue which has not changed hosts or decor in 50 years or more!
Man of the match
Tough call – Goutman did very well behind the stumps but on another day his GD would have taken the champagne moment. Garry Burrell wins the day for a disciplined bowling performance and leading the way with some excellent fielding.
Champagne moment
It’s that man again! Unorthodox fielding tactics and daft comments dominated Freddie’s afternoon but his dismissal won the day. Annoyed at being bowled for 3 runs he stormed off and with a Reggie style tantrum, threw his bat and gloves down and kicked the ground injuring his foot, consequently having to limp through the rest of the game. Transfer negotiations between Witham and London Saints are ongoing as Freddie considers the offer of village idiot!
Day 4: ‘Drinks all round’!
Norton St.Phillip: 215 for 5 (Pearce 2-49)
London Saints: 143 for 9 (Keenan 32, Quinn 18)
Woke up Sunday to torrential rain so the weather looked like it would put pay to the Norton match and we would be heading home early. However, with the forecast OK for the afternoon we decided to hang around and kill some time in the skittle alley with Garry Burrell picking up the cash!
Norton generously allowed the game to go ahead and so in damp conditions we decided that a 25 over match would be appropriate in case of more rain. DT probably lost the toss and we were put into the field and promptly spanked around the park by Norton’s considerably younger and more able batsmen. Tiger Pearce provided full entertainment in his 3 (yes 3) overs for the above figures. The highlight of the innings was Garry Burrell’s catch at mid-wicket (see Champagne moment).
Goutman and Dot Cotton made a reasonable start – ‘Moanin’ came in at number 3 with his attitude summed up by getting out for a duck, hopping into his car and buggering off home muttering something about mobile phones, a nasty rash and loose skin!
A fine stand between ageing John Quinn and already aged Steve Keenan gave the score a degree of respectability with John employing DT as a runner (something I feel we’re going to see more of), as we made 143 in reply.
This fixture has seen some close games in recent years but not this time. The Chilli and chips was excellent though.
A quick drink with the opposition was generously financed by Gary Cronin’s golf winnings which he would have received if he hadn’t decided to scarper!
Man of the match
An extravagant array of strokes lands Steve Keenan the honour as he doubled his previous high score with a 32. He is now expecting to ‘score his age’!
Champagne moment
Just when you thought you had read a match report with no mention of Freddie (not playing due to injury), he decides to umpire! Having no idea of the rules didn’t stop him. He threw a number of candidates forward but the Champagne moment goes to the combination of John Quinn and Garry Burrell. Norton’s no.3 skied a shortish ball which looked a straightforward catch for John Quinn but the ball bounced out of his hand and John looked as though he’d rescued the situation as he dived and got his other hand to the ball – out it came again and so it fell upon Garry to dive at John’s feet and nonchalantly take the cat one-handed.
A fine 4 days had by all and the future of the annual tour is in good shape – even if the tourists aren’t!
SAINTS' HEAVIEST EVER DEFEAT AS WE FIELD 50 YEAR AGE GAP!
July 17
Langtons v LSSC
Langtons - report by Paul Wathan
Langtons 272 for 3 (M Britz 151 not out, Berkeley 1 for 30)LSSC 67 all out (J Quinn 16, Ashok 3 for 8)
The day did not start well with an early morning call from Arran to say he didn’t need a lift as he couldn’t play – he didn’t tell me the excuse but it had better be a good one. This meant we were down to 10 men in an already scratch and last minute scrambled together team, which included Johnny Quinn’s 12 year old son and Martin Dewhurst, friend of Pete’s, also making his debut.
With temperatures soaring into the 80’s this was another important toss to win – especially as Langtons insisted on this being a 40 over match.
Needless to say, stand-in skipper Trevor promptly lost the toss and we faced 3 hours in the field watching the ball being dispatched to boundaries left, right and centre, including several sixes struck into the bar terrace area. How no one was killed amazed me. To be fair, the only Langtons batsman who really got away was a South African ringer who notched up an impressive 151 not out. The only bowler to get a wicket was Pete Berkeley during his opening accurate spell. The only other highlights of our fielding were two direct hit run outs by Messrs Mayhew and Wathan (I must admit Trevor’s was from a tad more further out). Somehow I was asked to bowl 8 overs on the trot, (which meant that I wasn’t able to get out of bed on Monday morning as my body had seized up). At the end of their innings we trudged off to tea facing a massive 273 for victory – this had an element of deja vous following our annihilation at Leybourne earlier in the season. Perhaps we shouldn’t play any more games in Kent! Good practice for Sri Lanka though I guess!
