Petts Wood – Home – Won

It was a Thursday evening and I had just settled down to a Gin & Tonic and a copy of The Times Crossword when the phone rang – the “Usual Call”, Stacy saying we only had eight players. A quick ring round and we rustled up no players. Hmmm ….

Then on Friday evening the damned phone rang again – am I ever going to finish the crossword? So, with dark thoughts in my heart I picked up the receiver. A ray of light on an otherwise gloomy night: The Resourceful Buss possibly had ten players. He had roped in Sam-Aged-10 and Ben-Aged-11. Double hmmm ….

Ten players and a game we must win in order to make sure we stay up in this league and avoid the dreaded relegation spot (or spots as two teams take the plunge) – time for Fennell to defy all medical experience and turn out for the club. What a hero.

Last time we played this lot, we had a cracking game which went down to the final ball with a victory for us by just one run. So we were confident of a good game and a chance of maximum points.

Wait, where’s our overseas player? Ahhh .. it’s Zimbabwe Day (is there such a thing?) and every good Zim is drinking Zambezi’s in London. So back to ten players (well, seven senior players, two junior players and the cripple Fennell). As luck would have it, Evans’ young lad Alex is staying for a couple of weeks and like his father, would not see us short. So back to eleven again.

More luck – Buss wins the toss and decides to bat. The now familiar “steady” start? Not a bit of it. Cook is in fine form and we are at 48 in no time before Buss is caught. Enter Evans Senior. He and Cook settled right into a partnership from the off and seemed to have some sort of competition going between them. Trading one masterful shot for another they piled on the runs. Cook eventually played a rash shot and was out for 39. This brought Fluffer Alexander to the crease who boosted the run-rate with some delightful shots. Together, they brought the score to 139 before Evans was given out LBW on 43. Alexander and the Boy Bryce continued to exploit some average bowling and we got to 197 before the next wicket fell with only a few overs to go. Burton, in typical cavalier fashion, upped the run-rate once again. With only a few balls left, the medical wonder that is Fennell wandered out and took guard. This is what the fans had paid to see and there was a palpable buzz around the ground. The first ball was wide and Fennell wisely left it well alone – the old pro. The second lifted off a length and was crashed to the boundary. Not many people can square cut a six but that’s what happened. The crowd went wild, the bowler gulped and went back to begin another run-up that would surely lead to the same result. And so it continued. With a strike rate of 200%, it was a reminder of why he is one of the club’s leading batsmen. Still, all good things come to an end and we ran out of overs. The total stood at 218.

We enjoyed a joyful tea and were in confident mood when we went out to field. The required run-rate was nearly five an over and we knew the opposition were not the quickest of run getters. Burton and Evans were fast, accurate, aggressive and pretty much unplayable. Certainly, the Petts Wood batsmen found it difficult and struggled to get any runs. Wickets fell at regular (if not rapid) intervals and all the time the required run-rate kept rising. At the half way stage, they were 62 for 2. By now, Buss and Harvey were taking control after the initial onslaught of our opening bowlers and were stamping their authority on the game. The wickets continued to fall but, more importantly, the runs seemed to dry up almost completely. Bryce (henceforth referred to as The Rickster) was handed the ball and we were rewarded with another wicket in his very first over. Next Alexander grabbed the ball and gave us all a lesson in the art of leg spin. One of the crowd (a chunky bloke with highlights and an Aussie accent) was seen to be taking notes. By the 44th over they were 151 for 7 and the required run-rate had crept up to 38. Buss then played the first of his trump cards, Ben-Aged-11. A magnificent over yielding just two runs. The second part of his master-plan, Sam-Aged-10. Another cracking over again yielding only two runs and he should have had a wicket except for some sloppy fielding by Buss (I’m guessing young Sam will be getting extra pocket money for a time to come). Petts Wood were 63 runs short and we had another win.

When Stacy said he was thinking of playing Sam and Ben, I was a little uncertain and perhaps a tad concerned but I must say that many of us “senior” players could learn a thing or two from them. Both fielded their hearts out (46 overs is a hell of a lot longer than their usual 20), both bowled exemplary overs and both are great prospects for the future.

Also, a big thanks to Alex Evans who turned out at a moment’s notice and saved many runs with his fearless fielding. He put his body on the line for us and took some blows but never complained and never backed off. A chip off the old block!

