Match: 13
/ 307
Lost
by 2 wkts
Team |
Total |
FFTMCC |
160 |
I. Howarth 35, J. Hoskins
18 |
|
|
|
Belvedere CC |
164 - 8 |
D. Emerson 4 - 44 |
Belvedere CC v Far from
the MCC 11 Aug 2013 13.12pm M. Reeves and the sole
opposition player to have arrived so far are standing in the outfield with
some crows, discussing the price of potatoes. M. Westmoreland is sleeping on
a park bench. C. Roberts is pondering his autograph. G. Duck has been called
to the diary room. @Little_Child via
Twitter: “Wish I could be there with you today boys but I hit my hand with a
sledgehammer.” 13.34pm I. Howarth is
reminiscing the Timberscombe Telegraph Pole incident from 2005 with B.
Robinson, M. Bullock, M. Westmoreland, J. Hoskins and M. Rundle. T. Smith is
in the diary room. J. Hotson (right) – our roving reporter. 13.36pm I. Howarth and B.
Roberts stride purposefully to the middle. 13.37pm Howarth returns from the
middle, calling out: “Has anyone got a coin.” 13.38pm Howarth wins the toss,
and ponders his options. 13.45pm After much deliberation,
a decision is reached: Far from the MCC will bat first. 14.04pm The players take to the
field. P. Davis will open from the Top end. Hold on to your hats folks, this
is going to be a blistering encounter.
Also, there may be a hat thief about. 1st over M. Westmoreland is
struck on the pad twice. Appeals are
heard from fine leg, point, and most vocally P. Mellor in the slips, but
no-one else is interested. Westmoreland gets off the mark with a Dobner-esque paddle to long leg.
2-0. 2nd over Dave Lee Crocket to
begin from the Council Estate End. P. Mellor looks sprightly in the slips
fielding the ball off S. Dobner’s pad. Dobner swings and misses at a wide
one, then is off the mark caressing a rank full-toss to mid-on. 3-0. 3rd over Dobner cuts the ball for
what on any other pitch would be a boundary, or with any other fielder would
be an all-run four. WICKET! Westmoreland spoons the ball to point. I. Howarth is struck in
the box first ball, and goes down like the sack of potatoes he’s been gorging
himself on all weekend. Next ball is hit back over the bowlers head for four.
Howarth seems to be in some discomfort here, he may need a runner… 10-1. 4th over Dobner square-drives
towards the distant legside boundary for three. 13-0. T. Smith via SMS:
“Howarth is looking to run, Dobner isn’t.” 5th over Dobner chests one down
to fine leg for a leg-bye. Howarth drives the ball aerially to mid-off, but
it falls agonizingly short of the fielder.
14-1. J. Hotson via Facebook:
“It’s quite bouncy this pitch, a bit like the ground at Milton.” R. Turner via Email:
“It’s coming up a lot.” Judas P. Mellor examining the “bouncy” pitch. 6th over Dobner has a huge heave
to a good length ball outside off: swing and a miss. 15-1. T. Smith via SMS:
“They’ve got two very deep fine legs.” @getholdofjames via
Twitter: “I can only see one.” T. Smith via SMS: “One
for this bowler and one for the bowler at the other end.” 7th over Howarth has a massive
swing but just gets a thickish inside edge and the ball trickles to square
leg for no run. He then swings and misses at a ball so wide it is stopped by
Mellor’s foot at wide 1st slip. Finally he connects, stoking the ball over
mid-off for four. 21-1. @getholdofjames via
Twitter: “Every time the ball goes in the air, we’re all holding our breath.” 8th over Howarth is finding is
timing now, with a nice off-drive along the ground, but straight to mid-off
for just a single. 9th over Nil to replace Davis at
the Top end. @getholdofjames via
Twitter: “This is Darty Pie.” A length ball pops up,
seems to hit Dobner on the shoulder then the keeper on the helmet. Encouraged by the
bounce, Nils tries a genuine bouncer, but it gets up no higher than testicle
high. 10th over Statham on for Crocket
at the Council Estate End. DROPPED CATCH! Howarth skies the ball to mid-on. The
fielder gets in perfect position, then spills it. Howarth sweeps the ball
to cow corner, and is visibly annoyed that Dobner wasn’t interested in a 2nd
