2010 match archiveGreat Missenden
Sunday April 18 at Great Missenden
Match drawn
Strollers 177-9 dec
(Fenn 81, While 29, Hodgson 27no, Walder 12)
Great Missenden 121-9
(Walder 6-24, Fenn 1-7, Hodgson 1-17, Cave 1-36)
It was 2002 when Mark Fenn last played a game for the Strollers. Since then he has appeared on the list of those who have dutifully paid their subscription every year and has graced the film sets of Italy and Newcastle and all points in between. Last Sunday he returned to Strollers action at last…and it was a good job he did.
Fenn’s 81 was the highlight of a Strollers total of 177-9 declared, with James While’s 29 and 27 not out from Jim Hodgson giving him vital support. The bad news is that Jim’s runs may mean the beard stays on for some time yet.
On a glorious mid-summer day in the middle of April it was the perfect start to the 2010 campaign. Volcanic ash and the grounding of all UK and European flights meant that the skies were clear and blue with no jet vapour trails. It did mean, however, that Great Missenden Pelicans had two players stranded in Europe and that, coupled with a stag do, involved the Pelicans in a great scramble to put out a side. But the flight ban stopped the Pelicans skipper from jetting off to America and a car appeared bringing a late consignment of players off the London train. So we had a game and a tight one it was.
The Strollers target was a gettable one, particularly as the Pelicans eventually faced 38 overs to the Strollers’ 33 and they looked in contention for a while. But then Aaron Walder supplied his allsorts. His first two wickets came courtesy of outrageous long-hops before he began to find his length and lure the later order to their doom as he returned figures of 10-1-24-6. With eight wickets down the chase was off and it was a matter of whether Pelicans could hold out. They did…just.
The barbecue came out as the sun went down and Peter Greenwood and his team provided their customary warm hospitality. The day was only one wicket short of being just about the perfect start…
Capt and match fees: Tom Wood. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Peper Harow
Saturday April 24 at Peper Harow
Strollers won by 196 runs
Strollers 242-2 dec
(Fenn 100no, Howard 91, Addis 20no)
Peper Harow 46
(McDougall 3-7, Hodgson 3-16, Brodbeck 2-3, Turnbull 1-20)
Cricket has a long history in Peper Harow and there is a contemporary record of a match going back to 1727 – perhaps the earliest to be reported. Hambledon Cricket Club with their matches on Broadhalfpenny Down can only boast a club founded in 1750.
Articles of agreement by and between His Grace the Duke of Richmond and a certain Mr Brodrick (perhaps a relation of the Strollers secretary) were drawn up for two cricket matches on July 11, 1727, just a few years before those other giants of the game, the Fleet Street Strollers, came into being in 1976.
On another perfect early-summer day the Strollers took on PH and Mark Fenn soon began making up for lost time. Having missed the 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons (while still dutifully paying his sub) he has begun his comeback with 81 at Great Missenden and now an unbeaten hundred here. With a season’s average currently standing at 181, James Timperley is anxiously looking to his laurels.
He was not the only one to enjoy the day. Patrick Howard raced to his Strollers best of 91 as the pair put on 180 for the first wicket and skipper Mike Morgan was able to declare on 242-2.
Peper Harow put out two league sides for games elsewhere and they were understandably stretched. The youngsters did their best but came up against Dave Turnbull who, making his Strollers debut, produced a fierce opening spell and claimed his first wicket for the club. Hamo McDougall (not to be confused with Hamish McDougall) also figured for the first time and took three good wickets with his medium pace as well as claiming two catches. Jim Hodgson hit a length and Simon Brodbeck chipped in to secure the victory. Kimball Bailey, from his specialist position at cover point, declared it a perfect day and then went off to dine in style at Peper Harow Hall.
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan. Match fees: Patrick Howard.
Hurley
Sunday April 25 at Hurley
Strollers won by 29 runs
Strollers 280-6
(40 overs; Waugh 151, Shattock 32no, Mawson 30)
Hurley 251
(34.3 overs; Allsopp 4-45, Wood 2-44, McDougall 1-17)
The appointed opponents had cancelled at short notice, so the Fixture Secretary pulled a rabbit out of a hat to secure a game against old but hospitable rivals Hurley CC. A cracking match it was too.
The Strollers batted first. Max Jones (10), James Mawson (30) and Tom Wood (14) all made starts and departed, but opener Murray Waugh batted powerfully on, dispatching anything short or on his legs to, and frequently over, the short pavilion boundary.
So well did he hit to leg, that several balls disappeared into the neighbouring houses. Despite a contrite ‘sorry!’ from the batsman after each offending six, a local landowner took exception to the peppering. The local constabulary was called, and arrived complete with paddy wagon. The Strollers feared their star batsman may be carted off to face the judiciary.
Unusually, there were neither barristers nor solicitors in the Strollers line-up. Regardless, they began to prepare a defence: “it’s a civil matter and no concern of the police,” said one. Other started to cite Lord Denning’s famous Miller v Jackson judgement, in which the great jurist found that “in summertime village cricket is the delight of everyone,” and that people who buy houses next to cricket grounds shouldn’t get upset or surprised when the occasional cricket ball lands in their front garden.
Thankfully, the constabulary moved on and so did Waugh, bringing up a superb hundred in just 76 balls, including an all- run four to reach three figures (surely a Strollers first, Madame President?).
He carried on splendidly to 151, before falling leg before wicket to a slower ball from Bert Simon. Waugh was an agonising one run short of the club batting record set by Nigel Whittaker against West Herts III (surely they didn’t field three players?!) in May 1990. The knock from 109 deliveries included six sixes and 15 fours.
Waugh was ably supported in the closing overs by Mike Shattock, who finished not out 32, and the Strollers set an imposing 260 from 40 overs.
Hamish McDougall (1-17 off 8), kept it tight early on, and Dennis Cave frequently beat the bat in a luckless opening spell. Then Hurley’s PC Haworth, himself a member of the local police force, took the game by the scruff of the neck, pounding 101 tremendous runs from just 37 deliveries.
Thankfully for the Strollers, Haworth had an evening shift to get to and retired with ten overs to go. Or had Betty Low, watching from the boundary, cleverly dialed 999 and reported some crisis in a neighbouring town? Regardless, it was a great stroke of luck that left Hurley requiring a run a ball with only four wickets remaining.
It was too much for them, as spinners Laurie Allsop and Alex Blyth winkled out the tail with some lovely turn and bounce. The last two wickets fell to fine run-outs – one from Shattock doing the splits from his own bowling before getting the ball to the keeper’s end and one from Mawson’s monster arm from the boundary.
Skipper Wood led from the front in the field. On one occasion he led from the midriff, getting a tender pair of plums in the way of a fiercely hit cover drive. After writing in agony for several minutes, to the amusement of all assembled, Wood recovered sufficiently to ask if mention of the plums could be made in the match report, so here they are.
The strong arms of PC Howarth threatened to win it for Hurley, but it was Murray Waugh’s day. The Strollers fought the law and the Waugh won, albeit just short of a club (and criminal) record.
Capt: Tom Wood. Wkt: Murray Waugh/Hamish McDougall.
Match fees: Murray Waugh.
Odney
Monday May 3 at Cookham
Strollers lost by six wickets
Strollers 175
(Blyth 54, Gallagher 44, Fenn 18, Brodbeck 17no)
Odney 176-4
(Gallagher 2-39, Cave 1-25, Brodbeck 1-25)
If you work for the John Lewis Partnership then you’re lucky enough to have the use of the beautiful Odney Club for training and social events. Occupying an island in the middle of the Thames, it comprises the flower-adorned Lullebrooke Manor (which was once rented by Colonel Ricardo, who was supposed to have been Kenneth Grahame’s inspiration for Toad in the Wind in the Willows) and the more modern Bernard Miller Centre (named after the founder of the John Lewis Partnership).
There is also a highly picturesque cricket ground on the site, and if you were a Stroller on this fresh May Bank Holiday you were lucky enough to be a guest of Odney CC at that venue.
A weekend of rain had left the pitch slow, and it proved just as hard for batsmen to pick up runs as it did for bowlers to make breakthroughs. However, never ones to conform to expectations, the Strollers top order contrived to fall in fairly short order to some accurate bowling from the Odney openers.
Some respectability was restored by a sixth-wicket stand of 86 between Ed Gallagher and Alex Blyth, who made 44 and 54 respectively. With an unbeaten 17, Simon Brodbeck guided the tail through to the conclusion of the innings, and over a fine tea skipper Murray Waugh marshalled his bowling unit and laid his plans to defend a total of 175.
Dennis Cave and Gallagher toiled manfully on a sluggish track, and, aided by a fine low catch from Mark Fenn, as well as some sharp fielding from the likes of Max Jones, Peter Patston and Ivor Fiala, they made steady progress through the Odney top order.
Things were looking fairly even at four wickets down, but then Coondapoor and Dickie began their match-winning partnership. They batted sensibly against the spin of Laurie Allsopp, Alastair Macauley, Brodbeck and Blyth, shutting out the good balls and profiting from the looser offerings, and, as the sun touched the treeline, they guided their team to a well-deserved victory.
The team repaired to Lullebrook Manor to admire the Club President’s work in the scorebook, to thank their hosts for a fine afternoon’s cricket, and to agree one and all that the fixture should be repeated.
Capt/wkt: Murray Waugh. Match fees: Dennis Cave.
Jordans Taverners
Saturday May 8 at Seer Green
Strollers won by seven wickets
Jordans Taverners 183-6
(40 overs; Crocker 3-36, Brodbeck 2-17, Addis 1-30)
Strollers 185-3
(39.3 overs; Addis 94, McDougall 63no)
A bitingly-cold day in early May when probably half the team feared another washout saw instead an example of friendly cricket at its best.
With the Taverners comfortable victors from the year before, in a confident mood and batting first on a good wicket, it was always going to require strong performances from all across the team to keep the Strollers in contention. This is what they provided with excellent opening spells from Warren Crocker and Dennis Cave (39 off eight) keeping the run rate to three an over.
However, despite the earlyish loss of one opener the other was in ominous form. But first change bowler Simon Brodbeck (8-2-17-2) was the pick of the day and Mike Shattock (7-1-18-0) was unlucky to see a misfield and dropped catch let down his penetrating line of attack. However, despite a somewhat nervous 40s, the Jordans opener batted most of the innings before falling to a stunning catch by Jeff Ball on 83. Steve Goldsmith, the linchpin of the innings, fell for 83 as Crocker (8-1-36-3) then returned to finish off their 40 overs with a wicket on the final ball and keep the Taverners to the perfect par score of 182.
The tea-time talk was of one (perhaps two) good partnerships being enough to see Strollers claim victory and that was exactly the outcome. The early loss of Jim Mawson (5) brought Jono Addis in to bat with opener Hamish McDougall and together their strong running and powerful hitting on a slow outfield kept the Strollers on the required run-rate. The only marginal disappointment was when Addis fell six runs shy of his first, well-deserved Strollers century with a nervous dozen or so runs needed in four overs. However, despite the quick wicket of Ball, John Low and McDougall (63 not out) steered the Strollers home to victory.
Capt and wkt: Hamish McDougall. Match fees: Tim Rice.
Ashtead
Sunday May 9 at Ashtead
Strollers lost by four wickets
Strollers 104
(Timperley 34, Addis 18, Walder 16no )
Ashtead 105-6
(Walder 4-18, Blyth 1-3, Hodgson 1-28)
To look at the score in this match through the T20 lenses that we are increasingly encouraged to wear, one might assume a rather turgid affair. The details of the match tell a different story; it was simply a day where ball gained the upper hand over bat, something that almost seems undesirable in the modern game.
Judging by the enjoyment had by all, it is still desirable amongst at least those who enjoy all facets of the game, not just the ball hurtling into or over the boundary.
Fixture secretary/conjuror Simon Brodbeck arranged a trip to Ashtead for the Strollers after Mynthurst, our original opponents, could not produce a side - the second time in two weeks this has been required. A cool day and a lovely ground with a hard pitch were the setting as returning Captain James Timperley elected to bat.
Murray Waugh and Hamish McDougall opened up, but neither of their contrasting styles was to prove effective on this day, both caught behind the wicket by deliveries that bounced a little more than expected. Timperley and Jono Addis then set about building a nice partnership, paying respect to accurate bowling, and building the tempo slowly, and things were looked promising. Addis then fell lbw, and Timperley soon followed bowled, both to the same accurate Ashtead seamer, Stuart Vickery, who ended with four wickets.
Timperley looked in good order after his injury and Addis fluent following his excellent score the previous day, so their departures dented the Strollers’ hopes of a large total.
Aaron Walder reined in his customary attacking instincts and guided the tail with aplomb, making a valuable 16 not out, but in the end the Ashtead players were rewarded for a disciplined display both bowling-wise and in the field, dismissing the Strollers for 104 in the 32nd over.
A delicious tea was enjoyed and the Strollers then set out to defend their score. The skipper having been inspired by his reading after being dismissed (not something he normally has time to do), felt that if he could keep his charges ‘up to scratch’ then they were in with a shout.
Warren Crocker and Jim Hodgson opened the bowling and quickly found the conditions as helpful as Ashtead had earlier. Hodgson took an early wicket, and Crocker routinely beat the bat, bowling with real venom, but ultimately without reward. Timperley turned then to Walder, who using all his variations, quickly made inroads, ending up with four extremely valuable wickets.
Thus the pressure began to mount, aided by an excellent all-round fielding display, grass stains quickly mounting for newly minted finances to deal with. Hodgson changed ends and almost had the key scalp of the Ashtead No 3 after inducing an edge, and Addis bowled a disciplined spell, confirming his all-round cricketing talents, although he will have to work on his showering technique - a hand dryer is not a suitable replacement for a towel.
Sadly for the Strollers it was not to be. Alex Blyth took a late wicket, but in the end the Strollers came up short. However as post-match analysis from both sides confirmed: it had been a very enjoyable afternoon, one that can hopefully be repeated in the years ahead.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall. Match fees: Jeff Ball.
Roehampton
Sunday May 16 in Putney
Match abandoned
Strollers 94
(Addis 19, Morgan 15, Wood 11)
Roehampton 47-5
(Macaulay 2-5, Crocker 1-8, Walder 1-18)
While Paul Collingwood MBE was marshalling his great group of guys against the Australians in the final of the Twenty20 World Cup, the eyes of the cricketing cognoscenti were on Putney Heath where the big question was: would the weather be the winner?
It certainly did not look to be the Strollers. At the teabreak, they had been dismissed for a meagre 94, undone by a pitch which greatly assisted some fine seam bowling from Roehampton. Jono Addis looked to be getting on top until he yahooed at one; Tom Wood fell to a fine delivery which lifted off a length and skipper Mike Morgan was interrupted in his damage repair operation by a fine inswinging yorker.
It looked a lost cause but, of course, the Strollers regard no cause as lost. The restart was delayed by rain but Roehampton were soon reduced to 30-5. Fine bowling from Warren Crocker, Aaron Walder, Tom Wood and Alastair Macaulay kept the pressure on. Jeff Ball took two catches – one a great effort from a steepling skyer – and Crocker hurled himself about in the field, collecting most of the playing surface on his flannels. Peter Patston took a fierce blow on the head (saved only by his Strollers cap) but battled on through the pain while Wood, pantherlike at midwicket, claimed a crucial run-out.
Roehampton may well have adjusted their batting order and their No5 began to look ominous. But not as ominous as the angry skies which opened up in remorseless fashion with some 13 overs remaining to take the players from the field, never to return.
In the absence of a Duckworth/Lewis chart the game had to be declared abandoned. Such a pity when a tight finish looked in prospect.
There was still time to nip into The Telegraph and watch the closing overs from the Kensington Oval where those gritty Brits, Kevin Pietersen and Craig Kieswetter, saw England home. At a bedraggled Putney Heath, however, the elements were officially declared the winners.
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan. Match fees: Tom Wood.
The Times
Saturday May 22 at the Griffin Club
Strollers won by 12 runs
Strollers 208-6 dec
(Wood 74no, McDougall 46, Crocker 23no, Waugh 23, Shattock 10)
The Times 196
(Brodbeck 6-69, Crocker 4-70)
With Joshua Shattock, the latest highly promising product of the Strollers’ youth policy, going through his paces before, during and after the game, the chosen XI were under pressure to justify their places. And they did…in the nick of time.
On a gloriously hot summer’s day, the Strollers’ opening partnership of Murray Waugh and Hamish McDougall rattled up 48 before Waugh, watched by his parents who had been specially flown in from New Zealand to check on his cricketing progress, fell to a juggling slip catch.
Mrs Waugh let slip that Murray’s youngest brother is the real cricketing star of the family and a contract has already been agreed to bring him over on a Strollers sporting scholarship when the time is right.
Skipper McDougall carried on the good work and Tom Wood, in his discordant blue undercover skins - “I shall be designing some proper Strollers skins from our research department” he claimed – began to build a respectable score. The excellent teasing spin of Leroux – “Not so much Garth as Danny” was the somewhat unkind comment of one of his team-mates – kept a lid on the scoring.
But Warren Crocker (23no) joined the bludgeoning Wood (74no) to hurry things along and take the total past 200, at which point the declararation came.
After a splendid tea from Griffin Club supremo Terry Delaney, The Times’ chase began in ominous fashion. Despite the best efforts of Dennis Cave – who had already put in a long stint on the sidelines by bowling to his grandson Joshua - and Crocker, The Times opening pair swiftly brought up the 50 with some fine hitting. But Crocker claimed the two openers lbw and the wickets began to fall.
Simon Brodbeck had two unproductive overs squinting into the setting sun before switching to the other end with more success. The crucial, match-turning moment came when the No 3, who had crunched his way to an aggressive 49, was miraculously held on the midwicket boundary by Mike Shattock who thus ensured that he, at least, would not be replaced by his son Joshua. Yet. In fact, so impressive was the Shattock catch that his name was called for every succeeding catch that was hoisted up.
The game looked touch and go as The Times, despite the falling wickets, inched closer to the target and when No 10 Hudson lifted his first ball for six he seemed about to guide them home. But the wily Crocker (16-2-70-4) – an astute student of the slower ball – induced him to chip back a return catch and it was left to Brodbeck (15.4-1-69-6) to complete the victory with just eight balls remaining and 12 runs to spare.
Capt and wkt: Hamish McDougall. Match fees: Tom Wood.
Farley Hill
Sunday May 23 at Farley Hill
Strollers won by seven wickets
Farley Hill 148
(Brodbeck 6-37, Walder 2-28, Wood 1-13, Samuel 1-23)
Strollers 149-3
(Jones 45, Mawson 36, While 26no, Wood 19no, Patston 16)
Never in 30 years of playing cricket have I seen five players with beards on the same team. Oh, and Simon Brodbeck taking 12 wickets in a weekend.
With a multiple of beards sported by the opposition at the delightful and hospitable new venue of Farley Hill, it was an unusual talking point to start the game. However, that was quickly forgotten due to the pressing need to field first on a very hot day.
Excellent opening spells from the Strollers' double act of Jim Hodgson and James While provided due pressure but little reward in a picturesque wooded venue. However, the team reaped the rewards of the pressure as the batsmen opened up with the first change bowling of Aaron Walder (9-2-28-2) and Brodbeck. Walder struck first with a plumb lbw off a low full toss but Brodbeck quietly out-cricketed Farley Hill.
