2018 match archive
Bottom Paddock
Sunday February 25 in Masterton
Strollers lost by three wickets
Strollers 176-9
(34.4 overs, innings closed; Timperley 40no, Wyatt 29, R Levermore 28, Ovenden 26, Taylor 13, T Wood 11, Logan 10no)
Bottom Paddock 177-7
(34 overs; Timperley 3-9, Laking 1-20, Taylor 1-13, Wood 1-18, McDougall 1-14)
Strollers’ cricketers are well aware of the joys of playing in rustic surroundings. Think of Sheepscombe, Sutton on the Hill, Stanton by Dale and you get the picture. Of course we also play on well-manicured suburban club grounds with excellent facilities, colts’ teams and showers, but there is an extra allure in the rusticity of grounds in the deepest countryside – probably the sight of open fields, hedgerows, butterflies and cattle. Paul Melser’s Bottom Paddock ground (near Masterton in the Wairarapa valley) effortlessly matches the charm of the above grounds.
The match was cricket of the old school, with some players of great ability and others less gifted, but all united in a love of the game. There was a democratic element in the match’s set-up: if you were good and got 40 then, well done but you had to retire at the end of that over; everyone had to bowl a minimum two overs, with four as a maximum. This wasn’t league cricket.
Piers Ovenden won the toss and elected to bat. It was not the easiest of wickets, with some variable bounce, but it was the same for both sides and the sun was shining. Most of the Strollers contributed, with Reuben Levermore (28), Doran Wyatt (29), and Pies (26) the greatest support for James Timperley who had to retire on 40 (there was nothing rustic about James’ elegant batting).
The total of 176 from an allocation of 35 overs was respectable but proved not to be enough. A couple of dropped catches did not help the cause. The top seven batsmen for Bottom Paddock all scored double figures, with one retiring. There was economical bowling: Doran Wyatt (4 overs 0-7), Pies (4 overs 0-6), and James Timperley (4 overs 3-9) all kept the runs down but the home side won by two wickets. Fittingly, Paul Melser scampered the winning run.
The above gives the bare facts of the game. However, to rely just on the bare facts does not do justice to the occasion. Paul Melser’s team were generous hosts and we were made most welcome. Food and drink were in plentiful supply and the stream beckoned for those brave enough. The barbequed paua fritters were a particular novelty for the tourists. Many thanks to Paul’s partner, Francine, for the lavish refreshments.
Some of us had travelled a long way to play the game and it will remain a wonderful experience. For the Levermore brothers, Marcus and Reuben, there was the opportunity to bat together for the first time, opening the batting. It was good to see Reuben and Doran back in the Strollers ranks after a 10 and a seven-year gap respectively.
Many thanks to Paul Melser and his team and to Graeme Ross for scoring and Jeremy Bicknell for umpiring. Graeme suggested the Stroller exiles should return to play Bottom Paddock each year – an invitation difficult to turn down.
P.P.S: Bottom Paddock presented to the Strollers a set of bails crafted from Totara wood by Jeremy Bicknell. Totara is a large, slow-growing native New Zealand tree that can live for 1,000 years or more. In colonial times it was used for building such as ships and railway sleepers. Maori would carve from Totara large waka taua (war canoes) capable of carrying over 100 warriors. The tree features in a Maori proverb which says, "Kua hinga te totara i te wao nui a Tane" (The totara has fallen in the forest of Tane). Tane is the god of the forest. It refers to the belief that when a majestic 1,000-year-old tree dies it is a tragedy; that a person who used to stand tall is not easily replaced.
In short, a gift of Totara is a precious thing - a lovely gesture from Bottom Paddock.
Capt: Piers Ovenden. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match report: Brian Taylor. Victoria University
Thursday March 1 in Wellington
Strollers lost by 57 runs
Victoria University Old Boys 247-3
(40 overs; Thomas 2-36, Macaulay 1-38)
Strollers 190-7
(40 overs; Wood 47, Timperley 43, Thomas 27no, Scanlon 21, Wyatt 11no)
As the Strollers dispersed from Bottom Paddock they had much to reflect on: the Gallipoli exhibition at Te Papa, the waka launch in Wellington harbour on Friday evening, followed by dinner at Field & Green and drinks in town, lunch at Coney’s outside Martinborough on Saturday, and the match itself on Sunday, which could conceivably have ended with a run-out and a tied game.
Any post-match analysis and self-loathing had been quickly lost in a haze of bbq smoke, cold beers, wine and quite a lot of man-hugging. Even the shock, on their return to their accommodation, of watching Mitchell Santner burgle the first ODI between NZ and England with some bravura hitting could not dislodge a healthy glow of satisfaction.
Some of the touring party went North to the lake at Taupo and the wineries of Hawke’s Bay (note the apostrophe). Others went South to return briefly to offices and libraries. All presented themselves at Kelburn Park on time at midday of the Thursday – apart from Doran Wyatt, who was battling the hordes on Lambton Quay trying to get on the cable car.
The Strollers welcomed Glen Scanlon, Andrew Thomas and Murray Waugh to their XI while Reuben Levermore was now wearing the distinctive green and gold one-day colours sported by the Victoria University of Wellington Old Boys team. (Fear not Simon, the Strollers were immaculate in their whites, all neatly washed and pressed since the Sunday). Also in the Old Boys team was James Boyle, brother of Dan.
James Timperley won the toss and invited our hosts to bat on a green wicket with some lingering moisture, thanks to Cyclone Gita the week before. Unfortunately the poor catching that had plagued the Strollers at Bottom Paddock was in evidence again, many, many times over. As a result wickets were hard to come by. Alastair Macaulay and Andrew Thomas had to hit the stumps to have any joy. The Old Boys made steady progress – three batsmen getting themselves in and then retiring once they reached 50 – before a late flurry took them to an imposing 247-3 from their 40 overs. A spectator who had parked behind the groundsman’s shed at square leg was left aghast that the Strollers’ bowling at the death could allow a six through their passenger side window.
In reply the Strollers lost early, vital, wickets. Glen Scanlon and Tom Wood repaired the damage. The skipper tried to set a platform for his lower order hitters. And Thomas and Wyatt duly biffed away at an impressive rate. But the total was always beyond reach. In truth the Strollers did well to bat out their 40 overs against an impressive bowling attack that featured some devilishly accurate and consistent leg spin, a lot of medium pace wisdom and some rather quick, and coltish looking, swing bowlers.
So the Strollers maintained their 100% record in New Zealand. However, as on the Sunday, any self-doubt or psychological wounding was washed away by their hosts’ hospitality. The Old Boys laid on a bbq of simply monstrous proportions that the assembled teams could make only a small dent in. Both sides mingled with supporters on the balcony with their drinks as the sun graciously bowed out. It was a pleasure to see the extended Strollers family – a large number of NZ-based Timperleys were present at various points during the day, as well of course as Martha, Tricia, Rosie, Hanna, and the youth squad of Alice, Eve, Tate and Robbie. There were speeches – or a korero even, if one was to impose a local bent to proceedings – with generous thanks given to Scottie Anderson and Colin Owen of the VUW Cricket Club and Hamish McDougall and Piers Ovenden for organising the day. Hamish, bestriding the two camps like a cricketing colossus, recognised the good heart and spirit in which both clubs play the game.
The following day, Friday, was a free day, with the Strollers able to return to the Gallipoli exhibition if they so wished. A keen local Strollers supporter, Stephanie Brown, hosted a bbq at her house overlooking Oriental Bay. A stunning evening and excellent company made for another enjoyable evening, surrounded by another mountain of food, including a pavlova decked out in Strollers colours.
On the Saturday the tour party donned their own Strollers colours once more to go to the stadium to witness the ODI between England and New Zealand. A dodgy drop-in pitch made for a gripping contest that came down to the last ball. The tour party repaired to the Thistle – one of the, if not the, oldest pub in New Zealand – for one last pint and to officially draw the tour to a close.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees and match report: Piers Ovenden.
Great Missenden Pelicans
Sunday April 22 in Great Missenden
Strollers lost by 25 runs
Pelicans 205-9 dec
(44 overs; Ngo 2-22, Crocker 2-26, Macaulay 2-43, Rothberg 1-20, Colbeck 1-26, Simon Brodbeck 1-32)
Strollers 180
(34.4 overs; Timperley 96, Crocker 22, Colbeck 17, Hodgson 12, Macaulay 12no)
“And when he saw the breadth of his domain, he wept...for there were no more worlds to conquer” - James Timperley, aka Alexander the Great.
After what felt like a never-ending winter, amidst gazing longingly at updates from the Strollers tour of NZ, London snow in March, and QPR looking like being relegated for another pitiful season, we were blessed with a week of cracking weather to ensure the season started on schedule. It transpired to be a record-breaking game, for all the right reasons thankfully. Also, Sam Oakman made his Strollers debut after some dedicated winter nets attendance.
It would be fair to say the Strollers were a tad rusty in the field. However, it was a day for either the spectacular or the abysmal, with not a lot in between.
Warren Crocker started accurately, only conceding one run from his first three overs, but it was one more wicket that he was really after…
Gary Ngo took a few more deliveries to find his length, but did strike first with a decent delivery in his second over that the opener played all round. His third over proved decisive as well, trapping the next man lbw after managing to get one to skid through on a soft surface.
But the highlight of the innings must fall to Mr Crocker, who notched up his Strollers wicket No 300 DIY style, bellowing “WAZZER’S!!!!” as he caught one off his own bowling at cover. Congratulations Wazza!
Jim Hodgson and Simon Brodbeck followed the opening pair, hoping to make further inroads, but their batsmen appeared much more interested in finding the shorter boundary, and so the ball-finding squads were out at regular intervals whilst the scoreboard grew at an alarming rate.
Dollies dropped, boundaries conceded and calamitous run-outs missed were all quickly forgotten thanks to some spectacular wicketkeeping, catches over the shoulder, dives at backward point and even a little juggling show at slip. Well caught, Manoj.
Alastair Macaulay and Ben Rothberg started as if the winter break had never happened. Ben picked up a wicket with only his fourth ball, and Alastair added two wickets to his career tally. Tom Colbeck also chanced his arm, starting more accurately than previous season-openers, but still delivering the occasional slow-armed-beamer for old times’ sake.
At the break, the Strollers were set 205 for victory and faced the chunky cheese, ham and pickle baguettes while pondering their attack.
As the skies threatened to cloud over, Hamish McDougall and Tom Colbeck opened the batting. Some early sighters were calmly averted until a very ambitious run led to the demise of Hamish after a direct hit.
Which brought the captain, and chasing all-time-highest-run-scorer Timperley to the crease, needing 70 to take the title off Simon Brodbeck, who was nervously looking on for the sidelines. Was this the day he lost his title? Or perhaps it was to be the day to reclaim it?
James and Tom steadied the ship and built a partnership of 30 before Tom nicked one behind and the keeper rather fortunately gloved it to second slip. Which brought the debutant Oakman to the crease, who looked more comfortable nudging singles around than he did covering the short boundary whilst fielding. His virgin innings was short-lived though, adding only five runs. Manoj unfortunately didn’t trouble the scorers, but Crocker and Timperley were crunching the ball to all parts of the ground, putting together a strong partnership of 76 as James notched up the required 70 to become the highest-run-scorer of all time for FSSCC. Congratulations James!
The excitement of it all was clearly too much for Mr Crocker, who tried to get in on the applause only to hole out at square leg.
With the score now at 144-5, the Strollers needed 61 to win off 11 overs. Easy pickings with our most esteemed batsman at the crease you would think, but just to make it interesting James got himself out 10 runs later whilst four short of his nineteenth century for the Strollers. It was debatable as to what was more exciting in the pavilion – would the Strollers get over the line, or would Simon get to the crease and reclaim his title?
Jim Hodgson (12) and Macaulay valiantly tried to keep the runs coming, but another direct hit in the field saw the end of Jim (12). Brodbeck was indeed going to get his chance. He only needed to score every single run required (25), and then hit a boundary off the winning delivery to do it. A challenge it must be said, but not an impossibility.
Instead, he was bowled first ball. Their death bowler Hasan Arif proved all too much for our tail, finishing with 4-15 off 3.4 overs.
Congratulations Pelicans. You have clearly been doing fielding drills all winter.
Long may the Strollers records continue to tumble.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees: Jim Hodgson. Match report: Tom Colbeck.
Marlow Park
Sunday April 29 in Marlow
Strollers won by five wickets
Marlow Park 131-9
(35 overs; Crocker 2-14, Usher 2-16, Macaulay 2-31, Salvesen 1-10, Keightley 1-31)
Strollers 132-5
(29.4 overs; Timperley 69no, Robertson 36)
Early in the season it is always a delight to renew acquaintances with Strollers teammates. When everyone gets back together it’s a hubbub of activity and commotion as we all catch up. In this case that hubbub took place with the 11 present Strollers huddled closely together in a slowly rotating circle, huddling for warmth as would a flock of Antarctic penguins. It was very cold at Marlow Park. As we huddled and rotated, I took the chance to ponder how my teammates had most likely spent their off-season...
Simon Brodbeck, ensconced in a Churchillian war bunker-esque comms room, making and fielding countless telephone calls with rival cricket clubs and negotiating fixtures for the season ahead.
James Timperley, turning his dining room table into a big cricket field shuffle board, moving imaginary fielders around and thoughtfully scratching where his beard used to be.
Richard Keightley, owner-operator of a Mr Whippy truck, selling ice creams and other extra curriculars to the residents of Upper Walthamstow.
Aidan Selby and Glenn Oliver, having their customary sleepovers and quarrelling like an old married couple.
Tom Colbeck - the Bryan Fantana of the FSSCC - earning a handsome living from his profession as the world’s pre-eminent cat photographer.
Sam Brodbeck, exhausting himself with repeated trips to and from China to meet with sweatshop owners and barter over rates for mass production of Strollers homeware, collectables and memorabilia.
Alastair Macaulay, kissing his poster of Harry Kane every night before tucking himself into bed.
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Timpers - less his erstwhile impressive beard - lost the toss and was invited to put on three layers of wool and field in a 35 overs per side game. Warren Crocker and Tom Salvesen opened the bowling and were impressive early. The other nine Strollers (including me, two pairs of gloves weren’t enough for the hands to feel warm) jogged on the spot and hoped the ball didn’t come their way.
Salvesen had exactly two looseners, then settled into a line and length so consistent I started to suspect he might be a robot - and consequently fear that when he'd finished his spell he might want to overthrow society as we know it - possibly violently. On the rare occasion he strayed from his metronomic line and length, the delivery (even before it had pitched) was immediately followed by a clearly audible “sorry!”. I wasn’t sure to whom he was apologising: his skipper, the team, or the batsman. But I kind of hope he was apologising to himself, for allowing his own impeccable standards to drop by even a smidgeon.
It was with one such delivery that he struck the first blow of the day, Marlow Park’s opening bat Del Hoggan caught by Crocker at square leg. Despite beating the bat a further 25 times, there was to be no further reward for Big Tommy Sal's mesmerising away swingers - much to the relief of the slips cordon, who couldn’t feel their fingers.
A holding pattern of economical bowling from Crocker, Salvesen and Simon Usher took us nearly to drinks before Macaulay entered the fray and struck twice in his second over - both batsmen flummoxed by flight while trying to work to leg. It may just have been that he was cold, but Macaulay seems to have done away with a yard or so of pace over the winter (he didn't need it anyway) - stay tuned for lots of drift, flight, wile and guile this season.
A promising fourth-wicket stand was eventually broken by Crocker (returning for a second spell) and Usher (fielding near the cover boundary). Crocker invited a lofted off-drive, which was sailing in the general vicinity of Simon Usher. Usher made good ground, and seemed sure to swallow the catch. Suddenly, he stopped making good ground and needed to leap horizontally to complete the catch. To his credit, he did just that. Was it definitely a massive Hollywood? This reporter wouldn’t like to pass judgement. It was certainly a very sharp catch though.
Two balls later the other set batsman, Kyle Bradley on 58, tried the same shot. This time Usher ambled in, jogged on the spot for a while, hopped from side to side a few times, tip-toed back and jumped high in the air to pouch another screamer. Two set batsmen gone, two well deserved wickets for Crocker, and two utterly sensational (if not slightly 'Hollywood') grabs for Usher.
Keightley returned to the bowling crease and completed an unusual allotment of seven overs consisting of an over that disappeared for 17, book-ended by two parsimonious spells of three overs. As the popular Meatloaf song goes, six out of seven (and a wicket) ain’t bad. But would he have snared a second wicket if he still had his beard? Probably.
Usher mopped up the tail to snare two well deserved wickets of his own, and at the end of 35 overs Marlow Park had been restricted to 131-9. A very good bowling effort from FSSCC, albeit on a pitch offering variable bounce, and with a thick outfield placing a premium on boundaries, we weren’t counting any chickens just yet.
Tom Colbeck and handy new recruit Pete Robertson began our pursuit of (according to the scoreboard) 122 for victory. Colbeck managed a single, and shepherded several fine leg byes, before making way for Timperley, who probably would have made a century last week if he hadn’t shaved his beard. Robertson and Timperley dug in and batted sensibly in the conditions, getting through to drinks at 85-1.
Just when we thought we could relax in the bar while Robertson and Timperley finished things off for us, a patented Strollers collapse took place - four wickets falling in the space of ten runs. Comic scenes followed, with middle-lower order batsmen having decided it was safe to change out of their whites, then having to re-don them with urgency. Have I mentioned it was cold? Exposing bare skin to the elements was highly painful, so spare a thought for the poor guys. The atmosphere was tense, and stress levels only rose further when we reminded ourselves of what Tom Wood would say (let alone the look of reproach) if we didn't seal the deal after his masterclass on the same pitch several years ago (and inability to understand how anyone else could struggle on it). We needn't have feared, JT and Salvesen calmly polished off the required runs to seal victory.
OR HAD THEY???? As stumps were being pulled and hands warmly shaken, a message emerged from the scorers that we were still ten runs short of the target - the 122 on the scoreboard should have been 132. As far as a 'mystery extra ten' goes, it wasn't as entertaining as the ECB is hoping theirs will be, but it was probably about as farcical. As the lower-middle order engaged in yet more outfit changes, Timperley and Salvesen (two men with a combined resting heart rate of 47) predictably stayed quite calm The second target was reached, more handshakes, more stump pulling, and it was time to wrap up and enjoy the medicinal, warming effects of a delicious Rebellion.
A win (opening the Strollers’ 2018 account) on a nice ground against friendly opposition meant most went home happy. Not me though. Two visits to Marlow Park have now netted me two ducks...
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Mike Pittams
Match fees: Richard Keightley. Match Report: Mike Pittams.
Fulmer
Sunday May 6 at Pinkneys Green
Strollers won by eight wickets
Fulmer 200
(39.1 overs; Macaulay 3-32, Rory Wood 2-32, Sampat 2-41, Simon Brodbeck 1-4, Colbeck 1-49)
Strollers 204-2
(32.5 overs; Loan 87no, Timperley 72no, Addis 19, Colbeck 10)
The first proper day of summer surrounded Pinkneys Green. A blemishless and avuncular sky sat atop a verdant field and a dry pitch surrounded by old trees that gave us just a little more than Spring’s first leaves. Strollers’ spirits were only matched by the abundant thermals which set above them no fewer than six of those Strollers Ultras, the Red Kites. Alastair Macaulay began the game with 399 wickets to his name, hoping to soar past 400, and the Strollers welcomed Anand Sampat, who beat his Strollers wings for the first time, as well as the fledgling Alice Timperley keenly observing it all.
Mental dark clouds broiled somewhat when the opposition were revealed to be Fulmer, not the anticipated Demijohns – who could not raise a side. Fulmer, who occupy a Saturday spot later in the season, were described as “good”, and certainly echoed that description through youthful visages and activities such as stretching.
Yet they were rudderless at the start, and our skipper, James Timperley, through agreement, led the Strollers (at this point numbering only 10) out to field. Fulmer’s opening batsmen, Messrs Mani and Anjan, began by steadily resisting the bowling of Rory Wood and Tom Colbeck, and between them built an impressive partnership on what looked like a batting pitch as the sun grew heavier. Mani in particular delivered some exquisite shots, though he narrowly escaped two catches – one to gully off the first ball, and the other driven straight to the chest of Sampat at cover. A lesser man’s sternum would have shattered, Mr Sampat proving he has what it takes to be a Stroller.
