Far From The MCC
~ Es. In 1998 ~
“Madsters
and Englishmen
Come Out In The
Midday Sun”
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Sunday 25th
June 2006 |
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Result: Lost by 4 Wkts |
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Venue: |
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30 overs |
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FFTMCC |
127 - 7 |
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D. Edwards 32,
S. Parkinson 17 |
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Lemmings |
128 - 6 |
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A. Mann 2 - 15,
J. Hoskins 1 - 12 |
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Weather: Clammy, with cloud cover and occasional
sun, thankfully no localised ‘showers’ in the square leg area while Ian was
umpiring…. Attendance: At least 4, including the welcome
introduction of 2 x posh totty at ringside. What
a difference a couple of weeks make. Following a series of abject
performances, and with self confidence ebbing away, the tonic provided by the
previous week’s humbling of the mighty Hanney CC
brought about a sense of expectation as The Mad welcomed back the Green Army;
the almost mythical Lemmings CC.
J.
Hoskins (front) sporting the Mad’s pyjama 1-day
attire. The
unsociably early start, due to the 16:00 KO of England’s dreadful World Cup
match against Ecuador*, failed to dampen enthusiasm with all players arriving
on time, including to everyone’s surprise, that godfather of time-management,
J. Hotson. The Lemmings, demonstrating the self-confidence that a first class
education imbues, decided that they had adequate talent to take the field
with 8 men after losing the toss. The under resourced fielding side were
weakened further with the temporary addition of loaned Madster,
T.Smith to their ranks.
The
Madsters having won the toss opened with the Good
Cop / Bad Cop combination of the ever steady D. Edwards and the social
hand-grenade that is S. Dobner. Against as good an opening bowling attack as
we are likely to face this season, steady progress was made before Dobenaar’s (5) defences were breached by a fine delivery
from the impressive Baker. Technically the bowler cheated as he combined
pace, swing and straightness in one delivery.
The Mad
watch on as the foundations are laid for a slogathon. A
buzz of expectation went around the ground as last week’s centurion M.
Westmoreland approached the wicket. Could our hero repeat his previous effort
and really put pressure on The Lemmings? Looking confident, Martin stroked
and bludgeoned his way to a promising 9, before being undone by gremlins in
the pitch (Gremlins and Lemmings being a potent combination) and was bowled
by what used to be known as a pea roller. ‘Tis
a great leveller this game of cricket. This
unfortunate dismissal brought N. Hebbes out of dry dock, and a further 40 was
added in partnership with The Grinder before Dan (32) succumbed to a caught
and bowled having been encouraged by the skipper to “get a f*cking move on”. With a need to accelerate as the overs flew by, A. Cavanagh was
sent in and with a solemn vow to be nobody’s bitch he set about the bowling,
taking a particular liking to McKetnie’s off spin.
Just as the partnership was starting to bear fruit, Titanick was fatally
holed below the waterline. His hard run first had turned an easy one into a
very gettable second, unfortunately for Nick, QC had other thoughts as he
farted around with a twisted pad, and Nick (11) was left stranded in mid
pitch – real tough on a guy searching for form and a bit of luck. I. Howarth
(6) shone far too briefly, and QC then departed for 15. And despite being
offered a life after being called back for a mix up over an lbw (I know where
you live Dobner!!) S. Parkinson (17) joined the ranks of players who got a
start but failed to push on.
“This
makes grim fucking reading.” It
was all left to M. Bullock (15*) and T. Smith (9*) to flail away in their
very enterprising unbeaten 8th wicket partnership that saw the Mad
total 127-7, as the ball was smite to all corners of the ground. As a bowler
nothing is more dispiriting than being despatched to the fence by a smiling,
Ray Ban wearing assassin. We all felt that while a sporting total, it was
probably 20 or 30 runs short of being really challenging for opponents of
this calibre. However we have seen stranger things this season, and maybe Kev’s triumphant seafood cocktail sarnies
could once again spark panic in the visitor’s ranks? Tea. The
Mad took the field, knowing that in A. Mann they had a bowler who had
rediscovered the knack of taking wickets, and with the ball hooping around it would surely suit the wily Aussie’s
style. A very tight start from both ends certainly unsettled the Lemmings’
opening pair and it was no surprise when The Ant (5-1-15-2) snared
The
Mad fielders honestly looked like they sensed the chance of an upset in this
reduced overs format, and the energy levels were
impressive. Enthusiasm in the field was typified by the sterling efforts of
former skipper, and substitute J. Hoskins, bounding barefoot around the
outfield like a post-op Zola Budd on speed. Here is a man who will run
through fences for his team! Also the fearless efforts of Jake, who donated a
finger nail to the cause should not be forgotten.
Dinner. Back at J. Hoskins’ home. The
Lemmings middle order, however, responded in the way that quality players do.
Good batting from McKechnie, J Greaney
and a mysterious silver haired pensioner (rumoured to be Pappa
Lemming) changed the complexion of the game. Despite the regular fall of
wickets, which were shared around between Martin (5-0-14-1), Nick (3-0-20-1),
Ian (3-0-27-1) and James (1.2-0-12-1), the game slipped away from us. Hell,
Dan even took another slip catch! But the Lemmings sealed victory by 4
wickets with a couple of overs in hand. Highlight
of the Lemmings innings was a difference of opinion concerning a ‘capricious’
lbw decision, which resulted in a two minute stand off between player and
umpire during which the view was proffered that the umpire was quote ‘a
twat’. In these days of social inequality it is pleasing to see that be you
public school or local comp, Oxbridge or FE college, a dodgy lbw decision
from your own umpire can still be greeted with such a blunt assessment of the
perpetrator’s character….
Overall
a performance that spoke of greater things to come and had the early chances
stuck, we could be talking about a famous victory. However the past couple of
weeks have shown that as a group we have the ability to compete with anyone
and we have a golden opportunity to gain revenge on our old friends from The
Offices this coming Sunday. * - ‘Mincer’ |
*
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No Fines on this
day |
MOTM: no votes
cast
Champagne Moment: no votes
cast
Buffet Award:
Hat Lore: There
ARE now hats, and they are blue!