Hello My Little raisons d'être
This weekend we’ve overcome apocalyptic downpours, opposition drop outs, continued injury woes in the 1st team and eye watering flatulence and still put out 4 teams on Saturday and a shiny and vibrant Academy side on Sunday so maybe we are doing something right.
This week’s unsung hero comes from a largely unseen vignette on the second ground on Saturday where our very own adopted darling son, Derek Morgan made a brief but largely successful return to umpiring. Derek stood for us for much of 2017 before illness prevented him from continuing in 2018. However, in the meantime he has become a regular and positive supporter and it was wonderful to hear he had filled in for a dozen overs for the 4s on Saturday with a view to returning to duty in the near future. Derek, we salute you!
There is an old adage that you should never judge a first innings total until both sides have batted and that has never held more true than Saturday. When news came through to HQ that the 1s had been skittled for 88 at Beddington there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Long standing members were seen face down on the carpet kicking and screaming and sack cloths and ashes were being handed out at the door of the pavilion.
88 all out? How could such a thing come to pass? However, word had earlier come through that Beddington’s pitch (often a seamers paradise) had been waterlogged and lesser umpires may have sent everyone home without a ball bowled. As it was the game went ahead and 88 (Batch 33, Sam Holland 12 and Sairaj 14) proved to be a not only challenging total, but more importantly a winning one.
The challenge came in the dual form of Dan Miles and Will Pereira who grabbed 8 wickets between them to send Beddington to an unlikely 20 run defeat. Pez’s 5 for 20 being the outstanding figures as the 1s maintained top spot ahead of a crucial game against 3rd place Camberley on Saturday.
At HQ the pitch also had more than a tinge of green and skipper Lenton Robinson, his eyes still stinging from the bitter tears that only a repeat viewing of Paddington 2 can induce, lost the toss and was quickly inserted by the Beddington captain. It was a pitch that called for guts, experience and patience and it was fortunate indeed then that one amongst the Normandy ranks had these in spades. Enter Andrew “the Rat” Hemingway who’s undefeated 77 out of a total of 134 all out was one of the best innings of its kind you will see, reminding all in attendance what a super player our Treasurer continues to be. Old fashioned graft combined with some classical stroke-play to ensure we at least had a total to defend. Of the rest, only Scrappy Wellfare and Michael Walter made double figures.
In their turn the visitors set about the chase with all the urgency of vegan approaching a John Fry barbecue. So slow was the reply that at one stage a draw looked the most likely outcome. However, skipper Lenton marshalled his bowlers to great effect and despite some resolute resistance from his opposite number the baddies were winkled out with 7 balls to spare. The wily Heane Dog finished with 4 for 37, Lenton 3 for 24 and Teeny jnr 2 for 7. This win for the 2s means they are currently 4th.
And then there was the 3s. Ah, the 3s. The Forlorn Hope still striving to compete and at 69 for 2 chasing 139 for 9 dare I say there was more than a tinge of optimism about the chase. Sadly, that was dispelled by the kind of collapse that can ruin the day of even the most stoical captain. Losing 5 wickets for 3 runs in a run chase rarely helps and this was no exception as the hard work of Martin Sampson (30) and Dough Balls (21) disappeared in a tumult of wickets. That 3 figures were scraped before the inevitable defeat was down to an undefeated 11 from Hodgy.
No league duty for the 4s, so it was fun Saturday on the top ground. Or at least it was for Woking who inflicted an 8 wicket defeat chasing down 77 in 20 overs. For the good guys Tim Jones provided the stoutest resistance with 27 and only The Fonz and last-minute fill in and debutant Adam Smithson reached the dizzy heights of double figures.
4 dropped catches (including the rarity of one form captain Medlock) did little to aid the cause although Rev George returned to action with 2 for 8.
On Sunday the Academy continued their 100% record as Alfie Beardall spearheaded their victory over Camberley. The young seamer took a career best 5 for 22 to lead the charge as the visitors fell nearly 80 runs short after Callum Job (82), Teeny jnr (43*), Scrappy Wellfare (37) and George Allom (13*) helped post 217 for 7 in 40 overs.
Under 19s
The under 19s take on Valley End at home on Monday night so please come down and support the boys as they attempt to do the double on the Enders.
They then continue their campaign on Wednesday evening at Cranleigh. Meet time is 5.15 at Cranleigh and the team for that particular game is as follows:
Callum Job (Capt)
Sam Holland
Sam Wellfare
Arya Khedekar
Alfie Beardall
Henry Sumsion
Will Sampson
Michael Walter
Alexander Wilson
Aaron Hunt
Matt Cook
Reserves – Lev Davies, George Anderson, Guy Hudson, James Spink & Jack Walter
Any problems should be reported to Callum Job in the first instance.
Reminders:
Slate – some of you need to pay your match fees from the weekend
MyClubhouse – all of you need to update your availability for the weekend ahead by 6pm on Tuesday please (including for the Academy game on Sunday)
Back to HQ – Saturday 3rd August
The 2s are hosting a back to HQ evening on Saturday 3 August under the auspices of their Shocking Shirt Olympics (NOT “Shocking Short Olympics” as my befuddled typing inferred last time). The aim is for all 4 teams to return to HQ after cricket resplendent in the worst shirts they can find to provide a riot of colour as the backdrop for a few testing and novel events to see who can be crowned champions on the night. To allow you to start training I can exclusively reveal that one event will be the “wrong handed throwing” so time for the captains to identify their ambidextrous champions for this one.
More details to follow…
Right, I’m off to see of you really can put a Rowntrees Fruit Pastel in your mouth without chewing it.
Ah’ll see thee
Scottie Dog