After the disappointment of the previous week's cancellation, Coton II welcomed Wilburton to The Rec. In the absence of Ross, glory hunting at Wembley, Rob took the reins as captain (Ross had done all the hard work of getting 11 players out). The team had the now typical mix of veterans (3)and teenagers (8). There was a debut for Toby Smith the latest player to make the step up from the juniors. This lead to confusion later whenever Rob tried to change the field. He would always have Toby Johnson and Toby Smith running to the same position.
I'll start by saying that there are many positives in having all the juniors in the team: they are fit, skilful and responsive. On the downside they don't buy jugs (but it does mean rounds are cheaper...)
We won the toss and decided that the youthful squad would be more comfortable setting a target than chasing. The team gathered around Rob to hear his sage words: "win the game we will, if bat well you do" he intoned (yes, it was somewhat like the Jedi master teaching his younglings). Leaving Paul and Gabriel to organize the sidelines, Rob went out umpire reflecting that the aggregate age of the four youngest team members was less than his own. 40 overs later, he came back, batting skills unneeded once more.
We opened with Bobby and Cameron: two of the more experienced youngsters. They made steady progress against some reasonable bowling until Cameron (19) was bowled by the opposition captain. This brought Oliver (18) to the wicket and he unleashed some excellent drives before playing around a straight ball. The bowler was left arm over, and getting quite a lot of movement back in to our right handed batsmen. The score was 71-2 in 15 overs. There was lots of quick running between the wickets punctuated by the occasional boundary.
Patrick was next in. The opposition had found a bowler that could exploit the ridge at the footpath end and he made the ball jump disconcertingly at Patrick several times. But the latter hung in there and scored runs - frenetically - while Bobby moved serenely along at the other end. They made it to the halfway point together, the score being 107-2. Time to kick on.
Patrick (18) eventually got bowled by the opposition skipper, and Gabriel (1) didn't last too long before being trapped in front by the same bowler. We were now 141-4 and the innings was showing signs of subsiding. Bobby stayed calm, however and was celebrating a studied half century. He was joined by Dominic Fox who proved again that the club does have someone called Fox with cricket ability. He was scratchy at first but having survived, be prospered. Bobby was accelerating and twice hit back-to-back boundaries. One was within inches of being a maximum. In total, he found the boundary 14 times.
Bobby and Dominic saw the 40 overs out with a minimum of anxiety. A couple of overs from the end Bobby passed the landmark of his first century in senior cricket. He was broadly congratulated by both teams.
The innings closed on 228-4 with Bobby 110 not out and Dominic 23 not out. Paul Bradbury had been due in next and sat throughout tea (thanks Mr Fox and family!) in his pads. It was as if he was still expecting a bat ... perhaps with the opposition.
After tea, it was time to defend what was easily the biggest score on the Rec this season: if we could defend 45 (as we had done a few weeks earlier) surely 228 was achievable? For a few overs it looked like it might not be. Patrick and Toby Johnson opened the bowling, but the opposition skipper took them on despite some steady, straight deliveries. A belligerent southpaw, the batsman twice deposited Patrick for 6 over midwicket, albeit that the ball was in Oliver's hands the second time. it was time for change. Oliver replaced Patrick and the skipper decided to take responsibility and brought himself on. One was fast and hostile (if a little wayward), the other slow and taunting: you will need to work out which was which.
They had reached 65 in the 11th over when Oliver produced an unplayable yorker that castled the threatening lefty. A couple of overs later, Rob trapped the other opener in front. Rob was finding his traditional wobble, and supplemented that by getting considerable lateral movement with the ball. In his next over, he struck again. The batsman edged, Cameron dropped the catch but in between two the bails had fallen off. The bowler's end umpire wasn't going to give but after consulting square leg it was confirmed: bails first, gloves second and off went the batsman.
In Rob's next over it got even better. The first and fifth balls were both chipped to Toby Johnson at mid-on. The first catch was comfortable, the second less so. Toby and Gabriel converged on the ball, Gabriel called but Toby took the catch, only to be rugby tackled by Gabriel a moment later. Toby held on. (CWO, please have a word with Gabriel about this!).
It could have been even better the next ball, which beat the bat and passed over the top of middle stump, missing the bails by a hairsbreadth. With 4-15 in 5 overs, Rob took himself off: jug avoidance? Well no, actually, Rob had told Toby Smith to get ready to bowl the first over after the drinks break from that end. With two wickets falling in the 18th over, we took drinks after the second wicket. After Dominic bowled the 19th, Rob was getting ready to bowl the 20th but found Toby already marking his run up.
Dominic bowled three overs (2-7) of tight inswing, claiming two wickets. The first was caught by Cameron - who had a fine game behind the stumps - the second clean bowled. In between there was a run-out in Toby (S)'s first over and that 65-1 had become 94-8. Toby bowled four very tidy overs for just nine runs, but with wickets running out Rob juggled his resources again. Bertie Elmes came on to bowl 5 overs of offspin. Neither he or Toby S got the wicket they deserved. They were beating the bat regularly and the ball was in air half or dozen times or more but always short or between fielders. Bobby had a quick burst without luck and the 9th wicket partnership was only broken by one of the opposition having to leave and so be "retired - out". Rob was getting thirsty so decided to end things by bringing back the opening bowlers, and Toby J obliged by bowling the number 11. They ended up on 125, just over 100 runs behind.
A comprehensive win, built around Bobby's 110 with solid contributions from 4 other juniors (and a single from Gabriel). In the field we were enthusiastic and solid, Toby J's two catches being the highlight. Rob lead the bowling with his first 4-for since 2009. He was ably assisted by 7 of the 8 teenagers. There were first spells in league cricket for Toby Smith (4-0-8-0) and Bertie (5-1-11-0) which deserved wickets, but the pick was Dominic (3-1-7-2).
The win puts us 2nd behind the unbeaten Bar Hill. We play them back to back in July. Let's hope that is for the league leadership.
Come in number 9, your time is up
Conversation overheard in a pub in the Cambridge area, 9 May 2015:-
A
Coton Mystery Match Report Writer:- Well, we got away with that not
being able to identify the Coton Mystery Match Report Writer last week. What are the chances we’ll get away with it again?
A Coton Mystery Match Report Writer:- No problem at all. Nobody read either report so that should be fine.
A Coton Mystery Match Report Writer:- Well, I saw that Ross and Matt were a bit short of players this week. I
told them (or was it you?) that they should tell people about the match
reports then more would want to play to get a mention on these famous
pages.
A Coton Mystery Match Report Writer:- I know. Get famous this way or Britain’s Got Talent. We made our wise choice and we’re sticking with it.
A Coton Mystery Match Report Writer:- And we couldn’t be happier.
A Coton Mystery Match Report Writer:- So what’s the theme for this week’s reports?
A Coton Mystery Match Report Writer:- We won’t get away with that two chaps chatting in a pub lark again will we?
A Coton Mystery Match Report Writer:- Probably not. Any ideas?
Someone of little significance:- How about three chaps chatting in a pub?
So last week we were all over Over and this week we were to arrive at St Ive.... oh bugger it ends in an “s”. It was actually St Ives 3rd XI. They have 4 teams so there game of musical pitches is more of a challenge. They
have a very large facility and after arriving in a disorganised too
many cars we were about half way there as a long journey through their
pavilion brought us to our changing room. And that is saying something as St Ives is about half an hour away by car (obeying the speed limits). There is an argument that we should boycott any club which does not have a CB postcode. But we like St Ives so we’ll forgive them. If we played March the following week we might not be so charitable.
We
were assured that we were in the right changing room despite the
showers being designed either for people who didn’t wash hair or who
were very short. It was an odd arrangement especially
considering that there was a step down into the shower to allow 9 foot
tall people to shower, presumably from the waist down. Let’s hope they didn’t have any 9 foot bowlers with clean legs and dirty torsos. But I digress. There is a small chance that one or two of you reading this (the full readership?) may want to know a bit about the cricket.
An opinion poll put John Bason and Adam Bradbury top of the selection list following their top scores last week. Just like all of the opinion polls leading up to last week’s general election the exit polls showed that this was wrong. No doubt they would have been selected but they chose not to stand in the Coton Cricket Club 1st (or 2nd) constituency this week and were duly not elected to serve a term of this Saturday afternoon. Would this have an effect on the economy or NHS? Possibly. But we are talking very long term here. Not playing this week to revise for his exams may help Adam in a future career affecting the nation. But this week he was not going to affect the result.
Presumably to make like easier and having to change fewer names we traded one John for another (Hartright came in for Bason) and one Bradbury for another (Dadders replacing Adders). Also Cameron came in for Gabriel, thus requiring a bit more name changing and ruining this theme.
