Buckhurst – Home – Won

Thursday – rain, Friday – rain, Saturday – rain. When we met up at “The Clubhouse”, we were all surprised that we hadn’t received a call saying that the pitch was only suitable for water polo. Ah but Buckhurst were second in the league and were not about to share points with an inferior team such as us.

So, with the determination that we wouldn’t make it easy for them, we decamped to Sevenoaks. On arrival, it rained. Nobody really thought we’d get a game in but we went through the motions. To be certain of the win, they suggested reducing the game to 35 overs, which was okay by us – less time out in the rain. Stacy won the toss and, in true belligerent form, put them in to bat. Then the sun came out and play began. Wynne started well with some quick deliveries which whistled past their opener (averaging 98 this season). Then one rapped him on the gloves and ballooned into the air. The ever young Elder Harvey leapt forward gazelle-like, both feet slipping out from under him on the wet grass. He then stumbled forward on all fours like Beau Guest making his way to the oasis. Just as his final breath escaped his parched lips, he stretched out a mighty hand and scooped up the ball one inch off the ground. We were on our way. Seven overs later, Evans bowled his trademark slower ball, completely baffling the poor batsman who spooned it to The Boy Smith. The next over, Wynne, after being hit for two 4s and a 2, bowled a rank long hop which was duly smashed towards the boundary. Quite unbelievably, Smith jumped and plucked a certain 4 from the air. They were 46 for 3 and rattled. A bowling change and Buss and Harvey The Elder took over and proceeded to reduce the run rate even further. They had only 78 on the board after 20 overs. However, their batsmen were beginning to get settled. Then Beau struck again, trapping his man Leg Before. This tight bowling continued and 10 overs passed. They were 130 off 30 overs when that man Harvey struck again. Two overs later, he took another – he was on fire. Wynne came back on and the rest of the innings passed uneventfully. We were set a target of 157 to win.

Despite having to toil in the rain, we were quite cheerful when we walked off the pitch. This happy state was further increased when we saw the spread before us. If there was a prize for the best teas of the season, then the ladies from Buckhurst are outright winners.

It started to rain again but Cook and Buss donned the pads and headed out to bat with determined expressions. The opening attack was quick and aggressive, with Buss having to take evasive action on a number of occasions. The runs were not flowing particularly quickly but at least we hadn’t lost a wicket. Then Cook played a glorious cover drive and we had our first boundary. Three overs later, another text book cover drive and a second boundary. From that moment on, the runs came through a succession of great shots leading to at least one boundary per over. After 10 overs, we had 38 runs – exactly two runs behind the Buckhurst score. Buss and Cook didn’t panic, they just stuck at it and kept hitting the runs. After 20 overs, Cook had his maiden 50 and we had 92. We were ahead of the run rate. And so it continued. Buss was next to get 50 with a magnificent 6 straight back over the bowler’s head. Cook, not to be outdone, opened his shoulders and accelerated to 88 before popping a simple chance into the air, only to see the

unfortunate fielder spill the ball. However, by this time, Buss had charged down the crease only to have to turn around and scamper back. He was too slow and had to head back to the pavilion. We were two runs short of victory but had witnessed an opening partnership of 155 – this must be some sort of record! The Younger Harvey had to put his pads back on and head out to watch Cook hit the winning runs. Bet Buckhurst wish they’d opted to share the points!

Moment of the match: Butler, fielding at mid-wicket, saw the ball (and his life) flash before his eyes. Apparently “he lost the ball in the trees” so ducked out of the way. Good job he is so nimble or he could have sustained a nasty injury.

Man of the match: Harvey The Elder’s 3 for 27 off 9 and the catch that started the whole thing off was stuff of legends. Buss’s controlled 52 combined with some tidy bowling was pretty good also but Cook’s steady and impressive display of shots was easily one of, if not the best, innings of the year and he claims the prize.

Highways At Platt – Home – Lost

Where to begin – we played badly and lost. The end. We won the toss and decided to bat.

We were truly awful. Smith’s 28 turned out to be the top score with Evans at 17 the only other batsman to make double figures. Luckily the Highways bowling was pretty poor too and they gave away 48 extras to bring our total to just 117. So, we had few runs to spare but perhaps we could claim a couple of wickets… no chance. Only Harvey The Elder showed any defiance but he couldn’t stop a rampant Highways onslaught and they passed our total with the loss of just 3 wickets. Another game gone and more points let slip.

Relegation is now a distinct possibility.

Prospect Park – Away – Won

There was a buzz in the air when we all met up in “The Clubhouse” (aka The George & Dragon). For the first time in the season, we had a full team and didn’t have to do the usual last minute hunt around for a 10th and 11th player.

