report by DRB

After the wettest summer in living memory & then having a months worth of rain in 48 hours only 4 days previous it was somewhat of a shock to find that the Arthington ground was fit for play in this very late season fixture.

It was unusual of late & a pleasant surprise to have plenty of players wanting to put in a late appearance so the skipper had a rare hassle-free week formulating a team which was fortunate as EX-Jester Steve Bindman was hovering around in his unique style trying to prostitute himself a game of cricket.

With the Jesters ranks containing 2 of the YCB over 60s side it was a blend of youth (the Goldthorps) & experience (everybody else)! The only debutant was Martin Ivill (oldest ever debutant at 61) & father of Andrew; himself a new father!

Again the skipper lost the toss at this venue & as usual we were all out together in the field. With the inevitable moisture in the pitch all the bowlers did the job that was asked off them & scoring became difficult especially with a very slow outfield. Young seamer Nathan Goldthorpe's game has certainly come on leaps & bounds since his last appearance for us as I imagine it will continue to do before his next appearance. (hopefully not to long). Mention must be made of Pod, making a rare appearance & trying to re-establish his all rounder status (lower bowing average than batting average), who after a rusty start (1st bowl of the season) bowled pretty well, creating numerous catches for fielders who had just moved somewhere else!!!! I guess you will just have to try again next year James!

Mel Wood has spent the last 2 weeks moonlighting for Arthington & they must have learnt to read his "doosra" as he also remained wicket-less & was heard talking to the cows in the next field with horse sounds!!!! - still as mad as a hatter! He was also to be heard to be comparing bus passes with Martin Ivill & opposition opening bowler Denis Nash (almost old enough to be Mel's dad!!)

After tea a opening batting combination of Ivill & Ivill was to much to resist for the skipper, leaving natural openers Josh & Callum to fill the next 2 spots. That was all that was required as 3 of the 4 easily knocked off the runs. Callum in particular, just like his brother showing huge strides (literally) since his last appearance. Alas, the biggest problem with loosing the toss (& having to field 1st) was that a few lads did not get a chance to have a bat. Lets hope that next years Jesters skipper makes a better job of tossing at Arthington!!!!!

 

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