2016 match archiveGreat Missenden Pelicans
Sunday April 17 in Great Missenden
Strollers won by 83 runs
Strollers 195-4 dec
(39.3 overs; Timperley 100, Sam Brodbeck 48, Ovenden 10)
Pelicans 112
(31.1 overs; Simon Brodbeck 3-8, Ovenden 2-2, Crocker 2-18, Rothberg 1-12, Fine 1-19, Tjasink 1-22)
The portents were not good. Monsoons hit the Great Missenden ground on Friday. On Saturday a light dusting of snow was reported. But against all the odds, at 9am on the Sunday morning the Pelicans’ major domo, Peter Greenwood, was bullish. “I think we can play,” he said. “And the forecast is fine.” So, by some miracle, the opening fixture of the Strollers’ 2016 campaign went ahead.
Assembling one’s kit for the start of another season is a tricky task. “I feel sure I’ve forgotten something,” said Warren Crocker. Mike Morgan retrieved his wicketkeeping inners from the chicken shed: “They’re ideal for lifting off the fresh eggs,” he explained. Sam Brodbeck had taken a different approach and invested in sparkling new boots, new trousers and new shirt – a makeover which was somewhat spoiled by what seemed to be an outbreak of green mould on his far from new sweater
Skipper Morgan, temporarily released from his Full English Breakfast duties at the South Downs Way Bed & Breakfast emporium, won the toss in a time game and batted. Hamish McDougall, who scored 108 not out in this fixture last year, shortly departed, well caught at slip for eight. Piers Ovenden, already complaining about his creaky knees before they had even left the dressing room, stuck around a while before being bowled for 10.
But Sam joined James Timperley and the pair proceeded to put on 133 – the decisive stand of the match.
James and Martha have now joined the ranks of North Londoners, having moved from Putney to Stroud Green, and the switch has obviously done no harm to Timperley’s appetite for runs.
It was a stand notable for the usual Timperley/Brodbeck ensemble running between the wickets entertainment. It was even more notable for some astute and sensible calling by Sam – a little seen phenomenon, which earned him a round of applause from his colleagues in the pavilion.
Batting was not easy with the Pelicans opening pair making things tricky on a slow and low pitch. But patience prevailed and the stand prospered as Timperley judiciously cut loose – losing several balls onto the railway line – and Sam gave sensible support. With his century posted, Timperley obligingly popped up a simple catch and Sam fell just short of his half-century to bring the declaration at 195-4.
After consuming a wonderfully varied and tasty tea, the Strollers set off in search of 10 wickets and the miserly Crocker showed the way. Bart Fine chipped in, Ben Rothberg claimed an lbw on his Strollers debut, Simon Brodbeck found his line, Stephen Tjasink took a valuable wicket and Ovenden showed that creaking knees are no impediment to fine bowling, finishing off proceedings with two victims.
The Pelicans were all out 112 and the first victory of the season was in the book. The most pleasing scoreline of the day? Fractured digits......0. After two broken fingers and two A&E visits in last season's encounter, everyone emerged unscathed.
With blue skies and sunshine, and two varieties of quiche – plus a forensic analysis of the game in the Cross Keys – it had been a thoroughly enjoyable way to get 2016 started.
Capt and wkt: Mike Morgan. Match fees: James Timperley.
Harpsden
Sunday April 24 in Harpsden
Strollers lost by 17 runs
Harpsden 199-7
(40 overs; Swan 2-20, Macaulay 1-22, Selby 1-22, Crocker 1-30, Elton 1-37)
Strollers 182-6
(40 overs; Timperley 66, McDougall 33, Selby 19, Fulton 15, Crocker 13, Elton 12no)
The Strollers fell short at Harpsden in a much improved performance from previous years.
Harpsden are one of our strongest oppositions and they won their league last year undefeated. We have lost quite badly in each of our previous two visits and so it's a game where we try and put out a strong side. Sam Osborn had pulled a hamstring and was replaced by locum leggie Mike Morgan, whose lobbying of skipper James Timperley began early. We were also pleased to see the seasonal debuts of Peter Patston and Madame President on pencils and our travelling support of the Fixtures Secretary, Treasurer and Oonagh.
The pitch was surprisingly hard once the new covers had been removed but proved to be rather dead at times which caused batsmen one or two problems with timing.
The Strollers won the toss and put Harpsden in to bat. Tom Elton and Warren Crocker kept it tight in the first eight overs with no reward for Warren, who beat the bat on several occasions. Tim Swan took over from Warren and broke through with an lbw in his first over and a mistimed drive in his second, which was easily snaffled by Sam Ferrick. Sam was also responsible for the next wicket. The batsmen had run two and one turned for a third as Sam chased the ball to the boundary. However his demon arm returned the ball right over the stumps from 53 yards (as measured by Sam himself). Exit batsman muttering darkly.
Harpsden were 32-3 at this stage and slowly started rebuilding their innings. Alastair Macaulay, Peter Patston and Aidan Selby wheeled away without any success initially as the batsmen started to pick up the pace. Skipper Christian Whittaker and Will Stevens moved the score onto 86 when Whittaker edged a sharp chance from Selby to Hamish McDougall standing up. The incoming bat Will Ward was almost immediately bowled by Macaulay with an even slower ball than normal with barely the energy to knock a bail off. When Crocker returned and bowled the lively-looking Jack Brown with a beauty it looked like the Strollers could knock over Harpsden for under 150. However, Will Stevens was joined by Zack Jones and both started to free their arms. Forty-five came off the last six overs as Harpsden reached a good total of 199.
The Strollers reply started badly when Ferrick was bowled by a peach of a delivery from Toby Stevens in the second over. Timperley joined McDougall and they patiently started to construct a partnership against good bowling from Stevens and Jones. After 10 overs the score was 27 and they moved it on to 75 when a communication breakdown left Hamish stranded in midwicket and he was run out. At the half way stage the Strollers were 77-2 needing six an over. Timperley and Ben Fulton faced some good bowling and canny field placings that saved a number of certain boundaries.
Just as the run rate was starting to increase Ben was bowled by the returning Jones for 15. Timperley had played really well with a couple of glorious sixes and on-drives and was picking up the pace with Selby but when he was the fourth wicket for 66, clipping to midwicket, the momentum changed. The return of the opening bowlers put the brakes on and so the incoming batsmen were under pressure to score from the off. Selby departed for 19 and Swan found Jones hard to score off. Crocker swung merrily for 13 but was bowled by a ball that kept low. We needed 32 off the last two overs and although Elton gave it plenty of long handle in the final over, the Strollers fell short by 17 runs. At one point it looked like we could get the runs but good game management by Harpsden ensured that we never got away.
At the end of the match, Macaulay was awarded a bottle of champagne for reaching the milestone of 300 matches to follow the 300 wickets reached last year. This puts him fourth in the all-time lists in both but he admitted that he is unlikely ever to reach Brodbeck, Patston or Fiala in games played. He showed great consistency with his match figures of 1-22, which is almost exactly his career average.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall. Match fees: Aidan Selby.
Wall
Sunday May 1 in Pinkneys Green
Strollers lost by two wickets
Strollers 196
(39.4 overs; Sam Brodbeck 38, McDougall 36, Fine 31, Calvocoressi 29, Rothberg 24no, Ovenden 11)
Wall 199-6
(28.2 overs; Fine 3-26, Macaulay 2-57, Rothberg 1-42)
The opposition were down to nine men, on the second day of a tour, and downing pints of Rebellion IPA before the game. With the voracious support of the home crowd at Pinkneys Green, surely the match was a dead cert.
Well, you know where it goes from here.
The Strollers innings got off to a bad start as George Calvocoressi managed to arrive late despite living closest. All animosity at his tardiness evaporated, however, as he unveiled the finest beard seen since Doctor W.G. Grace terrorised Victorian bowlers.
In a daring move, captain Piers Ovenden promoted Doctor David Kelsey to opener. Sadly his confidence was misplaced and a rusty Kelsey swished and was bowled for one. Hamish McDougall dug in but the wickets steadily fell, eventually leaving the Strollers 196 all out.
Spectators dug into their stats book and could hardly believe it was six years since Jono Addis scored the first of two double-centuries at the ground. Unfortunately the best the Strollers could manage were a few 30s - including a new Strollers best of 31 for Bart Fine. "Too few, too few," they whispered in the stands.
Wall came charging out of the blocks, and down the pitch. The bowlers struggled with line and length as ball after ball flew over the short legside boundary and over the road. Even 2016’s first sighting of Jim Hodgson failed to inspire the "eight moments of magic" Ovenden urged his men to conjure up.
Fine, with support from Alastair Macaulay, kept the Strollers in the game and after Wall's dangerous Ian Caddick was dismissed for a fine 68 all was not lost. Yet despite the opposition's stunted batting line-up, the game was soon over. Just 28.2 overs had been bowled.
Spirits may be dampened but history tells us many of the greatest teams began life in adversity. Ovenden will want the memory of the 'Wall drubbing' to live long in the memories of his players. The Three Counties tour is four months away; the return fixture in the West Midlands will be the team's chance to win back the faith of their fans.
Capt: Piers Ovenden. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees: Bart Fine/Simon Brodbeck.
Jordans Taverners
Saturday May 7 in Seer Green
Strollers won by 31 runs
Strollers 217-7
(40 overs; Oliver 71, Selby 54, Crocker 22, Hickman 15, Allsopp 14no, Loan 14)
Jordans Taverners 186-8
(40 overs; Crocker 3-34, Elton 2-44, Macaulay 1-11, Oliver 1-22, Duff 1-27)
With the season still young, the problems of getting into some rhythm have been all-too apparent for the Strollers, who travelled to Seer Green having lost two from three.
This isn’t just an issue on the pitch. As was demonstrated at Great Missenden, the muscle memory involved in packing one’s kit is taking time to kick in for some. The Strollers team to take on Jordans Taverners included Ryan Duff, playing his first match of the season, who had conducted a search of the cupboards at home only to find two bats but no shoes. Alastair Macaulay, meanwhile, confessed he had foolishly put his trousers in the wash (“not something I usually do mid-season”) and forgot about them, so spent the afternoon wearing a pair of khaki shorts and looking vaguely like an extra from It Ain’t Half Hot Mum. Kimball Bailey’s bat also failed to make it to the match, awaiting repair after the rubber grip disintegrated in the nets owing to prolonged lack of use.
Still, even as Simon Brodbeck surveyed his motley crew and Duff’s black trainers, at least the sun was shining – a phenomenon barely anyone could remember at the Jordans fixture, played as it is in the Buckinghamshire monsoon season.
The weather made for an inviting batting track, and Mike Loan – leading the side for the first time – had no hesitation in padding up. Loan strode out with Aidan Selby and the pair looked to be making a steady start until the skipper was bowled by a perfectly pitched inswinger from opening bowler and Jordans captain Charlie Yolland. The left-arm seamer soon struck again, trapping Tom Elton lbw with another ball that moved in and beat the bat. The scoreboard, reading 27-2 after eight overs, belied the batsman-friendly conditions.
Much now depended on the partnership between Selby and Glen Oliver. Selby had made a circumspect start, but the arrival of Oliver at the crease saw him begin to move through the gears and the pair put on 119 with plenty of quick running between the wickets. Oliver was scoring at well over a run a ball – 15 off 10, 30 from 20. A flurry of fours was followed up by a lofted shot to long-on, where the fielder did tremendously well to pluck the ball from the air…only to step over the boundary rope. Oliver made the most of his luck, tucking into the slow bowlers, until, after hitting two sixes in three balls, he drove a return catch to Steve Leybourne. It was one of those that just happened to stick. Oliver walked back to the Strollers’ applause for a fine 71 from 46 deliveries. Although, as a teammate pointed out, this actually brought down his club average from 110.5 to 97.33. Clearly he must try harder.
Selby had made his way to 54 – his first half-century for the club – but Leybourne’s loopy spin also proved to be his undoing as he was stumped looking to hit down the ground. For the two new batsmen, Duff and Matt Hickman, it wasn’t ideal bowling to face, the flight being tricky to pick before they had played themselves in. Duff departed for seven having top-edged while trying to tuck the ball into the leg side, but Warren Crocker got the innings back on track with his usual brand of lower order aggression. His dismissal for 22 brought Bailey to the crease in his first match in almost two years (Tadworth 2014 – which was his 200th appearance for the club). He gave a stern warning to the bowlers that he intended to go after them as hard as he has done non-payers for the 40th anniversary dinner.
When Hickman was bowled the score was 201, slightly shy of par in the eyes of Loan. However, Laurie Allsopp provided a neat batting cameo, with 14 runs that included two fours off the final two balls of the innings, and another boundary that disappointingly crept over the rope just as he was contemplating calling the Chairman back for three. Bailey also added a single that came off pad, thigh, arm, and a hint of little finger that persuaded umpire Oliver not to call a leg bye.
After tea (full marks for the treacle tart), Jordans set about chasing down the target with gusto, and although Crocker claimed two wickets in his second over, opening batsman Pete Goldsmith was finding the rope regularly. Loan swapped Elton for Duff, and with drinks approaching the breakthrough came as Liam Ryan edged behind. However, as long as Goldsmith was at the crease, Jordans were in with a shout. He dealt with Brodbeck comfortably, but a double bowling change after the 20-over mark finally put the Strollers in control. Oliver’s skiddy darts kept a lid on the scoring rate (22 from his eight overs), and the returning Elton at last induced a false stroke as Goldsmith spooned the ball up to a juggling Crocker at cover for 78.
With the run rate creeping up, the Jordans batsmen went for aggression and the aerial route. After gaining some success over midwicket, Oliver Butler picked out Duff at long-off to give Elton his second wicket; Oliver bowled Lyons – who had offered staunch support to Goldsmith through their partnership of 51 – and Macaulay came to the party as Yolland top-edged a steepler to Oliver at point. Crocker returned to bowl Toby Odell for his third scalp, and despite a few late boundaries Jordans finished 31 runs short after 40 overs.
There was much to savour as the pints were pulled in the Jolly Cricketers: the Loan captaincy had its first victory (though his win rate may well take a blow in the post-dinner match against Roehampton), there were several fine performances throughout the team and Kimball found that stooping for the ball on the boundary provided a surprisingly effective remedy for a creaky back.
Capt and wkt: Mike Loan. Match fees: Aidan Selby.
Marlow Park
Sunday May 8 in Marlow
Strollers won by 115 runs
Strollers 265-6
(40 overs; Ovenden 71, McDougall 46, Rice 46, Sam Brodbeck 37, Swale 28, Elton 24no)
Marlow Park 150
(27.3 overs; Elton 4-30, Simon Brodbeck 2-21, Latchford 1-0, Salvesen 1-25)
You don’t have to be Neville Cardus to make a marvel of Marlow Park on a beautiful May day. The lush green lawns stretched from the pavilion down to the Thames, as countless families picnicked in the sunshine beyond the boundary edge. A sculpture of medal-festooned Sir Steve Redgrave provided sporting inspiration, while a view of a gothic spire in the town’s High Street provided otherworldly encouragement.
Tom Colbeck was so inspired he arrived early. Three weeks early, to be precise. Standing outside the lonesome pavilion at Bledlow CC it slowly dawned on him he may be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and eventually he too made his way to Marlow.
By the time he arrived Captain Piers Ovenden and Hamish McDougall were tucking into a century opening stand, broken on the stroke of drinks by an off-break which found a gap in McDougall’s defences, bowled for 46.
Piers made his way to 71, before he was one of two lbws given by Tom Salvesen. Tom later remarked “I’m a bowlers’ umpire,” which no doubt raised a quizzical eyebrow or two in the dressing room.
Eric Swale (28), David Rice (46) and Tom Elton (24no) smashed it to all parts in the final overs as the Strollers posted a healthy 265-5 off 40.
Marlow Park CC began the run chase well in the warm afternoon sun, making good use of a short boundary, good pitch and quick outfield. Salvesen (1-25), Bart Fine (0-29) and Colbeck (0-40) bowled without much luck. It wasn’t until Elton (4-30) came on to bowl, extracting good movement and regularly threatening the stumps that the game seemed in control. Simon Brodbeck (2-21) bowled a typically tidy spell and Richard Latchford (1-0) helped to mop up the tail.
And so, another win. Another great day’s cricket in a beautiful place. As the sun warm lingered in the summer sky all roads led to the Honourable Artillery Company and the Strollers’ 40th birthday celebration…
Capt: Piers Ovenden. Wkt: Hamish McDougall. Match fees: Eric Swale.
Roehampton
Sunday May 15 in Putney
Strollers won by four wickets
Roehampton 181-7
(40 overs; Simon Brodbeck 3-35, Rothberg 1-16, Keightley 1-18, Fine 1-19, Selby 1-21)
Strollers 185-6
(35.2 overs; Selby 67no, Swan 45, Loan 13)
The trip down to Putney Heath to face Roehampton was always going to be a challenge for the keen 11 Strollers who volunteered their services the day after the club’s 40th anniversary dinner. It proved a little too challenging for Aidan Selby, whose tardiness would inevitably be forgiven – more on that later.
Firstly, it is only right to lavish well deserved praise on Chairman Kimball Bailey and the organising committee for a job well done for the prior evening – everyone present commented how they enjoyed a thoroughly entertaining night and the bloodshot eyes and sore heads were certainly testament to that.
Pre-match rituals took a rather strange turn, as due to restricted access to the pavilion meant players were left to get changed on the boundary of Putney Heath – an activity best done in a group rather than on your own, as agreed by all.
Unfortunately there was no respite to be had as the Strollers were put into the field – hopes of a spot down the batting order preceded by a hangover-curing afternoon nap were dashed. Skipper Mike Loan, in his second game as captain, need not have worried, however, as the Strollers quickly blew away the cobwebs and were sharp in the field. Bart Fine and Ben Rothberg opened the bowling and quickly found their line and length to restrict Roehampton’s run rate on what was a pretty slow and low pitch. The pressure soon told, and Rothberg picked up the wicket of opener Alikhan courtesy of a good catch at midwicket by Sam Brodbeck.
Roehampton’s other opener, Thomas Hilson, remained and set about building a decent innings supported by Patel, eventually putting on 71 for the second wicket. Nevertheless, the bowlers continued to restrict the run rate thanks also to sharp fielding. At drinks, the score was 84-1 at a rate of 4.2. Enter Simon Brodbeck, whose second over proved decisive, claiming two victims, the first bowled, and the second courtesy of a leg-before, a decision delivered with the ‘slow-death’ finger akin to Rudi Koertzen – all thought he would never give it!
Simon went on to claim another wicket thanks to a spectacular one-handed catch at mid-wicket by Loan from a crashing hit off the middle of the bat. Despite a partial recovery by Roehampton’s middle order, they ended their innings on 181-7, with special mention to Richard Keightley for claiming his maiden Strollers wicket on debut, and also to Fine and Selby for claiming a wicket each. Fine’s wicket was the result of another outstanding catch on the boundary from Loan, who was putting in a captain’s performance in the field. We were thus set a target of 182 at an achievable rate of 4.5 an over.
The Strollers set about their task in relatively quick fashion, with Loan and Tim Swan punishing the odd wayward ball from Roehampton’s young and fast attack. Loan survived a borderline lbw appeal, before falling victim to a swinging delivery from Patel – the pick of the opening bowlers. Swan set into a good rhythm and began building the innings, but the pitch remained slow and varied bounce gave the batsmen plenty to think about, restricting the run-rate. Perhaps Roehampton’s total of 181 was above par after all?
These fears grew when Sam Brodbeck was well-caught by Simon Stokes (not of the ginger-haired New Zealand-born variety). Sam could only look on in exasperation as the same Stokes went on to put down a dolly in the following over. Jon Williams, on debut, wowed the onlookers with a classy six in his first over and at drinks the Strollers had reached 85-2, a little short of the required rate.
After lunch Roehampton sent in their spinners who delivered some instance success. Alikhan bamboozled the batsman and claimed two immediate victims in the same over: Swan was stumped on 45, agonizingly close to what would have been a well-deserved 50, and Williams was run out after a desperate attempt at a single - a result of the pressure of a declining run-rate. The silver lining of the over was the entrance of Selby, who was able to keep his head, read the spin, and score frequently when opportunities arose.
He had brief company in the form of Rothberg and Fine (the former departing for a duck, another victim of Alikhan, and the latter for 11), but Keightley managed to stick around a while longer, offering support when required. Selby rescued the Strollers’ innings, entering in the 27th over with the score at 112-5, scoring 67 not out to reach the required total in the 36th over with four wickets in hand. The last 73 runs were scored at an impressive rate of 8.1 an over – testament to some of the brutal hitting Selby unleashed.
The Strollers departed to the pavilion, sparing the Putney locals any further borderline displays of public indecency, and Loan was left to reflect on another captaincy success – 100% after two games. Who knows: The ‘Stroller’ captaincy stats could have an altogether different look about them for the 50th anniversary dinner…
Capt: Mike Loan. Wkt & match fees: Tim Swan.