It has been traditional to win the toss and field as there is only one new ball. However we observed last week that Over were swinging the 40 over old ball all over the place (but mostly localised on the stumps) so we wondered whether the older ball swung more than the newer one. So Matt maintained his winning streak, won the toss and elected to bat. All that winter coin-tossing practise has worked wonders. Taking into account the cross wind at St Ives (we were assured it is there most days) and coefficient of friction on a coin rotating at 340 rpm at an altitude of 1.4m and calling the correct way..... actually I have no idea of who tossed and who called. We correspondents should probably pay more attention. Anyway, Matt chose to bat.
Hoping to get back to last year’s statistics for the opening partnership Dave and Bobby were chosen to open the batting. It didn’t work last week but we won so who cares? The St Ives bowling was not as potent as the bowling of last week and they opened with two of their younger players. Bobby took first strike to a bowler with an “interesting action”. If they were asking for advice (which they weren’t) I think a trained coach should have a little look before any bad habits set it. Maybe one has and all is well. The one at the other end was probably the youngest in their team and he looks a good prospect. He bowled more consistently than his opening partner with a lot of away swing. The theory of the ball swinging more in the 2nd innings may have gone. It is quite possible that it is down to the bowlers. Who’d have thought? What was apparent from an early stage was that the bounce was very variable. Some kept very low and some good length balls went head high. They bowled enough loose balls to provide run scoring opportunities so it wasn’t necessary to take chances. The runs flowed with both Dave and Bobby hitting fours occasionally. At least one person read last week’s match report to note that Dave is likely to be bowled by a yorker. Luckily for Dave this one was delivered from 21 yards and not 22. Richard’s call was loud and early. Some charitably noted that Richard’s call probably put Dave off and that’s why he missed it. Not so was the honest admission.
A short while later and off the first over of the first change bowler the ball bounced and Dave got a top edge to an attempted nurdle to be caught at square leg for 33 after 12 overs with the total on 60-1. Matt has asked for the total to be 80 after 20 overs. I hope he wasn’t too disappointed that we may get their early.
Presumably to make like easier and having to change fewer names we traded one John for another (Hartright came in for Bason) and one Bradbury for another (Dadders replacing Adders). Also Cameron came in for Gabriel, thus requiring a bit more name changing and ruining this theme.
It has been traditional to win the toss and field as there is only one new ball. However we observed last week that Over were swinging the 40 over old ball all over the place (but mostly localised on the stumps) so we wondered whether the older ball swung more than the newer one. So Matt maintained his winning streak, won the toss and elected to bat. All that winter coin-tossing practise has worked wonders. Taking into account the cross wind at St Ives (we were assured it is there most days) and coefficient of friction on a coin rotating at 340 rpm at an altitude of 1.4m and calling the correct way..... actually I have no idea of who tossed and who called. We correspondents should probably pay more attention. Anyway, Matt chose to bat.
Hoping to get back to last year’s statistics for the opening partnership Dave and Bobby were chosen to open the batting. It didn’t work last week but we won so who cares? The St Ives bowling was not as potent as the bowling of last week and they opened with two of their younger players. Bobby took first strike to a bowler with an “interesting action”. If they were asking for advice (which they weren’t) I think a trained coach should have a little look before any bad habits set it. Maybe one has and all is well. The one at the other end was probably the youngest in their team and he looks a good prospect. He bowled more consistently than his opening partner with a lot of away swing. The theory of the ball swinging more in the 2nd innings may have gone. It is quite possible that it is down to the bowlers. Who’d have thought? What was apparent from an early stage was that the bounce was very variable. Some kept very low and some good length balls went head high. They bowled enough loose balls to provide run scoring opportunities so it wasn’t necessary to take chances. The runs flowed with both Dave and Bobby hitting fours occasionally. At least one person read last week’s match report to note that Dave is likely to be bowled by a yorker. Luckily for Dave this one was delivered from 21 yards and not 22. Richard’s call was loud and early. Some charitably noted that Richard’s call probably put Dave off and that’s why he missed it. Not so was the honest admission.
A short while later and off the first over of the first change bowler the ball bounced and Dave got a top edge to an attempted nurdle to be caught at square leg for 33 after 12 overs with the total on 60-1. Matt has asked for the total to be 80 after 20 overs. I hope he wasn’t too disappointed that we may get their early.
John came in and started swinging through the arc from the word go. He even managed to hit one or two whilst doing so. The variable bounce was not his friend. Bobby was finding his range by now and extras was putting is a strong contribution to the partnership. Perhaps the thought of this 3rd
contributor to the partnership put John off in a way similar to the way
a runner might put a player off but John called for a single which was
tight even for his long legs and he was run out. At least it was his call. Dadders Bradders was next in. He
and Bobby got the scoreboard ticking along nicely and then they brought
on a left arm spinner and had Bobby caught for another good score – 34.
Cameron joined Paul and after having a good look at the bowling hit a lovely 4 to follow up last week’s fine innings. Unfortunately
that was that and his wicket started something of a collapse with
Anthony following next ball to a big spinning delivery (that’s what he
told everyone anyway). Paul smacked a lovely drive over the top. A couple of blinks and the way he got out soon dispelled the vision of a Chris Gayle mirror image. 110-6. Dominic joined Roger for a mini revival where again extras was the major contributor until there left armer got Dominic. We
bat a long way down so it was reassuring to see Richard coming in at 9
who does a good impression of a yo-yo in the batting order. Roger was soon bowled and Matt joined Richard – 131-8. The
wise sages converging on the scorebox (yes, they have a scorebox - we
have a trestle table) decided that these two needed to put on a few to
give us a good total. Scotch was the only one left wearing
pads and was a bit grumpy with the wise sages and hoping for the
opportunity to prove them wrong. Matt is a generous captain and agreed that Scotch should be afforded this opportunity and provided it by being Stevens’ 6th victim. There
were plenty of overs in hand when Scotch joined Richard and they mixed
wise defence with a healthy number of biffs to the boundary (including
one by Scotch) and a smattering of entertaining calling mostly for (and
in Richard’s case against) singles off the last balls of the over. Having used up 38 of the 40 overs Scotch could not wait for a cup of tea any longer and was caught having combined for the 2nd highest partnership of the innings (after the opening one) of 46.
9 of us wandered off to tea in the bar (they have a bar - we have a couple of trestle tables) whilst Paul led a recount. The bowling figures added to one total, the batting numbers gave another and the numbers ticked off another. Our total was somewhere between 187 and 190. As it was our doing we settled on 187. We presented these findings to St Ives who gave the impression that starting with 1 was the problem and not ending in a 7 or 0. Their lack of faith helped tea to go down well.
9 of us wandered off to tea in the bar (they have a bar - we have a couple of trestle tables) whilst Paul led a recount. The bowling figures added to one total, the batting numbers gave another and the numbers ticked off another. Our total was somewhere between 187 and 190. As it was our doing we settled on 187. We presented these findings to St Ives who gave the impression that starting with 1 was the problem and not ending in a 7 or 0. Their lack of faith helped tea to go down well.
And we were off. We took to the field with Dominic sporting a new wrist bandage. Last week’s was white and this week it was black. We will be accepting bets on next week’s colour. Repeats are not permitted. I have 25p on red.
Anthony opened and took a little while to tune in his radar. Matt opened at the other end was more accurate. It wasn’t long before Anthony discovered what happens if one is aiming at the stumps and swinging in. Clatter. Their captain was gone. The
variable bounce made the leg side ones that bounced sit up and their
number 3 pulled 3 of them to the boundary which was quite annoying
really.
Matt’s
straight bowling was not reaping rewards so he tried a slow one which
was wider than he wanted and invited a slash through covers. He inside edged it on to his stumps. They say (actually we said – several times) bowl straight – you miss, I hit. Matt ignored this advice and hit anyway.
The next wicket goes on Anthony’s end of season figures but all there agree that Bobby takes the credit. A pull was walloped hard to square leg. Bobby dived forward just above the edge of their artificial strip and caught a brilliant catch 3 inches off the ground. Or Astroturf.
The next wicket goes on Anthony’s end of season figures but all there agree that Bobby takes the credit. A pull was walloped hard to square leg. Bobby dived forward just above the edge of their artificial strip and caught a brilliant catch 3 inches off the ground. Or Astroturf.