After six wickets in a close win the day before, Brodbeck bowled extremely well again and soon had a 10-wicket haul for the weekend, which club law requires a jeroboam of champagne to be bought at the evening curry, before rounding off the match with figures of 13-1-37-6. This gave a weekend strike rate and average in single figures and left the ever-excellent Strollers' scorer Maggie scrabbling to see if such a feat had happened previously.
Unsurprisingly, given such bowling and admirable support from Laurie Allsopp - bowling and catching – with help from Tom Wood and Evan Samuel (one wicket, deserved more), the Strollers reached tea firmly on top needing to chase 149.
A flying start from Peter Patston and Max Jones took the team to a third of the target before a well-judged caught-and-bowled removed Patston for 16. James Mawson (36) and Jones (45) carried the team towards victory before Wood (19no) and White (26no) finished it off with 15 overs to spare.
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan. Match fees: Tom Wood.
Wisden Cricketer
Tuesday May 25 at Barnes
Strollers won by five wickets
Wisden Cricketer 142-2
(20 overs; Wood 1-27, Russell 1-34)
Strollers 143-5
(17.5 overs; Ball 23no, Cullen 24, While 23, Mawson 17, Clarke 16, Walder 10no)
On a balmy Tuesday evening the Strollers had their first opportunity to show what skills they had learned from the recent England victory in the ICC T20 competition, a format of the game renowned for its pace and speed, unlike the author of this belated match report. Unfortunately, the commencement time of the game was delayed, due to several players from both sides being delayed by a serious accident on Hammersmith Bridge preventing any traffic getting to the beautiful riverside Barnes Cricket Club.
The pitch, which was heavily inspected due to the delayed start, was as beautiful a batting track as could be found in May, and the outfield was cut short and lightning fast. Add that to the fact there was a short leg side boundary due to playing on one of the edges of the square, and it seemed clear that a big total would be needed by whoever batted first.
Wisden won the toss and elected to bat first when a majority of players were assembled, and their opening batsmen strolled to the crease ominously daubed in a variety of league tops and sponsors logos.
James While opened the bowling and an intriguing battle began between him and the clearly talented Wisden batsmen. Whilst he caused some problems with his pace and the seaming ball, the batsmen were able to continue to rotate the strike and take the occasional boundary. At the other end, Brennie Russell was the unlucky recipient of several lusty blows, including one that left the ground over the extra heightened rear fence, and was last seen halfway to Richmond. At 70-0 off seven overs, Wisden seemed to be moving to posing the kind of large score the ground suggested was possible, until Tom Wood, in his first over, induced a false shot with a well disguised slower ball that removed the dangerous looking opener.
Number Three for Wisden strode confidently to the crease, but it wasn’t until he went to take guard that the fielding side noticed rather than a bat, he appeared to be holding some form of cross between a hurling stick (a sliotar for the knowledgeable) and a wooden shovel. For the informed, he was batting with the experimental “Mongoose” cricket bat, championed by Stuart Law. Having completely missed Aaron Walder’s googly first ball, he proved the worth of the bat on various of Walder’s other deliveries, with several large sixes. Walder completed his spell wicketless, and Wood, while keeping the runs down, was unable to make another breakthrough.
As agreed at the outset, both the opener and number three retired when they reached their fifties to allow others to have a bat. At the end of Wood’s excellent spell Alastair Macaulay came into the attack, with a large score still looking on the cards. However, the maestro was not quite ready to accept that outcome, and proceeded to bowl a mercurial spell of flatter than usual off-spin, perfectly suited to the conditions and 20/20 cricket.
While he did not take any wickets, he bowled his four overs for only 15 runs, including the last over of the innings which went for just one run. At the other end, Russell came back with gusto, managing to pick up only the second wicket of the innings. Thus, after their allocated 20, the excellent bowling of Macaulay and Wood had managed to restrict Wisden to 142.
Jim Mawson and Neil Cullen opened the batting and confidently set about the run chase. Both batsmen dispatched lusty blows before Mawson eventually fell victim to a good delivery. Christian Troughton and Andy Clarke both kept the run rate above that required in bright and breezy innings, while Cullen continued dispatching the bowling to all parts.
When While and Cullen were at the crease it seemed as though the game would be wrapped up with a decisive Strollers victory, but as is so often the case with 20/20, both batsmen were dismissed within an over of each other, both caught on the boundary, bringing Walder and Jeff Ball to the wicket still needing over 30 off the last five overs. However, three fours in three balls from Ball (try saying that after a couple of ales) took the pressure off, and the Strollers managed to wrap the game up in the 19th over.
Our hosts then laid on the most magnificent barbeque and provided genuinely friendly conversation interspersed with ever such a small amount of networking and journalistic mutual appreciation, while both sides contributed well to the takings of the bar. A high standard of cricket was witnessed by the spectators, bringing out the best in the Strollers. The rematch next year is already anticipated for both the cricket and the food!
Capt: Neil Cullen. Wkt: Andy Clarke. Match fees: Tom Wood.
Hampton Hill
Sunday May 30 in Bushy Park
Strollers won by ten wickets
Hampton Hill 164-9
(Crocker 2-19, Blyth 2-19, Samuel 2-23, Turnbull 1-1, Gallagher 1-31)
Strollers 166-0
(Jones 97no, Turnbull 51no)
A beautiful day with a wind which seemed to blow away not merely cobwebs but also a sense of direction, at least as far as certain Strollers were concerned.
With skipper Neil Cullen (bravely playing despite injury, his replacement Aaron Walder having had a thumb badly bruised while playing league the day before) carrying Andy Clarke and Evan Samuel to several other destinations before finally finding the correct venue, match manager Ed Gallagher took on the responsibility of the toss, promptly losing and condemning the Strollers to the field.
New(ish) boy Dave Turnbull was trapped somewhere in the vicinity of Kew Bridge and would not turn up for another 90 minutes or so, so Cullen was forced to rearrange his plans. Warren Crocker opened into the wind with his normal mix of pace and movement. His figures of 8-2-19-2 were excellent but did not accurately reflect his efforts - it could have been more. Gallagher started with the wind and the apparent intent of testing wicketkeeper Clarke's reflexes down the leg side; the keeper did well.
The first change saw Laurie Allsopp brought on down wind, but the howling gale did nothing for his length and after two overs he was replaced by Samuel, who began his normal routine of trying to keep it tight while pretending he's quicker than he really is. Fortunately, a reasonably naive Hampton Hill batting line-up fell for it.
Allsopp returned into the wind and, while again struggling with length, managed to produce a few decent balls to give hope for the future. No wickets this time, but could have had a couple, and he was replaced by Alex Blyth - who in six overs took two wickets with some nicely controlled spin.
At the other end, a tiring Samuel (2-23, having benefited from a classic Ivor Fiala catch in the gulley, clutched between the stalwart's thighs as he tumbled gently backwards) gave way to Turnbull ... whose 1-0-1-1 figures reflected an over of pace and hostility that saw a batsman retreating rapidly to square leg before being bowled middle stump, and skipper Cullen deciding that in the interests of sportsmanship and reducing the strain on the NHS Turnbull might be better off having a bat, instead. Gallagher came back into the attack and with the help of a solid catch by Clarke, running to short fine to take a top-edged pull, finished with 1-31.
Hampton Hill declared at 164-8 after 42 overs (it was a time game; 2.5hrs for the first innings, 1hr 15mins plus 20 overs for the second) and the teams retired to an excellent tea and contemplation of Bangladesh taking the Test into a fourth day.
The Strollers innings was all about the openers: Max Jones, down from a half-term break in Suffolk, determined to make the five-hour round-trip worthwhile, and Turnbull, eager to get the feel of a bat in his hands again and make up for being nasty to ageing opposition batsmen, the rotter.
Jones, playing straight, late and in classic style, raced ahead, scoring 50 while Turnbull, who took 16 balls to get off the mark, meandered happily to 16, getting his eye in. The Hampton Hill attack was struggling to make an impact, and as Turnbull began to impose himself as well it became clear that only bad luck would give Clarke and Samuel, padded up at three and four, any chance of a bat.
After just 26.1 overs, Strollers won by 10 wickets, reaching 166-0 with a Jones four that took him to 97 not out off 88 balls, with Turnbull on 51 not out off 63 balls - the four which brought up his half-century effectively denying Jones his century. He didn't seem to mind too much, though.
A solid performance against a somewhat weaker team, but further proof of the depth in the Strollers camp as many key players were off celebrating the Morgan wedding ... congratulations to the happy couple!
Captain: Neil Cullen. Wkt: Andy Clarke. Match fees: Laurie Allsopp.
Bounders
Saturday June 5 at Dunsfold
Strollers lost by 93 runs
Bounders 212-5
(35 overs; Macaulay 2-50, Wood 1-19, Blyth 1-32, Crocker 1-44)
Strollers 119
(30 overs; Mawson 28, Blyth 22, Wood 14, Macaulay 11)
This was supposed to be the Empire match, but no ground could be found for a second battle of hemispheres. Instead the Strollers diaspora was mainly of age, with Tim Rice, Chris Locke, John Low and Ivor Fiala proving that old Strollers never die, they just reappear when the call comes for a short Saturday. Fair to say that captain Tom Wood was not entirely confident. He then lost the toss and in we went to field.
But what a field. This is a quite beautiful ground, set opposite a lovely country pub by a village green which even had a fete going on. The Bounders rent it on Saturdays from Dunsfold CC – it seems league matches in this idyllic south-west corner of Surrey are played on Sundays.
Unfortunately bucolic charm seemed to weave a malign spell on the Strollers fielding. Catches went up, catches went down. Some hard, some less so. Despite Wood’s early bowling of one opener, the other rode his luck to 49 before Fiala made good on his third slip chance to pouch a top edge off Alex Blyth. A short legside boundary did not help – number three Clayton made full use of it to deposit sixes into the road, though this did bring the game’s champagne moment as Low executed a perfect backward somersault over the fence in trying to reach one he slightly mistimed.
Clayton finally departed to a smart stumping by Andy Clarke for 71 off Alastair Macaulay, who then lured the new batsman to swift clean-bowled doom, and Warren Crocker finally took a well deserved wicket in his last over, but with number four Tim posting 64 the Bounders, while never running away with the game (107-1 at 17-overs drinks had been restricted to 212 at the close), had set a challenging target. Credit to all our luckless bowlers – Macaulay 7-0-50-2, Wood 6-1-19-1, Blyth 5-0-32-1, Crocker 7-0-44-1, Rice 7-0-43-0, Low 3-0-15-0, - and to Crocker and James Mawson for some excellent fielding in the deep.
Following a superb tea, Clarke and Mawson saw off some very tight opening bowling and were starting to accelerate before James fell to a smart slip catch on 28. Blyth then biffed a couple of sixes in a rapid 22 before also being caught, as was Clarke for 13. Nonetheless at drinks on 79-3 Wood and Crocker were looking set to mount the run chase. But next over Warren fell to a fine diving catch at extra cover for nine, and with Tom also caught for 14 the game was up.
On the same score of 94 Low was bowled for one and Jeff Ball first ball. Chris Locke survived the hat-trick delivery and even swept his next for four, thus failing to add to a long list of beautiful grounds on which he has made zero, but then spooned to mid-off. With Macaulay (11) and Fiala (4) also caught, leaving Rice stranded on six, we had lost by 93 and by eight catches to one. They win matches, you know.
All that remained was to repair to the pub with our wonderfully hospitable opposition and to agree on both sides that this is a fixture we must do again next year.
Capt and match fees: Tom Wood. Wkt: Andy Clarke.
Pinkneys Green
Sunday June 6 at Pinkneys Green
Strollers won by 208 runs
Strollers 300-2
(35 overs; Addis 207no, Timperley 40no)
Pinkneys Green 92
(29 overs; Cave 2-7, Turnbull 2-9, Brodbeck 2-14, Allsopp 2-42, Fiala 1-0, Walder 1-19)
The Strollers’ eyes lit up as captain James Timperley returned from the toss at Pinkneys Green with the words: “We’re batting – the opposition skipper says their attack is mainly colts bowlers.”
And Jono Addis duly took advantage, breaking the 20-year-old club innings record with 207 not out from 124 balls. On a muggy afternoon it wasn’t easy work despite the inexperienced bowlers – after leaving the field the star man had to wring his socks out and leave his kit to dry in the sun.
Addis raced away, with support from Peter Patston (10) and Ed Gallagher (12), keeping most of the strike and teaching the opposition’s young ‘uns a thing or two, in one over hitting three sixes. The assault prompted the watching club treasurer (wounded in action shovelling grit in his garden) to scoff that giving the kids a bit of tap was not the done thing.
It also had the effect of rousing Timperley, next man in and snoozing by the pavilion as Addis smashed his way towards 100. The skipper saw his place as the Strollers’ chief overseas batsman under threat – but turned out happy to fend off the bowlers, pinch the strike with last-ball singles and deliberate over a declaration on his way to 40 not out.
Addis passed the club record of 152 not out – set by Nigel Whittaker against West Herts III in 1990 – and hardly offered a chance as he notched the first Strollers double-hundred. He missed the record for most sixes in an innings – 10 – by three.
With the Strollers setting a mark of 300-2 from their 35 overs, an excellent tea could be enjoyed in relaxation. Wicketkeeper Patrick Howard led the team back out for some fielding practice as Timperley polished off a last piece of cake.
Dennis Cave started off with a maiden before the Strollers’ own Ledley King, Dave Turnbull, came on from the other end, taking a wicket with his second ball before his knee gave way. The one-over wonder of Hampton Hill the previous week was keen to keep up his wickets-to-balls ratio.
Simon Brodbeck completed the over – which meant he later finished four balls over his allotted seven, giving Addis far more to worry about than the Pinkneys Green bowlers as debate raged over whether the game should be declared void as a result.
Pinkneys Green wickets tumbled, with Cave taking 2-7 from his seven overs before Brodbeck (2-14), Laurie Allsopp (2-42) and Aaron Walder (1-19) joined in. Turnbull returned for a couple of overs (confusing the batsmen off a short run-up with a mix of pace, swing, leg-breaks, off-breaks and just about everything else) to finish with 2-9.
A few Strollers decided to be sporting and give the opposition a chance. Allsopp doggedly bowled at a set of imaginary stumps several feet in front of where the batsman was standing. Gallagher picked up an innocuous prod to mid-on and hurled it over the boundary rope. Walder earned the distinction of granting one of the young Pinkneys Green players his first six.
Despite the brave efforts of some talented colts – young Snapes and Stokes looked particularly promising – Pinkneys never had quite enough batting, the last wicket falling on 92 as Ivor Fiala finished off the match with 1-0 from three balls, allowing the serious pursuit to begin of trying to persuade Addis to shell out for four jugs...
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Patrick Howard. Match fees: Tom Wood.
Parrys Whippets
Thursday June 10 at Chiswick House
Strollers won by seven wickets
Parry's Whippets 74
(Walder 4-8, Addis 2-5, Macaulay 1-14, Thavam 1-15, Allsopp 1-24)
Strollers 75-3
(Addis 44no, Ball 10)
The original Strollers side selected bore little resemblance to the actual side that took to the field in the club’s second 20/20 outing of the season. Injury had taken its toll after the last couple of intense weekends, and Aaron Walder’s side, although selected late, arrived early at the picturesque ground in Chiswick House.
It was an ominously grey evening at a ground that had a reputation for being difficult to sight the ball. On the basis that the Strollers had nine present and correct, the sporting decision was taken to field first to get the game under way at six o’clock on the dot. The format agreed was 15 eight-ball overs, to minimise time between change of bowlers but to ensure each side still received 120 balls.
The opening batsmen of Parry’s Whippets were well known to the Strollers from previous years, and it was clear that limiting their runs would be the first priority. Recent record-breaker (is that Roy Castle’s trumpet I hear in the background?) Jono Addis was asked to take the new ball, and he showed that the word all-rounder is not just reserved for Ian Botham, Kapil Dev or (perhaps more appropriately) Richard Hadlee.
His third ball was powerfully hit in the direction of Jeff “The Hands” Ball at mid-wicket, who hungrily swallowed the catch to leave the Whippets on 0-1. At the other end, Stephen Thavam also bowled with pace and control, swinging the new ball. In his next over, Addis took a second wicket, inducing the false shot, well pouched at mid-off by Alastair Macaulay. Addis having all the wickets so far prompted Walder to bring his spell to an end, for fear of his own Strollers record being broken. Thavam continued to bowl a superb out-swinger’s line and length, with most of the runs scored off him going through the slips, until he finally got the wicket he deserved with the last ball of his spell, clean bowling the Whippets batsman.
Laurie Allsopp took over from Addis, and immediately caused the batsmen trouble with his off-breaks on a turning track. He finally induced the false shot, causing a simple catch to be offered up to Thavam at mid-wicket.
Walder replaced Thavam and took advantage of the turning track, whilst Macaulay replaced Allsopp. Walder cleaned up two of the Whippets' lower order, and induced a mis-hit that was well caught by “The Hands” Ball.
Macaulay, clearly establishing himself as the Strollers’ top 20/20 bowler, carried on from his fine form at Wisden and added a wicket to his own collection. With still three overs to go, the final Whippets batsman lobbed up a chance to mid-on off Walder, which was taken by Thavram, to see the Whippets bowled out for 74. Strollers openers Christian Troughton and John Gibson raced off the field to get padded up in the fading light, and the game quickly resumed.
The second innings of the game took an almost surreal turn however, since it was accompanied by the opera taking place in the next field. However, most agreed they were glad they hadn’t paid for tickets, since the medley of crowd favourites was more “Now that’s What I Call Opera!” than Glyndebourne.
The Whippets’ opening batsman also doubled as their opening bowler and, having been dismissed cheaply, did nothing to calm or amuse him. His opening spell was bowled at a considerable pace, with Strollers batsmen ducking bouncers and hopping on the back foot to defend. Indeed, his pace was such that one delivery that was initially adjudged to be wide, was subsequently re-judged to be legitimate causing some slight confusion for the scorers. When the umpire was quizzed later as to where in the laws the power to “cancel” a wide came from, and to whether he had been pressured by the bowler or fielders, he replied that the unnamed Stroller at the non-striker’s end had told him not to call it a wide, since he didn’t want the opportunity to face the extra ball! What would Geoffrey Boycott say?
Gibson was caught off a top edge, and Troughton run out after a mix-up with Ball that saw them both at the wrong end (the non-striker’s end, ironically). In order to calm the ship, Addis was sent in and promptly cracked his first ball to the rope, showing his intention to carry on where he left off on Sunday. After Ball was bowled, Andy Clarke came to the crease, and he and Addis saw the Strollers home over the next 10 overs, leaving Ivor Fiala and David Meilton frustrated and with a slight pad rash.
The Strollers put in perhaps as close to a flawless game in the field as this reporter has seen. Every catch was held, and lots of washing machines will be working hard to provide clean whites for the weekend, due to all the diving in the field. The Strollers are now two wins from two outings in this format of the game, and pressure will be applied to the treasurer for some coloured kit and the signing of a ‘past it’ overseas legend if this form continues.
As always, our opposition were gracious, this time in defeat, and a tea was had at the ground before heading over to the Station House in Chiswick to see if we could spot Ant and Dec, and to mingle with the various hockey teams who had also retired there for a well earned drink.