Bricklayers Arms
Thursday May 19 in Wandsworth Park
Strollers won by five wickets
Bricklayer's Arms 156-2
(20 overs; Stubbs 1-20, Thanushan 1-33)
Strollers 159-5
(18.2 overs; Miller 46no, Ferrick 30, Hadi 24, Loan 20, Swale 18)
And so began the opening chapter of the Midweek Strollers’ new season in a milky Wandsworth light and a team mood full of expectation and determination to stay unbeaten – having won 12 out of 12 in the 2015 season. This mood may have contributed to the first and hopefully last injury to the Strollers when Nick Waring ran to stop a certain boundary and looked, as one laconic team member observed, “like a tranquilised warthog tumbling in the dirt”. Needless to say the ball broke the boundary and also his rib. Plus ca change.
Sterling opening bowling by Stephen Tjasink and Dan Thanushan restricted the Bricklayers initially and then some fine accurate spin from Sam Ferrick - albeit one sensed reluctantly taking over from the indisposed warthog - carried on the fine work as did some good rhythmic seam up from Gary Ngo.
Richie Stubbs let loose a few belligerent beamers but compensated with a magnificent yorker to dismiss their No 6. Some spirited late order hitting from Lee Kazim (easily their best player, sign him up somebody to replace the warthog) left an awkward total of 156.
The Strollers’ reply began solidly with some good straight driving from Mike Loan and some Boycottian strokes from Hassan Hadi. However, a good base was laid from which the strike hitting of Eric Swale, Kris Miller and some particularly aggressive shots from Ferrick, who looked to be unburdening himself of the stresses of his forthcoming nuptials - still no invite, what’s going on? - took the Strollers to victory with 10 balls to spare.
All parties retired to the Bricklayers after appropriately laying the foundations for another successful Strollers season.
Capt and match fees: Richie Stubbs. Wkt: Kris Miller.
Bank of England
Saturday May 21 in Roehampton
Strollers lost by five wickets
Strollers 127
(45 overs; Richie Stubbs 22, Stephen Tjasink 22, Simon Brodbeck 15no, Loan 15)
Bank of England 133-5
(39.5 overs; Macaulay 3-25, Simon Brodbeck 1-20, Warren Crocker 1-48)
We arrived at the picturesque Bank of England club grounds in Roehampton on an overcast day, but at least the rain seemed to have stayed away. Directed to visitors' changing room number five, we waited while captain Alastair Macaulay went out to toss. He won and elected to bat first. It was a timed game, with tea at 16:10 and 20 overs to bowl after 18:10. The wicket was still covered when we went out and once the covers had been wheeled away, it revealed a green, grassy surface.
The opening pair of Kim Ross and Mike Loan survived the first couple of overs intact, with the ball moving around off the pitch. Ross put two away to the legside boundary in the first over, but in the third looped one to cover off the bowling of Steve Kidnee where he was caught and was out for eight. Loan also found the boundary a few times, but was bowled by a ball from Kidnee that seamed in to hit his off-stump and he was also on the way back to the pavilion for 15. This prompted mutterings about what a low-scoring game it would be. Talk was that 100 would be a par score. Others thought 120. We would have to wait and see.
Russell Clough contributed six before being bowled by Saugata Sen and David Kelsey departed for eight after being bowled by Richard Kendall. Having bowled so effectively for us in a midweek game just two days earlier, Gary Ngo was now playing for the opposition. Warren Crocker and Stephen Tjasink managed a partnership of 24 before Crocker was out for eight, caught behind off Ngo's bowling. Bart Fine followed a ball later having being bowled. Nick Logan survived the hat-trick ball, which was a relief.
Stephen Tjasink moved to his highest Strollers total of 22 before being trapped in front by a shortish ball from Kendall that didn't bounce at all and hit him just above the boot. While the pace of scoring slowed, the tail showed tenacity and application in hanging around. Logan was eventually caught and bowled by Kendall for four and Macaulay also scored four before being caught off Simon Eddolls.
Richie Stubbs in the meantime had also reached 22, including his first six for the Strollers, before being given out lbw to Sen. Simon Brodbeck was left not out on 15. The tenth-wicket partnership had proved to be the highest of the innings, with Stubbs and Brodbeck putting on a very valuable 31 together and taking the Strollers to a total of 127 which had seemed very unlikely at 60-6.
Needless to say, the rain started while we were at tea and had not yet stopped when we were ready to go back out. It was probably hard enough to prevent a Test match from starting, but given the non-Test status of our fixture, we went ahead and played. The endless orderly procession of aircraft overhead making their final approach to Heathrow was a bit mesmerising, and the presence of the cloud meant that they were sometimes visible and sometimes only audible. Playing with the same ball that was used in the first innings meant that it got soggy very quickly despite our efforts to keep it dry with a couple of bar towels.
Crocker and Fine started well with the ball, but the Bank of England opening pair of Peter Andrews and Matt Adey proved difficult to shift. It was when Macaulay brought himself and Brodbeck on that we started to make inroads. First to go was Adey, who hit his wicket trying to play very late at a Macaulay delivery. Darren Gallimore departed shortly after for a duck, also falling to Macaulay, who did very well to hold onto a one-handed return catch that he made look very casual. When Brodbeck had Andrews trapped lbw for 33 and then Ross held onto a catch to dismiss Perry Austin off Macaulay for just one, it looked as though the Strollers might have a chance of escaping with at least a draw given the number of overs left to play.
Mark Streather was still in and he and Tom Campbell kept the scoreboard turning over, creeping towards the 128 required. Macaulay brought Crocker back on for another spell and he finally got a reward for his accuracy, bowling Campbell for 13. Tjasink bowled three overs also but no more wickets fell and the Bank pair scrambled every single, bye and leg bye they could. Streather and Kidnee eventually passed the required total with an over and a half to spare, finishing not out on 36 and 10 respectively.
Having a bar in the clubhouse meant that we could enjoy the sun's appearance with a drink on the terrace outside, which was a very pleasant way to mull over the day's proceedings. Checking the England vs Sri Lanka test score revealed that Sri Lanka had not managed to pass the Strollers' score in either of their innings, so that was some consolation at least!
Capt and match fees: Alastair Macaulay. Wkt: Mike Loan.
Maidenhead and Bray
Sunday May 22 in Bray
Strollers won by 27 runs
Strollers 213-7
(40 overs; McDougall 70, Hickman 37no, Oliver 30, Timperley 23, Selby 19)
Maidenhead & Bray 186-8
(40 overs; Oliver 3-10, Macaulay 3-28, Rothberg 1-20)
Your correspondent arrived at Maidenhead and Bray to find a total of 14 Strollers assembled, which must surely be a record. It slowly dawned on him that Eric Swale and Tim Swan were not in the playing squad, a hint being head-to-toe Lycra and two fancy looking bikes. The ever-present Simon Brodbeck turned out to be the team kit man and spectator. They may secretly have been hoping for a no-show or three as this is a particularly attractive place to play, with a billiard table outfield and the backdrop of St Michael’s church, built in 1293, and the beautiful and imposing vicarage next door.
The pretty Thames-side village of Bray moved Edward Lear to write the following ditty:
"There was an old person of Bray,
Who sang through the whole of the day
To his ducks and his pigs,
Whom he fed upon figs,
That valuable person of Bray."
Perhaps the talk of ducks, pigs and figs inspired the Roux brothers and Heston Blumenthal to set up shop here.
Skipper James Timperley won the toss and elected to bat in a 40-over game. Hamish McDougall and Aidan Selby strode to the wicket, which had been covered but the heavy rain on Saturday left the track a little slow. The pair patiently waited for the bad balls that were duly put away, keeping the scoreboard ticking over nicely. Aidan then slightly mistimed a pull, got a top edge and was caught by the keeper for 19. James continued in similar vein unfurling some classy shots from the start while keeping a close eye on the wicket. He had cruised onto 23 when he was smartly caught at mid-on. The surprise by which the catch was greeted by the home side suggested James was a touch unlucky.
Swan and Swale set off for the second half of their training run and Simon removed himself to the other side of the ground with a pile of newspapers. Was it something we said or the friendly but noisy pair of dogs tethered close to the clubhouse that prompted the move? Jo and Finlay arrived and the junior Stroller paused briefly to watch the action then put his mother through her paces in the nets.
Glen Oliver took over from James in the middle and he and Hamish put on 48 before Glen was lbw for 30. Matt Hickman arrived at the wicket and saw Hamish to a well deserved 50 and on to a top-scoring 70. Matt continued to gather runs while the late middle order fell attempting to push the score on in the closing overs.
An impressive flat bat six from Matt back over the bowler’s head helped him to an unbeaten 37 and the Strollers to 213 off our 40 overs. The opinion over tea was this was a reasonable total given that boundaries were hard to come by on the large and juicy ground, but any potential over-confidence was tempered by Alastair Macaulay reminding the team that our hosts had chased down 234 the previous year. Tea saw the arrival of Tom Wood and Oonagh, who was particularly sprightly. Oonagh that is. With our earlier support and the later arrival of Martha the spectator stats were very healthy.
Sam Osborn channelled his annoyance at getting out lbw into a genuinely quick opening spell. He repeatedly beat the outside edge but his only return was a very sharp chance to second slip that couldn’t quite be grasped. In contrast Jim Hodgson’s gentle trundle prompted the simplest caught and bowled chance which to the astonishment of himself, the batsman and the whole of Berkshire he dropped. The relived Dixon hit the next two deliveries back over Jim’s head for 6.
Dixon continued to drive and pull strongly all the way to his 50 at which point Alastair lured him out of his ground and he was smartly stumped by Hamish. He then bowled Wallace, the other opener and had the dangerous looking Appavod caught behind to finish with 3-28. Qureshi, the No 3 looked a class act with a range of well executed shots all round the wicket. He displayed a Strolleresque tendency to make threes into twos but while he was at the wicket Maidenhead and Bray were very much in the game.
Skipper Timperley shuffled his bowlers with Richard Keightley, Ben Rothberg (1-20) and Jon Williams not getting much luck before bringing on Glen with the match still well balanced. Coming off his longer three-pace run-up he not only surprised the batsmen with the pace he was able to generate but also the very full length and accuracy he maintained. This combination accounted for Aziz, Amin and Stark, all bowled in rapid succession leaving Glen with impressive figures of 4-0-10-3.
Allen was then run out after finding himself at the same end as Qureshi. Sam calmly delivered the ball to Hamish at the vacant end who nonchalantly flipped a single bail off, caught it and replaced it to send Allen back to the clubhouse. And that was it. The No 11 didn’t score, Qureshi was not out 69 and the Strollers won a closer game than the 213 to 186 scores suggested.
Beers were taken with our hospitable hosts while Tom moved among the newer Strollers taking several orders for playing shirts and sweaters. All in all a good day for the Strollers and their band of supporters.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall. Match fees: Tom Wood.
Parrys Whippets
Thursday May 26 in Barnes
Match tied
Strollers 148-7
(20 overs; Miller 35no, Oliver 28no, Ngo 26no, Swale 23, Shannon 10)
Parry's Whippets 148-4
(20 overs; Ngo 1-11, Oliver 1-24, Tjasink 1-33, Stubbs 1-29)
The Editor
Fleet Street Strollers Cricket Club
[by email]
Dear Sir,
I am a long-time reader and occasional correspondent. It takes a village to raise a child, and the Strollers village has, in recent times, failed to adequately care for our future. We must break the cycle.
Back in my day, when you could still find the Invincibles strutting around the fields of south-west London and Leicester had a passable rugby union team, a second-rate county cricket team and an even worse football team, match reports were the highlight of many a dreary day; the saviour of a sullen Wednesday and the light that shone to get you through the tunnels of Monday and Tuesday, breaking the back of the week and starting the downhill slide to the next Strollers fixture.
What has happened, Mr Editor?
Is there a cost-cutting initiative at FSSCC HoldCo Ltd?
Have the Strollers had one too many doses of chemtrail after 40 years of playing in under the clear south England skies?
Did Steve tell you that, perchance? Mmmph, Steve.
The other day, drifting away from the work that I am paid to so adeptly avoid doing, I was startled. A calendar reminder popped up; “Urgent review of report regarding the performance of FSSCC”.
Hurriedly I typed FSSCC.org.uk into the browser window (not to be confused with the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (we’ve all been there)).
Nothing.
It’s OK I told myself. The world will go on. People are busy. Look again tomorrow.
Nothing.
Friday? Nothing.
Saturday and Sunday. Don’t be ridiculous, it’s a double-header weekend.
Monday? Three match reports outstanding at one time? That doesn’t even happen on tours!
By Friday I am at my wits’ end. The Midweekers have played another game of slap-dash insult to the purity of the game and the match report is also not on the site.
How, Mr Editor, are the youth of today to learn the gentle art of cricket. How?
Are the kids of today just meant telepathically to learn of Keith Shannon’s blazing start against the Whippets; Eric Swale’s incompetence at calling between the wickets that led to the loss of Hassan Hadi’s wicket and nearly Kris Miller’s; and Glen Oliver’s crunching drives nearly leaving Swale without the ability to reproduce and one of the Whippets without the use of one of his legs?
Without journalistic discipline, Chinese whispers may lead to the stoic supporting efforts of Tom Salvesen, Richard Keightley, Stephen Tjasink and Richie Stubbs being judged on the totals they scored, rather than the important role they played in getting Miller (35), Oliver (28) and Ngo (26) past mandatory retirement and the Strollers to a solid 148.
The masses will be left in the dark as to how Salvesen opened strongly, but failed to mix his line and length with the odd full toss like Gary Ngo and Stubbs; which also meant that he failed to be rewarded with wickets when the Whippets tried to hit over the towering Swale at mid-on.
Future historians may be puzzled why Oliver went for so many runs, when the scorebook won’t show the outside edges, or deft late guides through third man, played so well by the three Whippets batsmen to retire.
Finally, no-one will hear of the Strollers’ valiant attempt to defend 27 runs with four overs remaining; of skied edges landing just long and short of Hadi and Swale; Keightley only going for six off the 17th and 19th; of Tjasink being thrown the ball for the final over having not bowled since the tenth; dot balls, caught behinds, narrowly called wides, an under-edged pull that could so easily have hit the stumps but instead went to the fine-leg boundary and finally, a scampered two off the final ball of the over to leave the scores tied; the tension, the drama, the buzz, the crowd, the atmosphere. It was all happening at the Barnes Oval.
And Sir, no one would know.
We must think of the children. I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed.
Yours,
Saddened Stroller in South London
Capt and match fees: Richie Stubbs. Wkt: Kris Miller.
Bledlow
Sunday May 29 in Bledlow
Strollers won by seven wickets
Bledlow 189-8
(40 overs; Simon Brodbeck 2-52, Oliver 1-5, Tjasink 1-5, Logan 1-14, Ovenden 1-16, Crocker 1-38)
Strollers 190-3
(29.4 overs; Selby 57, Ovenden 51, Calvocoressi 26, Fredrickson12no, Oliver 12no)
Skipper Peter Patston lost the toss and the Strollers were invited to field against a youthful Bledlow side that included the Parmar brothers, Manam and Harsh, and three members of the Bell family, father Chris and sons Jack and Harry. Some slightly wayward Strollers bowling and the impressively drilled technique of the local colts saw the locals race out of the gate.
Warren Crocker bowled with increasing pace and venom but was too good to find the edge. The guile of Simon Brodbeck, fifth time lucky, with an edge finally going to hand, and some inspired bowling changes pegged the run rate back: Stephen Tjasink hit the top of off stump and Nick Logan lured a youngster out of his crease for the whippet-quick Justin Fredrickson to whip off the bails. George Calvocoressi, wearing Brodbeck's spare whites and Glen Oliver's spare socks, completed a marathon first spell in the one over before drinks. Bledlow 84-4 after 20 overs.
The young Bledlow No 3 Josh Franklin was growing in confidence and he decided to up the tempo shortly after the break, ably supported by Harsh Parmar. All the Strollers outfielders got a bowl (nine in all, the team being a man short of an XI) as Patston shuffled his cards. Franklin reached a deserved and mostly classical 50 by depositing Piers Ovenden over midwicket. He could not repeat the trick next ball and was bowled. When Parmar the younger then ran himself out, the Strollers sensed they could relax a little and perhaps return some of the waves from the passengers on the passing steam trains. They had not counted on Harry and Chris Bell giving it some humpty in the final overs.
189 was more than Patston would have liked to concede but the track was a good one and the outfield quickening as the sun had now come out. Officially the Strollers had bowled 35 wides, Maggie Patston having to create a new line in the scorebook to accommodate them all (unofficially it was 40+ but not all the colts had attended umpire training and signalled no balls for a wide variety of illegal deliveries). Extras made 47, and it would have been more but for the valiant efforts of Fredrickson, who showed impressive footwork and diving ability to keep up with the variations in line.
Ovenden and Aidan Selby opened the batting and set off at a terrific pace, ably assisted by the extras column themselves. With Selby the dominant partner - he lost a ball in the creek behind square leg - the pair raced to 112 off 16 overs before Selby attempted a curious but impressively wristy sweep-ramp shot, from a lunging crouch position, but failed to make any sort of contact with a straight length ball and was bowled for 57 (off 44 balls at a strike rate of 129.55).
Calvocoressi, now more at home and comfortable in his kit, continued Selby’s onslaught. With the finish line in sight Ovenden edged a legbreak from Jack Bell to first slip and Calvocoressi was adjudged lbw to father Chris. Fredrickson and Oliver did the honours with plenty of time to spare to polish off the remains of a fine tea, which included a moreish houmus dip, and join those of age for a few pints of Rebellion, while the Bell children did battle over a chessboard. Another few years and an excursion to this lovely part of the Oxfordshire countryside may hold rather more terrors for the Strollers.
Capt: Peter Patston. Wkt: Justin Fredrickson. Match fees: Simon Brodbeck.
Thames Valley
Thursday June 2 in Spelthorne
Strollers won by eight runs
Strollers 139-6
(20 overs; Keightley 33no, Tjasink 28no, Oliver 25no, Rory Wood 11)
Thames Valley 131-8
(20 overs; Ngo 3-22, Cox 2-4, Herath 2-18, Richie Stubbs 1-21)
"Cold”.
“‘Yes, very cold.”
This sizzling exchange, a bleak outlook and a looming bulk are the opening to The Hunt for Red October. Lacking only the curious accents of Messrs. Sean Connery and Sam Neill, the picture is one not too dissimilar to that which greeted the Strollers arriving in dribs and drabs at the ground near Staines, viz., a bleak outlook, arctic conditions and the looming bulk of one G. Doggett waiting to club the bowlers’ figures into next week.
Much shivering later the toss was duly made and won and skipper Rory Wood put his men in to bat, including Rob Cox from Thames Valley, kindly subbing for Aidan Selby, who was stranded somewhere in Kent with a dead car.
Glen Oliver and Richard Keightley skated out to the middle and quickly set an excellent platform, both retiring to await the second call, with Richard top-scoring on 33.
Things were looking good, the scoreboard was ticking over very nicely and some of the watching Strollers opined that “150 or 160 should be enough” – and it certainly seemed likely especially with Stephen Tjasink stroking his way to 28 not out. This was to reckon, however, without the usual middle-order blues, which saw Wood as the only other Stroller to reach double figures. The overs ticked away and the run-rate slowed, owing as much to accurate bowling as to average batting. At the end, Oliver, Keightley and Tjasink were unable to re-join the fray leaving the score of 139 seeming reasonable, if not necessarily secure. And it was still arctic.
A quick turnaround saw Thames Valley field their big guns and the thumping began, with Graham Doggett leading the way. Within two overs he had retired to the pavilion, with the total already over 40. Given that most of these runs had been through the aerial route to the boundary, the fielding side were left begging for a ball to chase, if only to warm up. Did I mention it was cold?
The runs mounted and despite committed fielding things were beginning to look rather grim, especially knowing that every dismissal (and there were some excellent dismissals, including an elegantly casual one-handed catch by Tjasink) brought the openers closer to returning and, with the required run rate now at around only four per over, the prospect did not please.
Came the fateful moment and Doggett returned to the crease. Oliver managed to extract a few precious dot balls before Raj Herath took over and sent down a ball that was duly launched into the stratosphere and towards the pavilion. Oliver was to be seen sprinting from one direction, but was always going to be a metre or two short when the compact and dynamic figure of one Gary Ngo appeared from the other direction and took the catch that, it is fair to say, probably won the match. Their spirits lifted by this consummate display of under-pressure fielding, the Strollers’ remaining balls were sent on their way to claim the last of the Thames Valley batsmen and what had begun to seem an unlikely victory was gratefully taken.
An excellent and most welcome tea was consumed and we look forward to the re-match with our genial hosts.
Captain and wkt: Rory Wood. Match fees: Richie Stubbs
Arkley
Saturday June 4 in Whetstone
Strollers won by 85 runs
Strollers 187-4 dec
(45 overs; Timperley 52, Rory Wood 43, Sam Brodbeck 30, Williams 22no)
Arkley 102
(39.2 overs; Simon Brodbeck 3-13, Macaulay 2-14, Crocker 2-14, Kelsey 2-30, Duff 1-17)
It's rare that a dressing room is of much interest in itself - normally it's just a place to change and shower or a quiet space for Piers Ovenden to rail against the latest injustice of the cricketing gods. However, the home ground of Arkley CC, the Dame Alice Owens Open Space in Whetstone, is no ordinary park pitch. For years it was the school playing field of the Dame Alice Owens School in Islington before it moved to Potters Bar. It was also used by the England football team in the 1950s and early 60s for training when Walter Winterbottom was the manager.
