“Of Mice and Men”

Match: 15 / 370

Match Tied

Team	Total
Hythe & Dibden CC	175 - 5
S. Dobner 2 - 25
FFTMCC	175 - 9
M. Reeves 32*, G. Timms 27*

It was a warm afternoon in Hythe when two drifters wandered in to town. They were reminiscent of Lennie and George, the central characters in John Steinbeck’s masterpiece of American literature ‘Of Mice and Men’ for one was a tall man, a gentle giant, whereas the other was much smaller and also more world weary. However they differed in several key aspects in that Lennie and George were sober, whilst the heroes of our tale were several sheets to the wind. Also for Steinbeck, George was the brains of the outfit, whereas with this pair it was difficult to tell where the intelligence lay. Would tragedy befall the pair, as it had in the American mid-west during the depression era, or would there ultimately be redemption for our duo on the South Coast of England in the aftermath of the financial crash of the early two thousands?

Lennie.

The pair meandered to a local park, where the vagrants and hoboes traditionally hang out. They had planned to make camp, open a bottle of meths and settle down under the stars to swap stories about riding the railroads and close shaves with the law. However their peaceful evening was disturbed by a game of cricket in the centre of the park. The townsfolk of Hythe and Dibden were hosting FFTMCC in a 25 over affair in the evening sunshine.

Lennie, the larger, quieter of the pair, collapsed on the boundary, the bright sunshine seemingly at odds with his ginger hair, whilst George wandered to the centre of the park, perhaps trying to engage with the FFTMCC (who were fielding first after winning the toss) with the possibility of begging a few smokes or some loose change.

As Lennie continued to slumber, the FFTMCC opened with Rundle (2-0-13-0) who was dragging his body in to opening the bowling for the second day running. At the other end Hotson (2-0-19-0) bowled an assortment of pie, but nevertheless got through his overs with little fuss. On came Bullock (3-0-17-0) who proclaimed afterwards that it was some of the best spin he had ever delivered and therefore ten pints before the match was definitely of benefit. The openers of P. Long and Khajit, both retired after reaching 25, before Reeves (4-0-17-1) claimed a wicket despite the 5000 calories he had already consumed that day.

The MAD try and sport Lennie and George on the far bank under the trees….

During this period, George continued to roam around the infield in a hapless manor, even appearing to mimic the bowler by standing right next to him at one point, whilst Lennie was curled into the foetal position.

J Hoskins (4-0-27-1) was expensive, but claimed a wicket thanks to a marvellous catch by captain Pearson, sprinting and diving forward. Westmoreland (3-0-20-0) is getting back to full speed and was once again unlucky not to get his hundredth wicket. Pearson (4-0-32-0) turned to himself, but by this point H&D were getting into their stride, thanks to A. Gilbert retiring on 27 after just 22 balls. Finally Dobner (3-0-25-2) came in to snaffle a couple of wickets, including a catch from Moo.

So H&D had achieved 175 in 25 overs. Or possibly it was 176, or maybe 171, depending on where you looked in the scorebook. No matter, it was going to take quite a run chase from The MAD to reach such a target in 25 overs.

At this point George wandered over with the rest of the team, seemingly with some of his faculties returning and trying to integrate himself unnoticed with the townsfolk, whilst Lennie seemed to show signs of a revival, even getting as far as a sitting position at one point, before slumping back down to the ground.

Captain Fattori completing a memorable game as skipper.

In reply The MAD got off to a bright start, with Shorten (27) making the most of the short boundary on one side of the ground to hoist a huge six over the trees and retire shortly after, after just 22 balls. Dobner (22) hit some lusty fours, to be followed by Rundle for a four ball duck and Hotson for a golden. Bullock made 13, then in came Reeves (32 n.o) to smash three sixes.

At this point a confused George picked up a bat a wandered aimlessly to the middle. Seeing five balls coming at him at once he fortunately managed to hit the middle one and with a cry of YYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS, headed up the other end. To the amazement of everyone, he repeated this until finally falling on five. Then, happy with his day’s work and not remembering one iota of what had occurred; he set off to find his companion Lennie – and after making a makeshift camp with Thorn, Lennie and George slumbered peacefully together, even ‘spooning’ at one point, for the next hour. Such is the camaraderie of life on the road, shunned by society.

Photo purportedly taken by George after he wobbled back to the pavilion.

