Catford Catastrophe

Catford Wanderers, Home, Lost

A reduced match of 32 overs due to the opposition turning up late, we were about 4 regular players down yet Wardy saved the day (again) by bringing along some friends, we were quite positive that we would win this match comfortably due to them  losing to Blackheath Select at the beginning of the season  so after winning the toss we opted for them to bat first, it was looking quite good at 1-9 but by the time we took our third wicket they had managed to get to 147 in the 26th over, didn’t help much that their number 2 batsmen scored 69 and number 4 ended on 85 not out, their total off of 32 overs 188-5 Stacy taking 2 of the wickets and Jason 3, we knew however at this point we had our work cut out in our innings …

Tea at this time seemed a marvellous idea, refuel and reflect on what had just happened  … 20 minutes draws by and Chuffa blows his referee’s whistle (what is that all about, they are only sat either in the pavilion or just outside, honestly, and I get accused of attracting all the dogs with my whistling… ) No comments needed thank you!!

So, at this point in Hindsight a downpour would have been ideal yet it was not to be so off go Stacy and Nick to open the batting,  Oh dear it wasn’t quite a golden duck but it couldn’t have been much closer, poor Stacy .. we were 1-0 after just 2 balls,  bring on John Smith, who seemed to be swinging the bat well and although he managed a 4 we knew after he was dismissed at 2-8 off of just 3 overs that we were in a bit of trouble … Nick managed a very respectable 20 and Russ 15, Jason seemed also to be having a good bat until he was caught for 14, the bar was just looking more and more inviting at this point, it was the first time this season that the players had rather long faces on them, tell a lie little Graham out of the two remained very chirpy throughout, I was thinking about inviting him along every week to keep the spirits up …

So there you have it a very poor 81 all out, disappointing I think is an understatement but there is always next week to make amends ….. I’m sure that’s probably the wrong thing to say, especially from someone who knows very little about the game and is sat with the score book in front of them, I do know however that this little hiccup will all be forgotten and next weeks game will be a completely different story!! 

A thank you to those that gave up their Saturday to come and help … a little note for all of our regular players and anyone else interested in playing, nets are on Thursday nights from about 6 ish at the ground!!

Man of the Match:

Graham Kingsnorth for remaining in high spirits throughout the whole game and managing to keep smiles on others …..

Moment of the Match:

Ouch … Russ Fennell’s glorious wild slash at a delivery which resulted in a thick edge on to his nose … blood erghhhhhh ….

Table Toppers March On !!!

Blackheath Select, home, won (by lots) 

Our first home game of the season saw Wrotham’s winning ways continue, electing to bat first Wrotham’s openers saw the early dismissal of R Fennings losing his wicket slashing at a wide ball which fell into the hands of the fielder at gully, enter Mr reliable (Wardy) leading to Wrotham steadily progressing to 49 at which point the evergreen Buss (S) played around a most unexpected straight ball (there were not many in the 40 overs) he looked somewhat like he was trying to avoid the sprouts on his Sunday dinner however he did manage to score double figures this week with a fine 36. Rickyyyyyy our saviour Bryce was next in at the crease to continue where he left off at Granby slaying Blackheath bowlers around all four corners, six very fine sixes and fifteen fours proved yet again why he is the current leading run  scorer, he managed a consecutive century of the season before being bowled (by yet another straight ball) for 125 ….. If he deosn’t make next weeks fixture can the club borrow his bat??

New boy Ieuan Jones (He’s Welsh don’t you know) contributed an impressive 24 in a stand of 149 with Boy Bryce, it really wasn’t his fault that Rick kept nicking the strike. In the final overs of Wrotham’s innings D Buss and G Waterworth tried their utmost to run each other out, behaving like children yet totalling a partnership of 22 to give the home team yet another great score of 269-5

Quick bite and back out saw Gareth Waterworth take a very impressive 5-25 displaying a fine variation of swing bowling, the opposition were left decimated and never able to recover. Wardy of the Nick kind bowled 2 overs taking a wicket and not conceding any runs, he had the opposition bamboozled with his left arm hand grenades. Dave Buss pitched in with 2-8 and Neil Harvey although only bowling 1.2 overs managed 2 wickets to add to his successful season so far ….. 

Overall Blackheath struggled with bat and ball leaving Wrotham to top the table for another week …. Back to the George by 6.30 !!

Man of the Match:

This weeks prestigious award has to be shared equally between our very own Rickyyyyyy and our silent yet deadly assassin Gareth Waterworth ….

Moment of the Match:

Saw the first Blackheath batsmen returning to his seat after being bowled by Gareth in the second over muttering ” we can do this, they’re s**t bowlers” quick recap – they gave us 42 extra’s and they only scored 49 runs!!