The run chase started slowly and finished even slower. Our one main hope, Trevor, made his customary failure against his old club (though I’m not sure it was that much of a failure because he did finish second top score – not including extras of course). The only batsman to get into double figures was Quinn senior during the highest partnership of the innings with Quinn junior, who must have faced 20 odd balls (in his first ever competitive game of cricket!) and stubbornly blocked them out finishing with a very credible 3.
Speedtwin got an unfortunate ball in the face which somehow didn’t manage to break his glasses but did leave him with a nasty gash under the eye. After retiring hurt on 0, he gallantly came back in at the end of the innings ……and was promptly bowled out for a duck! Another duckster was Tony, whose brief partnership with Eric meant that the combined age at both ends was over 110 years!
Champagne Moment
Nothing to match Freddy’s past exploits but I think it has to be the run out of Tony during the “old gits” partnership. After first surviving a call from Eric for a suicide quick single (because the wicket keeper fumbled over the stumps after he had dropped the ball), it was then Eric’s turn to survive a throw at the stumps only to see the ball trundle passed him and down to the other end where Tony was promptly run out.
Man of the Match
Only really one candidate, Finn Quinn, who stonewalled Langton’s bowlers, which allowed his dad to add a modicum of respectability to our score from the other end. Seeing this was his first ever match, Finn’s fielding was pretty good too, having a good arm and being a lot quicker than some of the older members of the team. His presence in the team also meant that we had the bizarre statistic of there being 50 years separating our oldest and youngest players – I’m sure that’s never happened before!
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MACKEMS STUFFED IN LONGEST MATCH REPORT IN HISTORY
July 3
LSSC v Sunderland
Old Haberdashers
LSSC 158 (Berkeley 47 , Mr Extras 36, Kumar 25 , Frood 19)
Sunderland 103 (Thomas 4-11, Yogeswaran 2-1)
This was a game for the reassessment of nicknames. Firstly Twintub, who should now be known as Halftub following his new fitness regime was running late, very late, so the decision was taken to open the batting. Now the last time we opened the batting at Old Haberdashers we lost early wickets, and Our Youth Policy Tony Grimes kindly obliged with an uncharacteristic golden duck, given LBW by The Councillor to leave us 2 for 1. Tony didn't dispute the decision and adjudged that he was pretty plum!
The other opener on that day was Kumar, and he must have feared the worst with Freddie bumped up the order, but only to number 4, so up stepped Peter 'Hilda' Berkeley at number 3. Now Hilda has been batting well this season, and put in a fair claim for his nickname to be changed, settling the team down with some excellent batting and running between the wicket to push the score on to 61 before the loss of Kumar's wicket (25) in the 16th Over. Now, the thought in the pavilion was that if we could see out the opening 2 bowlers we'd be able to pile on the runs, but the 3rd bowler had made some tidy deliveries. As the scoring rate had dropped slightly Kumar decided to begin hitting out and was caught.
So Freddie stepped up to the crease. Now at this point, we should be aware that Freddie's Bat had been scoring well in the hands of Berkeley, but the deal was that if Freddie came in, he'd swap bats. So as not to disappoint, Freddie got off the mark with a 4. Berkeley was still hitting the ball but soon changed his bat as he felt the vibration of a drive all the way to his shoulders. The pair put on a further 47 runs in the next 10 overs, but were keen to push the rate up another notch with plenty of wickets available for the next 10 overs. We were on the 5th bowler, a cunning 12 year old, when Freddie got frustrated at the number of deliveries just wide of off stump and swung his bat to try for his second maximum of the season only to find that the crafty little lad had delivered a perfect Yorker! Clean bowled for 16 with the score on 108.
In stepped James Whitworth, the original skipper, who was making his first appearance for 16 years. Freddie's Bat had now returned to the hands of Berkeley and the pair added 5 runs in the next 2 overs before James holed out to a decent catch again off the bowling of 12 year old Jones junior.