Yours truly, however, is made of jellier stuff, and began to worry as the opening partnership exceeded 80 at the eleventh over and began to dispatch Sampat’s medium pace at first change. My wobbles were steadied as our skipper took the ball in his hand and slowed the rate of scoring down, allowing only four runs to be had off his two overs. A premature shout of “drinks!” came from the pavilion, though this may have been a mirage, and the dry-mouthed cricketers were forced to continue. Perhaps this frustrated the batsmen as Mani was finally dispatched, caught and bowled by Colbeck toward the end of a lengthy eight-over spell, for 67. Soon after, their No 3 was run out for six, thanks to a rapid arm from that man Colbeck followed by a deft pick-up from Mike Loan behind the stumps. The very next ball their No 4 was bowled for a golden duck. The Strollers hat-trick was subsequently denied despite an lbw appeal.
Our eleventh man, Manoj Reddy, was seen ambling on the perimeter towards the changing room, heralding the approach of drinks no doubt, and, so whetted, Wood caught and bowled the remaining opening batsman: Anjan out for 26. The tide looked as if it was turning – at drinks, 122-4.
Despite the heat and haze more akin to August, a spring was in the step of the Strollers with the dismissal of the two opening batsmen. Sampat resumed, dismissing their No 5 for 31, taking his first Strollers wicket, clean bowled. George Calvocoressi cast off the winter with ease as he, engine well-oiled, prevented the batsmen scoring more than 14 off his three overs, and securing a maiden in the process. Reddy, fresh from drinks, at the same end allowed only 10 from his three; yours truly from the other, allowed only 11 off four with Icarus-like deliveries; Macaulay, taking three from his eight-over spell for just 32 runs, bowled well given that a large proportion of those runs were from one over and one batsman, whom he dismissed caught behind as punishment; Simon Brodbeck took the last wicket.
And so to tea with the Strollers having clawed back the situation. The second innings saw the Strollers chase 200 successfully, though not without loss. Colbeck was dismissed for 10 after being caught in the fifth over, and Jono Addis was dismissed lbw in the tenth over for 19, leaving the score 38-2 off 10. But Messrs Timperley, 12 fours, and Loan - with nine fours and three sixes, including one that struck a moving car (I can still hear the sharp collective gasp) - accrued an unbeaten partnership of 166 to win the game.
It was a game well won. Summer at last.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Mike Loan.
Match fees: Simon Brodbeck. Match report: David Kelsey.
Amersham
Sunday May 13 at Shardeloes
Strollers lost by eight wickets
Strollers 132
(35.4 overs; Timperley 43, Pittams 12, Addis 11, Colbeck 11)
Amersham 134-2
(21.2 overs; Reddy 1-35, Colbeck 1-43)
The wrong sorts of record were broken at Amersham’s bucolic sun-drenched ground. But more of that later.
Things got off to a bad start when it became apparent that the Strollers would take the field with 10 men. A crucial email may have been missed, admitted the match manager. Luckily, Simon Brodbeck was easily lured from the hipster brunch spots of north London.
"They look young, fit and organised,” said James Timperley as the opposition ran fielding drills and an unprecedented pre-match net session.
Yet the Strollers skipper was confident. Toss won, Jono Addis and Hamish McDougall strode out to the middle. McDougall was bowled by a good ball from the beefy opening bowler Stuart Rogers, who came charging down the hill, moaning about the previous night’s hangover.
Timperley and Addis saw off the openers and slowly grew in confidence. A few booming drives from Timperley, who was enjoying the hard, even wicket, forced Amersham into another change. This brought the overseas professional – selected in a bid to stem a poor run of form in the first team – into the attack. Addis was soon gone, leg before wicket to his ball-on-a-string off-breaks.
The Strollers pushed on, a healthy 102-3 at the drinks break. But the captain was soon trudging back, just minutes after gulping down the suspiciously dark red cordial. Was it spiked? It cannot be ruled out.
Mike Pittams looked comfortable before becoming the second lbw decision of the innings. Next ball Sam Brodbeck, who wasn’t around long enough to determine whether he was comfortable or not, was clean bowled.
Tom Colbeck and Sam Oakman swatted away but wickets kept falling as Amersham’s captain and returning opening bowler Andrew Viney settled into a dangerous rhythm. The mood among the defeated batsmen were briefly lifted by a startling revelation from Nick Daly, who took a rare day off from preparing Lord’s for the arrival of the Pakistanis at the end of month.
"I used to bat left-handed at the start of the innings, because I could defend better that way, and then I’d switch once I had my eye in,” Daly said. Despite a good start, he perished before he had the chance to treat spectators to his mid-innings switch.
By the time Simon Brodbeck came to the wicket, the Strollers had scored 30 runs and lost seven wickets in just 15.3 overs. A ball later and the Strollers were all out for 132. Maggie Patston was not required to confirm whether two members of the same family had ever both been bowled for golden ducks in the same innings...
Tea (reminiscent of a Subway meal-deal, according to chief nutritionist Jono Addis) was served.
Daly and Colbeck took the new ball. Was the captain’s audacious move influenced by the presence of Colbeck senior? He was spotted prowling the boundary, searching for weaknesses among Amersham’s batsmen, before heading back down the M40 to watch Shepherd’s Bush CC who – we were told – had a greater chance of victory.
And it was the shaggy-haired leg spinner who made the first breakthrough, though not with a leg-break. "I was coming out of the sun, like the Red Baron," Colbeck later explained. "He made the crucial mistake of expecting the ball to bounce."
Daly was probing and quick, but could not find a way through. The skipper turned to Manoj Reddy and the impact was immediate. A disciple of the book of Colbeck, he fired a full toss at Amersham’s Sri Lankan pro, Madhuka Liyanapathiranage, who instead of hitting the ball out of the ground skied it into the arms of Timperley.
Two down, could the Strollers do the impossible? Well, no, not by a long shot, if we’re being honest.
Richard Keightley, happy to be away from DIY decorating duty in Walthamstow, and Sam Brodbeck made one last vain effort. Drinks were called with three runs needed for victory. "Play on," growled Colbeck. "I'd rather have a cold fizzy one in five minutes."
As Pittams expertly collected the tenners – “I picked a bad AGM to miss,” sniffed McDougall – cool pints of Rebellion were delivered, and suddenly things didn’t seem so bad.
"Is that clock broken? It can’t really be only 5.30 can it,” asked a hopeful Timperley.
Unfortunately the clock wasn’t broken but, in the warm fuzzy Buckinghamshire air, it hardly seemed to matter.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees: Mike Pittams, Match report: Sam Brodbeck.
Bricklayer's Arms
Thursday May 17 at Barn Elms in Barnes
Strollers won by 62 runs
Strollers 169-9
(20 overs; Pittams 39no, McDougall 35no, M Daly 23, Alley 22, Ngo 15, Usher 10)
Bricklayer's Arms 107
(16.2 overs; Usher 3-26, Alley 2-13, Aspland 1-2, N Daly 1-5, M Daly 1-14, Ngo 1-19)
It was 3am Thursday, 17 May 2018. Nick Daly tore up another sheet of paper and tossed it into the corner of the room. A small avalanche of crumpled envelopes tumbled to his feet, each a different permutation of the batting order for his debut as Strollers skipper. Daly looked at his latest musing, scrawled on a FINAL REMINDER to pay his water bill, and sighed. He took a swig of stale coffee and wondered aloud, "What would Timpers do?".
"He would probably turn the light off," mumbled Nick's brother Mike from above. Whether the Dalys still (or ever did) share a bunk bed, and why the probable fact became part of the back story of a midweek match report is anyone's guess. Perhaps it's one of those seemingly irrelevant observations that will later form the basis of a clever twist to the story. More likely it's because your reporter's memories of the events of that fateful day over two weeks ago are hazy at best, and he needed some irrelevant filler to meet his editor's word count.
Anyway, come match day Daly gave no hint of the weariness he felt after a sleepless night orchestrating the optimum arrangement of his mini-Subbuteo Strollers, and he sent Mike Pittams and Hamish McDougall (who was making his first midweek appearance of the season) out with instructions to get things started at double pace.
The openers duly obliged, carving up the field with ease. Each rapidly accumulated quarter-centuries, scattering shots around the boundaries, including three fine sixes from Pittams. McDougall seemed to approve of his first foray into the no-nonsense 20-over version of the game, and this writer approved of his equally nonsense-less form.
The retiring pair were replaced by Pete Robertson and John Low, who struggled to carry on the momentum and were sent on their way back to the sideline.
Gary Ngo and Top-bunk Daly pushed things forward again and each notched up respectable sums; both were unlucky not to reach the retirement threshold.
Captain Daly replaced Ngo at the crease after the latter was nabbed straying outside his crease at 15. But alas the brotherly batting bond was briskly broken when our skip decided to give the tail order a chance to shine, and spooned one back to the bowler without scoring. Brother Mike followed shortly after, caught agonisingly short of retirement on 23.
Mitch Alley was next up and took the proverbial bull by the horns, repeatedly directing the ball to the boundary on his way to 22, but the remainder of the lower order failed to get a foothold and stumbled. McDougall and Pittams returned thusly to see out the last few overs of the innings, finishing up on 33 and 39 respectively.
Daly consulted his MS Project chart during the changeover and confirmed that Simon Usher would kick off the bowling attack. It was a wise move and in-form Usher struck three times in quick succession, with catches taken by Bill-Dodging-Daly, Recently-Rebearded-Keightley and Fresh-Blood-Ben Aspland, who was making his Strollers debut after a 15-year hiatus from stepping on a pitch.
Aspland took his turn and dispatched a few looseners to blow out some deeply-entrenched cobwebs. He corrected the calibration in his second over and took out middle stump.
Alley followed with a sharp spell and took two more wickets, with the remaining scalps taken by Ngo, Daly Mk1 and Daly Mk2. An uncharacteristically unwayward return from the outfield by your scribe secured a run-out to add to the Strollers' tally.
And so despite a defiant and classy unbeaten 42 from the Bricklayers' Yogi Patel, the visitors came up 62 short of the 169-run target set by the Strollers.
Here therefore ends this somewhat sketchy, occasionally fictitious, undoubtedly tardy account of Thames Water's Most Wanted's successful first outing as skipper.
Capt: Nick Daly. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees and match report: Richard Keightley.
Roehampton
Sunday May 20 on Putney Common
Strollers lost by seven wickets
Strollers 243-3
(35 overs; Timperley 70, Loan 69no, Robertson 45, Beale 15no, McDougall 10)
Roehampton 245-3
(33.5 overs; Swan 1-25, Macaulay 1-51, Allsopp 1-63)
Where to start but with The Wedding? It was, after all, the perfect marriage of tradition and modernity, or gravitas and glamour, that has been reflected throughout the Strollers’ recent history, in which a sturdy institution has been reinvigorated by some New World talent. Or how James Timperley played Meghan Markle to Kimball Bailey’s Prince Harry, if you like.
It left much to be discussed as the Strollers assembled under the blazing sunshine on Putney Heath. The cancellation of Saturday’s match had freed up some time for serious royal watching (or recovering from hangovers in time for the cup final) and there was plenty of inspiration for the keen observer.
Lord Of All Hopefulness was an apposite choice of hymn for optimistic batsmen aiming to bounce back from the horrors of Amersham - and Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer came in useful for Mike Beale as he looked for directions on a last-minute dash from the wrong ground. There were also claims that the dinner committee was considering booking The Most Rev Michael Curry, of the American Episcopal Church, for next year’s speech. But while Windsor may have had Pomp and Circumstance, Brenda & Co have never been treated to anything like Alastair Macaulay’s Enigma Variations.*
Winning the toss, skipper Timperley elected to bat, with some help from junior pitch consultant Alice, and Hamish McDougall set out where he left off in the last midweek match with a quickfire 10 cruelly cut short by a smart low catch at gully to opening bowler Charlie Gibbons. Would the Strollers Decline and Fall? Not so.
JT was next up, and with Pete Robertson repelled the bowling with forceful intent. Timperley feasted on some occasionally wayward offerings and the scoreboard rocketed along to 79-1 after 10 overs until Roehampton skipper Max Huntley brought himself on to inject some pace to proceedings. This led to a period of slight reining in and calls for helmets, but the danger looked to have passed when Robertson miscued a delivery from slow bowler Fahad Hasan to be caught on 45 just before drinks. The Strollers took refreshment at 18 overs with the score on 113-2.
Timperley and new batsman Mike Loan ticked along, still at six an over, and their strokeplay began to draw the crowds. There was a sizeable following of picnickers and dog walkers (“about as many as you get for a List-A match in New Zealand”) to watch Loan charge down the wicket to hit two straight sixes and Timperley place the ball through the gaps in the field. The skipper eventually departed lbw for 70, bringing Michael Beale to the crease.
The weekend debutant played himself in patiently for his 15 and helped Loan (69 not out) get the score up to 243-3 at tea. It was agreed by all in the clubhouse that 244 provided quite a target.
Simon Usher and Tom Colbeck opened things up for the Strollers, Colbeck still smarting somewhat from having forgotten his socks. Luckily he found a sports shop in Barnes that apparently caters for cricketers who have forgotten crucial items of kit: £14 for some emergency replacements.
Usher was soon into the swing of things, keeping the slips interested as a couple of edges flew wide, and Colbeck rolled his wrist up the hill for a full seven overs (0-40). “I always think you really get going in your sixth,” said Timperley by way of encouragement.
The first 10 overs yielded only seven boundaries as the Strollers put in an enthusiastic display in the field - not least Beale, who was dispatched to patrol the Long Boundary - and the run rate was climbing. Tim Swan turned his arm over bravely, having hurt his shoulder in a fall from his bike, and Alastair was brought into the attack, resulting in the usual whirring of cogs in the batsmen’s minds as they tried to work out how to play him (Back? Forward? No, definitely back ... oh).
Macaulay was creating chances and could count himself unfortunate not to have picked up a wicket or two, but both openers looked set (the well-built Ben Conway swung his arms to pass 50) as drinks approached. A switch of ends for Swan (5-1-25-1) and a superb catch by Colbeck brought the breakthrough. Conway looked to drive to the short mid-wicket boundary, but Colbeck defied his high centre of gravity to snaffle the ball low to his left. The score was 97-1 at the halfway stage, 25 runs or so off the required rate.
Timperley turned to Allsopp after drinks, bowling to the short boundary. “Death or glory,” mused Allsopp, who had eschewed winter nets. Macaulay, meanwhile, continued to trundle away and bowled Stephen Kent, the other opener, who departed with a magnificent heave-ho that never came close to locating the ball. New batsmen Gibbons and Huntley looked to probe the field and run singles, but despite the occasional boundary failed to truly hit out as the bowlers kept a fairly tight line and length. Allsopp bowled Gibbons with a no-ball, before finally getting his man as the batsman skied a catch to the gloves of McDougall.
Roehampton were 100 runs short with ten overs remaining, but the batsmen didn’t panic and, it has to be said, showed impressive application and shot selection to whittle away at the target. Usher returned to replace Macaulay (7-0-51-1) with 60 needed off five, but then even the good balls started disappearing to the boundary. Allsopp (7-0-63-1) suffered a dent to his figures with a final over that cost 20, even though Timperley had placed Colbeck, “being a tall bloke”, as a square leg boundary sentinel.
JT brought himself on to try to stem the tide, but Huntley (55*) and especially Hasan (45*) kept steering the ball past the fielders. They took 16 off Usher’s final over - his 0-47 far worse on paper than he deserved - to complete a splendid run chase (and set a challenge for the statisticians - highest successful chase against the Strollers?). A galling result after such a strong batting performance, but a cool pint on a glorious summer’s evening soon made things seem a lot better. It’s all in the Circle of Life, as a certain popular wedding singer might say.
*As a footnote, your correspondent emerged blinking into the light having put to bed 23 pages of Harry’n’Meghan coverage the previous day in The Sunday Telegraph (oh, and a 12-page picture supplement) ... though it was made easier, in the finest Fleet Street tradition, with generous helpings of champagne and some excellent “Windsor Knot” ale created specially for the day by the Windsor & Eton brewery.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees: Mike Loan. Match report: Laurie Allsopp.
Maidenhead and Bray
Sunday May 27 at Bray
Strollers won by three wickets
Maidenhead & Bray 150
(33.4 overs; Macaulay 3-33, Timperley 2-14, Dawson 1-31)
Strollers 154-6
(39.3 overs; McDougall 26, Travis 24, Dawson 23, Oliver 11no, Calvocoressi 11, Martin 10no)
The Strollers may have wondered if they had arrived at Brisbane rather than Bray, such was the oppressive humidity in the air. It hung over the outfield and adjacent churchyard like a sticky mist, glistening the brows and underarms of even the fittest Australians in the ranks.
Steve Waugh was never one to bowl first, no matter how humid, but skipper James Timperley had no such qualms, sending his men into the field with plenty of grumbles about the heat. The Strollers boasted one of their best pace attacks in recent memory: Lachlan Williams and Steve Martin (literally) steamed in and moved it around. Unfortunately, both were stalked by injury; Steve suffered a side strain and Lockie fell to the ground clutching a heavily-strapped knee.
Like a pair of ANZAC troopers, both resolutely returned to the attack but failed to make much headway into the Bray order, with the openers particularly severe on anything short. The opposition also had injury concerns. Club stalwart Michael Parkinson pulled a muscle going for a quick single and limped off, retired hurt. Timperley then removed the dangerous Australian opener Sean Phillips-Williams lbw and suddenly the Strollers were back in the game.
Alastair Macaulay bowled a masterly spell. Perhaps the thick air made his velocity even slower than usual and three Bray batsmen succumbed to shots played about five minutes too early. One expressed incredulity at being bowled behind his legs, a la Mike Gatting and Shane Warne. The disbelief may have stemmed from doubt the ball was travelling fast enough to knock the bails off.
So, a good fightback meant Bray were shot out for 150. A very gettable target from 40 overs, especially when George Calvocoressi (10) and Hamish McDougall (26) put on a steady opening stand of 57, with extras helpfully contributing the bulk of the runs.
Steve, ever the ANZAC, came out to bat first drop despite his stricken side and grimaced after each shot. He managed a mighty six over long-on but soon had to retire to let others see us home.
Blair Travis was on Strollers debut – yet another ‘Lion’ recruited from Victoria University of Wellington CC. He showed much promise, making his way to a classy 24 despite not having picked up a bat for a few years. We hope to see more of him.
He had able support by another impressive recent recruit, Adrian Dawson, who chipped 23 valuable runs to get us within cooee of the target, before he was bowled by a slower ball.
The Strollers were always up with the required run rate but never ahead of it. Six were needed off the last two overs when Glen Oliver reached the crease. He too was batting crocked, with a recent shoulder operation meaning he couldn’t raise his top hand above the perpendicular. Luckily the bottom hand was still working, as he smashed a four down the ground to win the match in the last over.
So, a rare win for 2018 and an enjoyable one too. Physiotherapists are rejoicing with the earnings boost. Beers, ciders and orange squashes were had in front of the pavilion. As the humidity levels finally fell with the setting sun, the Strollers were relieved on what is likely to be the sweatiest and most injurious day of the season.
*Both teams played 10-a-side by prior arrangement.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees: Glen Oliver. Match report: Hamish McDougall.
Commons Old Boys
Thursday May 31 at Barnes
Strollers won by 126 runs
Strollers 220-4
(20 overs; M Daly 31, Pittams 30, Alley 28 ret, P Wood 28 ret, McDougall 25 ret, Keightley 15no, Usher 15no, Williams 11)
Commons Old Boys 94
(20 overs; Oakman 2-12, Ngo 1-10, Keightley 1-10, Usher 1-14, P Wood 1-15)
After a long day spent anxiously checking weather forecasts, precipitation percentages, and Strollers’ heads poking out of office buildings across London, FSSCC met the lively Commons Old Boys at a cloudy and humid Barnes.
Captain Gary Ngo opted to bat first, despite the Strollers’ aggressive fielding practice taking place during his arrival and the fact that the opposition only had seven players. However, with storm clouds gathering overhead and light already fading at 6pm, this looked a good call.
Hamish McDougall and Mike Pittams opened the batting, the latter sporting a handlebar moustache closely toeing the line between 1970s adult film actor and Mitchell Johnson c. 2013-14 Ashes series. After a couple of opening sighters, a barrage of boundaries followed.
Whilst air traffic was diverted from the area and migrating geese scattered, both were busy laying the foundations what was to come. Pittams eventually departed (caught sub) as did McDougall (retired), gracefully leaving some runs on the wicket for the rest of the team.
The salvo continued with Mitch Alley and debutant Pete Wood. Alley, showing great patience after facing an over including four wides and a no ball, scored runs at pace and played some fine shots to reach 28 (retd). As Wood took chunks out of the sight screen and dealt mainly in boundaries, the ever-increasing run rate led the watching Strollers to believe something special was unfolding.
The idea that every batsmen might pass 25 was short lived as Sam Oakman was caught at square leg, but Mike Daly was on hand to put the pressure back on the bowlers, scoring a fiery 31 (retd) including four consecutive boundaries to finish.