The building is probably best described as of the Edwardian municipal building school and the changing room is large, wood-clad and "in some need of modernisation". Indeed it doesn't take much to imagine the likes of Billy Wright, Tom Finney and Johnny Haynes in their heavy tracksuits preparing for a jog round the park. Wright liked the area so much that when he married one of the Beverley Sisters singing trio - Joy Beverley - they lived in Totteridge, which is now home to the likes of Arsene Wenger and David Ginola.
Arkley have played at the ground for 20 years and are at the mercy of council groundsmen who cut the grass but in common with park groundsmen everywhere don't see the point of removing the grass cuttings. Thus the outfield was a bit on the slow side. The pitch was also slow which would lead to many dismissals - most were caught in the outfield.
Skipper James Timperley won the toss and elected to bat in a time game. Aidan Selby and Rory Wood opened the batting but Aidan soon fell, caught at mid-wicket off Rakesh Patel. Timperley joined Rory and against decent bowling on a helpful pitch started steadily. The slow outfield meant a lot of twos rather than the boundaries that James in particular would normally get. With no limit on overs, Patel was able to keep going and was only conceding just over a run a ball in his 10 overs and Phil Knappett at the other end was also bowling well. Thus progress was slow. In the first hour Rory only scored eight runs and after 20 overs the score was only around 60.
Arkley's intended opening bowler Jake Sittampalam eventually turned up and embarked on a good 14-over spell (though it was to end wicketless). James carefully reached 50 and was out a couple of runs later, again mistiming Yash Shah to be caught at mid-wicket with 102 on the board. The 94-run partnership proved important in the game and while Rory’s contribution may only have been 22 of the partnership it helped set up the rest of the innings. He was moving the score along when Sam Brodbeck joined him with his usual more carefree approach. They pushed the score onto 155 before Rory was plumb lbw for a fighting 43 with Sam following shortly after for a quickfire 30. On most grounds Rory would have had a 50.
As tea and a declaration loomed, the skipper was looking to post at least 180. Jon Williams found the bowling to his liking, smiting the hitherto economical Knappett over the boundary for a four and six in consecutive balls and the Strollers closed on 187-4.
Warren Crocker and Ryan Duff opened the bowling after tea (good thick sandwiches, dark chocolate cake and Viscount biscuits being the highlights). Arkley had a good long time to get the runs but the combination of pitch and tight bowling meant that progress was slow. Batsmen tried to play shots to deliveries that were not quite coming onto the bat. First Jega Sittampalam was casually pouched by Williams at mid-off from Crocker, followed swiftly by Jake Sittampalam in the same combination. Duff then picked up skipper Nick Anson caught by Selby to leave Arkley 29-3. Richard Keightley replaced Warren (2-16) and bowled tidily without reward (0-11 off five overs). Opening bat Paul Lewis hung around having been dropped in the first over by Warren off his own bowling but was not being seduced into playing rash shots.
At the other end Alastair Macaulay tossed the ball up and had Adeel Haque brilliantly caught by Warren at mid-on. With 20 overs remaining the challenge has become one of taking the wickets rather than defending the total. Simon Brodbeck lured another victim to mid-on doom (Warren again). Alastair had Lewis smartly caught by skipper James at silly-mid off and was replaced by David Kelsey. Simon took a couple more wickets - both caught at mid-on by Warren, who ended with four outfield catches - a rare Strollers feat indeed.
It has now been achieved nine times for the club since 1976 and Crocker has done it three of those times. Another landmark passed unnoticed with Simon's first wicket – his 1100th for the club. We look forward to the quadruple Nelson (1111) which should only be a couple of matches away.
The good Doctor Kelsey's patented leggy-droppers are very effective when trying to winkle out otherwise limpet-like batsmen. The temptation to swing mightily was not resisted and one batsman played on and the end came with a drive to Timperley at mid-off. Nine catches and seven at either mid-off or mid-on tells its own story as the Strollers won by 85 runs. Even the Brylcreemed heroes of yesteryear would have applauded.
We then retired to the pub for a couple of light ales and orange juice.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Sam Brodbeck. Match fees: Jon Williams.
Warfield
Sunday June 5 in Warfield
Strollers won by five wickets
Warfield 157-8
(40 overs; Macaulay 5-31, Ovenden 1-4, Oliver 1-16, Elton 1-19)
Strollers 158-5
(38.4 overs; Oliver 47no, Ovenden 37, Elton 31no, McDougall 25)
The Strollers were greeted by hot sunshine in Warfield. Notable among the Strollers was Adam Fogarty, friend of Piers Ovenden, who was making his debut. Captain Piers was in favour of batting and so promptly lost the toss. Andy Douglas, the Warfield captain, was thinking what Piers was thinking and so opted to have a bat.
Having just arrived, Tom Elton was soon charging down the hill. Tom’s first delivery was hit straight back past him. Not wishing to repeat this first ball, Tom bent his back and extracted the edge of Harvey Fuller. Piers (opening from the other end) and Tom then produced a very tight opening partnership with very little for the batsmen to attack. After Piers bowled Leigh Johnson, Nick Thurlow and Ethan Fuller put on a watchful and well-made partnership. After a tight spell from Simon Brodbeck and a much looser one from Nick Logan, Piers decided it was time for some spin and Laurie Allsopp and Alastair Macaulay begin twirling.
Alastair struck in his first over, drawing a top edge from Thurlow which was confidently pouched by the debutant Adam. There was pressure from both ends as Laurie created numerous chances, but, unfortunately, the many chances he created did not lead to wickets. However, at the other end, Alastair had his tail up and was wreaking havoc in the Warfield middle order, taking another four wickets including (for variety) a bowled and a stumping. Alastair ended with figures of 5-30,. Future match managers would do well to take note of his career record at Warfield: 22 wickets at 13.50. Glen Oliver closed the innings and delivered his usual exocet missiles trained on the batsmen’s feet and picked up a wicket.
Some excellent batting from Morgan Price and Andy Sutcliffe at the close of the innings meant that Warfield ended with 157 from their 40 overs – a good score on what was a difficult pitch with variable bounce.
Ovenden and Hamish McDougall opened the batting for the Strollers and negotiated the conditions, whilst also ensuring that they stayed ahead of the run rate. Boundaries were hard to come by given the lush nature of the outfield and the slope on one side. In particular, the corner of the boundary by the lychgate was nearly impossible to reach – why the ground has a lychgate is a mystery which has puzzled the ecclesiastical community of Warfield for many years.
McDougall was caught off the bowling of Graham Morris for a well-made 25 and this precipitated a mini-collapse with George Calvocoressi (lbw), Piers Ovenden (run out), Sam Brodbeck and Laurie Allsopp (both caught) all departing in quick succession. The circumstances of Ovenden’s departure were the subject of some debate. The author understands there was some confusion as to whether Piers had called “wait” or “yes” with Sam thinking the former and Piers being mostly sure it was the latter. What was certain was that this flurry of wickets was caused by a period of tight bowling from Morris and Riyas Rajab. Riyas was particularly impressive and the Strollers greeted the end of his overs allocation with relief – he ended with figures of 8-3-8-2.
The Strollers need not have worried about the state of the chase though, as Glen “the Closer” Oliver had arrived at the crease and he, along with Elton, guided the Strollers comfortably home with positive hitting and urgent running. Glen ended just short of his half- century while Tom made 31.
The end of the match was not the end of the excitement for the day: Tom Wood, who hadn’t come all the way to Warfield to just umpire, had brought with him the latest in cricketing couture – ties for formal occasions (mind that open flame), long sleeve shirts (for the sun conscious) and short sleeve shirts (for the gun show). Tom was not the only vendor, though, as Piers, looking to declutter and achieve ultimate zen, was offering a selection of used goods including some of his Nickelback T-shirts.
Capt: Piers Ovenden. Wkt: Sam Brodbeck. Match fees: Laurie Allsopp.
Craneys Cavaliers
Tuesday June 7 in Barnes
Strollers won by eight wickets
Craney's Cavaliers 111-7
(20 overs; Keightley 3-8, Stubbs 2-36, Herath 1-18, Oliver 1-8)
Strollers 112-2
(14.1 overs; Osborn 30no, Swale 25no, Oliver 23no)
Let’s talk about the weather.
Last week the Midweek Strollers braved polar conditions in Sunbury. This week they headed, with some trepidation, through tropical thunderstorms to the splendidly appointed ground at Barn Elms next to the ominously named London Wetland Centre to take on Craney’s Cavaliers.
Upon arrival, the Strollers began to understand why this particular corner of south-west London is so popular with wildfowl...it doesn’t rain.
So, missing Aidan Selby, reportedly pursuing his own specialist ornithological interests in Norway, the Strollers took the field in sunny mood with Charlotte Stubbs filling in at third (wo)man for Sam Osborn, delayed in traffic.
Opening spells from Bart Fine and Rory Wood were wicketless but, combined with some sharp fielding from Stubbs (Charlotte rather than Richie) and Hassan Hadi and a stellar performance by Eric (‘look...no byes’) Swale as wicketkeeper, put the Cavaliers under such pressure that it was surely only a matter of time before the wickets would start to crumble.
And so it was to prove. Well thought-out bowling changes by skipper Glen Oliver saw Richie Stubbs, Raj Herath, Oliver himself, and Richard Keightley all take wickets, including good catches by Fine on the boundary and a scampering Wood at midwicket.
Keith Shannon and Osborn got the Strollers’ reply to the Cavaliers' 111-7 off to a blistering start and from then on they were always well ahead of the required run rate, with Swale, Oliver and Sudip Ray seeing the Strollers comfortably home...or at least as far as the excellent Red Lion pub with our congenial opponents for the evening.
Capt: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Eric Swale. Match fees: Richie Stubbs.
West Chiltington
Sunday June 12 in West Chiltington
Strollers won by 85 runs
Strollers 292-2
(40 overs; Timperley 119no, McDougall 82, Ferrick 64, Sam Brodbeck 21no)
West Chiltington 207-8
(40 overs; Oliver 2-17, Morgan 2-19, Macaulay 2-27, Ovenden 2-34)
It didn’t appear much of a day for cricket – many of the Strollers left London in the pelting rain, which may have led to a quizzical eyebrow or two from the inexperienced in the ranks as to how much cricket would be possible. They had not counted on the covered pitch and general excellent facilities of West Chiltington though, and despite a distinct grey hue in the sky, the game was very much on.
Captain Mike Morgan lost the toss and was inserted, which given the overhead conditions, may have been a concern. However, the first few overs allayed any such doubts. This was a road, with high, true bounce and pace, and opening batsmen Sam Ferrick and Hamish McDougall set about making the most of it. The West Chiltington opening bowlers served up some good stuff, but whenever they dropped short, perhaps enticed by the WACA-like bounce on offer, the Strollers openers dispatched them to the fence.
With the opening stand at 100 in the 19th over, Ferrick tried to carve through the off-side once too often and nicked through to the keeper for an entertaining 64.
The new man, James Timperley, immediately began making the most of the superb platform, being particularly prolific through and over cover off the front foot and hitting long and hard over midwicket when the snippers dropped short. His scoring rate was such that he almost beat McDougall to 50, which prompted harsh shouts of derision from his teammates!
This seemed to spur McDougall on, and the two matched each other run for run into the 80s, scoring at will at a rate of north of seven an over. The pair put on 125, at which point McDougall unselfishly perished trying to up the rate even further.
Timperley was joined by Sam Brodbeck, who proved an able foil for Timperley’s serene stride towards another century. On 99, Timperley hit one straight to a very short mid-on (or was it the bowler…), and instinctively and inexplicably called "yes". Time seemed to stand still as the fielder lined up the throw from 10 feet away, with Timperley beached mid-pitch and not even in the proverbial frame. The fielder missed by a gnat’s whiskers, and Timperley promptly thanked him for his generosity with a sincere handshake. The pair plundered 50 off the last five overs to finish on an imposing 292-2 from their 40 overs.
The bowling unit trudged onto the field knowing they were in for a test. It was, after all, a road. When the opening batsman smeared a good length ball from Piers Ovenden into the trees beyond the boundary in the fourth over, it was clear West Chiltington were not going to die wondering.
But Ovenden won the war by inducing an edge to Timperley, who must have thought this cricket malarkey was pretty easy as he pouched the chance at slip. Tom Elton struggled to find a good length – either it was threatening the batsman’s grill, or a half-volley that disappeared over his head and into the crèche next door – and soon captain Morgan had made a double change, bringing on Glen Oliver and Jim Hodgson. Not for the first time, it proved a masterstroke – Oliver had the dangerous Reuben Taylor middling one into the grateful hands of the diving Elton at gully.
Morgan brought back Ovenden, who immediately had Mick Armstrong caught at the wicket by McDougall. A crafty Oliver slower ball accounted for Wyatt, who had done some damage in making 41, and the top four were gone with less than 100 runs on the board.
From there, the slower bowlers turned the screws with some tight bowling, and the asking rate climbed. Alastair Macaulay continued his excellent start to the season with a typically miserly 2-28 from his eight overs, including getting top-scorer Jake Hodgson. Captain Morgan, having ‘retired’ from wicketkeeping, claimed a sharp return chance and a McDougall stumping (or was it a run-out?) to take 2-19. The youthful late-order batsman never had much of a chance of overhauling the score, and West Chiltington finished on 207-6 from their 40 overs, giving the Strollers the Marshall Cup for another year.
On a day which everything seemed to go right for the Strollers, the end of the game prompted more heavy rain, complete with thunder and lightning!
Capt: Mike Morgan. Wkt: Hamish McDougall. Match fees: Glen Oliver.
Peppard
Sunday June 19 at Peppard
Strollers won by seven wickets
Peppard 205-8
(40 overs; Macaulay 4-44, Oliver 1-13, Hodgson 1-33, Crocker 1-34, Simon Brodbeck 1-39)
Strollers 206-3
(33 overs; Oliver 78no, Selby 49no, Ovenden 32, Rory Wood 13)
Strollers headed out from London under blazing sunshine to the leafy rolling hills and meadows of Berkshire. After a successful navigation of the Henley bridge (no regatta to deal with this year!) the chosen few would arrive at the large, but very cosy field at Peppard. At late notice the Strollers were left with 10 men, George Calvocoressi being unable to make it, caring for family, a great Strollers value.
Captain Piers Ovenden’s hindsight was 20/20 suggesting that next time he is captain, someone else should do the toss. Losing the toss and being sent into the field with 10 men didn't really affect many Strollers, as they didn't even notice until the tea break. Perhaps this was down to the fielding efforts, or perhaps it was the very tight start that opening bowlers Warren Crocker and Bart Fine made against a young and talented William Legg and Fergus Nutt.
The bowling was tight, but the batsmen were able to put away anything wide or short. With the batsmen just starting to assert, a chance was put down at gully off Fine. With heads starting to dip, Crocker produced a superb yorker to Legg and knocked out middle stump. The rattle of the stumps was only matched by the rattle of hands from the Strollers. Such was the quality of the delivery, the non-facing batsmen Nutt said he would have been happy to get out to that ball.
Crocker bowled out and was replaced by Glen Oliver and Fine was replaced by Jim Hodgson at the pavilion end. Hodgson and Oliver toiled away and a few chances came and went. Ray Prince, who had joined Nutt, started to swing the bat as well. Runs flowed again until Hodgson strangled the in-form Nutt down the leg side and a superb catch was taken by Aidan Selby with the gloves on behind the stumps.
Oliver was caressed to the cover area three balls in a row, forcing captain Ovenden into three successive chases. With the captain remonstrating to Oliver to bowl the ball somewhere else Oliver forced a loose shot from the batsman and Ovenden didn’t move an inch to take the catch at mid-off.
From here it turned into the Alastair Macaulay show. With the batsmen looking to build on the good base (126 from just 20 overs), shots were played. Some boundaries were struck, but to the unfamiliar this is all part of the Macaulay method. Fielders were placed, the trap was set and one, two, three, four wickets were harvested: two catches to weekend debutant Mark Candlish at long-on and one to Fine at deep mid-wicket.
Macaulay’s other wicket was a lovely ball that defeated Gary Legg in the flight. Macaulay’s wickets kept the score at bay with only Richard Ashton (43) and Legg making substantial contributions. When all was said and done Peppard had made 205-8. Barring a classic through the legs misfield and some over- exuberant throwing by Rory Wood it was a great effort in the field with only four byes, one leg bye and two wides being conceded.
Tea was ample: an array of pizzas that would make Papa John feel inadequate, top notch bread and butter that raised dairy-based conversations between the Strollers’ Kiwi contingent, three different flavours of Brie and a meat sampler that would not feel out of place in your Sainsbury’s Local.
With Ovenden and Wood ready to go, the Peppard team bounced out to the middle, confident in the total they had made. The captain and Wood set about draining overs from the opening attack who bowled with pace and accuracy. Ovenden was able to score all the runs while Wood just watched (one ball from David Williams whizzing past his grill).
After Wood got off the mark in the eighth over a bowling change was made and Mark Chard Senior squeezed one through Ovenden’s defence. Candlish came out to make his weekend batting debutant. He made one before he was run out by Wood, looking for a quick single to the best fielder on the team. He ended short; Wood hung his head in shame.
Out came Oliver and the instructions were to pick up the pace. In doing so Wood was bowled by the spin of Josh Perkins. This bought Selby and Oliver together with 130 left to score in the remaining 20 overs. When the Peppard groundsman took to testing the recently refurbished ride-on lawn mower in the long outfield grass, there were more than a few quizzical eyebrows raised by the Peppard fielders. Oliver and Selby's eyebrows, however, were doing a dance of glee. They managed to test out the recently cut grass, finding the ball a lot easier to get to the boundary.
Building some very well-run singles at first then integrating some superb strokes around the ground for boundaries the Strollers pair set about constructing a partnership. Even when Peppard brought on the opening bowler of Williams and the even quicker William Legg, it was no match for Oliver and Selby. Oliver passed 50 and finished with 78, while Selby - despite enquiries to the match officials, scorers, groundsman, accounts and anyone else who would listen to pleas for a recount - was stranded on 49 not out.
The Strollers galloped home with 50 balls to spare and with the game over gathered by the pavilion to lay the icing on a great day’s cricketing cake. Piers Ovenden was gifted a bottle of Piper’s finest bubbles for reaching 100 games played for the club.
Capt: Piers Ovenden. Wkt and match fees: Aidan Selby.
Kempsford
Saturday June 25 at Kempsford
Match abandoned
Kempsford 80-6
(16.1 overs; Patston 3-17, Hodgson 2-8, Simon Brodbeck 1-7)
The Brexit storm was rumbling through the UK. The England rugby team had just finished rumbling through Australia on their record-breaking whitewash tour. The rain storms had been rumbling through Gloucestershire all week and the forecast was not good for a Saturday afternoon of cricket. As the Strollers and extensive travelling entourage assembled at The George for the latest edition of The Cotswolds Tour they were greeted by a short, sharp shower followed by glorious sunshine.
Skippers James Timperley and local man Ashley Tranter decided a reduced overs game was the best chance of completing a match so a 20-overs a side game was started. There was no little discussion later as to whether this was a 20/20 game, therefore not first class and not counting towards season and overall stats. Having listened to depositions from both camps Madam President ruled that it was a reduced overs game and, as we know, Maggie’s word is law.
The Strollers took to the field with Warren Crocker and Alastair Macaulay opening the bowling. For fear of slipping over in the delivery stride Warren used a reduced run-up that did nothing for his usual exemplary rhythm. The father and son opening pair of A & J Tranter set off at a decent pace with young Joe Tranter playing some nice shots, especially driving in the V. Jim Hodgson and Mike Morgan took over the bowling. Jim, bowling more consistently than in previous games, tempted Ashley Tranter into an uppish on-drive that was smartly caught by Morgan then sent down the even slower one to bowl Joe Tranter for 30. Mike, having recently taken the difficult decision to hang up his keeping gloves, went wicketless with his wily leg-spin.
Leggies were replaced by off-spin as Peter Patston came on up the hill. Assessing the conditions well Peter pulled the double-bouncer from his bag of tricks and bowled the unfortunate Mark Strange. Strange admitted later he had been out this way already this season. Strollers bowlers made a mental note to practise this delivery for next year. Peter then had Josh Deaman caught in the deep by Piers Ovenden for 23. Steve Simpkins also fell to Peter via a very good tumbling catch at wide fine leg by Morgan.
Simon Brodbeck, bowling downhill from the village end, tempted Pete Aspin to chip a catch to Brian Taylor at square leg, then after the first ball of his third over the heavens opened and the game was abandoned. Consolation in the shape of a wonderful tea was at hand. Morgan grinned like the Cheshire Cat on seeing two vast cakes but the man of the match was the tray of homemade scones topped with the Holy Trinity of raspberry jam, sliced strawberries and clotted cream.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Cricklade
Sunday June 26 at Cricklade
Strollers won by 53 runs
Strollers 204-1
(30 overs; Ovenden 83no, Timperley 57no, McDougall 29)
Cricklade 151-8
(30 overs; Taylor 3-14, Macaulay 2-15, Patston 1-16, Crocker 1-19, Simon Brodbeck 1-27)
Where do we start?