Berkeley appeared to be stuck on 47, when joined by Wath, and was soon bowled by Jones senior, not wanting to be outdone by his son. 47 beat Peters previous highest of 46, but his first 50 once again teased but eluded him.
Aaron came to the crease a little disappointed that Freddie's bat had been passed to Wath, rather than to him, but he didn't have to wait long, as Wath, having survived a strong appeal for caught behind, added four runs before being clean bowled by Jones junior, for just that 4.
Now Aaron had his chance with Freddies bat as he was joined at the crease by Speedtwin. Didn't he take that chance, putting on a quick fire 19 with 4x 4's pushing the score from 118 in the 30th over to 144 in the 32nd. Speedtwin in the mean time had chipped in 2x 4's before being caught off a top edge sweeping. Aaron was then joined by the Councillor.
There was no holding back with only a few overs to go and the Councillor added 11 before he eventually swung and missed another Jones senior delivery. Gary Burrell went out to the middle and managed to eventually finish with 0 not out, without facing a delivery. Aaron soon followed the Councillor to another Jones senior delivery and in came the skipper with only 2 balls to come. Leaving the pavilion, he gave the youngsters a lesson in the good of the cause. "It will either go for a 4, or I'll be out", unfortunately for him, it was the latter as he too missed and he took the lead in the hunt for the duck trophy with a golden!
So not a bad total considering the persistent drizzle creating a slow outfield, and the non-emergence of the weaker bowlers!
After another fine tea, we emerged to far more pleasant weather conditions, with confidence that we could defend our total of 163. The players were eager and what followed was some of the finest fielding I have witnessed from the team, and the bowling wasn't too bad either.
Our openers of Burrell and the skipper returned figures of 4-1-6-0 and 7-1-11-4 respectively and with the assistance of Aaron, the 3rd bowler returning figures of 5-0-19-0 we had restricted the opposition to 30 for 5 at one stage. Indeed, the other wicket too came from the skippers bowling, as Tony made amends for his duck with some tidy fielding causing the run out of their number 2 for 16.
The Councillor came on to replace the skipper who had exhausted his overs, just short of getting a 5for, and I am sure registering his record figures. He clearly wasn't pleased with registering a golden. The Councillor soon took another wicket and threw accurately to cause the run out of yet another of their batsmen for a duck.
The Councillor was rather unfortunate to not be awarded another wicket as Speedtwin stumped their main threat by a long way, only to discover that the new umpire was still busily arranging his beer at the time and to his own admission not watching. (Fair play for the honesty, but it was long, long way). What was possibly more unfortunate was that the weather had begun to get a little too good, and the outfield quickly dried which caused a minor scare with runs being taken off The Councillors and Wath's bowling.
The skipper made a hasty change and brought on Berkeley to tighten it up, and he was soon rewarded with a wicket, to return figures of 3-0-10-1. At the other end Kumar was inspirational, bowling perfect line and length for 1.5 overs, taking the final 2 wickets at the cost of just 1 run.
It would be fair to mention that Howey top scored for Sunderland with 57 n/o, and they had 5 ducks in reaching their total of 103.
Man of the Match: Well Freddie's bat did pretty well, but Berkeley has to get it with yet another excellent batting display and some decent partnerships with both Kumar and Freddie. Aarons quickfire 19 was also impressive, and the skipper and Kumar's bowling were worthy of substantial credit.
Champagne moment: Well we were so busy performing this week that the best we could come up with was Freddie, once again claiming the prize with a ripple of Batsman in, a good 2 or 3 minutes after everyone else had done so. At the time Freddie was pointing out to some of his team that he had managed to hurt his hand, but didn't know how, and it was beginning to swell. Little did he know at the time that he had in fact chipped the bone. If anyone has a good hour or so, there are numerous e-mails describing the injury which anyone of the team would be more than happy to forward. (Well, let's face it, everyone had heard the story of his bat).
CUP THRASHING DESPITE 118 GETTING OPPOSITION'S NUMBER
June 25
Lord Nelson Cup
Saints v West XI v Walthamstow Horizontals
First up: LSSC v West XI
West XI 148
LSSC 58 (Pearce 18)
On an overcast day, with a team packed with experience, we began our effort to regain the Lord Nelson Cup. We were first up against West XI. However, things quickly started to go downhill. Bhav hitting a 50, in what seemed like only 3-4 overs. They had a strong batting side and were always scoring quickly. D.T.'s attempt at mind games even failed to stop the flow. He sent Troy to field at square-leg on the third man boundary and could be heard muttering to himself, 'Good field placement, Skip', whenever the ball went straight to a fielder. Troy livened up proceedings by shouting out hysterically, 'I've got your number pal' . after a couple of dot balls. Unfortunately the line was engaged, as they rattled up 148.