run. @sdobner_carpark via
Twitter: “I was looking for a second run, it’s just that I hadn’t put my bat
down on the floor – there are two lines out there, the nearest one is the
wrong crease!” D. Emerson via Facebook:
“That caught me out too.” @sdobner_carpark via
Twitter: “Mellor had already warned be about the two creases, but I still
fell for it.” WICKET! Statham loops the ball over Dobner’s head,
but it clips the top of off. 32-2. J. Hotson via Facebook:
“It should have been called no-ball, as it was over shoulder height when it
passed the batsman.” M. Westmoreland via
Facebook: “It can’t be a no-ball on height if it hits the stumps, can it?” 11th over R. Turner off the mark
with a late square cut for two. 37-2. @sdobner_carpark via
Twitter: “He’s quicker than the opening bowler.” 12th over Howarth hits the
youngster Statham back over his head for six. Two balls later he pulls a
short one to the long square leg boundary for another four. M. Westmoreland via
Facebook: “Howarth’s a cruel bastard isn’t he?!” But the young left arm
spinner is not unnerved, completing the over with two good balls given the
respect they deserved by Howarth. 47-2. 13th over Turner blocks out a
maiden. 47-2. M. Reeves via Email:
“Howarth is a very lucky guy, to be honest.” 14th over Howarth cuts through the
covers to bring up The MAD’s 50. 53-2. 15th over Turner cuts the ball
through the covers for three. @getholdofjames via
Twitter: “It would have been four if he hadn’t eaten all that pizza.” @getholdofjames via
Twitter: “Howarth is playing very conservatively.” J. Hotson via Facebook:
“He has hit a six.” M. Bullock via Facebook:
“He’s just waiting for the bad balls.” @getholdofjames via
Twitter: “Yeah, it’s good batting, but when have you ever seen him play like
this?!” 56-2. 16th over Turner steps forward to
turn a yorker into a full-toss, sweeping to square leg, but there’s a fielder
there now and it’s just a single.
Howarth on-drives along the ground for a single. @getholdofjames via
Twitter: “They’ve got two long-offs for Howarth. They’ve done their
homework!” 59-2. 17th over Turner pulls to deep
backward square leg for four, and picks up another single to keep the
strike. 64-2. 18th over Turner keeps sweeping,
and keeps picking out the fielder at short square leg. Howarth plays an
aggressive looking cut shot but fails to connect. 66-2 19th over WICKET! R. Turner lbw b
Nil 12. Turner hit on the foot. As he writhes in agony on the ground, umpire
Roberts raises his finger. Hoskins spoons the ball
to short fine leg, but the chance is put down. J. Hoskins (18) finds some Tour form with the
bat. 20th over McCray on from the
Council Estate End. Hoskins struck on the groin, a big shout for LBW, but
umpire Westmoreland is unmoved.
Howarth pulls the ball to cow corner for a boundary. 72-3. 15.07pm. Drinks. 21st over Hoskins pulls the ball
back to the bowler, but it drops short. The next two balls strike him on the
pad, and each time there’s a half-hearted appeal for LBW. The next two balls
he hits straight to fielders, calls for a run, but is sent back by Howarth. Finally,
he’s struck on the pad again, and Howarth calls him through for the leg-bye
he wasn’t looking for. 73-3. 22nd over Hoskins pulls the ball to long on for two. Now he’s practising his forehand to
slow bouncy pie, but hitting it straight to fielders. 79-3 23rd over A darting full toss
beats batsman and keeper for four byes. WICKET! I. Howarth b Nil
35. Howarth swings and misses at a straight one. T. Smith via Email: “He
must have been thinking: ‘He’s only got 5 balls left, I’m gonna put a dent in
his figures.’” D. Emerson not adjusted
to the speed of the pitch spoons one ball just short of cover, then another
back to the bowler. A sharp diving one-handed chance is put down. 79-4. 24th over Gullick
on at the Council Estate End. A looping donkey-drop hits Hoskins in the
chest, there’s an appeal for LBW, and some questioning of whether it should
be a no-ball. More looping pie yields
a couple of boundaries for each batsman.