Man Of the Match: Three good batting dispays – Cook (39), Evans (43) and Alexander (48). A raft of great bowling – Burton (9-1-30-1), Evans (8-1-20-1), Harvey (12-2-32-1), Buss (11-0-45-3), Bryce (2-0-9-1), Alexander (2-0-8-0), Norris (1-0-2-0) and Davies (1-0-2-0). Stunning catches from Bryce, Evans and Fennell. So much to choose from. One event marked someone for this title though – Evans and That catch.

Moment Of The Match: Evans was prowling out at the long-on boundary when the ball was smashed back over Harvey’s head and would surely have skipped into the crowd with one bounce. However, Evans had other ideas – he set off like a cheetah with his bum on fire, covering fully 30 metres before leaping and stretching out a mighty paw and scooped up the ball just inches off the ground. There was a cloud of dust from the resulting impact and out of this the paw and the ball were raised aloft. Simply unbelievable.

Halsted – Home – Won

A grey Saturday afternoon saw us and second place Halsted huddled together in the pavilion staring out at the prospect of a rain filled day. That’s if we could even get out at all. To be honest, we would have accepted the draw and a share of the points as we lost to them already this year and we had a weakened side due to only ten players turning up yet again.

Then the damned sky cleared up and we were off. Buss and Cook donned their wellies and went out to bat. The going was tough, the ball skidded and was being held up by a sticky wicket but we got off to another solid start thanks to the efforts of the Almost Dynamic Duo until Buss was caught. We were 17 for 1 off 6 overs. Cook and Harvey The Younger continued in a similarly solid fashion. Just when Cook was starting to get going he too succombed for 21 and we were 35 for 2 off 11. Evans came and went in a fairly rapid time spell and we were 43 for 3 off 13. Oh dear. Our overseas player, Bailey, strode out to the crease with his hunk of willow tossed casually over his shoulder. Now, he has not been enjoying the greatest of seasons with the bat so far although there have been glimpses of his potential. For almost an hour he toiled in the wet conditions, crashing the ball to the boundary with some mighty blows. Then, disaster, he was trapped leg before on 26. Another innings that started but was never converted. Bryce and Smith were now our source of hope and with great resolve and no little skill, survived the treacherous conditions and scored 28 and 20 respectively to bring the score to 108 for 6 off 33. The same luck didn’t hold for poor Burton who got a snorter of a ball and was out before he could bring his own brand of mayhem to bear. On top of this, it began to drizzle and things started to look grim. The final pair (we were only ten strong), Wynne and Harvey The Elder, were given instructions to see out the rest of the overs. Not an easy task given there were still 12 overs to go and it was starting to rain. They stuck to their task and managed to use up all but four of our allotted overs. All out for 141.

I must admit, all was not jolly at tea but we decided that this was actually not a bad score at all and would take some getting. This sentiment was echoed by the concerned voices of the opposition who were not looking forward to batting at all. Mother Nature is quoted as being a cruel mistress (just like Fate) but actually she is a complete b***ch – just when a positive spirit had returned to the Wrotham camp, the heavens opened and it started to rain heavily. The restart was delayed. It continued to rain and the Halsted Nancy Boys refused to risk ruining their hair and we were pavilion bound. I’m sure I saw one or two of them performing a rain dance. It worked: at 5:30 the game was called off.

So, a game of almost starts on the batting front and then absolutely no starts when fielding. A game where we would have gladly shared the points at the outset only to end up disappointed not have won. Still, our unbeaten record continues.

Man Of The Match: None really, everyone chipped in with some runs. A team effort.

Blue Star – Home – Won

And so the giant killing continues – it began in the unlikeliest of places: The George & Dragon; and in the unlikeliest of fashions – we were missing some players and didn’t have a full team. Yes, business as usual from Wrotham CC. Blue Star had not lost a game all season, they were top of the league, they had beaten us twice last year and they had some new players who were scoring well and taking wickets. So…not a confidence building situation then. Oh, and it was a grey and miserable day.