In response to such a large total, we were crap. George Roper decimated our middle order. Only thanks to Pearceys' 18 did we manage to crawl to 58. Probably the heaviest defeat in Lord Nelson cup history. Judas, DT and Lucan all getting ducks. Dave Nanton had to bat with a runner after injuring himself trying to buy a round of drinks for the lads.
LSSC 91 (Pearce 22, de Ruyter 21)
Walthamstow Horizontals 92-5
Next up was Walthamstow Horizontals. We batted first and made our usual dreadful start. Troy '118' De Ruyter 21 and Pearcey 22 again rescuing the situation. Speedtwin also got useful late order runs and Keenan minced his way to a very fine 8. To the amusement of the crowd, Steve spent much of his time in the middle, like a big grey teapot, with one hand on hip and the other outstretched.Even during a mid-wicket conference with Speedtwin, he maintained this pose throughout, prancing up the wicket like a camp Larry Grayson. He once went for the double teapot but dropped his cricket bat. We managed to reach 91, not a bad score on a difficult wicket.
We bowled tightly at the beginning, with ‘118’ only conceding 7 runs and Johnie taking 2-11, including having their best player stumped. It was difficult to judge whether he was undone by Johnnies' subtle variations in flight or distracted by Johnies perky Bo Derek like breasts bouncing up and down, like in the beach scene from the film'10'.This was followed up by good bowling from DT and the Teapot, leaving them to score 36 from the last 4 overs. Unfortunately with David injured, this meant White Viv had to bowl 2 of them. At the other end Pearcey had managed to get cramp, after their left-right hand combination had forced DT to move everyone in the field 100 yards every time the strike changed hands. To be fair we've all seen Andy bowl a lot worse and 2-0-22-0 was a bit unfair. He only bowled a couple of Doodlebugs which must be a record.
It came down to the last over. Off the first ball, Jonesie made a great diving effort at a very difficult catch. Unfortunately, he dropped a sitter off the next ball and the game was lost. After also failing with the bat, he was heard asking ‘118’ the number for the local Samaratins. West11 comfortably won the final, to retain the trophy. Pearcey was named our man of the match, the adjudicator obviously did not see him bowl. A very enjoyable day, enlivened by the eccentric behaviour of 118 and the Teapot.
Match Report by Andy Mayhew, Champagne Moment and Man of the Match by Trevor Mayhew, as Andy forgot to do it.
Champagne Moment: Where to begin? Some weeks there is very little happening for the Champagne Moment, other weeks there are too numerous to mention – despite the absence of Freddie, this was one of the eventful days. There are numerous good shouts - Paulie Pearce getting cramp before even bowling a ball, DT’s eccentric captaincy and field placement (this is a catch all description to cover talking to himself, asking ‘118’ to field at square leg whilst pointing at third man, and moving nearly every fielder 50 yards + as the opposition swapped from left to right hander : it has later been proved the same field could have been achieved by moving fine leg over and DT himself moving 2 yards to his left), or Stevie Keenan’s impression of a mincing teapot. All good shouts, but the winner is ‘118’ yelling at their batsman ‘I’ve got your number pal’ – a classic moment, that I fear ‘118’ will never be allowed to forget.
Man of the Tournament: A controversial choice here, as the opposition gave the accolade to Paulie Pearce after 2 very good knocks, but I am going to give ‘118’ the award. Troy batted and bowled well in both matches, and for me just pipped Paulie.
SAINTS TOIL IN THE SUN DESPITE STAR TURN BY FREDDIE'S BAT
June 18
LSSC v Leybourne CC
West Malling, Kent
Leybourne 282-6 (40 overs - Wathan 2-45, Keenan 1-30, Griffiths 1-34)
LSSC 140 (29.2 overs - Cronin 53, Freddie 30, Extras 29)
It was a long, hot day in Kent, the temperature touching 33C when the toss was finally taken (and duly lost by the Skipper) at around 2.45pm. As it was a 40-over match, Saints were destined to be in the field for more than two hours, the Skipper having also forgotten his hat. Pearcey did offer one of his three (don't ask, I don't know why) but DT preferred to steam his head for the day. It proved apt.