Anthony had bowled a couple of beamers which was unfortunate. The first was in one of the most entertaining sequence you’ll see. Their number 5 (their wicket keeper) ran a sharp one soon after he got to the crease and pulled up with an injury. Having
sought and been granted Matt’s permission to have a runner (they are
always fun for a while) he decided he would play out the rest of the
over. Anthony bowled a beamer which he couldn’t avoid and was hit in the chest. He was bowled next ball and the fun of a runner was not to be. Not this week anyway. 5 wickets down and Anthony had 4 of them. The next beamer would have been a waist high full toss had the batsman not been their youngest and therefore shortest. He got out of the way very well.
Meanwhile Scotch had replaced Matt to bowl some maidens. As per usual. Anthony hadn’t left him many wickets to take but he did take one. Obviously. Bowled. Obviously. We’d only have dropped it otherwise.
Bobby
was given an opportunity to have a bowl replacing Anthony fresh from
his brilliant catch whilst Roger took over from Scotch whose figures
were a ridiculous 6-3-5-1. Bobby’s first over was a bit wayward but he soon settled down. After
a few overs where it looked like they were playing for the draw their
young lad finally hit one hard but straight to Dave at midwicket who had
3 goes at catching it before finally taking the catch. A deserved wicket for Bobby.
Bobby resumed his place at square leg when Richard came on to bowl. After
a few overs of nudging the odd single here and there the number 9 and
top scorer (like our number 9) clipped a full toss to Bobby who is now
our safest pair of hands in the field. Noting the success of a full toss Richard bowled another one to their number 10 did exactly the same thing. 9 down and Matt brought the field in for the hat-trick ball. All apart from Bobby who remained in his position of honour at square leg. Richard made a catastrophic misjudgement and pitched the ball so of course it did not take a wicket.
However, in his following over he did mop up the number 11 and they made a total of 80. They were right not to worry about those 3 missing runs. Our scorers were relieved.
A good all round bowling performance with everyone in the wickets apart from Roger. Well, what do you expect if you don’t bowl leg stump full tosses? At least he was economical and was very close. Judging by Cameron’s contortions a few moved too far to hit the stumps.
Scotch tried to convince Richard that his 3 wickets were more than half a jug and 43 not out the other half. Richard wasn’t having it. I don’t blame him. Maybe a team jug then?
We’re still top of the table!
The Coton Cyclone
12:30pm, Saturday the 9th May. A lone figure paints the lines on pitch #2 as the rain clouds gather and the rain falls. Not the best of portents for Coton 2nd XI's first home game. The players gather and they are put to work by Ross putting out the boundary ropes and tidying the pavilion.
As 1:30 approaches, the rain eases and remarkably we start on time. There are three first timers this week: Bertie "brother of Bobby" Elmes, Peter "father of Tom" Jarvis, and Jim Johnson (no relatives in the senior teams, but two offspring in the juniors). Another by-product of the junior coaching programme is the pool of fathers (and possibly mothers) that can be cajoled into playing. We await the debuts of Helen, Ginny and Vivien Bradbury.
Barrington 2nds won the toss. On the basis that we had scored 250 batting first last week, they put is in to bat. Sound logic that. Ross applied equally sound logic by asking perennial "next man in" Rob Kaye to open the batting with Gabriel Fox (no relation to Dominic). This was actually a cunning ploy on Ross's part so he didn't have to listen to Rob whinging on about not getting a bat again. It didn't last long. Rob, under orders to have a go obligingly pulled the eighth ball of the innings towards mid-wicket who took a tumbling catch. Gabriel didn't last much longer, picking out mid-off the following over. It was soon obvious that this was a very different challenge to the previous week: a slow wicket against an older and more experienced team and we were struggling.
The early dismissals set the tone. Paolo looked totally bemused by one that moved back a long way from outside his off stump and clipped the bail. Dominic and Patrick were similarly undone by straight seaming deliveries that hit the stumps. We were only just into double figures with 5 wickets down. Ross and Bertie staged a mini recovery, that is to say a partnership that reached double figures. Ross hit a fine straight drive but then perished to a wild stroke. Bertie was struggling to score but much to his credit was getting in line and playing very sensibly. At the other end Peter ("father of Tom") was "Coton'ed": LBW on the back leg, almost on the 2nd bounce by a ball he was looking to pull. Toby Johnson (also no relation) played a couple of shots that were either (a) edges or (b) Dilshan-scoops that evaded the fielders behind the wicket. Bertie finally lost patience and slapped a ball to a waiting fielder which brought The Coton Cyclone(TM) - you heard it hear first - to the wicket. After one single-handed, off the back of the bat, shot to fine leg, Tom produced the 2nd, and final, boundary of the innings. After that, it was over in a rush, with the Johnsons (Toby and Jim) being bowled. All out for 45 in 18 overs. After the higher scores of the last few years, this was more like the cricket that my anonymous correspondent remembers from when he first joined Coton. It comes to something when the joint top scorers - Tom and Ross - made just 7 (not out in Tom's case, the first time he had batted in the senior team).
Tea was taken, a terrific spread provided by Madame Chandler. I knew there was a reason that we let Ross play.
Ross gathered his troops and gave a speech the like of which Henry 5th, or maybe Winston Churchill would have approved, stressing that Barrington had succumbed for less that 45 the previous week. Knowing we needed wickets, Ross opened the bowling. After yielding an early boundary, he found his spot and with the last ball of the opening over took the first wicket.
At the other end Tom, the Coton Cyclone, got the nod. If you recall the reports from last season, you may recall on Tom's debut that our anonymous correspondent noted that "Tom bowled with good action, lively pace and shaped the ball in". All of these still apply, with the added bonus that he had grown (as people his age tend to) and gotten quicker. Too quick and too good for the Barrington team, as he struck in his first over with a perfect inswinger.
Ross and Tom now proceeded to dismantle the fragile Barrington batting. The wickets fell too quickly to recall the exact order. Tom hit the stumps twice more, Ross got two more wickets, one caught and bowled the other superbly grabbed by Jim Johnson. We need to observe and pay homage to Tom's cunning plan for his third wicket. He has learned well from the senior bowlers. A high leg side beamer for a no ball was followed by an equally wild off side wide. The next one left middle stump almost horizontal and off trudged a suitably bemused Barrington batsman.
The fielding was tight, lead again by Patrick ably assisted by Paolo, Dominic, Toby and the rest of the team. Bertie was sound behind the stumps, despite getting a series of leg side deliveries with very low bounce. We arrived at the 10th over with Barrington less than half way to the target and six wickets down. And it didn't get any better. Another superb swinging delivery from Tom rearranged the stumps one more time. The Barrington batman nodded in appreciation to our tyro opener. It would still only take a few lusty blows over the infield for Barrington to win, and their next batsman seemed to recognise this. A cross batted swipe at the first ball hurtled back at Tom at a rate of knots and thudded into his chest as he tried to take evasive action. As the more compassionate members of the team headed towards Tom to check on his health, the rest realised that the ball was still in the air. The ever-alert Patrick was amongst the latter group and he swooped in from cover to take the catch.
Tom was thankfully OK, and ready to take the team's acclaim for his first (and the 2nd XI's first) 5-for. The team started to look forward to a jug of orange and lemonade, and it became apparent that Peter Jarvis's role in the team was as financial backing for his son. The very next ball was lobbed obligingly at Patrick who, despite slipping on the wet turf, took a more orthodox catch: a hat-trick! Now there was the prospect of a jug of blackcurrant and lemonade as well.
The rest of the over was played out, with difficulty. League rules and ECB guidelines now came into play. Tom had to take a break from bowling with the figures of 5-0-10-6. "What, no maidens" you ask? Bloody rubbish.
One wicket to go, and still around 18 needed. Ross continued, and Paolo joined the attack. The ball was in the air, frustratingly just over Jim, just wide of Ross, and just short of Rob. The score crept up, as Paolo struggled to find his length but Ross was on hand to complete the debacle. The last two Barrington wickets were his as he finished with 7.3.-3-8-4 and the opposition subsided 12 runs short on 33 all out.
A seemingly improbable win was contrived through the virtues of straight bowling and tight fielding.
So on the report card this week: batting: F, bowling: A, fielding A. Man of the match: Tom "The Cyclone": six wickets, hat trick and joint top score (OK, the last one only needed a couple of scoring shots). We are still joint top of the league after two games. Who's daft idea was it to start a 2nd XI?
As 1:30 approaches, the rain eases and remarkably we start on time. There are three first timers this week: Bertie "brother of Bobby" Elmes, Peter "father of Tom" Jarvis, and Jim Johnson (no relatives in the senior teams, but two offspring in the juniors). Another by-product of the junior coaching programme is the pool of fathers (and possibly mothers) that can be cajoled into playing. We await the debuts of Helen, Ginny and Vivien Bradbury.