88-4 25th over Jones on from the Trop
End. Emerson scoops the ball to midwicket, and it’s another dropped catch – a
difficult chance running in and diving forward to try and take the ball at
ground level. D. Emerson in rare backward defensive action
photo sensation. 26th over More slow high full
tosses for Hoskins to practise his tennis shots to, collecting a couple of
boundaries. Emerson also collects a forehand four. Giant Duck via Facebook:
“Why isn’t he using the Mongoose?” J. Hotson via Facebook:
“Why isn’t he using a tennis racket?” 27th over WICKET! J. Hoskins b Jones. A dart gets the better
of Hoskins and he’s castled. M. Bullock sees off his
first few balls which include 5 byes and a wide. Emerson is dropped at
gully. Giant Duck via Facebook:
“Emerson is backing away to leg because he’s not wearing a thigh pad!” 28th over It’s P. Mellor, former
Far from the MCC player on at the Council Estate End. This could be
interesting. Emerson scoops the first ball just short of mid-on, then hits
the next over mid-on for four. 123-5 Giant Duck via Facebook:
“Emerson is treating Mellor with disdain.” 29th over Jones digs a quick one
in short, but Bullock is up to the challenge, pulling it to the deep backward
square leg boundary WICKET! M. Bullock c Nil
b Jones 6. WICKET! D. Emerson b
Jones 16. An even slower ball confuses Emerson, who hasn’t really decided
what shot to play before the ball has clipped the top of his middle stump. M. Reeves survives the
hat-trick ball. 128-7. M. Rundle (left) and T. Smith discuss what a ¬@#$
Judas P. Mellor is…. 30th over T. Smith off the mark
dispatching a full toss to long on for four. Then two more boundaries from
pull shots, one to square leg and one straight. 141-7. M. Westmoreland via
Facebook: “Smithy never hits it on the off-side, I don’t know why they bother
having any fielders there!” Giant Duck via Facebook:
“Do you think they’ll give Mr Mellor a third over – he’s never bowled more
than two overs in any match before…?” 31st over An uneventful over other
than the last ball which as slower balls go was off the scale. Smith ends up
playing the ball vertically in the air, but with the keeper standing back,
no-one can get to it. 143-7. 32nd over Statham back on from the
Council Estate End. He’s immediately
cover-driven for four by Reeves. WICKET! M. Reeves b
Statham 4. Perfect length from the left-arm orthodox spinner. The left-handed
Reeves tries to cut, but with the ball cutting back in, is cramped for space,
and the top of his off-stump is clipped. D. Emerson via Email:
“That was a proper delivery that was.”
149-8. 33rd over B. Robinson on from the
Trop End. Starts with a dot, then Smith cuts through the covers for two. 153-8. 34th over A good over from the Statham,
he’s finally finding his line and length, but several opportunities for quick
singles are missed by this batting pair.
154-8 35th over WICKET! T. Smith b
Robinson 17. Robinson ends an eight-year period of not taking a wicket
against The MAD, knocking over Smith’s off-stump. C. Roberts plays himself
in and pokes a single. 155-9. Thank you, Thorn – this lovely photo will be
joining our EBI section shortwith…. 36th over J. Hotson via Facebook:
“Robert’s has his eye on The MAD’s no. 11 high score record. He’s defending
the good balls, and turning down singles to stay on strike.” Roberts drives to mid-on
on the last ball of the over for a single.