Leybourne normally put out a mix of the kids and old hands against us. But these days the kids have grown into strapping 20-year-olds and the old hands have become the umpires. Frood and Keenan opened the bowling, the latter picking up a wicket in the first over when a mistimed shot led to a C&B. With a rock hard pitch, the ball was bouncing and there were a number of nicks and missed shots - but the nicks were low down and eluded the toiling cordon of Pearcey, Tony "Youth Team" Grimes and Speedtwin behind the stumps. As the heat rose, so did the score: it took another 20 overs to get a second wicket despite several played-and-miss shots off DT's and Burrell's bowling.
One six landed on the school roof, the ball retrieved by a combination of DT's leg-up and Arran's agility. Another six landed in the playground, this time retrieved by Freddie who, in the process, executed a graceful swallow dive when he tripped over the slide, before picking himself up with the line: "Who put that there?" The council, since you ask.
Three of their batsmen scored a 50, then possible heat exhaustion on their part led to a tumble of wickets - one a charge down the wicket and a sharp stumping off the Councillor's bowling; a run-out from Cronin's throw (happily, the ball went to his hands, not feet) and a second entirely uncontrived run-out when the ball bounced out of the Councillors' hands and on to the stumps. Finally, Wath - barely fresh from driving from Wales that morning to boila in the Kent sun - arrived as seventh bowler (out of eight) and picked up two good wickets with a good spell of bowling. Only one six came off his spell, the last ball, taking them to a record score of 282-6 against London Saints.
We had conceded 48 extras, there were numerous misfields and a couple of dropped chances. During a languid but excellent tea, when DT's par-boiled head completely steamed up over the lost umpire's counters ("I've had then 10 years, go away for a week and they get lost etc.,") and an unlikely batting line-up was announced, victory - and London - seemed a long way off.
Still, Gary Cronin set off like one of the thoroughbreds who had paid for his trip to Ascot at York that week, smashing every loose ball (and some excellent balls) with Freddie's borrowed bat, going on to score 53 (50 of which came from boundaries). It was like watching Pietersen at West Malling. Despite loose shots from Youth Team, Pearcey at No 3 and the Councillor, the score reached 80-3 after just 13 overs, on course for victory. When Gary holed out, Freddie stepped forth (with his bat back) and maintained the assault, hitting a six onto the same roof and allowing partner Keenan (in at No 6) to stand back and admire. But when Freddie tried to clear the slide and was clean bowled, the collapse quickly followed - from 122-4 in the 21st over to 140 all out.
Twintub ruined his recent figures with a silver duck, Wath got a bronze and Arran a round of barracking for shaking hands with the opposition before Burrell arrived at the crease as No 11. Burrell got his own back by running Arran out. By then, it was 8pm and time for much-needed showers, lager shandies and a wind-up of Freddie about how no-one had fallen over the slide in the 15 years it had been there.
In fact, it had only been installed last year and loads of fielders have clattered into it. But that would be ruining the story.
Champagne moment: Freddie, again.
Man of the Match: Cronin and Freddie, the only two (apart from Speedtwin), not to bowl, tussled instead for the batting honours. Gary, by a short head
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THREE WICKET PEARCE LAYS DERBY DEMONS TO REST
June 11
LSSC v Derby
Church Street Enfield
Derby 51 (18.4 overs - De Ruyter 3-10, Pearce 3-15, Kumar 1-1)
LSSC 52-0 (15.5 overs - Jones 25no, Cotton 23no)
Following their inspired win the previous week up in Elstree, the Saints returned to Church Street, Enfield, under leaden skies to play old adversaries Derby. Memories of 2002 came flooding back - a defeat by 198 runs after Derby ran up 239-5 from 35 overs. Saints' debutant Skipper, ("from Judas to Skip in 6 seasons"), having won the toss, duly elected to bat, but then changed his mind as the Rams only had 5 players. The arrival of a further four at least meant we had a game on, especially as two were the all-too familiar Kiwi, Wayne Thompson (147 the previous week against West XI, and a centurion against us in 2002), and South African, the more-portly-than-last-year, Ryan Derriman.
