Great Missenden Pelicans
Sunday April 19 in Great Missenden Strollers won by six wickets Pelicans 191
(38 overs; Oliver 3-13, Mangham 3-35, Rogers 2-26, Seddon 1-18)
Strollers 197-4
(28.2 overs; Oliver 85no, Pittams 48, Helsby 46, Seddon 12no) If a sunny start to the Strollers season at a fixture
notorious for being rained off wasn’t too good to be true, then captain Glen Oliver
winning his first toss since Boris was in office surely was. Perhaps today was
always destined to be the Strollers’ day.
James Dela Rue and Isa Pandor opened the bowling with a
combination of pace from both ends. Great Missenden’s (GM’s) opening batters
got off to a tidy start, seeing off the Strollers attack with no loss after 10
overs. DLR returned a very tidy economy, conceding just 10 runs from his five
overs, working hard to keep the scoreboard down.
With GM starting to look comfortable with the bat, captain
Oliver made the bold decision to bring himself on at first change – only to
have his second ball sent on a trajectory closely resembling the recent Artemis
II mission. It is anticipated that the ball should return from its orbit around
the moon in approximately seven days, where it is expected to splash down in
the Pacific Ocean.
Luckily for the captain, his fortune changed two balls
later when he dismissed opener George Lessetter with a questionable lbw. To be
fair, I’m certain at least one of the three sounds involved a pad.
A second wicket followed shortly after, with a lofted cover
drive finding its way to Trebly Webly [alias Brad Trebilcock], who was never in
doubt of holding on – despite moving his body so far to the side that he
resembled a Spanish bullfighter waving a red flag.
GM’s Josh Bailey got off to a rapid start, scoring a quick
30 before being clean bowled by Guy Seddon. Steve Rogers was next to pick up a
wicket for the Strollers, producing an absolute ripper of a leg-spin delivery
that turned so far it sent wicketkeeper Jake Helsby one metre down the legside
before spinning back into the stumps.
From there, the Strollers looked dominant with the ball. Ben
Mangham returned for an excellent second spell, picking up three wickets to
help clean up GM’s tail – one bowled, one caught and bowled, and one caught
behind the stumps.
A special mention to Mangham and Oliver, who between them
have lost a combined 10kg+ since Christmas and picked up six wickets on the day
– raising the question of whether the Strollers might possess some half-decent
cricketers if they didn’t spend half their waking hours in the pub.
A target of 192 was set for the Strollers.
The opening partnership of Mike Pittams and Alex Diaconu was
short-lived, with Alex bowled for a golden duck off the final ball of the first
over.
Fortunately, the Strollers’ second-wicket partnership found
some success, with Helsby and Pittams putting together an important 92-run
stand, filled mostly with boundaries and the occasional single. Helsby was
eventually dismissed for 46 to a top-edged sweep, before Pittams was bowled
soon after for 48.
This brought two fresh batsmen to the crease – Oliver and
Trebilcock. One of these batsmen was destined to score a brilliant 85 not out
to begin the season, while the other was destined to be dismissed for a single
run.
Shockingly, it was Trebilcock who fell, while Oliver
relentlessly punished GM’s bowlers with a barrage of sixes that answered the
age-old question: “How many spare balls do GM have in their clubhouse?” The
answer, apparently, was at least five.
After Trebilcock’s dismissal, Seddon joined Oliver to
secure the win for the Strollers, scoring a solid 12 runs and finishing the
innings in style with a six over square leg.
An excellent start to the season for the Strollers, who
move on to Bledlow Ridge next week.
Capt: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Jake Helsby.
Match fees: Steve Rogers. Match report: Jake Helsby.
| 