Capt: Aaron Walder. Wkt: Andy Clarke. Match fees: Aaron Walder.
West Chiltington
Sunday June 13 in West Sussex
Strollers won by 30 runs
Strollers 197-7
(40 overs; Waugh 58, Timperley 37, Crocker 40no, McDougall 13, Gallagher 11)
West Chiltington 167-9
(40 overs; Allsopp 2-12, Crocker 2-24, Gallagher 2-27, Timperley 2-29, Brodbeck 1-32)
The Waugh is over…and that’s official. After five years grubbing a living amongst the dubious balance sheets of the City of London, Murray Waugh is returning to the Land of the Long White Cloud. And he waved goodbye in style: with a crucial 58, some energetic fielding, a final experimental over and a champagne toast as the shadows lengthened across the sunlit fields of West Chiltington.
Waugh narrowly failed to set a new Strollers batting record at Hurley in late April with a swashbuckling 151, although any such record would have only lasted three weeks thanks to Jono Addis at Pinkneys Green. But his effort at West Chiltington held together the Strollers innings, which at times was bogged down by accurate bowling. Waugh even played a straight drive – a sure sign that his bottom hand style had now been refined by some English coaching, although his patent hockey shot did put in a brief appearance. He eventually walked to a catch behind – “That’s the first honest Kiwi I have met,” said one cynical Australian onlooker.
James Timperley assisted with 37 and Hamish McDougall contributed to a vital stand before Warren Crocker’s 40no, which included some lusty blows, pushed the total up to a creditable 197. Ed Gallager contrived to hit his first six for the club - not by the obvious route but by means of a drive for two and then gratefully accepting four overthrows.
The Strollers’ opening attack of Crocker and Gallagher kept the pressure on from the start. Gallagher, now played in the side as an all-rounder, bowled with rhythm and accuracy and, as a former Fielder of the Year, his high standards kept the rest of the side on its toes. A brilliant tumbling catch at square leg by Jeff "The Hands" Ball brought an early success.
Then came the middle period and the spin twins of Timperley and Aaron Walder – also noticeable for his acrobatics in the field – kept a decisive lid on things. Simon Brodbeck bowled into the setting sun and was forced to wear a cast-off baseball cap in consequence. The powers that be at Lord’s obviously got wind of this desecration of cricketing etiquette and Brodbeck was instructed to don a Greg Chappell-style hat instead, which brought instant reward for his outswingers.
But the returning Crocker made the crucial breakthrough. His first delivery to Aussie Mick Armstrong – scorer of a fine century in the corresponding match last year – was the perfect delivery that left the batsman off the seam. The second was a carbon copy, except that Amstrong nicked it and Timperley held on at slip. Crocker then held a bullet at short extra cover and Laurie Allsopp chipped in with two victims as the West Chiltington effort fell just short.
With 40 needed off the final six balls – “It might have been different if they had needed 30” confessed skipper Mike Morgan – Waugh was given the opportunity to bowled a valedictory final over in a fruitless search for his first Strollers wicket.
While Crocker had a slightly useful day – 40 runs, two wickets, a wonder catch, acrobatic fielding and match-winning bowling – the judges rightly awarded the man of the match honours to the departing Waugh. Jim Gee, Will Hasler and skipper Jonathan Denton provided the usual warm Sussex hospitality and The Marshall Cup was returned to its display cabinet for another year…
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan. Match fees: Murray Waugh.
Kempsford
Saturday June 19 at Kempsford
Strollers won by 10 runs
Strollers 255-4 dec
(Timperley 148no, Sam Brodbeck 38, Wood 29, Crocker 15no, Taylor 11)
Kempsford 245
(Macaulay 6-64, Timperley 4-40)
There was a breathless hush in the Close that night. Ten to make and the match to win. A bumping pitch and a blinding light, An over to play and the last man in. And it's not for the sake of a ribboned coat, Or the selfish hope of a season's fame, but Timperley bowled and the batsman smote. The call went out:
"Play up Tom Wood! Play up Tom Wood! And take the catch!"
But we get ahead of ourselves. First, the Strollers batted and James Timperley gave a lesson in building an innings, playing straight, keeping it along the deck and judging every ball on its merits, and other batting clichés.
Opener Peter Patston and John Low, in his stylish borrowed blue sneakers, went early. Sam Brodbeck (38), Tom Wood (29) and Warren Crocker (15no) played lovely cameos, while Brian Taylor hit some very stylish singles in his 11; however it was Timperley who starred, accelerating tremendously later in his innings to reach his highest ever score, 148 not out, before the declaration came from Captain Morgan at 255-4.
The ‘Ford openers began their innings on fire, Mark Strange (60) and Ian
Smart (83) putting on 149 in double quick time. The WAGs (excluding Betty Low) retired to the nearby George pub, predicting a home victory. Enter Alastair Macaulay (6-46) and Mr Cricket Timperley (4-40) , whose combined spin bowling twirled out the Kempsford batsman in steady fashion, clawing the Strollers back into the game.
The end went down to the wire. One over to play and 11 was needed, with two wickets in hand. After an early Timperley wicket, young Bowers - the very talented Kempsford colt - hit skyward to deep long on, and Wood made plenty of ground to grasp a fine catch just in front of the boundary and the setting sun beyond.
The Strollers rejoiced and rejoined to the Green Dragon in the lovely Cotswolds in high spirits, toasting another successful tour and the office of A Macaulay (S Brodbeck) in equal measure.
This they all with a joyful mind, Bear through life like a torch in flame, And falling fling to the host behind - "Play up! Play up! And play the game!"
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan
Eversley
Sunday June 20 at Eversley
Strollers lost by eight wickets
Strollers 214-7
(40 overs; McDougall 65no, Wood 48, Crocker 42, Timperley 13)
Eversley 220-2
(28.2 overs; Crocker 1-33)
The day before had been the perfect game: a tight contest that went to the last over and had the spectator on the edge of her seat. This encounter did not quite have the same tension.
Eversley were kind enough to step into the breach when Apperley, our usual Sunday opponents on the Cotswolds tour, had the temerity to reach the area final of the Village Knockout trophy and were thus otherwise engaged.
The great search for an alternative fixture was solved by Peter MacLaverty, the Eversley fixtures man, who came to our aid so that a glorious sunny day did not go to waste.
The question was: Could we give them a game? The answer, sadly, was not really. With the Strollers at 47-4 it looked as though the answer was a definite no. But thanks to a gritty and determined Hamish McDougall, who finished on a laudable 65 not out, and Tom Wood (48), who put on 79, respectability was reached. Warren Crocker threw his bat to good effect to push the total up to 214.
But that proved not nearly enough. Crocker took an early wicket and had the batsmen playing and missing with some impressive outswing. But opener Edwards was dropped at mid-off and the early nicks did not go to hand. Eversley’s Green went on to a belligerent century before retiring (does this count as a wicket? Ed) and the end came with 10 overs still in hand.
It was a wonderful summer’s day and Eversley skipper Jack Sever sportingly made a game of it to give us a full weekend of cricket. Shame about the result.
*Students of history will note that the Strollers have visited Eversley once before: on Saturday, May 14, 1988. Strollers 58, Eversley 63-1. Plus ca change...
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan.
Chobham
Sunday June 27 at Chobham
Strollers won by 29 runs
Strollers 233-5
(35 overs; Timperley 105, Wood 87no, Addis 10)
Chobham 204
(33.1 overs; Fenn 3-37, Wood 2-5, Addis 2-32, Brodbeck 2-40)
Oonagh was dressed in her St George’s cross T-shirt to cheer on our brave boys in Bloemfontein; the start was brought forward to 1pm to give everyone a chance to watch England’s march to the last eight.
But someone forgot to tell Stevie G, Lamps, Wazza and the rest of our wretched crew to switch on the football. As the Strollers marched to victory, England subsided in ignominy.
Mind you, the early start meant that three of Chobham’s side who were playing in a colts match far away, could not get to the ground in time and, for a record-breaking spell, the Strollers had seven representatives on the field: three fielding substitutes, two batsmen and two umpires.
As the temperature climbed to nearly 30 degrees, another record was set. In 1990 Nigel Whittaker and Daryl Peel had put on an unbeaten 133 against the Old Parkonians. Skipper James Timperley (105) and Tom Wood (87 not out) left that mark far behind as they compiled 171 for the fourth wicket to rescue the side from a parlous 12-2. The teams went in for an extended tea and some indigestible World Cup football with a score of 233-5 on the board after the allotted 35 overs.
Frank Lampard’s shot definitely crossed the line only to be disallowed but the final score of Germany 4 England 1 was a fair reflection of England’s humiliation. The Strollers, however, put the Premiership’s highly-paid superstars to shame and, after Friday, Chobham’s resident Kiwi, had briefly threatened to take the target apart, they took firm control of the match.
Friday departed when Jono Addis persuaded him to play too early and Laurie Allsopp took the chance. Then came the catch of the match…and perhaps of the season, when Addis leapt high at point and, at full stretch, held on to a thunderbolt with one high out-stretched hand.
Dave Turnbull and Addis initially failed to locate the pitch but Mark Fenn purveyed his tempting brand of off-spin and Wood carried on where he had been forced to leave off with the bat and tied things up with figures of 4-1-5-2.
Hamish McDougall carried off a smart stumping – “it’s probably the first time I have had anyone stumped off my bowling” confessed Addis – to end proceedings with Chobham falling short by 29 runs as the summer’s hottest day began to cool down at last. Oonagh showed her disgust at England’s display by removing her T-shirt and the Strollers took the positives out of the day – a luxury not available to Fabio Capello.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall. Match fees: Tom Wood.
Bricklayers Arms
Thursday July 1 in Wandsworth Park
Strollers won by seven wickets
Bricklayer's Arms 106-6
(20 overs; S Robinson 3-25, Addis 1-20, Thavam 1-11)
Strollers 110-3
(17.3 overs; Wood 57no, Ball 15no)
The blazing late June heat had turned Wandsworth Park into something of a dustbowl, with unpredictable bounce that left the batsmen either ducking under a ripsnorter or playing over a daisy cutter. It was a thankless task for Strollers wicketkeeper-captain Andy Clarke and his Bricklayer’s Arms counterpart Chris Locke, who never knew what might come at them next.
With the Strollers being greater in numbers at the 6pm start time Clarke opted to field, although Kimball Bailey was needed as a substitute fine leg for the first over.
James While was unfortunate to go wicketless in a tight opening spell and Laurie Allsopp found some turn from the other end, but batsman Jason Reid was in form to get early runs on the board, eventually top scoring with 42.
Jono Addis replaced Allsopp, who would come back on to bowl well at the death, and got the breakthrough after a useful opening partnership. He was followed by 20/20 specialist Steve Thavam (later tapped up for a transfer by one C. Locke) who took 1-11 from his four overs, and the returning Steve Robinson with 3-25.
Tom Wood led the way in the field, gliding in from cover for a run out at the non-striker’s end, and the Bricklayer’s Arms worked their way to 106-6.
Wood and John Gibson strode out to chase down what wasn’t necessarily a simple target given the uneven pitch - and the star fielder all but ran himself out first ball.
But he soon settled down to anchor the innings, with support from Gibson and David Meilton before Christian Troughton came in to play some well-timed shots (sporting a dazzling pair of orange shorts – whoever picked up his trousers at the Parry’s Whippets game, he would like them back, if you don’t mind).
Jeff Ball was next man in as the Strollers approached the target and Wood his 50. Then followed a succession of dot balls as Ball got his eye in, but he made his mark by creaming the ball off the back foot for four over mid-off. Eoin Morgan please take note.
Ball hit the winning runs in the 18th over, finishing on 15 not out with Wood unbeaten on 57 in the Strollers’ total of 110-3. Bert Schoenberg and Danny Lombardo led the way with the ball for the Bricklayer’s, both taking 1-14.
It was a satisfying win for the Strollers in a game where they always managed to keep their noses in front, and the Bricklayer’s Arms welcomed both sides with open arms for some fine post-match food and drink on a warm summer’s evening.
Capt/wkt: Andy Clarke. Match fees: Tom Wood
Warfield
Saturday July 3 at Warfield
Match drawn
Warfield 197-8 dec
(Sam Brodbeck 2-6, Simon Brodbeck 2-30, Crocker 2-41, Allsopp 1-42, Macaulay 1-45)
Strollers 148-9
(Sam Brodbeck 57, Howard 36, Crocker 12)
Since his Strollers debut in 1978 Ivor Fiala had accumulated 92 not outs. He added number 93 at Warfield and this one was more significant than most.
To begin at the beginning. A traffic jam at the Chiswick roundabout held up James Mawson and Alastair Macaulay and it looked as though Buster and Molly would have to take the field in their place. In fact the assembled WAGs and canines almost outnumbered the players on a glorious sunny day.
The Warfield openers had to face a fine opening spell from Warren Crocker and Dave Turnbull. And survive they did, in some style, until first change Laurie Allsopp persuaded the opener to heave to the sure hands of Mawson who, hot-foot from his traffic jam, had barely had time to adjust his trousers.
But the Warfield charge continued unabated. Simon Brodbeck picked up two wickets more by good fortune than judgement, Macaulay pouched a curious leading edge caught and bowled and Crocker returned to improve his figures. Sam Brodbeck, wearing an intriguing pair of white Australian tracksuit bottoms, adopted a new policy of pitching the ball up to let it swing. Figures of 3.5-1-6-2 showed that this could be the way to go. For Warfield Bob Newman held it together and claimed the first century of his career, his tremendous effort eventually brought to an end by a fine tumbling catch from Patrick Howard.
So the target, in a time game, was 198. And the reply did not start well. At 0-2 with skipper Mike Morgan and Mawson back in the pavilion, there was work to be done. But Sam Brodbeck and Howard – with one scoring shot off his first 31 balls – slowly put things to rights, eventually putting on 97 before they were parted. Howard had just got his range-finder adjusted when he lost sight of a full toss which clipped the bail while Sam was run out buy a direct hit for a fine 57.
Jeff Ball and Dave Turnbull added to the collection of run-outs – a result of some terrific Warfield fielding – and Crocker, just as he was warming to his task, crashed the ball straight back to the bowler.
So the target began to recede into the distance. And when Allopp was caught behind, last man Fiala joined Simon Brodbeck at the crease. With 6.4 overs remaining and 59 required, the pair decided to eschew their normal free-flowing attacking policy and look for the draw. With jaws jutting, Fiala and Brodbeck defied the attentions of the close field and held on in gallant style. Fiala’s not out 0 from 18 balls was an effort which John Smyth, the Strollers’ legendary hanger-on-for-a draw, would have been proud of. He played from 1982 to 1998 and Smyth’s speciality was the backs to the wall six not out in 55 minutes to claim the draw in those far-off days when overs matches were still to be invented. Fiala, with the 93rd not out of his endless career, can now be officially installed as his heir.
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan. Match fees: Kirsten Doody/Jeff Ball.
Bledlow
Sunday July 4 at Bledlow
Strollers won by five wickets
Bedlow 58
(Walder 2-2, Wood 2-18, Addis 2-20, Ball 1-3, Chisholm 1-6, Brodbeck 1-7)
Strollers 62-5
(Clarke 26no, Chisholm 15)
On a beautiful day in the Oxfordshire countryside the Strollers’ mere arrival in the middle after losing the toss and being put into the field sparked a spontaneous conflagration on the neighbouring railway line. Was this, we wondered, a portent of doom or a sign from above that a red-hot performance was imminent?
Thankfully it proved to be the latter. Tom Wood certainly fanned the flames early on, finding a couple of sharp edges that alas weren’t quite held in the slips, but soon made the breakthrough thanks to a stunning legside catch by keeper Hamish McDougall standing up to the stumps to send a stylish looking Furniss on his way. It was the start of a day of contrasting fortunes for The Goose.
Wickets then fell regularly and apart from a spirited 21 by S Williams at the top of the order little resistance was offered. It was agreed during the post-match debrief that Jono Addis’s excellent run-out of the capable looking Wagerfield at No 3 was a key moment but no less than we expected from a man who dons a vest top with the kind of nonchalance the rest of us can only dream of.
Wood, Addis and Aaron Walder picked up two apiece which brought Daisy Rennison to the crease. She seemed to have the measure of Simon Brodbeck early on but a slight alteration of line gave McDougall a stumping opportunity which he rather reluctantly accepted; it would come back to haunt him later.
Alistair Chisholm was then thrown the ball and, whilst it was his debut on a cricket field, he had already proved himself to be 100% Stroller by answering the match manager’s SOS call for a player very late on Saturday night. Initially he experimented with the double-bouncer having obviously read the same article we all had earlier in the season about the attempts of Worcestershire 2ND XI spinner Neil Pinner to perfect the said delivery for use in Twenty/20 cricket.
Chiz soon grew tired of such new-fangled tactics, though, and decided to fall back on his stock delivery: a swift, good length swinging ball that pitches on middle and moves off the pitch to hit the top of off.
Jeff “The Hands” Ball - who minutes previously had expressed his enthusiasm to bowl by informing skipper James Timperley that “if you want a few overs of no wickets and loads of runs then I’m your man” - promptly got involved at the other end and wasted no time in wrapping up the Bledlow innings.
A target of 59 seemed unlikely to take much getting but it quickly seemed that bit tougher when Wagerfield and Howson removed Peter Patston and debutant Nigel Robinson early on to see the Strollers stumbling at 5-2. Chisholm relieved the pressure with a rapid and very entertaining 15 before being bowled by Tapping, who repeated the trick to send Ball back in the same over.
McDougall then came in to join Andy Clarke, who had been making smooth enough progress as the wickets fell, and the pair found themselves facing the bowling of Daisy Rennison. Clarke duly took the coward’s way out by pushing a single and scarpering to the other end from where he and umpire Wood had the best view in the house of H Mac being clean bowled by a double-bouncer, a bona fide Daisy-Cutter. They say revenge is a dish best served cold and the Stroller had to chomp his way through a hefty portion.
With just a handful of runs needed, Timperley was ushered to the crease with dubious words of encouragement from Walder ringing in his ears (“Banana skin” was rumoured to be the phrase used) but got the team over the line in circumspect fashion.
A very tasty tea then followed and all in all it was an enjoyable game at a cracking ground against very hospitable opposition. On returning to London a number of the team then convened in the Anglesea Arms to discuss the day’s events whereupon Wood flew in the face of all culinary convention by attempting to persuade them to partake of a lamb and beetroot curry with mixed success. You cannot keep him out of the game.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall. Match fees: Tom Wood
L J Clark
Thursday July 8 at Wandsworth
Strollers lost by 80 runs
L J Clarke 168-8
(20 overs; Boyle 1-18, Wood 1-28, Gray 1-36, Walder 1-40)
Strollers 88
(Wood 29, Thavam 19, Walder 13)
The Strollers went into this tussle having won three from three in the shorter format of the game. If this success continued, sponsorship deals and IPL contracts were on the cards. However, on this occasion, the wheels came spectacularly off.
LJ Clarke won the toss, and a much changed Strollers unit took the field first at the sun-baked Trinity Fields. Injuries had taken their toll, with both Neil Cullen and Evan Samuel forced to remain on the sidelines (and latterly to umpire – thanks lads). The pitch was hard and good, the outfield more reminiscent of a Sri Lankan dust bowl, making it lightning fast, and the boundary slightly more suited to an Under-13s game than a mid week 20-20. Why have they marked out the inner ring, one naïve Stroller was heard to remark. It was felt that 160 would be about a par score.