Saints opened up with a lively spell from our own Overseas Player and Commonwealth import, Troy De Ruyter, making a welcome return to the side. Rams were more like rabbits in face of Troy's pace and accuracy. Figures of 4 - 1 -10 - 3 did not flatter him. Meanwhile, Steve Keenan, also making his first outing of the season, sent down a tidy spell (4-1-18-1) picking up a wicket thanks to a fine diving catch from Neil Hotson in the covers. The resultant indentation in the Church Street turf did not quite match the crater created by T. Mayhew the previous week, but Neil's did bring a violent end to the life of a giant bee that he managed to land on. The entry of Paulie Pearce into the attack brought further wickets. At one point the in-form Thompson threatened to let rip (with the bat), but an inspired piece of captaincy snared the hirsute Kiwi. The Skip stationed Old Man on the mid wicket boundary, Thompson obligingly toe-ended Pearce's next ball (a cunning full toss) right down Jonesy's throat. And he doesn't miss those.
As in the previous game, Saints held all their catches. Claims that the skipper dropped the opposing captain in the opening over were extremely harsh - the ball was belted low-down to him at silly mid off, and was still very nearly snaffled. The South African Derriman was trapped by a Pearce Keenan combination; Steve having rather too long for comfort to think about the catch as the ball spiralled out of the sky his way. He held on. Another heart stopping moment occurred when Mssrs. Berkeley and Cotton contrived to go for the same skier, with not a call to be heard (except for every one of their team mates screaming "call"). A potentially bone-crushing collision ensued but, miraculously, Pete survived and Dot came up with the ball in hand - 44 for 7.
All along Kumar was plugging away beautifully, but with little reward. Any accusations that the captain kept him on for a five over spell simply to accumulate "Mayhew Points" are refuted by quoting the Sri Lankan's figures: 5-4-1-1. Kumar picked up the final wicket with Saints having magnanimously agreed to Derby sending in one of their batsman again, on condition that it was someone who had turned up on time (cunningly eliminating the Kiwi!)
The 90+ year old combination that is the Saints' opening partnership quickly found the groove. It's like a long marriage with White Viv and Dot, nothing surprises them anymore, and they duly knocked off the runs without much fuss. Except that is for an all-run Andy Jones' four, yes an all-run Andy Jones' four. You don't see those very often.
Short and sweet this match report, a bit like the game. Having finished shortly before 5pm, we warmed up for the Nelson Cup thrash with a 10 over-a-side beer match and won that too. Saints 90 - 4 (Nanton 25 and Pearce 24); Derby 83 - 3.
Man of the Match
A close call between Troy and Pearcey - the latter just gets the nod for winkling out both Derby's overseas stars and laying to rest his personal demons from 2003 (7 overs 2-80, sorry Paul).
Champagne moment
Not the Skipper's golden duck in the Beer Match; or the production of two giant cakes for tea that were quickly demolished by the gannets that are London Saints XI. This week it's Andy Jones arrival with his cricket kit in a giant, striped laundry bag. Washer man Jones explained that his Slazenger kit bag was no longer usable. Apparently, it still contains remnants of his late night techno-colour yawn on the way home from last season's Ex-Blues game. Nevertheless, Jonesy is trying to sell it on e-bay . . . what was Sir Bob saying about unethical selling on e-bay?
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PETE BERKELEY WITH HELP OF EIGHT CATCHES WIN MATCH
June 5
LSSC v Gents of West London
Old Haberdashers Cricket Ground
Gents 116 (29.5 overs - Berkeley 5-27, Griffiths 2-30, Grimes 2-3)
LSSC 117-7 (34.4 overs - Berkeley 21no, Speedtwin 19no, Freddie 15)
The Saints recorded their first win of the season in a very competitive match, where the result was always in doubt. The Gents are missing Snarler these days but this had not tempted Andy M back from his Exeter retreat just in case Snarler made a surprise return.
DT lost the toss and 'surprisingly' with our team packed full of bowlers (and rather less frontline batsmen), we were put in to bowl. The wicket was again a bit sticky so DT opened with his firebrands, Burrell and Frood to try and inject some bite in to the pitch. Both had good economical spells but the opening wicket refused to come. Tiger Pearce & the Skipper came on and finally after some half-chances had been missed; DT claimed the wicket with Trev taking the first catch of the day.