Grey scudding clouds, a cool day with rain expected later. he grass strip was sodden, so a change was made to the adjoining artificial wicket by the ever-accommodating Cricklade club. Thirty overs per side, in time to finish before the rain returned.
McDougall and Ovenden opened the batting on a slow, low-bouncing, but truish artificial wicket. They put on 70 runs in 13 overs before Hamish was caught having scored 29. During his innings he slipped and damaged his wrist, which did not deter him from later heroics. Whilst the Strollers' innings progressed, he was seen taking a long meditative walk. Was he struggling with some technical issue about playing round his front pad or whether he should he change to a two-leg stance? Or was it simply about blackberries?
Meanwhile, Piers and James Timperley put on 134 runs, sometimes hitting boundaries, but generally playing within themselves and not giving a semblance of a chance. eanwhile, young Sam Brodbeck was padded up, watching as, just as in the EU Referendum, older people were restricting his chances in life/cricket. The innings closed at 204-1, Ovenden 83* and Timperley 57*.
In the early overs of the Cricklade reply, damp and slippery conditions restricted the opening attack. Warren Crocker had trouble with the greasy run-up and cut down both run-up and pace. Nevertheless, an accurate spell by Jim Hodgson restricted the Cricklade run rate and created pressure from which a varied assortment of slow bowlers was later to benefit. Alastair Macaulay wheeled away, tempting younger players into injudicious strokes (6-0-15-2). Mike Morgan purveyed five overs of leg-breaks (not bad with a wet ball and a long, damp outfield). Peter Patston induced a stumping, and Brian Taylor bowled three overs of left-arm filth, taking best-ever Strollers’ figures of 3-14, all stumped by McDougall, whose performance as a one-armed wicketkeeper was admired by all. The result was a comfortable victory by 53 runs.
By the end of the game, a bedraggled, damp bunch of players trooped off, happy to eat tea provided by the welcoming home club. A hot shower was called for, even if it meant captain Piers borrowing, without permission, your writer's towel and proceeding to dry himself very thoroughly indeed, leaving no stone unturned. It's what the Strollers are all about.
Thanks to the organisers who excelled in everything over which they had control. Sadly, this did not include the weather.
Capt: Piers Ovenden. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Logistics Support officer: Tom Wood.
Chenies and Latimer
Sunday July 3 at Pinkneys Green
Strollers won by 29 runs
Strollers 242-4
(40 overs; Ovenden 108, Dorrans 57, Swale 35)
Chenies & Latimer 213
(37.5 overs; Simon Brodbeck 2-45, Macaulay 2-68, Hickman 1-10, Hodgson 1-22, Crocker 1-25)
They say Donald Bradman had tears in his eyes as he was bowled by Eric Hollies for a duck in his last Test appearance at the Oval in 1948. Though the emotion was as strong, Piers Ovenden did not let tears obscure a masterful performance in what could be his last Strollers game for some time.
His opening partner Paul Dorrans – in a flying visit from Hong Kong – was not so lucky. Halfway through the pair’s stand of 149, the tailoring entrepreneur had to call on the physio to wipe suncream out of his eyes – a precaution against the searing 20C heat of Pinkneys Green.
Spectators noted Dorrans was one of the first to arrive, a far cry from his days as a serial misser of flights.
Despite fine bowling, Ovenden pushed on and pushed Dorrans to breaking point. What seemed like hundreds of twos and threes were run to the enormous boundary square of the wicket on one side. While the Strollers’ captain appeared unruffled, Dorrans struggled to raise his bat as he passed 50. He fell soon after and was replaced by Eric Swale, who wasted no time in launching the ball high and long before being caught.
Ovenden passed his century – almost definitely tearful by now – before being bowled aiming to hit cars on the road over long-off. Matt Hickman got off to a rapid start but made the mistake of attempting a quick single off Warren Crocker, who Strollers observed was far too keen while filling in for the nine-man opposition.
Crocker and Hodgson led the charge, with Crocker dropping a sharp caught and bowled chance almost immediately. “That’s about the five you’ve missed this season isn’t it?”, the skipper wondered aloud. He will be missed.
The fall of the first C&L wicket brought another youngster to the crease. The new pair – combined age of 32 – soon began bludgeoning the ball over cow corner. C&L made steady progress but each bowling change seemed to bring a wicket, including two for Alastair Macaulay, whose path to a record-breaking year seems unstoppable.
Hickman, bowling full and straight, took his first Strollers wicket while Ryan Duff and Richard Keightley were unlucky not to pick up a scalp. The Strollers ran out winners by just 29 runs despite the two-man advantage but there was no taking the shine off for captain Ovenden.
A fine ton; a Strollers win; a balmy evening; a cool pint of Rebellion IPA; Ryan Duff’s varnished toenails – if this doesn’t have him coming back for more, nothing will.
Capt: Piers Ovenden. Wkt: Eric Swale/Sam Brodbeck.
Match fees: Simon Brodbeck.
L J Clark
Thursday July 7 on Wandsworth Common
Strollers lost by seven wickets
Strollers 86-8
(20 overs; Oliver 34no, Hadi 11)
L J Clark 90-3
(16.5 overs; Stubbs 1-7, Fine 1-13, Rory Wood 1-28)
Featuring a young James Stubbs and an even younger Cillian Knowles this was probably the youngest midweek Strollers side ever assembled. Worries of confusion over Wandsworth Park and Wandsworth Common were hot on the lips of the five Strollers who appeared at 1800. These fears were dispelled when a flurry of text messages revealed that work on this Thursday had been strenuous and that Southern Rail was, effectively, ruining commuters’ lives and conspiring against the midweek Strollers.
Captain Rory Wood won the toss and elected to bat, given that seven bodies may not be enough to cover the field, no matter how young they were. He and Aidan Selby faced the LJ Clark openers and the pitch. Selby and Wood were both quickly back in the hut after experiencing some variable bounce with the score at 5-2. Piers Ovenden followed suit and was also back on the sidelines in good time.
Hassan Hadi and Glen Oliver started to rebuild the innings but when Hadi holed out to mid-off on 11 the situation was looking bleak. Fortunately the reinforcements arrived. It would be to no avail, however. Mike Knowles was run out, Gary Ngo was bowled by a worm burner, Bart Fine hit a four and then was adjudicated lbw. James Stubbs came to the crease and hit three great runs before being unceremoniously run out by Oliver - an effort that would earn Glen an award from the opposition at the end of the match. After Richie Stubbs came and netted six runs the Strollers at least finished their 20 overs, a task that looked very unlikely early on. 86-8, enough said.
With few runs on the board, wickets were going to be the only way the Strollers could have any chance of a win, but this would not be how the game panned out. The strangle approach was applied by the bowling attack. Knowing that the opposition would have to bat on the same 22 yards gave some hope to Fine and Richie Stubbs who opened the attack: a miserly 16 off the first four overs.
Richie took a wicket in the 4th over, Ovenden pouching a high, whirling, over the shoulder effort at point. Fine chimed in next over to leave LJ Clark 2-20 after 5 overs. Ngo was bought into the attack and the next four overs went for just two runs. The pressure started to build on the opposition.
Rory Wood bought himself on and struck first ball, the variable bounce taking another victim. With the score at 36-2 after 12 overs the Strollers had worked themselves into a surprisingly buoyant position. Another tight over from Oliver and a maiden from Wood: 42-2 after 14. Could the Strollers snatch victory from the jaws of defeat?
No. The LJ Clark No 3 unleashed on Oliver, Wood, and then Ovenden to claim a 50 and also to see LJ Clark home with two overs to spare.
Every reign will one day come to an end, said some-one somewhere. They probably had no idea about what cricket is/was. They may have not even heard of "The Invincibles" – the Strollers side which went undefeated over 18 matches. Still the midweek Strollers have ridden luck and skill, braved unlikely weather and dodgier weather reports to fight on and win. And the midweekers will continue, stronger for this loss. Always looking forward to the next game knowing that they now have a new target to reach: 19 matches undefeated.
Capt: Rory Wood. Wkt: Aidan Selby. Match fees: Richie Stubbs.
Prestcold
Sunday July 10 at Pinkneys Green
Strollers won by 55 runs
Strollers 258-8
(40 overs; Selby 97, Addis 76, Oliver 49no, Fine 14, Rice 10)
Prestcold 203-8
(40 overs; Patston 4-45, Fine 1-16, Colbeck 1-18, Kelsey 1-20, Hanan 1-24)
A damp outfield in picturesque Prestcold greeted a jovial group of Strollers assembled from near and far. The Patstons made the journey down from Bath to bless the scorebook with both colours and figures while Jim Hodgson had roped in another of his seemingly limitless neighbours: Bakhtiar Hanan, who had impressively purchased a complete kit in honour of being selected.
Debut captain Glen Oliver quickly got on with losing the toss and Strollers were asked to bat on a wicket that looked green and spongy – looking on the bright side, Glen explained that at least the wet outfield would have the ball turn to soap within a few overs.
Jono Addis, making his 2016 Strollers debut and looking suitably refreshed after back-to-back summers afforded by a secondment back to the motherland, joined fellow kiwi David Rice at the crease to face the opening pair of Richard Fletcher and Andy Rosier. Variable bounce saw a circumspect start to the innings with Addis dropped at gully and just three runs from the first three overs before Rice opened his shoulders in the fourth, taking two boundaries from Rosier. The bowler’s comeback was definitive though, with a fine yorker removing his leg stump for 10.
This brought Aidan Selby to the crease, who together with Addis saw off the threat of the opening bowlers, taking the Strollers to 29-1 off 9. A couple of big overs from the first change bowlers and a drying outfield saw the score accelerate to 114-1 at drinks with both Selby and Addis demonstrating good timing on the leg side, with Addis bringing up his 50 off 69 balls with a cracking pull through forward square. Not to be outdone, Selby brought up his 50 in the 23rd over and the pair put on a hefty 133 for the second wicket before Addis was adjudged lbw to one that kept low, for a well-made 76.
This brought Tom Colbeck to the crease, who dutifully saw himself in for two balls before attempting to hoick Prestcold’s big off-spinner Stuart Matthews over cow but only succeeding in losing his castle. Captain Oliver sauntered in to bat and, complaining of tightness in his hamstring, canvassed Selby to avoid the near-suicidal singles the pair are now famous for taking.
Selby obliged by hitting hard straight and showing his class with deft late cuts through backward point, frustrating the opposition skipper into putting two and then three fielders behind point – it proved no matter to Selby, who kept finding the boundary, much to the delight of the on-looking Strollers.
Swinging across the line in the 36th over, however, Selby came up three runs short of his hundred; clean bowled by Alex Davies. A backbone innings greatly enjoyed by all (except those having to retrieve the ball from the long grass and nettles), but nevertheless frustrating to come so close and not convert the ton.
This brought Jim Hodgson to the crease, who swiftly departed again first ball in an innings described by Peter Patston as “Not one of your finest, Jim”. David Kelsey and debutant Hanan came and went for a handful of runs in the 37th and 38th over before Bart Fine bludgeoned 14 off the 39th.
Into the 40th, Fine holed out to deep midwicket, ensuring the batsmen crossed to give Oliver a fighting chance at a captain’s 50 – but with three balls to go and only needing four runs, Oliver got himself off strike on 49 and Patston sensibly batted for his average on the last ball of the innings, taking the Strollers to an solid 258-8 off their allotted 40 overs.
Taking to the field after an impressive tea, Fine and Rory Wood steamed in, attempting to extract some movement and bounce out of a hardening pitch and older ball. Fine had some success in his second over, bowling William Marsh for five, but that was the extent of the breakthroughs for the opening pair.
The skipper changed things up in the 12th over, bringing on Hodgson and Colbeck, the latter producing some prodigious bounce and turn with his wrist spin, bamboozling the Prestcold No 3 into rushing down the crease to smother the spin. The ball ripped past the outside edge and Selby, still sweating from his efforts at the crease, produced some sterling glove-work to have him stumped well short of his crease for an obstinate 33.
Hodgson toiled for no reward, his miserly line and length netting him figures of 4-1-12-0, but it was the introduction of Peter ‘The Destroyer’ Patston after drinks that sealed Prestcold’s fate. With the No 4 Alistair Grant and opener Phil Debois looking like they might dig in, Prestcold went from 75-2 to 78-4, with Patston taking two from two balls _ the dangerous looking opener and the lively opening bowler Fletcher _ with his inviting flight and deceptive dip. Both batsmen, looking to increase the run rate, holed out to catches by Oliver and Rice respectively.
Hanan charged in from the ‘tree end’, and although a bit expensive in his last over, took the important wicket of Grant, clean bowled for 24, an impressive all-round debut performance keeping the portal open for as many of Hodgson’s neighbours as he can muster, but it was Patston who would continue to make inroads, with more wickets in his 3rd and 5th overs with some more excellent glove work by Selby to take a second stumping, and a clean bowling of the No 9, finishing with figures of 6-0-45-4.
The Prestcold No 8 put up a great rearguard defence in the latter half of the innings with some strong straight and cover drives, but was quickly losing partners. Kelsey came on to bowl his flighted leggies when, in the final ball of his first over, dragged one short and the No 7’s eyes lit up. He middled the pull off the back foot, aiming a good four feet to the right of Rice at short midwicket. To his dismay, Rice produced a sure contender for catch of the year, throwing a right hand out and behind him, the ball sticking in his palm with his body horizontal, three foot off the ground. He never looked like dropping it.
Matt Rosier went on to make his 50 off 41 balls, ending the innings on 65 not out, as he and the No 10 Dan Riley kept the good balls out to stymie the Strollers’ hunt for all 10 wickets. Prestcold eventually finished their 40 overs at 203-8: a Strollers win by 55 runs.
Pats on the back to Selby, for the batting and keeping, Patston for the bowling, Rice for the general athleticism in the field and Madame President for the impeccable record of the match. The Strollers retired back to whence they came celebrating a win and a proper start to the sunny English summer.
Capt: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Aidan Selby. Match fees: David Rice.
Demijohns
Saturday July 16 at St John's College, Oxford
Strollers won by 13 runs
Strollers 239-4
(40 overs; Hodgson 86no, Keightley 81no, Sam Brodbeck 29)
Demijohns 226-8
(40 overs; Macaulay 2-36, Stubbs 2-47, Duff 1-30, Simon Brodbeck 1-45)
The Strollers could not have asked for a more glorious day nor a more freshly groomed outfield than they were greeted with at St John’s College. Upon arrival, groundsman and honorary life-member of the Demijohns Ian Madden was just putting the final touches to his twice-daily mowing schedule that had preceded the match, setting the scene for a batsman’s paradise.
To the surprise of several fellows, their once-team-mate Piers Ovenden took his place in the field for the home side, perhaps hoping to ensure his solid innings from two weeks before stayed etched in the record books as his last for the Strollers in 2016. With unprecedented enthusiasm he set about stifling the Strollers’ openers with three consecutive maiden overs.
At the other end Dom Hewitt suffered the consequences as Eric Swale, frustrated by the slow start, signaled his intentions with a glorious boundary via the aerial route, turning his nose up at Madden’s outfield or perhaps just unable to make the dash between the wickets after his leisurely ride in the Etape the previous weekend. Hewitt, however, took immediate revenge, cutting straight through Swale and sending him on his way wondering what might have been. Kris Miller followed shortly after as did debut Stroller Mark Young, both falling prey to Ovenden’s frustratingly consistent line and length. With the Strollers in a touch of strife at 27-3 after eight overs, Sam Brodbeck and Jim Hodgson settled the ship and made the most of the physics-defying frictionless outfield, pushing the side to 86 almost exclusively through boundaries. But alas it was to be a short-lived partnership, as Brodbeck was scuttled for 29.
Richard Keightley joined Hodgson and they did their best to avoid running in the afternoon heat, and kept the scoreboard ticking over at a modest rate. At some point, Keightley perhaps imagined he heard a comment about his sister and with that he was down the wicket and sending one skyward towards the parking lot.
With pinpoint accuracy, he landed his missile on the roof of Hodgson’s better-half’s prized auto. This may have triggered Hodgson’s furious finish, belting 18 off the final over to finish on a match-saving 86 not out, demolishing his previous Stroller’s best (74 not out v West Hoathley 12 years prior) and teaching the young Keightley, who finished on 81 not out (also his Strollers best), a lesson or two. In the end the two set a Strollers record-breaking partnership of 153 for the fifth wicket, posting a not unachievable target of 239 for the home side.
After an excellent spread of tea from the hosts, captain Alastair Macaulay rewarded Hodgson for his 32 overs at the crease by sending him in to open the bowling along with Ryan Duff. The two kept the openers impressively suppressed, keeping the run rate at less than three an over for the first 12. A fine run-out from Duff brought Madden out to the wicket and he went on the attack. But the ruthless Strollers bowlers kept the run rate under control and the wickets tumbling.
Richie Stubbs had a blinder in the field, with two wickets, a catch and a run-out. Macaulay, Duff and Simon Brodbeck all took wickets and left the Johns with a difficult second-half chase, needing 140 off the last 15 overs. With Ovenden leading the charge the seemingly impossible task nearly became reality, until Ovenden unsuccessfully tried to call through a sketchy second run with two overs remaining. He was left stranded, with not a consoling shoulder in sight from his team-mates nor his Strollers ex-comrades. With Ovenden dismissed for 61, the final batsmen put up a valiant fight in the closing overs but ultimately fell short, finishing the day on 226 and leaving the Strollers triumphant.
And so the curtain fell on another fine day of cricket, and after cold brews were administered all around the Strollers dispersed to their daily lives, eager to return again.
Capt: Alastair Macaulay. Wkt: Kris Miller. Match fees: Eric Swale.
Tadworth
Sunday July 17 at Tadworth
Strollers won by 110 runs
Strollers 275-4
(40 overs; Selby 105, Oliver 101, Swan 15, Colbeck 14no)
Tadworth 165
(40 overs; Fine 4-19, Jones 2-18, Colbeck 2-43, Simon Brodbeck 1-30, Macaulay 1-47)
A drizzly start to the day may have had some Strollers concerned on the drive down, however the English summer well and truly kicked in just as play began, and we were in for a scorcher.
Skipper James Timperley tossed up with the clubhouse a distant blur from the crease. First scalp of the day: we were batting.
The skipper then led the men out with Aidan Selby, in good form, desperate to go three better than that 97 from the previous week. A sticky wicket proved for a cautious couple of opening overs, Timperley getting a tight lbw decision turned down for an element of doubt. Bat to ball was of foremost importance, and he certainly managed it with some ferocious vigour to get off the mark. It was met with a quite unexpected, but brilliant one-handed catch at mid-on. The longer-walk-than-most to the pavilion began and his Strollers career average came crashing down from 71.04 to 70.31.
Glen Oliver bounded to the crease, eager to join his comrade. Oliver was the main aggressor, reaching 50 in no time at all, but Selby was hot on his heels. The 100 mark came first for Oliver too, which saw him then hole out to mid-off. To the innocent passer-by, the groans on his return to the clubhouse might have sounded as though he had got nought. Selby and Oliver put on 198 for the second wicket – some way off the record 222.
Tim Swan took to the crease and looked at ease with the pitch from ball one. With Prestcold clearly on his mind, Selby now entered the nervous 90s and did his best to get out on 96, only to be dropped at long-on. It was just the motivation he needed, and he then knuckled down to pass the century mark. Cheers from the boundary filled the air. The concentration didn’t last much longer, though, and he was bowled for 105.
Tom Colbeck joined Swan at the middle and watched him quickly get to 15 before being dismissed whilst attempting another thrashing blow. This brought Mat Jones to the crease for his Strollers debut. Jones got off the mark quickly and Colbeck put bat to ball to finish the innings off with a flurry of maximums to reach an innings total of 275.
Now we were in for a treat. I had heard rumours of the sublime teas on Strollers outings, but I had never experienced one quite as good or abundant as this. No fewer than five different cakes down the hatch, and the Strollers waddled out to field.
With his usual pinpoint aggression, Bart Fine opened the bowling with deft accuracy. From the other end, to his surprise, Colbeck was asked to open to try and entice Tadworth into going after this substantial total. The two tied them down, until releasing the secret weapon - the bad ball. Fine struck first, aided by a magnificent catch by Alastair Macaulay prowling the offside. Colbeck followed suit to catch a rank full toss off his own bowling. A plan was taking shape.
Up stepped debutant Jones, who had been taking it all in with keen interest. With his very first ball he struck blood in much the same manner as the first two wickets, Macaulay surpassing his previous effort with a running catch on the boundary. Textbook fielding. Jones was keen to make his mark again, and managed to find the edge to bring his total to two wickets for the day.
The Strollers were now on a roll and Tadworth were soon seven down for under a hundred.
Macaulay and Simon Brodbeck stepped up to bowl and ground them down, each taking a wicket to add to their career tally. Before Fine came back to knock off two in a row to bring up his first Strollers hat-trick opportunity, but alas it was not to be. Brodbeck put the innings to bed with the help of Timperley’s fine grasping.
A convincing Strollers victory was finished off with some well-earned sun-downers. A fine wandering Sunday for all those involved.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt and match fees: Tim Swan.