As the innings neared its close, the Strollers’ tail wagged – adding almost 50 runs to the already impressive total. Simon Usher and Richard Keightley guided the team home, each unbeaten on 15.
After a quick turnaround the Strollers set about defending their formidable total. Early wickets fell to the opening pair of Usher and Ngo, both claiming victims in their first over. At two down, the Commons Old Boys would need something special.
The opening pacemen were then met with tougher resistance, straight balls were blocked and slightly looser deliveries clipped for runs. With batsmen Point and Cork both making their way to respectable scores in the circumstances, Ngo opted to change up the attack and Keightley struck quickly by removing Cork, stumps flying as he played on to a ball cutting in off the seam.
The scoring began to slow with Lachlan Williams bowling fast and straight, conceding just six runs from his three overs. Two batsmen then departed in consecutive overs, no doubt so focused on Williams’ previous deliveries that Oakman’s slow dollies were causing confusion – both caught at gully.
After Wood removed Bartlett for a duck, the Stollers were met with Commons Old Boys captain, ‘Coach’, swinging hard. Alongside the lively batsman Matthews, who added to the total and provided entertaining commentary throughout, runs began to leak through what had been a watertight Strollers’ field.
Sensing this, and in the mood to ensure a comprehensive victory, Ngo called on the death-bowling trio of Keightley, Pittams and McDougall. All bowled tightly and by removing Matthews for 23, closed out what had been an excellent, and potentially record-breaking, Strollers performance.
Capt: Gary Ngo. Wkt: Michael Beale.
Match fees: Richard Keightley. Match report: Sam Oakman.
Bledlow
Sunday June 3 in Bledlow
Strollers won by 137 runs
Strollers 302-2
(40 overs; Addis 176, McDougall 76no)
Bledlow 166-7
(40 overs; Sam Brodbeck 2-19, Simon Brodbeck 1-12, Kelsey 1-18, Patston 1-39)
Bledlow is one of the loveliest grounds that we play, with its tourist train chugging past every half-hour or so. Skipper Jono Addis surveyed the scene, took note of the weather (sunny, muggy) and chose to bat.
The innings started in dramatic fashion as George Calvocoressi steered the second ball onto gully's temple. He left the field to stem the bleeding. Happily Dr Kelsey was only required as a locum fielder. George clearly decided that his luck was in and set about the bowling irrespective of line or length. It was a short innings but a merry one. He reached a brisk 23 before his hearty head-up swipe at a straight one failed to connect.
At this stage Hamish McDougall only had a single to his name when he was joined by Jono. The scoring rate kept up at just under six an over for the first 20 overs as they took advantage of anything wayward and deep-set fields to rotate the strike. Both reached their fifties off a similar number of balls (Hamish off 66, Jono off 59).
Jono then started to accelerate after the 30th over, seemingly hitting boundaries at will. His hundred came up off 96 balls and 150 after only another 19 deliveries. There was an earnest discussion with the opposition at one point when the ball was being sought over the fence about the prospect of Jono declaring. He said that it was part of the club ethos not to declare in an overs match though really thinking: "What would James Timperley do?" He put his helmet back on and set about the bowling again.
Could Jono even do another "Pinkneys Green" and get a double ton? The record books were consulted and we knew that something special could be on. The previous second wicket record was held by Tom Wood and Danny Boyle at Marlow Park (237). Hamish and Jono raced past that to post a stand of 266 before, unknowningly five short of the all-time wicket partnership, Jono holed out to mid-off for 176 - the third-highest score by a Stroller. Both the others are Jono's as well. When he goes large, he goes very large.
Sam Brodbeck and Hamish saw the innings out at 303-2 (our seventh-highest ever score). Hamish finished with 76 not out, having batted through the humid 40 overs. He sat in the changing room dripping wet, safe in the knowledge that he only had to keep wicket for another 40 overs
Bledlow stuck at their task in the field but recognised that they were unlikely to be able to chase down such a monumental total. After the first few overs from Simon Usher and Richard Keightley went for only four an over, the rest of the game settled down into an extended net. Jono rotated the bowling, giving everyone bar himself a few overs. The Strollers went into the match with possibly a record four-spinner attack (Alastair Macaulay, Peter Patston, David Kelsey and Tom Colbeck) and all experimented with their variations of pace and length.
Patston had the opener James Basu well caught by Simon Usher on the mid-wicket boundary and Calvocoressi's return was safely gathered by Hamish to run out skipper Simon Edwards. Kelsey picked up the No 4, who smacked the ball flat out to deep square leg, seemingly for six. However Macaulay was lurking and plucked it out of the air, to general surprise and delight. Simon Brodbeck observed that he seemed to pick it up late, which was true. Luckily he didn't have to move. The other opener Bob Floyd was run out, unwisely taking on the arm of Keightley. Andy Peacock scored a lively 50 while wickets fell at the other end - an lbw to Simon Brodbeck and a couple to the Rotherhithe Rocket, Sam Brodbeck.
Footnotes:
A photographer who works on Wisden's Loveliest Cricket Grounds calendar was at Bledlow and sent Sam Brodbeck a photo of the Strollers in the field with the local steam train chugging past. This is now the Strollers Facebook header. It's unlikely that any of us will be Mr November though.
It is with great sadness that we say farewell to another club stalwart. After 20 years faithful service the Patston Previa has hauled its last kitbag and gone to live on a farm to live out the last of its days. Actually it has been traded in for a younger, sprightlier, hybrid model. It could happen to any of us. Over the years it has transported many a Stroller and even survived Mike Morgan ripping the door off at Sheepscombe. But will the new vehicle be able to take all the kit up the hill at Stanton-By-Dale? The good news is that the quirky PeteNav routefinder and Bob Dylan box-set have been transferred to the new vehicle.
Capt: Jono Addis. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees: Tom Wood. Match report: Alastair Macaulay.
Wandsworth Planners
Thursday June 7 at Barnes
Strollers won by 118 runs
Strollers 162-6
(20 overs; Selby 31no, Williams 26no, McDougall 25no, Oakman 23, Ray 10, Sampat 10)
Wandsworth Planners 44
(14.1 overs; Keightley 4-4, Ray 3-3, Ngo 2-4)
The midweek Strollers descended on a gloomy Barnes in the early evening to take on the Wandsworth Planners, fresh off an emphatic victory the week before. Chairman Kimball Bailey was in attendance, casting his experienced eye over proceedings, with Strollers keen to impress.
After leading the team to glory the week before, Gary Ngo was handed the captaincy reins again, only to be late for his own party. He arrived to find match manager Aidan Selby (who had worked miracles getting 11 players) informing him he’d won the toss in absentia and was batting. Ngo wasn’t the only one struggling to get there, and Selby emphasised the value of timeliness by handing the first six batting spots to the first six players to arrive.
Fortunately for the Strollers, regular opener Hamish McDougall was one of those present at the appointed time, and strode out with Selby to open the innings. McDougall belied his reputed disdain for the shorter format of the game by smashing his way to the mandatory retirement score of 25, including one glorious shot over cover which cleared the rope by some yards. Selby, playing his first game of the season after the birth of his son, was clearly stung into action and followed suit. He savaged two or three cuts to the point boundary - a feat made more impressive by his complete lack of footwork - and followed McDougall back to the scorer’s table shortly afterwards.
After a whirlwind start, the Planners tightened the screws in the middle overs, bowling a good line and length at Sam Oakman and Sudip Ray in particular. After they departed, Lachlan Williams upped the tempo by teeing off at anything full of a length, being rewarded with a flurry of boundaries and a glorious six of his own before he too retired at the mandatory mark.
The highlight of the lower order last-few-overs-swing-at-everything that 20/20 has become synonymous with was undoubtedly the veteran Chris Locke, who had been the opposition skipper only weeks earlier at the very same venue. He came out in the final overs eager for a glorious cameo. He walloped his very first ball over the head of an infielder for two, which was promptly followed by a suggestion from his batting partner he may want to consider retiring hurt with a 200% strike rate forever etched in the scorebook. Locke rightly ignored such advice and chose to battle on, perishing several balls later selflessly trying to up the final over run rate.
The Strollers concluded on a very solid 162, a good total and one the Strollers were eager to defend before it got completely dark.
Usual midweek pre-innings warm-up (read: players wandering onto the field and wondering if they could catch the skipper’s eye with a subtle bowling shoulder roll) dispensed with, the Strollers proceeded to deliver a bowling and fielding performance for the ages.
Skipper Ngo opened the bowling, and within two overs had taken two wickets with full and straight deliveries. He took himself off to give Richard Keightley a bowl, who exceeded even his skipper’s efforts with his line and length, at one stage going wicket, wicket, dot ball, wicket in consecutive balls. Much debate ensured around whether he had deliberately avoided the mandatory jug at the pub afterwards by not taking a wicket with the hat-trick ball in between. Of particular note in the sequence of dismissals was the catch of last minute replacement and wicketkeeper Justin Fredrickson, whose incredible reflex catch low to his right was even more impressive on account of his having run to the ground from Hammersmith prior to the match.
The Strollers’ fielding efforts were given a sizeable boost around this point with the slow waddling arrival on the pitch of a local family of Canadian geese, who didn’t seem at all bothered by a group of white clad cricketers blocking their dinner route. At one stage the batsmen must have been struggling to work out where the gaps were, as the human field was set up almost entirely forward of square and the geese had managed to set themselves up in perfect formation at 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th slips, with gully covered for good measure.
It might have been goose pressure on the batsmen that led to Williams executing a sharp run-out chance shortly afterwards, with a pinpoint underarm throw to the keeper. It was only during the huddle to discuss and celebrate the wicket that match manager Selby realised he had completely forgotten to appoint a match reporter to capture the goings-on. He decided that only a Kiwi should report on an Australian underarm incident, and thus your intrepid reporter was appointed scribe, no fewer than 24 overs into a 40-over match.
Skipper Ngo, who had by this stage removed Keightley from the attack to try to give everyone a go, threw the ball to Ray, who continued the carnage by taking three quick wickets of his own. Williams bowled a sharp spell without reward, by which time Ngo had clearly had enough of trying to prolong the game, bringing Keightley back into the attack. He took the final wicket with the very first ball of the over to finish with figures of 4-4 and give the midweek Strollers a third successive victory.
It seems almost mandatory for modern cricketers to attract a hint of scandal in their post-match “debriefs” – and this fixture was to be no exception. The victory celebrations had barely begun when the Barnes groundsman (having tracked the team to the only logical location - the Red Lion tavern next to the ground) - arrived to politely enquire where he might find the match stumps. Cue one very roundly hassled and sheepish Stroller (who shall remain nameless) retrieving said stumps from where he’d accidentally loaded them into his car, providing a most amusing end to a most successful match.
C apt and match fees: Gary Ngo.
Wkt: Justin Fredrickson. Match report: Glen Oliver.
Arkley
Saturday June 9 in Whetstone
Strollers won by 16 runs
Strollers 212-8
(40 overs; Oliver 74no, Pittams 63, Colbeck 16)
Arkley 196-8
(40 overs; Simon Brodbeck 2-30, Allsopp 2-39, Timperley 1-17, Reddy 1-27)
In the week leading up to the football World Cup it was fitting that the Strollers should play at Dame Alice Owen’s Ground. The site was used by the England team for training in the build-up to the 1966 World Cup – would the group of 23 Russia-bound footballers be able to emulate the same success 52 years on? Irrespective of your interest or care for such matters, our thoughts quickly refocused to the matter at hand: Arkley CC.
As the Strollers assembled under a warm, early summer sun, Glen Oliver reminisced about last year’s fixture - “slow, low and untrustworthy”. He was, of course, referring to the pitch. Glenn followed this with a prediction: “200 runs wins you the game”. We would see…
Skipper James Timperley lost the toss and the Strollers were put into bat. The first few balls confirmed Glen’s fears as deliveries of consistent length were firing past the gloves or rolling along the floor, following no particular pattern.
Unfortunately opener Hamish McDougall fell to one of these deliveries as the ball kept low (in fact we’re still not entirely sure it even bounced) and collected his stumps. The wicket was quickly following by JT, who fell lbw to an in-swinging delivery, and the two Sams (Brodbeck and Oakman) both fell victim to the bowling of Kiran Chaudhuri, who was taking full advantage of the variable pitch. After 10 overs the Strollers were reduced to 48-4 and 200 looked a long way from here.
During all this excitement Mike Pittams remained calm as he laid the foundations to a solid innings. He was initially aptly supported by new signing ‘Extras’, who ended the innings as the third-highest scorer, before Oliver took up the mantle. The pair put on a partnership of 82 for the fifth wicket, with Pittams caught in the deep for 63, an impressive score on such a slow pitch, especially given the size of the boundaries.
Oliver welcomed the support of Tom Colbeck (16) and set about accelerating the score in the final overs. The scorer’s difficulty in identifying the batsman on strike resulted in the following observations: Tom is more adept at keeping his shirt white than Glen, but Glen’s stance is more compact than Tom’s languid style. Did I mention it was a slow scoring pitch?
Oliver’s impressive hitting combined with some Stroller cameos plus the welcome assistance of overthrows and extras brought 46 runs from the final five overs to elevate our innings to 212-8, with Oliver top scoring on 74 not out. The innings took its toll on poor Glen, who was left to field lame the rest of the afternoon, but he had helped us over his magic 200-run mark. Surely it would be all too easy from here on in?
A fine tea brought a change in the weather as the pleasant warm afternoon sun was quickly replaced by gloom, wind and light drizzle. Oh the joys of the British summer! The change in weather did not appear too ominous however as Manoj Reddy and Colbeck opened the bowling admirably, restricting the opening batsmen to few scoring opportunities.
Reddy’s consistency was rewarded in the tenth over with a dismissal every seamer dreams of - hitting the top of off stump. However it came courtesy of a leg-side delivery and a deflection off the batsman’s pad, but as Oakman pointed out, “the scoreboard doesn’t show pictures”. It’s just left to match reporters to spoil the illusion!
A change of bowling brought another wicket as Laurie Allsopp tempted Rakesh Patel into a hefty swing which was nonchalantly caught, quite brilliantly, by Pittams down at cow corner. Everyone believed the shot to be headed for a six, but Mike plucked it out of the air, a catch almost as impressive as his moustache.
Despite these two wickets, Arkley’s defence remained defiant and by the seventeenth over they were well on course at 86-2. The combination of Ben Rothberg and Allsopp put a break on the run-rate, but wickets remained hard to come by. Laurie picked up his second as Jega Sittampalam gloved behind to McDougall, but the dangerous pair of Ben Candy and James Franklin remained at the crease and kept building the score. With five overs remaining, Arkley reached 179-3 and all looked lost.
Then, a change in fortune. The Brodbecks (Simon and Sam) combined to take the wicket of Candy (Sam taking another impressive catch in the deep) and then disaster struck for Franklin as he attempted a sweep shot only for the ball to deflect off the top edge and onto to bridge of his nose. Dr David Kelsey had fortuitously arrived to spectate and made his way out to the middle to inspect the damage. Thankfully, it appeared a bloody nose was the worst of the damage and after a short respite on the sidelines, Franklin bravely returned to the crease to finish the job. By this time, wickets had begun to fall with some consistency and a couple of run-outs finally put the score beyond Arkley’s reach, who finished on 196-8.
A tense finish, but we should have trusted Glen all along – 200 was indeed enough to secure victory. We returned to the pavilion excited by the prospect of showering in the footsteps of Messrs Charlton, Hurst and Stiles. Alas the absence of any hot water made for a less than edifying experience. Let us hope this was not a bad omen for this year’s World Cup campaign.
Capt : James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees: Tom Colbeck. Match report: Ben Rothberg.
Warfield
Sunday June 10 at Warfield
Strollers won by four wickets
Warfield 138
(39.4 overs; Hodgson 4-30, Salvesen 2-11, Pete Wood 1-13, Simon Brodbeck 1-25)
Strollers 139-6
(31.5 overs; Pete Wood 65, Hargrave 26, Travis 14, Salvesen 13no)
A hazy Sunday began with the talk of notoriously low scores, uneven bounce, and the uncanny resemblance that Mike Pittams’ new handlebar is beginning to take to that of Mitchell Johnson. The Strollers also saw a first appearance of the season from Ivor Fiala, celebrating his 40th anniversary as a Stroller since his debut against the Ex-Blues in 1978. Would he have dreamt of his 536 Strollers appearances back then?
Losing the toss and bowling first, the Strollers kept things tight and made an early breakthrough with the two Petes - Robertson and Wood – combining to run out the dangerous looking James Caldwell. Wickets steadily fell and by Jim Hodgson’s second spell, confidence was high. Pittams donned a helmet and came up to the stumps, taking a sharp catch before pulling off a superb stumping the very next ball. Some fine tuning to the tash and the Strollers could have our very own Jack Russell.
The Strollers bowling was not without controversy, however. Captain on the day Alastair Macaulay brought himself on to bowl and completed a full nine-over spell. Warfield were good sports and the treachery would have been a bigger issue had an unlucky chance not gone begging in the final, ninth, over.
The Strollers were heading for an early tea break, bowling Warfield out for just 138. Hodgson with 4-30 and Tom Salvesen with 2-11 from his eight overs were the pick of the attack.
We had seen variable bounce, to say the least, while bowling and this was evident from the very start of the Strollers innings – Robertson trapped lbw by one that kept low for a first-ball duck. This brought his namesake Wood to the crease earlier than planned. He steadied the ship and went on to score what would prove to be a match-deciding 65 not out.
There was still work to be done by the lower order. Wickets fell with enough runs still required to set some of the more experienced Strollers on edge. A tweaked hamstring and calls for a runner did not produce the usual chaos in such a scenario, and a monster six from Salvesen ended any nerves and quick run-rate calculations, the Strollers completing a four-wicket victory.
Capt: Alastair Macaulay. Wkt: Mike Pittams.
Match fees: Mike Pittams. Match report: Pete Robertson.
Westminster
Thursday June 14 on Wandsworth Common
Strollers won by 78 runs
Strollers 155-8
(20 overs; Osborn 41 ret, Alley 35 ret, Keightley 24, Fredrickson 16)
Westminster 77
(14.1 overs; Mike Daly 3-14, Fredrickson 1-0, Ngo 1-14, Williams 1-14)
With four midweek wins in a row this season and the football World Cup kicking off, serious questions are coming to light for the Strollers. Will this be an unbeaten year for the midweek campaigners? Will the English football team be sent home early from Russia?
In a common midweek theme, Stroller punctuality exemplified confidence with two players at the Wandsworth Common ground for the start time of 6pm. Excuses ranged from: "The pub on the corner looked nice"…"I’ve been sleeping on Sam’s couch"…"It looked a little bit overcast". Perhaps the skipper should consider implementing a fines system, although it is likely to send the team bankrupt.
Having lost the toss, the Strollers were politely asked to have a swing. With the in-form Hamish McDougall at a “conference” in Italy, and match-manager Aidan Selby nowhere to be seen, “Back on the Market” Mitch Alley and “Magic Mike” Daly took to the crease.
Pitch connoisseurs may know that midweek fixtures are on uncovered tracks, which have variable bounce to say the least. Both openers found this out the tough way, with Magic Daly losing his leg stump third ball and Mitch being forced to get his eye in.
Despite slow starts from Mitch and Sam Osborn, both batsmen opened up with free-flowing boundaries, retiring on 35 and 41 respectively. This called for a fresh start from Sudip Ray and Glen Oliver, although both were dismissed in 20/20 spirit. Much has to be said for Glen’s use of the quizzical eyebrow towards fellow Strollers regarding the wide rule, although we were very happy to steer clear of another Cricket Rules discussion at the pub.
Richard Keightley resumed normal service with a quick knock, supported by Justin Fredrickson. With some scrambling from the tail, the Strollers put together a very defendable 155 on a tough batting pitch.
Harry Ray (son of Sudip) opened the bowling attack for Fleet Street, bowling well with a miserly eight runs off his four overs. On the other side, Gary Ngo was hit for eight runs off his first two balls, although had some redemption by bowling the opener with a ball that almost rolled and cut sideways. Enough of that, thought the skipper, we’ll put a proper bowler on.
Enter Lachlan Williams, who in the previous matches has gone for 0-5 (3) and 0-6 (3). He must have been thinking his bowling career was on the line, going wicket-less for so long. But today was the day he would break this drought, dislodging Westminster's handy No 3. He also made a crucial contribution with a direct hit run-out.
But the biggest game changer was Magic Daly. He was by far the better of the Daly brothers this day (by default). His bowling was a display to watch and wonder at, causing everyone problems including keeper Michael Beale, who took a hit in the throat. Daly spun his magic with half-trackers, full-tosses and balls that bounced twice or scuttled down the legside. You name it, he’s got it (apart from the good length ball). From this he conjured three wickets, to the surprise of fellow Strollers who were probably too embarrassed to celebrate. Then Fredrickson - who hadn’t bowled for a few years - came on and proceeded to finish the game off with his second ball.
