“As Dave Shorten Will Tell You….”
Match: 08
/ 153
Won
by 3 wkts
|
Team |
Total |
|
Wootton &
Bladon CC |
143 - 9 |
|
A. Mann 2 - 17, N. Hebbes
2 - 19 |
|
|
|
|
|
FFTMCC |
144 - 7 |
|
D. Edwards 66*, J. Hoskins
41* |
|
|
A backwards trip in time
reveals MAD dreams do come true…. sometimes…. As Dave Shorten will
tell you – it’s always fairly tricky writing a match report any more than a
couple of weeks after the event. One has to think… back... hmmm… think…
back…. I couldn’t wipe the
smile off my face for days. Quite literally. Being mentally affected by
playing a sport is a truly magical feeling. Sure we get happy when we win,
and pissed off when we drop that catch or hear the sound of the ball striking
the stumps once again when not troubling the scorer but nothing could really
match the sheer joy of that afternoon. As I drove home from the game my mind
cast back to the weekend before… and I wondered what our Captain and new Wife
would be doing that very moment on their honeymoon….
Player #77 and Player #88 head off in Ian’s
converted Skoda. Adie’s face lit up again
and again as bowl after bowl of roast potatoes and chips and bread and butter
and all sorts (not liquorice) came flooding to the table. We should invent a
new trophy called ‘Men of the Match’ because yet again the voting was split.
This time between myself (J. Hoskins 41 n.o.) and
D. Edwards (66 n.o.) who had carried his bat
through. Debutant I. Leggate was awarded Champagne Moment for the footballing
trickery run-out (suitably fined) and buffet went to buffet man himself. We won of course, by
three wickets they tell me although for some reason I can never get my head
round the scoring mechanism of cricket. We won though with four balls to
spare. 144 runs scored and a cracking start to the season. Undefeated after
three games. Joyously I slapped S. Pooley for four to win – hitting the
winning runs for the first time ever after he tried his clever little mind
games and mental tricks to try and get me to slog him for six and miss. Of
course, I was actually trying to slog him for six but fortunately didn’t
miss. The last two overs and
the crowd were getting restless with 21 runs required but Dan had that glint
in his eyes which seemed to strike out like a bolt of lightning to mine and
for a moment I was mesmerised by his spell. Exclaiming we needed to hit the
buffet bowler before Pooley’s final over. And hit the buffet we did, scoring
19 runs off the over to dramatically change the perspective of the game. With six overs to go it
was looking possible but the steely determination of Pooley and the rock
solid no gamble attitude of Dan ‘Boycott’ Edwards meant attack and defence
cancelled each other out with the run rate dropping but no wickets falling. “Just block the straight
ones and hit the bad balls.” Why do people say that? Sod blocking the
straight ones – that’s when you hear the clatter of stumps and bails. Nope,
this year I’m gonna hit the bloody thing….. 26-6 “Oh shucks”,
thought the onlookers as they saw a familiar MAD collapse forming, especially
as I was intent muttering wild fantasies of sixes and multiple boundaries… they
tried to put a collapse out of their minds by wondering what the scene was
like at the wedding of their austere Captain to his glamorous Bride…
Player #88 was sorely missing the cricket…. Another to go with a
flurry was the other debutant Leggate (Hugh) whom it seems may only be
joining us for one match before going off on a trip round Europe looking for
a suitable hairdresser, but his debut was welcomed with aplomb being slightly
less hungover than his brother and notching up a cameo 17. The MAD on the sidelines bore witness to Titanick (0) rushing from the
Umpires position muttering how his shipmates were letting him down and how he
needed to steady the helm. Too bad he couldn’t get his pads on quick enough
before another Leggate fell, with what was to be the fourth run out of the
game. Morlers (0) showed some
batting prowess may have come to him over the winter months by creaming one
to covers for an easy single. Unless it isn’t an easy single in Dan’s eyes
and you are sent back, turning wistfully before slipping in the mud and
getting run out first ball – the third of the game. It was never going to be
easy chasing an averagely low score – it never is, but the opening
partnership of G. Carter (8) and D. Edwards (66 n.o.)
were the perfect duo to get a solid start or so we thought. Tea was fantastic. No
wonder they earnt that nickname from us. Burgers at tea? Now Kev’ could learn
a thing or two there…. 143 didn’t look enough
on this pitch, although N. Cisten (23 n.o.) did his level best to slap a few in the last four
overs, we were really only giving them a few runs to make it mildly
interesting. Weren’t we? Pooley Senior (1) himself did start
to look dangerous with his lolling strides out of the crease although he
never really found the edge of the bat, and when looking for a fast single
found The MAD fielding too exact for his frame to get up the speed required
for a 22 yard dash. Young Pooley (36) was a different kettle of fish
entirely, steadying the Wootton boys innings in
admirable fashion before falling for a Hoskins (7-1-19-1) pie that was too
tempting. They never really got
off to a good start, struggling with the sharp opening bowling partnership of
A. Mann (7-2-17-2) and N. Hebbes (4-0-19-2) and the ever increasingly sharp
fielding of Pre-match drinks were a
resounding success – near filling the pool room of a Woodstock pub to laugh
gleefully at the large sums of money lost by myself whilst keeping our
admiral Captain and his wife company during their wedding ceremony….