Westminster
Thursday July 21 on Wandsworth Common
Strollers won by five wickets
Westminster 79-9
(20 overs; Stubbs 3-9, Herath 2-13, Oliver 1-7, Duff 1-8, Rory Wood 1-9)
Strollers 81-5
(15.1 overs; Shannon 25no, Swale 18, Selby 13)
On a muggy July evening in Wandsworth the Strollers assembled to take on the men of Westminster CC. Whilst warming up it was pointed out to captain Steve Tjasink that fielding 12 men was an old public-school custom that had fallen out of favour with the ICC. However, as the opposition had also brought a spare it seemed churlish to conform to rules, and so the Strollers were able to form a cricketing “ring of steel” around the parched square.
Before the crowd of two had time to take their seats Ryan Duff had bowled the perfect outswinger to send their bemused opener back to his comrades on the boundary. After a fine catch by Tjasink off the penetrating bowling of Rory Wood, the third wicket pair were looking steady until they both ended up chatting to keeper Eric Swale whilst bowler Glen Oliver calmly removed a bail at his end for the runout.
The Oliver/Swale combination struck again in the same over to leave Westminster on 46-4 and they were further hampered by the retirement of their impressive No 4. Further fine outfield catches by Richard Keightley and Wood kept the Strollers in control, leaving Sudip Ray and Richie Stubbs to bowl the “death” overs. Perhaps taking this too literally, Ray’s half-track first ball took off like an A380 and earned a stern look from the umpire. Stubbs then delivered the coup de grace with a couple of tail-end wickets leaving him nicely poised on a hat-trick when he returns from his holiday villa sometime later this year.
Chasing 79 runs the Strollers started well before Mark Young was caught trying to chip over the infield. This brought in Aidan Selby who dazzled the fielders with a couple of boundaries and his new surfing/cricket hybrid shorts.
At the other end Keith Shannon would have impressed his new chief, the cricket-loving Rt Hon B Johnson, and the diplomatic opener showed both panache and finesse before retiring for a solid 25. A quickfire 18 from Swale took the Strollers towards victory, leaving Ray and Raj Herath to finish the game with a few overs to spare and more time to spend at the pleasant County Arms with our congenial opponents.
Capt: Richie Stubbs. Wkt and match fees: Eric Swale.
Hurley
Sunday July 24 at Hurley
Strollers won by 74 runs
Strollers 214
(42.1 overs; Keightley 68, Timperley 47, Ferrick 19, Oliver 14, Rory Wood 21no)
Hurley 140
(40.3 overs; Rory Wood 3-25, Devereux 2-23, Simon Brodbeck 2-30, Ferrick 1-0, Logan 1-13)
The Fleet Street Strollers have, in recent times, had a distinctly antipodean flavour. At Hurley for a time game, the Strollers were overwhelmingly Kiwi. It fell to the only Brits, Neil Devereux and Simon Brodbeck, to try and spare at least a few vowels from massacre by the Kiwi “boyce”.
Captain James Timperley won the toss, and much to the decidedly dusty (Ryan) Duff’s delight, elected to bat. On paper the Strollers had one of their strongest possible batting line-ups including Jono Addis, Sam Ferrick, James Timperley, Glen Oliver and Hamish McDougall. However, the pitch at Hurley had little regard for their illustrious reputations as Addis was out lbw to a ball which barely bounced and Ferrick spooned up a catch after the ball stuck in the pitch. Oliver also didn’t stick around for too long and McDougall’s usually impenetrable defences were then pierced first ball by Scott Taylor. Devereux also departed for a duck and the Strollers were in serious trouble at 51-5.
Richard Keightley, who had been banished to the Strollers equivalent of the naughty corner to write the match report from the previous week (tisk tisk), then joined Timperley at the crease. The pair then proceeded to drag the Strollers out of the mire with a partnership of 81 runs. Things could have been quite different though, as Keightley was bowled off a no-ball early in his innings. Keightley seized on this piece of luck and played a fluent innings. Timperley was out just short of his half-century and Nick Logan followed suit shortly after. Rory Wood and Keightley kept the momentum going though and when Keightley was out for a well-made 68 the Strollers were in a much safer position at 196-8. Rory Wood, much like his fellow left hander Gilchrist, expertly guided the tail and the Strollers ended up at 214 all out – a good score considering the pitch still contained a few demons.
After a nap during the first innings, and some carb loading at tea, Duff had recovered sufficiently to open the bowling. Keightley (bowling from the other end) and Duff were unable to make a breakthrough and the Hurley openers serenely made their way to 35 off the first five overs. Skipper Timperley, in a captaining masterstroke, then introduced Wood to the attack, and instructed Rory to institute a low full toss mode of attack. Sure enough, Wood placed the ball on the spot and had both Amir Ali and Yasir Gul caught in his first over.
After those initial breakthroughs, Hurley continued to lose wickets with Duff and Logan profiting from some loose shots. Devereux and Brodbeck then began to turn the screws with some tight bowling and both picked up two wickets – including a sharp stumping from McDougall off Devereux. At 122-9 it looked like the Strollers would comfortably claim victory and be home for an early tea. However, they would first have to get past the contrasting pair of the ten-year-old Hassan Gul and the imposing Mo Basharat.
As the shadows lengthened across the pitch, Gul and Basharat managed to preserve their wickets and inch closer and closer to the safety of the close of play. Gul, barely taller than the stumps, was nonplussed by the numerous close catchers which Timperley had put in place and continued to watch the ball closely.
With only two overs more to survive, it began to look as if Hurley would secure the draw but, off the third ball of Ferrick’s last over, Addis held a good catch at short midwicket to have Gul out - Gul was applauded back to the pavilion by the Strollers and his team-mates for an innings which defied his years. Gul and Basharat had survived for 76 deliveries for 18 runs – the type of partnership which can only come, or be appreciated, in a time game.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees: Richard Keightley.
Commons Old Boys
Thursday July 28 in Barnes
Strollers won by five wickets
Commons Old Boys 128-2
(15 overs; Herath 1-14, Tjasink 1-22)
Strollers 129-6
(14.9 overs; Selby 30no, Bobby Sharp 22no, Shannon 16, Ngo 13)
With a typically ominous summer weather forecast, and a string of cancelled midweek matches, it came as a welcome surprise to the Strollers XI that they would not be spending a drizzly evening in the pub discussing past glories. Instead captain Glen Oliver led his gritty squad out to a greasy Barnes pitch, and so, with a strong opposition and a soapy pink concrete bullet skidding around, questionable fielding and subsequent intra-Strollers sledging was guaranteed.
Were Aidan Selby and Richard Keightley caught napping with early missed opportunities to take down the openers behind the stumps or was that the slippery ball? Was Ryan Duff still suffering from his heavy weekend or was that an unlucky second over? Was that uncharacteristic Oliver misfield a ploy to entice a run-out? Only Stephen Tjasink and Raj Herath managed to take wickets, through some fine full and straight bowling. Otherwise the opposition took full advantage of the Strollers' short length offerings, belting out a strong total of 128-2 off the abbreviated 15-over innings.
The skies cleared and the showers eased away as Keith Shannon and Matt Hickman strolled to the centre to lead the early charge. Needing nine an over there was no time to be wasted on the defensive start. The pair started well but Hickman was the first to go, losing his off stump aiming for the skies. Shannon followed shortly after, caught for 16.
Selby and Strollers debutant Bobby Sharp added some necessary spice to the run rate, and both stuck around long enough to retire not out on 30 and 22 respectively. Frantic sideline pad swapping ensued as the middle order crumbled, including the captain who (in an apparently selfless strategy) immediately sacrificed his wicket to allow the lower order an opportunity to put the winning runs on the board. Newcomer Will Sharp added a few more to the total in a short stint, as did regular Gay Ngo through some sharply executed shots behind square.
And so it was left to Duff and Herath to steer the Strollers through the final few nailbiting overs, with Herath nudging away the winning runs (for the second week in a row) with a nerve-wracking one ball to spare.
Emerging victorious once more, the squad retired to the Red Lion to discuss present and past glories anyway, not to mention such mind-bending dilemmas as how to signal four no balls if the batsman didn't hit it...
Capt: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Aidan Selby. Match fees: Gary Ngo.
Central Brittany
Saturday July 30 in Silfiac
Strollers won by 135 runs
Strollers 238-2
(35 overs; Timperley 141no, McDougall 72, Ball 21no)
Central Brittany 153
(24.5 overs; Duff 3-46, Macaulay 3-46, Patston 2-11, Hodgson 1-29, Simon Brodbeck 1-9)
Once again the Strollers gathered from all directions in Pontivy. The Brodbecks from the far West, Jim, Jo and Fin from the Alps and others by ferry and plane. Tom and Alastair, fresh from examining the menhirs of Carnac and Breton country dancing (hokey-cokey in stripy shirts), revealed that the secret of their touring co-existence is separate rooms and a good night's sleep all round.
The lovely owners at the Hotel Europe greeted us warmly, pausing only to admonish us that we hadn't remembered the front door access code from last year. It had actually changed but the wifi code hadn’t. After everyone had a light supper in a nearby restaurant and a glass of wine, Jim Hodgson shepherded us back to the hotel for an early night (in an alternate universe).
There may have been some late night drinking.
The tour shirts were handed out at breakfast and were swiftly pronounced a hit - a rugby shirt in light and dark blue quarters. Possibly too warm for high summer, but ideal for autumn pursuits like rugby watching and beer drinking.
The Strollers set off for Silfiac the home of Central Brittany CC. Or at least most of them did. Alastair Macaulay came downstairs to find that all cars had left. Luckily they hadn't gone too far so a swift about-turn and he was picked up. Meanwhile skipper Brian Taylor was considering his options. Having won the toss he elected to bat in a 35-over game and pushed a slightly reluctant Tom Wood out to open with Hamish McDougall.
The Silfiac ground is essentially football pitch shaped with rusty goalposts at either end and very close boundaries on either side. This plays into the strengths of Hamish, who was quick to dispatch anything short to the boundary. Tom Wood's innings was short: dot, elegant four off his legs, glove to the keeper. On his return he was at pains to point out to the skipper that at least his scoring rate was good at 1.33. James Timperley went in at three and he and Hamish proceeded without any problems at six an over rising to seven and after 20 overs the score was 140-1. James reached his 50 off 44 balls and Hamish 58. James got to his century off 82 balls which included a couple of mighty blows out of the ground.
Hamish was bowled by a ball that kept low for a well-earned 72 having put on 179 for the second wicket. Jeff Ball wandered out with seven overs to go and instructions to play his natural game, which is a mixture of play-and-miss and boundaries clattered square of the wicket. The excitement under the scoring umbrella was whether James could reach his highest ever score for the Strollers (148) but he just fell short at 141 not out, Still, good for the average. Jeff and James put on a rapid 61 with Jeff on 21 not out as the innings closed on 251-2. Ryan Duff slowly undid his unused pads as the players left the field and sighed...
Needing over seven an over, Central Brittany openers Sohul Monjur and Chuwenda Biswal set off at pace to try and keep the target within range. Biswal was looking good until he drilled a sharp catch back at Ryan Duff who clung on. Monjur in particular continued the assault and after five overs the score was 51-1. Skipper Lee Snelling had come to the crease and was also looking comfortable when Jim Hodgson had him lbw for 13. Ryan was bowling well despite some punishment and had his reward getting the dangerous Monjur lbw for 47 off 26 balls (including two sixes) and quickly followed up by bowling Ali for four to leave Central Brittany 75-4 off 11 overs and the match firmly in Strollers hands. Ryan had 3-46 off six overs and had taken the key wickets.
Macaulay replaced Hodgson (1-29) and in his second over was dispatched for consecutive sixes by Tom Howson, one of which hit an unwary spectator who was thankfully not badly hurt. With many runs to play with, skipper Taylor was able to keep Alastair on despite him struggling to find the right length. Peter Volz also took advantage of a few full tosses as well. Luckily at the other end Simon Brodbeck (1-9) was much more parsimonious and had Howson caught by Timperley.
Eventually Alastair lured George Snelling to loft one towards mid-off where Hodgson was lurking and who realised that the ball was actually possibly within his grasp. He lunged, held on, but in doing so, cut his finger badly and had to go off. The next ball was a repeat and ended up in Duff's hands. An lbw followed and Alastair finished with a slightly fortuitous 3-46. Peter Patston chipped in with a couple of wickets at the end, one an lbw and the other a fine caught and bowled and Central Brittany were all out for 150.
The match ended in slight confusion as CB sent in an agreed No 12 bat with the match officially over. This was to give their extra man and Fin Perrin some game time. Fin had spent most of the match fielding at fine leg at both ends, stopping pretty much everything and showing that he could throw further than some of his elders. He also scampered at the change of overs to the other end of the field without complaint. Keith Pont of Essex once used a bicycle for this during a county match.
CB fired up the barbeque and we all tucked into burgers and hot dogs, chatting to our genial hosts. A creperie had also been booked back in town so the Strollers then made their way back to the hotel. However, the creperie denied all knowledge of any booking and so a substitute was swiftly found by Jo Perrin. After much debate as to whether it was the same one as last year we headed off from the inevitable bar. It wasn't the same one as last year.
Fin ate his own bodyweight in pancakes and ice cream and was whisked off to bed. The "adults" pottered along the street to Bob’s bar to try and drink them out of rose wine and for Brian to bask in the glow of victory before passing the baton to James for Les Ormes. There was probably some right old nonsense talked about the match but no-one remembers.
Capt: Brian Taylor. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Des Ormes
Sunday July 31 at Domaine Des Ormes
Strollers lost by six wickets
Strollers 202-4
(35 overs; Timperley 73no, McDougall 69, Taylor 14, Tom Wood 14, Ball 10)
Cricket Club Des Ormes 203-4
(21 overs; Duff 1-44, Macaulay 1-52, Simon Brodbeck 1-39)
Café liegoise is a cold dessert of French origin, made from lightly sweetened coffee, coffee flavour ice cream and chantilly cream. Perhaps it was a sign of Brian Taylor’s louche leadership style that he, having been skipper for the day against Central Brittany, encouraged his troops to indulge themselves at the Creperie Marie Helene in the glow of victory.
But, some hours later, as the clock struck midnight in the back room of Pub Bob in deepest Pontivy, it was clear that a new management style had taken over with James Timperley, captain for the Sunday game against Cricket Club Des Ormes, ordering a strict curfew and a focus on the job in hand.
I fear, dear reader, that the change in direction did not bear fruit.
Since losing to the Bank of England on May 21, the Strollers had notched up 13 consecutive victories with nine Sunday wins, two on Saturdays, one in the Cotswolds and a Timperley-inspired victoire in Silfiac the previous day. The juggernaut was to crash to a shuddering halt.
The setting was perfect. In front of the sixteenth century chateau – where Arnaud de la Chesnais looks out over his 200-hectare estate which has been transformed over the years into an upmarket Centre Parks with tree houses, golf course, water park, hotel and camp site – was a cricket pitch. And as the Strollers arrived to do battle they were able to pick up some tips from the ladies as France Women were in the process of beating Jersey Women by nine wickets. They noted with interest the tracksuited coaches and organised warm-downs – rather similar to the Strollers’ own matchday routine.
Batting first in a 35-over game, Brian Taylor and Hamish McDougall began proceedings and soon discovered that this was going to be hard work. Assad Rana (4-0-18-0) and Wayne Ackroyd (4-1-17-0) kept it tight and then Hamid Daulatsi (7-0-34-1) and Madu Bala (5-0-24-0) gave nothing to hit. On the artificial wicket the bounce was true but the bowling was sharp – sharp enough for Timperley to ask for his lid. “Before this weekend I had never worn a helmet for the Strollers,” confessed the skipper.
Off the field the wags had already been busy with the baguettes and jambon – and the emergency services nearly had to be called when Jeff Ball was showered in red wine as the dining table collapsed in dramatic fashion.
Taylor (14) fell and Timperley and McDougall (69) went on the attack as best they could. Tom Wood (14) sealed his welcome return to the game by looking fluent until he heaved across the line. Jeff Ball (10) contributed in his own unique way – “A lot of Jeff’s batting moves are based on fencing,” said a watching expert. “La lunge, the parry. Very curious.”
Timperley, who finished on 73 not out, brought up the 200 with a six off the final delivery and Ryan Duff - who had spent the entire weekend waiting to bat - announced mournfully: "I seem to have spent my entire Strollers career with my pads on."
Des Ormes skipper David Hird had somehow managed to prepare a wonderful tea while spending the afternoon on the field, and the grateful Strollers and supporting entourage took refreshment.
Could 200 be defended? The short answer was: Not quite.
The youthful Bala, who scored a century against the Strollers in the 2015 Silfiac fixture, carried on where he had left off, striking every ball which was slightly off line far into the distance. He posted 63 off 27 deliveries. Jamshid Rana lost a few balls before retiring on 72 and Daulatsi showed he was not just a bowler by carting the hapless attack into the next province. Only Finlay Perrin - who bowled the sole maiden of the innings - could take any satisfaction from his performance.
After just 21 overs – a run rate of 10.15 –it was all over. “My figures look OK,” said the undaunted Duff. “I took 1-44; let’s draw a veil over how many overs I bowled.”
And so the Strollers’ winning sequence came to an inglorious end. But the sun shone; the game was played in a good spirit; the setting was perfect; the hospitality was warm and generous.
At the post-match warmdown (not conducted by a tracksuited coach but orchestrated in the hotel restaurant by head sommelier Tom Wood), two toasts were drunk: to chairman Kimball Bailey and to the triumphant pair of Aidan Selby and Jono Addis who, far away in distant Amersham, had posted a staggering 271 for the first wicket – a record for any wicket in the club’s history.
Bonne poisson indeed.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Amersham Hill
Sunday July 31 in Amersham
Strollers won by 237 runs
Strollers 322-2 dec
(40 overs; Selby 128, Addis 105, Keightley 30no, Oliver 19no)
Amersham Hill 85
(21.3 overs; Fine 5-26, Hickman 2-26, Tjasink 2-33)
A cloudy but warm day greeted the Strollers as they descended upon Amersham. Captain Jono Addis, always the perfectionist, had arrived early to assess the pitch, taste the grass, pace out the distances to the boundaries and soak up some of the atmosphere that was building as kick-off time approached.
“We’ll look to bat,” Jono whispered to the other Strollers present as strategies were being discussed. Was it the pitch? The fast outfield? Maybe Jono’s lucky jock strap telling him to bat? Alas, no, “We’ve only got four players” was the very correct statement made as Jono marched out. Losing the toss, the Strollers were surprisingly put into bat anyway as their remaining players staggered into the ground.
Jono and his sidekick Aidan Selby strode out to the middle with their previous partnership of 133 at Prestcold a long way from their minds as they looked to negotiate the first few overs off a pretty lively pitch. A perfectly timed cut shot from Selby in the second over whistled towards the boundary and as he and Jono chatted in the middle of the pitch they were horrified to see the ball pull up short. It was the first three of the day and unfortunately, or perhaps it was simply bad shot section, they regularly hit the ball to that longest part of the field and deservedly had to run many a three throughout the afternoon.
Selby edged a sharp chance between keeper and first slip and was relieved to see the one-handed attempt from the keeper be put down in the fourth over. Despite that blemish, both openers knuckled down and played some delightful shots to get the team off to a flying start. The 50 came up in the sixth over as the opening bowlers were dispatched to all corners of the ground. Even when the bowlers were changed, the scoreboard kept ticking along. Selby had another lucky escape when Jono smashed a four over square leg. Their fielder was then pushed back onto the boundary. Two balls later Selby skied one to right where he was previously standing - which signalled this may be the openers’ day.
With the run-rate starting to decrease from 10 an over towards the much more pedestrian eight an over, and with Selby outscoring his captain, Jono could feel the pressure on his shoulders building. His response was to hit 22 (6, 6, 4, 4, 0, 2) off the tenth over to bring the score up to 97 off 10 overs.
Selby was first to bring up his 50 and was closely followed by Jono. The runs kept flowing, with both openers continuing to punish the bowling with some beautiful and elegant shot selections. Jono’s ramp shot to third man for four from a full delivery down leg was one of the shots of the day. With 150 off 15, the Strollers decided to slow down with drinks approaching and they hit the break with a very respectable 185 from 20 overs.
The shots and the runs continued to flow with Selby (luckily not knowing he was in the 90s) bringing up his century and the partnership motoring towards 250. Without the Strollers “Godfather” Simon Brodbeck on hand, Glen “I have a cricket rules app on my phone” Oliver dug out the history books to discover that the current record for any Strollers wicket was an unbroken 267 by Stuart McKenzie and Evan Samuel against Hurley in 1996.
Another Jono four brought up his century and with an extra rousing applause and yelling from the sidelines signalling to the tiring openers they had achieved “some sort of record”. With 271 runs on the board and seeing poor No 3 Richard Keightley being padded up for 33 overs, Selby unselfishly skied out to deep point for 128. Jono, obviously with tears still in his eyes from losing his opening partner, and no doubt also trying for the record of shortest second wicket partnership, holed out in the same manner two balls later for 103.