Rick’s rout and Nick’s knock floor foes

Old Elthanians Granby, away, won

Week two and despite a thumping win the previous week we set off to inner London with only ten players! What is it about Wrotham cricket. You’d have thought we’d be fighting players off but no. Still, those we did have we good and true. Rain was forecast so maybe we wouldn’t even need those we did have.

After some slight difference of opinion about the start time, we tossed a coin and it was decided that we should bat. The ever young and dashing paring of Buss and Cook (yes, cookie was back). These two had not strutted their stuff together since the dim and distant past of last season. Perhaps this was why the partnership did not last for too long. With only 12 runs on the board they set of for some runs. On the second run their eyes met, sparks passed between them, music filled the air, Darren when left, Stacy went left, they met in the middle in a swirling, twisting, spiraling waltz. It was a magical moment. Unfortunately for Buss the opposition didn’t saver the moment quite as much and ran him out.

Not a great start then. Enter The Rock. Last week Nick gave us a glimpse of his batting abilities. This week he continued with his lesson. We have come to expect a solid performance and were not disappointed today. We were treated to a display of elegant forward defenses, slashing square cuts and some cracking leg pulls. Truly a great find for the club.

Cook was the next to go (on 26). The Rock was still doing rock type stuff. After last weeks 87 the Boy Bryce was promoted to number four. Rick has recently been granted the use of the family bat; a special piece of willow handed down from generation to generation with one proviso – you can only use it if you hit 50. So no pressure then. Undaunted by this, Rick started off crashing the ball to the boundary. And so it went on and on; The Rock being solid and the Rickster decimating the bowling. Eventually though all good things come to an end and The Rock ran out of gas and we had a second run out.

It’s Fennell Time. In a flurry of singles interspersed with a the occasional boundary the runs began to pile on (Rick was still blasting away at the other end). The partnership came to an end with 117 runs being added to the total after Rick edged the ball to the keeper. We were 269 for 4.

Then something unusual, the opposition captain asked us to declare!! Never before have I heard of such a thing in limited overs cricket. Why would we stop and give them the remaining overs to get the runs. Madness. So we continued.

Toby-Wan Kenobi strode to the wicket with a purposeful glint in his eye and a light sabre up his slieve. What followed was not good. Despite being warned about Fennell’s abhorrence of singles the young Jedi still thought it a good idea to set off for “a quick one”. A sharp rebuke from the incredulous Fennell and he scampered back to his crease. Lesson learned we hope.

Next over he decided to try something else – sixes. Four of the buggers in fact. That was one unhappy bowler. The Force is strong in this one, Luke.

The innings closed with 323 runs on the board. A big total.

Another splendid tea ensued. Complete with scones. I like scones.

We were quietly confident when we went out to field. Well, with a run rate of over 8, we could afford to be confident. Two overs in and confidence was waning a tad, they smashed 11 off Fenning’s first over and they were right on the run rate. Ok, so time for some inspiration …….

It’s Fennell Time. Their most promising batsman hit a ball thought mid-on and began his run. Fennell raced to his left collected the ball and threw down the stumps before the danger-man got within sight of the crease. The crowd went wild.

This seemed to spark the men of Wrotham into action with wickets falling at regular intervals. Only a cameo innings by their seventh batsman stopped a complete collapse. Harvey once again returned some excellent figures – 3 for 27 off 8. His dominance as a bowling machine continues.

It was a real team effort though as everyone chipped in. Gareth Waterworth put in a particularly natty spell (16 off 5) that practically stopped all the oppositions runs dead.

In the end they were never going to get close to our somewhat massive total and finished 155 runs shy. Job done.

Man of the match
No question, the Boy Bryce and his truly brilliant century. Once again he provided us with a solid base from which to demolish the opposition. Top man.

Moment of the match
Not only did we get further evidence of the great batting skills of The Rock, we also got a glimpse into his guile in the field. The main opposition batsman flicked a ball to leg and set off for a single. Nick set off to cut off the ball …. unfortunately, due to an earlier thigh strain, he set off like a scene out of Terminator. You know the one, Arnie is crawling along the ground using just his hands with a determined red light in the eyes. Hand over hand, inch by inch, determined. Seeing this the batsman called a second run. The Rock then swapped films to a wildlife documentary and became a cheetah bringing down a wildebeest. He covered the remaining ground in less than the second, pounced, snatched up ball and threw down the stumps with the batsman stranded. Ice cool.

Still undefeated

Highways, Sunday 6th, home, drawn

One week on from a historic Sunday side victory and the victorious warriors from week one were keen to keep the momentum going. Sadly the usual Sunday problem has struck, we only had ten players. Things may have been worse had Mr Potter not agreed to fill in again. Primed and ready to go, would Highways of Platt go the same way as Mount? We certainly hoped so.