The County Arms was calling, much to Lachlan’s delight, where the Strollers discussed key issues such as “Dude, where’s my car” (Glen), “How to be Single” (Mitch) and “Just my Luck” (Magic Daly). All in all, a good day out and the midweek Strollers winning machine keeps rolling on.
Capt, match fees and match report: Gary Ngo.
Wkt: Michael Beale.
West Chiltington
Sunday June 17 in West Chiltington
Match abandoned
West Chiltington 237-6
(40 overs; Pete Wood 2-42, Macaulay 1-24, Morgan 1-54, Sampat 1-61)
Strollers 134-3
(23 overs; Mike Daly, 38no, Pete Wood 31no, Addis 25)
Why are there so many batsmen playing? Is the deck that flat? Is the pitch further than Brighton? Would the weather hold out? These were but a smattering of questions that the Fleet Street Strollers XI had to ponder on the way to the oldest remaining fixture on the calendar, the West Chiltington match for the Marshall Cup.
It is rumoured that when this match was first played some time in the disco-balled, funky throws of the 1970’s, around 200 spectators travelled down from London to witness the match. Wouldn’t it have been a sight to see Brodbeck Snr, I Fiala, P Patston, K Bailey and other such Strollers superstars stalking the lush Sussex cricket ground with hairy chests bared and bell bottoms flapping in the breeze. It’s easy to understand why so many would have travelled south for this fixture. The prospect of many a spectator turning up had also enticed the wonderful Marie Curie Charity (www.mariecurie.org.uk) to hold the Fourth Marie Curie Blooming Great Cricket Tea Party from 1430 onwards.
Luckily for the Strollers, captain James Timperley won the toss and elected to bowl. Why lucky? Well this ‘field first’ decision meant that the Strollers XI did not have to sit in the pavilion and admire the bountiful spread of locally made savouries, snacks and cakes that were being shipped in by the local supporters for the charity event.
Unluckily for the Strollers opening bowlers, Rory Wood and Anand Sampat, the opening batsmen were looking forward to a flat, brown, marble-like, surface. In particular Hugo Gillespie took a shine to the wayward bowling, crashing the ball across the super-fast surface at will. Such was the scoring rate that the two openers had walloped 65 from 7.3 overs before a stunning reflex catch was taken by Mike Daly. Daly held on to a ball that had been leathered and was almost past him at mid-off. Daly did later confirm that a smaller framed cricketer would not have held the catch due to a lack of cushioning.
Ben Lucking then joined Gillespie at the crease and adopted the bravado of his batting partner and was finding the boundary with ease. This left many Strollers avoiding the captain’s eye for fear of being asked to bowl. The introduction of Alastair Macaulay and Pete Wood (think Warne-McGrath) managed to tighten the screws before drinks and with sustained pressure Wood had Gillespie caught behind at the end of the nineteenth over. Drinks were called with the score 132-2.
Macaulay continued to bamboozle the batsmen, giving them way too much time to think about what to do with the willow in their hands. This resulted in a predictable, but clean and precise stumping by Mike Pittams to remove Danny Abbott for five. Mike Morgan looked pleased, not only because of the skill of Pittams, but more for the fact it was Pittams and not Hamish McDougall removing the bails.
Things were picking up for the Strollers in the field and that is exactly what Jono Addis did at point to run out Iain Haggart for 29. Addis was able to hit the stumps direct to leave Haggart ruing taking on Addis’s eye and arm. Gillespie was approaching what seemed to be an inevitable century when he nicked off to Pittams from Wood's bowling for 94. Good pressure from the bowlers and support in the field were the primary catalysts for this. A few small cameos from the middle order got the West Chiltington XI to 237-5 at the end of the 40 overs.
A truly charitable spread of sandwiches, sausage rolls, deliciously sweet roulade and tea cakes was laid out for the teams to devour. During the break a raffle for the charity was also run. Tickets were flying off the books when the announcement was made that the draw for the prizes was to take place before resumption of play. There were many winners, but a few standouts were Mike Pittams and his crystal glass decanter, bottles of wine for Mike Daly and Pete Wood, and a grooming kit (?!?!) for Rory Wood. The standout winner, though, was a mystery woman called Sue who won no less than three prizes. She did not manage to materialise, raising a few quizzical eyebrows from all in the pavilion.
Could 237 be chased down? The Strollers certainly had the batting line-up, even if Glen ‘I’m just a pair of legs’ Oliver doubted his own skills. Mike Morgan correctly pointed out that 237 allowed our greedy batsmen the opportunity to go for a century on what was one of the most batter-friendly pitches they would face all season.
After four overs the required run rate was being stuck to, but with threatening lines and few loose deliveries Aidan Selby departed for four. The very next ball Timperley guided an edge to slip and a sympathetic word was offered to Martha about the length of the car ride home. Daly skilfully avoided the hat-trick ball with his posterior and started to build a partnership with Addis. The two put away loose deliveries and kept out the good ones. But when Addis was undone in the drizzle for 25, things looked bleak, not only for the Strollers but also in the weather department.
An appearance by Tom Wood and Oonagh midway through the match brought not only an array of shirt sizes (S-XL) but it was also the first time three Mikes (Daly, Morgan, Pittams) and three Woods (Peter, Tom, Rory) had been present at a Strollers match. Prior to Tom's arrival the names had already caused confusion in the field and for the scorers.
Pete Wood joined Daly at the crease and the two set about building a partnership. Spin was introduced and was effective until the seam of the ball became soaked from the steady drizzle. Drinks were called, taken and then fielders and umpires begrudgingly made their way back to the middle.
Daly and Wood, though, looked confident and really started to take to the attack. But only three more overs were completed before the skippers decided that due to the inclement weather and decreasing light the game should be abandoned. So the match ended in a draw and after encouraging speeches from skippers Phil Abbott and James Timperley the Marshall Cup stayed with the holders for another year.
Hypothetically speaking, though, let’s run the numbers through a Duckworth-Lewis-Stern calculator, www.wccl.org.uk for example. You would find that after 23 overs, the Strollers being 135-3 chasing 237-6 (losing 17 overs), that a DLS par score would be 119 and a winning total would be 120!
But let’s face it, these types of discussions are for a different cricketer and all in all this fixture is a jewel in the Strollers calendar and all look forward to the match next year.
NB: All match fees were paid as a donation to the Marie Curie Charity. So, in a way, everybody won.
Capt and match fees: James Timperley.
Wkt: Mike Pittams. Match report: Rory Wood.
Thames Valley
Thursday June 21 in Spelthorne
Strollers won by one wicket
Thames Valley 174-9
(20 overs; Ngo 3-25, Williams 2-21, Sampat 2-29)
Strollers 178-9
(19.3 overs; Williams 40no, Selby 40no, Pittams 22, Beale 17, Oliver 14)
What better evening to play a cricket match than the longest day of the year? Said match was taking place during a Fifa World Cup that Romelu Lukaku seems to be excelling in…that is quite long indeed. Would this augur well for the Strollers’ mighty attack to find an unplayable length at Spelthorne Sports Club? Well, not anytime soon…
The journey to Spelthorne seemed to take most of the team longer than planned. Glaiden was on time, but arrived separately for once – a headscratcher that probably wasn’t investigated sufficiently at the time. Trouble in paradise perhaps?
When our seventh player turned up approximately 20 minutes after the scheduled start time, we thought we’d probably better bite the bullet and get into it. The oppo kindly lent us a couple of fielders to begin with, which tided us over until our last three stragglers (Daly, Daly and Beale) came into view halfway through the second over.
At this point (a tad too late, in the opinion of many) they ceased exchanging friendship bracelets and writing in each other’s diaries, and broke into a brisk trot to speed up the last 70 metres of their (no doubt harrowing) journey from the train station. Lots of tutting and looks of disapproval, especially when Daly (Nick) was seen carefully stowing away the folding paper fortune teller (viz ‘pick a lucky number’) he had been entertaining the other two with on the journey.
Back to the cricket, where Gary ‘Captain Grumpy’ Ngo was exploring what a good Lukaku-esque length from the bat on the Spelthorne wicket had to offer (variable bounce and a lot of seam movement) with considerable success. Mitch ‘back on the market’ Alley was exploring what swing might be available by tossing the ball up (at approximately head height) – with considerably less success.
The first of Thames Valley’s Doggett brothers was finding our bowling very much to his taste – which was a surprise, as his tattooed, ponytailed look had led most of us to assume that he had mistaken Spelthorne Sports Club for some sort of Willie Nelson Tribute Concert, and surely he wasn’t there to thump boundaries through the V.
Three wickets to Ngo, one to Alley, and Doggett’s retirement (followed promptly by shouts of displeasure when he discovered that his brother had finished his pint while he’d been batting) left honours pretty well even after seven overs. Cue the arrival of the second Doggett brother – this one resembling a lumberjack more than a cricketer (or possibly a Def Leppard enthusiast. Or - as we’re now learning we shouldn’t make assumptions - equally possibly a former lumberjack who likes Def Leppard, but now has opened a trendy coffee shop in a rapidly gentrifying area) – and more batting pyrotechnics.
After reverse-sweeping nasty fasty Nick Daly for four through third man, then lofting him back over his head for a maximum run-scoring allocation, Thames Valley were looking like they had their sights set on beating England’s new ODI record total. Fortunately for us, he mistimed one (or did Daly ‘do him’ through the air?) and hit one so high that a Lufthansa flight from Hamburg was forced to abort its landing mid-descent and adopt a holding pattern around nearby Heathrow Airport. Waiting underneath this enormous skier was wee Mitchy Alley, knees knocking like a Bernina 1120 model sewing machine (with built-in overlocker and adjustable foot pedal). When, after about 12 seconds of muttering ‘oh shit, oh shit, oh shit’, Mitch hung on to the catch, John Low was heard to emit a muffled grunt of surprise from gully. Never in doubt though.
The ground was notable for several plumes of insects wavering and rising from bushes in the middle distance. Many thousands of insects seemed to be writhing together, and possibly mating. To be fair, this is exactly the effect one would expect the Strollers’ two smouldering right-arm quicks Nick Daly and Lachlan Williams to have on spectators. Mmmmmm-mmmmmm. Frankly I’m surprised that there aren’t more excitable onlookers (and panties being thrown like a particularly steamy Tom Jones concert) when these two are operating in tandem.
Back to the cricket. Wickets continued to tumble semi-regularly, but unfortunately not as regularly as balls were being despatched to the boundary. Ladwa struck his way to retirement, which only brought Willie Nelson back to the crease. Daly (Mike)’s bowling was very much to Doggett’s liking, and he tucked into it with the voracious appetite Strollers usually associate with Stair when confronted with comely young French batsmen.
Thames Valley finished with 174-9 from their 20-over allotment (Doggett 58*), the pick of the Strollers bowlers being captain Ngo (3-24), Sampat (2-29) and Williams (2-21). Daly (Mike) also bowled.
Aidan Selby and John ‘the Gazelle’ Low got our response off to a solid start. The Gazelle, in particular, showed his intent to get on top of the run rate required in scampering a couple of quick threes, before departing to the bowling of Singh. Mike Pittams joined Selby for a partnership of 36, which mostly consisted of Pittams playing and missing about a foot and a half underneath Doggett (the lumberjack/barista version)’s steepling bounce. Pittams’ departure brought Michael Beale to the crease, and coincided with Aidan going to Boom Town and effecting both a timely boost to the run rate, and also his own retirement. The opening bowlers now seen off, the run rate required was up around 10, and the Strollers officially had a challenge on their hands.
Fortunately there were some pretty good cattle left in the Strollers’ barn. Beale showed that his elegant, Stephen Fleming-esque high elbow is adaptable to modern twenty 20 cricket. Glen Oliver wasted little time in finding the boundary. Mike Daly plundered anything outside off with his favoured cut shot. Weeeee Mitchy Alley then wandered out to the crease and made himself useful with the bat, a welcome change from his erstwhile sending of pictures of his (quite foul) nether regions to the poor square leg umpire, who (let the record show) felt quite unsettled, corrupted, and even a touch bilious after viewing said images.
After a medium four and a mega six into the writhing mating insects, Alley’s innings of 14 (off six balls) came to an end when he tried to scurry a quick two and was run out. Whilst trying to run the two it should be noted that he was nearly lapped by Williams. Whereas Lachy was running very quickly, Mitch seemed to have run into some rogue treadmills in the middle of the pitch. One of the opposition asked Mitch if his favourite song was Here It Goes Again by OK Go. Before he could answer, the ponytailed Doggett brother started crooning On the Road Again by his favoured Willie Nelson - also very applicable to Mitch’s situation.
Williams took over the run scoring at this point, ably assisted by Daly (Nick) and Ngo, who each hit out first delivery in an unselfish bid to get Selby back to the crease. This was achieved when Williams reached the retirement score. His rest would not be a lengthy one, as the run-out of Anand Sampat brought him back to join Aidan. By this time the equation was much simpler: five needed from the final over, one wicket in hand.
The poor square leg umpire still had a bad taste in his mouth from Alley’s explicit photography, and to make matters worse had long since finished his pint. His teammates seemed to have the sun in their eyes, and did not manage to notice his repeated gestures for a change of umpires. He was left stranded on the beaches to undergo the stress of watching a tense final over, during which Selby and Williams attempted to do an ‘Allan Donald in the 1999 World Cup’ repeatedly.
On the third such attempt, Thames Valley’s shy at the stumps resulted in four overthrows, and the game was won for the Strollers. The poor square leg umpire staggered off the pitch and into the bar feeling shaken, emotionally exhausted, and having acquired several dozen new grey hairs from the stress of the whole experience. Nobody seemed to care though – history always glosses over the square leg umpire.
A fantastic win sealed, it was time to mull such important issues as Daly of the Day – which on this occasion went to Mike for his lusty blows through cover point. As most readers will of course know, now having passed summer solstice and therefore the halfway point of the season, Daly of the Day voting now goes ‘blind’, with the various journalists and eminent literary figures, scientific minds and reality TV stars who vote for this prestigious award doing so behind a curtain for the rest of the year. It’s certainly going to be a suspense-filled second half of the season!
The same could be said of the ‘Highway Maintenance Man of the Day’ award - keenly contested between Alley and Williams each week. From what I can tell, points are largely awarded for the pairing of work shirts covering a colour palette ranging from pink to salmon to blushing, giggling virgin on the Dulux colour chart, with tight apple bottom jeans and scuffed work boots. If voting remains tight, expect to see them trying to outdo each other by wearing hard hats and carrying shovels to upcoming matches.
Forget the prospect of an unbeaten season, this is where the real excitement lies!
Capt: Gary Ngo. Match fees: Glen Oliver.
Wkt and match reporter: Mike Pittams.
Kempsford
Saturday June 23 in Meysey Hampton
Strollers won by 98 runs
Strollers 273-2 dec
(33 overs; Pittams 148, McDougall 52, Timperley 45no)
Kempsford 175
(36.5 overs; Macaulay 3-28, Patston 3-45, Hodgson 1-11, Colbeck 1-16, Keightley 1-26, Simon Brodbeck 1-36)
All change. The Strollers arrived to play Kempsford in the village of Meysey Hampton on the ground where South Hill CC played before they folded. South Hill CC used to play in the grounds of South Hill House until the RAF acquired it, demolished it and extended their runway at RAF Fairford to accommodate the huge Atlas A400M transport aircraft. Kempsford CC used to play in the grounds of an attractive house in Kempsford until the house was sold and that was the end of cricket there.
And so to Meysey Hampton and the pleasant tree-lined ground, sporting an attractive new timber pavilion funded by multiple public bodies. This was to be the first game at the ground in two years and the locals were slightly apprehensive, remembering the challenging bounce of South Hill days. Thankfully their heavy roller and preparation had done the trick and the wicket was fine.
A time game was agreed. Captain James Timperley won the toss and to the surprise of no-one decided to have a bat. Mike Pittams and Hamish McDougall started sensibly, having a good look at the ball but not passing up the chance of putting the loose one away. Jim Hodgson arrived late to the shock news he was batting four. In hindsight he didn't need to rush to pad up as Mike and Hamish were building a good partnership.
With three quite short boundaries and a quick outfield courtesy of the prolonged fine weather, the ball disappeared into the hedges regularly. No sooner would Mike dispatch a ball hedgewards than he would run off to help in the search. Was this because he is naturally helpful or wanted to get the ball back to the bowler so the process could begin again as soon as possible? Probably both. Maggie reported she had found Mike with sleeves rolled up doing the washing up at the pre-tour Bath summit. Helpful.
So 50s were passed by both, in 44 balls for Mike and 59 for Hamish, until with the score on 162 Hamish was bowled by Arnold for 52. James joined the increasingly destructive Mike and with the flurry of fours and sixes it was miraculous that more balls weren’t lost. Mike notched up his maiden century for the club in 79 balls and carried on in the same vein until holing out for a superb 148.
James had been busy too and with the score north of 250 the crowd wondered if this was the moment James would declare. No. Jim, using years of experience, wafted at a legside ball to induce a bye and get James on strike. A flurry of boundaries later and James did declare with the total on 273-2 and himself on 45 not out. Questioned as to why he'd declared when potentially one shot from yet another 50 James said he'd lost count. Shurely shome mishtake!
A pleasant tea was taken. Tour supremo Alastair Macaulay put the finishing touches to the dinner choices, including at ground supporters Kathy, Tricia and Lucy (think Tom Colbeck not Sam Brodbeck) and at RGS High Wycombe touch rugby supporters Jo and Finlay. Brian Taylor revealed the MCC would be visiting Stanton by Dale the following week as part of the club’s 150th anniversary celebrations. Once those gathered had recovered from the news that Brian had been selected to play, the conversation focused on what catering arrangements were planned. Tricia was able to offer useful insight here. And then with Coronation chicken, cold meats and a salad-based lunch on their minds the Strollers took to the field.
Colbeck wasted no time in encouraging Smart to hit in the air to Glen Oliver at extra cover. Rbo Keightley then bowled the No 2 and Kempsford were looking in trouble at 9-2. Age and youth combined with Coxhead playing a straight bat to most deliveries and the young Gilbert mixing defence and classy attacking shots. Alastair was deployed to lure the batsmen to their doom but both held firm and it was Jim who managed to bowl the adhesive Coxhead for 14 off 51 balls. Boxhall was the first of Peter Patston’s victims, caught by Rbo with the score on 92. With the score remaining on 92 Marklove was stumped by Hamish off Peter, aka Peter the Destroyer.
Peter also claimed the important wicket of Gilbert, recently passing 50, but picking out Glen at long-on to record figures of 3-45. The lower order were keen to exploit the short boundaries and some strong hitting took them quickly from 106 to 175 but wickets were falling. The splendidly named Ant Axel-Berg fell to Simon Brodbeck for 24 via a catch at deep square leg by Pittams. Miller was trapped lbw by Alastair for 15, then Beehey was caught Pittams bowled Alastair for 15 and after picking the ball out of the hedge a few times Cleaver hit Alastair straight to Jim at deep midwicket to finish his innings on 12 and the Kempsford innings on 175. Alastair finished with 3-28.
The teams made the very short walk to the honeystone Masons Arms and enjoyed beers and local gins in the evening sunshine.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees: Mike Pittams. Match report: Jim Hodgson.
Cricklade
Sunday June 24 in Cricklade
Strollers lost by two wickets
Strollers 229-3
(40 overs; McDougall 91, Hodgson 57, Oliver 31no)
Cricklade 230-8
(39.2 overs; Simon Brodbeck 3-31, Patston 2-29, Colbeck 1-41, Macaulay 1-50)
Winning the toss on a fine Sunday afternoon, captain Alastair Macaulay had no hesitation in choosing to bat. Despite losing Brian Taylor to a fine ball which cut back (honest) to remove the off-stump, Hamish McDougall and Jim Hodgson proceeded to make 156 for the second wicket, in 107 minutes.
Hamish was in no mood for mercy. He had already suffered a week or so earlier the sight of hero Ross Taylor scoring a duck or two at Trent Bridge. If Ross was a failure then he, Hamish, would make amends. No bowler was going to get him. And so it proved: 13 boundaries out of a score of 91 in 137 minutes before being run out.
The stand with Jim Hodgson had been memorable. Jim, elegant, indeed urbane off the field, brings style and ease to the crease. Whites become him. It was a surprise when he was dismissed for an unflustered 57, including eight boundaries.
Impetus was now needed to boost the scoring rate. It was provided by Glen Oliver, who scored 31 runs in 23 balls, adding 44 with HM. The innings was closed on 229-3.