Most people would regard this as the perfect
shooting gallery…. Oh one can dream as I
mentioned to Ant during a chess game two days prior to the match…. “No
worries, I can feel it coming - one of us, at least 30 – you see :)” Dreams
do come true... sometimes…. ‘Hoskers’
|
*
Statto Scorecards
|
Far from the MCC versus Wootton & Bladon CC Played at Woodstock, 18 May 2008 Far from
the MCC won the toss and elected to field Far from the MCC won by 3 wkts Far from the MCC debuts: Ian
Leggate (099) and Huw Leggate (100) |
08 / 153 35 over match |
|
Team |
Wootton
& Bladon CC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
# |
Batsman |
How Out |
Total |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
FOW |
|
1 |
H. Manuel |
lbw b Mann |
4 |
|
|
|
1-4 |
|
2 |
N. Hambridge + |
c Smith b Hebbes |
10 |
|
|
|
2-31 |
|
3 |
A. Hambridge |
b Mann |
10 |
|
|
|
3-31 |
|
4 |
A. Argenio |
c Small b Hebbes |
1 |
|
|
|
5-36 |
|
5 |
N. Hay |
c Smith b Small |
0 |
|
|
|
4-33 |
|
6 |
T. Poole |
b Hoskins |
36 |
|
|
|
9-109 |
|
7 |
T. Clapham |
run out (Hoskins/I Leggate) |
23 |
|
|
|
6-101 |
|
8 |
S. Poole * |
run out (Hoskins/Edwards) |
1 |
|
|
|
7-107 |
|
9 |
D. De Bono |
b H. Leggate |
0 |
|
|
|
8-107 |
|
10 |
N. Clifton |
not out |
23 |
|
|
|
- |
|
11 |
S. Edwards |
not out |
9 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
Extras |
(W13, LB1, B7) |
21 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
(for 9 wickets, 35 overs) |
143 |
|
|
|
|
|
# |
Bowler |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wkts |
|
|
1 |
Mann |
7 |
2 |
17 |
2 |
|
|
2 |
Hebbes |
4 |
0 |
19 |
2 |
|
|
3 |
Small |
6 |
0 |
42 |
1 |
|
|
4 |
Hoskins |
7 |
1 |
19 |
1 |
|
|
5 |
H. Leggate |
7 |
2 |
17 |
1 |
|
|
6 |
Edwards |
4 |
1 |
18 |
0 |
|
|
Team |
Far from
the MCC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
# |
Batsman |
How Out |
Total |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
FOW |
|
1 |
G. Carter |
c N. Hambridge b Manuel |
8 |
(9) |
2 |
- |
1-12 |
|
2 |
D. M. Edwards |
not out |
66 |
(102) |
8 |
1 |
- |
|
3 |
T. P. W. Smith |
c Edwards b Manuel |
1 |
(10) |
- |
- |
2-14 |
|
4 |
M. Bullock + |
c N. Hambridge b Manuel |
1 |
(21) |
- |
- |
3-27 |
|
5 |
A. Morley |
run out |
0 |
(1) |
- |
- |
4-27 |
|
6 |
I. C. Leggate |
run out |
0 |
(0) |
- |
- |
5-27 |
|
7 |
N. J. Hebbes * |
c S. Poole b Manuel |
0 |
(3) |
- |
- |
6-28 |
|
8 |
H. Leggate |
lbw b Clapham |
17 |
(22) |
3 |
- |
7-69 |
|
9 |
J. D. Hoskins |
not out |
41 |
(39) |
7 |
- |
- |
|
10 |
A. G. Mann |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
11 |
A. Small |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Extras |
(NB1, W10, B1) |
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
(for 7 wickets, 34.2 overs) |
146 |
|
|
|
|
|
# |
Bowler |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wkts |
|
|
1 |
Edwards |
7 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
|
|
2 |
Manuel |
7 |
0 |
21 |
4 |
|
|
3 |
Hay |
5 |
0 |
36 |
0 |
|
|
4 |
Clapham |
7 |
0 |
34 |
1 |
|
|
5 |
S. Poole |
5.2 |
0 |
19 |
0 |
|
|
6 |
A. Hambridge |
3 |
0 |
29 |
0 |
|
|
MOTM: D. M. Edwards and J. D.
Hoskins Champagne Moment: I. C. Leggate’s
footballing run out Buffet
Award: A. Small’s overbearing
strawberry gateaux (with whipped cream) |
Opposition:
V027 / 10 Ground: G031 / 02 Captain: C010 / 04 |