156-9. 37th over Roberts dispatches a
rank full toss to deep backward square leg for four. M. Reeves via Email:
“That shot means that Far from the MCC will have had no ducks on their tour.” Giant Duck via Facebook:
“Mellor is still to bat for Belvedere, and he’s still technically still a Far
from the MCC player, as the contract hasn’t been finalized yet.” M. Bullock via Facebook:
“He’s new contract at Belvedere is £1 per run isn’t it?” Giant Duck via Facebook:
“He won’t be earning much then!” WICKET! C. Roberts b
Robinson 6. The MAD are 160 all out. C. Roberts batting [before he was out – obviously….] Tea. P. Mellor > D.
Emerson via Facebook: “I won’t need a helmet, with you opening the bowling.” 1st over P. Hooper off the mark
with an on-drive for one. Now it’s Mellor to face Emerson. He cuts the first
ball, top-edges, but the ball flies over the slips and wide of Gulley for
four. The next cut shot finds the middle for four trough point. 9-0. 2nd over C. Roberts seems to be
struggling to find his length, though between two pull shots for four by
Hooper to the legside boundary, he bowls what appears to be a genuine
bouncer, well-evaded by Hooper leaning back with bent knees. 18-0. 3rd over Mellor edges Emerson
along the ground through the slips for four, then clubs him back over his
head for another boundary, before finally Chinese-cutting the ball through an
imaginary fourth stump for a single.
29-0. 4th over Mellor blocks two,
swings and misses at two outside off, spoons into a gap at cover where
there’s no fielder for a single, allowing Hooper to club the final ball to somewhere
between long-on and cow for four. 34-0. 5th over Leg glance by Mellor for
a single. WICKET! Hooper b Emerson
14. Hooper looks to play off his pads, but fails to make contact with bat or
pad. 35-1. Emerson (bowling) finally gets his man (Hooper
bowled). 6th over Mellor cuts aerially but
just wide of Smith at cover for a single. Roberts is struggling for line now,
as the next ball goes down leg for five wides. A straight one on Gullick’s pads sees the LBW appeal turned down, and a
response of an agricultural tonk to cow corner for a boundary. 7th over Emerson switches to over
the wicket, and immediately beats the bat. Next ball Mellor back-foot drives
through extra cover for four. You can
feel the psychological atmosphere between these two former team-mates. But
who will win? WICKET! P. Mellor c Hoskins b Emerson 27. Caught at
gully. Well, that’s that question answered then. 8th over S. Gullick
skies the ball to Gulley, but of the two fielders who could take the catch,
one can’t get to it, and the other lost it against the contrasting blue
background. Yes, there’s clear blue
skies here in Weston. WICKET! J. Neville c Turner b Roberts 0. Neville
plays the ball more orthodoxly to Gulley, straight down Turner’s throat. 52-3. 9th over WICKET! Gullick st Donner
b Emerson 5. Gullick comes down the for a huge
heave and misses. Dobner takes aim from a standing @bystander_wag via
Twitter: “Just when his dad turns up to watch him, he gets out!” WICKET! J. Jones c Dobner b Emerson 0. Jones
playing off the backfoot gets a faint edge and Dobner pouches. J. Jones via Email: “It
swung out a mile!” B. Robinson takes
advantage of the hat-trick-ball field setting to push the ball to mid-off for
a single to get off the mark. 53-5. A rare and beautiful thing: a MAD bowler
[Emerson] bowling to a packed slip cordon. 10th over M. Reeves on from the
Council Estate End. Robinson has a look first ball, then drives the second
off a length aerially to cow for four.
He’s looking to attack. The fourth ball goes skyward towards
Westmoreland at mid-off. He gets in position. He’s close to 100 career
catches for The MAD. But he puts it down. Robinson is calling for
a runner… While waiting for the
runner, McCray on-drives the final ball along the ground for four. 64-5. 11th over After several dot balls,
Robinson square-drives a length ball to the midwicket boundary for four, leg
glances for a single cut off by Reeves running round from fine leg, then skies
the ball to extra cover. Howarth, running across from mid-off, gets in perfect
position, then throws the ball on the grass. Robinson’s runner, who
we learn will be Gullick, is still getting
ready. 70-5. 12th over A runner has finally
arrived. And a bowling change. It’s M. Rundle from the Council Estate End.
