With the new season dawning and the squad clearly invigorated as a result of the fresh blood in the management (the Chairman of Selectors being joined this year by Earl as Viscount of Fixtures and Dropper as on field Skipper) it was clear that there could be no difficulties getting a team out for the season opener against our old foes Cameron McKenna.
Well one would have thought that would be the case but as usual the apathy of CW shone through and only 7 people could be bothered to turn out. Fortunately in light of similar shameful performances over the last 2 seasons the Chairman now has a healthy group of ringers to call upon and 3 of them answered the call to arms this time round.
The weather was set fair which ordinarily would be a blessing but when playing at The Downs School is far from as the pitch is sensibly aligned East-West to ensure batting late on is a nightmare.
The Chairman set the season off to a cracking start therefore by losing the toss and Camerons leapt at the chance to get runs on the board. So unexcited was he at the prospect that he asked Earl to skipper the side on the field. To ensure the game could be squeezed in it was agreed to play 16 8 ball overs. Webb was not happy.
Burton and Webb opened the bowling and fortunately their ever dangerous opener (often reported by us as Ringer A when he plays for CW) was whipped out rather cheaply. Indeed Burton followed up this snorter with another beauty to whip out the other opener first ball leaving them 4 for 2.
After that however the bowlers really struggled with the steep slope running across the ground and Camerons got some serious luck. Well most of their luck was having the Chairman keeping wicket (18 byes).
Burton did manage to snaffle a third wicket at the tail of his spell but Webb had to be pulled off by Earl as an act of kindness after two overs.
Ringer A bowled first change and frankly got carted whilst Earl wheeled away at the other end and bought four wickets. By some miracle Ringer A snaffled a wicket at the start of his third over thanks to a brilliant catch by Ringer B (who owed us one after dropping a sitter) and somehow managed to snare a wicket maiden.
Ringer C claimed he was not really a bowler but bowled a very tidy (and fast) spell and meanwhile Webb was brought back and picked up a wicket. Finally their innings was wrapped up when the Chairman claimed a stumping off the bowling of Ringer B, this might have been more impressive if he had not dropped 3 and missed a stumping and let’s not forget the wides.
A target of 136 was going to be a stretch but probably achievable.
Certainly Camerons thought they were in trouble when Earl cracked the first, fourth, eleventh and thirteenth deliveries for 6 before retiring. Now the Chairman is used to his opening partner retiring but this is the first time it has happened without him scoring. With Earl retired (and gone – he had some ridiculous excuse about having to go and see his godfather, although granted his godfather is an Australian and was only in town for one day) the run rate plummeted and the Chairman could only look on in dismay as Wright, Ringer B, Webb, Thomas and Ringer A all perished cheaply. He meanwhile was grinding out the runs before falling plumb LBW (he nearly walked) for 6 out of a total, at the time, of 63 which is pretty slow going even by his standards.
Sadly neither Ringer C nor Simmons could stop the rot and Burton ended up stranded.
A comprehensive defeat by 62 runs. Not a great start to the season. Fortunately the next game is on Tuesday so they can get back into the saddle quickly.
Man of the Match has to go to Earl whilst Camerons would probably name the Chairman as their best player.
(Note the number of overs has been converted to ensure the averages remain true to 6 ball overs)
Balance requires us to print the other side's match report
A new season, a new start. Where reputations will be won and reputations will be lost. Where, for the trainees, one will emerge victorious from a extravagant wager whilst the others will emerge shame faced in defeat. Where, each match, the duck-egg blues will be proudly worn by a team member, elected by his peers, for their outstanding contribution in the previous game.
The result:
Camerons: 135 all out
Clarke Wilmott: 65 all out
The match:
Camerons elected to bat first. The small boundary meant that a good score needed to be posted. The usually reliable Joe was an early departure and Geoff H quickly followed. Geoff P clubbed a couple of impressive boundaries, before being bowled around his legs. The shame. Things were looking ominous. I'm not sure quite what happen next as Jon and I were seizing up each other's bowling in the nets, but I am assured that, thanks to Tristan Chris and Max, the middle order put in some stiff resistance and the 100 was reached with relative ease. After Max departed, wickets again began to tumble. Pete, Dominic and Simon all played some encouraging shots before succumbing to some good deliveries. Jon hit a couple of lofty strokes before his over exuberance led him to be stumped. Camerons were all out, leaving Ben stranded on a well fought 19 not out.
The Clarke Wilmott innings was a bit like me on a night out - started well, but faded fast. Their opening batsman, clearly in a rush after a curry lunch, hit a rapid 27 off the first two overs. Not a good start. A shell shocked Simon then pulled things together with a couple of wickets, backed up by a wicket from his wing-man Pete. That was more like it. Jon was then brought into the attack. A wild first over, which brought back memories of the bodyline series downunder, was followed by a wicket in his second. Geoff P's fiery bowling saw off another batsman, but only after he had tickled him in the ribs with a brutal bouncer. In the meantime, Dominic, thanks to a rather generous interpretation of the wide rule, managed to keep his first over down to a mere 11 balls. Ben's two overs were typically solid - two wickets for only a couple of runs. The opposition were on the ropes and there for the taking. Dominic obliged and, in the fading light, Camerons emerged victorious.
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