Early in the Cricklade innings there was an event to warm the cockles: Peter Patston pouching in nonchalant manner at first slip their opening batsman. Sadly, this let in Paul Paginton, who proceeded to attack the Strollers bowling. All the bowlers were to go for over five runs per over, save for Hodgson, who went for 29 off eight overs.
It was a feature of the Cricklade innings that, with the exception of the above mentioned Patston catch off the bowling of Tom Colbeck, all other wickets went to the slower bowlers: Patston (2-29), Brodbeck (3-31) and Macaulay (1-50). There was also a run-out by Richard Keightley.
When Paginton was bowled for 98 by Simon Brodbeck, with the score at 156, the match seemed to be turning the Strollers' way. By the time the eighth wicket fell at 205 in the 38th over, there was room for cautious optimism. Sadly, in 17 minutes and facing only 18 balls, the Cricklade No 9, Andy Lea, smote 26 powerful runs to lead his side to victory from the second ball of the last over: 230-8.
It had been a good, close game, played on a lovely ground against welcoming opponents. Nearly the perfect match.
Capt: Alastair Macaulay. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees: Mike Pittams. Match report: Brian Taylor.
Tilburg Regents
Tuesday June 26 in Dulwich
Strollers won by 36 runs
Strollers 168-5
(20 overs; Williams 30no, Pittams 29 ret, Oliver 28 ret, Alley 25 ret, Stubbs 21, Beale 18)
Tilburg Regents 132-8
(20 overs; Macaulay 3-18, Devereux 2-11, Pittams 1-3, Stubbs 1-30, Alley 1-32)
The day started with amazing weather (not typical of England), five Strollers on time (above average) and Mitch “The Clap” Alley attempting to once again scrounge the match fee together with the shrapnel in his wallet only to come devastatingly short and having to convince Alastair “Longest Follow-Through” Macaulay that an old, expired, one use only, latex item found in his wallet would represent the remaining 40p.
With match fee negotiations finalised and the modern dating term “catfished” having been explained to a bewildered Glen “The Truth Hurts” Oliver after one of Alley’s famous “cause why not” stories, the team strolled over to the playing area with barely an opposition player in sight.
This led us to believe they may be scared of the mighty Strollers and decided it best not to play. Little did we know that the other team were most likely in the changing rooms getting dressed (odd right?), which we found out the hard way when the remaining Strollers who were late (El Capitan included), decided it best to quickly swipe off their dacks by the side of the field upon arrival and change into their whites.
Following this debauched changing act adjacent to the hallowed turf of Pitch No 2 a figure appeared from the clubhouse. Yours truly was informed that the ground’s policy is to under no circumstances get changed anywhere other than the changing rooms otherwise the game will be cancelled - which is probably fair enough given that there is a nursery nearby.
It should also be noted for the record that Mike “Sharapova” Pittams and Lachlan “Top Highway Maintenance Man” Williams did not get changed directly in front of the clubhouse despite many rumours to the contrary, and certainly not at the same time holding each other’s shoulders for balance.
After composing ourselves, Gary "Debutant Dream Destroyer" Ngo returned from the toss with instructions that we were in to bat so Pittams and Alley were to pad up and face the onslaught first. They silenced the critics by putting on an enviable display of opening batting, the like of which has not been seen since the Langer/Hayden domination of Test cricket in the Ricky Ponting captaincy era. Both retired quickly after dispatching many balls to the boundary and having reached their allotted runs cap, which brought Neil “Workaholic” Devereux and Oliver to the crease.
Oliver’s quick singles tactic and attempts to turn ones into twos resulted in a foot injury to our star off-spinner, Devereux, but like the workaholic he is, Devereux didn’t waiver in his determination to push through the pain. A couple of balls later Oliver middled a cracking cut shot through the covers, just missing a carefully balanced beer bottle placed on the square by a swaying cover fieldsman who was clearly more concerned with protecting the half-full beer than stopping the ball flying towards him, luckily for Oliver.
Devereux’s attempt to turn this single into a two was met with, "No! Don't! You'll kill yourself" from Oliver at the other end, which was met with a chuckle on the sidelines from everyone who was either laughing at the state of play in the middle or the unwanted snapchat photo Alley once again messaged to Pittams while he was umpiring, causing some serious mental distress to the official.
Michael “Mr Posture” Beale came in after Devereux, showing perfect stylish stroke play and managing to hit every fielder in the process, followed by Rich “Pink Ball” Stubbs, who increased the run rate with his run-a-ball display.
Williams was in next and hit a couple of runs while again trying to run out his batting partners by pushing for ridiculous singles and succeeded in doing so with both Macaulay and Ngo. Macaulay got a golden quacker and Ngo finished with a match best strike rate of 200 with his two runs off one ball.
Time to bowl and defend the total and with nine men this was going to be difficult but luckily for the team this match reporter invited his Mrs (Ashley “The Debutant” Holloway) so that he could introduce her specifically to Pittams (HS 64 and not 148 according to the FSSCC official records which, admittedly, do not include his 2018 feats) and possibly ignite some more fire into the relationship.
Pittams was charming at first but failed to capitalise on the state of play and fell short of the total, which thankfully wasn’t the theme of today’s match for the Strollers. Valiant effort on and off the pitch. Holloway rapidly ascended from a +1 spectator/girlfriend/Pittams victim to a +1 FSSCC debutant (and possibly the first ever female player for the FSSCC?) not 10 minutes after arriving from a tedious bicycle journey through the South London hoods.
Ngo opened and bowled a tight spell, partnering with Alley who took a wicket first ball with a half-tracking delivery which was top-edged directly upwards and taken at cover. All the players were impressed more with Alley's ability to hit the pitch rather than the fact he had taken a wicket.
Stubbs and Macaulay took over in the middle overs and tightened the screws with excellent bowling and with all batsmen trying to dispatch Macaulay to all ends of the park. Macaulay's pitch map looked like he had only bowled one ball – he was that accurate - and he deservedly managed the best figures of the day and ensured there wasn't much of a chance we would lose this match.
Devereux bowled some accurate off-spin despite being injured, Williams got a couple and Pittams bowled an over at the end of the game which sounded more like Sharapova's screaming tennis stroke than a follow-through at the crease, so much so that both teams were concerned he'd injured himself on the first ball and ran over to ensure he was fine. Pittams managed to take a wicket in his over (first wicket since 2012) and passed the pill over to Oliver, who bowled a tight last over with his ‘wrong’ right arm from an exponentially increasing run-up which did well to confuse the tail-enders.
FSSCC victorious again and still unbeaten in the midweek matches.
Definitions:
*Catfished – The act of a person portraying themselves physically as being in a certain condition and then upon meeting another person, the person is in fact not in said condition, often by means of internet dating apps/sites. E.g. How did last night go Mitch? Oh, not well, I got catfished again. Really? Yeah...I went through with it anyway though.
*Changing Room – Anywhere.
*Dacks – Any form of trouser/shorts/pants.
Capt: Gary Ngo. Wkt: Michael Beale.
Match fees: Glen Oliver. Match report: Lachlan Williams.
Peppard
Sunday July 1 in Peppard
Strollers won by five wickets
Peppard 243-5
(40 overs; Swan 2-41, Macaulay 1-33)
Strollers 245-5
(37.3 overs; Timperley 150no, Keightley 39no)
As the hazy days of summer continue in the UK, the typical green hue that is typical with these parts of the Chilterns was non-existent. Instead, the six Strollers that arrived at the agreed time found a dry, parched and barren landscape.
The Patstons appeared in their brand spanking new hybrid vehicle, after setting a record pace from Somerset and using only 0.73 litres of petrol! Aidan Selby had arrived in good time after his recent move to St Albans. He tried to downplay the stalking of his batting idol Jono Addis, who is also a St Albans resident. “Nah, nah, nah...we’re on the other side of town from Jono,” he claimed. No-one believed him. Lock your doors Jono. Others had been delayed by the traffic queues at Henley Bridge but “almost 11” were there to get things started.
An urgent call had gone out earlier in the day, as a replacement was needed for Simon Brodbeck, who had become a grandfather that morning. Congratulations to Lucy, Sam, Simon, Kathy...and Frankie George. And thanks to Ivor Fiala for responding to the call.
Captain James Timperley lost the toss and was sent in to field, where there were murmurs of disappointment amongst the Strollers as the mercury pushed past 30 degrees Celsius.
Josh Perkins and Chris Humphrey opened the batting for Peppard against the bowling attack of Rbo Keightley and Tim Swan. The lightning outfield meant anything loose was easily put away (“value for shots” was the quote of the day), but the good balls were shown respect. Swan made the first breakthrough with a shorter ball taking a faint inside edge, onto pad and then clipping the top of off.
Peppard’s next batsmen, Nick Windsor, skied one to midwicket where Keightley took a comfortable catch. Unfortunately for the Strollers, Peppard’s No 4, Fergus Nutt, who scored a memorable 172 not out in last year’s fixture, continued from where he left off in 2017. In partnership with Humphries, the young batsmen punished any wayward bowling. George Calvocoressi bowled a healthy line, but was battling with the heat and had no luck so Timperley decided to change things up by taking the speed off the ball and calling up spin twins Alastair Macaulay and David Kelsey.
Although Humphries and Nutt could not be cracked, so to speak, the run rate reduced as the tweakers worked beautifully in tandem. John “Bucket Hands” Low and Ivor Fiala were prowling the infield as they competed against each other to reach personal catching milestones. None were added in the event but they are hungry for more. Peter Patston followed in a similar bowling fashion but the Peppard pair continued untroubled and first Humphries, followed shortly after by Nutt, both admirably retired on reaching their centuries. Well batted!
Macaulay returned and drew out the new batsmen (who had been sitting Ryan Duff-like in his pads for two hours) and occasional keeper Selby made a snappy stumping. Peppard finished on 243-5, a solid target for the Strollers after a boiling 40 overs in the field.
Over tea Timperley announced the battling line-up to his thirsty team and Glen Oliver’s ears pricked up when it was revealed he would be in at No 6. Complex algorithms and mathematical equations rotated around Glen’s mind as he calculated what not out score he could accumulate to fatten his ever increasing average.
With the day still hot as toast, Calvocoressi and Selby entered the fray to face Satheech Elanganethan and Ruaridh Scott. Calvocoressi was still recovering from heat exhaustion and popped one up to give himself more time for recovery on the sidelines. After blazing a couple of fours Selby was soon joining his opening partner back in the hutch when he was caught and bowled.
Swan and Low had short stays but Timperley went about adding some much needed fight to the innings with some powerful drives through extra cover. Oliver provided sound support with a typical Glen Oliver innings, including five boundaries, but he too could not hang around as he offered up another catch that Hamish Scott gleefully received. On his trudge back to the pavilion Glen was seen looking out to the distance regretting that shot, or was he doing some quick calcs to work out his latest average?
The tranquil Rbo Keightley joined Timperley and the pair knuckled down, facing some quality pace bowling from Hamish Scott and Chris Humphreys’ sharp left-arm orthodox. But the score kept ticking on. Peppard had the majority of their fielders on the rope but Timperley and Keightley were making the most of the gaps in the infield and still finding the boundary. As Peppard tired in the heat, the batsmen picked up some valuable overthrows and Timperley picked up a well-deserved century and then continued to push the score towards 244. Keightley played a fine supporting role with some crafty shots square of the wicket and finished on 39 not out.
Eventually, the Peppard score was passed and Timperley picked up a new personal high score of 150 not out. At the very same time our good friends at Stanton by Dale were celebrating their 150th anniversary with a gala match against none other than the MCC. You can imagine the delightful prawn and cucumber sandwiches that Tricia Taylor would have whipped up without a fuss. Congratulations from everyone at the Fleet Street Strollers. We look forward to our visit next month.
Back to Peppard, where we adjourned to the Unicorn and supped pints courtesy of James and George. Plans for the assault on Brittany were being hatched and various questions were being raised: How was Selby going to get his young family across the English Channel? Is Jim Hodgson’s O-level French adequate to arrange restaurant and hotel bookings for a dozen Strollers, their families and Glen Oliver’s dietary requirements? Was Tom Colbeck’s golf game strong enough to compete with scratch handicappers Evan Samuel, Tom Wood and Alastair Macaulay? And his drinking game? We wait and see...
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Aidan Selby.
Match fees: Richard Keightley. Match report: Tim Swan.
Weekenders
Sunday July 8 at Pinkneys Green
Strollers won by 143 runs
Strollers 315-2
(40 overs; Pittams 138, Addis 125no, Travis 19no)
Weekenders 172-8
(40 overs; Macaulay 2-11, Rory Wood 2-25, Reddy 2-28, Travis 1-20, Simon Brodbeck 1-21)
The relentless heatwave had turned Pinkneys Green into Pinkneys Parched Yellow and Sunday offered no respite from the baking hot days of the previous three or four weeks. A light breeze was available from the Green end but it would be a good toss to win. The fist-pumping and Cheshire Cat grin from skipper Jono Addis left no Stroller in doubt as to who had won and what we would be doing against our visitors, The Weekenders, back on our fixture list after a 15-year break.
The in-form Mike Pittams and Pete Robertson strode out to the middle, Mike eschewing any head gear at all and Pete having a rethink halfway out, swapping a cap for a helmet. What had he seen in the wicket? We weren't sure but if it was bounce then it was the wrong type as Pete was back in the pavilion quickly, bowled by one that kept quite low from left-armer Bhuvan Sharma.
You could almost see the skip in his step as Jono headed for the middle. And skip he might as he and Mike set about the bowling like hotel guests discovering the mini-bar is free. While careful to keep the decent ball out they punished anything vaguely wayward. The scorched outfield meant shots piercing the fielding ring were pretty much guaranteed to yield a four and the sweepers had a tough afternoon in the searing heat. There was a costly drop at backward square leg from Jono in the thirties but that was the only chance given in a monumental partnership.
Tom Wood arrived with the trusty Oonagh, perhaps sensing Pinkneys Green, scene of our greatest individual batting records, might see another of his record partnerships erased from the all-time stats (of course this is ignoring the fact his 2012 second wicket partnership of 237 with Dan Boyle at Marlow Park had already been passed earlier in the season by Jono and Hamish's 266 at Bledlow. Perhaps the heat had scrambled our minds). When the 237 was passed, an exasperated Tom, lager and lime in hand, was heard to say: “It's not even Timperley!”
Back to the live records where Mike went berserk, passing his ton, hitting several sixes to the far parts of the ground including one over the pavilion. Skipper Jono, having tweaked a knee, looked like a man in need of a lie down in a cool dark room, but relentless Mike kept the quick singles and twos going. Eventually Mike fell, bowled by Sharma for a superb 138 and a partnership of 270 with Jono, just one short of the all-time record for any wicket of 271.
Blair Travis took up where Mike left off with a series of glorious drives and when the first innings finished shortly after he had raced to 19 not out. Jono, on perhaps his favourite English ground, had chalked up another ton, ending on 125 not out. With a formidable target of 315 (for 2) we took a splendid tea prepared by Cathy Snapes, who was a welcome sight back behind her tea urn.
The Weekenders were faced with a run rate not far short of eight an over from the start. This was always going to be difficult but Husain Husaini and Ali Rizvi were enjoying the quick outfield and tucking away the bad balls for four, soon reaching 63. Manoj Reddy then struck, trapping Husaini lbw. Rizvi fell shortly after to a smart stumping by Mike Beale off Alastair. Graham Hogben played some nice shots until Alastair lured him into the familiar long-on trap, although most Strollers had their money on the ball sailing straight over the head of Rory Wood. But Rory had been studying the breeze, calculated the wind resistance on the ball perfectly and nonchalantly threw his hands above his head to take the catch.
Andrew Leal went without scoring, caught at first slip by Robertson off Reddy, quickly followed by Niranjan Shimoga caught at mid-on by Glen Oliver off Simon Brodbeck. Of the remaining batsmen only Chris Douglas was able to muster any runs, hitting 27 before being smartly caught at short midwicket by Jono off Rory. Blair bowled Mike Orwell and Rory took the last wicket of the day by bowling Evans, and putting him flat on his back in the process. The Weekenders finished on 176-8. It wasn’t their day but convivial beers were taken on the patio overlooking the parched ground.
Talk of records was not restricted to Mike and Jono's effort or when all of Tom’s records might be erased from the books. How many times had we played a team that deployed three keepers? In how many games had six Strollers still been in mufti at the tea interval? And would Glen reinvoke the Duffers Man in Pads award following many, many overs padded up on the Cotswolds Tour and a full stint here at PG. There are plenty of games left for more records to tumble.
Capt: Jono Addis. Wkt: Michael Beale.
Match fees: Simon Brodbeck. Match report: Jim Hodgson.
Ministry of Justice
Thursday July 12 in Barnes
Strollers won by 17 runs
Strollers 169-7
(20 overs; Oakman 33 ret, Oliver 32, Swan 28, Pittams 24, Alley 15, Ngo 12no, Beale 11)
Ministry of Justice 152-6
(20 overs; Fredrickson 2-36, Macaulay 1-21, Pittams 1-23, Swan 1-23)
The day began with sore heads rising from various and often unknown beds, and the knowledge that football was not in fact coming home. This led many to believe that the sun might not rise today. However, luckily for the Strollers juggernaut, the sun did rise (albeit a bit chilly and overcast) and the march to victory could hopefully continue under captain Gary Ngo.
As per usual the 6pm sharp start was delayed to an all too familiar 6.30 beginning. With Glen Oliver chomping at the bit to be a part of the leadership team to deliver an unbeaten season, he jumped at the opportunity to take the toss with Ngo running late. There was a very thorough inspection of the pitch, one even saw the car key test being used to ascertain what should happen following the toss. As expected, Oliver lost the toss, but to his liking after pitch inspections, we were sent in to bat.
Up stepped the opening partnership with Tim Swan returning from T20 retirement for his first match since 2012 to accompany the in-form Michael “Horse” Pittams. There were many chances offered up as Swan tried to refind the pace of a T20 game but eventually went on to post a ‘lush’ 28 from 14 balls. Pittams’ form continued before a rash shot which saw his head soar towards the heavens, during which one can only presume a flashback of incidents outlined in previous weeks’ match reports caused him to grimace.
John Low was rotating the strike comfortably to keep Oliver facing, who was seeing the ball as though it was one of the low flying A380s overhead, firing his way through to 32 from 13. However, this was not without controversy when Low pushed for a quick single, but was turned down by Oliver (who appeared to be stuck on a treadmill sinking in quicksand), leaving Low in no man’s land and terminating the promising partnership. Later in the evening at the Red Lion, gathered Strollers concluded that Low had done something to offend Oliver. After considerable rumination, we narrowed it down to one of the following options: either John had parked next to Glen’s shiny new Audi and accidentally opened his door into Glen’s (car’s) sleek and smooth body…or he had added Glen’s wife on facebook and sent her some risque emojis.
From here the bowling sharpened with the pitch becoming tortuous with right-angle bounce, while Alastair Macaulay sat on the sidelines chomping at the bit to get ball in hand. The batting from here on was steady and reserved. There was controversy in the middle where the umpires were not in agreement regarding the rules of a no ball. Michael Beale had clobbered a waist-high full toss halfway down the pitch which was adjudged to be a no ball from square leg. But Mr Simon Brodbeck at the other end overturned this and fired him straight back to the pavilion. Oakman posted a fine 33 retired, with Ngo bringing it up the rear with a quickfire 12 from three balls to post a formidable 169 from the first 20 overs.
Once scores were tallied with the oppo facing another large total, the opening bowling partnership was picked. Unsurprisingly the attack was spearheaded by Ngo and Mitch Alley, who have gone unbeaten since opening together some weeks ago. Ngo started with some very tiding bowling and a turning up of ‘the heat’. One does wonder how fast he could be, should his limbs be of normal length. Alley’s inclusion in the opening pairing was queried by many, and the boundary riders trotted immediately into their positions - which are very familiar after recent weeks. However, to everyone's great surprise there were no beamers and the batsmen were outclassed by the variations in pace. The rekindling of form with the ball could likely be put down to Alley finally bringing home something higher than a five the night before.
With the opening partnership ticking over like a 1993 Toyota Corolla - a vehicle so reliable and indestructible it will likely survive (along with the cockroaches) the impending Trump - Kim Jong Il nuclear fallout - No-go ramped up the pressure but looked to have conceded an erratic single on Alley’s arm. Quickly did they learn that this should not be tested, as his recent single status has meant the right arm has had a lot more use. The batsman ended up stranded in the middle of the pitch like a Ross Taylor/Kane Williamson ‘quick single’.
Stair was thrown the ball after Ngo needed to rest following his two overs of heat, with a run-up looking similar to Scott Styris trudging in. Stair instantly caused issues for the batsmen with his round-the-wicket approach, the flight above the eyes and the dip to hit the spot and bring a puff of dust to an English pitch. Macaulay, happy with his field placements and run-up, continued to fly through his overs, much to the delight of Pittams - who appeared a touch hungover following the big football match and had been getting a bit mopey and whiney.