McCray cuts the second ball through the covers for four. 74-5. 13th over A leg drive for a single
by Robinson and a yorker squeezed out by McCray to fine-leg are the only runs
from this over so far. Emerson is
bowling well. Spoke too soon. Robinson
on-drives a half-volley for four. 14th over McCrea tonks Rundle’s first ball over the long on boundary for
six. There’s no danger of Belvedere running out of overs. 86-5 @burpy_farty via
Twitter: “Might run out of batsmen though…” 15th over Another good over from
Emerson (8-0-44-4) to begin with, but the fourth ball is a half-volley,
dispatched by Robinson over Hoskins’ head at mid-off for four. And the final
ball is a rank long-hop, hit to the square leg boundary with disdain. A great
spell of bowling nonetheless. 94-5. BOING!!!! 16th over A metronomical start to
the over from Rundle, just one run off the first four balls. But then a wide
which rose sharply. WICKET! B. Robinson c Smith b Rundle 20. A slower
ball from Rundle, skied by Roberts to Smith at cover. 100-6. 17th over M. Reeves now from the
Trop End. His second ball is a half-volley outside off, square driven by McCray
to the long cover boundary. Then
Reeves is too short, pulled to square leg.
109-6. 18th over McCray steps forward and
drives Rundle (4-0-25-1) over the top, the ball landing just short of the
boundary, then leg-drives for another four.
K. Crockett picks up a single.
118-6. 19th over McCray square-drives a
rank full toss from Reeves to add to his tally of boundaries. 124-6. 20th over J. Hoskins on from the
Council Estate End. Starts with something quite wide down legside but gets
away with it. Crockett is looking to switch-hit. But just a couple of square-drives for
singles off this over. 128-6. 21st over Crockett cuts nicely to
extra cover, but it’s only a single. The MAD have quite a defensive field
now, which is rather surprising since they need wickets to win this game. The
required run rate is below two an over. 22nd over Five wides (from one
ball) and a single. Nothing else to speak of.
142-6. “Yabba… yabba… yabba… yabba… whatever.” Drinks. 23rd over McCray skies a straight
length ball. Where’s it going. It’s Roberts coming in from square-leg. Held.
WICKET! McCray c Roberts b Reeves 47. Wicket-Maiden. 142-7. 24th over A tight over from
Hoskins, just a couple of singles and an appeal from skipper Howarth at long
on for an LBW. 145-7. 25th over A lovely late cut from
Crocket yields a boundary from an otherwise tight over by Reeves. 150-7. 26th over One bounce and over the
chicken-wire by Crockett from Hoskins. @wsmcc_barman via
Twitter: “Crockett wants the strike” Last throw of the dice [particularly if Howarth
was throwing the ball to Reeves]…. 27th over Crockett edges the ball
through slips, and a lazy single is taken. J. Hotson via Facebook:
“He doesn’t want the strike that badly, they could have had two there.” Davis tonks the ball over Reeves’ (7.1-1-45-1) head for four. The
scores are level now, but Reeves is bowling with renewed aggression. He beats
the outside edge three times. 160-7. 28th over Two more dot balls from
Hoskins. @belvedere_player via
Twitter: “They’re trying to bat out the overs now!” J. Hotson via Facebook:
“Or three wickets for a tie….” WICKET! Dave Lee
Crockett b Hoskins 22. Going for the winning run in style, it’s a swing and a
miss to a straight one. The MAD have brought the
field in now. They’re hungry for those last two wickets. Left-handed youngster Statham
sees out the rest of the over. Scores still level. 29th over RESULT!
Davis hits the ball over the 9 players in the circle to the long on boundary.