Back at the cricket, Hoskins (19) continued his good form, scoring off 12 of his 15 balls. Westmoreland (1) and Pearson (5) didn’t last long, before Timms arrived to save the day. His 27 not out was at that point a career high. He was assisted by Shorten and then Reeves, returning after their earlier retirements, but with eleven to win required off the last over it still looked a long shot. A no-ball for the first ball certainly helped and the pair scrambled 1’s and 2’s to leave two to tie, three to win off the final ball. Timms drove the ball to long off and the pair sprinted for two, to bring up a tie for the second time this season.

Congratulations and thanks to Hythe and Dibden. They put out a team exactly matching the pub team / touring side that The MAD are. They even had one player (B Stovell?) who claimed never to have hit a four before (and the way he batted, there were no arguments with that). Their team and supporters were welcoming and friendly throughout and we would be more than happy to return the favour if they can afford the accommodation in Oxford.

George (in the middle): inhabiting a world that’s very blurry.

As the barbeque was lit and Homer tucked in, Lennie and George, having not eaten in days finally managed to rouse themselves, find their way around the boundary and back to society.

Fourth Ashes Test update: Day two, Trent Bridge – Australia 60 & 241-7, England 391-9. England lead by 90 runs.

‘Reevsie’

*

Statto Scorecards

Far from the MCC versus Hythe & Dibden CC Played at Ewart Recreation Ground, Hythe, 7 August 2015 Far from the MCC won the toss and elected to field Match Tied Far from the MCC debuts: none

15 / 370 25 over match

Team	Hythe & Dibden CC
#	Batsman	How Out	Total	Balls	4s	6s	FOW
1	P. Long	retired	27		5	-	-
2	K. H. Sharma	retired	27		6	-	-
3	K. Sharma	c Pearson b Hoskins	20		4	-	2-96
4	I. White	b Reeves	3		-	-	1-82
5	B. Stovell	run out (Westmoreland/Hoskins)	4		1	-	3-96
6	A. Gilbert	retired	27		4	-	-
7	M. Bowman	c Westmoreland b Dobner	18		2	-	4-152
8	D. Pates	b Dobner	13		1	1	5-158
9	M. Howe	not out	11		2	-	-
10	T. Richards *	not out	4		-	-	-
11	S. Moss †
	Extras	NB3, W10, LB4, B4	21
	TOTAL	(for 5 wickets, 25 overs)	175

#	Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wkts
1	Rundle	2	0	13	0
2	Hotson	2	0	19	0
3	Bullock	3	0	17	0
4	Reeves	4	0	17	1
5	Hoskins	4	0	27	1
6	Westmoreland	3	0	20	0
7	Pearson	4	0	32	0
8	Dobner	3	0	25	2

Team	Far from the MCC
#	Batsman	How Out	Total	Balls	4s	6s	FOW
1	D. Shorten	b Howe	27	(22)	4	1	9-162
2	S. L. P. Dobner	b K. Sharma	22	(33)	4	-	3-78
3	M. S. Rundle	c K. Sharma b Bowman	0	(4)	-	-	1-36
4	J. C. W. Hotson	c Moss b Bowman	0	(1)	-	-	2-36
5	M. Bullock	b Stovell	13	(18)	2	-	4-98
6	M. K. Reeves	not out	32	(20)	1	3	-
7	I. Howarth	c Moss b K. H. Sharma	5	(9)	-	-	5-115
8	J. D. Hoskins	c and b Richards	19	(14)	2	-	7-138
9	M. T. Westmoreland	c Richards b Long	1	(5)	-	-	6-118
10	G. J. Timms †	not out	27	(22)	3	-	-
11	J. W. Pearson *	b Howe	5	(6)	-	-	8-162
	Extras	NB4, W12, LB5, B3	24
	TOTAL	(for 9 wickets, 25 overs)	175

#	Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wkts
1	Richards	4	0	26	1
2	Howe	4	0	25	2
3	Pates	2	0	19	0
4	Bowman	3	0	16	2
5	Gilbert	2	0	15	0
6	K. Sharma	2	0	5	1
7	Stovell	2	0	23	1
8	White	2	0	10	0
9	K. H. Sharma	2	0	13	1
10	Long	2	0	14	1
Note: D. Shorten retired on 27 at 36-0 (5.1) and returned at 162-8 (23.2)
Note: M. K. Reeves retired on 26 at 107-4 (15.0) and returned at 162-9 (23.3)

MOTM: G. J. Timms Champagne Moment: D. Shorten’s maximum into the trees Buffet Award: J. C. W. Hotson’s vegetarian sausage banquet (with cheese accessories)

Opposition: V082 / 01 Ground: G074 / 01 Captain: C021 / 03