Far From The MCC

~ Est. in 1998 ~

 

“BBC Live Text Commentary

As Boars Hill Are Roasted”

 

 

Sunday 25th April 2010

Result:  Won by 9 Wkts

Venue:  Wootton & Boars Hill

40 overs

Wootton & Boars Hill

145 - 8

M. Westmoreland  2 - 11,  J. Hoskins  2 - 14

FFTMCC

146 - 1

I. Howarth  62*,  N. Hebbes  54*

 

 

 

1330: Well then. A very warm welcome to all of our Radio 5 listeners. This is the big one – especially for Martin Westmoreland in particular. After years of enduring wretched fortunes in the Boars Hill arena, the skipper will try and kick-start the Far From The MCC’s season after their tonking a week earlier.

 

 

1342: We seem to have typical Oxford weather conditions, with recent bulletins suggesting a warm and dry sunny picture with the odd hit-and-miss biblical flooding.

 

1355: The FFTMCC win the toss, and in a bit of a surprise have decided to chase a target? Let me know you thoughts.

 

 

James “Fattori” Pearson limbers up before the game.

 

 

 

From adepub on 606: “Good move for the Mad to bowl first for two reasons: 1, they never have a clue about what kind of total to set and 2, I’m always right.”

 

From Notts_mincer on 606: “I have far better things to do in my social calendar than lowering my cricketing horizons to listen to this sub-standard babble. Did you know I used to play to extremely high standards in Louth?”

 

 

 

1416: WICKETS update – Wootton 5 for 2. Excellent start to the game here for the team known as the Mad. D. Emerson and J. Pearson bowling beautifully in tandem. Both of them rocking back the stumps.

 

1432: It seems D. Mills and D. Godfrey have weathered the opening bowling attack, and are now filling their boots. Pearson (6-2-14-1) drops short and is smeared for a four, whilst Emerson (7-3-11-1) looks to be tired and is driven to long off. Wootton have now passed the 50 mark. Looks like Martin is turning to his second string of medium pacers, D. Shorten and S. Dobner, both of them making their first appearances of the season.

 

 

From Essex_Kim on 606: “Having been stuck in Tenerife with my husband for what seems like an eternity, getting him out from under my feet to play cricket today is a godsend.”

 

 

“Wonky - you’re going to try and play cricket sober today? Hahaha.”

 

 

 

1438: WICKET – Mills b Dobner 37 – Wootton 68 for 3. After a truly abysmal first over from Dobner, he cleans Mills up with a beauty.

 

 

BBC Sport's Alison Mitchell on Twitter: "Hilarious – one of the Mad players is chundering in the outfield. Looks like it’s B. Mander, and it looks like it’s bile – a greenish-yellow fluid now pooling in the gully area.”

 

 

1448: WICKET – Ashton b Hoskins 5. Excellent bowling change by the skipper, utilising his wily non-spinning spinner, J. Hoskins. A mesmerick apple soufflé befuddling Ashton and clipping off.

 

    

 

1514: A clatter of WICKETS – Wootton slumping to 82 for 7 after Hoskins (8-1-14-2) has Jay (4) plumb lbw, and the skipper himself (3-0-11-2) rattles the timber of Godfrey (23) and Abbott (1). The home team really are in disarray and in desperate need of a partnership of sorts. Looks like another change in the bowling here – Mad stalwart B. Mander coming into the attack.

 

 

J. Hoskin’s discards the contents of his bread basket.

 

 

 

BBC Sport's Alison Mitchell on Twitter: "Hilarious – the Wootton scorer has registered B. Mander in the scorebook as ‘The Guy Who Was Sick In The Field’. Haha – now that is funny. He obviously didn’t hear the bowler’s name.”

 

1540: Wootton lower order batsmen, J. Rogers and young S. Morton, doing well here. They’ve taken the score past a hundred and don’t seem to have encountered any of the demons the earlier batsman reported in the wicket. Maybe the early batsman were crap? Or maybe the bowling was good? No, I think the batsmen were crap.

 

1523: The bowling attack really has gone flat. M. Reeves (3-0-16-0) couldn’t puncture a rice-paper bag, and Mander (2-0-12-0) looks like he’s all at sea (forgive the pun).

 

 

BBC Sport's Alison Mitchell on Twitter: "Hilarious – a clutch of locals on the boundary reckon they’ve spotted Lord Lucan! I can’t say I’ve seen him, but I did see a ghostly apparition earlier… spooky.”

 

 

Ant from Sydney, text message: “Heh, that fackin Lucan ain’t in Oxford - he’s jamming with my new band, Zedgoat, in the garage!”

 

1548: D. Shorten (6-0-33-0) is back into the attack, and immediately makes an impression by throwing 5 wides down the leg-side. That really was poor, he looks like a guy who has invested much of his spare time in mountaineering rather than cricket.