Jono Addis opened the bowling with an unlikely new ball partner in leg-spinner Aaron Walder. Unfortunately, a combination of lusty blows and ghost-like fielding from the Strollers had the home team at 32-0 after two overs. Indeed, when Walder took the first wicket in the fourth over, the score was on 47 and one batsman had already retired. Only Tom Wood was able to bowl his full spell at an economy rate of under seven per over, although the wickets were shared out between Walder, Wood, Neil Gray (making his first Strollers appearance for 18 years), and Danny Boyle, bowling some promising left-arm spin at the death. The always reliable Steve Thavam was unlucky to leak runs through the vacant slip area (and occupied third man area) and remain wicketless.
The Strollers’ fielding left much to be desired, with only Addis (two catches), Walder (a catch and a run out) and Boyle (a run out) deserving mention. Considering the high standard that the Strollers have achieved in this area in their past three 20/20 matches, this was a disappointment to skipper Andy Clarke. Having said that, after LJ’s start some satisfaction was taken in limiting them to 169-6.
Belgian fluids were taken on at the break (care of the 12th and 13th men – thanks lads), and Strollers openers Boyle and Addis strode to the crease knowing a good start was needed to chase the target down. Indeed, a good start was had....unfortunately by LJ’s bowlers, who limited the Strollers to 22-4 off the first eight overs. Both openers and Christian Troughton (newly reunited with his cricket trousers) were clean bowled by good yorkers for single figures, and Clarke was caught behind trying to force the pace.
Thavam and Wood began to get a partnership together, putting on 19 and 29 respectively before Thavam was caught on the boundary having to go for everything. Walder joined Wood, but when Wood ran himself out going for a needed second the game looked beyond the Strollers. The tail were clearly keen to get to the curry house as Grey, Jeff Ball and John Gibson all missed straight ones within the space of eight balls. Kimball Bailey came in and rotated the strike with Walder, until Walder was also bowled, trying to hit a ball into Clapham, for 13. Thus the Strollers were dismissed for 85 off 16.4 overs, needing almost a whole further innings to get close to LJ’s total.
Our hosts were gracious in success, and a couple of cans of larger beer were consumed in the sun, before the majority of the Strollers headed over the road on the orders of His Excellency Dr Keith Shannon, Her Majesty’s ambassador to Moldova, and various other spectating Strollers, to celebrate the birthday of Tom Wood. Very little post-match analysis was had; we all know where we went wrong.
Capt and wkt: Andy Clarke. Match fees: Tom Wood.
Old Wimbledonians
Saturday July 10 in Merton
Strollers lost by 90 runs
Old Wimbledonians 201-7 dec
(Hodgson 3-38, Wood 3-51, Sam Brodbeck 1-42)
Strollers 111
(Clarke 30, Sam Brodbeck 12, Fiala 5no)
A scorching South London was the setting as Captain Mike Morgan's Saturday Specials showcased the heady mixture of brilliance and self-implosion they are famous for.
After 15 overs losing the toss seemed a master stroke as Old Wimbledonians played-and-missed their way to 12 – Warren Crocker being the pick of an unlucky pace attack, conceding only eight runs off eight overs. Tom Wood’s quick removal of the top three brought together the highly-charged duo of Nigam and Patel who added 100 runs in a whirlwind middle session before Jim Hodgson stuck three times in an over to stem the flow. As Sam Brodbeck bowled a smearing Patel for 77 the baying crowd sensed a quick end, however a clean-hitting 23 not out from skipper Crispin Shingler left the match poised as Wimbledonians made a daring early declaration on 201-7.
The Strollers' reply started well enough before Sam Brodbeck was bowled by a fiercely dipping ball triggering a textbook collapse. Jono Addis and Wood both went first ball to slingy West Indian Garfield Fontaine and when a calm and classy Andy Clarke played on for 30 the game looked over.
For successive Saturdays Ivor Fiala joined Simon Brodbeck with the task almost impossible and the dismissed Strollers wondering whether there was any point in organising another drinks break. “It's the hope that kills you,” muttered statistician Wood as he announced the pair would need to see out 90 balls to secure a Seventies-style winning draw.
The top scorer (extras with 35) never looked in danger as the partnership saw out over after over – a masterclass of nurdling and insatiable blocking. With 89 balls safely repelled even renowned sceptic Sally Hodgson was coming round to the merits of the 'time' format.
It was, however, not to be. The cruel cricket gods would only allow so much dreaming. As Shingler bowled Brodbeck with a quick, straight delivery the Wimbledon College ground erupted in a cacophony of moans and cheers, diverting the attentions of the cameras away from an incident with the stumps (somewhat reminiscent of that other Notts batsman, Chris Broad, in the infamous 1988 Sydney Bicentennial Test) that has since escaped a fine.
As Fiala continues his march to a century of undefeated innings, a talented yet underachieving Strollers were left wondering whether they really were worth the notorious pay packets so heavily scrutinised by the media in recent weeks. With calls for a complete overhaul of the Strollers nickname system getting louder by the day, Captain Morgan is holed up in his South Coast mansion and remains unavailable for comment.
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan. Match fees: Tom Wood.
Aston Rowant
Sunday July 11 in Oxfordshire
Match drawn
Strollers 218-9 dec
(McDougall 59no, Wood 58, Mawson 26, Timperley 23, Bailey 11)
Aston Rowant 164-8
(Wood 4-54, Samuel 2-16, Cave 1-16, Timperley 1-44)
The recent weather has had an Antipodean feel to it and the Strollers turned up at the exceptional Aston Rowant ground under a bright sun to find brown grass, a firm track, an opposition skipper from Perth and the bar open and serving lager - all very Australian.
First blood went to the other southern nation, however, as Kiwi skipper James Timperley defied recent form to win the toss, announcing (to glad cries) that FSS would bat. It only seemed fair, as AR seemed to have far too many young whippersnappers in their side. Talented young sods, too. Making them run around in the heat of the day was the only reasonable course and the Strollers retired happily to the shade.
Alas, the clubhouse was perhaps too attractive as AR's skipper Todd (their Aussie pro) rapidly removed both openers - Patston and Howard - for ducks with swinging Yorkers.
He was far too rapid for the Strollers - certainly at the beginning of what turned into a worthy nine-over marathon - and FSS were suddenly 6-2 and looking at a short and possibly embarrassing afternoon. Fortunately there was some relief at the other end as Timperley and James Mawson, arriving late after being delayed by a taxi - typical, the bloody thing burst into flames on the motorway and blocked it - set about the recovery. AR kept many slips in place, opening up the field for run-scoring, and advantage was taken until Timperley played early at a full ball from Todd, edging it high into the offside while attempting a heave to leg and being caught for 23.
Then came the first of two crucial partnerships as Tom Wood, fresh from failing to trouble the scorers on Saturday, joined Mawson - and immediately looked in fine touch (as Greg Chappell once said, asked what his form was like after four ducks: "I've no idea. I haven't had a chance to find out.").
After about an over of careful observation, his next 17 balls produced seven fours (the huge outfield was lightning fast). Mawson also opened up as he found his touch and then, to his chagrin, he holed out to Morris (a good young leggie) for 26, having done the hard work. The pair had put on 65, though.
Jeff Ball fell to the next ball, bringing Evan Samuel in to face a hat-trick, tugging on gloves that hadn't been used for more than 10 months and depending on eyes that haven't worked for 49 years. With the field in as close as possible he did the only decent thing and threw the kitchen sink at it, predictably missing completely but somehow not getting out. Wood's comment: "It's ok, I can't pick the googly either."
In fact, after bringing up his excellent 50 it was Morris's top-spinner, and a superb catch at slip by Lyon, that did for him. A top knock. A few runs later, Samuel - proving that old dogs prefer not to learn at all, thank you very much - took a mighty heave at the young (notice a trend?) off-spinner Holt and departed, bowled neck and crop, for nine, leaving Tom Salvesen with Hamish McDougall. Salvesen tried to put Holt into the next county and was caught for six ... and thus entered chairman Kimball Bailey.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. With the Strollers 139-8, it was incumbent upon him to stay with McDougall as long as possible. So, in the course of a 19-run partnership, he did the only decent thing: outscoring his partner. First a four tickled around the corner; next, a four driven - yes - to the straight boundary. We shall pass over its intended target, which was cover. A single to keep the strike; a two; and bowled for 11. A happy bunny returned to the clubhouse for tea and medals.
And then, the other and arguably more crucial partnership. Dennis Cave joined McDougall at the beginning of the 34th over, with the score 158-9. When the Strollers declared at tea, after 43 overs, he was four not out. The score was 218-9. And McDougall was 59 not out, reaching his 50 off just 35 balls and only facing 46 in all. Two superb innings, notable for dedicated running by both and some excellent footwork to the spinners by McDougall.
After an excellent tea, the nervous Strollers took the field. 218 did not feel enough on a quick outfield and with the youngsters of AR obviously in the mood. However, there are times when age trumps youth, and the evergreen Cave (an estimated 943 years old, believed to have shown that callow youth WG a thing or two) removed one of the openers in his first over on his way to 1-16 off six overs. The square leg umpire said at one stage "the kids will learn a lot from this" and one of the things is: don't mess with Dennis.
However, opener Oldfield and No3 Muttit, both 15 and both opening for the club's second team, happily faced up to everything Salvesen, Cave, Wood and Timperley could throw at them, putting on 50 runs in 14 overs. But it was Wood's day, and in the fourth over of his marathon spell in the heat (13 overs) he tempted Muttit to clip one in the air to square leg, where Samuel, to general astonishment, held the catch. His replacement Condon hit Timperley to the safe hands of Ball at mid-on and 60-1 had become 65-3: there was hope yet.
But skipper Todd came in in aggressive mood (seven fours in 18 balls) as he and Oldfield put on 44 in about five overs. Then Wood had the South African youngster superbly stumped by McDougall (who didn't let a bye through all day, either) for 55; 109-4. Todd kept swinging until losing Pyne-James bowled by, yes, Wood; 141-5. The dangerous-looking Lyon fell lbw to Wood just three balls later; 141-6.
Then skipper Timperley set the field to allow Todd a tactical single; Holt was bowled by Samuel next ball. 142-7. Strollers on top. But AR kept going; Todd was dropped three times out of four as he hit out but when he lost Morris, to another brilliant stumping by McDougall (this time off Samuel, 164-8), AR shut up shop and comfortably played out the draw. Strollers could and arguably should have won, but AR had unquestionably contributed extra runs to our innings with their field placings and the draw was not an unfair result.
Man of the match honours were a tie between Wood (58 and 4-54) and McDougall (59no, two stumpings, no byes). With mentions in despatches for Bailey and Cave. A good game on an excellent ground against a good club. Good day all round, then.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall. Match fees: Tom Wood
Tadworth
Sunday July 18 at Tadworth
Strollers lost by four wickets
Strollers 117
(39 overs; McDougall 22, Robinson 17, Brodbeck 16, Morgan 14, Gallagher 1.29 not up)
Tadworth 119-6
(32.3 overs; Brodbeck 4-20, Crocker 1-23, Walder 1-37)
The sun shone on this pretty ground as Aaron Walder and Hamish McDougall strode confidently to the wicket. Walder was, however, soon to return for six after a sharp close catch by C Sander off Hemmings. This brought Steve Robinson, fresh from his triumphs of achieving the three peaks of Ben Nevis, Scafell and Snowden in 21 hours, to construct a solid partnership with McDougall. The tale will unfold of how a fourth peak – victory against Tadworth – was to elude him.
Both batsmen played some fine shots before Robinson was well caught by Richards off A Matthews for 17. Patrick Howard, fresh from a diversion south of the M25, was uncharacteristically defensive, but McDougall continued to score freely before ignoring the advice of his old coach – "never cut an off-spinner, lad" – to be bowled by the promising Button for 22.
Apart from Mr Extras, this was to be the highest score of the innings as the wheels came off. McDougall was closely followed by Warren Crocker (another sharp catch by Richards off Button) and skipper Mike Morgan was forced to graft for several overs with Howard.
By this time the large crowd was getting restless. “Where is Ed Gallagher?” the spectators cried.
Howard, playing perhaps his first expansive shot, was spectacularly caught one-handed on the straight boundary by Stuart Ireland off S Sander for six, and Jeff Ball caught behind soon afterwards for one by Mark Robinson to give Button his third wicket. The limpet-like skipper continued, well supported by Simon Brodbeck, inching the score to 98 with some fine fours from each batsman before he fell to another sharp catch by S Sander off Buss for 14. Kimball Bailey joined Brodbeck and held out for a while, taking the score into three figures before being caught at deep point by S Sander off Sura for two.
Maybe he was distracted by the cheering from the boundary as Gallagher arrived. Was he confused because his journey from Worcestershire meant that he had to take in the M40, rather than this being just an optional extra?
No – our gallant hero confessed a sordid tale of the fleshpots of Birmingham, not getting home until 10am, having a quick refreshing power nap and not waking again until 1.30pm. As one sage put it, “I wouldn’t start from here”. Ivor Fiala tried to give Gallagher time to pad up, but was deceived by Sura and played on. Gallagher’s story was cruelly cut short, but we believe a 3.35 arrival is a new record.
He and Brodbeck were, however, to put on ten for the last wicket before Brodbeck, hitting out in the penultimate over of the 40, fell to another sharp catch, this time by P Matthews off the returning opener, his namesake and presumably brother.
The motivational team talk was drowned out by the noises of approval for the utterly splendid tea, and more attention was given to the fine array of cakes than to the strategy for the second innings. What a tea! What a tea!
Would Gallagher’s late arrival and free-flowing three make a difference?
Well, for a while, things were going swimmingly. A fine aggressive spell of tight bowling from Crocker and Gallagher, and Shy Ed nominated for Appeal of the Year. Four runs off six overs, with Crocker not having a run scored off him until his twentieth ball. Both were unlucky not to get a wicket, but the batsmen had plenty of time. Morgan experimented with Robinson, who was also hostile, and Walder, who was uncharacteristically expensive – relatively speaking, at least, as P Matthews and Ireland played some fine shots.
70 for no wicket, and drama as Patrick Howard dived in an attempt to catch Ireland as an act of single-handed revenge. It was not to be, and Howard had to leave the field to be replaced as substitute by Ben Robinson, half his height but with almost as good a throw. More drama as Mike Morgan, standing up, was struck in the face, and returned after the interval with a gimp mask. All reports are that both players are fine.
The cometh the hour, etc. etc. as Brodbeck bowled a fizzer to take Matthews lbw on his toe for 32. In his next over, he persuaded C Sander to sky a ball to the keeper. Two overs after that, S Sander fell to an excellent stumping and finally Ireland was lbw for 32 off his back foot to give Simon excellent figures of 4-20 off six overs. At the other end, Walder got in on the act with a sharp yorker (OK, it was a full toss) to have Sura (fresh from organising the cricket league in Iowa) plumb lbw. Crocker returned and clean bowled captain Sam Richards with a scorcher, and Tadworth had collapsed from 70-0 to 94-6.
Button and A Matthews, however, were to restore sanity and take Tadworth over the line with six overs to spare, despite two economical overs from McDougall and the return of man of the match Gallagher.
Tadworth had fielded and caught superbly and maintained the pressure on the Strollers batsmen, then well used the time they had to avoid rash shots in the early stages of their own innings and build a platform. The flurry of wickets triggered by Brodbeck was not enough, and Tadworth deserved to win – as was agreed at the intensive post-match analysis with our hospitable hosts.
This was the first time that Tadworth have beaten the Strollers, and we are delighted to see the strength building up in the club from home-grown young talent, a credit to the whole team and the coaches. Cricket has certainly been a major winner in the past in the matches between these two teams, and the same was true again today: the match was played in fine spirit throughout – friendly yet competitive. We look forward very much to next year.
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan. Match Fees: Patrick Howard.
Monty Toller
Friday July 23 in Saumur
Strollers won by two wickets
Montagu Toller Occasionals 104
(12-a-side; Gallagher 3-10, Hodgson 3-23, Salvesen 2-10, McDougall 2-15, Macaulay 1-22)
Strollers 105-9
(Wood 20, Salvesen 15, Morgan 13no, Ball 9, McDougall 8no)
As is traditional in a match involving Ed Gallagher, the Strollers arrived from all points of the compass: Maggie and Peter Patston diverted by the lures of the local Toyota garage; others by some random navigational skills. The semi colon as requested by Mr. Patston.
Skipper Mike Morgan had stopped for a little doze in the caravanette and so it was up to Tom Wood to win the toss and a somewhat fragile-looking Hamish McDougall to don the pads. McDougall had already given concern to his team-mates by taking a call and making explicit reference to “shootings”. A horse’s head was later found in Mr Wood’s bedroom.
Wood duly lost the toss and the Strollers took the field, those who had partaken of the delights of a few liveners, Les Menestrels, the Irish Bar and the Glacier Bar beginning to envy Kimball Bailey who was the unlucky squad member to stand down.
Tom Salvesen bowled a fine and controlled opening spell of 5-2-6-2, bowling Whiteley in his first over and Patrick Howard taking a sharp catch to dismiss Ben Hayward, but Jack Bruck looked solid and played some excellent shots, particularly off a tiring Wood when Buster was brought into action to collect a ball from the river.
Jim Hodgson replaced Wood from the Chateau End and Gallagher, fresh (along with Jeff Ball) from abusing the elderly disabled on the train, took over from Salvesen at the Dead Otter end. Wickets tumbled on a difficult pitch. Hodgson bowled the dangerous Bruck for 19, had Toby Hayward lbw, and Macaulay took an excellent catch in the gully to dismiss Openshaw for seven; Gallagher, bowling like an enraged frog-viper, snared Wood caught by outfielder Morgan, had Ford lbw and bowled Calder.
Howard took a splendid running catch in the deep to dismiss Crisp off Macaulay, and McDougall, relieved of the pads at the drinks interval and sweating pure Cabernet Franc, bowled Ralphs junior and senior to wrap up the innings. Mr Extras was the highest scorer.
While a target of 105 looked easily achievable, there was certainly the risk that hubris would be our enemy after a brief but liquid tea. With a strange sense of déjà vu, wickets continued to tumble on a difficult pitch.
Opener Ivor Fiala was deceived by the brightness of the new ball and caught behind, Brizey Taylor fell the same way a couple of overs later, Patrick Howard was lbw and Peter Patston bowled. 20-4 and things looking tricky.
Wood and Jeff Ball put on a restorative partnership of 24 before Ball was bowled by Ralph for nine. 44-5. Salvesen played some top shots in his 15 and he and Wood put on 22 before Wood was bowled by Ford for 20 after nearly an hour. 66-6. Hodgson came and went: 74-7.
Morgan played a responsible innings but Salvesen eventually fell: 89-8. Gallagher came and went: 90-9. Nails bitten to the quick on the boundary.
But Morgan (13*) and McDougall (8*) took us home in classic style, with cricket the only winner and heroics from Macaulay not being required. It is worthy of note that when the news of “being taken home by Morgan and McDougall” reached the UK, it was assumed for several days that the author needed to be carried home as a result of the demon drink.
Madame President was presented with a new pencil sharpener. Miaouw…
A few liveners, then both teams off to a splendid dinner at Le Bourse and a number of different venues contributing to – but tomorrow is another day.
