SJFCC vs BSCC
2005-05-22. Win by 3 wickets By Dave Boxer
Result: Bernard Sunley CC, 103 all out from 31.1 overs; The Mighty Fishers, 104 for 7 from 21.1 overs.
Another win for the Mighty Fishers, our fourth on the spin, but one that should have a been a lot easier than it turned out to be.
On a nice pitch in Wimbeldon, Dave won the toss and elected to field first. Dawko opened the batting for the oppo – his bit on the side if you like – and Dave got ready to bowl. First ball, the usually cautious Dawko twats it for four!
Dave’s second over, Dawko tonks another four! He’s getting confident by now and starting to think he can bat, but Dave brings him back down to Earth with a caught and bowled that almost took his right hand off. 1st wicket down.
Walmsleyeyey opened from the other end and bowled a brilliantly tight and productive 7 over spell on the bounce, finishing with figures of 2 for 12. After tempting the other opener into edging one to Chrisite behind the stumps, Walmsleyeyey followed it up with a leg side full toss that the batsman skied to Matt at sqaure leg.
Sandy bowled a cracking 5 over spell, which included 3 maidens and was unlucky not to take a wicket. Bungle then came on and got rid of the dangerman number 3, drawing a top edge that flew to Malcolm at slip who took a calm catch.
Bullet Bateman and Matt bowled decent spells, but the oppo’s number 5 and 6 batsmen were beginning to play themselves in. Ethan made the telling breakthrough though, bowling the former with a peach that moved in off the seam, then followed it up the next over with 2 wickets in 2 balls – the first from an edge that Christie caught (why the bloody hell he couldn’t do that during the indoor season I don’t know) and the second a well taken caught and bowled. He had a great shout for a hatrick, as, with everybody round the bat, the batsman stuck his pad in the way and could well have been given LB.
In between, Malcolm found the deadest spot on the wicket to trap the number 7 LBW with a grass cutter that gave him no chance whatsoever and Sandy wrapped up the innings with a tasty off-stick yorker.
After a spot of tea and some piss-ripping of Dawko, Fishers were ready to bat. Walmsleyeyey and Matt opened up and were looking good until the former was trapped LBW for 3. A shaky start, but it was Mark Edwards to the rescue. Mark played his finest innings to date, with a superb 33 that included 7 fours, mostly tonked on the on-side, off some more than decent bowling. When he was finally bowled, Bullet Bateman strode to the crease.
Maybe it was the fear that Bungle or Dave would soon join him out in the middle and run him out for the third game on the spin, because he was bowled for a duck by one of the biggest pies I’ve ever seen – it was bigger than the steak and kidney I once had from the Cornish pasty shop in town, and let me tell you, that fella was a monster. Anyway, good news for Sandsy as it means he’s now got a competitor for the ducks trophy.
Sandy, along with Matt, steadied the innings, and all was looking rosy again until Matt was given LB by umprire Malcolm, who appealed, then signalled a wide then gave him out! Then the collapse happened. Ethan was unlucky to pick out mid-off with a sweetly struck drive, then Bungle was trapped LB by the pie chucker and Christie picked out point with a mistimed cut.
Dave and Sandy saw out the game though, albeit with a couple of scares, to knock off the final 15 or so runs, with plenty of overs to go.
Man of the match: Tough one to call this. Excellent spells of bowling from Walmsleyeyey and Sandy and a cracking knock by Mark, but the award has to go to Ethan for his three-wicket haul in three overs.
Quote of the match: Walmsleyeyey – ‘but I thought Matt was opening’ before being reminded that you always need TWO batsmen out in the middle.