Barrington 2nds won the toss. On the basis that we had scored 250 batting first last week, they put is in to bat. Sound logic that. Ross applied equally sound logic by asking perennial "next man in" Rob Kaye to open the batting with Gabriel Fox (no relation to Dominic). This was actually a cunning ploy on Ross's part so he didn't have to listen to Rob whinging on about not getting a bat again. It didn't last long. Rob, under orders to have a go obligingly pulled the eighth ball of the innings towards mid-wicket who took a tumbling catch. Gabriel didn't last much longer, picking out mid-off the following over. It was soon obvious that this was a very different challenge to the previous week: a slow wicket against an older and more experienced team and we were struggling.
The early dismissals set the tone. Paolo looked totally bemused by one that moved back a long way from outside his off stump and clipped the bail. Dominic and Patrick were similarly undone by straight seaming deliveries that hit the stumps. We were only just into double figures with 5 wickets down. Ross and Bertie staged a mini recovery, that is to say a partnership that reached double figures. Ross hit a fine straight drive but then perished to a wild stroke. Bertie was struggling to score but much to his credit was getting in line and playing very sensibly. At the other end Peter ("father of Tom") was "Coton'ed": LBW on the back leg, almost on the 2nd bounce by a ball he was looking to pull. Toby Johnson (also no relation) played a couple of shots that were either (a) edges or (b) Dilshan-scoops that evaded the fielders behind the wicket. Bertie finally lost patience and slapped a ball to a waiting fielder which brought The Coton Cyclone(TM) - you heard it hear first - to the wicket. After one single-handed, off the back of the bat, shot to fine leg, Tom produced the 2nd, and final, boundary of the innings. After that, it was over in a rush, with the Johnsons (Toby and Jim) being bowled. All out for 45 in 18 overs. After the higher scores of the last few years, this was more like the cricket that my anonymous correspondent remembers from when he first joined Coton. It comes to something when the joint top scorers - Tom and Ross - made just 7 (not out in Tom's case, the first time he had batted in the senior team).
Tea was taken, a terrific spread provided by Madame Chandler. I knew there was a reason that we let Ross play.
Ross gathered his troops and gave a speech the like of which Henry 5th, or maybe Winston Churchill would have approved, stressing that Barrington had succumbed for less that 45 the previous week. Knowing we needed wickets, Ross opened the bowling. After yielding an early boundary, he found his spot and with the last ball of the opening over took the first wicket.
At the other end Tom, the Coton Cyclone, got the nod. If you recall the reports from last season, you may recall on Tom's debut that our anonymous correspondent noted that "Tom bowled with good action, lively pace and shaped the ball in". All of these still apply, with the added bonus that he had grown (as people his age tend to) and gotten quicker. Too quick and too good for the Barrington team, as he struck in his first over with a perfect inswinger.
Ross and Tom now proceeded to dismantle the fragile Barrington batting. The wickets fell too quickly to recall the exact order. Tom hit the stumps twice more, Ross got two more wickets, one caught and bowled the other superbly grabbed by Jim Johnson. We need to observe and pay homage to Tom's cunning plan for his third wicket. He has learned well from the senior bowlers. A high leg side beamer for a no ball was followed by an equally wild off side wide. The next one left middle stump almost horizontal and off trudged a suitably bemused Barrington batsman.
The fielding was tight, lead again by Patrick ably assisted by Paolo, Dominic, Toby and the rest of the team. Bertie was sound behind the stumps, despite getting a series of leg side deliveries with very low bounce. We arrived at the 10th over with Barrington less than half way to the target and six wickets down. And it didn't get any better. Another superb swinging delivery from Tom rearranged the stumps one more time. The Barrington batman nodded in appreciation to our tyro opener. It would still only take a few lusty blows over the infield for Barrington to win, and their next batsman seemed to recognise this. A cross batted swipe at the first ball hurtled back at Tom at a rate of knots and thudded into his chest as he tried to take evasive action. As the more compassionate members of the team headed towards Tom to check on his health, the rest realised that the ball was still in the air. The ever-alert Patrick was amongst the latter group and he swooped in from cover to take the catch.
Tom was thankfully OK, and ready to take the team's acclaim for his first (and the 2nd XI's first) 5-for. The team started to look forward to a jug of orange and lemonade, and it became apparent that Peter Jarvis's role in the team was as financial backing for his son. The very next ball was lobbed obligingly at Patrick who, despite slipping on the wet turf, took a more orthodox catch: a hat-trick! Now there was the prospect of a jug of blackcurrant and lemonade as well.
The rest of the over was played out, with difficulty. League rules and ECB guidelines now came into play. Tom had to take a break from bowling with the figures of 5-0-10-6. "What, no maidens" you ask? Bloody rubbish.
One wicket to go, and still around 18 needed. Ross continued, and Paolo joined the attack. The ball was in the air, frustratingly just over Jim, just wide of Ross, and just short of Rob. The score crept up, as Paolo struggled to find his length but Ross was on hand to complete the debacle. The last two Barrington wickets were his as he finished with 7.3.-3-8-4 and the opposition subsided 12 runs short on 33 all out.
A seemingly improbable win was contrived through the virtues of straight bowling and tight fielding.
So on the report card this week: batting: F, bowling: A, fielding A. Man of the match: Tom "The Cyclone": six wickets, hat trick and joint top score (OK, the last one only needed a couple of scoring shots). We are still joint top of the league after two games. Who's daft idea was it to start a 2nd XI?
This is the Dawning of the Age of the 2nd XI
This report was passed to me in a lay by on the Barton Road between the St Catherine's Cricket Ground and Coton earlier this week. Any resemblance to persons living, dead or reanimated is intentional. This report is rated "MA" which mean that 7 of the 11 team members can't read it.
Saturday May 2nd 2015 witnessed the culmination of years of hard work at Coton CC. In that time, we have seen success in the junior teams along with improved playing and practice facilities. May 2nd was the day for several of those fledgling players to leave the nest and take the next step. It was the debut of the Coton 2nd XI: the first time (in living memory, maybe the 1st time ever) that two XIs had been fielded on the same day. That we had 22 players on a Bank Holiday weekend serves testament to the hard work and persuasive organisation of Ross Chandler and the team of coaches and parents.
The 2nd XI comprised 3 grizzled veterans, 7 teenagers and Adam Wright taking a day off from his trainings for the 2020 World's Strongest Man competition. Cambridge Granta 4th was a similar mix of experience and youth: this made it a great introduction for our tyros.
We batted first. Oliver Bradbury and Cameron Black opened against a couple of bowlers of similar vintage. Oliver was out of the blocks faster while Cameron rotated the strike. Runs ticked over. There was a team of willing volunteers on the scorebook to record the accumulation. Granta tried a series of young bowlers to try and make a breakthrough. Oliver passed 50, and the partnership had reached 99 before it was broken.
Perhaps the most pleasing (and unique) aspect of the innings was that the batsmen were following the coach's instructions. Ross had set a target of 5 per over and it was being maintained (it has to be said that it was an immaculate college pitch with good, true bounce). Can you imagine giving some of the senior players this type of instruction and have the follow it? At the half way stage, during drinks he set a new target of 7 per over for the rest of the innings. And it was achieved.
The breakthrough led to a mini-collapse. The 2nds had obviously learned from the 1st XI in this aspect of the game. Cameron (for a solid 30), Patrick Butterfield and Adam were all out in quick succession. Normal service was resumed in the shape of another big partnership, this time between John Hartwright and Dominic Fox (both debutants for Coton, albeit of different vintages). Dominic struggled at first. In one over, he twice played and missed (missed being the key word, despite the impassioned appeals) and then edged one between keeper and slip. He then unfurled a class cover drive and was up and running. John - in the meanwhile - dealt with the teenage bowlers with some belligerence. 200 came up with just 4 wickets down. John departed for exactly 50, and Dominic made 40-odd with growing confidence. This was followed by some late innings hitting by Ross and brief cameos from Ed Wheeler and Rob Kaye. Ross had tried the Matt Chandler tactic of deciding how many wickets he wanted to lose and then having Rob be waiting to come in. He didn't quite get the calculations right.
We finished on 249-7. Half centuries from Oliver and John, with good contributions from Dominic, Cameron and Ross: a good mix of old and new.
When we bowled, the Granta innings started in a similar vein to ours. Good batting by a couple of their juniors against steady bowling from Tom Jarvis and Ed Wheeler. The main difference was the scoring rate, which steadily but surely built up.
The bowling was backed up by some fine fielding, with Oliver and, particularly Patrick, leading the way. This was complimented by solid wicket keeping by Cameron (the reporter couldn't remember any byes getting through). Patrick was throwing himself around, stopping boundaries and turning 2s into 1s. He need to learn that a sliding stop followed by flipping the ball up to a colleague only works if there is a colleague nearby. If the supporting fielder happens to be Rob or John they are unlikely to be within 20 yards when the ball is fielded.