Continuing the long running tradition of Sunday captains, Peter lost the toss and we were asked to field. There were ominous glances amongst the team, after all Highways racked up 300 in last years fixture.

This weeks new ball pairing were Keen Ian Campbell and Tom “no duck jokes” Drake and it was a tidier start than the previous week. Campbell was finding a better line and length and Drake was turning the ball beautifully (when he allowed it to pitch). Some early pressure paid off as the opposition skipper decided to cut a wider ball from Drake to increasingly large hands of Harvey the Younger. Despite the mangled digit (please refer to last weeks write up for details – it was broken) a flying catch was held and the teams optimism levels rose.

Ten overs later and at 83/4 Highways were struggling a bit. Some good support bowling from Geoff (Yes, that Geoff), Simon and Harvey meant that wickets continued to fall and keeping the total under 200 looked likely. Despite the odd catch going down (you know who you were), heads weren’t and some of the fielding was very good. Drake and Stephens held very good catches and there was some quick glove work from Michael for an excellent stumping. Highways had got to tea at 175 for 9 – their lowest total so far this year and we were pleased with a good afternoons work.

A special mention for the tea. Chocolate and banana sandwiches. They actually went down rather well. We are expecting some more interesting combinations from Chef Allen throughout the rest of the season.

After successfully chasing 235 last week, there was hope that 175 was possible, despite only having 10 players. With Gavin away treating the ladies to some Devonshire magic, Simon was promoted to open with Geoff. Sadly there was no repeat of Geoff’s heroics of the previous week and he honourably walked after nicking one behind. Enter hero number 2, the boy Parsons. A combination of lusty blows and deft touches took the score to 62 before Rogers missed a straight one and exited stage left for a useful 23. The boys Drew (11) and Parsons (27) then took us along to 91 before both fell, along with Campbell and Drake in the space of just 14 runs. This left New and Old skips together at the crease with 8 overs left with almost 70 runs needed to win.

With the light fading the opposition kindly took off the pace attack but it was decided that survival was the name of the game. Fleming, dressed beautifully in has shiny new apparel (SDC expense account?!), looked the part and seemed keen to dig in for the draw. Harvey continued to dance the pain jive and was trying to farm the strike, despite the good side of his brain telling him otherwise. Floodlights would have been welcome at this point but the overs kept ticking down and the two comfortably saw us home with some stout defence, placed boundaries and good running. Fleming finished on 5 and Harvey 23 as Wrotham totalled 138/6.

So two games in the new season. Unbeaten in two games, we have all but bowled out 2 sides and only lost 10 wickets in the two games combined. More importantly the enjoyment factor seems to be back for most and long may it continue – bring on Snodland!

Man of the match
“There is only one person who deserves this accalade this week; Master Harvey, step up the the plate, great catch, a wicket and sensible batting teamed with a disability.” – Captain Pete

Saturday team baffle opposition

Nursted, Saturday 5th, away, won.

Some background; we lost our three strike bowlers in as many years, our overseas batsman was deported back to Zim for offenses against the steak, we were thrown out of the league last season for failing to fulfill our fixtures, younger players had gotten jobs that meant they had to work on a Saturday, our keeper was on his stag weekend. All of which lead to last Thursday and yours truly beginning to panic as we only had seven players and not many prospects of any others. Then miracle of miracles, Neil called to say that Kate’s fella would step into the breech and better still he would bring along a couple of mates.

I should point out that the only criteria that Neil places on a perspective suitor for his only daughter (aside from the obvious being nice, affectionate, loving, considerate, kind, gentle, etc.) is that they must play (or be willing to play) cricket. To my mind this is a good yardstick and more fathers would do well to adopt it.

Where was I, oh yes. Friday evening and a potential full side. Not to shabby. So I went to the pub. Of course we had no idea what theses players would be like but having fielded with less than eleven I can tell you that we’d take all we can get.

What a pleasant surprise it was then to arrive at the ground, introduce ourselves to the rest of the team whilst pretending to the opposition that we had been life long comrades and to find out that our latest additions to our band of merry men not only looked the part but had played before. Result.

Stacy, in his final year as captain, decided to break with tradition and won the toss. He strode purposefully out to the crease to open the batting with his brother Rob and the 2007 season was off and running. Things we going well for a while until the brothers Buss got out fairly cheaply.

The next pair, Fennell and Kate’s fella (Nick Ward). Fennell looked comfortable and picked off a couple of boundaries in quick succession then his nightmare began …..

Three years ago while playing Nursted he came up against a demon young bowler aged 13 who clean bowled him. To say Fennell reacted badly would be an understatement. Dummies were spat in all directions. There wasn’t a pram for miles around that contained a toy. As I came to the ground, I think I could still see the tire marks and smell the burnt clutch left by his hasty departure. Roll forward to the present day, a demon young bowler also aged 13 who turned out to be the younger brother of the his nemesis bowled the same ball from the same end and had the same result. All except that this time Fennell did not leave £500 worth of low profile rubber trailing out of the ground.