However, with this newfound excitement from Pittams on the boundary we found our winner of ‘Highwayman of the day’, with Pittams creating a bridge so large the ball completely passed through and went for four. No doubt he is scouring the internet today for MCC coaching videos on how to correctly execute the long barrier.
With light fading, Justin Fredrickson was brought on to push through a few quick overs. But the field was not set to his liking with multiple changes needed each ball and some difficulty with his run-up mark. This meant the tactic of a quick over was out the window. It was as if there was 10 needed off the last over of a World Cup final it was being tweaked so frequently. The captain refused to give in to demands and continued with the placements. This was queried at the pub to which Captain ‘Grumpy’ Ngo replied that he couldn’t be bothered. It was at this point we discovered Ngo wasn’t sure which team he would bat for. Unsurprised glances were exchanged by those present - we’d been waiting for this announcement for some time - until he specified that he was talking about the Bank of England vs FSSCC match next Saturday. #awkies
The Strollers had to turn elsewhere to get the middle overs squeeze usually provided by the accurate away swingers of Lachlan Williams, who was otherwise engaged with his own squeeze this evening (carrying her bags, ironing her clothes and occasionally fanning her with a palm frond).
The middle overs saw Swan brought into the attack to impress with the ball in hand, finishing with the exact same figures as Pittams. The two are obviously bowling equals. However, Pittams was questioned about the turtle mating noises produced during deliveries, to which he replied he sees himself as more of a horse both in strut and body parts. The ‘bouncer’ that spent more time on the floor than the underarm incident of ‘81 (and was delivered to backward point), was a good way to ensure the run rate was kept down as only two runs are conceded from such a delivery. Prior to the game Swan also showed off an extremely serviceable dive pass from the deck, and box kick. But the box kick was left-footed. What happened in his childhood to make him kick with the wrong foot?
A tidy over from Oliver saw the required run rate skyrocket and the win inevitable. With an invasion of flying bugs and midges it felt more like the middle of a Delhi Test match. Pittams was thrown the ball to finish off the innings and hand the Strollers another win on the way towards, perhaps, another unbeaten season.
That’s all for now. See you next Thursday, when more records may be tumbling. Be seeing you...
Capt: Gary Ngo. Wkt: Michael Beale.
Match fees: Glen Oliver. Match report: Mitch Alley.
Prestcold
Sunday July 15 in Binfield Heath
Strollers lost by eight wickets
Strollers 210-6
(40 overs; Selby 108, Ovenden 38, Addis 31, Oliver 11no)
Prestcold 214-2
(30.5 overs; Colbeck 1-31, Salvesen 1-48)
The lead-up to the visit to Prestcold was a tense one, hinging as it did on the England men’s association football team’s performance in the World Cup semi-final in mid-week. Piers Ovenden – having arranged lifts to Binfield Heath from New Zealand on two separate national carriers as well as the Brodbeck Express – was worried that, should Gareth Southgate’s brave boys reach the final, the opposition would cancel in favour of waistcoats and a television in a dark room. Match manager and travel consultant Rory Wood was more concerned that roads would be unpassable due to burnt out cars and revelling Englanders. Fortunately, the intrusion of the round ball sport on the cricket calendar reached its limit. At least until August.
Binfield Heath was brown – the other notable feature of the summer of 2018 being the heat wave that has engulfed the UK and Europe. The pitch would, however, prove to be unaffected by the prevailing and persistent heat. The usual freakish bounce applied, as Jono Addis soon found out, coming forward to a length ball that popped and struck him in the throat.
James Timperley, supported by parents from New Zealand (also courtesy of multiple carriers) and daughter Alice, had won the toss and elected to bat through the hottest part of the day. Unfortunately that would prove to be the highlight of the day for the skipper: a slow delivery floated above the eye line, not to mention the tree line (for it was from that end, Prestcold’s famous tree lurking behind the bowler) causing him to lurch forward and be stumped.
A period of consolidation was called for and was answered by Aidan Selby and Ovenden. Selby’s pragmatic approach – it was “hideous to watch” said Ovenden later, “unwatchable” corrected Addis – is of course very successful if you place importance on runs being scored. He began to accelerate, mixing pragmatic defensive shots with pragmatic attacking shots, all with a bewildering array of bat angles and foot placement.
Ovenden meanwhile, his mind still in a different time zone, was trying to compose something a little more aesthetically classical. This taxing project required a lot of mental energy and he became somewhat bogged down, as he struggled to ignore what was going on at the other end and summon to mind images from the MCC manual – visualisation techniques being important to the modern cricketer. Meanwhile Glen Oliver paced the boundary in his pads.
Eventually Oliver was put out of his misery as Ovenden hit a full toss straight to midwicket, concluding an innings (38 runs off 65 balls) to rival that of MS Dhoni at Lord’s the day before. Oliver pushed the score on nicely from there, only losing George Calvocoressi to a run-out in the process.
After the interval, Tom Colbeck struck immediately and hopes soared. Sadly the rather well organised and judicious local batsmen, their craft honed on this esoteric pitch, saw off probing spells from Jim Hodgson and Tom Salvesen, and then proceeded, the harvest being unseasonably early this year, to make hay.
With 11 required from the last ten overs and eight wickets still standing, the skipper tossed the ball to Ovenden who sent down 4, 4, dot, dot, 4, to confirm that mind and body had not yet been re-united in British summer time.
The cricketers then retired to a rather nice pub, bolstered by the arrival of Jo, Naomi, and baby Rhys, sat outside and discussed the future tours programme and other matters relating to cricket, travel, fine wines, perhaps golf, or even cycling, but certainly no other sporting topics.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Jono Addis.
Match fees: Geroge Calvocoressi. Match report: Piers Ovenden.
Tadworth
Sunday July 22 at Tadworth
Strollers won by nine wickets
Tadworth 269-9
(40 overs; Hodgson 4-33, Reddy 3-47, Macaulay 1-59)
Strollers 270-1
(37.3 overs; Selby 101no, Beale 92no, Pittams 39)
On a glorious Tadworth afternoon, Aidan Selby – the Strollers captain for the day – won the toss and somewhat surprisingly elected to bowl first. With bright blue skies and temperatures soaring, debate rumbled as the Strollers took to the field – was Selby's decision a stroke of captaincy genius or a masterplan to capitalise on the widely heralded Tadworth tea?
Experienced pair Rory Wood and Jim Hodgson were given the honour of sharing the new ball. A probing opening period was immediately rewarded when a rearing Hodgson delivery forced a top edge; a stumbling Beale doing well to make the catch appear challenging.
Continuing to display great skill with the new ball, Hodgson and Wood forced a number of false shots as the Strollers searched for a second wicket. However, with two batsmen increasingly willing to chance their arm on a benign pitch, Tadworth began to find the boundary with increasing regularity and soon raced to 50 without further loss.
Having missed a demanding pre-match warm-up, Manoj Reddy's late arrival brought the Strollers up to a full complement.
Reddy was quickly introduced into the attack as they looked to break a promising second-wicket partnership. At the other end Justin Fredrikson replaced Wood and, bowling with great pace and gusto, immediately had the batsmen in trouble. He was unfortunate to see a flying edge and lofted drive go to ground in the space of an over.
Finding plenty of movement through the air, it was Reddy who eventually made the breakthrough - luring the batsman out of his crease with a ball that drifted down the legside. Beale did the rest, taking the ball cleanly before removing the bails - much to the surprise of the departing batsman.
With an added spring in his step, Reddy soon had another Tadworth batsman on his way back to the hutch; leg stump removed by a full delivery that proved too much to handle.
After a short period of rebuilding, Tadworth were soon scoring freely again. However, Reddy quickly struck again with Gary Ngo (making his first and only meaningful contribution of the game), holding onto a steepling catch at long-on.
Rotation was the name of the game on a sweltering afternoon, with Alastair Macaulay and Simon Brodbeck brought into the attack. Tossing the ball up and finding occasional turn, both created chances as the batsmen went on the attack during an entertaining, if unrewarding, middle period.
After a number of lusty blows, which took Tadworth up to and beyond 200, it was Macaulay who finally made the breakthrough via a fine catch at long-on by Wood.
Looking to finish their innings with a flourish, the Tadworth batsmen continued to pepper the boundary. However, it was the returning Hodgson who stopped them in their tracks, taking a flurry of late wickets, including a very noteworthy catch from Fredrikson in the deep, as the home side were restricted to 269-9 from their allotted 40 overs. For the Strollers, a last over team hat-trick capped an athletic fielding display in difficult conditions.
After enjoying a nourishing but somewhat short lived tea, which unanimously lived up to pre-match expectations, Mike Pittams and Beale made their way to the middle to start the Strollers’ response to a challenging run chase.
Crashing the first ball of the innings to the cover boundary, Pittams was quickly into his stride and soon had the Strollers off to a flier. Beale, content to play the supporting role, provided a decent foil for his free-scoring partner; ticking the scoreboard over with a series of singles and twos mixed with the occasional expansive shot.
Pittams continued to dominate the bowling, taking the score to 77-0 with a range of meaty strikes. However, it was the introduction of off-spin which finally saw his downfall; pushing a ball which spat off the pitch back to the gleeful bowler. His entertaining innings was over, as were the dreams of a third consecutive Strollers century.
They say every cloud has a silver lining, and with the demise of Pittams came captain Selby to the crease.
Picking up from where Pittams left off, Selby was quickly displaying an array of attacking strokes. Beale, by this point enduring significant perspiration difficulties and muscle soreness, continued to blunt the attack from the other end whilst demonstrating some typical erroneous calling.
Both batsmen passed 50 during a period of tight Tadworth bowling, with off-spinner James Robinson finding turn and bounce to occasionally trouble each. Beale milked the bowling and his injuries with equal aplomb, and Selby continued to rotate the strike effectively and dispatch the bad ball; ticking the scoreboard over to and beyond 150 without further loss.
Having seen the middle bowlers off without any further damage, the Strollers pair knew it was time to put the foot on the gas. With the run rate escalating to nine an over, new bowlers from both ends were dispatched around the ground as first Selby, then Beale, looked to accelerate the scoring with an array of attacking strokes on both sides of the wicket.
After a number of free-scoring overs, which included a close run-out call, the pair had taken the Strollers within touching distance of a fine win. Time still remained, however, for Selby to reach a well deserved three figures before a nine-wicket victory was completed in the penultimate over...vindicating the captain’s bold decision at the toss.
Capt: Aidan Selby. Wkt: Michael Beale.
Match fees: Alastair Macaulay. Match report: Michael Beale.
Central Brittany
Saturday July 28 in Silfiac
Match tied
Strollers 139-9
(35 overs; Selby 78, Perrin 14, Hodgson 13no)
Central Brittany 139
(26 overs; Macaulay 5-30, Hodgson 4-16, Walder 1-55)
The Strollers arrived at Silfiac for the first of their two Brittany matches. We were to play a 35 overs per side match in searing heat. Fortunes swung both ways, with the match ending in a tie, an exciting result not only for the participants but also for the gathering of Strollettes sitting on the grandstand terrace overlooking the ground. From right to left they read: Tricia, Louise, Jo, Steph, Emily and Naomi. How blessed were we…and in addition were Evan and Tom to swell the support for the lads.
What a great result a tie is, representing parity between the two teams. Yet could we have found that extra run, or cut off one of the opposition's singles, to bring about an arguably more memorable result - a win by one run? It's the subject for discussion in the bar afterwards, a topic that could run and run...
Similarly, thinking about telling contributions in the match, it is easy to plump for the obvious and praise Aidan, not past his Selby date, for his innings of 78 (out of a total of 139), but what about Peter Patston's single, without which the match was lost? And so the talk went on.
Looking at the bare facts of the match, Aidan's innings was remarkable. Whilst all around were floundering on a difficult wicket, (can you remember a James Timperley duck?), Aidan hit 11 fours and three sixes off 67 balls. However, shot of the match came from Fin Perrin, a majestic straight drive, in an innings of 14 (the second-highest score) which showed much promise for the future. Closely following Fin was Jim Hodgson's 13 not out. The Strollers used up their 35-over allotment, although at the end of our innings we only just made it, being tortured by the menace of Central Brittany’s bowler called, frighteningly, Slaymaker (3-13).
Central Brittany also struggled on the bowler-friendly wicket, falling to 34-5, with Jim Hodgson taking the first four wickets. Their innings was revitalised by Madu Bala, in a 40-ball hard-hitting innings of 55, including six sixes (which to an extent revealed the narrow but long dimensions of the ground). Only six runs were scored at the other end while Bala was batting. With Jim bowled out with the excellent figures of 7-2-16-4, who could be called upon to staunch the flow? Step forward Alastair Macaulay, ever able to lure opposing batsmen to their doom. Wickets started to tumble, yet with the scores level, two wickets were still needed for the Strollers to clinch their Patston-inspired win. No trouble for Alastair: No 10 was bowled and No 11 was caught by Aidan.
Just a note on the hectic nature of Central Brittany's innings: there were still nine overs left, and out of the total of 139, 60 runs were scored in sixes.
It would be wrong not to mention the hospitality of Lee Biswel’s team. Food, drink and good company were in plentiful supply. The logistics of running a team abroad must be daunting, including the preparation and maintenance of the ground. Many thanks to all concerned.
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Mike Pittams.
Match report: Brian Taylor.
Des Ormes
Sunday July 29 at Domaine des Ormes
Strollers lost by 30 runs
Club des Ormes 197-5
(25 overs; Walder 2-22, Taylor 1-21, Macaulay 1-32, Patston 1-46)
Strollers 167-8
(25 overs; Oliver 51 ret, Pittams 36, Timperley 17, Hodgson 14, Walder 11)
It was quite a novelty in this baking hot summer to wake up to proper solid rain. The forecast wasn’t great, so breakfast chatter focused on what to do on a wet Sunday in Brittany. Those that had enjoyed the hospitality of the Martray restaurant until they finally asked us to leave at 3am thought a return to bed was the best option, but a call to David Hird, the Des Ormes Chef d’Equipe, resulted in a 12.30pm muster at their chateaux-side pitch.
The rain eased during the drive and eventually stopped as we arrived at Des Ormes. David reckoned that if it didn’t rain again the ground would dry out quite quickly, as it had been bone dry there for weeks too. However, more rain was forecast, so David and skipper James Timperley agreed a 25-over game in the interests of getting some cricket played. This experimental format also introduced retiring at 50. The discussion concluded that Des Ormes would bat first, although the reason for that has been lost in the mists of time. Des Ormes were one short, so Tom Colbeck swapped his Pringle golf sweater for cricket whites to fill the gap. As Strollers arrived in dribs and drabs, some sporting their own hangover clouds, Jo distributed a surprising number of waterproof coats to the crowd, before we took to the field. Well most of us.
For the first few overs Peter Patston was engaged in some serious rummaging trying to find the car keys. Help was at hand in the shape of Louise and Jo and, with the keys thankfully located, Peter joined us on the damp field. By this time Aaron Walder had removed both openers, one of them named Balla. Unfortunately for us it was B. Balla not M. Balla, the batsman who had amassed many, many runs against us in double-quick time in previous Brittany tours. Unfortunately for us, M. Balla then strode to the wicket and carried on amassing runs in double-quick time until he retired on 52.
Hird scored a useful 22 until Peter bowled him. Alastair Macaulay, having made the decision to bowl on the astro track in socks and reserving his spikes for outfielding, dismissed Musa for six, thanks to a catch from George Calvocoressi. Ackroyd, the tall Yorkshireman who had battered us in previous encounters, carried on in the same vein until he retired on exactly 50. Young Finlay Perrin showed promise but no wickets, and Jim Hodgson and George also went wicketless. The highlight of the innings came when Brian Taylor bowled Colbeck, triggering wild celebrations and warm words of encouragement for our departing former team-mate.
As the Strollers left the field, Tricia was opining to the support crew that “197 in a 25-over game was quite a big score”. As usual she was right on the money.
Tea had been postponed to the close of play for weather reasons, so while our golfers, Tom Wood and Evan Samuel, sped off to the first hole in their buggy, Aidan Selby and George headed to the middle. Both their stays were brief as Hird bowled the two of them. Timperley and Glen Oliver moved the score on from 22 to 63 at which point James was run out for 17. Mike Pittams escorted Glen to a retiring score of 51 and was playing in the positive manner to which we have now become accustomed. Aaron ably assisted until being caught for 11 off the bowling of our former team-mate Colbeck. Spirits were raised when Mike struck Tom for a huge straight six, which for a while put the chateau at risk.
Jim joined Mike in the 17th over and continued the positive approach. Unfortunately for us Des Ormes made a crucial bowling change that saw Musa start with a double wicket maiden. Mike was bowled for 36 and Finlay, playing a decent pull shot, was caught low down at square leg by that man Hird, much to his own surprise and that of his fellow fielders. With the score on 138-6 after 19 overs it was going to be a tough ask to reach 198 for victory. Too tough in the end. Jim went for 14 and Alastair caught for seven by our former team-mate Colbeck who was, quite rightly, roundly booed. We reached a respectable, though someway short, 167 with Brian and Peter remaining not out. Musa finished with enviable figures of 4-8 off four overs.
A light tea was taken as we thanked our victorious hosts for getting some cricket played. Maggie put the finishing touches to a wonderfully colourful scorebook, thank you, and Finlay demolished a substantial fruit platter. Our chilly but dedicated supporters, Tricia, Jo, Louise, Emily, Steph, Naomi and the ever smiling Rhys jumped into cars as we departed for our quayside hotel in the historic port town of St Malo.
The final tour dinner was held at the Bouche a Oreille, which proved to be a delightful venue and thanks go to Jo for organising it and the hotel. Many oysters were eaten and the odd bottle of wine drunk. Glasses were raised to Maggie for her birthday the following day, to Maggie and Peter for their very recent wedding anniversary, to James on (perhaps) his final tour before heading south with Martha and Alice, and to the extended Strollers family.
Allez Les Strollers!
Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Mike Pittams.
Match report: Jim Hodgson.
Hurley
Sunday August 5 at Hurley
Match drawn
Strollers 268-2 dec
(33 overs; Loan 111no, Addis 84, Travis 50)
Hurley 217-4
(47 overs; Colbeck 1-22, Pete Wood 1-23, Simon Brodbeck 1-25)
It has been a hot summer and this day felt like its pinnacle as a merry band of Strollers descended on Hurley Cricket Club in the blazing Berkshire sun.
The early news to report from pitch-side was that Mike Beale “had a few train troubles...will be half hour late, sorry!!” and that fielding first in the oppressive midday heat would be rather tough going, a task best suited to our opponents.
After a short conference ensued between Jono Addis (c) and Simon Brodbeck, where captain was summoned by his fellow senior player, a toss was taken out in the middle. The skipper gleefully returned to the pavilion with news of success, that this match would be a timed fixture and indeed the Strollers were batting.
With preferred opening option Beale still absent, the top order was set: 1 Addis, 2 Loan, 3 Travis, 4 Wood, 5 Low. The rest to be confirmed should they be required. How might Beale regret a missed train and the chance to notch a substantial score at the top of the order?
Addis took an early liking to the short and wide balls sportingly delivered by the Hurley opening bowlers. Square cuts and late cuts, the new ball was duly dispatched. As soon as line and lengths were adjusted, the full ball was flayed over the in-field, one lofted off-drive carrying the full distance for six, landing in the straw grass in the neighbouring paddock. Meanwhile, down the other end Mike Loan started watchfully but before long began to chime in with a few sweetly timed drives through the covers for four.
The run-rate was brisk with a score of 83-0 after 10 overs and it was proving full value for shots for the opening pair with anything hit into the gap racing to the boundary. Addis brought up his 50 off 28 balls as the field was spread in response to his initial onslaught.
An early drinks break was taken and all participants were thankful for the brief respite from the searing heat and the chance to catch breath but it would not slow the ascent of the Strollers opening partnership. Addis played the aggressor, hitting boundaries at will, whilst Loan played the support act, hitting the bad balls for four and playing sensibly in between boundaries. The pair ran comfortable twos on balls knocked out to fielders in the deep as the prospect of an insurmountable run chase loomed ominously for Hurley.
In the 17th over and with the score at 141, Addis was first to perish to the surprise of almost everyone, after chasing a wide delivery and getting the faintest of edges which only bowler and batsman detected. He sportingly acknowledged the bowler’s appeal and departed on his own accord for a well compiled 84.
Blair Travis entered the fray and knocked a couple of quick boundaries before the vastly experienced Phil Ridgeway and medium-pacer Josh Cole began to slow the run rate with some cheap overs as the new batting pair sought to establish another substantive partnership. During this phase, Loan was able to bring up his 50 off 59 balls and played thereforth with positive intent, including some lovely aerial shots down the ground to give the back half of his innings real momentum.