The hosts, Belvedere CC, have won the match by 2 wickets. ‘Judge
Dredd’
|
*
Far from the MCC versus Belvedere CC Played at Weston-super-Mare CC, 11
August 2013 FFTMCC won the toss and elected to
bat Belvedere CC won by 2 wkts Far from the MCC debuts:
none |
13 / 307 40 over match |
Team |
Far from
the MCC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
# |
Batsman |
How Out |
Total |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
FOW |
1 |
M. T. Westmoreland |
c McCray b Davis |
2 |
(8) |
- |
- |
1-6 |
2 |
S. L. P. Dobner + |
b Statham |
15 |
(28) |
1 |
- |
2-32 |
3 |
I. Howarth * |
b Chattersea |
35 |
(50) |
5 |
1 |
4-79 |
4 |
R. P. Turner |
lbw b Chattersea |
12 |
(28) |
1 |
- |
3-66 |
5 |
J. D. Hoskins |
b Jones |
18 |
(33) |
2 |
- |
5-107 |
6 |
D. Emerson |
b Jones |
16 |
(17) |
3 |
- |
7-128 |
7 |
M. Bullock |
c Chattersea
b Jones |
6 |
(6) |
1 |
- |
6-128 |
8 |
T. P. W. Smith |
b Robinson |
17 |
(24) |
3 |
- |
9-154 |
9 |
M. K. Reeves |
b Statham |
4 |
(4) |
1 |
- |
8-147 |
10 |
M. S. Rundle |
not out |
2 |
(10) |
- |
- |
- |
11 |
C. D. Roberts |
b Robinson |
6 |
(13) |
1 |
- |
10-160 |
|
Extras |
(NB4, W12, LB1, B10) |
27 |
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
(all out, 36.4 overs) |
160 |
|
|
|
|
# |
Bowler |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wkts |
|
1 |
Davis |
4 |
1 |
15 |
1 |
|
2 |
Crockett |
4 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
|
3 |
Chattersea |
8 |
2 |
21 |
2 |
|
4 |
Statham |
8 |
0 |
32 |
2 |
|
5 |
McCray |
2 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
|
6 |
Gullick |
2 |
0 |
24 |
0 |
|
7 |
Jones |
4 |
0 |
13 |
3 |
|
8 |
Mellor |
2 |
0 |
22 |
0 |
|
9 |
Robinson |
2.4 |
0 |
9 |
2 |
|
Team |
Belvedere CC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
# |
Batsman |
How Out |
Total |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
FOW |
1 |
P. Hooper |
b Emerson |
14 |
|
3 |
- |
1-35 |
2 |
P. A. S. Mellor |
c Hoskins b Emerson |
27 |
|
5 |
- |
2-51 |
3 |
S. Gullick |
st Dobner b Emerson |
5 |
|
1 |
- |
4-52 |
4 |
J. Neville |
c Turner b Roberts |
0 |
|
- |
|
3-52 |
5 |
S. McCray |
c Roberts b Reeves |
47 |
|
8 |
1 |
7-142 |
6 |
J. Jones |
c Dobner b Emerson |
0 |
|
- |
- |
5-52 |
7 |
B. Robinson * |
c Smith b Rundle |
20 |
|
4 |
- |
6-96 |
8 |
K. Crockett |
b Hoskins |
22 |
|
2 |
- |
8-160 |
9 |
P. Davis |
not out |
9 |
|
2 |
- |
- |
10 |
J. Statham |
not out |
0 |
|
- |
- |
- |
11 |
N. Chattersea |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Extras |
(W14, LB5, B1) |
20 |
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
(for 8 wickets, 28.1 overs) |
164 |
|
|
|
|
# |
Bowler |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wkts |
|
1 |
Emerson |
8 |
0 |
44 |
4 |
|
2 |
Roberts |
4 |
0 |
29 |
1 |
|
3 |
Reeves |
7.1 |
1 |
45 |
1 |
|
4 |
Rundle |
4 |
0 |
25 |
1 |
|
5 |
Hoskins |
5 |
1 |
20 |
1 |
|
MOTM: D. Emerson Champagne Moment: D. Emerson’s wicket [Jones
golden] bowling round the wicket Buffet
Award: C. D. Roberts’ tangy marmalade
sandwiches |
Opposition:
V077 / 01 Ground: G066 / 01 Captain: C007 / 47 |