With only a few overs to play with, Keightley smashed a quickfire 31, including a glorious six over long-off, while Oliver, with one eye on his ever-growing average, hit a composed 19 to leave the Strollers declaring on an imposing 322-2.
With a spring to their steps (except Bart Fine who commented he probably had too much pizza for lunch) the Strollers were determined to back up their batting with a good fielding performance. The debate on who would be keeper was sorted when debutant Mike Pittams made the mistake of saying he had once seen a keeper on TV which made him the most qualified keeper in the team and he was duly passed the gloves.
Those who were present last season fondly remember watching the first ball disappearing over the clubhouse never to be seen again (not mentioning names but the bowler may be related to Frodo) so this year’s first ball was a much better head-high beamer which only cost one run and thankfully the use of the ball again.
Fine and Steve Tjasink took a few balls to settle but were regularly bowling the right channels. Tjasink snagged the first wicket in his second over via an edge that was sharply caught by Selby in the gully. Some sharp fielding by Jonty Rhodes, otherwise known as Nick Logan, and Amersham’s best batter was walking back to the pavilion for 22. Another Tjasink wicket had the opposition at 48-3. Matt Hickman replaced Tjasink and, after quite rightly testing the debutant keeper out with some rather wide bowling, he surprised the batter with the straight one that rattled the stumps.
After eight overs of good but unlucky bowling, Fine was told the ninth would be his last. After muttering how unfair cricket can be and on other days he would have had a few wickets, Fine’s luck finally turned. He got his first wicket caught at short cover and with his next ball being full and straight, had the plumbest of lbws for his second. His hat-trick ball was on target but was well kept out.
Shrewd captain Jono offered Fine another “last” over where the bowler happily delivered another two wickets. The first was the Amersham captain, who decided to leave a straight one that clattered into off stump. Next ball the stumps were again rattled to set Fine up for his second attempt at a hat-trick. Again it was kept out but suddenly Amersham were 75-8. Hickman took the ninth wicket with Oliver taking a good catch and duly saved the last wicket for Fine, who had his third “last” over and again rattled the stumps to end the game and claim his fifth wicket, to end with 5-26, after being 0-24 only 13 balls previously.
As the team unwinded with £3 jugs and congratulated each other on continuing the Strollers winning streak, word filtered in that the touring French Strollers team had lost, thus ending the victorious run. A few clarifications were asked of Captain Jono regarding his pre-match pep talk which consisted of “The Strollers A team is away in France so as the B team let’s do our best aye”.
It was obviously just for motivation in a record-breaking day for Captain Jono and his band of 10 Kiwis and the token Saffa.
Capt: Jono Addis. Wkt: Mike Pittams. Match fees: Nick Logan.
Fulmer
Saturday August 6 in Fulmer
Strollers lost by nine wickets
Strollers 182-5
(40 overs; Addis 85, Salvesen 28no, Hodgson 24)
Fulmer 184-1
(30 overs; Kelsey 1-20)
It was high summer and whilst Olympians slept under the Southern Cross, the Strollers, short of antipodeans of their own, arrived at a pitch baking under a seemingly tropical sky. Playing for the first time in Fulmer - from the Old English Fugelmere (lake frequented by birds) - the Strollers, though bereft of their weary travelling fans, the red kites, were joined by Caroline and Bethany Addis and Jo Perrin.
It was a fine day and the ground’s proximity to Pinewood Studios, and the West Coast sky, seemed to bring out the star in Mr Macaulay, recounting his clandestine use of an intimate article of Peter O'Toole's cricket gear in games gone by, a story well worth hearing. With such freshness (if that is the right word) the Strollers took to the crease.
The hard and flat track seemed perfect for batsman - balls came slowly off the surface neither too high nor too low. The opposition opening bowlers hit their mark and, aided by a freshly cut and slow outfield, boundaries were hard to come by. The opening partnership of Jono Addis and Jim Hodgson dug in, both playing a resilient innings and running between the wickets to good effect. Despite tired legs in persistent heat, the pace of scoring increased with a succession of fours by Addis. No wickets by drinks - 76 runs on the board, Fulmer using their fourth bowler.
After the quick break, the opposition (now rehydrated) seemed sharper - Hodgson, caught just behind square, was gone for a well-fought 24 in a partnership of 103. In came Neil Devereux, battle scarred, who supported Addis well as the latter increasingly found the middle of his bat.
Then came the 28th over. The bowler, a Mr Julian Gibbs, his delivery seemingly unprepossessing but in fact wily, deadly; Devereux, caught for two off his flight.
In came S.R. Brodbeck. No panic then. His first ball, falling gracefully, came to land in what Geoffrey Boycott may have called the corridor of absolute certainty. The avuncular Brodbeck cut it to the 12 year-old wicket keeper and in so doing not only helped forward this young cricketer’s career but achieved his very first Golden Duck, a fine and rare treasure. 124-3 the score,
Tom Salvesen at the crease, scoring runs and running well. Soon after, Addis, top scorer, was out lbw for an unmatched 85 off a low ball to be replaced by Nick Logan, our only Kiwi in reserve. He was soon bowled and Kelsey came to the field to face one over before the Strollers set a target of 182 to win.
If I am to let you know before the end of the report, dear reader, that the Strollers did not win this game, then it is because I have a worthy scapegoat for the loss. It was the tea that did it. A fine spread was laid: well-filled sandwiches; carrots, peppers and breadsticks to be dipped in humus; hot cocktail sausages and mini scotch eggs; to finish, a varied selection of cakes.
And so the somnolent August afternoon bore evident parallels with this post-prandial Stroller. Defending a total of 182 on such a pitch in such conditions seemed as far away as winter’s wind. The bowling attack of Salvesen and Richie Stubbs seemed unable to snare a very competent opening partnership of Nick Box and Tony King who, despite the introduction of Hodgson's accuracy and successive appeals, were unmovable.
On came Alastair Macaulay and Simon Brodbeck. No luck, though Brodbeck's economy stemmed the flow of boundaries that Mr Box, who made a steady 50, began to accumulate. Would flighty dross do the trick? On came Kelsey, who thanks to a superb, switched-on athletic dive forward by Devereux at point, took the only wicket - Box (for a well-earned 91) - off a spinning full toss. A champagne moment if there ever was one.
Despite this the hosts had accumulated enough runs with enough energy in the bank for their skipper and opening batsman to retire, leaving their No 4 to play a supportive role in their victory, which had seemed near certain for some time.
In all: a scenic ground, with friendly and capable opposition. Perhaps next year, then.
Capt and wkt: Jono Addis. Match fees: Sam Brodbeck.
Concorde
Sunday August 7 in Send
Strollers lost by five wickets
Strollers 254-3 dec
(37 overs; Selby 102, Pittams 64, Oliver 55no, McDougall 17no)
Concorde 259-5
(49 overs; Hills 1-27, Oliver 1-46, Ngo 1-57, Macaulay 1-70)
On a delightfully sunny afternoon, in a delightful part of Surrey, early Strollers gathered on the pitch in the middle of the flattish hill that is the Concorde home ground of Send. There they earnestly discussed the relative merits of batting second in a time game and decided that, on the whole, it was a good idea. Skipper Glen Oliver obliged by losing the toss and being sent in to bat.
Openers Eric Swale and Mike Pittams took up their positions and surveyed the distant boundaries and the fast-looking outfield in between. Mike, having been advised to play himself in, immediately set about the bowling, cracking a couple of boundaries as sighters and going on in similar fashion before being caught on 64. It might have been more but some good fielding restricted the boundaries, though it couldn’t stop a mighty maximum back over the bowler’s head. Eric Swale gave midwicket some catching practice and returned to finish his sandwich in meditative fashion.
Aidan Selby replaced Swale and continued his form of late, pummelling his way to his third century in consecutive matches (105 v Tadworth, 128 v Amersham Hill and 102 v Concorde) and a new Strollers record. They just keep on falling.
Skipper Oliver took over from Pittams and proceeded to work hard on his average, having noted before being called to the crease that “it’s all about the not-outs”. When Selby was well bowled by Duke, Hamish McDougall joined Oliver and went on to 17, whilst the skipper advanced to 55. Four o’clock came and with the score at 254 off 37 overs Oliver sportingly declared. There were some mutterings about heeding one’s own advice, but there’s no proof.
A very fine spread, with tea from proper cups, was gratefully taken with much appreciation. Tadworth and Ripley should look to their laurels. Suitably weighed down, the Strollers took the field reasonably confident of making a good fist of things.
Concorde started circumspectly, the opening pair of Dean Carter and Nick Freeman defending well. Freeman fell to the accurate and quick arm of Gary Ngo, on first-class debut and taking his first weekend wicket for the Strollers, with Carter going on to score a well-earned 62 before falling to the short run-up specialist Oliver, his deceptive skills honed in the indoor cricket arena.
Alastair Macaulay removed the well-settled Andy Marshall, lbw for 72. Duncan Hills, in his first appearance for the Strollers and carrying a recovering injury, took a caught and bowled in his first over. All well and good so far and reason for optimism.
Simon Brodbeck delivered his usual economy and was unlucky to not be rewarded, owing to some, shall we say, less than showcase fielding. The commitment was there, but the execution lacked finesse. Ngo retrieved some pride for the Strollers with a direct hit to remove Elliott Smith, but the score had crept inexorably upwards and, as is the way with these things, it was now the Strollers praying for the draw, with dot balls rare and precious.
Enter one Ivor Fiala with his first over for two years, but unable to stem the flow of runs. As the shadows lengthened and the required total crept ever closer, the pressure began to tell on the fielding, perhaps evidenced most by the scoring by Jerry Wright of eight (!) from a ball that, initially at least, did not leave the comfort of the square. I’ll leave the details to your imagination, Dear Reader.
In the end, Concorde reached their 255th run in the 50th over - a victory well earned. Thirsts were suitably quenched and all agreed a fine match had been had in great surroundings.
Captain: Glen Oliver, Wicket: Hamish McDougall, Match fees: Aidan Selby
Chelsea Cobblers
Tuesday August 9 in Fulham
Strollers won by 119 runs
Strollers 200-2
(20 overs; Selby 38no, Swale 30no, Keightley 28no, Shannon 19, Stubbs 18no)
Chelsea Cobblers 81-7
(20 overs; Herath 2-3, Stubbs 2-4, Keightley 1-2, Tjasink 1-4, Shannon 1-7)
And so it was. The midweek Strollers assembled for the final fixture of the season, under the grey skies of west London against the Chelsea Cobblers.
Having two of their mainstays (including their captain with the kit bag) withdraw at short notice the father and son duo of Russ and Barrington were recruited from the neighbouring pitch. Luckily for the Strollers, Russ had some portable wickets for the bowlers to aim at, and the teams improvised to give the fielders something to target at the bowling end.
It was mutually agreed the Strollers should bat first, and Eric Swale, as stand-in keeper for the Cobblers, did his best to ensure that byes would have a good run at leading the scoring. Openers Keith Shannon and Richard Keightley did their best to prevent that happening, and exploded out of the blocks, scoring freely until Shannon was bowled by one that kept low for 19.
Keightley retired shortly thereafter for 28 not out, which brought the new pairing of Will Sharp and Aidan Selby (who had remembered his pants this time) to the crease. Selby, in a rich vein of form, was not going to miss out, and blazed 38 off a couple of overs before swapping the keeping gloves (and only the gloves) with Swale.
Swale was concerned about the protection afforded by the children’s size wicketkeeping pads he was wearing, and made an effort to reach the ball either on the full or half-volley. The result was a barrage towards cow corner where a football team was conducting pre-season training. It was a miracle that no-one got hit - that is, until Sharp finally got in on the act. Working out the pace of the pitch after a number of lusty swings and misses he connected solidly with the ball, which then connected with a football player. They must breed them tough in these Fulham parts, as there was only some minor flailing around before the footballer returned the ball.
Sharp retired and Hassan Hadi and Raj Herath sought to add the finishing touches to an impressive innings. Herath was keen to run everything – twice. This may not have been such a good idea when the ball is hit directly to a fielder, who then relayed the ball to Selby to effect the run-out. Richie Stubbs came to the crease for the final over, bowled by Russ, and finished on 18. The Strollers had scored an impressive 200-2 off their allotted 20 overs.
Captain Glen Oliver, having done nothing during the batting innings (except provide “encouragement” to the keepers and batsmen from the sidelines) organised his roster of bowlers; all ten of them to be precise (Oliver just stuck to the logistics). Spells would be precisely six balls long (two runs being ruled for a wide) and were compulsorily made up of assorted spin techniques (the impending darkness and quality of the pitch preventing any military medium pace).
The Strollers had learnt from the first innings that the pitch was rather slow and unpredictable, and pitching the ball short of a length was the best option. The Cobblers opening pair of Barrington and Tom found timing difficult and were not assisted by the long grass on the outfield. There was some frantic yessing, noing and maybeing as the Cobblers pushed for every run.
The pressure told, and after a lusty boundary Barrington was well held by Shannon off the right-arm off-spinning dart of Keightley. The Cobblers opening bat did well to keep the scoreboard ticking over, but quickly ran out of partners at the other end; Herath (if the ball doesn’t bounce is it still leg-spin?) and Stephen Tjasink (backspin is also a type of spin) snared almost identical wickets top-edged to Swale at point. Swale (bounce off a decent length, deceptive lack of off-spin), Gary Ngo (ripping leg-spin), Hassan (let the pitch do the work) and Shannon (line and length) bowled tight overs and put significant pressure on the Cobblers.
Stubbs then also got in the act with twin caught and bowled wickets off consecutive balls. Oliver at this stage was napping at mid-off and failed to bring the field in, meaning that Richie had to go for the stumps with his hat-trick ball. An inside edge nearly resulted in magic but it wasn’t to be.
Selby (wkt) took his pads off to bowl the final over of the game. With the game all but wrapped up, the Strollers were already looking towards next season (or in Herath’s casing, looking to the netball courts where trials were taking place and in Oliver’s case, looking to not write the match report).
Capt: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Eric Swale/Aidan Selby.
Match fees: Keith Shannon.
Ripley
Sunday August 14 in Ripley
Strollers won by eight wickets
Ripley 193
(38.3 overs; Simon Brodbeck 3-25, Elton 3-32, Duff 2-18, Macaulay 2-34)
Strollers 194-2
(35.4 overs; McDougall 98no, Oliver 51no, Timperley 30)
An absolutely glorious afternoon greeted the Strollers at the picturesque and historic Ripley ground. As the searing sun beat down, you could picture players out on the wicket back in 1749 when the cricket club started out. You could feel the history everywhere you looked. It is also where Ashley Giles honed his craft and he still pops in from time to time to watch matches.
The Strollers inspected the slightly green and highly elevated pitch before skipper James Timperley lost the toss. It was to be one of those rare occasions where the Strollers batted second.
Tom Elton started things off with some nice pace and length and managed to take out the No 1 batsman for nought with the help of the feline-like reflexes of Hamish McDougall.
Just as it was looking like a strong Ripley batting partnership was starting to take shape, disaster struck for the Strollers as Jim Hodgson put his body – or hand – on the line and attempted a caught and bowled. It would have been nothing short of spectacular had Jim not had to head off to A&E with blood dripping from his fingers. The Strollers remained composed though, and managed to adjust to 10 players.
Big guns Simon Brodbeck and Alastair Macaulay put the squeeze on in the middle period, conceding 59 runs from their 16 overs after Ripley had raced to 77-1 off the first 11 overs.
Ryan Duff came back on for his second bowling stint and managed to keep the run rate at a reasonable level and, with some pent-up anger from his first average spell, flung one into the batter’s box, sending him off the pitch wishing he had got bat to ball. With some exceptional fast bowling by Elton, alongside Duff, the two managed to get the final wickets and get Ripley all out for 193.
After a lovely tea soaking up the charm of the historic clubhouse, McDougall and Aidan Selby took to the crease. Selby was hungry for his fourth century in a row but unfortunately was taken out by a brilliant catch in the outfield.
Timperley then came out to the wicket and showed us all some classic cricket shots managing to break through the tight Ripley in-fielding. McDougall continued to live up to his current form, playing some outstanding cricket shots and was looking very solid.
Timperley was eventually taken out for 30 with a very low bouncing/skidding delivery for lbw. It was about this time we received a text from Jim saying "I have been glued and strapped and am about to leave Guildford Hospital for home..." Glen Oliver then came out and let rip and, with McDougall, the pair put on an unbeaten 121 for the third wicket. And with that the Strollers were victorious.
And as we all sat basking in the sun with a drink in hand, we wondered if Duffers had set a new Strollers record for the most time spent in pads without going to wicket to bat.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees: Simon Brodbeck.
Warfield
Sunday August 21 at Warfield
Match drawn
Strollers 159-9 dec
(40 overs; Loan 87no, Timperley 23, Swale 12, McDougall 11)
Warfield 149-7
(37 overs; Duff 3-23, Fine 2-6, Macaulay 2-36)
Organisation has always been the most difficult part of a Stroller’s life and no-one takes it head-on like Simon Brodbeck. So when Warfield's Graham Morris sent out an all-points bulletin asking for a replacement team for the side that they were going to play, he replied: “Apologies but we already have a game against Newdigate”. One hour later Brodbeck had to use his best diplomacy skills as Newdigate had rung Simon to say they themselves could not field a side. Thus the Strollers found themselves at Warfield, a club that has roots harking back as far as 1785, which coincidently was the year the Universal Daily Register was published. This publication would later be known as The Times. A pertinent fact for the discerning Stroller.
Pre-match chat centred on the Olympics. How did team GB beat the medal haul of London? What was Nick Willis addicted to? Which athletes were the most pleasing on the eye? Some of the Strollers were sporting hangovers from a number of different stag parties (Aidan Selby’s to name one) on the Saturday. To the surprise of a few, Ryan Duff boisterously proclaimed that he had no hangover and had achieved 11 hours’ sleep the night before. His exuberance belied a man who had sat with his pads on for nearly 115 overs before the day’s play. Was this a Stroller’s record for the longest impersonation of a cricket store mannequin?
With the ground in full clasp of the sun, captain James Timperley made his classic, hands behind back walk out to the toss and the classic “I lost the toss again” walk on the way back. Discussions in the middle led to a timed game where the Strollers were batting first.
While the batting order was decided, Duff and Ben Rothberg were the designated umpires for the first stanza. Duff’s energy took him straight out to the middle and as Rothberg took a few strides towards the elevated Southern end of the ground it was discovered that Warfield had supplied their own umpire. Was the Strollers umpiring deemed not good enough? After a short period of self-reflection and a semi-motivational talk from Bart Fine, it was decided that their umpire’s services were very welcome and that our umpiring was excellent. Warfield then proceeded to hold a tightly bound team talk halfway to the pitch - again causing a brief moment of insecurity, but ultimately being countered by another motivational speech from Fine.
Batting this season has been a very hot topic for the Strollers. Records for centuries in a season being threatened, partnership records being broken, averages skyrocketing, longest time with pads on without batting are but a number of records that have been broken or are being threatened. One statistic of note is that four Strollers have already broken the 500-run barrier for the season. Batting first in a timed game should be easy then.
Hamish McDougall started the innings off, scoring 11 out of the first 13 runs, with Eric Swale holding the other end. McDougall despondently walked back too soon after gifting an easy chance to point. At this point the Strollers regular No3 and captain, Timperley, walked out to the middle in his usual wide-brimmed hat. After two overs of shorter pitched bowling and to the astonishment of those who have watched him bat, Timperley asked for a helmet.
Swale and Timperley made a very hesitant start. Something wasn’t right, whether it was Timperley’s helmet wearing or Swale’s extended gait down the slope towards the playground end we will never know. What we do know is that at one stage the two batsmen decided to discuss their issues in the middle of the pitch, in the middle of a run. Luckily for them, confusion reigned supreme and panic swept over Warfield, allowing the batsmen to reach the crease without being run out.
Just as Swale and Timperley started to build a partnership they were both undone by the Warfield attack/pitch. Tim Swan, making one of few appearances this season, came to the middle, then departed almost as quickly. Mike Loan was then batting with Rothberg. At this stage most of the Strollers caught a sight of what has become the norm in the last few weeks - Ryan Duff, padded up. While Duff may not have appreciated the thoughts, with the score at 55-4 many of the Strollers hoped that he would have his pads on for the next hour while the batsmen rebuilt the innings.
When Rothberg was caught and bowled with the score on 69, feelings were mixed. 69-5 is not that good after 22 overs; what had happened to the top order? Finally, after 137 overs warming the pads, Duff almost skipped his way to the middle. Playing like a man who had been wearing pads in vain, Duff defended solidly and provided a good muse for Loan, who passed 50. He arrived at 50 with the good fortune of a batsmen in form when, at one stage the ball ricocheted off his pad, onto his face and then onto the stumps, all without removing the bails.
Duff was bowled for five, but came back in after thoroughly enjoying his time in the middle. Rory Wood went in, and almost came back as quickly. Timperley tried to ease Wood’s pain by mentioning how the pitch had gotten the better of a few batsmen today, giving the inauspicious example of Fine, who exemplified Timperley’s point with deft timing. When Macaulay was bowled, Loan took it upon himself to unleash on the Warfield attack. He scored 16 off the last two overs before tea.
As the batsmen and fielders walked off the field, Timperley nodded to himself and asserted: “I think we have enough”.
