SJFCC vs Lower Red Lion
2004-07-01. Win By Dave Boxer
Here is some light relief for those dragging Friday afternoons:
Result: Lower Red Lion 89 for 9 from 20 overs, The Mighty Fishers 90 for 6 from 18.2 overs.
After losing the toss (I say toss, what I mean is that I forgot to take a coin out into the middle and ended up letting their skipper choose which hand the cricket ball was in), we were put into the field.
Opening up with Jon Walmsleyeyeyeyeyey and Gursh, we made a solid start, with Walmsleyeyeyeyey taking 2 quick wickets, one from a well-held catch by Pat at mid-wicket and one from a catch behind by Mao, getting rid of a batsman with possibly the worst technique I’ve ever seen – he was that bad, he made the Wangoo look like Tendulkar. Their no. 3 then came in and batted well, making a well-deserved 26 not out. Gursh then bowled their no.4 but still felt the need to appeal (?!), followed by wickets from Ant (bowled with the ‘straight one’), and Pat, who got their best player out for a goldie courtesy of a good reaction catch by the Wide One behind. Jacobs, who turned up late after escaping the dreaded thumb, then showed the virtues of actually making the ball pitch, as opposed to the pile of full-toss toss he chucked down on Sunday (and for the majority of this season!), bowling two very tidy overs, taking a wicket in the process, again thanks to pie-boy behind the sticks.
Simon and I rounded off the bowling, myself bowling quite well for no return and Simon taking 2 wickets (one caught and one bowled with the last ball of the innings), whilst Pat performed a very nice piece of fielding to run-out their no. 9. All-in-all, a very good bowling and especially fielding performance, which I think has been improving steadily as the season has gone on.
Needing 90 to win, I sent out Walmsleyeyeyeyeyeyeyeyeyey and Mao to open the batting. All was going swimmingly until the former tickled one to the keeper, who, to his credit, took a blinding diving catch. Simon then strode out confidently and started off very nicely, making a quick 7, but then a mix-up between him and Andy resulted in Si’s run-out. James Rossen (St. Albans colt player) again showed us all how to bat properly by making a very steady 14, mostly through quick singles into the gaps – a lesson to be learnt methinks. All this time, Mao was giving maximum twattage to their bowlers, hitting four 4’s on the bounce and almost losing the ball twice.
Timing his innings to perfection, he ended the over on 24 not out, thus giving himself the chance for another full over of tonkage. This proved to be the case, as he proceeded to hit 15 off this over, including 3 massive fours, retiring finally unbeaten for 39. Dan then got bowled for a duck (loser) and Ant looked to be forging a good partnership with young James until he ran him out (knob). Martin then showed a bit of rustiness with the wood (oh er missus), understandable since this was his first bat of the season, getting out for 2, followed by another duck from Gursh who got a top-edge with a Wangoo. With nerves beginning to jangle a little, Bob put the matter beyond doubt with a calm 3 not out to win the game with an over and a half to spare.
Awards:
Worst cross-bat technique in history: their opener.
Proper cricket shot of the day: any of James’ shots.
Lethal pie of the day: Pat’s bowling, which had several of their batsmen in all sorts of trouble.
Best four overs of fielding by an injured old fat bloke: Phil.
Cake of the day: the jam sponge.
Best method of making a mockery of a cricket match: Setting up two bloody massive marquees on the pitch during the game.
And finally, man of the match: good performances from Jon, Pat, Ant and Dan with the ball and from James with the bat, but the award has to go to Mao, for 3 well-taken catches behind the stumps and for a superb knock with the bat – well done Wideload.
That’s all folks.
Cheers,
Dave.