 

 

Joy is forced to listen Dave’s moaning about his bowling and umpiring display.

 

 

 

From Lil_Dennis on 606: “Cricket sucks. Stupid boring game for stupid people, especially now my fella ain’t captain no more.”

 

 

1618: WICKET – Rogers run out 31 – Wootton 145 for 8. Finally, with the last ball of the innings, keeper Howarth removes the bails after Rogers goes charging down the track for some unknown reason.

 

1630: The players have all left the field for the tea interval. Time for the kids and spectators to amuse themselves with tennis balls and plastic bats.

 

 

Mel from Stanford in the Vale, text message: “Thank god my hubby won the toss, or my Daniel would be sporting a black eye.”

 

 

From adepub on 606: “The Mad didn’t want to be chasing more than 150. It’s all psychological. Believe me, I know, and I’m always right.”

 

1649:  D. Edwards and N. Hebbes look to be opening the FFTMCC account. The pitch still looks in good shape, and with the dark clouds having shifted over to the chav inhabited slum that is Didcot to the south, we look to be in for an uninterrupted session of cricket.

 

 

The view over the cricketers of the Didcot power station.

 

 

12th over – FFTMCC 37-0 (TARGET 146). Well, after seeing the opening burst of Abbot and Godfrey off, it looks like the Mad batsmen are going to indulge themselves here. Edwards looks full of confidence with some elegant cuts through the gully region, and Hebbes looks stoically determined to prove he’s an opening bat.

 

 

Darley from Witney, by text: “Let me guess, Emerson is slaughtered by now. He’s done his bowling and he’ll be on his 16th can of Strongbow waiting to bat at number eleven? Haha. Call him a twat from me. Toodle pip.”

 

 

1724: WICKET – Edwards lbw Wiskin 14. Shock, horror! Just when we were all relaxing into our cups of coffee and cakes, it appears Edwards has been triggered by his team mate, Shorten. Looked a little high, and maybe a little leg-side, and Dan did get a huge stride forward in – but whatever the argument, he’s gone!

 

 

From Clare_AndTheKids on 606: “Who on earth gave my hubby out lbw? Do they not realise he’ll be cobbing all week?”

 

1735: A confident start by I. Howarth here, smoking a few boundaries to take the Mad past 50. However, he does look rather shaky against veteran pieman, M. Wiskin. An amusing sub-plot unfolding here, as Wiskin has had Howarth wiping cream and chocolate off his face on several other occasions in the past.

 

22nd over – FFTMCC 109-1 (TARGET 146). Hebbes and Howarth have now guided the Mad past the century mark, and it’s all starting to look slightly processional as Wootton give a bowl to anyone who can bowl in the hope of making a breakthrough.

 

 

Thorn from pitch_Side, by text: “In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. I know this is irrelevant, but I thought I’d recite it for the thousandth time. Anyone got a spare can of Stella?”

 

 

I. Howarth (62*) recorded the Mad’s first fifty of the season.

 

 

 

24th over – FFTMCC 121-1 (TARGET 146). A push for a couple on the off-side, and Howarth brings up his fifty. A fine effort recorded off 36 balls

 

 

 

29th over – FFTMCC 141-1 (TARGET 146). Huge applause. Hebbes brings up the 100 partnership with a pulled six off J. Werrell. Take that. It also brings the erratic opener his first half-century of the season. A much more serene innings that one, containing 85 balls.

 

 

N. Hebbes (54*) pulls J. Werrell for a rare six, and his own fifty.

 

 

 

BBC Sport's Alison Mitchell on Twitter: "Hilarious – it looks like Howarth has bowed to pressure from his team mates and has sent for the Goose as the Mad canter home.”

 

30th over – FFTMCC 141-1 (TARGET 146). Howarth has just played back a maiden over using the Mongoose bat. He’s either protecting his average or taking the piss.

 

 

From adepub on 606: “Dickhead.”

 

31st  over – FFTMCC 146-1 (TARGET 146). Wootton have really struggled bowling on this pitch today, and Hebbes finally loses patience as the Mad crawl towards the finishing line by cracking a boundary through square off Werrell. That’s it folks – the Far From The MCC have triumphed by 9 wickets!

 

 

1843: So the Mad win their first match of the 2010 season, and their skipper Westmoreland can take pleasure in the fact he wasn’t asked to bat today.

 

1858: Signing off. The team have now been invited out on the piss in central Oxford.

 

 

‘The BBC’

 

 

 

 

 

*

 

 

Statto's Scorecard

Match Fines

 

 

MOTM:  I. Howarth’s rapid fifty

Champagne Moment:  N. Hebbes’ six to reach his fifty

Buffet Award:  B. Mander’s sickly doughnuts

 

 

 

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