Tea was consumed hungrily by the Strollers, who were feeling the effects of stag do’s and a slightly more measured pace was taken by the rest. Wood tried to imitate Paul Daniels by pulling chocolate bars from almost nowhere to entertain Timperley and Alastair Macaulay. Eyes looked towards Fine’s plate, hoping not to see any pizza that had almost curtailed his bowling in Amersham Hill. Few eyes glanced upwards to notice the grey blanket that had slowly enveloped the sun.
It would be this thick heavy grey air that would dominate the rest of the afternoon.
After tea, Fine and then Duff produced some top-draw bowling - the first six overs brought only three runs for two wickets. Fine and McDougall combined for what was aptly described as “proper cricket”. Timperley, who had got into bed with the pitch demons after fighting them in the previous innings, had a smorgasbord of short covers and silly midwickets to take advantage of any balls that would stick in the pitch and pop off the bat.
Swale used his levers to great effect, extending his long fingers under a dying ball to claim an excellent catch off Duff at short cover. So hungry were the close-in fielders that when Fine managed force the batsmen to an early shot he almost collided with the two short covers. A noise similar to the warning bark of an alpaca was heard as calls of “Mine”, “Catch” and “Eric’s” rang out mid-pitch. Luckily Bart’s follow-through gave him enough momentum to arrive at the ball first, thus preventing a calamity. Duff also put in a fine effort off his own blowing that was similar to the remarkable David Rice effort at Prestcold, fully horizontal a metre from the ground. At the end of the Fine and Duff overs the score was 9-3.
Wood was introduced to the attack and had an immediate effect on the batting scorecard. Wayward line and length saw the pressure released and Warfield successfully negotiated their lowest score of 21. At the other end Macaulay was sharp enough to take a head-high effort off his own bowling. At the important drinks break (20 overs to go) the score was 34-4 and the Strollers were in the driving seat chasing victory. The target for the Strollers was six wickets and the target for Warfield was 126.
A change was in the air though, figuratively and literally. If to mirror the feelings in the game the air grew cold and harsh and the Warfield batsmen, dressed in their warm pads and gloves, started to knock the ball about. The rain fell steadily and as it became heavier and the heads of the Strollers started to drop, hands were heading to the warmth of pockets and the boisterous on-field energy was muffled by wet air. The light rain turned heavy, and like a heavy roller, flattened out the demons in the pitch.
Brodbeck and Macaulay toiled away, unable to be removed from the attack due to the worsening pitch. With the ball swelling and weighing more with every shot into the outfield, bowling and fielding became more difficult. Runs were accumulated and bad balls were put away. With seven overs to go the all four results were possible, but the rain reduced the Strollers’ hopes to a puddle in the outfield - 59 needed off 42 with four wickets remaining.
Constant accumulation and worsening conditions were in Warfield’s favour and the situation with three overs to go was 25 runs from 18 balls. Warfield were taking it deep.
Their star batsmen, Leigh Johnson, had punished the attack since he had come to the wicket and had given the scorecard an airy mirror to the previous innings. Sensing a need to pull things back, Timperley reintroduced Duff to the attack, much to the dismay of Duff’s ankles. Piles of sawdust were placed on the bowling footmarks, but rarely did they prevent Duff mimicking a magnificent Christopher Dean chasse. Fortunately for the Strollers the ball took a lead from Duff’s ankles and slid underneath the bat of Johnson and clattered the stumps.
With 13 balls to go Warfield needed 14 runs. Their captain, Andy Douglas, who had supported Johnson through the second part of his innings, decided to go for it, knocking a ball to the boundary from the third to last delivery. The Strollers were in real trouble, but a single off the next ball meant he was off strike and some accurate bowling from Brodbeck secured an extremely eventful draw.
After the match a number of Strollers enjoyed a beer, lambasted Wood for his poor counting, then made the journey east, back to London.
Capt: James Timperley, Wkt: Hamish McDougal., Match fees: Bart Fine.
Wall
Saturday August 27 in Lichfield
Match abandoned
Wall 186-6
(40 overs; Patston 3-17, Fine 2-36, Simon Brodbeck 1-49)
An early start on a Saturday morning greeted this Stroller as it was decreed that to truly enjoy a cricket tour, one must first watch the All Blacks thump the Wallabies in a Bledisloe test over a Reg’s Belly Buster in deepest, darkest industrial Banbury, sometime before 9am. The men in black delivered, as did Reg’s famed breakfast, and the trip to Lichfield resumed under threatening skies and discussion over whether building partnerships or arks would serve us better.
We arrived at Lichfield to find an assembly of Strollers in fine form and fitness at a damp pitch suffering from heavy rain overnight. Notable inclusions amongst the spectators were Nicola and Matthew Swan, the latter confirming his intention to become a future Stroller with the occasional enthused squawk in support of his father’s appeals from behind the stumps.
Sam Brodbeck won the toss and chose to bowl first in lightening conditions, wisely listening to his bowlers’ hopes for a lie-down after the fabled Wall tea at half-time.
It was a circumspect start by Wall openers Chad Hatton and Henry Craig. Tom Elton found his length and had both openers fishing outside off. Bart Fine from the other end beat the bat time and time again before having an edge fly between first and second slip. A sharp chance was put down by Tim Swan, the only slight blemish in a solid performance behind the sticks.
Both bowlers created aerial chances through cover that unluckily never quite went to hand, but it was Fine who broke through in the sixth over, after having been smeared through mid-off for four, replying with a looping slower ball that confused everyone, including himself, but importantly met the batsman’s stumps as he looked to swing across the line.
This slowed the run rate but a dogged Wall refused to give any further chances as the two bats dug in. Drinks came and went. Despite the bowling changes of Ryan Duff, Alastair Macaulay and Simon Brodbeck, skipper Sam Brodbeck and his salubrious Strollers could not stop Craig notching up a well-deserved 50 carved from 96 balls. It was duly noted that Craig begins a philosophy degree in London this year – his tenacity impressed the visitors so don’t be surprised to see his email address appear in a midweek or Sunday Strollers call-to-arms sometime soon!
It took until the 25th over for a Strollers breakthrough. Brodbeck Snr broke the partnership, inducing a top-edge from Craig as he looked to up the ante. Tom Wood at mid-on had time to make a cup of tea before the ball came down from a great height, but pouched it comfortably making Wall 102-2.
Paul Phelps made a hard-hitting 28 at No 3 before succumbing to Peter ‘The Destroyer’ Patston’s first over – a low full toss hit hard had Wood in action again; covering an exceptional amount of ground at deep square-leg, almost too much ground as he slightly over-ran and ended up taking the catch one-handed behind himself only a few feet in from the boundary.
Confident in Patston’s ability, Sam kept him on and was duly rewarded – Peter’s flight deceiving Nick Edwards at No 5 as one nipped back through the gate, and things started to look all very familiar when Patston pitched one up in his next over, bowling Simon Foulds for 28, finishing his spell with three wickets in three overs for a meagre 17 runs.
At 136-5 after 34, Wall looked to the experience of David Craig and power of Gulia Vikas, who put on 35 in four overs against Simon Brodbeck and the returning Elton. Fine came back to bowl the 38th and had Vikas trapped in front from the penultimate ball of his final over, mitigating the threat of Vikas’s fearless approach to run-making. Duff came back to bowl a difficult last over with Craig and the long-absent-but-great-to-see-again Keith Birch on the attack, and did well to concede only seven as Wall ran up a healthy 186-6 off their 40.
The Craigs were again in action at tea, as Rae-Ann (mother to Henry and wife to David) laid out a truly magnificent tea, resplendent with ham rolls, homemade coronation chicken sandwiches and cakes aplenty – all admired then eagerly consumed by both teams. However, over the third necessary brew the heavens – so well behaved for the duration of Wall’s innings – finally opened to a downpour of biblical proportions
Building an ark suddenly seemed a tough proposition for a Strollers side by now filled to the brim with scones, cream and chocolate cake. So the captains sensibly decided that refuge was best sought at the Duke of Wellington where they found comfort in ale and the friendly company of the opposition. The match was adjudged abandoned, but thanks to Wall’s convivial hospitality, the day was declared a great success.
Capt: Sam Brodbeck. Wkt: Tim Swan.
Stanton by Dale
Sunday August 28 at Stanton
Strollers won by seven wickets
Stanton by Dale 189-8
(40 overs; Morgan 3-32, Duff 1-20, Salvesen 1-23, Macaulay 1-42)
Strollers 193-3
(35 overs; Salvesen 55no, Addis 53, Sam Brodbeck 33no, Tom Wood 30)
Following the disappointment of wet weather in Lichfield, the Strollers, having feasted on the finest Chinese food in North- West Leicestershire, awoke on Sunday rested in the impressive Royal Hotel in Ashby de la Zouch - much like those who travelled to experience the invigorating spa waters in the 19th century.
After a filling breakfast the squad made their way up the M1 to the village of Stanton-by-Dale. A short walk over styles and across paddocks led to the charming cricket ground where they found the groundsmen putting the finishing touches under Brian Taylor’s watchful direction. Stanton had covers protecting the two ends of the pitch but the previous day’s rain had left the centre section slightly damp.
The Strollers were strengthened with the arrival of Tom Salvesen, Mike Morgan and captain Jono Addis. Addis won the toss and asked Brian and his crew to don the pads in a 40-over match.
Taylor and Phil Gregory made a cautious start under the probing lines of Ryan Duff and Bart Fine. Gregory started to get the ball away with some impressive boundaries whilst Taylor remained resolute. Eventually, after 32 watchful balls, Duff managed to skid a ball through, trapping Taylor in front, who regrettably had not managed to trouble Maggie Patston in 44 minutes.
Chris Guest, joining the Strollers for the Riviera tour in October and politely reminded this was his audition, combined with Gregory to work the ball around and help the score along. Fine was generating good away movement and was unlucky not to pick up a wicket. Addis made a double bowling change bringing on Salvesen and Alastair Macaulay. Gregory (43) and Guest (20) fell to very good catches from Salvesen as the spin of Macaulay and Morgan started to turn the screws.
But Stanton No 4 Dave Powick was not fazed and attacked all bowling from the off. He successfully rode his luck with a few tough chances being put down. Mike “smoke and mirrors” Morgan kept the pressure on, making frequent tweaks to his field and varying his deliveries to keep the batsmen guessing. His flighty leggies were hitting the right spots and he thoroughly deserved his three wickets - including decent catches from Addis, a second from Salvesen and a dazzling flipper that clean bowled Sandeep Verma for 20.
Simon Brodbeck and Peter Patston wheeled through some overs keeping the batsmen in check before Salvesen, Duff and Fine were brought back to close out the innings. Powick, the rock for Stanton, finished on a career-best 82 not out.
A fine tea was produced by Tricia Taylor with behind-the-scenes help from Stephanie Turner and Kathy Brodbeck. Many thanks to them. The coffee cake was a particular hit with this scribe.
Addis and Tom Wood opened the reply, playing positively and seeing off the opening bowlers Mahesh Makwana and Rob Perkins. As the temperature was rising and the pitch drying out, the theory circulating amongst those padded up was that batting should get easier.
A double bowling change brought the seam of Jim Keys and the off-spin of Verma, who occasionally looped in a leg-break for good measure. Wood was sent back to the hutch, bowled by the impressive Keys after an opening stand of 59, followed shortly after by Tim Swan who ballooned one to mid-on. Brian Taylor let out a celebratory yelp of “Come on!” and Stanton had their tails up.
Sam Brodbeck joined Addis and the young pair settled down and played watchful shots as Taylor mixed up his bowling combinations. Following drinks at 20 overs with the score was at 72-2, Guest was brought on with this challenging leg-spin. Addis was enjoying the contest and played some glorious shots in the “V”, but shortly after bringing up his 50 he picked out Verma at long-off. “I should’ve hit it straighter,” he muttered as he slumped in the changing shed.
Salvesen then followed up his earlier bowling display with a fine batting show. Six fours and two sixes, including a maximum into the infamous Macaulay’s Orchard, pushed the innings along as the Strollers wrestled the game back from Stanton. In business with Sam Brodbeck, the duo put together a match-winning partnership of 96 for the fourth wicket
With the scores tied, the fielders came in to save one, and Brodbeck calmly caressed the ball through the covers to the boundary and the David Tranter Cup was retained for another year.
Following some brief speeches the cup was presented to the winning skipper Addis and the teams wandered down to the Stanhope Arms to carry on the post-match analysis. The Strollers continued the celebrations back in Ashby over pad thai, massaman and green curry.
A final note. Before the 2016 fixture the Fleet Street Strollers had played Stanton-by-Dale 38 times: Won 12 Drawn 12 Lost 12 Abandoned 2. We have now moved ahead with 13 wins.
Capt: Jono Addis. Wkt: Tim Swan.
Sutton on the Hill
Monday August 29 at Sutton
Strollers lost by three runs
Sutton on the Hill 185-9 dec
(40 overs; Duff 2-10, Morgan 2-29, Simon Brodbeck 2-40, Swan 1-6, Patston 1-27, Macaulay 1-43)
Strollers 182
(36.5 overs; Addis 47, Sam Brodbeck 47, Swan 21, Macaulay 15, Taylor 10)
Sutton on the Hill looked at its best as the Strollers gathered for the third match of their Three Counties Tour. Saturday's torrential rain in Lichfield seemed a distant memory. It was pleasing to see old friends on both sides still playing the game, and to know that Fran Twigg would be presenting the usual wonderful high tea. There was also the wistfulness that accompanies this fixture when early autumn sunshine casts lengthening shadows as the afternoon progresses; the season is nearly over. Completing the rustic scene was the sight of Tom Wood, every inch the country squire, plucking blackberries from the hedgerows accompanied by the faithful Oonagh and senior Strollettes, Kathy Brodbeck and Tricia Taylor. Does it get more idyllic than this?
By agreement with Sutton's skipper, Alastair Macaulay chose to field first. Bart Fine and Ryan Duff established a stranglehold over opener Dan Pedley, who took 37 deliveries before scoring; Chris Booth showed more aggressive intent until he fell for 34 out of 46, well caught by Jono Addis off Simon Brodbeck. Fielding on the undulating outfield was presenting little difficulty for the Strollers. Good catches were taken; Duff and Fine in particular chased with great athleticism, in one instance diving for the ball as if synchronised – do they practise? Sadly, Bart was later to suffer for his zeal, getting his flannels covered in dung and requiring a change of flannels (provided by Sutton) and general hose-down. More of an All Brown than an All Black.
The Strollers' bowlers who took the pace off the ball were not able to keep the run rate in check as Sutton's lower order simply restored the pace on to the ball (Ryan's nine overs had only cost ten runs, for two wickets, with five maidens) but Simon and Peter in particular did provide proof that bad balls get wickets thanks to catches by Addis, Brian Taylor and Tim Swan (“look in the book” you hear the bowlers say). Flurries of runs from Bryan Land Senior (27) and especially Rob Martindale (45*) moved the total on to a testing 185 despite the efforts of our promising new young leggie, Mike Morgan (2-29).
Tea was taken to a backdrop of some confusion. Just how long did the Strollers have to bat? 34 overs? Yes, if the strict deadline of “20 from 4.30” was to be followed. “But they had 39 overs!” Cricketing sage and long-time friend John Brown was harrumphing, for all those within earshot, that “they just don't know how to play time games these days!” In the end, in a spirit of great fairness, Sutton simply added three overs to the allotted 20 that were to be started at 4.30pm, and everyone was happy...apart from John (who was probably right all along).
An opening stand of 49 in ten overs put the Strollers on the right path, until Taylor was run out, sent back by his partner (“it makes a change being run out by Jono whilst on the same side,” opined the rueful left-hand veteran). The Kiwi pairing of Swan and Addis moved the score along to 96 before Steve Taylor turned the match, claiming both batsmen in quick succession. Sutton were helped by two further run-outs, one comical, one tragic. First, Duff fell to a Sam Brodbeck special – beautiful shot, deserving of runs but hit straight to a fielder – exit Ryan, answering his partner's call. Some think that the calling was mixed up: did Sam think that Ryan's “No, Bro” was in fact what we often hear him say, “Yo, Bro?” The later run-out was of Simon, when the ball was deflected into the stumps at the bowler's end, with the batsman stranded backing up too far.
However, Sam was going well, majestically striking a couple of straight sixes and scoring at will. Skipper Macaulay was chipping in with 15 at the other end. At 176-6 in the 35th over all seemed done and dusted...but opening bowler Martindale had different ideas. Sam played on, and Rob's pace undid the valiant efforts of the Stroller's tail.
With 3-50 to add to his 45 not out, Rob proved to be man of the match. Sutton had won the game. Had the Strollers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory? Perhaps, but it really doesn't matter that much. Most players did something, the weather and setting were wonderful, the opposition were as usual welcoming. Roll on next year.
Capt: Alastair Macaulay. Wkt: Sam Brodbeck.
The Lee
Sunday September 4 at The Lee
Strollers won by 198 runs
Strollers 328-3
(40 overs; Timperley 127no, Selby 77, Pittams 57no, Addis 49)
The Lee 130
(38.2 overs; Simon Brodbeck 3-13, Loan 2-11, Macaulay 2-37, Oliver 1-5, Fine 1-18, Sam Brodbeck 1-18)
The Strollers advance party nipped into the Cock and Rabbit for a livener before the game. In the village newsletter the talk was of the fight to beat off the HS2 threat, which is planned to run right through this glorious part of the Chilterns. But there was good news too, with details of The Lee’s youngsters becoming 2016 champions of the Bucks Cricket Board’s Under-15 Division 2 South.
So The Lee’s future is in safe hands, as was further exemplified by young Ben Harris, who bowled a lively opening spell, along with Ed Boakes, as Aidan Selby and Jono Addis began the Strollers innings. Heavy rain overnight had seeped under the covers and the pitch looked damp and lively. So The Lee inserted in the hope of making the most of the wicket. And with a sedate and somewhat fortunate 40 posted in the first 10 overs, it looked like being a tricky afternoon.
But that was to change as the Strollers big guns began to fire. Addis (49) departed to a perfect delivery from Julian Swain which clipped the top of off stump. Which only brought skipper James Timperley to the wicket.
This has been a golden summer for the batting galaticos. Timperley (858 runs at 107.25), Aidan Selby (790 at 71.82) , Hamish McDougall (596 at 49.67), Glen Oliver (527 at 131.75) and Jono Addis (415 at 69.16) have all been making hay at various times and the trend continued here. Timperley was sporting his blank bat ("I am still waiting to be sponsored,” he explained. “Both sides of the bat are available for endorsement.”) and he put it to good use.
Selby led the way, hitting mightily to leg and adding 77 in 61 balls to a sequence of scores which now reads: 97, 105, 128, 102, 9, 77. Timperley followed his example, driving and pulling to great effect on his way to a century in 74 balls. He lost Sam Brodbeck along the way, but Mike Pittams put his foot down, going to his 50 in 29 balls, and the pair put on 114 in the last nine overs. At the interval the board stood at 328-3, the second-highest total in the club’s history. Mike Loan was awarded the Ryan Duff Trophy for patiently sitting with his pads on throughout the Timperley/Pittams pyrotechnics.
As The Lee began their reply, Piers Ovenden and Bart Fine opened the bowling proceedings. Ovenden, it seems, has been reprising his Strollers swansong all season and, rather like Frank Sinatra, keeps coming back for more. But this one was notable for the presence of Robbie Ovenden, making his Strollers debut at the tender age of six weeks with Hanna in close attendance.
Ovenden’s bowling was back to its best - hitting a line and length - but with little luck. His fielding, however, was a different story. Piers seemed more concerned with joining in a youngsters’ game taking place in his corner of the ground. When he did eventually make a clean stop in the outfield he received a warm round of applause from his team-mates – and the approving Robbie.
Vital wickets fell: Boakes mistimed a pull off Fine; the dangerous Alex Morgan was snaffled by Selby off Oliver; Swain was lured to his doom in the deep by Alastair Macaulay.
Macaulay took wickets 42 and 43 in his mirabilis season, Simon Brodbeck chipped in with 3-13 (one with the aid of a lightning McDougallesque stumping by Addis), Mike Loan had his first bowling spell of the year and claimed two victims, Oliver returned the parsimonious figures of 4-3-5-1 and Sam Brodbeck rounded things off by winning an lbw decision.
There was some confusion in the scorebook: somehow the athletic, left-arm pace of Simon Brodbeck got tangled up with the geriatric dobbers of the balding Glen Oliver. But the problem was easily solved as scorer Macaulay used the judgement of Solomon to settle the issue.
Jim Hodgson (proudly sporting his chipped thumb), Jo and Finlay were in attendance; treasurer Tom Wood dropped in on his way up to Yorkshire and the day ended with the post-match inquest in the autumnal sunshine as the Strollers enjoyed the warm hospitality of The Lee.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Jono Addis. Match fees: Mike Loan.