A depleted and energy-sapped Hurley rotated their bowlers either side of the second drinks break but it was lambs to the slaughter stuff as the Strollers pair picked off wayward bowling and scampered between the wickets, wringing out every last drop of sweat in a bid to compile the insurmountable total as quickly as possible.
Travis picked up his maiden Strollers 50 off 47 balls, departing shortly thereafter, stumped by some margin in the 31st over with the score at 247. This left Pete Wood (3 not out) the responsibility to usher Loan through to his well deserved hundred off 90 balls and eventually carrying his bat for an undefeated 111 not out as the Strollers declared their innings closed at 268-2 off 33 overs.
Many topical questions were asked during the luncheon interval: Have we got any quick bowlers today? Do you reckon Hurley will go for it? How hot is it? Who’s that bloke with 40,000 career runs and umpteen appearances on the Hurley Cricket Club honours board for most runs and wickets in a season? How good was the ice cream and chocolate cake and is there enough for a second helping?
Pete Wood and Tom Colbeck shared the new ball as the Strollers took to the field in search of ten wickets and any sight of shade. After an inauspicious first over, Hurley’s early intent was quickly revealed as Imran Mazood took in two sighters before charging the third Tom Colbeck delivery, sending the ball long and straight for six. The very next delivery, the Strollers had their first victim as Mazood tried to repeat the shot only to succumb to the vicious Colbeck leg-spin and sharp work of Beale behind the stumps.
A short while later, Beale was back in action with a nice bootlace pick up to complete the run out of Yasir Gul in the fourth over after some snappy ground fielding by Travis in the gully. After Wood had Andleeb Imran bowled in the fifth over, Hurley were teetering at 18-3.
This brought together opening bat Patrick Hinnell and new man Cole in what turned into a frustrating partnership as the Strollers sought to press home the early advances, only to be thwarted by a lifeless pitch. Wood and Colbeck toiled hard with an initial five overs each, followed by spells from Alastair Macaulay, Manoj Reddy and Peter Patston. Several opportunities were missed as catches were spilt, enabling Cole to notch his 50 off 59 balls.
Sometime in the afternoon malaise, drinks were taken as the Strollers resolved to press on in search of victory. Brodbeck had the golden arm, removing Cole for 73 in his second over with a “chop-on” as the Hurley score stood at 122-4 after 25 overs. By this stage, John Low had joined Brodbeck at the bowling crease during a period when a Strollers revival seemed imminent.
This next period was notable for the crucial spill of Hinnell in the gully off Low’s bowling, and the near run-out of new man Ridgeway (owner of earlier said honours board records) following a brilliant pick-up and direct hit from Wood.
From there on in, the Strollers continued to toil without further success as Wood returned for a second spell of six overs with multiple deliveries beating the bat and edges eluding catching men behind the wicket. Colbeck, Macaulay and Patston also made re-appearances at the bowling crease, whilst Travis got one or two to turn during his four-over spell. Addis rounded out proceedings with the final over of the day, as time ran past 7 o’clock.
Hurley had finished at 217-4 after 47 overs. Hinnell well and truly dropped anchor in an undefeated 45 and Ridgeway picked up a classy 50 not out off 67 balls towards the end.
This match threw up more questions than answers as a weary Strollers team retired to the changing rooms and later to the pavilion for a few well earned pints of ale and lager as the evening sun dazzled over the Berkshire plains. Would the result have been different if the Strollers had taken first to the field? What was said between captain and senior player before the toss? What is Mike Loan’s batting average this season and how many times has he been dismissed?
Capt: Jono Addis. Wkt: Michael Beale.
Match fees: John Low. Match report: Blair Travis.
Valley End
Sunday August 12 at Windlesham
Strollers won by 43 runs
Strollers 232-5
(35 overs; Pittams 109, Oliver 60, Colbeck 22no, Travis 14)
Valley End 189
(26.1 overs; Macaulay 4-31, Wall 3-40, Travis 1-0)
The Strollers arrived to drizzly rain, having received confirmation that this game was still on against Valley End. And indeed it was, as Captain Glen Oliver soon walked to the middle for the toss. By giving his team the batting signal it was clear that the toss was lost.
“Can you start in the rain?” asked one of the Strollers. “Yes” was the collective response, but the drizzle soon lightened anyway and with only 35 overs per innings the Strollers were keen to get on with it. Rob Wall and Harry McDonald were on debut. David Kelsey eventually joined the team via a misjudged detour to the following week’s ground at Follies Farm.
Valley End started strongly, with their pace attack making light work of the first few Strollers batsmen. In came Oliver and Mike Pittams, who aimed to turn the Strollers innings around and see off the openers. At one point Oliver quipped that he could do with a bucket and spade, as he dug out yorker after yorker.
Having played themselves in, Oliver and Pittams began to put some pressure on Valley End. With strong running between the wickets and excellent stroke play they put on 125 for the fourth wicket. Oliver eventually tried to heave one too many and departed for 60, which brought Tom Colbeck out to help Pittams finish the innings. Another huge six down the ground brought up Pittams’ fine century. After losing his wicket on the second to last ball, Pittams finished on 109 and the Strollers ended their innings on a commendable 232-5.
England cleaning up India in the second Test made for an enjoyable and delicious tea in front of the TV. With the rain having all but gone, Wall and Colbeck opened for the Strollers. Wall’s sharp bowling was quickly rewarded with a catch to cover in the first over. A couple of run-outs later and the Strollers were feeling very positive. Except that Valley End had a young No 3, Peter Millard, who could clearly bat. He was solid in defence and dispatched any wayward ball to the fence.
Simon Brodbeck and Alastair Macaulay kept Valley End in check in the middle overs, with Macaulay starting off with a double-wicket maiden. Mike Loan and Kelsey also tried their hand. Just the one over each was enough, although they wished it was less as Millard went on the attack. Unfortunately for Valley End he kept losing partners. Macaulay took the lion’s share to finish with 4-31 from his six overs.
Soon Wall was back on. In the second double-wicket maiden of the innings, Wall took the crucial wicket of Millard, caught at deep square leg for 123. That left Wall with 3-40 from his seven overs. Blair Travis took the final wicket in the 27th over, with Valley End all out for 189 and a win for the Strollers.
A good game enjoyed by all. The Strollers retired for a pleasant drink on the patio in front of the clubhouse.
Capt: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Mike Pittams/Mike Loan.
Match fees: Tom Wood. Match report: Mike Loan.
Follies Farm
Sunday August 19 in Chiddingfold
Strollers lost by 33 runs
Follies Farm 216
(37.2 overs; Pittams 3-8, Hodgson 3-46, Newton 2-13, Tom Colbeck 2-50)
Strollers 183
(36 overs; Oliver 39, Robertson 39, Ben Colbeck 30, Hodgson 15, Fredrickson 11, Tom Colbeck 10)
In previous years, Follies Farm have had much the upper hand. The matches follow a familiar pattern: the Strollers bat first, fail to score enough runs and defeat ensues. This year would be different - put them in and chase it down. Debutant skipper Tom Colbeck returned from the toss insisting that we had what we wanted - bowling first. It turned out that Follies Farm also had what they wanted too, having actually won the toss.
As match manager, Tom Colbeck had roped in his brother Ben and young Lewey Newton from RGS High Wycombe as our wild cards. Lewey opened the bowling and generated enough pace for both openers Kummer and Tom Gibson to treat him with respect. Lewey bowled the opener Kummer for five as Follies got off to a relatively slow start.
We had been warned, however, that Tom Gibson was a bit handy (he had played for London NZ with our keeper Justin Fredrikson). Both he and the incoming bat Jim Campling started to take control with Campling favouring the leg-side on anything wayward or pitched up. Richard Keightley bowled well but without reward and was replaced by Jim Hodgson as the runs started to flow. Both Tom Gibson and Campling reached their 50s and a 240-plus score looked on the cards. Jim's persistence paid off as he bowled Gibson for 64. At the other end Tom Colbeck and later Alastair Macaulay had no joy, with bad balls going to the fence from Gibson, Campling and later Jamie Parsons.
Jim eventually had Campling caught on the long-on boundary for 75 by Jono Addis and Jake Hardman caught and bowled. This brought about a mini-collapse as Tom Colbeck brought himself back for an over and snapped up two wickets before giving way to Newton again, who immediately got an lbw and finished with fine figures of 7-0-13-2.
And at the other end was Mike Pittams. In previous games, he had only been given an over at the end of a T20 that was already in the bag. Today, on the same day that Mitchell Johnson announced his retirement from cricket, Mike was summoned to take on the task of cleaning up the tail and it worked a treat. He built up some pace and suppressed his trademark Sharapova shriek for the effort ball. Bowling to neither left or to right, he took three wickets in 2.2 overs for 8 runs, cementing his status as an all-rounder.
The last five wickets fell very quickly and the Strollers had dragged the score back to 216. There was an air of optimism over tea. Could this be our year at last?
Addis and Pete Robertson opened the batting. The first over was encouraging, going for 12 but the bowling tightened up with the tall David Rowland making it difficult to score, bowling short of a length and Hardman swinging it away. Jono was tempted into a drive by Rowland and was neatly caught at cover point for eight. Justin Fredrickson started briskly but was caught off Rowland for 11 as the Strollers were rocking at 34-2.
Glen Oliver and Robertson started to rebuild the innings without letting the run rate lapse. After 20 overs the Strollers were looking comfortable on 96-2 and Glen and Pete continued to tick along. However a horrible yes-no-sorry interlude saw Glen run out for 39. The very next ball Pete was himself run out (also for 39) as he and Ben Colbeck couldn't decide whether the second run was really on.
Two consecutive run-outs may well be an unwanted record even for the Strollers. It's not clear if the "Little Book of Insults" in the away dressing room toilet was consulted...
This was the turning point of the match as two new bats had to establish themselves against tight bowling (particularly that of skipper and owner of Follies Farm Guy Gibson). As the run rate rose, so did the pressure to score runs. Pittams was out cheaply lbw and with him went the Strollers’ chance of quick substantial runs. Newton has cheerfully admitted to being a 10 or 11 bat more comfortable in T20 cricket. His stay was full of intent but brief. After a quiet start Ben Colbeck was batting well, unleashing the odd six to keep us in touch. Brother Tom also clipped one into the pond but fell soon after for 10. Richard Keightley (5) and Jim Hodgson (15) also swung away for a few but were both bowled as the rate climbed to nine runs an over. Ben Colbeck continued to take on the bad ball but perished on the deep mid-wicket boundary for 30 as the Strollers fell short by 33 runs.
Beers were taken in the evening sun as the Strollers rued their missed opportunity to finally nail the Follies Farm hoodoo. Even Harry Kane has scored in August now.
A topic of chatter during the game was the current trend for tardiness of match reports both domestic and foreign. Could it be that some may have to be compiled years later from eyewitnesses in the manner of the Gospels, thus introducing the concept of the Unreliable Narrator? Gustav Flaubert was quoted as saying “I spent all morning adding in a comma, and all afternoon taking it out again" in the search for perfection. By contrast PG Wodehouse would write 10,000 words before lunch, most of it amusing. Perhaps we need more Empress of Blandings and less Madame Bovary...
Capt: Tom Colbeck. Wkt: Justin Fredrickson.
Match fees: Tom Wood. Match report: Alastair Macaulay.
Wall
Saturday August 25 in Lichfield
Strollers lost by three wickets
Strollers 193-6
(40 overs; Selby 141no, Oliver 13, Macaulay 10)
Wall 197-7
(39.4 overs; Simon Brodbeck 2-26, Macaulay 2-47, Patston 1-24, Colbeck 1-29, Perrin 1-47)
After driving almost all the way up from London to Lichfield in glorious sunshine, a sudden heavy downpour caused concern that the first tour game might be in doubt. Fortunately the rain did not last and only delayed the start by some half an hour.
Skipper Glen Oliver once more lost the toss (that’s 0 wins in 16 attempts) and the Strollers were put in on a pretty wet pitch. In-form Aidan Selby opened up with Jim Hodgson and the pair found themselves facing nippy young 13-year-old George Dyche, whose accuracy only cost 15 runs off his six overs.
With our total on 18 he clean bowled Jim, who had scored six. George Calvocoressi joined Aidan but soon departed for five, bowled through the gate by the turning spin of new bowler Anas. Oliver came to the crease next and partnered Aidan in a stand of 59 before a rare mishit off David Craig was taken by Jason Dyche and Glen was out for 13. Youngster Finlay Perrin made a brief appearance, being caught and bowled by Simon Foulds for nought. Then Tom Colbeck sadly only lasted 10 minutes before being caught, adding just three to the score.
In strode Alastair Macaulay to ably support Aidan who, in the course of their 71-run partnership, reached his century. Alastair was run out for 10 before Simon Brodbeck saw out the last few overs accompanying Aidan who successfully carried his bat, ending up with 141 not out, his best score for the Strollers. A respectable total of 193-6 was posted (with Aidan amassing almost three-quarters of our side’s score!).
After a plentiful spread of a tea, including a choice of several delicious home-made cakes, generously provided by David Craig and his wife Rae, the day brightened up with sunny spells.
It was an inauspicious start when the Strollers took to the field after the tea break. Calvocoressi was stopped in his tracks as he ran up to deliver the first ball of Wall’s innings. Unfortunately he had sprained a calf muscle and could not run. He eventually hobbled off. Hodgson took over to bowl, with young Finlay operating from the other end.
Wall’s openers, Laurence Skermer and Nick Edwards, seemed comfortable on a drying pitch and raced to 46 at a run a minute until Colbeck came on and soon bowled Skermer for 20. Adam Dyche hit out from the start and scored 21 runs in 12 minutes before being caught low down by keeper Selby off change bowler Alastair Macaulay.
It was now obvious that Calvocoressi would not return, and substitute fielder Adam Dyche came out to assist with the score standing at 78-2 after 15 overs. Young George Dyche then came in and looked very assured despite his age.
With the score on 95 opener Edwards struck the ball hard back at Macaulay, who held on spectacularly to take the catch. Only five minutes later, in his first over, Peter Patston had Henry Craig caught by supersub Adam, who was fielding very well for us.
With Wall now on 99-4, the game was getting interesting. Stalwart Mark Hatton came to the crease and for the next hour, with young George, they accumulated another 73 runs, helped by a generous amount of extras from our bowlers.
Eventually Hatton miscued a lofted shot and was caught by Macaulay off Perrin, who claimed his first Strollers wicket at the age of 12. After batting extremely well for one and a half hours, 13-year-old George Dyche finally succumbed, being lbw to Simon Brodbeck for 35 – Wall’s top score.
At 175-6 and with overs running out, hope for a Strollers win loomed large. In came Anas but he only lasted a few minutes before being caught by Oliver off Brodbeck for two.
However, the opposition had cleverly held back two highly capable batsmen in David Craig (11 not out) and Simon Foulds (eight not out), who saw Wall home, although with only two balls left of the final over. A close call and exciting game!
Capt: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Aidan Selby
Match report: Ivor Fiala.
Sutton on the Hill
Sunday August 27 in Sutton
Strollers won by seven wickets
Sutton on the Hill 200
(41 overs; Salvesen 3-28, Hodgson 2-13, Taylor 1-23, Simon Brodbeck 1-29, Macaulay 1-38, Patston 1-40)
Strollers 203-3
(31.2 overs; Oliver 61, Taylor 43no, Addis 33, Selby 27)
Time. What a big difference it makes. A day earlier and a forecast of extended periods of rain had resulted in the game against Stanton-by-Dale being called off and the Strollers not passing go, but retiring directly to the pub (followed by coffee with Brian and Tricia Taylor and then on to the evening’s entertainments). A large white tarpaulin had kept the Sutton pitch relatively dry, an overcast morning with the promise of a few sunny intervals was forecast and the Strollers had assembled (or at least most of them).
Skipper Jono Addis duly won the toss and elected to field. A few frantic minutes later, his opening bowler was seen performing his warm-up across the pasture down to the ground, having already called at the post-match hostelry just to check that a proper Strollers warm-up was not still in progress.
Jim Hodgson, offered the slope to pace down, removed opener Bryan Land Jnr in the second over lbw and then sent his replacement back to the pavilion a few overs later to a catch kept in the family by young Finlay Perrin. At the other end, Salvesen, exhausted by his warm-up, toiled up the hill, bowling 29 out of his first spell of 36 balls to Dan Pedley, at the expense of four runs.
Alastair Macaulay replaced Hodgson and then Simon Brodbeck replaced Salvesen with the score on 17-2. The run rate must surely increase over time?
Eventually (after 19 overs and 38-2), the umpire stepped in. “Enough – the batters are playing a time game, let’s agree the rules, bring on the Sutton skipper,” said he. And after some deliberation it was agreed that we were playing a time game and that Sutton would need to post a score to make a match.
Macaulay strolled up for the next over: Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot.
A single and Pedley now faced Macaulay and was bowled for 13. Brodbeck struck in the next over and Sutton were 40-4.
Then the game changed. The Sutton middle order arrived and proceeded to raise the run rate. Fewer dots, more fours and the occasional six. Some movement in the outfield as more Strollers became involved in the day’s proceedings – always interesting on this ground as Aidan Selby discovered when he met Sutton's 12th man, a certain Mr Ridge, by coming a cropper as the ball bobbled by on the way to the fence.
The skipper rang the changes. Perrin, Brian Taylor and Peter Patston all had a go, and the years of experience told as a couple of wickets fell. Salvesen was asked to have another spell and another fine catch by Perrin at mid-off led to the other wickets falling cheaply as Sutton pushed on to a declaration at tea – after 41 overs.
The brief sunny intervals arrived to break up the somewhat grey sky and the Strollers prepared to reply. Selby had obviously learnt much about the Sutton boundary from his patrols and started briskly, supported by the steadily elegant Taylor. The early run-rate – a respectable six – was maintained for a few overs when Addis replaced Selby after a short but profitable innings. Time slowed. Sutton’s Mohammed Nusrat came on and bowled tightly and was rewarded with an lbw decision against Addis.
Then the competition arrived. Have the Strollers ever seen a bowler send the ball higher or slower than either Macaulay or Patston at the peak of their powers? Daniel Twigg’s four overs were punished for their audacity by Glen Oliver and the Strollers were suddenly within striking distance of victory. The scent must have been in the air, as Oliver then elected not to play at a fine delivery from Nusrat that clipped his off-stump, leaving Salvesen in to bring on the smelling salts to revive a slightly jaded Taylor, who proceeded to score the winning runs shortly after.
As well as a lovely setting, hospitable Sutton provide a very good tea and The Holly Bush in Church Broughton is welcoming too. If only time allowed us to enjoy this part of England and didn’t demand our return to more southerly parts in preparation for the resumption of life. Brian Taylor managed to remain standing after many 22-yard runs and we will enjoy with him the memory of the first time he carried his bat in 2018.
Capt and wkt: Jono Addis. Match report: Tom Salvesen.
Ripley
Sunday September 2 in Ripley
Strollers won by 82 runs
Strollers 302-3
(41 overs; Oliver 108no, Pittams 103 ret hurt, Selby 27, Robertson 17, Pete Wood 17)
Ripley 220
(32.3 overs; Pete Wood 3-21, Macaulay 3-29, Simon Brodbeck 2-38, Sampat 1-49)
On a beautiful late summer’s day the Strollers headed out to Ripley, a club formed in 1749 and boasting Ashley Giles as a former member. Pre-match inspections revealed a green yet slightly crumbling deck, causing a degree of uncertainty as to whether batting first was the desired result. As long time ‘tosser’ Glen Oliver walked out to the middle, the remaining 10 Strollers felt strongly the decision would not be ours – surely today would not be the day he would break his 0 out of 16 streak? Oliver remained defiant that the previous night’s practice would hold him in good stead, and lo and behold, the coin finally flipped his way.
With a quick outfield Mike Pittams and Pete Robertson got good value for their strokes and cruised to 50 inside eight overs. Robertson was unlucky to be dismissed for 17 in the next over as he pulled a long hop straight to midwicket, however Aidan Selby at No 3 kept the runs flowing. The second-change off-spinner Toby Zapp tightened things up and eventually managed to squeeze one through Selby’s gate. At 105-2 after 17 overs, the stage was still well set for skipper Oliver and Pittams to go large.
They most certainly did not disappoint, carting the Ripley attack to all corners. Particularly savage on anything short, Pittams brought up his fourth century of the season before succumbing to a dodgy hamstring…or was he just retiring to conserve his average? In any event, with 10 overs to go Oliver took charge and raced toward three figures of his own. Galloping along at 11 an over through the final period with assistance from Pete Wood and Rob Wall, he became the day’s second centurion a couple of overs from the finish, as the Strollers finished at 302-3.