The highlight of Oliver's day must have been when Ross called out "nice fielding, Adam" after one good interception. I don't know which of the Bradbury brothers should be more offended by this mistaken identity. Ross later tried to convince us that he thought it was Adam Wright who had fielded it -- surely the eyesight isn't that bad?
When it came, Patrick took part in the breakthrough, taking a smart catch off Adam Wright who had now taken over from Tom. Toby Johnson was bowling at the other end. Still the required run rate crept up, passing 7, tending towards 8 an over. A smart piece of fielding by Dominic followed by an accurate return to Cameron accounted for another wicket. Dominic got a chance to bowl, and like the bowlers that had preceded him settled into an accurate line and length. In contrast, Rob's first over was a little wayward, but he found his rhythm and consistently beat the bat or found the edge. He would tear his hair out, if he had any.
The run rate climbed some more. Oliver replaced Rob, and Ross having judged that enough of the good batsmen were out brought himself on. After a couple of sighters, Oliver found good pace and good line. He was hoicked to long off by the opposition captain and responded by ripping out the off stump with the next ball. Ross earned a couple of wickets with plumb LBW and a rearrangement of the stumps.
Another runout - this time a Patrick+Cameron combination - added to the pressure.
With the run rate now in double figures, more bowling changes followed. Patrick got a bowl, and Ed came back into the attack. With 70+ needed off the last over, John desperately tried to get the skipper's attention by practicing his bowling action. Ross wasn't fooled however, you can never be too careful. Patrick ended the innings with a wicket on the last ball of the 40th over.
Granta finished on 182-9, 67 runs short of their target. A great all round team performance with bat and ball and in the field meant that Coton 2nd had won their debut league game and like the 1st XI sit atop the table after one week.
Saturday May 2nd 2015 witnessed the culmination of years of hard work at Coton CC. In that time, we have seen success in the junior teams along with improved playing and practice facilities. May 2nd was the day for several of those fledgling players to leave the nest and take the next step. It was the debut of the Coton 2nd XI: the first time (in living memory, maybe the 1st time ever) that two XIs had been fielded on the same day. That we had 22 players on a Bank Holiday weekend serves testament to the hard work and persuasive organisation of Ross Chandler and the team of coaches and parents.
The 2nd XI comprised 3 grizzled veterans, 7 teenagers and Adam Wright taking a day off from his trainings for the 2020 World's Strongest Man competition. Cambridge Granta 4th was a similar mix of experience and youth: this made it a great introduction for our tyros.
We batted first. Oliver Bradbury and Cameron Black opened against a couple of bowlers of similar vintage. Oliver was out of the blocks faster while Cameron rotated the strike. Runs ticked over. There was a team of willing volunteers on the scorebook to record the accumulation. Granta tried a series of young bowlers to try and make a breakthrough. Oliver passed 50, and the partnership had reached 99 before it was broken.
Perhaps the most pleasing (and unique) aspect of the innings was that the batsmen were following the coach's instructions. Ross had set a target of 5 per over and it was being maintained (it has to be said that it was an immaculate college pitch with good, true bounce). Can you imagine giving some of the senior players this type of instruction and have the follow it? At the half way stage, during drinks he set a new target of 7 per over for the rest of the innings. And it was achieved.
The breakthrough led to a mini-collapse. The 2nds had obviously learned from the 1st XI in this aspect of the game. Cameron (for a solid 30), Patrick Butterfield and Adam were all out in quick succession. Normal service was resumed in the shape of another big partnership, this time between John Hartwright and Dominic Fox (both debutants for Coton, albeit of different vintages). Dominic struggled at first. In one over, he twice played and missed (missed being the key word, despite the impassioned appeals) and then edged one between keeper and slip. He then unfurled a class cover drive and was up and running. John - in the meanwhile - dealt with the teenage bowlers with some belligerence. 200 came up with just 4 wickets down. John departed for exactly 50, and Dominic made 40-odd with growing confidence. This was followed by some late innings hitting by Ross and brief cameos from Ed Wheeler and Rob Kaye. Ross had tried the Matt Chandler tactic of deciding how many wickets he wanted to lose and then having Rob be waiting to come in. He didn't quite get the calculations right.
We finished on 249-7. Half centuries from Oliver and John, with good contributions from Dominic, Cameron and Ross: a good mix of old and new.
When we bowled, the Granta innings started in a similar vein to ours. Good batting by a couple of their juniors against steady bowling from Tom Jarvis and Ed Wheeler. The main difference was the scoring rate, which steadily but surely built up.
The bowling was backed up by some fine fielding, with Oliver and, particularly Patrick, leading the way. This was complimented by solid wicket keeping by Cameron (the reporter couldn't remember any byes getting through). Patrick was throwing himself around, stopping boundaries and turning 2s into 1s. He need to learn that a sliding stop followed by flipping the ball up to a colleague only works if there is a colleague nearby. If the supporting fielder happens to be Rob or John they are unlikely to be within 20 yards when the ball is fielded.
The highlight of Oliver's day must have been when Ross called out "nice fielding, Adam" after one good interception. I don't know which of the Bradbury brothers should be more offended by this mistaken identity. Ross later tried to convince us that he thought it was Adam Wright who had fielded it -- surely the eyesight isn't that bad?
When it came, Patrick took part in the breakthrough, taking a smart catch off Adam Wright who had now taken over from Tom. Toby Johnson was bowling at the other end. Still the required run rate crept up, passing 7, tending towards 8 an over. A smart piece of fielding by Dominic followed by an accurate return to Cameron accounted for another wicket. Dominic got a chance to bowl, and like the bowlers that had preceded him settled into an accurate line and length. In contrast, Rob's first over was a little wayward, but he found his rhythm and consistently beat the bat or found the edge. He would tear his hair out, if he had any.
The run rate climbed some more. Oliver replaced Rob, and Ross having judged that enough of the good batsmen were out brought himself on. After a couple of sighters, Oliver found good pace and good line. He was hoicked to long off by the opposition captain and responded by ripping out the off stump with the next ball. Ross earned a couple of wickets with plumb LBW and a rearrangement of the stumps.
Another runout - this time a Patrick+Cameron combination - added to the pressure.
With the run rate now in double figures, more bowling changes followed. Patrick got a bowl, and Ed came back into the attack. With 70+ needed off the last over, John desperately tried to get the skipper's attention by practicing his bowling action. Ross wasn't fooled however, you can never be too careful. Patrick ended the innings with a wicket on the last ball of the 40th over.
Granta finished on 182-9, 67 runs short of their target. A great all round team performance with bat and ball and in the field meant that Coton 2nd had won their debut league game and like the 1st XI sit atop the table after one week.
Coton 1st XI v Over 2nd XI 2 May 2015, by ??????
Conversation overheard in a pub in the Cambridge area, 2 May 2015:-
Coton Mystery Match Report Writer:- I can’t cope. The stress is too much
Someone of little significance:- What’s wrong?
Coton Mystery Match Report Writer:- There are now two teams and there’s only one of me. What am I going to do?
Someone of little significance:- About what? And by the way, who are you?
Coton Mystery Match
Report Writer:- I’m the famous Mystery Match Report Writer for Coton
cricket club and due to the amazing success of my match reports we now
have two teams. Everyone wants a mention in my match reports.
Someone of little significance:- So what’s the problem?
Coton Mystery Match
Report Writer:- As you can probably tell there’s only one of me. So I
can only write one match report. So at the end of the season there will
be people analysing scorecards, creating spreadsheets and databases to
work out my real identity. I will be hounded by the press. Life will
become unbearable.
Someone of little significance:- True, but does anyone actually know there’s only one of you.
Coton Mystery Match Report Writer:- (Long pause)
Someone of little significance:- In fact is there only one of you?
Coton Mystery Match Report Writer:- (Slightly longer pause)
Someone of little
significance:- Maybe you are a bit like the Dread Pirate Roberts in The
Princess Bride, you know the name gets passed around and there’s more
than one of him.
One of the many Coton Mystery Match Report Writers:- Sorry, can’t talk now, I’ve got one, or maybe two, match reports to write……
At last! Cricket,
glorious cricket. Finally the name Coton 1st XI is actually relevant as
there is also a Coton 2nd XI. The 1st XI gathered for a home game on
Coton Rec which looked wonderful due to the sterling efforts of a small
but greatly appreciated crew of cricketers. Captain Matt tossed and
made a fantastic start to the season by winning the toss and electing to
bowl. Matt opened the bowling at the top end and was mostly on target
and generating some good pace and occasional bounce. Anthony was due to
open at the other end but managed to miss the start of the match,
despite being there over 2 hours before the start to help with pitch
preparation, as he’d forgotten his bowling boots. So his warm up
consisted of driving a roller, measuring and painting creases and
cycling home to get his boots then back again. So Dave Scotcher opened
at the other end was his usual miserly accurate self. Normal service
had been resumed.
