“Cricket the Winner in Good Natured Encounter”

Match: 15 / 353

Won by 6 wkts

Team	Total
Bodleian	103 - 2
G. Timms 1 - 16
FFTMCC	104 - 4
L. Ainsworth 31*, R. Hadfield 30*

Why do we do it? Why do we sacrifice our Sundays and evenings, for what is often a frustrating, soul sapping constant reminder of sporting inadequacy and thwarted dreams? Well, for one reason, the alternative is not doing it and that would be unthinkable, but mainly, where would you rather be on a glorious Friday evening, than with a bunch of your friends and family at a gorgeous, picturesque cricket ground, pitched against a similar bunch of like-minded individuals intent of playing a match in the right spirit for the enjoyment of players and spectators all around.

So it was that The MAD arrived at Cumnor cricket ground for the much anticipated Friday evening T20 against The Bodleian. Cumnor is an idyllic ground with the pavilion high above the pitch offering a panoramic view of proceedings. The fact that it has a bar; open from the start of the game is another big tick in its favour.

The new T20 Skipper (centre) drills his team on pre-match warm-up routines.

Rain for some of the proceeding hours meant that it looked likely we would be playing on the artificial surface, but a quick consultation with the groundsman and we were back on a proper track, albeit of the farthest side of the square. Skipper Dave Shorten is still feeling his way with captaincy, but the first decision was taken out of his hands when the Bodleian won the toss and elected to bat first. First up M Reeves (4-1-12-0) had his parents in attendance and was hoping to emulate the Pearson effect (DNB, no wickets and a dropped catch tells that story) but his economy was much appreciated in limiting the Bod’s openers. It is often a criticism of captains that they under-utilise themselves, but skipper Dave (4-0-14-0), also with family watching, opened at the other end and was similarly tardy. Bodleian openers N Neely and D Shackleton reached 30 and therefore retired but neither scored at a rate to take the game away from The MAD.

Next up was, James Hoskins (4-0-24-1), who is certainly the most prolific wicket taker The MAD has ever seen and this could well be his 250^th for the club. We await confirmation from the club official statisticians. Jamo was accompanied at the other end by Matt Reading, playing his first game of the season. We’ve certainly missed his consistency and accuracy. It’s just a pity his luck hasn’t improved any and figures of 4-0-23-0 was a little unfair. Finally G Timms (4-0-16-1) bowled at the death with commendable economy to restrict The Bodleian to just 103 in their 20 overs.

The key to the game seemed to be protecting the very short boundary on the far side of the field. This The MAD did, with Timms and Reeves coping adequately with a bumpy outfield in that part of the ground.

Welcome to the EBI section of the website, Mr. Hill.

At the start of the season Dave asked players what their ambitions were for the season. Jake had said that at some point he would like to face the first ball of an innings as it was something he had never done. Presumably he still has an ambition to face the first and second balls on at innings. Welcome to the platinum club Jake.

Nick Hill (5) batted like the true baseball player his is. One home run and a quick scamper to first base was all we saw from him on this occasion. M Bullock (14) was batting with a degree of confidence and timing that we have come to expect from him. One off drive in particular would have been four on any ground including this one, where it was a very long way up the hill towards the pavilion. It was an unusual, but thoroughly deserved champagne moment.

For once The MAD had an engine room worthy of the term with Hadfield (retired 30 off 44) and Ainsworth (retired 31 off 21) propelling the visitors towards victory. Lee scooped one effortlessly over the short boundary, never to be seen again. Thanks to contributions from Hoskins (6 off 5) and Reading (2 n.o) and Shorten (1 n.o) The MAD reached that target with some ease in the 17th over.

So that was pretty much that, five wins in a row and a thoroughly creditable all round team performance. All that was left was to chat to friends, family and the opposition as the (nearly) mid-summer sun set on a quintessential English contest.

‘Reevsie’

*

Statto Scorecards

Far from the MCC versus Bodleian Played at Park Field, Cumnor, 5 June 2015 Bodleian won the toss and elected to bat Far from the MCC won by 6 wkts Far from the MCC debuts: none

15 / 353 20 over match

Team	Bodleian
#	Batsman	How Out	Total	Balls	4s	6s	FOW
1	M. D. J. Neely †	retired	30		3	-	-
2	D. Shackleton	retired	30		4	-	-
3	J. A. Shaw	not out	9		-	-	-
4	M. N. Webb	b Hoskins	15		2	-	1-97
5	A. F. Milner *	b Timms	2		-	-	2-100
6	G. E. D. Jones †	not out	2		-	-	-
7	S. G. Ackland
8	D. F. Busby
9	D. Shaw
10	A. MacKinnon
11	T. Philipson
	Extras	W3, LB3, B9	15
	TOTAL	(for 2 wickets, 20 overs)	103

#	Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wkts
1	Reeves	4	1	12	0
2	Shorten	4	0	14	0
3	Hoskins	4	0	24	1
4	Reading	4	0	23	0
5	Timms	4	0	16	1

Team	Far from the MCC
#	Batsman	How Out	Total	Balls	4s	6s	FOW
1	J. C. W. Hotson	b Shackleton	0	(1)	-	-	1-0
2	R. J. B. Hadfield	retired	30	(44)	2	-	-
3	N. S. Hill	b Shaw	5	(4)	1	-	2-7
4	M. Bullock	b Shaw	14	(21)	2	-	3-40
5	L. G. Ainsworth	retired	31	(21)	3	1	-
6	J. D. Hoskins	b Neely	6	(5)	-	-	4-95
7	M. J. Reading	not out	2	(2)	-	-	-
8	D. Shorten *	not out	1	(1)	-	-	-
9	M. K. Reeves
10	G. Carter †
11	G. J. Timms
	Extras	W4, LB2, B4, Pen5	15
	TOTAL	(for 4 wickets, 16.3 overs)	104
Note: R. J. B. Hadfield retired at 88-3 (14.4); L. G. Ainsworth retired at 103-4 (16.2)

#	Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wkts
1	Shackleton	4	0	18	1
2	J. A. Shaw	4	0	15	2
3	Milner	4	0	27	0
4	Ackland	2.3	0	16	0
5	Neely	2	0	17	1

MOTM: L. G. Ainsworth Champagne Moment: M. Bullock’s cover driven boundary Buffet Award: J. D. Hoskins’ Overton buffet (free range)

Opposition: V023 / 19 Ground: G069 / 02 Captain: C016 / 03