“Apocalyptic Downpour
Foils Dominant Jude”
Match: 99
/ 016
Match
Abandoned
|
Team |
Total |
|
Jude the Obscure |
71 |
|
L. Davie 34 |
|
|
|
|
|
Team With No Name |
8 - 4 |
|
Jones 3 - 3 |
|
|
The dreams and visions that well up from that
hidden place, that still and silent inner forest of power and portent - are
they real? Do they signify ought but the feeble murmurings of minds lost,
minds too much in love with their own fantastical products? Yes? No? Maybe?
Read, then, the quatrains of the French seer Nostradumbarse,
and yourself be the judge: Four
weeks before the Darkening of the Sun, Two
Armies will meet upon a Horse’s Track, A
Coin shall be tossed into the air, Then
Men with No Names shall encircle two Castles. Besieged,
Eight Men, a Woman and a Boy Shall
fend off the Missiles, and run quite fast. There
will be a Collapse of the Order into Chaos. The
number 71 is important. The
Men with No Names shall defend the Two Castles But
the Obscure will be Revealed, And
a man called Howard will take 3-3 with his vicious inswingers. A
great storm will drive the Two Armies from the field. The
trouble with Nostradimwit, however, is that his
writings are riddled with ambiguities. Many important scholars have
interpreted the quatrains in question to mean that on July 4th 1999 a quite
big and nasty cataclysm will destroy the Earth. But other disciples of Nostradickhead insist that the three verses refer simply
to a cricket game between Jude The Obscure and The Team With No Name.... ....having
won the toss and elected to bat, the Jude XI suffered an early setback when
the unfortunate H. Jones (0) edged a ball through to the keeper. Fluent
scoring proved difficult against the nagging accuracy of the No-Name bowlers,
but stalwart hitter L. Davie (34) kept things moving and picked off the
occasional loose delivery to good effect, scoring 7 boundaries in his tally.
M. Bullock (2) occupied the crease, yet once Davie had departed to a catch
behind, E. Lester (2) top-edged, Bullock returned a catch to the bowler, and
the Jude innings was falling apart. Of the rest of the order, only M.
Thorburn (11) reached double figures. F. Townsend (4) was unlucky to be given
out lbw, and J. Hoskins (6) recorded his highest score. Mansell (4-2) was the
pick of the Un-Named attack.
A typically lovely Oxford pitch during summer…. Defending
a mere 71 against a team of accredited sloggers, the Jude realised that their
only chance lay in outright intimidation and aggression. Fired-up strike man
H. Jones (3-3) bowled to a focused, attacking field, and the Non-Named
crumpled badly under the pressure. The pacey Jones delivered his most
destructive spell of the summer to take a wicket in each of his first three
overs. With A. Mann bowling a niggardly line and chipping in with a fortunate
but overdue scalp of his own, the Team With No Name
found themselves adrift at an embarrassing 8-4 and struggling for elusive
respectability when the rains came. Amidst the Jude’s hope of a quick and
conclusive victory, a sudden downpour of apocalyptic proportions transformed
the pitch into a mudpile, and shortly afterwards,
the game was called off by mutual consent. A spokesperson for the Jude commented, ‘A great
effort from the lads today. Despite an inconsistent batting display, the side
seemed more cohesive this afternoon than it has for a long time. We put the
pressure on in the field, and it paid dividends. We were favourites when the
rain started, but there’ll be other games. It’s not the end of the world.’ ‘Blocker’
|
*
Statto Scorecards
|
Jude the Obscure versus Team With No
Name Played at Horspath Road, 4 July 1999 Jude the Obscure won the toss and
elected to bat Match abandoned Far from the MCC debuts: none |
99 / 016 30 over match |
|
Team |
Jude the
Obscure |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
# |
Batsman |
How Out |
Total |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
FOW |
|
1 |
H. Jones |
c Busby b Hiller |
0 |
|
|
|
1-9 |
|
2 |
L. Davie |
c Fisher b Hiller |
34 |
|
|
|
2-36 |
|
3 |
M. Bullock + |
c and b Jones |
2 |
|
|
|
4-39 |
|
4 |
E. N. Lester |
c Dean b Hiller |
2 |
|
|
|
3-38 |
|
5 |
C. Norris |
c Busby b Malyenko |
0 |
|
|
|
5-59 |
|
6 |
M. Thorburn |
b Mansell |
11 |
|
|
|
6-63 |
|
7 |
F. C. Townsend |
lbw b Mansell |
4 |
|
|
|
7-65 |
|
8 |
J. D. Hoskins |
c Rampton b Mansell |
6 |
|
|
|
9-71 |
|
9 |
J. Townsend |
c Jones b Mansell |
0 |
|
|
|
8-70 |
|
10 |
A. G. Mann * |
not out |
0 |
|
|
|
- |
|
11 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Extras |
(W12) |
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
(all out, 28 overs) |
71 |
|
|
|
|
|
# |
Bowler |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wkts |
|
|
1 |
Hiller |
8 |
2 |
18 |
3 |
|
|
2 |
Dean |
4 |
0 |
20 |
0 |
|
|
3 |
Jones |
7 |
5 |
9 |
1 |
|
|
4 |
Busby |
4 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
|
|
5 |
Malyenko |
3 |
0 |
10 |
1 |
|
|
6 |
Mansell |
2 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
|
|
Team |
Team With
No Name |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
# |
Batsman |
How Out |
Total |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
FOW |
|
1 |
N. Mansell |
not out |
4 |
|
|
|
- |
|
2 |
A. J. Fisher * |
b Jones |
0 |
|
|
|
1-0 |
|
3 |
J. Rampton |
b Jones |
0 |
|
|
|
2-0 |
|
4 |
N. Clive |
b Jones |
0 |
|
|
|
3-4 |
|
5 |
S. Busby |
c Davie b Mann |
1 |
|
|
|
4-5 |
|
6 |
G. Lal + |
not out |
3 |
|
|
|
- |
|
7 |
J. Hiller |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
8 |
C. Jones |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9 |
A. Malyenko |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10 |
J. Dean |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
11 |
G. Harding |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Extras |
|
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
(for 4 wickets, 7 overs) |
8 |
|
|
|
|
|
# |
Bowler |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wkts |
|
|
1 |
Jones |
4 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
2 |
Mann |
3 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
|
|
MOTM: n/a Champagne
Moment: n/a Buffet
Award: A. Mann’s gourmet burgers
with tomato relish |
Opposition:
V004 / 03 Ground: G002 / 02 Captain: C002 / 02 |