Whilst the Gents were finding it hard to get the ball away, with only 1 wicket down and near 50 on the board after 16 overs, a big score seemed possible. Having strength in depth, bowlers 5 & 6 (Berkeley/Griffiths) were brought on and immediately rewarded DT's faith by each taking 2 wickets in their first overs. Pete was actually on a hat trick but this was not to be, but the Saints were on the march. I definitely heard DT say "good change by the Captain" at each of the 4 wickets, but everyone else just ignored him.
As we all know though, the Gents can bat a long way down (some might say much like ourselves) but their number 7, "Bhatt" (a bit) justified his name and in an electrifying 14-minute innings scored 26 effortless runs and it looked like the game was going to get away from us, however an extraordinary one-handed diving catch by Trev at gulley opened the game up again whilst also giving Pete his 'five for' and the first jug of the season.
Tony was brought on to close things out and took his first wickets for the LSSC - including a caught & bowled. This took us to 8 catches in the innings which may well be a record and also showed how committed our fielding had been, Gary Burrell's bruised face was testimony to his efforts whilst Freddie may have forever claimed the fine leg position as his own.
With the Gents out for just 116 and not even 30 overs being bowled, the Saints enjoyed the again excellent Tea with hope that a win was in their grasp.
Trev opened with Gary Cronin and it turned out that Gent's number 7's name was wrong and should actually be "Bhatt and Bowl a bit" as a long run up was indicated. However, our openers like the ball coming on and with some flash blade work and a bit of fortune, we had raced to 20 off the first 3 overs. Gary was then out to a sharp catch at square-leg and with tight bowling, scoring became very hard - Dyas returned 7 overs 2 for 4 as an example.
It was some 20 overs before we made it to the mid-40's with 4 wickets down and a lot of vociferous appeals being refused. We'd lost Trev to an arguable LBW appeal (side-on he seemed a long way down) and whilst Arran, Tony and Johnny looked comfortable at the crease, the good bowling on a sticky pitch was very hard to counter. The only relief being a couple of glorious cuts for 4 by Johnny.
Things got worse as we slid to 51-6 and Sanjay was still yet to bowl. Cometh the moment, cometh the bat, as Freddie was joined at the crease by Pete. Sanjay came on and with shouts from the boundary that the run rate was now near 6 an over, Freddie proceeded to hit 3 fours (over 10% of the score needed) in 10 balls. Two of the fours going to the longest, slowest part of the outfield whilst the first 4 christened his bat by leaving a nice red mark right on the side/edge he'd used through the slips.
Gents confidence and appeals were shaken by this onslaught and the Saints came on again. From 51-6, we'd now moved to 80-7 and the required run rate was just over 4. Sanjay had bowled Freddie but the momentum had swung again.
Gary Speedtwin strode out to join Pete knowing his new Thai-fitness regime and not out average was to be tested. Immediately the running started as Pete called for at least a dozen excellently judged quick singles which really pressurised the fielders (not to mention Gary) and sapped the Gents morale. Hope was replaced by expectation but the bowling was still tight and if either player was out, then the lefties would have to bat against Sanjay.
It was time for some more twists, step forward Johnny G. As we know, despite his political background and a nickname of Judas, Johnny has a long history of steadfast umpiring and impartiality in the heat of battle. This time though it was the Gents who paid the price as they tried to juggle their 5 bowlers, they switched Butt's end (so to speak) and his new run-up left him making no-ball after no-ball and Johnny having to call them.
A further reason for hope had been spotted by the Saints and that was the Gents were an over out so that Sanjay couldn't bowl his full allotment and they would have to find a 6th bowler for the last over of the game. 4 runs were all that was needed and with the first ball a wide, the pressure was off and a couple of 2's secured a fantastic win and another not out for Speedtwin (whatever you do don't ask his average now).
Man of the Match
Pete Berkeley. Five wickets (giving the team some catching practice along the way) and crucial batting partnerships with Freddie and Gary Speedtwin to win the day.
Champagne moment
It could be Freddie's frenzy of fours, which gave new life to our innings, DT's injury which meant points for the Mayhew challenge, some of the juggling catches taken by Messrs. Cronin and Freddie but the prize must go to Trev for his acrobatic catch to remove a batsman who looked set to take the game completely away from us.
