2007-07-25. Won by 49 runs
By Matt King
SJFCC vs KIMPTON
The Mighty Fishers: 124 for 6 from 16 overs, Kimpton: All out for 75 from 12.3 overs.
Sometimes we take too much for granted. Sometimes we happily turn up to play week in week out without truly valuing those who make great sacrifices for this team to be all that it is. Is it by pure chance that we are now unbeaten in nine games? Is it luck that has seen us undefeated throughout the key months of June and July? “No”, I hear you cry as one voice, “of course it isn’t”.
There is one man who has made us what we are today. There is one man who has formed this tight, loyal team; this band of brothers. You know who I mean, of course you do. Talk has been of nothing else in the dressing room these past weeks, but of the leadership, nay spiritual guidance, of one man and one man alone.
Captain Marvel has nurtured us, he has coached us, he has put us all before him in his unselfish quest to take this team to the absolute limits of cricketing possibilities. Captain Fantastic has, on occasion, sacrificed his own averages for the greater good of the team. Captain Invincible is, quite simply, invincible.
We are marvelous, we are fantastic, we are invincible…..and we owe it all to you, Bungle
…….anyway, about that run out, am I forgiven yet?
At the height of summer we found ourselves at the heights of Kimpton. It was dark, dank, wild and windy..…..and that was just the dressing room. Outside it was worse, far worse.
Kimpton were the last team to beat Fishers this season, so this was an important game. Lucky we were at almost 72% strength then. Harris had gone cottaging, or to view a cottage to check out the door-frame or something, Dawko was down and out, sleeping rough and lost in the metropolis that is Kimpton village until Sandsy decided it would be quicker to go and escort him to the ground than keep dealing with his nuisance telephone calls and Coxy was wondering if three hours in the cold drizzle really was the best treatment for his bad back.
So it was a nine vs nine (+ 2008 ‘Tour Manager’ Cox) contest of initially ten, then suddenly 16 overs. I don’t think we tossed up, it was just agreed that we would bat first as we had even less players at the start than they did.
Reevo and Si opened for Fishers. We’re not sure if Reevo had misheard the message, but he opened up as though the game had been changed from ten to six overs, not 16. He was dropped twice in two balls, but with the ball so wet it was like a bar of soap, the powerplay paid off. Not to be outdone Si piled on the runs too and ended up retiring first on 25. Incensed by this, and to hide his obvious embarrassment at being outscored by someone playing cricket shots, the Reevonator stepped up a gear and retired on 33.
Dave was in top form and hit a quick-fire 22 before being bowled between his legs. We were something like 96 off ten overs. Then it all went wrong. Terribly wrong.
In what was quite possibly the worst decision to advance since The Charge of the Light Brigade (which, co-incidentally, was exactly 1,833 months previously to the day) Matt ran out the in-form Bungle for 6. Two balls later, in what was quite possibly the second worst decision to advance since The Charge of the Light Brigade (which, co-incidentally, was exactly 1,833 months and two minutes previously to the day) Dawko ran out the out of form Matt for 0.
Dawko was caught for 0 moments later. Chris (10) and Paul (5) salvaged some runs before both being out leg before and Chris secured Champagne Moment of the match with a real cover drive of actual proper, cricket-stylee quality. Bob (who had been umpiring underneath a golf umbrella) and the reluctant Mr Cox saw us on to a total of 124.
Nine Fishers players took to the field with one thought and one thought alone in their minds….”Mmm, sausages.” Dave, on the other hand, was a troubled man; clearly the memories of personally dropping 12 catches in the corresponding fixture last season were weighing heavy on his mind.
Bob and Matt opened and were punished in some style in their respective first overs. Bob made the breakthrough in his second over, bowling the no.2. In a stroke of some genius Matt allowed the no.1 to hit the ball so hard that it was lost in a field somewhere near Codicote and thus a replacement ball came into play, one that didn’t require wringing out quite so often (personally, I don’t think this made any difference at all, but others thought differently). Two balls later the other opener was out for 17 bowled off his legs. Two balls after that, just to prove that lightening does strike in the same place (at least) twice, in a mirror-image replay of the evening’s first run out the batsmen went for a run which was quite possibly the third worst decision to advance since The Charge of the Light Brigade etc etc and Matt and Dawko combined swiftly to run out the no.4.
Si took a good c&b in a rather tidy spell and Paul bowled tightly conceding only four runs and bowling the no.5 for 0. After an explosive opening Kimpton were now on the rack and the game had swung back in Fishers’ favour.
Matt took a catch on the square leg boundary to give Chris his first wicket of the season and he earned his second soon after when Dawko took a lightening reflex catch behind the stumps. So quick was the ball moving that it was like the wheels of wagons in cowboy films. You know, when they spin so fast they actually appear as if they are turning backwards.
Dave would have got a wicket, but Matt had used up his catching quota for the game, so it was left to Bungle to take the final wicket by bowling the no.9 for 0.
In miserable conditions there was athletic fielding from Paul, arthritic fielding from Coxy, ballistic batting from Reevo, a majestic stroke from Magnet(ic), psychopathic running from Matt and a pathetic collapse all round. Still, we won and the sausages were particularly good.
Man of the Match: Si for being first man back to the shelter of the pavilion on 25 not out, a maiden and a c&b.
Quotes Of The Day:
Bungle: “We’ve done well even without the fat b**tard”
Chris (aside): “Yeh, well we’ve got plenty of others”
