In the absence of Captain George who was on a school trip (“stuck on a boat of the coast of Essex” we learned later) Rob lead the Coton team to the return engagement at Fulbourn. When they visited Coton earlier in the season the game was characterised by persistent drizzle and the need to have nominated ball dryers in the field. The weather was much better today. Ross stepped into the team for his first game of the season and Sam and Rob McCorquodale were back on duty replacing Pete and Adam.
Alastair had arrived on time, and Rads was telling all and sundry that he had been there since the early hours of the morning. This time it was Neil & Ross who made the late appearance after taking the scenic tour of East Cambridgeshire.
Last season I was very lucky at losing the toss but getting the opposition to do what we wanted. This season I continued with the tradition of losing the toss but this time the opposition were not so obliging and we were inserted to bat.
I can’t remember whether it was at this point that Neil started to build his excuses for the match (“I’m running on painkillers”) or if waited until it was his turn to bowl – whatever, it seemed to work.
We got off to the traditional Coton start with first Dave Simmons and then Gabriel being LBW. By the time Gabriel went, Mr Extras was doing a sterling job of keeping the scoreboard ticking over so Gabriel’s duck could well be the longest in Coton history. Ross entered the fray for his first bat of
the season and with the consistent Alastair put on 48 for the 3rd wicket. Ross was looking in control with fine shots including a pull that left the ground, crossed the road and entered a nearby garden. Next time we looked a guard dog was sitting at the gate and this probably deterred people from aiming for the short boundary too often.
It was then something of a surprise when Ross fished at one outside the off stump and feathered a catch to the keeper. His 25 was to prove the top score. Alastair went soon after for 23 and we then lost wickets regularly to decline from 74-3 to 119 all out. A vintage Coton batting performance that we thought we had gotten away from in recent weeks. Sam, Rob M, Richard and Neil all made starts without going on to big scores (although to be fair in Neil’s case he was trying to shepherd the tail and was left high and dry by a succession of care bears).
Painkiller Neil opened the bowling with Rob (captain’s prerogative). The latter bowled rubbish for the 3rd game in a row and quickly removed himself from the attack (also the captain’s prerogative) to avoid further humiliation. Meanwhile Neil, perhaps bowling within himself due to his pains, took the first three wickets to fall and Scotch – although not quite as niggardly as previous weeks took a 4th leaving Fulbourn struggling at 45-4. The fielding in support of the bowling was very sharp with Dave Simmons and Rads taking good catches.
Neil was visibly flagging towards the end of his spell and made way for Ross to have his first bowl of the season. The latter reeled off 7 overs of accurate, skidding cutters. A fifth wicket went down on 60 which meant that Fulbourn were exactly half way to their target with half the wickets down. The game was in the balance. For the next few overs the initiative switched hands a few times. Firstly there was a catch by Gabriel off Scotch’s bowling. Not just a catch but a well executed running & tumbling catch in the deep. As the ball went up 10 Coton players collectively held their breath hoping that this would be the one – and so it was. I don’t think I have been in a team so celebratory over a single catch and the significance must have been lost on Fulbourn: 68-6, advantage Coton.
Fulbourn’s keeper then took charge with a series of lusty blows. The ball was often in the air but evading fielders and he led two sizable partnerships that moved the momentum back Fulbourn’s way. Ross broke both partnerships. The first was a catch behind by Alastair. It’s worth sidetracking for a moment here to reflect on Alastair’s appealing. With each successive appeal more of the apparel is flung to the ground in joy, gloves, inners, masks are scattered as he runs to congratulate the bowler. I am expecting that before the end of the season he will be stripping off completely for a key wicket. On this occasion with the ball safely pouched he want to do one of those throw it in the air moves and fumbled the ball. It was obviously securely caught before this but from the sidelines it looked like he might have dropped it. 87-7 and the match back in the balance.
We then get to the 27th over. David had bowled 9 in a row. He was looking a bit shattered. What gave this away was the moment that he stopped the ball on the fine leg boundary before, in a very Robert Green like move, carefully kicking it over the line for 4. I’d asked Neil to warm up and the Fulbourn batsmen had obviously overheard this and in a frantic effort to avoid facing Neil three of them missed balls from Ross who rattled the timbers on each occasion. As Ross carefully moved his field 6” forward and 3” to the left before each ball 107-7 became 107 all out over the course of the over and we were home by 12 runs, Ross 5-24.
For once, we didn’t concede more extras than we obtained. The difference (11 in our favour) was only one less than the winning margin proving the value of tight bowling in these tight games.
We celebrated the win as if we had won a cup final. In reality the win was enough to lift us out of the relegation spots which are now occupied by Balsham (no wins yet this year) and Weston Colville. On Saturday we finally get a home game. A quirk of the fixtures is that 7 of our first 9 games are away, and then later in the season 6 out of 7 are at home. We welcome Wibrahams II to the Recreation Ground. The strip is looking in fine fettle. Hopefully the council will have harvested the pasture that surrounds it otherwise we will risk losing shorter players in the outfield. I am reading up on the umpiring procedure for lost balls now.
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