Well at last the last game of the season and the big grudge match against the competitors across the harbour. With BB fielding Ringer C in their side there was plenty of opportunity for some needle.
BB were quick to get their excuses in claiming to have just lost their best player but a quick examination of their shirts indicated either a) a corporate affinity with Long Ashton Cricket Club or b) (more likely) a host of ringers drummed up for the night on the promise of sponsorship for the club. Some might say that CW could be considered a little cheeky for raising such issues but not this correspondent.
Earl did sterling work at the toss and elected to bat. The playing conditions were somewhat unusual with 12 overs of 8 balls each agreed.
Ringer A and Williams
opened the batting and against a white ball swinging like a banana got the innings off to a reasonable start (with Williams creaming one through the off side with a shot no-one thought he had in his locker, least of all him) before Williams fell to one that swung in through his gate. Ringer A decided to give it some tap and smashed a couple of sixes in a row off their opener before spooning up a catch going for the third but by now it was clear that whilst wickets would tumble the run rate would be good.
Halden fell in similar fashion to Williams but Wright and Earl without ever really getting into top gear kept the score moving along nicely. Earl in particular struggled with his timing against their slowest bowler. Both fell caught in relatively close succession but Ringer B (supported by Shore) got amongst the bowling with some carefree batting closing his knock with a flourish – 646.
Ringer C on debut played one deft late cut for 4 but perished and then Ringer D and Shore saw out the overs. A score of 116 for 6 looked a little more than competitive.
It should be recorded that the fielding was first class and the high run rate owed much to some fine stroke play and little to poor bowling or fielding.
Earl’s tactics for the second innings were straightforward, try and get 3 or 4 relatively cheap overs in early on and raise the pressure and to do this he decided to keep Ringer A in reserve and so Ringers D and B opened the bowling. They both bowled exactly to order and with Earl clinging onto a fantastic catch in the deep off Ringer B and Ringer D bowling a beauty through the gate BB were already in trouble at 22 for 2 off 4.
Ringer A and Halden then came together and it made for an interesting mix with Ringer A bowling like an express and jagging the occasional ball in whilst Halden twirled the ball at much less pace. The batsman barely got a touch on Ringer A’s bowling and the in ducker that cleaned up their no 4 batsman will live long in the memory. Halden did not get amongst the wickets but bowled tidily and it should be said fielded magnificently picking up a run out along the way as indeed did Ringer A later in the game but as he ran out their lady player it was rather unsporting.
With 4 overs to go (i.e. 32 balls) they were facing the uphill challenge of scoring 77 runs with only 5 wickets in hand. Ringer C bowled 2 of those overs and got a little tap but in the context of the match never enough for CW to be in trouble. Earl bowled a beauty of an over and would have had much more reward if Williams had remembered to take the bails off before appealing for a stumping but still grabbed a wicket and Simmons finished matters off (it was a safe tactical decision they needed 43 off the last over – even Williams could have been trusted to safely bowl it).
A fine performance in the field up until the last 2 overs saw CW home to spare. The tale of the fielding in those 2 overs is in truth a horror story. The “high”light being Wright running in to take a catch, missing it, the ball running behind him, Earl picking up and throwing “towards” the ‘keeper, missing by about 30 yards, Ringer D backing up, missing the ball, turning round, picking it up and eventually throwing it in which all managed to turn what should have been a dismissal into 4 runs, shameful.
A fine game played in the usual excellent spirit (save for one or two moments of testiness when, remarkably, Ringer D did not trigger the batsman). CW were cock-a-hoop at the stuffing delivered to their rivals.
Man of the match was a real challenge this week with, frankly, the non-ringers not really putting up much of a performance and so in a shocking break with tradition the awarding committee have gone for Ringer B for his blitzkrieg batting (although Ringer A was very much in the running). It seems strangely appropriate that a ringer should finally win man of the match in the same game as ringers went past 1,000 runs for the firm.
STOP THE PRESS – another game has been arranged so this is not the final instalment.
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