Nick on the other hand was in good Nick (feeble I know but it is Sunday morning) and although he wasn’t amassing a huge total he was providing a vital steading influence. Much needed as we were 31 for 3.

Enter Rick “Wrickee” Bryce. This young lad truly is one of the finds for Wrotham in the last I don’t know how long. The same bowler so cruelly involved in Fennell’s demise was dispatched for two huge sixes shortly after his arrival to the crease and was hastily taken off. Rick and The Rock continued to pile on the runs until the opposition captain took a great catch to dismiss Nick. We were now 104 for 4 and looking much better. A great little knock by our new boy.

Unfortunately, through a serious of quick departures by the remaining players, Rick was left on his own to rack up the rest of the runs but he was happy to do so and managed to smash his way to 87 before finally running out of steam. We ended up with a slightly low total of 165. Still it could have been a whole lot worse.

I should mention Gareth Clements who turned up at very short notice to provide us with our 11th player. He and the boy Bryce put on 27 for the last wicket and deprived the opposition of an extra six overs; the rule is that any overs you don’t use up of your allotted 40 are given to the opposition, 160 from 40 is vastly better for us than 160 from 50.

Teas in Nursted are always good. They are perhaps the only club who provide scones and jam and we love them for it. Unfortunately, I had volunteered to keep wicket and decided that a belly full of scones was perhaps not a good thing so had to abstain.

We took to the field in a slightly downbeat fashion. Nursted had beaten us soundly in the past and we knew they have some pretty good batsmen. Still, what the hell. We’d give them a go.

Butler was “feeling good” (I think it was the scones) and was given the new ball. He ambled up to the crease for the traditional loosener, fired down a pretty good ball outside off stump, the batsman went fishing and the result was a sharp edge to the right of Kate’s fella’s mate (Pete Klucznic – tricky spelling so he is known as Pete Klondike). In what can only be described as a Fouetté, Klondike managed to parry the ball followed by a perfectly executed Pirouette to catch it again as it descended. All those years at the Royal Ballet School were beginning to pay off.

0 for 1 then. I think you’ll agree that is a pretty good start. Butler continued to get better and his tidy spell ended with 2 for 8 off 6 overs.

It was now The Elder Harvey’s turn. Neil hadn’t been at all sure he wanted to play and only turned out due to unfair peer pressure and general bullying by his team mates. Still he gamely took over at the other end and proceed to dazzle, hypnotize, mesmerize, transfix and generally provide us with an awe inspiring display of the art of spin bowling. He overwhelmed each successive batsmen.

2 for 2; 2 for 3; 2 for 4; 4 for 5; 12 for 6; 17 for 7; 17 for 8; 17 for 9. To use an old computer acronym, WTF!

By the time Harvey had finished his spell he had the simply unbelievable figures of 7 for 19 off 8. The opposition was stunned, we were stunned, the crowds were stunned. Gasts were flabbered.

Stacy decided we were now in a strong position and opted to try out the new boys. You never know after the batting performance of The Rock and the ballet steps executed by Klondike, there could be even more to come in the way of their bowling abilities. And stone me if there wasn’t.

Klondike has a fairly ungainly action but can fire the ball in at a rate of knots. And with some pretty nasty in-swing too. There were one or two balls that I seriously do not know how the batsmen managed to keep out. Sweet.

Dave Buss (yes, another one of the Buss dynasty to be playing) took over and got quite a bit of out-swing. That coupled with accuracy and guile meant he was unplayable. Four balls in particular should have yielded wickets but they “did too much” and the batsmen survived on luck rather than ability as they hadn’t a clue where the ball was going. Sweet.

The final new boy, Allan Cannon, took the ball and with an even more unorthodox action than Klondike proceeded to return figures of 1 for 3 off 2 overs. Sweet.

In the end Nursted scraped their way to 58 all out and in doing so provided us with a much needed dream start to the season.

Moment of the match
With three wickets down in such quick succession their fifth man was simply not ready to come out to bat. I’m not even sure he was dressed. There was much consternation in the dressing room, much waving of arms and some raised voices. Eventually, the hapless fellow was produced and came to the crease tucking in his clothing. Neil smiled, loped up and bowled a ball that pitched on a great length just outside off stump, bit and leap like a salmon “through the gate” to clean out his leg stump. The poor sod had gone through all that effort only to face one ball and then have to slope off back to the pavilion. Such is the power of the Harvey.

Man of the match
Rick deserves a lot of credit for gamely stroking the ball about the park to give us any total to defend. There is no argument that his 87 rescued us. But with those figures, Neil Harvey has to get the crown as bowler beyond compare and is top dog this week.