For anyone interested, Montagu Toller (b. 1871) won a cricket gold medal in the 1900 Paris Olympics, beating France, and was an all-round good egg from the part of North Devon from which the team hails. We have been offered rematches – in Devon, in London and in France.
Captain: Tom Wood. Wkt: Hamish McDougall/Mike Morgan.
Saumur
Saturday July 24 in Saumur
Match drawn
Strollers 230-4
(McDougall 101not, Extras 59, Taylor 26, Gallagher 16, Patston 12)
Saumur 102-8
(Salvesen 3-19, Macaulay 2-10, Morgan 1-1, Gallagher 1-1, Wood 1-30)
Jim Hodgson was eventually located in a hotel reception area after locking himself in a loo for several hours; Tom Wood was in shock after attending breakfast for the second day running. Discussion over the relevance of the semicolon in modern literature continued; it was to rear its head throughout the day.
The traditional gentle hum of passing mobilettes signified another Saturday match in Saumur. The pitch looked significantly better than the day before and Mike Morgan had no hesitation in batting. Saumur skipper Brian Till gave a motivational speech worthy of Tom Wood. Hamish McDougall strode to the crease, wearing Ivor Fiala’s box, and accompanied by Peter Patston. Both played some good shots against the hostile but wayward bowling of Hamid and Bishop, and Mr Extras (who had not been drinking till five in the morning) made a significant contribution to the opening partnership of 40. Hamid, from the Dead Otter end, had Patston lbw for 12 and bowled Patrick Howard for nine.
Brizey Taylor, elegant as always, joined McDougall and the two put on 90 for the third wicket, both batsmen outscoring Mr Extras and McDougall passing 50 – the goose’s gander was up – before Taylor was bowled by the dangerous-looking Pete Ridding for 26. Ed Gallagher played an excellent cameo to quicken the scoring rate before being bowled for 16 by Gavin Caldwell, and Mike Morgan joined a glowing McDougall to partner him to a well-earned maiden century. A fine innings, immediately followed by the declaration on the stroke of 40 overs. Statisticians should note that McDougall’s score equalled his room number. Mr Extras was also undefeated on 59; is this a record?
The Strollers were keen to get out on the field quickly after tea, and were joined by Hamid and Kevin Bishop – the opening batsmen thus opening the bowling. Hamid announced his intentions early, smiting Tom Salvesen towards the river. Bishop set off for a leg bye having played no stroke and was run out in the confusion by a sharp direct hit from Howard; he was called back only to be lbw to Wood the next ball. Salvesen bowled the talented and aggressive Ridding and tempted Collison to hit to the safe hands of McDougall in the deep. Salvesen’s third wicket was significant: he bowled Hamid for 56 (from a total of 74), and Saumur shut up shop with 14 overs to go.
Alastair Macaulay bowled Frank Vertoux and Mac Stone nicked Gallagher (5-4-1-1) to McDougall, who had replaced Morgan behind the stumps. Why? So Morgan could bowl himself, and immediately persuaded Gavin Caldwell to hit to Gallagher at silly mid-off. It was unclear whether Caldwell’s expression “twat” was aimed at himself, Morgan or Gallagher.
Jacob Caldwell looked strong in defence, but Macaulay bowled him, thus continuing the tradition of taking the wickets of a Frenchman and a child on tour. Till and Tom Baxter held out for the draw. For the second time in the match, Mr Extras was the second highest scorer.
A game played in excellent spirits in which cricket was etc. etc. Saumur presented bottles to Madame President and to a tearful man-of-the-match, Hamish McDougall, who by this stage was running out of business cards.
An uneventful bus trip (at least in the Russell sense; we had a scenic trip and Ivor exchanged shirts, though sadly not with the delightful Valerie) to Chez Ridding. A wonderful barbecue was washed down with shedloads of local produce, and all three teams enjoyed a full choral rendition of Running Bear. Thank you again, Pete, and we hope you don’t kill the cactus.
Captain: Mike Morgan. Wkt: Mike Morgan/Hamish McDougall.
Nantes
Sunday July 25 at The Vertou Hippodrome, Nantes
Strollers lost by eight wickets
Strollers 130
(12-a-side; Macaulay 31, Salvesen 21, Taylor 19, Morgan 10)
Nantes 134-3
(McDougall 2-36, Macaulay 1-39)
A first. Having said goodbye to Patrick, Kirsten and the Salvesen Development Squad, the Stroller convoy left the hotel near as dammit as planned and arrived at the Hippodrome in good time.
Monty Toller had beaten Nantes convincingly the day before in a low-scoring game on a challenging pitch, and the walking wounded and the living dead of the Strollers gloomily inspected the track. “We’ve never played on this strip before,” said Andy German, cheerily. For those who don’t know, this is a new grass pitch (inaugurated last year; we are only the fourth team to play on it) with a chateau at each end, which might be confusing later.
It was definitely a case of “win the toss and field”. Mike lost the toss and yesterday’s successful pair of Hamish McDougall and Brian Taylor strode to the wicket. McDougall was caught behind off Matt Foreman for six, giving him a tour average of 115, which is not half bad. Jim Hodgson swung Foreman to Ijaz and Tom Wood was caught behind the next ball. Tom Salvesen saved the hat-trick and went on to play some fine shots, including a big six, before slogging Le Roux to Ijaz for 21. Mike Morgan reached double figures before hitting Le Roux to the deep and being caught, and Ed Gallagher was bowled by Foreman, returning after the drinks break, for five. Jeff Ball was bowled to give Foreman an impressive Michelle (6-1-15-5).
The serene but battered figure of Brizey (now renamed “Bruisy”) Taylor remained, rocklike, as the carnage took place at the other end, but eventually he too fell, bowled German, eighth man down for 19 off 109 balls. A performance worthy of David Steele. A shame he was out, as record books were being examined to establish various records involving carrying one’s bat…
But cometh the hour, etc, etc. Alastair Macaulay struck a brisk 31 with two sixes and countless (well, by definition no more than four) boundaries, with the six off German being particularly pleasurable. He and Taylor put on 30; Ivor Fiala came and went, selflessly run out in an attempt to give Macaulay the strike. Eventually Macaulay was caught behind for 31 off Rethmer leaving Peter Patston and an injured Kimball Bailey to use up the full 35 overs, the chairman finishing on one not out in the best eleventh wicket partnership of the season so far. Mr Extras had made another significant contribution.
130 seemed defendable, but the sun had come out and we were reminded that the side batting second had won every game played in the past at Vertou. Tom Salvesen continued his fine spell of bowling on this tour and was unlucky not to have two wickets after a spell of 4-0-12-0. Marco Louvigny (the Nantes president) rode his luck, mixing effective defence with some free hitting, but it was his opening partner Matt Foreman who bludgeoned Hodgson, Gallagher and Wood out of the attack.
Gallagher was – after some initial problems with his guidance system – accurate (4-2-7-0; “bludgeoned my ass”, said Gallagher on the train home) but even after a motivational speech at the drinks break the bowlers toiled in the heat. Maggie Patston queried how many Strollers sides had ever been beaten by eleven wickets. But it was not to be.
In a late flurry, McDougall had Louvigny caught behind by the skipper, and Macaulay persuaded Le Roux to sky to the safe hands of Hodgson. 112-2, and Ijaz walking to the crease did nothing to improve the morale of the Strollers, but he played an incautious shot to the coin des vaches (as he always does, of course) and Gallagher took an excellent catch off McDougall. German joined Foreman, who hit the winning runs in a masterful 94 not out.
Nantes may have had the better of the pitch, but we had no excuses: Guillaume Arrivé marshalled his troops well, Foreman batted superbly and bowled well, finding the “couloir de qu’est-ce qui se passé” on a regular basis, and we were not at our best. A little jaded in the field, perhaps, Wood’s “mine” being particularly memorable. Maybe it was the fault of John Gibson and the wags going for a long lunch in Pornic? Someone had to be blamed… But we will be welcomed back, and positive news from Prestcold greeted those having a refreshing demi or two by the lock on the Sevre. Though less so the news that Monty Toller had beaten Saumur – twice….
It is rumoured that there was eating and drinking later. A resounding chorus of “Joyeux Anniversaire” was sung to Maggie in the Irish Bar by the survivors of both teams at 12.01 English time, and we at least had some revenge for a poor Strollers performance when we discovered that the Nantes president had a far worse hangover than that of our own.
We approve of Nantes. Not just the hospitality of the opposition, but a top city, with both Elephant and Castle receiving high praise. We said goodbye to Jim, Sally, Mike and Sue, and Maggie’s birthday was celebrated by the survivors in the appropriately-named Cigale, after a prolonged non-drinks break.
Tom Wood was seen at breakfast for four out of five days.
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan.
Prestcold
Sunday July 25 at Binfield Heath
Strollers won by 72 runs
Strollers 217-8
(40 overs; Mawson 51no, Sanders 44, Addis 37, Clarke 23, Crocker 18)
Prestcold 145
(35 overs; Sanders 4-16, Crocker 2-21, Russell 2-44, Brodbeck 1-16, Cave 1-29)
With a swathe of the Strollers’ finest sunning themselves in the Loire valley, match manager Neil Cullen had his work cut out raising 11 even for a game on such a picturesque ground ‑ with its quirky tree standing guard at mid-on 15 yards from the wicket, and horses frolicking in the fields ‑ and late drop-outs didn’t help a lot, either.
Fortunately, Jono Addis and Andy Clarke came to the rescue by bringing mates - Matt Sanders, the latest addition to the club’s roster of proper Kiwi cricketers, and Phil Lane, the latest addition to the club’s roster of willing men in white trousers.
Traffic on the way to Prestcold being what it is (and the instructions being what they were - that is, effectively useless), through the delights of the Thames valley with particular reference to roadworks on the M4 and the myriad attractions of Reading on a Sunday afternoon, it was inevitable that there should be some lateness … as personified by Warren Crocker, whose journey to the ground took a mere three and a half hours.
The car carrying Clarke, Lane and Mawson was also delayed so it was a good toss to win. The skipper, reluctant to open when he has slightly less form than the Aussie middle order, made his first brilliant decision of the day by putting Sanders (nominally an opening bowler) in with Addis. And then sat back, eventually taking his pads off as the others arrived, to enjoy a serene 79-run opening partnership as Sanders happily tonked the ball around (not slogging, either) and Addis calmly played himself in. It took a run-out (bad call, good throw) to send Sanders on his way, for 44, in the 15th over.
Enter Mawson, in for the long haul, and he and Addis added a further 28 in seven overs before Jono became spinner Mathews’s first victim, bowled for 37. Clarke joined Mawson and the pair settled in, playing calmly and putting on a fine 65 before Clarke became the second run-out (bad call, etc) for 23.
Samuel, alas, barely troubled the scorers before attempting to cut a ball swinging past his ankles; Cullen, with Addis as runner due to his creaking knee, played a couple of smoking drives before getting over-excited (and bowled) by the slower one for nine. Crocker, eager to make up for his stressful journey, smashed 18, with a massive six, before missing the slower one (a definite trend) and wandering off muttering darkly about missing out on easy runs. However, both he and Cullen had helped the eager Mawson accelerate the innings.
Brendan Russell, a welcome returnee from Australia, gave the scorer even less to do than Samuel; Lane, on debut, ran like a man possessed to give Mawson the strike and stay with him to a thoroughly deserved 50. It was generally felt that 217 was about par.
FSS opened with Crocker and Dennis Cave and the pair strangled the early life out of the chase. Without either ever being at the top of their games, after 12 overs Prestcold were 40ish for two (the book is vague on the exact details). Cave struck first and Crocker backed him up, both wickets being bowled.
Cave carried on, but unfortunately lost his action and found his final two overs expensive - but 1-29 off eight isn’t bad by any stretch. Crocker, who had a catch dropped (by, ahem, Sanders, to everyone’s mild shock) finished after six with 1-21 to allow Sanders his first bowl for a year; not a lot to say, really, other than eight overs, three maidens, 4-16. And one ball which not only went through the stumps but shifted the off-stump outwards … without removing the bails. Incredible. The lucky batsman, Mathews, rode his luck to 27 before falling to a solid rugby mark at long on by Lane.
Russell replaced Cave and, as is his wont, began with a wicket maiden. The next three overs were not quite so effective, and Simon Brodbeck came on to bowl another fine spell - 1-16 off five. After Sanders’s spell, Russell returned; two more overs, a few runs, a busted toenail and a wicket with his last ball: 2-44, and welcome back.
With plenty of runs to play with, the skipper put himself on. And then off. Sixreen runs off that over (well over the asking rate), including two massive sixes, led to cries of “Bring back Brenny” and, deciding that cowardice is the better part of valour, he went for the nuclear option and brought Crocker back. A couple of quick ones to establish who was boss, and a slower one skied to Sanders in the deep, ended the young Rosier’s innings at an exciting 35. Job done. 2-21 off seven for Crocker.
A good day out in the country, although no one (to everyone’s disappointment) managed to hit the tree. Which is worth two runs, in case you were wondering.
Capt: Evan Samuel. Wkt and match fees: Andy Clarke.
Peppard
Sunday August 1 at Peppard
Strollers lost by seven wickets
Strollers 167-8
(40 overs; McDougall 65, Timperley 44, Gallagher 22)
Peppard 171-3
(32.2 overs; Crocker 2-22, Samuel 1-26)
The day started well when all Strollers were assembled well before the due start. As Ed Gallagher was one of them this is no mean achievement. It was downhill from there unfortunately. Peppard won the toss and put us in for the first 40 overs.
The Strollers started slowly and soon lost Peter Patston. Skipper James Timperley also took a while to get going but was putting together a dangerous partnership with Hamish McDougall when he fell victim to a speculative lbw shout for 44. Hamish was then joined by Gallagher who biffed a merry 22. Hamish was eventually out for 65, having been harsh on anything short outside the off stump. Warren Crocker was out stumped soon after by a smart piece of glovework. Ed was joined by Jeff Ball who led a charmed life against young Vines who eventually bowled him. He was replaced by the unwell Evan Samuel who was more concerned with not besmirching his whites from within than scoring runs. Evan was at the other end when the last over started...
Alastair Macaulay was doing his duty as square leg umpire when Ed Gall was out on the second ball of that final over. He was summoned to put his pads on and trotted off shaking his head as there were two batsmen ahead of him. However even before he could get his pads on, both Tim Rice and Laurie Allsopp had been out to the middle, been bowled first ball and returned to give young Vines his hat-trick. Dennis Cave went out instead and denied Vines another victim and the innings finished on 167-8.
This was a total that in previous years would have been competitive but with the fast outfield, proved not to be enough. Peppard lost a couple of early wickets to Crocker (one bowled and the other caught by Macaulay) but Legg and T Vines were soon hitting the ball to all parts. T Vines eventually ended with a chanceless and elegant 65 not out. Legg survived a drop and was eventually out for 51 caught by the reliable Ball off Samuel. Fresh from his seven-wicket haul TA Vines came in and further enhanced his reputation with a rapid 28 not out. Peppard won by seven wickets in the 33rd over. In the end it wasn't even close.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees: Alastair Macaulay.
Thames Valley
Wednesday August 4 at Sunbury
Strollers lost by 14 runs
Thames Valley 140-5
(20 overs; Fiala 2-21, Allsopp 2-28)
Strollers 126-6
(20 overs; Robinson 34no, Wood 33no, Clarke 31no)
249 emails, 17 phone calls, 13 texts and a serious weather warning from the Met Office as torrential rain buffeted the south of England. Cars were floating down the road towards the river in SW15 when Clive Germany came up with the magic words “OK, let’s go for it then, shall we?”
And he was right. A drying pitch, glorious sunshine (well, almost) and a prompt start. 15x8-ball overs with no change of end until eight overs had gone (the batsmen swap), and a very successful format, with the Strollers bowling their 120 balls in 62 minutes to take maximum advantage of the light. Perhaps they should do the same in Test matches.
Steve Robinson bowled a tight spell and was unlucky not to take a wicket, but Graham and Iain Doggett looked set fair against a nine-man Strollers field (plus one guest, thanks guys). Graham Doggett struck some huge shots and retired after two overs, leaving Jono Addis’s analysis in tatters.
A bold bowling change by skipper Tom Wood and Ivor Fiala came into the attack from the A308 end, soon dismissing a bemused Mike Chipps with a spiralling donkey-dropper. Ross Wright was solid and eventually retired for 31, but Laurie Allsopp’s first ball (another high full toss, to be fair) bowled Iain Doggett for 23 and he was also later to bowl skipper Henry Edmondson with one that kept somewhat lower. Gary Edwards was left stranded and was sharply run out; Crawford fell caught and bowled to – it’s that man again – Fiala. But Germany steered Thames Valley to a defendable total of 140 after some energetic Strollers fielding – the ball particularly followed John Gibson.
A quick turnaround. Gibson and Addis prodded and poked Leo Pearcey and a penetrating Iain Doggett, before Addis completed what, to be fair, was not one of his more memorable matches. Two for one after two overs. “Not exactly the start I was looking for,” said the skipper. Gibson struck a good four before popping one up to the legside trap. David Meilton was caught behind and we were three for nine.
Then some restoration of pride, with Andy Clarke and Wood putting on a solid partnership. Clarke retired for 31 after a blistering six which bounced a long way into the car park before striking the Chairman’s car. Mr Clarke was last seen walking home to North London. Robinson then joined Wood and continued to attack the Thames Valley bowling, playing some shots that were a real pleasure to watch before retiring on 34.
The target was remote but achievable, with two runs a ball needed off the last three overs. Kimball Bailey played a fine shot that sadly missed David Laing’s delivery and was bowled. “Correct strategy, flawed implementation,” said the skipper, charitably; “who’s the butt-monkey now,” said Gibson; “what’s with these semi-colons?” asked Peter Patston…
Allsopp was bowled by Germany and Fiala (after a splendid four) selflessly run out in an attempt to murder the tiring skipper, but the target was that little bit too far. Mark Doggett, generously batting for the Strollers, made Wood run another three, but it was not enough.
A good win for Thames Valley followed by drinks and a fine tea with the hospitable opposition, with the chance of a rematch next week.
Capt and match fees: Tom Wood. Wkt: Andy Clarke.
Concorde
Sunday August 8 at Send
Strollers lost by seven wickets
Strollers 196-7 dec
(Mawson 46, Hodgson 37, Samuel 25, Morgan 24, Robinson 23, Blyth 12no)
Concorde 197-3
(Hodgson 2-51, Blyth 1-33)
A fine, windless day, a beautiful setting and a surprisingly damp pitch - the outfield was hard and dry. A late drop-out meant Strollers had only 10 men, and after losing the toss were put in to bat - but provided two subs for the hosts, whose opening bowlers were caught on the M25.
From one end at least it made little difference. Jordy Dyer is Concorde's 17-year-old Surrey representative; he opens the batting for Walton-on-Thames. Can bowl a bit, too, generating some nice pace and lift as James Mawson and Steve Robinson did their best to survive - with the connivance of some spotty fielding in the Concorde slip cordon. The pair found life somewhat easier against Concorde skipper Symondson at the other end, who found himself forced to bowl until, after about nine overs, his players arrived and took up the burden.