Matt’s 4th over was
a bit erratic so the captain thought it would be a good idea to take
him off. Anthony had arrived by then and having been fielding at slip
for Scotch for a couple of overs (where a chance had gone in his
absence) took over. He was quick, continuing from where he left off
against Remnants on Wednesday. So it was Scotch versus Anthony for the
first wicket and Anthony won with the first of 3 catches behind the
stumps by John to break a slow opening partnership. The fielding was
very good. Dominic had been injured in a
not-getting-out-of-the-way-quickly-enough-despite-neither-batting-nor-bowling
incident at nets on Thursday (writing off a bag of frozen peas donated
by Paul - arguably the best use of a bag of frozen peas) and came
adorned with a bandage which we assumed was a pre-emptive strike to
excuse any misfielding. He fielded very well with both hands.
Honestly, we weren’t fooled. You can get a refund on next week’s neck
brace now.
The number 3 didn’t
look like he would bat for long and we were hoping that they were
batting in order of ability in which case we were down to the tail. No
such luck and Anthony made the mistake of bowling him a straight one
which he didn’t look like keeping out from the moment Anthony stated
walking back to his bowling mark. And so the number 4 come in and it
became apparent that he was their best player. By far. The scoreboard
starting ticking over. Adam came on and worried them first ball with a
beauty which went past the outside edge of a forward defensive. He kept
on beating the bat but their no 4 put away the occasional bad one and
Paolo got a bit of uncalled for tap as well. Adam bowled very well but
that wasn’t getting rid of him so back to basics - a lovely full toss
which he generously slapped not far off where Matt was standing at
mid-on. Now we really were in to the tail. Paolo then took care of
their no 5 with John’s gloves doing the work again. The high fives were
a bit hairy - our hands were sticking too.
After Adam’s spell
Scotch returned and then did what Scotch does best - took wickets. The
only difference here was the lack of dropped catches, although he did
ensure that the only catch required was by Mr sticky gloves. The rest
were bowled. Lots of lovely wickets. Between hm and the returning
Anthony the rest put up little resistance. Scotch had 5, Anthony 3 and
one apiece for Paolo and Adam ensuring the the wickets were distributed
in proportion to age. Please submit your statistical analyses by the
next match. 107 all out.
After a magnificent
feast provided by Matt we felt confident that we had kept the down to a
getable score but that would depend on how good their bowling was. It
turned out that their bowling was their stronger suit which they failed
to tell us although I don’t think we can reasonably complain about that.
Dave opened with
Bobby and after one over we were well on top of the run rate having
scored 5 off their first over from their opening bowler, Lane. That
turned out to be nearly half of the runs he gave away and the 2nd over
was delivered by their best bowler, Sorensen, who was also there best
batter. A bit later it turned out he was their best fielder too. His
first 3 balls were exciting - the first took Dave’s glove but he didn’t
walk as his glove was no longer on the bat as the ball had taken off and
whistled past at chest height. The 2nd was similar and edged just
short of slip. The third was an away swinging yorker which Dave managed
to jump over to be bowled. It started getting interesting. Paolo
joined Bobby and between them they played a very valuable partnership as
they kept out these very good bowlers. When Sorensen had a break he
had bowled 6 fast, accurate, swinging overs, all of which were
maidens. He was replaced and it was clear that the two openers were
their best bowlers and that should be able to get the runs of the
others. As runs started flowing from the 2nd string bowling Lane was
nearing the end of his 10 when Paolo finally succumbed to him for the
best 7 you’ll ever see. He faced 43 balls for his 7 mostly off the
openers who gave very little to hit so he was very unfortunate not to be
able to cash in later. The value of his innings became apparent when
Lane then got Gabriel out bowled and Richard lbw in his last over. He
finished with 3-11 off his 10. Did we have enough wickets left now that
we’d seen him off?
Adam joined Bobby
and runs began to flow. Just after drinks Bobby’s finally went for a
priceless 19 when the first change bowler Borley bowled a good one.
Dominic joined Adam and in a busy but short partnership looked positive
until he bashed one straight back to Borley to flatter his bowling
figures. 54-6 - oh dear. This was getting a bit worrying. Fortunately
we were blessed with a very strong batting line up and John (the
finisher) Bason was next and with Adam put together the biggest and
decisive partnership to take us to 89. The return of Sorensen did not
slow the scoring down as both had their eye in but Adam was caught off
Sorensen for a deserved second wicket. A hunt around for the remaining
batsmen did not immediately reveal Anthony who was found either having a
look at the bowling from amongst the trees or feeling a bit homesick
and going into the bush. But Matt was before him and with John and only
a few minor alarms managed to eke out the remaining runs with just
under 2 overs left. Phew! What a game! And played in a great spirit.
The major
contributions were Scotch (5 for 15), Anthony (3 for 10) and with the
bat Bobby (19), Paolo (the best 7 ever), Adam (25) and John (30* and 3
catches) and everyone for a very tight fielding performance. We’re top
of the table! Long may it last.
2nd in the League, 5 wins in a row
The 2014 season drew to a close on an overcast September day in Lode. The rest of the teams having completed their seasons the previous week, our visit to Bottisham-Lode II was the only game in J6 North this weekend. The maths, as has been stated many times, was simple: win and we would be 2nd. A defeat could have dropped us as low as 4th. In front of a crowd of around 6, including the captain of Milton, whose team we would overtake in the event of a win we fielded first.
Any thoughts of Bot-Lode (as they kept referring to themselves) stacking the team with 1st XI players was dispelled. Matt and Not-so-Speedy Gonzales took the new ball in their contrasting styles. Some tight bowling kept the scores down and Matt broke through in the 5th over bowling his opposite number who had decided to heave across the line to a straight one. Matt's 4th over featured a flurry of wides, and he did the noble thing by withdrawing himself in favour of Anthony Lamb. Overall we did a good job sending Dan Garson to Australia in exchange for Anthony (despite Gabriel's obsessions). In his first over two perfect in swinging deliveries rearranged the stumps and Bot-Lode were struggling. Next over, Not-so-Speedy joined the fun pinning the remaining opener LBW. Three wickets down for no runs. Jenny had arrived to score, we could spot exactly where she had taken over from the legibility and lack of mistakes thereafter.
Adam Bradbury replaced Not-so-Speedy and captured a 5th wicket courtesy of a running catch from Dave Simmons. Adam got a lot of turn, beat the bat the regularly but had no further successes. Anthony hit the stumps again,. At this point the only fielding Rob had had to do was to recover the ball and bails after a succession of deliveries hit the stumps. His reward was to be given the ball with score on 54-6 at the halfway stage. Rob "Slowpoke Rodriguez" reeled of 6 tight over with lots of playing and missing and two wickets. These came off successive balls, both caught by Bobby at short point.
Bot-Lode were now 60-8, which soon became 67-9 as Chirayu took a stinging caught and bowled off a well hit drive.
Matt had had enough and decided to let Bot-Lode set a target through another over of wides. If they weren't going to score runs, we would damn well do it for them. The last partnership had amassed 32 runs by the time Bobby - whose run up is looking more and more like Bob Willis - stopped the fun by taking the last wicket.
99 all out. Mr Extras top scored again. Really, if we could collectively learn to bowl straight we would win more games more easily. Anthony lead the bowling with 3-19, and Rob 2-11. The other 5 bowlers all grabbed one wicket.
We needed 100 to win for that 2nd place. Any thoughts of nervousness in the batting were quickly dispelled as Bobby and Dave Simmons rattled up the score in their contrasting styles. The bowling was steady without being threatening. Dave clubbed some boundaries in the direction of long on and Bobby alternated between graceful deflections and aggressive pulls when they pitched short.
We were rattling along and the opening partnership had reached 69 when Bot-Lode introduced their teenage spinning prodigy from The Perse School. He caused several false shots from the batsmen before clean bowling Dave - for 40 - who had stepped back to play him through the offside. 260 runs in the season is easily Dave's best return for the club.
Bobby was looking untroubled and it was a huge surprise when 3 runs later he was strangled down the leg side for 25. This meant that he had scored 298 runs in competitive 1st XI games this year, including two 50s. It is hugely satisfying to watch young players develop like this and I look forward to watching it continue: either from the sideline or wearing an umpire's coat.