Yet again, the opposition turned up without an umpire so pressure was off Stacy to win the toss. With so few players (8 by this stage), he decided to bat. The Boy Bryce was working but said he’d turn up in an hour and, who knows, the other players may turn up as well. Recently, we’ve been having problems batting out our allotted 46 overs and this means the opposition get any unused overs, giving them a sizeable advantage. With this in mind, Buss and Cook set about building the innings in a controlled fashion – by which I mean that they didn’t score many runs but were looking steady. Then disaster, Cook got a nasty ball that lifted off a length and he gloved it to the keeper. We were 12 for 1 off 5. The Younger Harvey’s 3 runs from 38 balls continued the “steady” innings but did mean we were now 50 for 2 off 17. Something had to be done – enter Evans. Oh no, just a single off the first three overs he faced. Then, kablam – a four. Is this the start of an Evans revival? Nope. Two runs off the next four overs and the valuable wicket of Buss whose 34 has proved yet again why he should be at the top of the batting order. And so it continued, Evans showing glimpses of the shots we know he has, followed by periods of inactivity. However, with his normal grit he managed to go on to make a very valuable 47 runs. And what of the rest of the batsmen? WunderKind Smith was looking good ‘till he borrowed the unfortunate Fennell’s bat, which was obviously too much for him. He went to defend a ball which a mere mortal bat would have tapped back down the crease. He was not, however, prepared for this piece of mega-willow to ping the ball like a rocket to mid-on who took a sharp catch. Sorry, should have warned him. Then came the Two-Minuters, Bryce and Butler, so called as this is the amount of time it took them to walk to the centre, face a delivery and walk back. Burton didn’t fare much better although he was a little unlucky in the ball he got. We were 103 for 8 off 30 overs and in trouble. Enter the final pair: Harvey The Elder and Wynne. Both able batsmen but a little out of sorts recently and with 16 overs still left to play, Blue Star were looking at a target of 110 or so off 60 plus overs. Wynne was not having that and proceeded to give those higher up the order a lesson in how to defend a ball. Ably assisted by Harvey, they put on a last wicket stand of 49 and used up a further eight overs. All out for 152. At least we had something to defend.

After tea, Burton took the new ball and started off with a maiden of quick and accurate deliveries. Wynne at the other end started off with a wide! Then a four! Then a two! Not ideal. His second over was a maiden and he was back on track. Burton resumed his third over with pace and guile and was rewarded when he turned the batsmen round, got a leading edge and took a great diving catch. They were 11 for 1 off 3. Next over, Wynne proceeded with a snorter of a ball which reared up, bit the Blue Star uber-batsman on the hand and Cook collected our second scalp. So shocked was the batsman (who’d had nothing but centuries all season) that he had to be reminded by Evans that it was time to head back to the pavilion with just 5 runs to his name. His team mates were heard to ask if he thought he’d hit it but he replied “I’ve never faced a ball like that. It was unplayable”. Two overs later Wynne was at it again and Cook had his second catch – they were 26 for 3 and we were beginning to believe. Burton believed in a big and special way, returning figures of 2 for 17 off 9 (including 5 maidens). The boy was just too good to be playable. Evans got in on the act and, although his first four overs went for just 12 runs, his final three went for none and produced three wickets! Buss, not to be outdone, found some turn and bowled up a storm that left Blue Star mesmerised. Only a rank long hop which was dispatched for 6 stopped a career best. Still, 2 for 18 off 6 is not too shabby.

Once we had their top five batsmen out for just 65 runs, the game was over really. They managed to struggle to 80 all out through a combination of edges and lucky but very frustrating shots.

Man of the match: It was a day of dogged determination while batting from Buss, Evans, Wynne and The Younger Harvey. Some really tight fielding (I can only remember one miss-field) and possibly the best team bowling display I’ve seen in a long time. A real team effort so it’s difficult to single any one person out.

In the middle of the innings, just when we needed it, the ball was edged but it simply popped up and was going to fall short of the slip cordon. Then The Younger Harvey rose into the air majestically like an eagle who has just spotted Flopsy scampering around in the undergrowth. He plummited to earth and thrust out a mighty talon and Flopsy was scooped up off the ground and the last of the top order batsmen was on his way back to the pavilion and with it Blue Stars chances.

As mentioned, Burton was on fire. Line, length, pace, aggression – we’ve seen all of these from him in the past but never all at once. Today he was scary. Wynne batted and bowled his heart out and returned great figures. Likewise Buss. New boys Bryce and Smith gave us a demonstration in fielding but man of the match has to go to Evans. His knock of 47 runs was made all the better when you consider the position we were in when he came in to bat. His bowling of 3 for 12 off 7 was an example of how to bowl intelligently and as ever he was a dynamo in the field. The complete player.

Moment of the match: In the fourth over, Darren “Lassie” Cook pricked up his ears and, like his namesake, dashed off the field. He was heading for the bushes so I guessed he needed to powder his nose. Nope, he hurdled the fence and kept on going. All around, the players (on both sides) were looking at each other in wonderment. It was only when we followed him that all became clear, for he was in a corn field beating out a fire with one of his pads. What a he-man. Then, towards the end of the innings his spider-senses were tingling again and he dashed off to the other side of the pitch where a young lad had fallen down the bank on his bicycle and Lassie administered First Aid. Extra Pedigree Chum for him then.