“It’s a Marathon and a Sprint”

Match: 25 / 499

Lost by 62 runs

Team	Total
Minehead CC	194
M. Rundle 2 - 24, I. Howarth 2 - 32
FFTMCC	132 - 9
I. Howarth 37*, D. Shorten 31*

Day 2, the first full day of tour saw most of The MAD assemble in the breakfast room at The Beach Hotel for the main meal of the day. There’s an old adage, something along the lines of “eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a Prince and dinner like a pauper” or if you’re from up north, that would be dinner like a Prince and tea like a pauper. Anyway, probably the only opportunity to get some of your five a day with half a tomato and some orange juice. Everyone went for the full English except Spam (no mushrooms) and Darley (no beans.) Gary went up market with some smoked salmon.

Guess who’s breakfast?

Friday offered the only spell of extended down-time, with the team having about eight hours to fill before the evening T20 encounter with Minehead CC. What to do, what to do? For a start there was of course crazy golf. Interesting course this one, unfortunately not Pirate themed. The holes themselves were surfaced with smooth concrete, meaning that an overhit putt would inevitably end up at least five feet from the hole, except hole number seven, where after six strokes you were as likely to be back on the tee as going on to hole eight. The areas between the holes were beautifully covered in astroturf, the ideal covering for a crazy golf course. Scores were kept respectable only through the use of judiciously placed leaves and other debris. Gary set the early pace and was looking good for the £12 purse before Russ registered a barely believable 22, to win by four shots.

Shorten (right) not quite understanding the wiles of concrete.

The day took a turn for the better at precisely 11 o’clock when the pubs opened, and the cricket started. England were looking good at that point having shot out the Aussies for 284 on day 1. Ah well. As the team drank steadily throughout the afternoon, JMO slipped out for the traditional Tour bet. Picking a combination of cricket related horse names, he delivered a £90 profit to club coffers whilst furnishing his own fund with the customary £1000’s. Inevitably, Darley missed out on this bonanza.

At around 16:30 team members started making noises about preparing for the match. All except Reeves and Timms who had lost out earlier in the card pick / coin toss combination to select the side. Well what of the match itself? They were good, so very very good. Minehead won the toss and started smacking The MAD bowling to all parts whilst claiming they had reversed the batting order. Only Rundle (4-1-24-2) and Howarth (3-0-32-2) emerged with any credit whilst Turner (1-0-24-0) was the king of the pies. Five of the Minehead batsmen sportingly retired in the high 20’s, without bothering to return it is perhaps the only time a team has declared their innings against us in a T20.

Newman asks what it is with the football shorts. Geoff just looks grim.

The MAD reply got off to an inauspicious start with Bob NOT out first ball, after the bowler adjudged that he had, ahem, stepped over the popping crease. Bob went on survive nearly two further deliveries before being caught (1). A series of single figure scores then followed whilst the Minehead bowlers did their best to extend the match past 10 overs. The highlight, by some distance, was James Hoskins hitting a mighty six off his first delivery. Only another twenty of those would have been needed to bring The MAD anywhere close, but unfortunately, he succumbed the next ball. Only Shorten (31 n.o.) Howarth (37 n.o.) and perhaps Hotson (14) left with any respectability. The team fell 62 runs short, but in truth the gaping chasm in ability was much wider than that. Thanks, Minehead for humouring us, you were just far far too good.

Hotson levitates whilst batting.

With the pitch now covered completely in darkness, talk inevitably turned to who could run 100 metres the fastest (don’t ask.) Gary won with an Olympic qualifying time of 11.82 seconds before it was realised that Russ had paced it out at around 70m.

After a good barbeque it was the mile-long walk home. “Timber!” What was that? After turning his ankle on the edge of a path, Bob was propelled downwards by the heavy rucksack he was carrying. He face planted in some gravel and stayed down for some time. It put to rest his chances of playing any more cricket on this Tour.

Bob leans forward to smack some kid caught crapping on the pitch.

