AVCC vs Collingbourne (20/20)
Well despite the floods and heavy rains blanketing most of the country, our game went ahead at home on Thursday evening vs our nearby friends of Collingbourne. Pitch was green, skies were grey and heavy, and rain threatened. We were voting for Brexit that day and so it was a day of great portent, much debate and history (although the author had wisely voted weeks before by postal vote).
We welcomed back Ben Jones…looking leaner after 2 years at Swansea University (girl friend in the wings???) and had a mixed team - extreme youth (Jamie Corden) and experience (Dudley and Graham), 2 of our premier farming community (and occasional adversaries - Hugh Morrison and Billy King), and our sledging expert Tim Gent, all in attendance. So it was bound to be lively.
As usual, when the allotted time to toss-up came at 5.55, we were only 7 players and so with a heavy heart and praying for rain in the second innings, Graham Newland won the toss and decided to bat. Not helped by their captain feeling very pleased with the decision. If we had a full team in attendance and knowledge 11 were even coming, then the decision might have been different. 6pm means a 6pm start.
So we sent in Angus Harley and Geoff Smith (fresh back from his groin injury whilst umpiring….another story…) to open. We had a lot of honour to reclaim having been thumped 3 weeks earlier by them in the same format. Their side was the same and so we were concerned as we had a lengthy tail again.
The pitch was slow, no major surprises and so we hoped their quicks would be neutralised. Angus showed them his strong technical qualities and defended stoutly the first 5 balls, nudging a single off the last ball of the first over. Now sighted, he took a classic and mighty 4 off the next over. The Geoff missed the deadly “on the stumps” ball and was out for a second ball duck. I think the groin injury hampered his usual speed of adjustment. 5-1 off 2.2 overs.
So Michael Rae was elevated to 3 and was sent out to steady the ship with Angus. Good partnership for 8 minutes until Angus hit a skier to short something and was caught as the ball settled into Gringell’s (pronounced Gringo by his team-mates) hands with various bits of ice, snow and meteor particles still clinging to the ball. 10-2 off 4.3 overs and Angus was gone for 6, just when he looked set for another big score. We were worried a repeat of 3 weeks ago was on the cards as all was looking too familiar…...
Billy King was then cattle-prodded into the ring. It’s amazing how no one wanted to bat 3-7 in the team that night and so some tough decisions had to be made (perhaps I could volunteer to lead the Brexit negotiations, especially as I was freshly back that afternoon from business in Belgium, Germany and Sweden that week). Well, no worries. One half of our terrible twins from Zimbabwe combination - Michael and our leading Euro agricultural expert took one look at Collingbourne and fancied a change.In just 46 beautiful minutes, the pair put on 72 runs in just 13 overs. Michael hit 6 splendid 4’s to all parts of the field in a well-paced and classy innings of 30. Just what we needed. 82-3 off 15.4 overs.
Billy kept going, and Peter Williams joined him. Peter, to his credit volunteered for 5. Peter played a neat cameo, with 1 well-struck 4 and was bowled on 7 with the score on 100 in the 18th over. Hugh Morrison was cajoled to 6 and helped Billy steer us to 111-5 off our 20 overs. Hugh was out last ball, bowled for 4 and Billy was not out for a top-score and fine innings of 40, including 4x4’s. Well done.
A good score for the team, and 50 runs better than 3 weeks previously against Collingbourne. But we feared it was a few runs short. Graham, being naturally superstitious, worried about the 111. Although an “Angel score” it is also a number of perceived ill-fortune in cricket. What was it to be …angel or troll?
Collingbourne came out looking confident. We put Michael Rae and Jamie Corden on as our resident speed merchants and Sultans of Swing to ruffle them. They looked solid. Jamie started with a well deserved maiden which could have been improved but for a drop in the field. However, after 8 overs of great effort and good accuracy, we had not dislodged them. Michael had very creditable figures of 0-9 off 4 overs, with 1 maiden. Jamie bowled well and deserved more than 0-20 off 4 with 1 maiden. We were looking a bit injured, creaky and less athletic in the field than usual and Collingbourne kept nicking runs that shouldn’t have been there as a result. We obviously need a masseuse to keep us going at times (or maybe free beer before the match). Should discuss at next committee.
However, at the half-way stage of their innings, we had our noses ahead as they were just 40 off 10 overs, and just behind the run-rate.
Ben Jones and Hugh Morrison then took up the battle. Ben quickly adjusted to AVCC ways of doing things with a couple of wides early on before achieving the much-needed break-through in his debut for the season….with a great in-swinging ball. The lad if back! We needed one of his unique hat-trick performances as 42-1 now.
Unfortunately, they decided to open up at this time and so the 4’s began to flow as we were without the rest of our much vaunted bowling attack. Hugh Morrison bowled the best we have seen him in the recent 3 years, and took a creditable 19-2 off 4 overs of good line and length. Ben was 33-1 off 4. Billy King and Angus Harley fought hard to slow them down but they were rampant for now and finished on 114-3 after 19.3 overs.
We ran them close…losing by just 3 balls. It was a good game, celebrated in the pub later.
Billy King’s 40 n.o. was a highlight; Michael Rae’s 30 and 0-9 bowling would make him my AVCC man of the match, and Tim Gent did outstandingly well as wicket-keeper letting absolutely no byes happen. I did notice he has developed an awesome and fearsome stare when faced with the quality of some of the throw-ins to add to his vast and unrivalled repertoire of sledging topics.
Well we play a new adversary on Sunday…Bishops Cannings…..so let’s hope for a better result then…