We won't mention Trev's sack of spuds landing but the first part of the catch was superb, a left-handed pluck from the sky as the ball raced past him.
To read the Gent's version of the game, log onto www.gowlcc.org.uk
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FREDDIE RUN OUT CALAMITY RUINS DEBUT OF YOUTH TEAM
May 22
London Saints v Framfab
Old Haberdashers
LSSC 96 (Grimes 31, Mr Extras 27, Twintub 14)
Framfab 97 - 4 (Yogeswaran 1-5, Pearce 1-12)
At 15 - 5 in the 9th over , dark clouds were literally hanging over the new season after only 40 mins play. We somehow managed to battle back and make a game of a match that was almost buried before the fine interval teas had even been prepared! This was in the main due to a fine debut knock from the latest product of our youth policy - 64 year old Tony Grimes ( the Wheeliebin's prospective father-in-law ) Mr Extras carrying on his solid work from last year and the lower order including The Twintub who equalled his best score of last season .
With only two ' recognised ' batsmen in White VIv and Kumar we could not have made a worse start with both of them run out !!!!! in 2 balls in the 2nd over - and Andy Mayhew wasn't even playing so you couldn't blame him ! There was great confidence , that with Andy's absence we could start the season on a sound ' running ' footing - this understandable sentiment was quickly questioned by the rest of the team , on the boundary , as Kumar and White Viv both ended up at the same end after the eighth ball . Questions as to whether both of their hearing aids were turned off at the time were heard from the sidelines !!
This was nothing compared to the ninth ball with Freddie putting down a claim for The Champagne Moment of the Season after only 10 minutes . With Kumar making it clear that he was suffering from hayfever and didn't want to take any quick singles because he was struggling to breathe properly - Freddie , batting at No 3 ( ok the first questionable decision of the season by El Duce ) , called Kumar ( it wasn't even Freddie's call as the ball went behind him - but that's another story that was discussed at length later ) for a quick !! single off his first ball and managed to run out our main batting hope !! Nevermind was the chorus from the ' stunned ' on-lookers - you can make up for it Freddie with a big score - 8 balls later Freddie was back in the pavilion
not having troubled the scorers . At 15 - 5 we feared the worst but dug deep and managed to get up to a half decent score on a very sluggish pitch which made scoring difficult .
The Skipper was a bit dubious about our ability to bowl out the opposition for less than 96 when he saw his two main ' strike ' bowlers - Tiger Pearce and The Councillor tucking into their 5th helping of desert from the excellent teas which were provided - also the question arose as to whether would that extra dollop of clotted cream would slow down our ' usually ' sharp fielders ? . Well he was pleasantly surprised as FRAMFAB took 28 overs to reach their target and but for two excellent batsmen I think they would have struggled to win . The Skipper was able to show faith in the all round nature of the team by letting all 10 outfield players bowl ( which may be a record in a non-beer match ) - no-one let the team down , the fielding was sound ( if a little slow at times ) and we kept going long enough for the bar to open at 6 o'clock .Apart from the above bowlers , special mention should be made to Garry Burrell , on his first spell back for 9 years - his bowling as well as his batting ( 2nd ball duck ) looked as though he'd never been away , and Arran Frood - both deserved their wickets .
All in all , today achieved all the aims at the start of the day - to give everyone a run out with bat and ball to get some much needed practice / experience out in the middle at the start of a long season .
Man of the Match
Tony Grimes - another product from our Youth Academy
Champagne Moment
Freddie and Kumar's run-out - no need to say anymore
Trevor Mayhew comments: The man is a legend. Freddie is a clear example for the benefits of attending pre-season nets - from the very first ball he faced, it was as if he had never been away. It appears that their may be a new call introduced for running between the wickets this season - to go along with the boring traditions of 'yes', 'no', 'look maybe' , and '............. yes, one' [i.e. Andy's call when he comes charging down the wicket and then decides to call you] can be added 'f*** off Freddie'.
It is good to see that we made the most of one of Kumar's limited appearances this season. Not that anyone could question your judgement DT, but if there is the slightest chance of Freddie batting number 3 again, I would like to bat much further down the order this year.