With a delicious tea lining the stomachs and the promise of two post-match jugs thanks to Pittams’ and Oliver’s efforts, the Strollers took the field with an extra spring in their step. The Ripley skipper countered this by sending in pinch-hitter Colin Gibbons to open with Zapp, a move which paid immediate dividends as they raced to 50 inside five overs.
As Wood and Wall gained control of the swinging ball, progress was soon halted. First Gibbons missed a straight one, then Zapp was run out in the following over. Two more wickets for Wood left Ripley reeling at 64-4 and the Strollers sensed an early beer could be in the offing.
In retrospect this was far too premature as the middle order set about lifting the run-rate. Damian Hyde was the key man, featuring in two consecutive 60-run partnerships and leaving the match evenly poised at 199-5 after 25 overs. In desperate need of a wicket, skipper Oliver made an inspired double bowling change. Sage hands Simon Brodbeck and Alastair Macaulay bowled beautifully in unison, removing Hyde for 75 and then showing a killer instinct to mop up the tail with five wickets between them to secure an 82-run victory for the Strollers.
Capt: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Aidan Selby.
Match fees: Tom Wood. Match report: Pete Wood.
The Lee
Sunday September 9 at The Lee
Strollers lost by five wickets
Strollers 326-5
(40 overs; Addis 107, Pete Wood 107, Pittams 51, Fredrickson 24)
The Lee 329-5
(39.1 overs; Pete Wood 1-47, Rothberg 1-45, Hodgson 1-49, Colbeck 1-55, Usher 1-73)
With news of Glen Oliver’s late pull-out, any hopes the batsmen had that this would lead to an easy day’s running between the wickets were dashed early on by his replacement, Justin Fredrickson. On the first ball of the match after smashing it straight to short gully, Justin sprinted off, calling a lame Mike Pittams through for a sharp single. What followed were 10 overs of what resembled more Viennese Waltz between the batsmen than cricket.
This led to speculation amongst the observing Strollers as to whether Oliver was controlling Justin’s calling remotely through an ear-piece via high fidelity wireless technology. The conjecture grew stronger as the running troubles ceased suddenly when Justin took a tumble in the crease and knocked his helmet, possibly severing the connection with Glen. Fredrickson and Pittams then batted stoically, seeing off an incredibly handy bowling partnership that involved a couple of young bucks from Saturday cricket – Rob Walsh and Ben Harris.
With the demise of the openers came Jono Addis and Rob Wall. Wall decided he was there for neither a good time nor a long time as he attempted to pull a half-volley off the back foot. His departure bought one of the Strollers collection of Woods (see below) – this one called Pete – to the crease, who went about putting on a batting clinic with Addis.
Earlier in the day Addis had regaled his fellow Strollers with news that he had been confirmed in a role in an upcoming blockbuster movie (whilst the movie cannot be named it can be confirmed that despite the apparent perfect fit, he isn’t playing the role of Daniel Radcliffe’s character in Extras). Addis showed that he can balance his ascent of Hollywood Hill with batting and continued his pursuit of the great James Timperley with his seventh ton for the Strollers in fine fashion.
Pete Wood was on 61 with only a few overs remaining. Despite Wood’s resemblance to a current Blackcap, an unnamed Stroller was quoted as saying there was no way he would get his ton. Fool-be-he as Wood walloped a succession of sixes, including five off one over, bringing up his hundred and a new record of most sixes in an innings (11) for the Strollers. Wood was dismissed to a superb catch on the boundary, as the Strollers set what would prove to be a below par 327 for victory. Wood then conspicuously kept his shoes on throughout the break, leaving the mystery open as to whether he is Marty “Two Toes” Guptill moonlighting for the Strollers.
The Lee put on a sensational feed which included a menu and many delicious lemon tarts. Whilst the hosts’ motives cannot be questioned, it is fair to say that the size of the lunch weighed down on the usual agility and athleticism of the Strollers fielding.
Compounding the fielding woes was a sideshow involving a few of the more junior Strollers. Wood’s earlier fireworks had dislodged a sea of acorns onto the pitch. This led to a skirmish forming between legside and offside factions, with Wood again proving to be the victor on the day, ending it with a precision cluster bomb of acorns on to Pittams’ head during a changeover.
In the main game, Glen’s connection with Justin had been restored and he had the gloves in hand standing up. Unfortunately the camera connection was iffy due to the earlier damage but there was no shortage of stumping appeals.
Unfortunately this was all just a side-show. The opposition had a rising star, Julian Swain, who slapped the Strollers everywhere before departing for a magnificent 93. Jim Hodgson did the hard work, delivering a very economical 1-49 from his eight overs but this wasn’t enough. In the fast fading September sun the winning runs were struck in the final over as Jon Swain (father of Julian) showed no mercy, clobbering a quickfire 65.
All that can be said is that cricket was the winner on the day with over 650 runs being scored. Keep on Strollin!
*Delays in publishing this match report were caused due to the writer’s commitment to factual accuracy in researching the Strollers' impressive collection of Woods – almost a golfbag’s worth.
These consist of, in no particular order: Andrew Wood, Nick Wood, Pete Wood, Rory Wood and treasurer Tom Wood. With the dear departed Oonagh Wood completing the set. And that’s without including Duncan Woods...
Capt: Jono Addis. Wkt: Justin Fredrickson.
Match fees: Mike Pittams. Match report: Rob Wall.
Braywood
Saturday September 15 at Pinkneys Green
Strollers won by four wickets
Braywood 235-9
(40 overs; Travis 2-36, Williams 2-49, Simon Brodbeck 1-34, Wall 1-34, Nick Daly 1-37)
Strollers 236-6
(38.4 overs; Usher 63, Nick Daly 50no, Mike Daly 35, Addis 26, Taylor 20, Colbeck 13)
The Strollers headed home to Pinkneys Green for their next assignment against Braywood CC.
The game was notable for being the 40th anniversary of the debut of Ivor Fiala who, playing in his 543rd Strollers match, took a moment to reflect. He recounted his first outing against the Ex-Blues on a glorious autumn day in 1978. He was sent out to open, scoring a very handy 35.
Captain Tom Colbeck returned from having lost the toss, muttering something about Glen Oliver winning a toss a couple of weeks past. With Ivor’s story of batting exploits providing inspiration, the boys headed out for a bowl on a warm day in early autumn.
Rob Wall and Lachlan Williams opened the bowling with tight spells that eventually led to a run-out off Wall’s bowling. Nick Daly and Simon Brodbeck continued the strong bowling display and both managed to snare a wicket.
With the Strollers firmly on top, the game changed in an instant when Brodbeck managed to confound the new batsman, who scooped an easy chance to Nick Daly standing at backward square. Daly lost his composure and grounded the simple chance. The error was punished as the Braywood batsman, Yasir, went on to make 68 in a partnership with Shahbaz which looked to take the game away from the Strollers.
Blair Travis and Tom Colbeck came into the attack. Seeing two strapping 6’4” blokes bowling spin breaks the heart of this contributor, nonetheless both bowled tightly and eventually Travis managed to remove the dangerous Shabaz for 73. The wickets continued to tumble and Braywood finished their 40 overs with 235 runs on the board.
The boys headed to the clubhouse where Brodbeck and Brian Taylor took a moment over a cup of tea and Soccer Saturday to reminisce about Notts County’s past successes. It was a brief conversation.
The focus sharply turned back to the middle where Jono Addis and Mike Daly headed out to open. The pair put on 45 before Addis (26) fell to one of the stranger dismissals in his career, the ball seeming to come off most of his body before rolling on to the stumps.
The dismissal brought Simon Usher to the crease after managing to convince Captain Colbeck of his batting qualities in the car journey. Usher didn’t disappoint and quickly set into his work with some spectacular cover drives.
The Strollers were going along nicely and at drinks were 121-1. Daly fell shortly after drinks, bringing the spritely Taylor to the crease. Taylor impressed everyone with his quick running between the wickets.
Usher fell for an impressive 63, allowing Nick Daly a bat. Taylor was then caught taking one too many quick singles. Wall and Captain Colbeck were both dismissed forcing the run rate.
Daly played some nice back-foot drives and the partnership with Williams got the Strollers over the line with six wickets down. Daly managed to pick up his 50 off the last ball of the innings, Williams kindly turning the strike over with two runs needed for victory and a boundary at his mercy.
With the win secured, the boys retired to the clubhouse to decide the minor prizes over a cold beverage. Williams was heralded for his sportsmanship in allowing Nick Daly to score 50. Daly of the day, much to the pain of this columnist, went to Nick Daly.
With the minor matters decided, there was time for a couple of photos with Fiala to celebrate his 40th Strollers year before everyone headed home in the fading light, content with their day’s work.
Capt: Tom Colbeck. Wkt: Jono Addis.
Match fees: Simon Brodbeck. Match report: Mike Daly.
Farnham Royal
Sunday September 16 at Farnham Royal
Strollers won by five wickets
Farnham Royal 180
(40 overs; Reddy 3-26, Travis 3-36, Simon Brodbeck 1-6, Hodgson 1-27, Wall 1-33)
Strollers 182-5
(34.4 overs; McDougall 59, Travis 47no, Pittams 35, Wall 14)
Farnham Royal CC made a welcome return to the fixture card after several years’ absence. The Strollers were accorded the privilege of playing on the club’s No1 ground, a very pleasant league standard set-up overlooked by a 13th century church, near the centre of the village in the heart of Royal Buckinghamshire.
Hamish McDougall was also making a return, having cooled his heels in New Zealand for several months forlornly waiting for errant match reports to be posted.
Skipper Alastair Macaulay eschewed long-held Strollers captaincy wisdom and chose to bowl first, reasoning “we’re a chasing team.” Perhaps he was haunted by memories of The Lea hauling down 327 the previous week.
So the Strollers took the field on a warm, breezy day. Tom Salvesen and Rob Wall kept a tidy line and repeatedly beat the bat with the new ball; however, after 10 overs the captain’s decision seemed to have backfired. The Farnham openers proceeded at nearly six an over without early wickets.
Relief came when Wall had the dangerous David Morgans caught behind for 38 and change bowler Jim Hodgson had the other opener, Alan Morgans, bowled for 18, leaving Farnham 69-2.
A steady trickle of wickets followed. Blair Travis’s offspin exploited inconsistent bounce in the pitch, taking 3-36 in a tidy spell. Manoj Reddy attacked the off stump with his medium pacers and was rewarded with two bowled wickets and a catch behind (3-26). He also starred in the field, with a sharp catch at midwicket and a direct hit run-out to end the innings. Pundits mused about ‘Manoj the Match’ headlines.
175 from 40 overs seemed a below par target, but Farnham hopes were raised when opener Brian Taylor was bowled for a golden duck. It was, to be fair, a very good ball to receive first up. Brian certainly thought so – you should ask him about it. Mike Loan (8) followed soon after with a similarly impressive delivery kissing the top of off stump.
McDougall (59) and Michael Pittams (35) eventually got things moving along; including a massive six by the latter clearing the tall fence at midwicket. McDougall displayed his usual offside predominance, crunching several full-blooded cut shots to the cover-point fence (in his mind at least - Simon Brodbeck later described them as “dabs to third man.”)
Pittams’ departure brought Travis to the crease, where he recovered from a scratchy start to play with authority, particularly through the offside. His 46 not out helped the Strollers win comfortably in the 34th over, helped by able late hitting by Wall (14).
It was Farnham Royal’s last fixture of the season, and the ground was soon abuzz with cricketers dismantling and packing away various apparatus for the winter slumber.
Happily, the Strollers still have two games to go. Post-match talk turned to the prospect of an end-of-season tour next year. Porto, Malta, Rome, Ibiza and Corfu were all mentioned as potential venues. After days like this, you don’t want the summer to end.
Capt: Alastair Macaulay. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees: Tom Wood. Match report: Hamish McDougall.
Pinkneys Green
Sunday September 30 at Pinkneys Green
Strollers won by six wickets
Pinkneys Green 235-6
(40 overs; Macaulay 3-15, Sam Brodbeck 1-4, Usher 1-32)
Strollers 239-4
(38.4 overs; Sam Brodbeck 58, Oliver 55, Pittams 50no, Swan 43)
John Keats probably has the Strollers in mind when he penned his thoughts about the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. Pinkneys Green was the setting for the last game of the 2018 campaign: autumn leaves drifted across the square and there was a chill in the air.
Sam Brodbeck and Alastair Macaulay were in position many hours before the start. Having set off from the Imperial War Museum as dawn began to break, they watched the early morning mist roll away before going through an intense pre-match routine of stretching, bowling practice and visualisation. For Sam, it was his first appearance since the arrival of baby Frankie; for Stair it was the final game in a season of great success. Not quite the annus mirabilis of his 53 wickets in 2016 but not so far away (see below).
With skipper Glen Oliver eventually losing the toss as per usual, the Strollers took to the field...and were soon on the receiving end of a PG barrage. Twelve came off the first over. The only bright spot came when Simon Usher, having told the skipper on his journey to the ground that “I don’t do much with the ball”, produced an unplayable inswinging yorker to remove Uday Tikoo. But that was where the good news ended.
Mike Pittams was introduced into the attack. He said later – after his solitary over had gone for 16 runs, including a head-high beamer which nearly decapitated wicketkeeper Hamish McDougall – “I have no recollection of bowling; but the skipper told me he wanted to keep some heat on. So I aimed to bowl fast and erratically. I achieved 50% of that.” He then returned to the outfield, where he spent the rest of the innings wielding a long stick. Why? “It was a lovely stick” was his only explanation.
Ujwal Tikoo and Ben Purchese proceeded to put on 117 at a blistering pace, only halted when Sam Brodbeck hung on to a fine caught and bowled just before the drinks break. But Purchese and Nick Jones kept up the onslaught and, at 206-1, things looked ominous.
But the wily Macaulay, the flighty David Kelsey and the returning Usher put the brake on things and Pinkneys could only add 29 runs in their last nine overs. It did help that Purchese, having raced to a fine century, had to retire upon reaching his hundred and the Strollers were thankfully spared further punishment.
McDougall claimed two stumpings off Macaulay. That brought him to 75 career stumpings (Mike Morgan, as you know, has just 74 stumpings). His 2018 catches now bring his total of catches to 94; that’s a career total of 169 victims...still chasing Morgan’s mark of 179. A good reason to be back for a full season next year.
Pinkneys’ 235 set a stiff target, but the portents were good. Notts County had registered their first victory of the season the day before and Europe were in the ascendency in the Ryder Cup. Despite the golfing action being shown on the big screen in the clubhouse, the eyes of the sporting world were on McDougall and Tim Swan as they strode to the crease.
Setting off in pursuit of 236 for victory, McDougall was on the wrong end of a superb delivery from Jack Austin. Sam Brodbeck joined Swan and they had to battle hard against some tight bowling. Swan (43) eventually departed after a curate’s egg of an innings and Sam (58) followed, having made light of his long absence from the crease.
Skipper Oliver was his usual pugnacious self, running every possible single. He was joined by Mike Pittams who himself was standing on the brink of something special. Having made four centuries in the 2018 season, he had drawn level with James Timperley. This was the chance to claim a fifth ton and consign Timperley to the kitbag of history. The maths were against him but he ended with 50 not out (his 48no being adjusted to 50no after a hasty adjustment by the harassed scorer).
The match was getting tight: 39 required off five overs; 32 off four. There was much gnawing of umbrellas amongst the absorbed crowd. Oliver fell for a typically positive 55 and Usher entered for a decisive cameo, a run-a-ball three not out. Then 19 from three and seven off two. Pittams sealed the deal with a rasping cover-drive for four. There were eight balls to spare.
Gulfam Rehman’s 8-2-27-0 and Charles Berger’s 8-0-43-1 kept the result in doubt until the last. A fine game played in the best of spirits. Thanks to our friends at Pinkneys Green for their hospitality and assistance in hosting our “home” games.
The year of 2018 has been of much significance. The Crocker clan set sail for Melbourne on September 27...farewell and thanks for your company to Warren, Theresa, Lachlan, Zachary and Isla.
Warren played from 2007 to 2018 - 177 games, 2,128 runs at 25.33 plus a little matter of 303 wickets at 13.45. Who can forget his golden summer of 2014 when he did the double: 60 wickets at 18.80 and 555 runs at 37.00 with a memorable 84 not out at Wall. And the high point of 8-28 at Stanton by Dale in 2011. Thanks for being with us on many a tour and many a sunlit day. And Theresa for dancing the night away at St Vallier de They.
James Timperley played 179 matches (a very similar number to Warren); 173 innings; 8,447 runs at 68.67 with his finest innings coming at Peppard this year, his 150 not out carrying us to a famous victory.
He started the season on the foothills of Everest, staring up at Simon Brodbeck’s peak of 7,946 career runs. Before setting off on a grand tour of Europe and then flying back to New Zealand in November he had scored the 152 needed to equal Simon’s mark and then set a new summit of 8,447.
I may have got those figures wrong, of course, but as James counts every run – and has been known to reprimand Maggie over a leg bye which should have counted as a run to him in August 2013 – I am sure he will correct me. A demon in the field with a bullet throw and often bearing the burden of captaincy – we shall not see his like again; at least not until he, Martha and Alice return to the UK for the Timperley Era Part Two.
It has been great having you all in the Strollers family.
There has been a torrent of runs – particularly during the blistering spell of weather; 2018 was the joint hottest summer on record for the UK as a whole, and the hottest ever for England. It was matched by the Strollers batsmen – with 14 centuries being chalked up (Surely a record, Maggie?). Mike Pittaraova scored four; Jono (Downton Abbey) Addis three; Aidan (have you seen my golf swing?) Selby three; with Glen Oliver, Mike Loan, Peter Wood and James Timperley weighing in with one each.
The sun seemed to shine from the Cotswolds tour until the Sunday of the Three Counties tour when the Stanton by Dale game was washed out. And when the sun shines, the cricket is good.
There were some strange and memorable games:
*How did we fail to defend 326 against The Lee?
*Aidan Selby’s 141 masterpiece against Wall, when he contributed 73 per cent of the side’s runs...in a losing cause.
*A monumental partnership of 270 between Jono Addis and Mike Pittams to take us home against the Weekenders.
*Timpers’ masterclass of 150 not out to claim a thrilling victory at Peppard.
*A cracking game at Cricklade where we lost in the boiling sun with four balls remaining.
*The rain thwarting a bid for victory at West Chiltington.
*Addis’s remorseless 176 against Bledlow.
*Timperley and Loan putting on an unbeaten 166 to see us home against Fulmer.
*Tom Wood’s farewell to arms with a wicket against Bottom Paddock and 47 against Victoria University, which lit up the Strollers’ New Zealand tour. Let’s hope he will be back, refreshed after his break from the game, in 2019.
*It wasn’t just a matter of runs, of course; we did have some bowlers. Macaulay wheeled away, taking 40 wickets to bring his career total up to 434 after 370 games. Tom Colbeck was a regular and valuable presence and has set his sights on victory at Follies Farm in 2019.
The midweek troops – ably marshalled by Oliver, Rbo Keightley and Selby – went the whole campaign unbeaten. Not quite on the scale of the 2012 Invincibles (Played 12 Won 12) as three games had to be cancelled because of lack of bodies (them and us) but still highly respectable: Played 7, Won 7, Cancelled 3.
New faces appeared: Peter Wood, Rob Wall, Blair Travis and Michael Beale among others, and very welcome they were. Justin Fredrickson reappeared.
New babies arrived: Astrid, Bala, Edith, Felix, Frankie, Isla and Rhys. Oonagh Wood departed after a long and devoted service to the Strollers cause (who can forget when she almost ate the opposition skipper’s dog on tour).
Bart Fine, Paul Dorrans and Piers Ovenden passed through. The sun shone. Maggie marked up the book in her usual impeccable fashion. The unending quest to beat Des Ormes continued. The crumbling Royal Hotel at Ashby-de-la-Zouch finally closed its doors. Head receptionist Nicola Coleman, who has looked after us all these years, said her goodbyes and Igor, the night porter, disappeared into the mist. The Budget Ibis at Willington proved an inadequate replacement.
Ivor Fiala chalked up his 40th year with the Strollers, after making his debut in 1978 against the Ex-Blues. That’s now 543 games and still counting. Brian Taylor nearly beat his own record for the oldest man to score a fifty but ended up 43 not out at Sutton on the Hill at the age of 71.
Charles Dickens put it well: “It was the spring of hope. It was the best of times. It was the season of light.” Now, I fear, comes the dark winter. See you in April 2019...
*Any additions or statistical corrections to this report are warmly welcomed.
Capt: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Hamish McDougall.
Match fees: Rob Wall. Match report: Simon Brodbeck. |