Adam was now partnering Gabriel. We had got to within 5 of our target when the next wicket fell. In the previous over Gabriel had a reprieve when he gloved a beamer to the wicket keeper. Chirayu gave the catch, but Rob at midwicket had already called no-ball for the height. The next over their was another no-ball which evaded batsman and keeper alike. The batsmen ran and in the confusion both ended up at the strikers end. The keeper broke the stumps and then threw the ball to the bowler's end where Adam had safely regained his ground.
Gabriel looked aghast as Chirayu again raised the finger and proceeded to argue long and hard with the umpire and the opposition before grudgingly hauling himself off the field. The disciplinary committee fined him 6 pints (and 3 cokes) after the match.
95-3, and Adam was ready to leave. He launched the first two balls of the next over to long on, first for two and then four. We were home with 17 overs and 7 wickets to spare.
At the mid point of the season we had 1 actual win and 2 by default. The second half started with a defeat to Milton, but then turned around with a run of 6 wins out of 7, including 5 in a row to finish the season off. The one defeat was a close run affair to the champions Madingley. The juniors grew in confidence and contribution whilst the seniors showed that they weren't going their places without a fight.
Bobby was top run scorer, followed by Simmo, Richard and Matt. Adam and Paolo had the best averages.
Amongst the bowlers, the wickets were widely shared, only Scotch (18) and Matt (16) getting more than 10.
Now there is the wait until the New Year to see how the CCA re-arrange the leagues next year. In the meanwhile, everyone involved should give themselves a hearty "well done" slap on the back for finishing 2nd. In particular, well done to Matt for pulling a team together every week and engendering the team spirit and enjoyment (winning helps).
Safwan still has 10 overs left, if needed.
Any thoughts of Bot-Lode (as they kept referring to themselves) stacking the team with 1st XI players was dispelled. Matt and Not-so-Speedy Gonzales took the new ball in their contrasting styles. Some tight bowling kept the scores down and Matt broke through in the 5th over bowling his opposite number who had decided to heave across the line to a straight one. Matt's 4th over featured a flurry of wides, and he did the noble thing by withdrawing himself in favour of Anthony Lamb. Overall we did a good job sending Dan Garson to Australia in exchange for Anthony (despite Gabriel's obsessions). In his first over two perfect in swinging deliveries rearranged the stumps and Bot-Lode were struggling. Next over, Not-so-Speedy joined the fun pinning the remaining opener LBW. Three wickets down for no runs. Jenny had arrived to score, we could spot exactly where she had taken over from the legibility and lack of mistakes thereafter.
Adam Bradbury replaced Not-so-Speedy and captured a 5th wicket courtesy of a running catch from Dave Simmons. Adam got a lot of turn, beat the bat the regularly but had no further successes. Anthony hit the stumps again,. At this point the only fielding Rob had had to do was to recover the ball and bails after a succession of deliveries hit the stumps. His reward was to be given the ball with score on 54-6 at the halfway stage. Rob "Slowpoke Rodriguez" reeled of 6 tight over with lots of playing and missing and two wickets. These came off successive balls, both caught by Bobby at short point.
Bot-Lode were now 60-8, which soon became 67-9 as Chirayu took a stinging caught and bowled off a well hit drive.
Matt had had enough and decided to let Bot-Lode set a target through another over of wides. If they weren't going to score runs, we would damn well do it for them. The last partnership had amassed 32 runs by the time Bobby - whose run up is looking more and more like Bob Willis - stopped the fun by taking the last wicket.
99 all out. Mr Extras top scored again. Really, if we could collectively learn to bowl straight we would win more games more easily. Anthony lead the bowling with 3-19, and Rob 2-11. The other 5 bowlers all grabbed one wicket.
We needed 100 to win for that 2nd place. Any thoughts of nervousness in the batting were quickly dispelled as Bobby and Dave Simmons rattled up the score in their contrasting styles. The bowling was steady without being threatening. Dave clubbed some boundaries in the direction of long on and Bobby alternated between graceful deflections and aggressive pulls when they pitched short.
We were rattling along and the opening partnership had reached 69 when Bot-Lode introduced their teenage spinning prodigy from The Perse School. He caused several false shots from the batsmen before clean bowling Dave - for 40 - who had stepped back to play him through the offside. 260 runs in the season is easily Dave's best return for the club.
Bobby was looking untroubled and it was a huge surprise when 3 runs later he was strangled down the leg side for 25. This meant that he had scored 298 runs in competitive 1st XI games this year, including two 50s. It is hugely satisfying to watch young players develop like this and I look forward to watching it continue: either from the sideline or wearing an umpire's coat.
Adam was now partnering Gabriel. We had got to within 5 of our target when the next wicket fell. In the previous over Gabriel had a reprieve when he gloved a beamer to the wicket keeper. Chirayu gave the catch, but Rob at midwicket had already called no-ball for the height. The next over their was another no-ball which evaded batsman and keeper alike. The batsmen ran and in the confusion both ended up at the strikers end. The keeper broke the stumps and then threw the ball to the bowler's end where Adam had safely regained his ground.
Gabriel looked aghast as Chirayu again raised the finger and proceeded to argue long and hard with the umpire and the opposition before grudgingly hauling himself off the field. The disciplinary committee fined him 6 pints (and 3 cokes) after the match.
95-3, and Adam was ready to leave. He launched the first two balls of the next over to long on, first for two and then four. We were home with 17 overs and 7 wickets to spare.
At the mid point of the season we had 1 actual win and 2 by default. The second half started with a defeat to Milton, but then turned around with a run of 6 wins out of 7, including 5 in a row to finish the season off. The one defeat was a close run affair to the champions Madingley. The juniors grew in confidence and contribution whilst the seniors showed that they weren't going their places without a fight.
Bobby was top run scorer, followed by Simmo, Richard and Matt. Adam and Paolo had the best averages.
Amongst the bowlers, the wickets were widely shared, only Scotch (18) and Matt (16) getting more than 10.
Now there is the wait until the New Year to see how the CCA re-arrange the leagues next year. In the meanwhile, everyone involved should give themselves a hearty "well done" slap on the back for finishing 2nd. In particular, well done to Matt for pulling a team together every week and engendering the team spirit and enjoyment (winning helps).
Safwan still has 10 overs left, if needed.
Adam Lay I Bounden
Score Card
League Table
I apologize for the lateness and brevity of the report. My source has been pleading overwork, so when I finally chased him down to say some words we wasn't too forthcoming.
From what I can gather, the Coton promotion machine rumbles on to the last game of the season. For the second week running we were faced by a team of nine. Is this disrespect? "Oh, it's only Coton" I hear them say. "We can beat them with nine." "Including two grannies, and a cardboard cutout."
As it was when we last played, Longstowe's ground is the epitome of village cricket. A tree inside the boundary (bloody big and no-one managed to hit it), a mediaeval church, a changing room almost as old, and long grass covering the rolling outfield. Combined with the long boundaries the long grass helped keep the score down restricting the teams to a combined nine boundaries.
We opened with Mr Fox and Mr Elmes and they gave us a solid start, 29 in 12 overs, before Bobby was LBW to the more threatening of the two opening bowlers. Bobby's glances and flicks were being swallowed by the lush outfield, turning fours into twos. That's what coaching does for you, playing the ball on the ground isn't always the best idea.
Adam Bradbury joined Gabriel and the scoring rate went up. A bit. We made it to half way with one wicket down and sixty on the board before Gabriel was bowled.
This triggered that rarest of events: Ross Chandler batting for Coton, his first game for three years. This was a chance for him to show why his coaching of the juniors has brought so much success to the club in the last few years. Anyone suggesting "glory hunting" with promotion in sight are just being churlish. Ross scratched around for a few overs before departing, muttering about his eyesight, bringing Adam Wright to the wicket.
In the bible, the returning prodigal son is greeted with a coat of many colours and a fatted calf. Adam got a pair of shorts and a tuna sandwich. He was a little out of touch, and the Longstowe skipper was soon appealing for a caught behind. Rob turned it down on the basis that it had been edged into the ground and was a bump ball. Longstowe were still muttering about it for overs afterwards. On the next delivery the Longstowe captain "Mankaded" Adam Bradbury. Adam was palpably out of his ground, but the appeal was withdrawn and Adam told it was a warning.
Next ball, Adam Wright edged to the keeper again, and this time there was no doubt. The bowler then attempted to Mankad Adam again but the latter had gotten his bat down, just. He holed out a couple of overs later for a very impressive 44.