It was going to be a tough day – Prospect Park whipped us last time we met. Still, we had a good team; all we needed was a bit of luck.

Luck came in the form of a lack of an opposition umpire – the toss was won. Given it was scorching, we decided that we’d prefer to sit in the shade while Prospect ran around in the sun. Besides – one of our eleven hadn’t turned up yet.

Buss and Evans took the battle to them right from the off. They smashed 18 runs off the first two overs and we were looking good. And so it continued. Once again, all the batsmen scored without a single duck on the scoresheet. In fact, only 4 runs separated the top four scores. This was the second week in a row that we managed this – remarkable. At the end of the innings, the total stood at 173 for 9 wickets (yes, we only had 10 players after all).

It was then our turn to toil in the sun. Wynne and Burton opened the bowling for us and Prospect Park got off to a good start – 33 off the first 8 overs. Then Evans took the ball. And so began their collapse. With the usual accuracy and some extra vim and vigour and figures of 5 for 23 off 9, he rocked through the heart of the opposition batting. He was deservedly man of the match.

This destructive onslaught was ably aided by some truly remarkable fielding. This began when New Boy Bailey (at 2nd slip) dived and stuck out a massive Zimbabwean paw to stop the guided missile that was the ball on its way to the boundary. Then shortly afterwards Harvey The Younger (at 1st slip) leapt into the air like a spawning salmon to parry the ball and stop another certain 4. This, coupled with some amazing throwing, meant the opposition were scared to chance that extra run. Their heads were down and they were out – with just 106 runs on the board.

Moment of the match – Prospect’s main batsman thumped the ball solidly through mid-off to the boundary … but wait, The Boy Harvey moved cat-like to his left, threw out a hand and cut off the ball. As he lay in a jumbled heap, he somehow managed to throw the ball to a waiting Bryce at the bowler’s end. With no chance of a run-out at that end as the batsman was home, he threw it to Cook at the other end and the run-out was complete. It all happened so quickly the Prospect Park scorer refused to believe it had happened at all. Ah .. teamwork.

PS: if anyone has seen or heard from our 11th player then please let us know, as we still haven’t heard from him.

Petts Wood – Away – Won

Copperfield, Blaine, Houdini, Wrotham CC … the greatest escape artists in the known world. But more of this later.

On a hot Saturday afternoon, ten good men and true turned out at Petts Wood to try and turn our flagging season about. We won the toss and let the opposition field first – well, it was scorching. We got off to a solid start with Buss and Evans taking the heat from the new ball. Buss was looking strong having already hit 4’s and 6’s when he mistimed one and was caught. Evans and The Boy Harvey soldiered on and then Smith and Barker and then so did Burton and Harvey The Elder. Everyone scored runs – yes, I’ll have to check the records but I’m guessing it was a long time since a Wrotham side had no ducks. Only 11 runs separated the top four batsmen. We had scored 175. Unfortunately, we had been bowled out and, on top of that, gave Petts Wood an extra six overs.

After a nice tea, we took the field. The going was slow; well, from our point of view it was – they were 48 off ten overs before the first wicket fell. After some very ordinary cricket, they got to 106 for 5 and, with only 60 runs to get, things were evenly placed. One bad over here or a couple of wickets there would mean the difference between winning or losing. Both happened and thus they got to 128 for 7 but there were still 30 overs for them to get only 47 runs. Batsmen numbers 8 and 9 put their heads down and we couldn’t get them out. Soon (well, no, not soon – it was a long slow effort on both sides) it was 166, there were only 4 overs left and no sign of these two getting out.

So, 10 runs required, 24 balls and 3 wickets in hand. Everyone was nervous. A wicket! 10 off 23 balls, 2 wickets left. End of the next over – 11 runs scored. So 9 off 12 balls with 2 wickets left…getting tense. Another wicket on the last ball of the penultimate over! So here we go – 8 off the last over and the last pair at the crease…nail-biting stuff. First ball – 2 runs (6 off 5). Second ball – 1 run (5 off 4). Aargh. Third ball – a dot ball – phew (5 off 3). Fourth ball – a single (4 off 2). Fifth ball – a dot ball (4 off 1). Last ball – everyone on the boundary, 2 runs and a run-out on the third run. Hooray! Petts Wood were all out and just 1 run shy of our total.

Man of the match – hard to call. Martin’s figures of 4 for 37 off 12 were very special. Smith’s maiden innings of 32. Burton’s innings of 22 combined with some tidy bowling of 2 for 42 off 12. All could have been contenders but, for sheer bravado, it must be Evans for bowling that last over.