But the Strollers openers survived and were starting to open out a little when Robinson aimed an extravagant drive and was comprehensively bowled for a solid 23. Wood, at three, followed shortly after, getting a snorter which took the faintest edge through to the keeper and he walked for one.
Jim Hodgson had been observing proceedings from the boundary and had stated that he was feeling ok; the shoulder seemed to be working, the knee wasn't hurting too much. And shortly it became obvious pretty much everything else was working too, as he took the lead in the partnership and started playing some fine shots over and through the field. Concorde's absentee openers had by this stage transformed themselves into spinners - one left -arm "chinamen", the other classic off-spin, and barring some issues with length both were getting turn as the pitch started to dry out. Inevitably, though, Hodgson perished to the full toss, smashing it to deep square where it was well held, and out for a classy 37.
Evan Samuel joined Mawson and the pair added a few before the opener, over-excited by a long-hop, succeeded only in pulling it straight back to the bowler, out for 46 when a deserved half-century beckoned. Skipper Mike Morgan came in at six and with time starting to run a little short - it was a time game, with a declaration expected about 4.45pm - the pair started to tuck into the part-timers who came on as the regulars tired. Samuel enjoyed getting bat on ball and even managed a six over square before being given out lbw (on the march, Mawson, I may never forgive you despite the beer!) for 25 - his first half-decent score of the year.
Alex Blyth came in to keep Morgan company before the skipper was bowled for 24; Kimball Bailey smashed one ball through mid-on for a single before being completely fooled by a slow long-hop and bowled for 1; and Ivor Fiala hung on to the declaration, on 196-7, with new father Blyth 12 not out and that nice Mr Extras on 27.
Off for an excellent tea and then reality: young Mr Dyer walking to the crease and looking, well, young. And fit. And really quite good.
There wasn't much on offer for the Strollers; Robinson bowled a sterling opening spell, finding life and movement and not being flattered by seven overs for 39. Dennis Cave withdrew himself after four overs for 24 despite the offer of a fifth; Samuel replaced him and bowled reasonably well for three overs before "popping" his adductor muscle, or possibly groin, with his last ball - retiring hurt to sedentary fielding positions having gone for 13 runs.
Hodgson replaced Robinson and immediately hit the mark - his second ball bowling one of the openers behind his legs. Not, alas, Dyer. The Concorde No3 came, and went, as Blyth replaced Samuel and coaxed him into playing on almost straight away. There was hope.
Alas, the Concorde No4, Cudworth (one of the late ones) turned out to fancy a bit of slow bowling. And indeed medium pace. He started to smash the ball hither and yon - one six straight over the sight screen off Blyth was a work of art. Blyth retired from the fray with 1-33 off three, to give Wood a go.
Cudworth brought up his 50 (apologies for the muted applause - no one actually realised) and then tried to belt Hodgson; Robinson called strongly (like anyone else was ever going for it) and held a fine catch. We can still do this, we thought. Concorde skipper Symondson played one back ... and then got off the mark with a six. And then a four. Oh dear.
After some fine balls by Wood, Dyer decided to tee off in search of his century - and in the end was denied only by the lack of runs to chase. With holes in the field due to injury, age and a missing man there was little protection for the bowlers (a word of appreciation here for the efforts of Robinson and Mawson, though, and some fine keeping by Morgan) and Concorde took full advantage. With far too many overs left, Dyer smashed one last four to take himself to 97 and the score to 197 and it was all over. Hodgson 7.5-2-51-2 deserved better; Wood 4-0-28-0 also deserved better.
A could-have-done-better game, but no shame in losing to a couple of fine innings. It will be a pleasure to play there again.
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan. Match fees: Tom Wood.
Thames Valley
Wednesday August 11 at Sunbury
Strollers won by five wickets
Thames Valley 75
(10.5 overs; Morgan 3-8, Wood 2-8, Russell 2-15, Clarke 2-22)
Strollers 77-4
(13.4 overs; Hodgson 27no)
A short notice opportunistic rematch, and most welcome. A glorious evening, and again – to maximise the light – a prompt start, and continuing the format of 15x8-ball overs with no change of end until eight overs had gone (the batsmen swap).
Several changes to the Strollers line-up after last week’s defeat and some new names (or at least some old ones coming out of the woodwork) called up to the Strollers squad. Captain Tom Wood started well by losing the toss and having to field with only seven players.
Thames Valley kindly loaned us three fielders and we started with a fine opening spell from a rejuvenated Wood and from new all-rounder Andy Clarke (Ed Gal be warned). Wood had Keith Barron lbw in his first over, then, after some mighty hitting, Graham Doggett skied Wood (causing several BA flights to be rerouted) for the highest of return catches for 14.
Clarke then bowled Mike Chipps for 13 and persuaded a dangerous-looking Ross Wright to hit to – yes, that man again – Wood at long-on for 20. Laurie Allsopp replaced Wood and, with still no sign of the missing car, Mike Morgan handed the pads to Clarke and essayed a bowl. And very fruitful it was, with Gary Edwards immediately snapped up by – yeah, you know what is coming – Wood.
In the meantime the car had arrived, and Brendan Russell, sporting a sharp new haircut, took the ball. No joy for a fair while as Iain Doggett made hay, but two wickets in two balls as he bowled Doggett and then skipper Henry Edmondson. Would he get his hat-trick? We will never know, as Morgan bowled Ben Chipps after a gutsy innings and had Mark Doggett lbw to wrap up the innings.
Tight bowling and fielding from a ten-man field, with Mike Morgan’s 8-3 off his 21 balls an impressive statistic. This all-rounder thing is catching.
A modest target, the sun still high, the Strollers confident. What could possibly go wrong? And would Mike get a chance to use the tempting thick edges on his new bat? Well, no, as it happens.
Jim Hodgson and Ivor Fiala strode to the wicket, Iv
or returning a while later after a fine four, caught by Graham Doggett off Barron. Hodgson was dropped off David Laing and James Mawson bowled by Iain Doggett for eight; Allsopp smote Doggett beautifully before being bowled by him for six.
At this stage the Strollers looked as if they would use the full 15 overs, if they reached the target at all. Kimball Bailey struggled against Iain Doggett before being cruelly run out by the psychotic Hodgson for one. Hodgson ground on, giving it a bit of the old pink handle, and eventually retired at the end of the thirteenth over for 27. Indy Dephu hit his first ball for three and Clarke smashed the ball to the boundary – this time mercifully avoiding the chairman’s car – to bring us over the line.
Not the greatest batting performance from the Strollers, with Mr Extras nearly being forced to retire at the end of the over after reaching 25… But a win is a win, as they say, leading to tea and beer with the hospitable opposition, over which it was agreed that cricket was the only winner.
Capt and match fees: Tom Wood. Wkt: Mike Morgan/Andy Clarke.
West Hoathly
Sunday August 15 at Hoathly
Strollers won by one wicket
West Hoathly 138-9
(35 overs; Macaulay 3-41, Gallagher 2-26, Crocker 2-26, Brodbeck 1-12)
Strollers 142-9
(32.5 overs; Mawson 52, Crocker 25, Shattock 16)
A diverting trip to West Hoathly, largely because of unexpected roadworks - they had warned us but, alas, by way of an email to Mr Brodbeck, who was sunning himself in France and not in contact with the real world.
Skipper Mike Morgan won the toss and chose to field despite only having eight men - WH kindly offered subs and at one point the next phase of the FSS youth policy (Josh Shattock, aged 7) was getting ready to come on, too. Judging by his later efforts outside the boundary and some comedy fielding inside, it wouldn't have done any harm ...
Fortunately, Messrs Clarke, Mawson and Macaulay turned up quickly to join a side which was welcoming back, for the first time in seven years*, the mighty figure of vice-president Steve Pryer - who had bought a new bat for the occasion, raising hopes that the big man will play more regularly in the future now the kids are growing up!
Play began with Ed Gallagher trying desperately to find line and length and, indeed, the pitch. At the other end Warren Crocker also looked a touch below his best and speculation on the boundary was that the previous day's rain had affected the footholds. Later occasional waywardness by Simon Brodbeck, that paragon of L&L, added weight to the theory.
However, WH were in generous mood - and rapidly in trouble. Wickets fell regularly (good catches by Josh's dad Mike and debutant Henry Edmondson well worth a mention) as the hosts struggled to get runs on the board, Gallagher striking the first two blows at 15 and 21. The third wicket partnership managed 34, but then three more wickets fell in quick succession; another 34 partnership was broken at 96, before seven and eight went at 107; young Will Scott helped Freddie Pulfrey (more of him later) take the score to 130 before being bowled for six (his dad only made eight, and much more slowly!) by the mean Mr Crocker, and the innings finished at 138-9. In the middle phases Alastair Macaulay dangled his inimitable bait in front of three bewildered batsmen, sticking to his guns in the face of attempted assault, Brodbeck found his range for a plumb lbw, Clarke and Shattock purveyed their wares without luck, and the Strollers contrived to butcher at least one run-out.
WH seemed keen to rush through tea and get on the pitch - a fact explained by the young Mr Pulfrey having to go on holiday and leave at about 5.30pm. Having scored 34 not out, he opened from the pavilion end to three slips, two gullies and assorted close fielders. He is young, tall, fast and bowls left-arm inswing, and after his seven overs went on holiday with three for eight. Clarke had his off-stump uprooted essaying an extravagant drive, Edmondson was superbly held caught-and-bowled off a moderately fierce drive, and Pryer's return ended, bowled, for one. At the other end, WH's answer to Macaulay, "Taxi" Audsley, was himself causing minor havoc with three wickets - Morgan bowled behind his legs, Gallagher lbw and Jeff Ball cutting extravagantly having survived pace at the other end.
A simple target suddenly looked difficult with the Strollers a slightly worrying 49-6. But Morgan, professing to be sanguine, had depth on his side. Mawson was playing calmly, and was joined first by Shattock (a bright 16 featuring one superbly timed cut for four) and then Crocker, who dealt mainly in boundaries as he raced to 25. Neither was happy with the shots they played to get out, but 49-6 had become 125-8 with overs to spare (meanwhile, on the boundary, the scorer was trying to reconcile the books and hoping desperately that the winning runs, if they came, would take the score to at least 140).
But then Mawson fell with 10 (er, or 11) required. Having been unruffled throughout, he started hitting out (and missing). Finally he drove at WH skipper Charlie Ward; there was a noise and Pryer gave the nod. Bat or ground? You give them as you see them ...
Sensing blood and an improbable win, WH closed in. But older and wiser heads prevailed; Macaulay and Brodbeck are not the usual final pair, and Macaulay whipped the winning runs through midwicket (taking the score to 142, to the scorer's delight - no controversy there!) with three overs to spare.
And not a drop of rain, either.
Captain and wkt: Mike Morgan. Match fees:Ed Gallagher.
*Statistical note: Vice-president Steve Pryer has played for the club since 1984 and made his last appearance in 2003. Last Sunday’s welcome comeback represented his 170th game. Justly famous for his team-mustering qualities in the wine bars of South Kensington and, with wife Jenny, the skilful maker of many batches of Strollers sandwiches.
Sutton
Sunday August 22 in Cheam
Strollers won by five wickets
Sutton 201-5 dec
(Hodgson 4-49, McDougall 1-37)
Strollers 202-5
(Robinson 75, Howard 70, Gallagher 22no, Hodgson12)
And so to the sylan fields of Sutton - not to the imposing main ground but to its slightly poorer relation half a mile away. A declaration match was agreed. Only nine Strollers took the field under Mike Morgan, Ed Gallagher having underestimated the journey time from Manchester, arriving 11 overs late, and there had been one dropout in the morning.
Under leaden skies Sutton (whose batting order had been drawn out of a hat in an odd pre-match ritual) took advantage of a lightning fast outfield to score rapidly against the opening attack of Steve Robinson and Jim Hodgson. The only chance went to the second ball of the innings when Ivor Fiala, having dashed on to the field after arriving unavoidably late, spilled a drive at cover, apparently doing himself several injuries in the process. He battled on regardless.
After an hour Sutton had 90 on the board but then the light rain turned heavy enough to drive the players off for about 20 minutes, after which they continued to pile on the runs with the aid of a short boundary on the pavilion side. Hodgson, though, was finding his radar and captured several wickets at useful times, including a fine catch at deep extra cover by Robinson. At 201-5 off 33 overs John Fordham, QC, the Sutton skipper, surprised some of us by declaring, leaving the Strollers a comparatively generous runs-per-over rate after tea. Hodgson ended with impressive figures of 4-49, McDougall 1-37.
Despite losing McDougall early, Robinson and Pat rick Howard set about the run chase with relish against a youthful all-spin attack. Although the outfield was slower after the downpour, the scoreboard was ticking over nicely and an entertaining partnership of 116 at more than five an over had the Strollers up with the clock. Robinson went for a stylish 75 (seven fours, one six), but Howard continued the assault with some brutal hitting, finally being bowled for 70 with nine fours and two sixes. The run chase was timed to perfection and Gallagher hit the winning run with seven balls to spare.
A good game, a pleasant ground, friendly opposition and a decent tea - everything, in fact, but the sun.
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan. Match fees: Jim Hodgson.
Wall
Saturday August 28 at Wall
Strollers won by five wickets
Wall 123
(Crocker 3-13, Gallagher 2-17, Macaulauy 2-21, Timperley 1-5, Wood 1-19, Simon Brodbeck 1-23)
Strollers 127-5
(Wood 41no, Sam Brodbeck 28, Morgan 26no, McDougall 13)
In ancient times Letocetum, now known as the village of Wall, Staffordshire, was an important staging post for the Roman empire’s military domination of Northern England.
In modern times, it has become an important staging post for the Fleet Street Strollers’ cricket domination of the Midlands. Or so they hoped, gathering at The Trooper pub at the start of the Three Counties Tour 2010.
After a pleasant pint in the sunshine, it seemed Mars himself had shown up at the ground to greet the cricketers with an angry sky, cold gale and intermittent driving rain.
Wall CC batted first on a sticky dog, known to the ancients as lentesco canis. Warren Crocker (3-13), Edward Gallagher (2-17) and Alastair Macaulay (2-21) all got among the wickets, as Wall failed to get batsmen settled and scoring in the tricky conditions; eventually all out for 123.
Crocker took four fine catches in the outfield. Gallagher, who earlier in the day had amazed one and all by turning up ahead of time, was foiled by the strong wind in attempting a catch. Shy Ed failed to get a hand on the ball but the loud calling of “Ed Gall’s” was marvellous.
Even more marvellous was the tea. The chicken tikka wraps and caramel slice received particularly enthusiastic approval.
Perhaps it was excessive amounts of caramel slice, as the Strollers began the chase with a few wobbles. Hamish McDougall was run out for 13 - unlucky for some - while Sam Brodbeck was caught for 28 and James Timperley caught and bowled early on.
Mike Morgan (26 not out) and Tom Wood (41 not out) eventually steadied the galley and saw the Strollers home with five wickets and not much time to spare, in the face of accurate bowling from the Wall attack.
The Strollers were triumphant in the first of the tour triumvirate. The bacchanalian lures of Ashby de la Zouch lay ahead; but the augurs saw positive signs in McDougall promising to go to bed at midnight, Gallagher promising to take five wickets and the Mail on Sunday promising the weather would be fine for Stanton by Dale, thanks to Peter Patston. Alea Iacta Est.
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan.
Stanton by Dale
Sunday August 29 at Stanton
Strollers won by 38 runs
Strollers 210-4 dec
(McDougall 78, Wood 69no, Patston 23, Crocker 20no)
Stanton 172
(Simon Brodbeck 2-17, Macaulay 2-19, Gallagher 1-9, Timperley 1-29, Crocker 1-41)
And so to Stanton, cornerstone and benchmark of the great British summer. The end did indeed seem nigh as the wind whipped 11 groggy, mid-tour Strollers. But the game must go on.
Opening up, Peter Patson soon lost Sam Brodbeck and James Timperley (who must now surely be worried about their places - particularly considering the latter's increasingly insolent remarks on StrollerBlog) - before being joined by Hamish McDougall.
Patston fell for 23 as McDougall and Tom Wood began to look in control and powered on. McDougall departed cruelly just 22 short of his century, leaving Wood and Warren Crocker to push towards a confident Captain Morgan declaration of 210-4.
The suspiciously round total had local reporters squinting in scepticism, especially considering that Ed Gallagher, Ivor Fiala and Alastair Macaulay for some odd reason did not bat; the ‘Strollers Three’ are believed to have been questioned by police.
The discovery by News of the Dales hack Tricia Taylor of a frighteningly oracular dressing-room odds board throws the troubled team back into disrepute. The subsequent seizing of Macaulay's mobile phone has yielded only obscene images of White Hart Lane - Macaulay, in his official statement, made it clear that although “close personal friends” with Harry Redknapp, “neither Harry or I have ever been successfully found guilty of doing anything wrong...”
Crocker and Gallagher steamed in with venom as Stanton looked to regain the David Tranter Cup. Although frequently losing wickets (two each to Simon Brodbeck and Macaulay) the hosts edged ever nearer. As the howling wind finally subsided (and Fiala removed the last of his emergency back-up jumpers) Jim Keys began to open his shoulders.
However, he lacked the necessary support from his team, as first Brian Taylor fell to a breathtaking, over-the-shoulder Crocker catch off boyhood rival Brodbeck - they having first faced each other at Trent Bridge in 1928. Then Barry Taylor was held at the second attempt by square-leg Gallagher off the tempting Macaulay.
Keys could only shake his head as Alan Shearer and Derek Gregory were soon run out and walking back to the pavilion. Gregory, former first team stalwart opening bat and club treasurer for a little matter of 52 years, was making his first appearance for 11 years – at the insistence of his son Philip – and can now proudly claim to be the oldest player, at 72, ever to take the field for Stanton.
A third and final run-out from the well-oiled Strollers fielding machine ensured the Cup remains in pride of place in the ethereal trophy cabinet floating high above the inns of Fleet Street. Post-match drinks were held in The Stanhope Arms, Stanton having turned their back on The Chequers after drinking there for 102 years.
Thus the after-match inquest was conducted in a new venue for the first time in the 32 years of this most famous of cricketing battles...now what were the odds on that?
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan
Sutton on the Hill
Monday August 30 at Sutton
Match drawn
Strollers 199-6 dec
(McDougall 51, Morgan 41, Salvesen 39no, Wood 35)
Sutton 147-9
(Gallagher 3-7, Simon Brodbeck 2-14, Wood 2-28, Salvesen 2-41)
The only time three back-to-back victories have been recorded on the Three Counties Tour was in 1984 (Maggie, please confirm!).
As many of you will recall, Blackfordby were beaten by 66 runs on the Saturday (Simon Minett 46 and Richard Grantham 4-15). Oxton fell on the Sunday with Peter Hayter taking 4-20 and the coup de grace came on the Monday at Stanton by Dale. Chris Meade made 66 in a Strollers total of 167-7 dec and Simon Minett’s 5-35 polished off Stanton for 138.
Could the Golden Generation of 2010 match that feat? On Sunday night the stage was set. Victory had come over Wall and Stanton and only Sutton on the Hill stood in the way of a clean sweep. But on Monday morning, the portents were not encouraging: Ivor Fiala appeared at breakfast slightly unsteady on his feet and Messrs Brian Taylor, Peter Patston, Tom Wood, Sam Brodbeck and others had put in the hard yards analysing events until the early hours. Could they bounce back into action?