Richard stopped watching the buzzards long enough to bat, and with Matt started to up the score. It was still difficult to get away, and aggression was often rewarded with a wicket. Richard was LBW, Cameron bowled for a duck and Dominic run out, having been sent back by his skipper (no playing for the average there, then). Rob hit a couple of lusty blows before missing a straight one, and Matt saw out the innings with Tom. 139-9 was a struggle, but the bowling had been tight, the fielding enthusiastic, and the grass long.
Longstowe had similar problems scoring. Matt and Rob opened the bowling, and although both went wicketless in their opening spells kept the rate at under two an over. A couple of chances went begging to Rob's chagrin and the nerves set in. We needed wickets and Matt shuffled his pack. Last week's bowling star, Adam Bradbury, replaced Rob and then Ross came on for Matt. Adam wasn't quite on the money as had been the previous week and it was Ross that made the breakthrough. The opposition captain was his victim and he was sure that he had hit the ball. He had, but it was pad first, then bat which makes the LBW shout legitimate.
Ross went on to reel off 10 consecutive overs for just 19 runs. He didn't get another wicket but the required run rate was growing. From 3.5 per over when they started, to 4.5 at half way, to 5. Adam wheeled away with a combination of unplayable deliveries and slightly more playable ones. It was from one of the latter that the Longstowe number three slapped the ball into Gabriel's midriff at short mid-wicket. Matt shuffled his pack again. Ross was bowled out and Adam Wright got the call. Richard bowled a single over from the other end that included 4 wides and Rob came back for a couple more unsuccessful overs. All the while, the nine of Longstowe got closer and the score moved on to 93-2 with 10 overs left. 47 needed to win, with 6 wickets in hand.
Adam Wright immediately got impressive bounce and turn and got his reward by bowling the remaining opener. Matt span the wheel again and brought himself back. This was the decisive move. In four overs, 93-2 became 104-6. Adam got a 2nd from a smart catch by Cameron behind the stumps. Ross was encouraging Cameron to get closer and stay down longer and our young keeper became noticeably more decisive as the innings progressed. In the next over, Matt struck twice. The first was a leaping, diving take at midwicket by Gabriel. Richard mused that it was like a raptor taking a small bird in flight. Next ball Matt bowled the unlucky teenager that had been next to the wicket.
36 to win, but now only 2 wickets left. Adam Wright struck twice more. A towering shot was sent in the direction of long on. Gabriel steadied himself under the ball, read the coaching manual, consulted his stock broker and completed the third of a very impressive hat trick. Each was difficult in different ways and each taken. There have been other examples of the ball following a specific fielder (Bobby, Paolo) this season, and each has been up to the task when called upon.
By now Richard and Rob were both almost unable to move with injuries they had picked up and both were trying to avoid the call from Matt now he had finished his alloted overs. Neither was needed as Longstowe's last man advanced down the track and Cameron whipped off the bails to complete the stumping.
Longstowe were 121 all out, Coton victorious by 18 runs with 10 balls left. This puts us 3rd in the league and a win against Bottisham-Lode on the final day will see us into 2nd. It was a good all around team performance. Adam Bradbury lead the batting with his 44 supported by useful runs from Gabriel, Bobby, Richard and Matt. For the 2nd week running a wrist spinner called Adam took 4-10, this week it was Adam Wright. He did it in one over less than Adam Bradbury the previous week.
League Table
I apologize for the lateness and brevity of the report. My source has been pleading overwork, so when I finally chased him down to say some words we wasn't too forthcoming.
From what I can gather, the Coton promotion machine rumbles on to the last game of the season. For the second week running we were faced by a team of nine. Is this disrespect? "Oh, it's only Coton" I hear them say. "We can beat them with nine." "Including two grannies, and a cardboard cutout."
As it was when we last played, Longstowe's ground is the epitome of village cricket. A tree inside the boundary (bloody big and no-one managed to hit it), a mediaeval church, a changing room almost as old, and long grass covering the rolling outfield. Combined with the long boundaries the long grass helped keep the score down restricting the teams to a combined nine boundaries.
We opened with Mr Fox and Mr Elmes and they gave us a solid start, 29 in 12 overs, before Bobby was LBW to the more threatening of the two opening bowlers. Bobby's glances and flicks were being swallowed by the lush outfield, turning fours into twos. That's what coaching does for you, playing the ball on the ground isn't always the best idea.
Adam Bradbury joined Gabriel and the scoring rate went up. A bit. We made it to half way with one wicket down and sixty on the board before Gabriel was bowled.
This triggered that rarest of events: Ross Chandler batting for Coton, his first game for three years. This was a chance for him to show why his coaching of the juniors has brought so much success to the club in the last few years. Anyone suggesting "glory hunting" with promotion in sight are just being churlish. Ross scratched around for a few overs before departing, muttering about his eyesight, bringing Adam Wright to the wicket.
In the bible, the returning prodigal son is greeted with a coat of many colours and a fatted calf. Adam got a pair of shorts and a tuna sandwich. He was a little out of touch, and the Longstowe skipper was soon appealing for a caught behind. Rob turned it down on the basis that it had been edged into the ground and was a bump ball. Longstowe were still muttering about it for overs afterwards. On the next delivery the Longstowe captain "Mankaded" Adam Bradbury. Adam was palpably out of his ground, but the appeal was withdrawn and Adam told it was a warning.
Next ball, Adam Wright edged to the keeper again, and this time there was no doubt. The bowler then attempted to Mankad Adam again but the latter had gotten his bat down, just. He holed out a couple of overs later for a very impressive 44.
Richard stopped watching the buzzards long enough to bat, and with Matt started to up the score. It was still difficult to get away, and aggression was often rewarded with a wicket. Richard was LBW, Cameron bowled for a duck and Dominic run out, having been sent back by his skipper (no playing for the average there, then). Rob hit a couple of lusty blows before missing a straight one, and Matt saw out the innings with Tom. 139-9 was a struggle, but the bowling had been tight, the fielding enthusiastic, and the grass long.
Longstowe had similar problems scoring. Matt and Rob opened the bowling, and although both went wicketless in their opening spells kept the rate at under two an over. A couple of chances went begging to Rob's chagrin and the nerves set in. We needed wickets and Matt shuffled his pack. Last week's bowling star, Adam Bradbury, replaced Rob and then Ross came on for Matt. Adam wasn't quite on the money as had been the previous week and it was Ross that made the breakthrough. The opposition captain was his victim and he was sure that he had hit the ball. He had, but it was pad first, then bat which makes the LBW shout legitimate.
Ross went on to reel off 10 consecutive overs for just 19 runs. He didn't get another wicket but the required run rate was growing. From 3.5 per over when they started, to 4.5 at half way, to 5. Adam wheeled away with a combination of unplayable deliveries and slightly more playable ones. It was from one of the latter that the Longstowe number three slapped the ball into Gabriel's midriff at short mid-wicket. Matt shuffled his pack again. Ross was bowled out and Adam Wright got the call. Richard bowled a single over from the other end that included 4 wides and Rob came back for a couple more unsuccessful overs. All the while, the nine of Longstowe got closer and the score moved on to 93-2 with 10 overs left. 47 needed to win, with 6 wickets in hand.
Adam Wright immediately got impressive bounce and turn and got his reward by bowling the remaining opener. Matt span the wheel again and brought himself back. This was the decisive move. In four overs, 93-2 became 104-6. Adam got a 2nd from a smart catch by Cameron behind the stumps. Ross was encouraging Cameron to get closer and stay down longer and our young keeper became noticeably more decisive as the innings progressed. In the next over, Matt struck twice. The first was a leaping, diving take at midwicket by Gabriel. Richard mused that it was like a raptor taking a small bird in flight. Next ball Matt bowled the unlucky teenager that had been next to the wicket.
36 to win, but now only 2 wickets left. Adam Wright struck twice more. A towering shot was sent in the direction of long on. Gabriel steadied himself under the ball, read the coaching manual, consulted his stock broker and completed the third of a very impressive hat trick. Each was difficult in different ways and each taken. There have been other examples of the ball following a specific fielder (Bobby, Paolo) this season, and each has been up to the task when called upon.
By now Richard and Rob were both almost unable to move with injuries they had picked up and both were trying to avoid the call from Matt now he had finished his alloted overs. Neither was needed as Longstowe's last man advanced down the track and Cameron whipped off the bails to complete the stumping.
Longstowe were 121 all out, Coton victorious by 18 runs with 10 balls left. This puts us 3rd in the league and a win against Bottisham-Lode on the final day will see us into 2nd. It was a good all around team performance. Adam Bradbury lead the batting with his 44 supported by useful runs from Gabriel, Bobby, Richard and Matt. For the 2nd week running a wrist spinner called Adam took 4-10, this week it was Adam Wright. He did it in one over less than Adam Bradbury the previous week.
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