Back to the hotel, it was then quickly out on the lash to the under 18’s drinking establishment known as The Queens. Half the group fought their way through the fog of the smoking area to a secluded outdoor seating area whilst the rest played pool and watched the teenagers. On leaving the pub the group split in to two. As with last year, the ‘moderates’ made their way home to sleep in their beds whilst ‘group 3’ ramped things up a notch before finding alternative sleeping arrangements such as beaches and hotel laundry bins. See you for breakfast tomorrow.

Lights go down at the MCC.

First Test update: Day Two, Edgbaston – England 267-4, Australia 284. England trail by 17 runs.

‘Reevsie’

*

Statto Scorecards

Far from the MCC versus Minehead CC Played at Minehead, 2 August 2019 Minehead CC won the toss and elected to bat Minehead CC won by 62 runs Far from the MCC debuts: n/a

25 / 499 20 over match

Team	Minehead CC
#	Batsman	How Out	Total	Balls	4s	6s	FOW
1	G. Archer	retired out	24	(15)	5	-	-
2	P. Barraclough	lbw b Rundle	11	(10)	2	-	1-37
3	J. Richards	retired out	26	(19)	3	1	-
4	A.N. Marsh	c Hoskins b Rundle	0	(3)	-	-	2-37
5	A.J. Marsh *	retired out	28	(13)	4	1	-
6	E. Taylor	retired out	28	(18)	4	1	-
7	J. Vertonghen	retired out	28	(10)	2	3	-
8	I. Buchanan	b Shorten	1	(6)	-	-	3-145
9	B. Taylor †	b Howarth	28	(12)	1	3	4-194
10	R. Garwood	not out	14	(9)	1	1	-
11	J. Griffiths	b Howarth	0	(1)	-	-	5-194
	Extras	W2, LB2, B2	6
	TOTAL	(all out, 19 overs)	194

#	Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wkts	Econ
1	Rundle	4	1	24	2	6.00
2	Hoskins	3	0	31	0	10.33
3	Newman-Robson	4	0	33	0	8.25
4	Howarth	3	0	32	2	10.67
5	Pearson	2	0	24	0	12.00
6	Turner	1	0	24	0	24.00
7	Shorten	2	0	23	1	11.50

Team	Far from the MCC
#	Batsman	How Out	Total	Balls	4s	6s	FOW
1	C. D. Roberts	c Taylor b Griffiths	1	(4)	-	-	1-4
2	R. P. Turner	c Taylor b Vertonghen	6	(7)	1	-	3-22
3	J. W. Pearson	b Buchanan	7	(8)	1	-	2-16
4	G. Carter	c Griffiths b Barraclough	7	(15)	-	-	4-36
5	J. C. W. Hotson	c and b Archer	14	(23)	2	-	6-54
6	J. D. Hoskins	c Taylor b Barraclough	6	(2)	-	1	5-43
7	D. Shorten *	not out	31	(18)	4	1	-
8	J. Newman-Robson	b Griffiths	0	(3)	-	-	7-62
9	I. Howarth	not out	37	(24)	8	-	-
10	M. S. Rundle	b Barraclough	1	(12)	-	-	8-112
11	M. Bullock †	c and b Archer	4	(6)	1	-	9-126
	Extras	NB2, W9, B7	18
	TOTAL	(for 9 wickets, 20 overs)	132

#	Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wkts	Econ
1	Griffiths	2	0	15	2	7.50
2	Garwood	2	0	7	0	3.50
3	Buchanan	2	0	20	1	10.00
4	Vertonghen	2	0	14	1	7.00
5	Taylor	2	0	15	0	7.50
6	A.N. Marsh	2	1	1	0	0.50
7	A.J. Marsh	2	0	5	0	2.50
8	Richards	2	0	10	0	5.00
9	Barraclough	2	0	14	3	7.00
10	Archer	2	0	24	2	12.00
Note: D. Shorten retired at 94-7 (14.0 overs) Note: I. Howarth retired at 126-9 (19.4 overs)

MOTM: I. Howarth Champagne Moment: J. D. Hoskins’ maximum first ball (and then out) Buffet Award: R. P. Turner’s quadruple lamb burgers with extra tomatoes MAD Moment: J. D. Hoskins’ shout for a catch landing 30 yards behind him

Opposition: V030 / 04 Ground: G021 / 04 Captain: C016 / 42 Match No: 20 / 138