Valley End
Sunday September 11 in Windlesham
Match drawn
Strollers 248-3 dec
(42 overs; McDougall 101no, Ferrick 63, Dan Thanushan 53)
Valley End 238-8
(43 overs; Simon Brodbeck 3-30, Dan Thanushan 3-40, Macaulay 2-48)
There appears to be no right way of preparing for sporting endeavors: Usain Boult subsisted on a diet of chicken nuggets whilst in Beijing, while Neil McKenzie would tape his bat to the ceiling and insist all toilet seats in the dressing room were down before going out to bat. However, the author’s experience on Sunday at Valley End would suggest there is a wrong way – a late night, a mad dash across North London to meet Simon Brodbeck and then misdirection from the GPS.
The occupants of the Brodbeck car were not the only ones having trouble – a distress call was fielded from a lost Dan Thanushan, whose only point of reference was the bridge he was under, and John Gibson arrived sans gear. Thankfully, Captain James Timperley had his affairs in order and was able to ensure that the Strollers were batting first in a 85-over game.
Sam Ferrick and Hamish McDougall got the Strollers off to a great start, McDougall in particular looking in good touch while Ferrick had a bit more luck. Valley End’s opening bowlers were seen off with incident and it seemed that the rest of the Strollers would not be required. However, Ferrick was dismissed by a jaffa of a delivery from Sam Barkham which swung and then seamed to hit the top of middle and leg after pitching just outside off stump. Captain Timperley, who was next in, looked in imperious touch but unfortunately hit a low full toss straight back to Barkham.
Dan Thanushan joined McDougall at the crease and the two continued to pile on the runs with Thanushan hitting the ball to all parts of the ground and McDougall acting as the anchor of the innings. Thanushan quickly passed 50 but was out shortly thereafter. McDougall reached his hundred – a glorious knock – and Tom Colbeck hit a few lusty blows before Timperley called proceedings to a close. The Strollers had scored 248-3.
Arun Thanushan opened the bowling for the Strollers and looked threatening. Simon Brodbeck had earlier received a shock when asking about updated address details for Arun and Dan – Arun is now based in Limerick and Dan in Wolverhampton – time to pay those subscriptions Strollers, otherwise the travel expenses budget will soon be exhausted. Rory Wood, he of the high leap, opened from the other end and extracted good bounce.
Arun and Rory were not able to remove the openers and so Timperley turned to the leg spin of Tom Colbeck. Tom did exactly what was asked of him by his captain: drawing the batsman into false shots and creating chances. Unfortunately these were not taken – you know who you are. Nigel Unsworth was the main beneficiary of this generosity and he moved past 50.
Like many before him, Timperley, needing a wicket, submitted his draft of the match to Simon Brodbeck for editing. Brodbeck initially only made minor changes, restricting the scoring, before making significant revisions: two wicket maidens in three overs. Brodbeck was assisted by Alastair Macaulay, who also restricted the scoring at the other end and also picked up two wickets. By the time Brodbeck finished his spell (9-2-30-3) it looked likely that the Strollers, if they could get the wickets, would prevail.
Dan Thanushan was introduced to the attack and his bowling was a pleasure to watch with the flight and pace being artfully varied (reminiscent of a less hirsute D L Vettori) as he picked up three wickets.
With five overs to go, the Strollers needed two wickets while Valley End needed 40 runs – anything could happen. Timperley, bravely, introduced Nick Logan into the attack in the hope of making something happen but the last five overs passed without incident with the match ending in a hard-fought draw.
The star of Sunday was undoubtedly Hamish McDougall, who carried his bat through the innings before keeping wicket. As the Strollers toasted McDougall’s success on the serene outfield they contemplated that it could be the last time they play Valley End at this particular ground, as progress dictates that it may be time for the club to move on to bigger and better things.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall. Match fees: Tom Colbeck.
Follies Farm
Sunday September 18 at Dunsfold
Strollers lost by three wickets
Strollers 174-5
(35 overs; Addis 64, Timperley 52no, Ferrick 23, Tom Wood 10)
Follies Farm 178-7
(32.3 overs; Ramesh 3-28, Timperley 2-25, Simon Brodbeck 1-36)
During the week Surrey’s Gareth Batty had been named in the England Test squad at the advanced age of 38. This may have provided incentive for Strollers in their 30s, who turned out in force at Follies Farm hopeful of impressing the selectors before dusting off their winter training plans.
The enthusiasm had reached as far as Shepherd’s Bush Road, where Tom Wood had awakened from a lengthy summer slumber to make a rare 2016 appearance; having been seen playing plenty of air shots on the sidelines at Valley End the previous weekend.
The playing 11 was also notable for several Bank of England Cricket Club regulars; James Howsam, Janil Ramesh, Joe McCarthy and Sam Ferrick playing for the Strollers, reversing a recent trend. It was a post-Brexit quantitative easing of a kind much appreciated by the match manager and fixtures secretary.
Captain James Timperley lost another toss and the Strollers were inserted on a damp wicket. The skipper fancied a bowl later so demoted himself to six. The contrast from the previous week’s Valley End runfest was clear from the first ball, a wide half-volley that Hamish McDougall aimed to drive to the cover boundary, only to see it squirt over gully’s head. McDougall was out soon after and the tone was set for a battling start, anchored by Jono Addis with a patient 64 and Ferrick’s 23.
Wood (10) hit a couple of forceful boundaries but soon holed out to long-off. “I wanted to get Timperley in,” was the explanation. It certainly worked as the captain hit a rapid 50 to get the Strollers to a competitive 175 from 35 overs.
Howsam and legspinner Tom Colbeck shared a luckless opening spell, beating the edge on several occasions. Ramesh extracted as much life out of the pitch as anyone, finishing with 3-28. This included a superb one-handed catch at slip by Wood, which astounded all, not least himself.
Ferrick got plenty of turn but was subject to some hefty blows into the short boundary at the leafy end of the ground. Timperley’s first bowl of the season was a good one, taking 2-25. Along with Simon Brodbeck (1-36), they exerted pressure on the lower and middle order, keeping the result in doubt until late in the day. Follies eventually got over the line with three overs and three wickets in hand.
There is talk that Follies Farm could be sold, putting the future of one of the most beautiful grounds on the Strollers’ circuit in doubt. Summer’s lease, as Shakespeare said, hath all too short a date. The Strollers hope that it will not be so short as to prevent a rematch with their hospitable opponents in 2017.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall. Match fees: Tom Wood
Pinkneys Green
Sunday September 25 at Pinkneys Green
Strollers won by 13 runs
Strollers 220-2
(40 overs; Addis 99no, Timperley 72, Sam Brodbeck 15no)
Pinkneys Green 207
(40 overs; Macaulay 3-56, Timperley 2-24, Simon Brodbeck 2-36)
An eventful day - which brought down the curtain on the 2016 domestic campaign - began with a certain confusion among some Strollers, who turned left in the pavilion and attempted to occupy the home dressing room. On this occasion, of course, we were the visitors on the now traditional end-of-season clash with our friends at Pinkneys Green.
Early discussion centred around the revelation that Sir Bradley Wiggins has admitted to therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) on three occasions before big races. Had the Strollers been given similar dispensation before big games? “I don’t think that Pinot Noir qualifies as a performance-enhancing drug,” said Alastair Macaulay.
Skipper James Timperley’s performance was certainly enhanced: he won the toss for the first time this season.
Batting first, Hamish McDougall was the first to go, falling to a fine caught and bowled by Tony Fuller for nine. He immediately set off on a melancholic tour of the ground, to pursue his own dark night of the soul. “I think he’s composing an alternative match report,” said one wag. When questioned about his perambulation, McDougall confessed he had been exploring the meaning of life. “It’s clearly not 42,” said Macaulay.
In case you didn't know: In Douglas Adams’ masterwork The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy a group of hyper-intelligent beings demand to learn the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything from the supercomputer, Deep Thought, specially built for this purpose. It takes Deep Thought 7½ million years to compute and check the answer, which turns out to be 42
For Timperley, however, the ultimate destination was not 42 but 77, the number of runs needed to bring him to the magic 1,000-run mark for the season. He has done it twice before, with 1,430 in 2009 and 1,009 in 2013. But the hat-trick was cruelly denied him, when he was brilliantly caught at deep cover for 72, a tantalising five runs short of his target.
Jono Addis was aiming for a different mark – his second century of the season. But when the Strollers came off at tea, Addis was left high and dry on 99 not out. No fingers, of course, were pointed at his batting partner, Sam Brodbeck, who had run one short in the penultimate over. So desperate was Addis that he placed hapless scorer Macaulay under an intensive interrogation in a vain attempt to unearth that extra run. The Strollers Court of Appeal had to rule that the scorer is always right – even when, perhaps, he was wrong.
So the Strollers came in for tea on 220-2 from their 40 overs. Mention must be made of Ryan Duff, who had padded up at the fall of the first wicket and sat patiently for some 205 runs, without being called upon, except to receive the Strollers Duff Mannequin Award.
“It’s come to something when I have to receive my own award,” said a philosophical Duff, who has watched, with his faithful pads on, hundreds of runs being scored this season. “When did you last bat?” enquired one caring soul. “That would be Sutton on the Hill,” replied our hero. “And I was run out for a duck.”
The crowd was now swollen by the arrival of Jim, Jo and Finlay, and the treasurer. Jim reported that his chipped knuckle (damaged in the heat of battle at Ripley in August) was mending slowly and he was confident of being fit for April 2017. Tom Wood, in contrast, was looking a picture of athletic health after taking time off from his spinning bike to be present.
“I am now doing 10kms, that’s 25 minutes per day,” explained the Strollers’ answer to Sir Bradley Wiggins. “And then I drink a bottle of wine.” Presumably that’s where the TUE comes in. “But I don’t seem to have lost any weight; perhaps it has all turned to muscle.”
In a concerted effort to gain weight, the Strollers turned to Cathy Snapes’ magnificent tea: pizza, chocolate cake, scones, sausage rolls. What a spread to round off the season.
Pinkneys Green needed 221 to win. And they were out of the blocks with a fine start, Tim Snapes leading the way until he was unseated by Macaulay, who went on to take wickets 47 and 48 in his mirabilis season. With two games on the Riviera next weekend, the 50-wicket mark looks well within reach.
Richie Stubbs (8-1-25-0) kept the lid on, with the assistance of Glen Oliver (8-2-26-0). Simon Brodbeck, with a baffling mixture of dross and decent deliveries, had two victims and Timperley also claimed two. There were three run-outs: one a curious slow motion left-handed pick-up and crown green bowls-style return from Simon Brodbeck; one a fine throw from Stubbs; one by Timperley as the last man abandoned all hope.
At 204-7 Pinkneys looked the favourites with opener Ben Purchese playing a commanding knock. But Timperley bowled him for a splendid 95 and Oliver came back to concede just two runs in his final two overs.
It was an exhilarating roller-coaster of a game – and the perfect way to end the season.
We could record that the trees around the Pinkneys ground were weeping at the prospect of autumn; that the russet leaves were blowing away another season of golden memories; that summer’s lease hath all too short a date. But those elegiac farewells to yet another campaign have all been penned before...
We could take you on a long and winding road from that first victory at Great Missenden Pelicans in April, the club's glittering 40th birthday celebrations at The Honourable Artillery Company in May, through to the triumphs of West Chiltington and Stanton by Dale, and the frustration of defeat at Follies Farm. But that has all been covered elsewhere...
Suffice to say it has been the year of the run-getters and some mightily impressive team totals (which Mannequin Duff can confirm). There have been five main contributors:
James Timperley 16inns, 6no, total 995, av 99.50
Aidan Selby 13inns, 2no, total 790, av 71.82
Hamish McDougall 17inns, 3no, total 710, av 50.71
Jono Addis 9 inns, 1no, total 580, av 72.50
Glen Oliver 11inns, 7no, total 527, av 131.75
But the real stars of the season, as always, have been the match managers who, when sometimes all seemed lost, have managed to put out 11 bodies for every game. The weather has generally been kind, bringing with it a generous helping of sun-kissed days. See you in April...
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees: David Kelsey.
Riviera
Saturday October 1 in St Vallier de Thiey
Strollers won by 77 runs
Strollers 207-5
(35 overs; Swan 59, Selby 48, Ball 38, Guest 20, Oliver 12, Logan 10no)
Riviera 130 (26.3 overs; Macaulay 5-45, Selby 3-30, Patston 1-3)
The annual tour to Nice started in the usual fashion in Old Antibes. The Strollers came from all parts of the country: Maggie and Peter Patston, Brian and Tricia Taylor via Bristol; Chris Guest (a debutant from Stanton) via Edinburgh and Jeff and Jo Ball, Aidan Selby and Glen Oliver and Gary Ngo (another tour debutant) and Alastair Macaulay from the capital; Tim Swan, now a temporary resident in the Midi region during a sabbatical, and Nick Logan from visiting relatives in the mountains. The Strollers were finally declared quorate at around 8:30pm as Europe were staring down the barrel of a Ryder Cup 4-0 first afternoon - a blow from which they were never to recover.
After a meal at the “cave”, the drinking continued into the early hours of the morning as Selby, Oliver and Ngo set off in pursuit of finding a pub which showed the Ryder Cup – they succeeded and blew the curfew imposed by captain Taylor, finally retiring at 2:30am.
An early start on Saturday as the team checked out of the hotel by 10:00 and made their way up to Saint Vallier. Gary Ngo was clearly suffering from a hangover, to the extent that he didn’t notice that everyone else had all their luggage; the poor chap left his down in Antibes and only fessed up during the game. He had to “leave and retrieve” after the Riviera post-mortem chez the slim-line Stefanie.
And so to the game. The Strollers turned up punctually for a 12:30 start although captain Taylor had strategically placed himself in the wrong vantage point and failed to see the bulk of the team arrive. This led to frantic phone-calls, false accusations of being AWOL in the pub and what can only be described as a mildish tantrum. A few deep breaths and normal service was swiftly resumed and the bonhomie returned as Selby and Swan wandered out to bat.
Both looked untroubled and got the Strollers off to a flying start, Selby in particular carrying on his form this season. Both played chancelessly for an hour before Aidan was caught two shy of 50. At the other end Swan was moving through the gears, unleashing a series of elegant drives and cuts. He passed his 50 and was out for 59 missing a straight one. Guest on debut played some nice shots before being caught for 20; Ball, suffering from the worst hangover in his life, somehow contrived to get to 38 (95% of runs square), steadfastly refusing to run twos (a la Tom Wood) before he was caught behind. Oliver hit a quickfire 12 and Logan and Brizey (strike rate 400%) threw their bats as the Strollers reached a very respectable 207.
A delicious tea (with plenty of beer) was taken al fresco before the Strollers ambled out to field – particular mention must be given to the strenuous Oliver warm-up (Ant to Aidan’s Deck). Oliver and Ngo took the new ball and both bowled with hostility with Glen particularly parsimonious (3-0-4-0) but with little fortune. Gary was especially out of luck, not just because he went wicketless but also on the return from a comfort break he turned his ankle on a stone and had to stay on the sidelines receiving lengthy treatment.
The opening batsmen put on a steady 54 before the Oliver/Selby combination removed the dangerous Flynn. Selby also removed Johnson and Constantine quickly as the Strollers established the upper hand. But the star of the show was undoubtedly tour supremo Macaulay as he ripped through the middle order with a five-fer to record 50 wickets for the season. He was assisted by Oliver, Selby and Guest (making a very difficult chance look very easy) and ultimately himself as he took a very casual one-handed caught and bowled. Patston bowled with guile and picked up 1-3 off his two overs. The only real resistance was from Bloom, who opened and made 55 before he had to retire hurt. But in the end the Strollers won comfortably by 77 runs, thanked their convivial hosts, enjoyed several beers with them and were regaled by the stories of artist and art historian JB chez Stefanie, before retiring to the Prejoly and going for their annual feed at the Relais Imperial.
Capt: Brian Taylor. Wkt: Tim Swan/Gary Ngo.
Beausoleil
Sunday October 2 in St Vallier de Thiey
Strollers lost by four wickets
Strollers 140
(28 overs; Ngo 21no, Oliver 21, Swan 21, Taylor 16, Macaulay 14, Logan 12)
Beausoleil 142-6
(20.2 overs; Oliver 3-35, Patston 1-31, Macaulay 1-35, Ngo 1-41)
After many a bottle of rouge and rosé the night before at the Relais Imperial (where a very unamused parrot took a chunk out of Glen Oliver’s “he loves a scratch under his chin” roaming finger), the third day of the annual trip to Nice started with the touring Strollers staggering their way to breakfast. The 08:00-10:00 breakfast duration duly had the majority of Strollers arriving at 09:59.
When the talk turned to how each individual was pulling up following the team’s marvellous effort the day before, young guns Brian Taylor, Peter Patston, Alastair Macaulay and yes, Jeff Ball, all declared that they were raring to do battle again while the broken and decrepit Glen “there is always something wrong with me” Oliver, Gary “twisted ankle” Ngo and Aidan “black & blue bruised finger” Selby all mumbled over croissants whether there was enough time for another nana nap before the match.
On arrival at the ground, the ever warming up sun was out, drying the dew on the outfield. With no clouds to be seen and 25 degrees forecasted, it promised to be a cracker of a day for the 10-man Strollers. Macaulay returned from the middle declaring victory at the toss, a very rare event for the Strollers this season, and confidently declared we were batting to give, in his words, “our much vaunted batting line-up” first crack on the artificial pitch. Thanks Alastair, there was only ever going to be one outcome after saying that!
Selby and the promoted Chris Guest kicked off proceedings via a cautious start. Guest looked good with some elegant shots until he was the first to depart with an edge behind for eight. Selby, with a slightly unusual grip due to his “ET-looking bruised finger” sustained the day before, scratched around for eight until he middled a superb cut straight to the fielder. “Who the hell has a deep backward point in the opening overs!” Selby was heard to be muttering as his batting season came to a close.
Tim Swan and Taylor nicely ticked the scoreboard over without taking risks and at 63-2 after 12 overs the Strollers were looking good. Unfortunately Alastair’s karma statement started to take effect with a very good looking Swan - his batting wasn’t too bad either - calling yes to a very tight single. Unfortunately for Swan, Usain Bolt wasn’t at the other end. Taylor correctly turned his back on his partner, not wanting to watch as Swan was run out for 21. Jeff “I feel so much better not being hung over today” Ball came and went for one, which left the Strollers 79-4 at drinks.
Taylor must have had quite a few energy drinks at the break as third ball he unusually walked down the track looking to Brendon McCullum one, unfortunately missed and was back at the pavilion stumped for 16. A quickfire 21 from Oliver ended with an edge behind, done in by having too much time to think of a shot, and after a very unusual strategy from Nick “I think I can hit the ball back to England” Logan being stumped for 12, the Strollers were teetering at 104-7.
A good partnership from Macaulay and Ngo ended when Macaulay was bowled by a good ball for 14. Patston, last man in, looked rock solid in defence and was confident of assisting Ngo through the last eight overs of the innings. Unfortunately, Ngo decided to sell poor Patston down the river for a duck which ended with the “much vaunted batting line-up” being all out for 140. Being only 10 players, there were some glances towards the rustling trees as Ngo and Patston were wandering off the field.
We were half-expecting James Timperley, pads on, bat in hand to emerge from the treeline like some action hero ready to save the Strollers (or some might say to score the miserly five runs he needed to hit the magic 1,000-run season’s mark). But alas, our hero was not in evidence and it was unfortunately only Jeff coming back from a pee in the bushes.
After beer and French stick sandwiches were consumed, the Strollers took to the field to try and salvage what had been a very under-par performance so far. The first over had a fired-up Oliver determined to strike some early blows and what an intriguing over it was:
4 – Smacked through cover where Jeff wisely decided not to stick his foot in the way
4 – Cut through backward point
0 – Chunk of the bat goes flying over the stumps to the keeper
4 – New bat smacks Glen for another boundary
W – Glen cleans up off-stump
4 – Glanced for the fourth boundary of the over
The scoreboard thus showed 16-1 after one over. “Should be a quick game” quipped one Stroller as ends were changed. Ngo opened up at the other end as the runs continued to flow from the swinging Beausoleil batters. Luckily some wickets were also falling with Ngo claiming a victim and ending up with 1-41. Oliver, knowing a long winter rest was imminent, came off his longer six-step run-up to finish with 3-35, including a wicket with his last ball.
Fan favourite Macaulay, who has bamboozled batters all season, needed to conjure up yet more magic to see the Stollers home. Despite taking an early wicket, and watching a difficult catch go down, he was not able to rip through the lower order as he has done with ease this season and ended up with 1-35. Patston, sending Ngo to field at very, very, very deep fine leg, also claimed a much deserved wicket but unfortunately it wasn’t enough as some lusty hitting at the end got Beausoleil home after 20.2 overs.
Cheerleaders and scorers Maggie, Tricia and Jo didn’t have much to cheer about and so disappointingly there were no pom-pom waving, streaking or “run Jeff run” chants heard throughout the day. Luckily more rouge and rosé were on hand that night as the team pondered how yet another season - that had seemingly only recently begun with a win against the Pelicans in April - could be finished already.
Capt: Alastair Macaulay. Wkt: Tim Swan.
...................................................................................................................
The final 2016 first class tally was:
Played 36; Won 23; Lost 9; Drawn 2; Abandoned 2.
One game cancelled.
In the midweek matches:
Played 8; Won 6; Lost 1; Tied 1.
Four matches cancelled.
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