Deerest team mates.
On Saturday, we travelled to Tugmutton Common to face Locksbottom, looking to extend our winning run in the last game of the first half of the season. After a morning full of rain, one could have been forgiven for expecting a cancellation, which would have been handy given the England quarter final that evening. Their pitch swallowed up the rain and the cover they had on helped keep the pitch dry, so we got started with a slightly shortened match (32 overs) with us taking to the field after I’d won the toss (two in a row!).
We took to the field where the square was particularly built up at one end. After much discussion, we managed to persuade Brian to open the bowling from that end while Michael got use of the downhill slope at the other end. Given conditions and a green top, we were all surprised to see the ball doing more for Brian than Michael, which only moves Brian more into the slow left arm category and further away from left arm spin. Either way it was typically tidy stuff from BC, and although Michael’s radar was a bit off, both starved their openers for runs early on, leading to a wicket apiece and the opposition 15-2 are a decent chunk of overs. Myself and Phil S (who was loving life bowling downhill), both did well to restrict the attacking middle over partnership of 55 runs that threatened a recovery from Locksbottom. Like our opening bowlers, we both nicked a wicket each towards the end of our spells but were let down a bit by dropped catches again, which probably gave the oppo 20-30 runs more than they would have got otherwise – something we definitely need to find a way of working on. Big Jon Westwood came on to bowl at the death, up the hill no less, and although his pace was welcome to opposition who were looking to swing the bat, he got through the defences of two batsmen to pick up key wickets at a vital stage when they were looking to accelerate. In the end, our 32 overs went for 113, which seemed imminently gettable with the batting we had on the day. Little did we know that in the last over of the innings, Dan had pulled his groin fielding in the deep, which would make for a very interesting chase…
Given the injury crisis and the extreme fatigue of Julian Weekes, Rob and John strode out to open up the chase. In hindsight, this pair was always doomed – neither can claim to be among the better batsmen at running between the wickets and we should have seen the writing on the wall. A nurdle into leg side, a 50-50 quick single call from John, no backing up from Rob, early disaster. The Salix did not trouble the scorers and we were one down early. I wandered out looking to keep John company but he was flirting with giving his wicket away with aerial clips into the legside, only for their fielders to take a leaf out of our fielding manual and grass their early chances. Unfortunately for me, they did no such thing when a rush of blood to the head caused a false attacking shot that went high into the air, only for their skipper at mid-on to take the chance with ease. Two down early, things starting to get a bit nervy – it was a low total and we had batting, but not loads of it to be frittering away wickets needlessly.
Up from out his grave rose Dan Callingham, walking wounded ready to put his body on the line for a win in KCVL D5. I had managed to negotiate a runner for him prior to the innings, and as I walked back to the pavilion, head down in anguish, Dan promptly turned me around to be his legs for his innings. Having never been involved in a runner situation before, this was a tense experience that I wouldn’t recommend, but made more manageable by Dan’s calmness at the crease. Lifted of the weight of running (aside from a couple of false starts when his instincts kicked in), he accumulated nicely before starting to dominate once he had his eye in. John fell in bizarre circumstances where all but one of the fielders were moved into the offside, leaving most of the legside wide open, only to guide the ball straight to gully. Willy came and went after an uneasy stay at the crease, including two short extra covers, one of which he defended the ball to and was brilliantly caught with a dive. Jules came out to try to see the game out with Dan in his usual red ink fashion, but was undone by a big shot against the spinner, caught on the cow corner boundary. Darren did his best to swing for the hills but didn’t catch all of one and was caught at mid off.
All the while, Dan was picking off any short balls from the oppo bowlers, hitting 6 fours and 2 sixes in a sublime innings of 55 from 74. He wasn’t to see us over the line though, bowling by their best bowler on the day with only 21 runs required. I’d also like to thank Dan for keeping me out there, as it was far and away my longest innings of the season.
Locksbottom were vocal, they thought they’d done it. We needed a lower order hero, and the Herculean frame of Big Jon Westwood swaggered out to the crease. No batting pedigree to speak of, BJW took a little while to settle down, understandable given the momentous occasion. Soon enough, he got his eye in. Smiting the leg spinner to deep mid-wicket for a boundary and a two, he then launched the ball over the ropes for a huge 6 to take us to within two runs of victory. Next over facing their best bowler, our unlikely hero dispatched the first ball of the penultimate over through cover to the boundary to win the game, sparking huge shouty celebrations (mainly from me). The closest game we’ve played all season long, won in extremely tense fashion by some epic shotmaking – it was a good day out after all. On top of that, Rob and John made up at the end and full team harmony was restored. The win moves us clear with Cudham at the top of the table, distancing St Lawrence and Knockholt slightly and consolidating our place in the promotion places.
MVP time – special mention to BJW for his fireworks display a day early for the 4th July. However, Dan was the centrepiece of the innings, serenely accumulating his 55 (pretty much half the target) when there was nonsense going on all around him. Dan, you are the MVP, congratulations.
For 0 runs from 6 balls and being involved in another run out, after dropping two catches in the field, the TFC award goes to Rob Ede. There are surely better days to come for you and the Salix good sir.
This weekend sees us restart the round robin but in reverse, meaning we face Weald at home. Once again, the forecast is looking shaky at best so fingers crossed we are unaffected again and get the game in. See you there and in the meantime – swing true Sennocke.