Hamish McDougall had shown a fine example to lesser mortals with his self-imposed curfew of midnight in line with the small print of his central contract and was lapping the training ground behind The Royal Hotel while his team-mates tucked into a full English and Warren Crocker was bright-eyed and purposeful. But the selectors had axed Crocker for some odd reason and the rubber-legged Fiala was also left out of the squad once the team doctor had analysed his breath sample.
When play began a few hours later at the beautiful Sutton ground it soon became obvious that three-in-a-row could prove tricky. At 31-3 with Taylor, Sam Brodbeck and James Timperley removed by Sutton's impressive opening attack of Chris Booth and Bobby Martindale, retrenchment was required. It came from the reborn Mike Morgan (41) and the man in form McDougall (51). They put on 78 to pull matters round and later help came from Tom Salvesen (39no) and Wood (35), who completed his third fine crucial innings of the weekend.
So a total of 199 looked OK. Not fantastic but OK.
It soon began to look not nearly enough when Sutton’s opening bowler, Martindale, showed he could bat too. With 49 off just 35 deliveries and not a defensive shot to be seen, he despatched the ball with great power to distant places. This was not slogging but superb clean hitting that more than once threatened to decapitate the umpire at the bowler’s end. But he eventually skied one to Ed Gallagher (why does every catch seem to go to the ubiquitous Gallagher?) and the wickets began to fall.
Wood and Salvesen bowled well despite the Martindale onslaught, Simon Brodbeck came on and proved effective while Gallagher – it’s that man again – came roaring down the hill to lead a final charge.
Grimacing through the shin-splint pain, Gallagher bowled full and straight to record figures of 5-3-7-3, much to the relief of the bookies who had received suspiciously large amounts of money on him getting a five-for.
But the Strollers’ path to victory was blocked by – surprise, surprise – the gnarled figure of Steve Taylor. Refreshed by his annual stay at his French chateau and buoyed by his daughter’s recent splendid wedding, he set to and defied everything thrown at him. It would be churlish to point out that he was dropped by skipper Timperley at extra cover, who then tried to cover his embarrassment by doing the twisted knee agony performance. Some ever-cynical Strollers were not fooled.
Timperley bravely came back onto the field after intensive treatment in an attempt to engineer victory. But Steve Taylor stood firm – and even raised faint hopes of victory with 21 off one Alastair Macaulay over – but could not be shifted. Nigel Duffell, Sutton’s No 11, showed just why he used to open the innings by keeping out Gallagher and Wood and claimed an honourable draw at 147-9.
Sutton’s generous hospitality continued at The Ostrich – where the most generous chilli con carne was laid on – and it was unanimously agreed that a draw was the correct end to a splendid sunlit day. That three-in-three will have to wait until another year.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
*NB: Mike and Sue broke down 20 minutes after leaving The Ostrich. It took another 15 hours and five different recovery vehicles before they arrived back in sunny Brighton at 11.15 the next morning. Despite that small hiccup, the philosophical Mr Morgan insisted: "It was still a great tour."
Jacobite Chancers
Saturday September 11 at Pinkneys Green
Strollers won by eight wickets
Jacobite Chancers 102
(Gallagher 4-21, Ransome 4-30, Brodbeck 2-10)
Strollers 103-2
(Addis 69no, Howard 30)
The lead-up to this game was fraught. Some days before, Jacobite convenor Ed Black reported that they had only seven players but that recruitment efforts were frantically continuing. Eventually Pinkneys Green supremo Kevin Snapes was able to find some players to help – as Pinkneys’ own away game had been called off – and after many emails to and fro, 11 faced 11.
Then there was the weather. The BBC forecast promised light rain at 10am, light rain at 12noon, light rain at 1pm, light rain at 2pm and sunny intervals later in the afternoon. Thankfully they got it wrong; the heavens opened during the night and the wind blew the clouds through in order for the game to start on time once the covers had been removed.
Put in to bat, it soon became apparent that Black was the key man for the Jacobites. Playing very straight to the full deliveries and pulling ferociously at the shorter stuff he soon began depositing the Strollers bowling to all parts. But Ed Gallagher, continuing his fine form of recent weeks, bowled full and straight to great effect. He took two in two and finished with 8-3-21-4, still tantalisingly short of his first Strollers five-fer. He might have got it if he had managed to bring his boots; the ill-prepared Gallagher, although for once present on time, managed to leave his boots at home and had to rely on borrowing a pair from Tom Wood.
Wood himself did not really need any boots. Carousing the previous night at the grand occasion of Jim Hodgson’s 45th birthday party – “I can’t remember what happened after the shots and how I got home” – Wood kept a low profile and his contribution largely consisted of 10 overs of umpiring.
So the Jacobite wickets continued to fall. On came Matt Ransome – first spotted repairing the fusebox of chairman Kimball Bailey and then recruited when he showed an unusual interest in the awards in the glittering trophy cabinet at Clarendon Drive. Making an auspicious debut, Ransome returned the handsome figures of 5.4-0-30-4, which included the valuable wicket of Black, caught and bowled off a steepling skyer.
Simon Brodbeck picked up two wickets, one courtesy of a Gallagher assist when the ball was driven fiercely back and rebounded to Gallagher off Brodbeck’s damaged digit.
So the target was 103. James Mawson fell early but Jono Addis showed that he has taken a shine to the Pinkneys Green ground, improving his aggregate there this season to 276 runs without being dismissed. Skipper Patrick Howard, another suffering victim of the Hodgson birthday celebrations, blazed away as usual and tweaked his hamstring as usual before falling for 30. Jeff Ball came in to supervise the last rites and the game was comfortably won.
As Jacobite skipper Black now lives in Kirkcaldy (better know as the last resting place of Gordon Brown), he came an awful long way for this encounter. Despite the result it was a thoroughly enjoyable game and Cathy Snapes' magnificent tea was appreciated by all. The autumnal leaves blew across the outfield and the summer seemed to be saying a lingering farewell. But 11 faced 11 and the rain stayed away which, after all, is all that one asks of any match…
Capt and wkt: Patrick Howard. Match fees: Tom Wood.
Valley End
Sunday September 12 at Valley End
Strollers lost by four wickets
Strollers 221-4 dec
(Mawson 77, Wood 32, Hodgson 32no, Morgan 28no, Robinson 26)
Valley End 222-6
(Gallagher 1-15, Robinson 1-17, Hodgson 1-30, Samuel 1-58, Blyth 1-68)
A lovely day at the lovely ground that is, when you find it, Valley End (EdGal: "My satnav says I'm at the ground, but I'm not"). With most people arriving mostly on time - even the aforementioned EdGal, though rumour had it he had been camping on the pitch and then got lost anyway - the Strollers lost the toss and found themselves put in. A blameless pitch eventually showed why: this was a pitch for chasing, not setting.
Valley End opened with some genuine pace at one end in the form of Ed Lea, a strength and conditioning coach for Quins, and a tall, gentle outswing bowler (Barkham) at the other. Inevitably, it was Barkham who struck first, having Peter Patston (who had held out Lea stoically and with no great alarms) bowled for one as he simply played around one with the score on 14. Steve Robinson came out to join Jim Mawson and made his intentions clear from the off with a couple of superb drives, playing beautifully through the ball. Mawson was finding his timing a little astray, but the pair put on 47 before Robinson missed one from Fagent to be bowled for 26.
Tom Wood, having recovered somewhat from Jim Hodgson's surprise birthday party on the Friday, played himself in calmly and in the style of a man who has been in considerable form this season. Valley End started to take the pace off the ball, and exposed a bit of a flaw in the Strollers' approach: trying to put the pace on themselves, opportunities were missed as the batsmen tried simply to hit the ball too hard.
However, while the score did not move on as quickly as could have been wished the pair took the total to 132 - a partnership of 71 - when Wood, who was starting to open up nicely, smashed a drive straight back at the bowler. It was a toss-up which of the pair was more surprised when he caught it and Wood departed, suitably impressed, for 32.
Hodgson joined Mawson and, again, built a partnership - but again finding that scoring was not quite so easy as it appeared. Mawson brought up a fine 50 but even he would admit to not being at his best. It was a time game and with time running out (and 240 being generally agreed to be par) Lea was brought back on with some three overs to go and the score 180. His first ball speared through the gap in Mawson's attempted on-drive and took the top of his leg stump; an excellent 77, again the backbone of the innings. The pair had added 48.
Cometh the hour, cometh the skipper. Mike Morgan took guard and with the minimum of fuss drove his first ball classically, all along the ground, through the covers for four. Of the next four balls, one was hit sweetly (if uppishly) through mid-on for four to the long boundary; another cut delicately and late for four. The acceleration had arrived.
Two overs later (43 in total) he declared; 221 for four. Hodgson, admitting to being out of sorts, was nonetheless 32 not out. Morgan had 28 not out - from 14 balls. I for one have never seen him bat better.
An excellent tea (as usual, and as usual over-indulged in) and Strollers went out to defend. And all went well, to start with.
Valley End had admitted to many bowlers and not so many batsmen. But nonetheless FSS did a good job. EdGal found his range early and claimed the first wicket with the ball with a good low catch to Morgan; 29 for one. He finished with five overs, 1-15. Good bowling and, perhaps, deserved to be brought back on later. Hodgson was in typical metronomic form at the other end, holding the score down and failing to get the wickets he deserved.
Robinson, who had already claimed a fantastic run-out with a pick-up and pinpoint throw to Hodgson, replaced EdGal and worked up a good head of steam and surprising movement throught the air with a by-now badly scuffed ball; he too claimed a wicket, 1-17 off five, before being replaced by Evan Samuel.
Alex Blyth replaced Hodgson and after a brutal welcome (12 off the first over) steadied and bowled well, claiming his reward with a fine tumbling catch at point by Jeff Ball. After six overs (1-39) he was replaced by Laurie Allsop.
And then things started to go wrong... not, I hasten to add, because of Laurie!
Samuel bowled VE's No5, a fair reward for some reasonable work. And then VE sent in Lea. They needed about 10 or 11 runs an over. And they got them.
Allsopp was withdrawn after three overs (0-23 and heard to say afterwards, "good decision, that"). Blyth was brought back - and his figures destroyed as Lea and Goodman went to town; 29 off two overs. Samuel, who had 1-31 after seven, finished with 1-58 off nine - 27 off two overs. A six by Lea over the longest boundary apparently involved neither backlift nor follow-through; pure muscle and timing. Ouch. Though not as much ouch as Patson, stopping a booming cover drive with his midriff.
Hodgson replaced Blyth and his first over was, as expected, more than respectable. His second - the last of the innings - started well: 10 required for VE to win; a dot and a wicket, and Goodman bowled for an excellent 54. The field came in, expecting a push for a single from the No8 to bring Lea back on strike; four balls to go.
He hit it into the carpark for six. And the next ... four byes. VE won with two balls to spare. Lea - 52 not out, off 23 balls. Hodgson an unlucky 1-30 off 8.4.
An exciting game but, even allowing for Lea's hitting, one the Strollers could and possibly should have saved. But a great day in a great setting; not a lot more you can ask in September.
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan. Match fees: Tom Wood.
Braywood
Saturday September 18 at Braywood
Strollers won by 55 runs
Strollers 224-5
(40 overs; Mawson 51, Morgan 46no, Ramnarayan 40, Allsopp 29no, Ransome 12, Wood 10)
Braywood 169
(36.4 overs; Crocker 2-11, Ransome 2-24, Turner 2-17, Simon Brodbeck 2-41, Wood 1-0, Sam Brodbeck begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-42)
It was a day of debuts and firsts for the Strollers in a comfortable victory over Braywood on another warm September afternoon.
Abhinav Ramnarayan and John Turner blew away some cricketing cobwebs and both made big contributions. Ramnarayan showed a good range of shots to make 40 and Turner (brother-in-law of the skipper) helped wrap up the Braywood innings with his off-spin, taking 2-17. Dal Crocker – Warren’s dad – made an unexpected batting debut for the home side, who could muster just nine men, and then there was Laurie Allsopp’s first reverse sweep for four in any form of the game as he and Mike Morgan put on 92 to get the Strollers to a match-winning total.
Oh, and no-one could remember ever playing cricket to loud samba music (courtesy of the next door Fifield Polo Club). Perhaps the new tours steering committee could consider a trip to Rio?
The Strollers were pleased to be batting first as Tom Wood showed his negotiating skills at the toss, with Morgan, Sam Brodbeck begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting and Ivor Fiala stuck on the M25. Wood went out bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (“I shouldn’t have drunk all that brandy but I’m in a better state than last week”) with James Mawson to open, but after a couple of well-timed fours ran himself out on 10.
Mawson and Ramnarayan had a few dicey moments – Wood occasionally yelled “NO!” from the boundary – but both soon got their eyes in. Ramnarayan rode his luck but impressed as he hit the boundary both sides of the wicket, while Mawson followed up his 77 against Valley End with a fine 51. They put on 105 before substitute fielder Morgan snaffled Abhi at mid-off, then Matt Ransome went and looked in good nick despite his protests that he hadn’t batted for years.
Then there was a great Strollers mid-innings wobble. First Sam Brodbeck begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting, umpiring as next man in, gave Ransome lbw off Braywood’s left-arm seamer Miller. Two deliveries later Miller (on his way to 3-33) clattered Sam’s stumps, and from the first of the next over Geoff Shurley trapped Mawson lbw. From 132-2 to 132-5 in four balls.
Allsopp joined Morgan at the crease and helped the skipper calm things down. While neither played many big shots, the score ticked on at four or five an over as the pair enjoyed a competition in who could call through the sharpest single. Both were unbeaten when the 40 overs were up, with Morgan making 46 and Allsopp 29. Ivor deserves special mention for keeping up while juggling scorebooks and bits of paper, having his view obscured by thoughtless spectators and running a high temperature.
The Strollers took to the field after a fine tea, which included a crafty donut for Oona, and Warren Crocker soon had Shurley lbw for 0. Sam Brodbeck begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting weathered the storm of No 3 bat Hussein, who hit him four-four-six-four before playing one shot too many and getting stumped. Morgan then showed some more sharp work to stump Jathavedon off Crocker, who took 2-11 from his eight overs. Ransome replaced Brodbeck and also got into the groove, notching up a double wicket maiden to leave Braywood on 81-5.
Braywood’s main hope was opener Wing and he managed to put on 38 with Austin, who batted bravely for 14 after suffering a bad groin strain in the field. Neither offered many chances as Simon Brodbeck and John Turner replaced the quicks but Wing finally succumbed for 69 as Brodbeck’s effort ball – complete with Sharapova-esque grunt – took his stumps.
Simon repeated the trick a couple of deliveries later and Turner chipped in from the other end with two wickets, proudly declaring that they were his first in 15 years. The last batsmen proved tough to dislodge as Crocker Snr hit a fighting 12 not out, but Wood finished things off with an average-boosting 1-0 from three balls – Turner taking a fine low catch at midwicket to dismiss Miller (allowed back for a second bite of the apple so Braywood could play 11 batsmen).
A good team performance, with everyone getting a bat or a bowl and new boys Ransome and Ramnarayan showing promise for next year, as a few of the non-touring Strollers signed off for the season satisfied.
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan. Temporary capt and match fees: Tom Wood.
Hurley
Sunday September 19 at Hurley
Strollers lost by two wickets
Strollers 214-8
(40 overs; Fenn 81, Mawson 41, Samuel 29, Wood 17, Ball 13)
Hurley 218-8
(38.5 overs; Macaulay 3-36, Fenn 2-26, Samuel 2-45)
Come September - certainly the middle of September - and one is grateful to get any sort of a game of cricket as the off-season comes closer ... let alone a game as exciting as this, played on a pitch as good as this.
Skipper Hamish McDougall called correctly and chose to bat, striding out with Peter Patston to face what turned out to be an excellent and hostile opening attack. With some early moisture in the pitch and the ball moving around, he may have regretted his decision after an attempted forcing shot produced a nick through to the keeper and he departed for a duck – 1-1, thanks to an early wide. James Mawson, in strong form after consecutive 50s, replaced him and, just as last week, was in prime position to see Patston, for the second week in a row, fail to hit an outswinging yorker that took leg stump and depart for two. 13-2.
A period of consolidation was needed and Mawson and Tom Wood provided it, playing and missing with some regularity but managing to raise the score to 53 before Wood drove straight to a fielder - bringing Mark Fenn to the crease. It's been a pleasure to have him back with us and the two batsmen, unquestionably the fittest and fastest Strollers on show (not, one has to admit, the greatest accolade but there you go), ran briskly and started to tuck into the Hurley second string. They took FSS to drinks at 20 overs and then their partnership to 40 before Mawson, who was beginning to open out, flailed a cut to the short boundary and could only stand agape as he was brilliantly caught in the outstretched hand of a diving Taylor. 93-4 and Jeff Ball on his way in.
JB mixed his idiosyncratic defence with some big shots including two fours, but the scoring slowed as he struggled to find his timing. Fenn was obviously seeing it like a watermelon and when Ball was bowled for 13 the pair had put on 41; 134-5, and overs running out. We needed at least 200.
Fenn and Evan Samuel haven't played together for at least seven years but it was just like old times: Samuel's job being to make Fenn look good. He duly did so, tapping the ball about and giving his partner as much of the strike as possible - leading to some utter mayhem as Fenn climbed into the spinners, including 17-year-old Amy Allen, who normally plays for Purley CC and was out showing her dad how to do it. One of his sixes (not off Amy) cleared both the sightscreen and the road, landing in the field beyond.
The pair brought up the 200, and a 70-run partnership, before Fenn (after saying "we can look for singles") tried to deposit the returning Cole into the field and was bowled for 81 off about 60 balls. A top knock; 204-6. Enter Brian Taylor, who had driven two and a half hours from the Midlands with Tricia to be there.
With two overs to go, Brizey struck the ball to a fielder and called yes; ignoring the "no" from Samuel, who bemusedly left his crease anyway and was run out by about 743 yards for 28. 214-7, which became 214-8 when he in turn was run out by a direct hit at the non-striker's end after Alastair Macaulay strangely declined to run on a hit straight to a fielder. ("It is like old times," crowed Fenn, "comedy run-outs and all!") And 214 it stayed.
After a good tea (excellent scones) the Strollers went out to field with high hopes. Alas, some of the juice had gone from the pitch and, in the words of Dennis Cave, "We just couldn't make an impression on them". Cole and Hunjan - who looked particularly dangerous - feasted on some wayward offerings and Cave was withdrawn after five overs for 30 runs to be replaced by Samuel. Wood bowled seven before being withdrawn; 0-40.
It was becoming obvious that Strollers' fielding was going to be an issue. Fenn and Mawson (and Wood, running hard all day) couldn't cover everything.
However, Samuel and Brodbeck tightened things up, Samuel frustrating Hunjan into hitting into Macaulay's hands at square leg; 90-1. But Cole and Taylor, a well-organised leftie, carried on, taking the score to 142 (and both Samuel and Brodbeck out of the attack, Samuel after being brutalised for 17 in one over) before Macaulay, with his first ball, had Cole well caught by Wood at long-on for 63. Fenn had replaced Samuel and began an excellent spell of eight overs by having Amy's dad bowled for two (145-3); Macaulay then claimed Taylor with a ball that never seemed to arrive - the batsman stretched and stretched again and was comprehensively bowled. A proper wicket; 147-4. Getting interesting, after an indifferent start.
