Omne trium perfectum - Coton 2nd Secure 2nd place

So many  things come in threes: wishes, Stooges, bears, blind mice, billy goats gruff, degrees, wise men, Bronte Sisters...  The list goes on, but you get the idea.  This season we have added to that list with Bradburies and Jarvises.  Now we have Elmeses and Dominics.  We are deep into holiday season which is denuding us of many players.  It was only down to frantic and persistent chasing (& begging, cajoling and threatening) by Ross and others that we were able to field a full 2nd XI versus Wilburton last weekend.  We'll overlook for the moment that one person turned up at the wrong game, and our 11th man didn't arrive until after tea and then wasn't required to bat, so effectively it was won by 10.  Wilburton had similarly been forced into scraping the bottom of the barrel and calling in many favours to raise 11.

We had debutantes in Stuart Elmes (chief cricket skill "being father to Bobby and Bertie")  and Dominic Murphy (one third of the Dominic Trio, joined by Messrs Fox and Hughes).  Along with our two prials the team comprised Ross, Rob, John Hartwright, Paolo and the The Late John Bason.  Rob had a new theory: he was now happy that George had given up cricket at a young age, as unlike many members of the club he could not be embarrassed by being outperformed by his offspring.  (Editor's note: despite him not playing cricket, Rob's son is probably a better player anyway.)

Ross lost the toss and Wilburton batted on what wa probably the warmest day of summer so far.  We took the field with 9 (Dominic H and John B being later) and Paolo started up with a maiden that included trimming the bails of the first Wilburton opener.  This was the first over of what ended up being two great spells by Paolo who finished with 3-14 from 10 overs of sustained accuracy.  However, proving that bad balls take wickets, his 2nd victim obligingly edged a short wide delivery to John H. at slip.  Simultaneously with ball being pouched the umpire was calling wide (which was rescinded): that tells you all you need to know about the delivery.  At the other end, Bobby Elmes didn't have such a good start, his first two deliveries being dispatched for boundaries.  He was yanked after 2 overs and Ross took over for a very steady spell.  It only yielded one wicket, but that doesn't tell the story of how often the ball was in the air and how often the bat was beaten.

It was round about this point that Pete turned up. Unfortunately he wasn't on the team sheet and was expected by the 1st XI at Coton.

With Paolo taking an enforced break, Bobby came back for a 2nd spell.  This was much more demanding than the first and progress was slow, although wickets were in short supply.  Dominic Fox took over from Ross and bowled 4 very tidy overs which yielded 2-7.   Rob was brought on to replace Bobby, and with his 2nd ball once again added weight (a lot of weight) to the "bad balls take wickets" theory.  A rank full toss had just enough movement in the air to evade the bat and crash into the stumps.  In many ways this was like a baseball pitch getting a strike.  Something else which comes in threes.  The next batsman took a liking to Rob's bowling and 10 came from the over.  

Rob's next over was similar: 9 runs, and another wicket, this time from one that did pitch and swung past a defensive prod.  Two wickets in two overs wasn't good enough and Paolo came back for a 2nd spell.  This yielded a 3rd wicket and a run out.  The run out was a father/son combo between Stuart and Bertie Elmes.  Bertie kept very tidily throughout.  There was a debate over what the collective noun for 3 Elmeses should be.  A copse, perhaps, or maybe they constitute a thicket.  

Paolo completed his allocation of overs and Rob came back for another go.  On his 2nd delivery the Wilburton number 11 top edged high into the air.  Rob got underneath the ball, waited for someone else to call, realised that no-one would and completed the catch to complete a spell of 3-19.  Wilburton were 86 all out in just over 30 overs. 

It soon transpired that Wilburton's strength was their bowling: their opening bowlers put our openers - John and Bobby - under a lot of pressure with testing bowling.  First ball up, John was hit on the pads in front of the stumps.  There was an appeal that could only be described as "impassioned" but it left the umpire unmoved.  John had two big advantages in being tall (he gets a big stride in) and left handed.  The latter means that many balls that would have a right-hander LBW are negated by pitching outside leg stump.

In the 2nd over John managed to hit a ball for a couple of runs.  The bat gave that horrible "cracked" noise and a new one was needed.  This was somewhat surprising, given how rarely he used the bat.  It was more likely that he would needed new pads with the ball had worn away a bare spot through successive strikes.  The appeals ranged from optimistic through histrionic with a patient umpire explaining the laws of cricket - and geometry - to the bowler after each delivery. 

Bobby had looked scratchy, and was the first to go dragging a ball on to his stumps from one that moved back a bit from outside off.  Dominic Murphy was strangled down the legside without scoring later that over.

Meanwhile at the other end John continued to eschew the use of the bat and tormented the bowlers by knowing just where to put his pads to avoid an unfavourable decision.  He had been joined by the 2nd member of the Dominican Brotherhood, Mr Hughes.  Dominic H played in his idiosyncratic style, removing one hand from the bat in the act of playing the shot.  The lead to a good deal of chit-chat from behind the stumps from a wicketkeeper who was friendly if a little bit of a pain in the neck.  

The bowlers resorted to coming around the wicket to John.  He continued to favour the pad over the bat, and now it his long stride that helped him out.  He finally ran out of luck, a ball striking him in front of off stump and straightening enough that it would have hit leg or middle-and-leg (in the umpire's opinion at least, if not John's).  Bertie Elmes was unlucky to get the ball of the day first up, and lost his off stump.

Shortly thereafter, Dominic lofted a shot to mid-off who held on after a juggle.  All talk of 86 being an easy target ceased: we were 15-5.  John Bason had now turned up and was available to bat if needed.  He wasn't, which preempted any possible objections from the opposition captain.  (This came up in "Ask The Umpire" recently.  The official response was "If a player's name was on the team sheet when captains nominated their teams at the toss, there can be no objection from the fielding captain as to where he bats, even though he has arrived late at the ground.")

As I was saying, it was a non-issue.  Paolo and Ross were now batting.  Following on from their century partnership a few weeks back they saw us home with lots of time to spare and very few alarms.  Paolo was the more fluent, coming forward to dispatch the bowlers over mid-off or mid-on on several occasions.  Ross was struggling with an arm injury, but even so managed a huge six over square leg.  The target dissolved rapidly.  Paolo attempted to return the favour that resulted in his second wicket by chasing a wide: this time the edge evaded the fielders.


We got home with about 20 overs left and 5 wickets standing: 87-5 with Paolo 35 not out and Ross 25.  This win - combined with the CCA awarding us the game against Girton - means we have - most likely - finished second.  We can only catch Bar Hill and take first if we win and they lose with no more than 1 bonus point.  Girton can't overtake us.  Promotion (*) at the first attempt is a fine results for the junior players, and the occasional old lag that have made up the XI.  

One more game remains - against Barrington this coming weekend.

(*) assuming the league isn't restructured again.