Amy Allen came out and in the course of a bright innings saw Fenn claim another wicket (175-5) ... and then hit the first six of her career. Off Macaulay. Over extra cover. Not that we're going to mention that in any way, shape or form in a match report. To be fair, Alastair's response was: "Many people have hit their first six off me." He responded by having Ms Allen caught by Fenn at mid-off, so now it's Frenchmen, children and girls. 181-6. Tight. But Stair's last over (his fifth) went for a few and Samuel was brought back; tight.
Forgive the incoherence at this point; it was getting dark and exciting and some of the exactitudes are beyond me. There was a flurry of shotmaking; Samuel finally rediscovered off-stump and got a second wicket; a comedy run-out; I can't remember in which over but I think Fenn's last. At 214-8, with scores tied, Wood came back. The field in. The dark almost total, the scoreboard shining redly in the corner. And off his fifth ball a shot mown at the short boundary; Brodbeck stuck out a hand (how he saw it, I'll never know) but could only deflect it, and the ball ran for four.
Lost by two wickets, with seven balls to go. A cracking game.
Captain and wkt: Hamish McDougall. Match fees: Tom Wood.
Great and Little Warley
Sunday September 26 at Warley
Match abandoned
Strollers 185-5
(35 overs; Timperley 73, Addis 31, Turnbull 24, Gibson 21no, Mawson 13)
So with the end of the (English) season upon us, the Strollers arrived at the Warleys with hopes high and ... that's a lie. It rained on the way, and the M25 and North Circular - those evil suckers of men's souls - had been involved. The superb view from the Warley clubhouse, alas, revealed little but grey sky, and it was cold. Very, very cold.
Still, at least the Strollers were keen to get on with it, which in this case translates as turning up on time, unlike five of the hosts. The toss was won, skipper James Timperley chose to bat and, safe in the knowledge that he had his pads on, generously lent three Strollers to Warley to field (the other two places being taken by a nine-year-old and the 12th man, who was allowed to keep).
James Mawson and Jono Addis started comfortably on the two-paced (and occasionally three-heights) pitch, picking off loose balls (by the end of the innings there had been 15 wides) and defending watchfully anything straight. After putting on 37 (which included an excellent straightish six by Addis) Mawson flashed uppishly at a wide one from South African Dave Gamble and was well held at widish slip by Mike Stiller, out for 13.
The skipper joined Mawson and was suitably watchful, though quick to latch on to short balls in particular, and the pair took the total to 53 before Addis got under one and was well held by Warley skipper May at widish long on for 31 - taking his tally for the season to an excellent 505.
Dave Turnbull and his knees headed out and the pattern continued - watch, wait, welly. A 73-run partnership and then Turnbull was gone for 24, one thump too many to square off Dissa being held by Gamble, whose head could just be seen down the slope. Mike Shattock came and, alas, went, having the misfortune to be batting with one of the few players in the club who a) hits the ball straight and b) so hard that when the ball hits the bowler's fingers and cannons onto the stumps, the non-striker hasn't had time to get back. Run out for two, 132-4.
With even those in the clubhouse now stamping their feet and clapping their hands together in a vain bid to get the circulation going, John Gibson joined Timperley. Some early swings and misses (he hasn't batted for a while) gave way to a more confident approach and the runs began to flow again. The pair put on 52 before the skipper went for the heave and was caught at cow corner for an excellent 73 - Warley didn't drop a catch. 174-5.
The rain had started to fall as Jim Hodgson went out; he contributed one run off the one ball he faced as Gibson hit his way to a season's best of 21 not out and the innings closed, soggily, at 185-5 off 35 overs.
Tea was taken as the rain came down; an extended tea. And then extended again. Warley's skipper offered a 10-over thrash to a revised target, but the Strollers declined - and the rain came back anyway.
A slightly sorry way to finish, but as ever the hospitality was good - and there is a certain sense of rightness to a damp finish. We've been pretty lucky this year. Good luck to the Riviera tourists; everyone else, time to put the kit away and we'll see you next season. Contact Jim Hodgson re nets!
Capt: James Timperley. Match fees: Dennis Cave.
No wicketkeeper required, alas.
Riviera Saturday
Saturday October 9 at St Vallier
Strollers won by two wickets
Riviera 131
(Wood 3-18, Brodbeck 3-32, Gallagher 2-16, Crocker 1-19)
Strollers 133-8
(Taylor 29, Morgan 28, Wood 13no)
St Vallier-de-Thiey, Saturday 9th October, approximately 5.30pm.
As the late afternoon shadows lengthen across the oval at St Vallier, Tom Wood crouches over his bat at the striker’s end with the game in the palm of his hand. Three runs are needed from the remaining four balls, at the other end Simon Brodbeck’s broken right hand has rendered him impotent in terms of run-scoring and a seemingly certain wide has not been signalled the previous ball.
Cometh the hour cometh the man, now or never, do or die - all such phrases apply; the tension is palpable. The next delivery is short and slightly down the leg side. In the blink of an eye Wood rocks back and pulls powerfully through square leg for four. The game is won.
Jeff Ball doesn’t even bother to confirm the boundary despite the pleading looks from the opposition and our tour leader is borne from the field on the shoulders of his joyous team-mates. It was a moment made for people to be able to say “I was there.” The Strollers to a man are drained of emotion, feeling as England surely did after the thrilling denouement to the Edgbaston test in the summer of 2005. Nobody more so than Wood, who had been an unlikely hero just hours earlier…
Menton town centre, 9.24am.
Wood stands bent double, hands on knees in a flower bed as waves of nausea crash over him. Women and children avert their gaze as they have their morning interrupted by this gruesome scene. The stricken Stroller catches sight of the wristband that hangs around the top of his left hand and feels a rush of shame as the initials emblazoned on it stare back at him: WWKD - What Would Kimball Do? It had been presented to him by the touring party the previous evening to provide inspiration in times of crisis but now it is merely mocking him. “I bet Kimball never bloody well did this,” he mutters before pulling himself together and retracing his steps to the minibus. There is cricket to be played.
So how was the journey from nadir to zenith negotiated, I hear you cry? Well, as with all stories, to get to the heart of the matter you have to go back to the beginning.
Nice Airport, Friday 8th October 4.30pm.
Brodbeck and Andy Clarke are sitting waiting for the bus from Nice airport to the train station when two figures loom in the distance. They are obviously outdoors types. Both are carrying kitbags with one bearded whilst the other is tanned. At first glance they appear to be refugees from Brokeback Mountain who have strayed far from home and a second glance confirms this. It’s James Timperley and Mike Morgan.
Morgs only found out he was coming the day before when wife Sue told him that a berth on the Riviera tour was his reward for completing his 39th year and he is still clutching the detailed itinerary she gave him full of advice on how to spend his time. Pocket money has also been provided for the birthday boy to spend as he sees fit. The fact that he was to deem it appropriate to use much of it watching five Swedish women and an Argentinian man called Gonzalo performing an unlikely series of gymnastic manoeuvres involving a horse was to prove entirely his decision. But forgive me, for that was all in the future and I digress.
The bus arrives and the four then meet Alastair Macaulay at the train station from where they speed their way to Menton with one quick change at Monaco on route. On arrival at the Hotel Richelieu the lengthiest check-in procedure known to man is negotiated during which Ed Gallagher, who along with Wood, the Patstons and the Taylors had arrived the day before, appears.
He’s full of beans if not a little light in the pocket after the previous evening’s activities and shepherds them off to a bar where the rest of the party are waiting and from there on to a chosen restaurant. Battle lines are drawn early with the ever shy and self-effacing Ed wasting valuable seconds before re-opening the fascinating debate of who is indeed faster; he or Eddie Hemmings? It seems we are doomed but the smiling assassin that is Timperley, one of the side’s noted deep thinkers, blows the argument out of the water by suggesting that Gallagher’s not even as quick a net bowler as H Mac.
The blue touch paper has been lit and Gallagher has to be forcibly removed from the premises. He won’t go quietly and is heard claiming over and over that for £200 he will assemble himself, McDougall and Hemmings at winter nets and the matter will be settled once and for all with a speed gun. Is this the £200 he lost in the casino the night before? It isn’t clear but one thing that is only too evident to his room-mate Wood is that a hard night lies ahead unless he can procure some horse tranquilliser. Sadly at that hour and that time of the season such a deal proves elusive.
Saturday 9th October, am.
Having taken a light breakfast the Strollers make their way to St Vallier. After a fitful night’s sleep constantly interrupted by a harrumphing Gallagher, Wood is pleased to see the minibus arrive on time and after the brief horticultural hiatus described earlier the Strollers are on their way. The journey passes in uneventful fashion and the Hotel Le Prejoly is reached in plenty of time. More than enough time in fact for sharpeners to be had before heading down to the ground for our date with destiny and with a full complement now that the Crockers had joined us.
“At 12 o’clock when we were all there and the opposition only had one player, I was beginning to feel the heat,” - James Timperley.
Our tour fixtures secretary’s fears are soon allayed and by 12.20 he is walking to the middle for the toss after leading his team in a relaxed knock-up which was very nearly ruined by Gallagher, who took a wrecking bat rather than ball to a hitherto sedate affair by miscuing a wild drive into the side of opposition player Johnson’s car. Johnson insists on being an incredibly good bloke about it whilst quietly being encouraged by assorted Strollers to exact some kind of hideous revenge on our slow medium bowler. Banter is still being exchanged whilst JT loses the toss. We are in the field.
Warren Crocker and Gallagher share the new ball and our Aussie soon strikes, removing Dakin lbw for just one. Wood enters the fray first change and quickly snaffles three quick wickets, clean bowling Kumar and Ghavri and profiting from a quite frankly miraculous catch from tour debutant Clarke to get rid of Callender.
The Riviera are in danger of being swept away to sea but Arvind and Johnson dig in and thanks to some clean hitting and poor fielding start to turn things around. Gallagher does a passable impression of the recently deceased Norman Wisdom whilst letting a ball through and Clarke downs a straightforward chance from the bowling of the unlucky Macaulay although in the Chester man’s defence he had just been informed of the identity of his room-mate for the next two nights - a crippling blow from which his tour never recovered.
Soon, though, all fielding errors are forgotten when Ball, ever a controversial figure on the cricket field, once more finds himself at the centre of a diplomatic incident. After another fine stroke from Arvind “Dragon” Ball gives chase towards the leg side boundary, over the boundary, into the long grass, across the gulley and into a neighbouring garden from where he returns the ball, narrowly avoiding a potentially fatal meeting with a dog the size and colour of a small and very angry polar bear, only to inform all and sundry that it did not, in fact, go for four.
Eyebrows are raised, buttocks are clenched, murmurings from the opposition are heard but Madam President’s ever-sharp pencil records just two runs scored. Time had seemed to stand still but we move on and in fairness the whole episode is barely mentioned again.
With the score mounting, Gallagher returns to take care of Johnson for a score of 25 whilst Brodbeck claims the crucial scalp of Arvind for a well deserved 50. A late order collapse ensues with further wickets from the last two bowlers being rounded off by a neat run-out from Crocket. A target of 132 to win is set and there is much to ponder over a very tasty tea.
Peter Patston and Clarke stride to the middle to begin the chase but first ball of the innings disaster strikes a nasty blow as a lifting ball from Nawaz thuds into Patston’s forearm and leaves him unable to continue. The loss of his opening partner in such unfortunate circumstances proves too much for Clarke who is already in a fragile mental state at the prospect of a night with the Kidderminster Harrumpher and a couple of overs later he plays all round a stump-high full toss from Latif and is on his way without troubling the scorer.
Captain Timperley then nicks a decent out-swinger from the same bowler to first slip and suddenly 132 seems a long way away. The ship needs steadying and two reliable old deck hands in Morgan and ‘Boom Boom Big Back Lift’ Brian Taylor come together to do just that.
The runs start to come with one perfectly timed clip through the on-side from Boom Boom particularly memorable and with extras playing a part it begins to look like the pair might take us home. But then Boom Boom is bowled and Morgan adjudged lbw. We are five down and still with a lot of work to do. The Dragon Ball and Wood continue to chip away at the target until Jeff is bowled for a quick and very useful eight, every nuance of which is missed by Lee Peng who dutifully left to go and get a coffee when his innings was imminent and missed the whole thing.
Crocker and Gallagher can’t quite find the middle of the bat in their normal fashion on a difficult surface and are both bowled and then when Alastair “Spreadsheet” Macaulay fences at a quicker ball from Arvind and is caught at the wicket the situation is critical. The sight of Brodbeck taking guard in such tense surroundings is an enormous comfort to the team who, by this stage, are beside themselves with nerves. But Brodbeck is struck on the hand and can barely hold the bat. He is forced to play out a maiden in the penultimate over. Patston is padded up and ready to emulate Sir Colin Cowdrey if necessary but Wood knows it is down to him to get us over the line and the rest, as they say, is history.
The warm glow of victory lasts all evening over a good meal and numerous pichets of wine in Le Prejoly. An 18th birthday celebration is taking place in the bar and the Strollers’ WAGs score a second win of the day by taking to the dance floor. Timperley’s shoulders twitch involuntarily in approval of the shapes being thrown. At some point Gallagher, who by now has existed solely, in terms of liquid refreshment, on beer and wine since Thursday lunchtime, guarantees Timperley that he will score 50 the next day if he shaves off his beard and our superstitious Kiwi dispenses with his facial hair in the interests of the team and also, one can’t help but think, to put an end to some rather crude and loud speculation over his off-field practices. But did it work? Well you’ll have to read on if you want to find out…..
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Mike Morgan.
Riviera Sunday
Sunday October 10 at St Vallier
Strollers won by six wickets
Riviera 69
(Gallagher 4-16, Patston 2-30, Ball 1-0, Clarke 1-0, Crocker 1-3)
Strollers 70-4
(Wood 37no)
...and so, dear reader, as dawn broke on that fateful Sunday all was not well with your tourists. There was a chill in the air under leaden skies as the Strollers gathered for breakfast. There was talk that Simon Brodbeck would not be able to play, and Peter Patston emerged sporting a grubby brown sock on his injured wrist. No-one is quite certain from where this idea came although someone suggested that Peter had misheard a colleague telling him to shut up and put a sock in it. Whatever. We were down to potentially nine fit men, and that’s being generous to the rest.
Of more concern was the mental state of the men. As your previous correspondent has described, the night before they had been exposed to the sight of the WAGs throwing shapes in all directions and some of the men were clearly still brooding, this grey morn, on the memory of the WAGs’ magnificent macarenas. Others emerged still blinking from the after-shock of seeing Ed and Alastair’s lemon and cassis sorbet sweater collection. And what had happened to James Timperley during the night? That shoulder twitch of the previous evening clearly was an early indication that all was not well upstairs, and the new day’s face confirmed it as in desperation he had accepted a Faustian pact with Ed Gallagher to trade his beard for 50 runs.
Still, there was some good news. Tom Wood had managed to find the proper receptacle to throw up into.
Amongst the handshakes and hellos, when teams gather before a game they tend to check each other out. Similar rituals take place in night clubs. Thus, “They’ve got their best bowler from yesterday,” “I don’t like the look of that big bloke with the Middlesex league sweater” and “There’s more of them wearing whites today” were indications of our apprehension that the opposition might be up for it (Again, the night club scenario comes to mind). The first delivery of the match confirmed the team’s worst worries as a bloke called John (the sweater man) lashed the ball imperiously through the covers for four.
The Day Ed Gallagher Let His Bowling Do The Talking.
And not before time I hear you say (Modesty forbids me to write that Boom Boom’s best figures for the Strollers of 3-17 compared favourably to Ed’s 3-28…but I digress). That first four triggered something. Clearly stung by the fact that there are those who think H- Mac is faster, the four was the last straw. Ed embarked on a thrilling spell of hostile fast bowling, troubling all and bowling the dangerous John. Stuart was lbw and Arvind, yesterday’s half-centurion, was bowled for nought. Paul, excellently caught by the sweaterless skipper Mike Morgan (later, when it was getting chilly we learnt that apparently Sue had forgotten to pack his jumper – how thoughtless can you get, tuh!) completed the rout.
It was mesmeric. As St. Tricia was later to remark appreciatively: “I was sitting behind Ed and was able to look up from my knitting and see all his balls.” Nice positioning and not a stitch was dropped. Ed finished with 4-16 from his allocated six overs in this truncated match of 30 overs per side.
Meanwhile at the other end, playing Statham to Ed’s Trueman, Warren Crocker was remorseless. Hostile, but unlucky, his bowling (4-2-3-1) created the pressure from which Riviera never really escaped. Wozzer later excelled in the running-out of Sol for eight.
Elsewhere, things were also looking up. Brodbeck, undaunted by his injury, fielded like a man possessed (of one less hand?) in the all-important round the corner run-saving position. And what was this? Patston bowling first change, sock in situ, and rediscovering loop and line to take 2-30, bringing him ever closer to 700 wickets for the Strollers. He unnerved Riviera’s top scorer, Andy (looking good and scoring 25), forcing him to hole out to the man Andy Clarke at point. It was good to see Patston recovering some confidence, even if it led him to challenge skipper Morgan’s field placings.
Rounding off the innings, Jeff Ball ( SLA) and Clarke (SRA) each took a wicket without conceding a run.
Significantly, the prowling Tom Wood had not bowled, and someone was going to suffer – hopefully the other side.
At this stage it would be remiss not to mention the wonderful tea provided by Gloria and her daughter and also the entertainment provided by Mollie, a one-year-old cocker spaniel with unbounded energy. Morgan and Wood in particular were misty-eyed.
70 in 30 overs was never going to be a problem or so it seemed. However, Clarke, lbw to one that nipped back sharply, Taylor playing round a full toss and Timperley, cutting at a wide one (“I wasn’t ready so I had a go at it”) soon brought Riviera back into the game. JT was now a shadow of the man who had arrived so buoyantly two days earlier. Shorn of form and hair, duped by Ed’s false guarantee, he was soon to be seen wandering around the ground, muttering to the trees and the hills and seeking shelter from the vicissitudes of life in the opposition’s storage hut. “I don’t want to talk to anyone and I wish to be alone.”
Ball and Wood started to turn things around. The former, giving himself room to free up his arms, hit a sumptuous cover drive for four before he perished. It was left to Wood and Morgan to see the side home. “Let’s do it for the dogs,” they avowed tearfully in mid-pitch conference. Wood in particular was in murderous form, cutting and pulling ferociously to reach 37* (out of 44 runs scored off the bat when Tom was at the crease). In the end it was a comfortable win.
In increasing gloom the tourists repaired to the nearest bar to mull over the events of the day. JT was back in the land of the living, comforted in the knowledge that senior Strollettes considered the fresh-faced look to be a 10/10 improvement and that he was now nearly as lovable as G-Mac. Clarke regaled us with the tale that within ten minutes of meeting Ed at school he knew he was a smart arse by the way he demanded “respect” from his teacher. Tom was now visibly relaxed after the tensions he clearly felt in undertaking tour organisational duties, whilst Alastair had the distant look of a man about to wrestle with a spreadsheet.
So, Warren and Theresa moved on up the Route Napoleon. Dinner was a relatively subdued affair. There was no late night bar and everyone was in bed by midnight. Next day it was pouring with rain. The season had finished.
Bring on April 2011.
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan.
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