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Rawdon CC 219-6 Green Lane CC 201-9
After a hectic and enjoyable week in Blackpool it was back to normality and a visit from our local neighbours Green Lane. It was also sponsors day which is a very big day for the club officials.
The warm up is getting better
every week and we had 3 balls going at once in our run around the stumps game
(lets do four next week), drinking a pint after completing is not allowed in
this one though. The only person who seemed to let the side down was Dunc in his
fashionable warm up tackle (his whites), who apparently had driven 40 miles to
play (at the end of the game it had gone up to 250 miles). We had to get the
warm ups done a lot quicker this week as the Wharfedale newspaper wanted to come
and do a picture before the cup final
(on
Sunday at the time of writing). As we took our positions on the bench RL was
told he had to stand on the back row instead of his usual position sat to the
left of the captain as done in the previous 5 years. 107 consecutive games for
the club obviously count for nothing.
Stew chose to bat and it didn’t take too long for JP to do his usual against his former club and get out. I think he needs counselling on a Friday before this fixture in future. Stew didn’t last long and he clamed his dismissal on the photographer but Niall and Dave batted solidly together. Niall made a pre holiday 70 and Dave 40 odd. There were also contributions from Les, Dennis and Doidgey to post a par 219-6.
The usual opening combination off Dave and RL took the new ball and kept it fairly tight and both snared an opener a piece. RL then had Ali and Abbott dropped on 0 by Matty and the opening pair couldn’t penetrate further. Denis couldn’t break through and took a bit of tap as did Hughesy, Doidgey was keeping it tight from the other end though but Green Lane were in control and several heads were down. It took the wicket of Abbott and the ability to keep Ali off strike to lift spirits and get us back in the game. Dave was soon brought back and he and Doidgey along with a good run out from RL restricted the runs and made sure Green Lane had to bat out the last over 9 down.
With a 8.35pm finish there was nothing left on the bbq and no free bottle which was a bit disappointing. Good Job we had two bottles of Johns home brew to quench the thirst.
RL acts as agent of the Jesters CC and contracts strictly without personal liability
Rawdon CC 191-8 North Leeds CC 171-9
The signs were good when we arrived at North Leeds for the Waddilove Cup semi final. The weather had held off and the wicket looked good. The Rawdon faithful had turned up in a mini bus with plenty of beer, food and disposable bbq’s. At the toss Stew called correctly and decided to bat first which is always risky with the threat of rain around.
JP and Niall opened and like the day before JP was out first. After 8 overs with the score on 21-1 the heavens opened and there was a very heavy downpour. Mopping up took place but just as it had finished it rained again so an early tea was taken. North Leeds were keen to get some type of game back on as they had several players missing the following week. It was finally decided to play a 25 over a side game which put us at a disadvantage as we had batted properly for 8 overs. Wickets fell at regular intervals but every batsman chipped in and Dave top scored with 40 odd. A final flourish from RL and Les got us to a respectable 191-8.
The North Leeds batsman came out with good intent and used the short boundary to good effect. Bowling changes were made regularly as the maximum per bowler was 5 overs. At stages it looked as if we could have lost this but the team played really well together and North Leeds were 20 runs short and 9 wickets down at the end of the game.
Rawdon CC 236-6 Otley CC 124
Stu lost the toss and we were asked to bat on an unpredictable damp wicket.
Jamie was first out popping a catch back to the bowler with the score on 2. Then the Otley bowlers seemed to forget about using the helpful wicket and started to bowl short. Stew and Niall feed off of this kind of bowling and Stew raced to 50 from 13 overs. Niall was batting nicely too until Stew ran him out, however there was some controversy and it looked like Otley’s new semi pro had put his hand through the stumps before the ball hit them. Dave went in at 4 but Stew struck again with another run out. Stew was bating superbly though and he went from 50 to 100 in 31 balls but was out unluckily a few balls later when he was caught from a long hop. Les and Rocky chipped in a few and Dunc batted great at the end finishing on 40 odd not out.
Tea was a funny affair. You only have a limited time to fill your plate and get your food eaten so there is always a rush to get to the counter. As we approached we were told that we couldn’t help ourselves until the umpires had got there first (rightly so - ed ). I don’t think this is a league rule and think it is just another example of the umpires believing they are more important than the players.
It took a few overs for Dave and RL to get into rhythm and Dave got the first wicket forcing Alex Bailey to pop a catch to Dunc at short leg. RL then took the wickets of Smith LBW and young Atkinson caught and bowled. Doidgey replaced Dave and picked up the vital wicket of Dale Thormey caught by Stew. Rocky came on and did a bit of Dick Turpin work on the lower order. Otley then tried to shut up shop, and with the help of one of the umpires who gave Moggy not out when gloving one down the leg side they were succeeding. Doidgey was pulling his hair out after numerous appeals for LBW were turned down. With Otley 8 down and 3 overs to go JP was thrown the ball. The Otley balcony was in hysterics when his first ball went miles down the leg side but the next ball he bowled a rapid yorker and the stumps were everywhere. The next over was a maiden leaving JP to take the last wicket in the last over with good straight quick delivery.
RL acts as agent of the Jesters CC and contracts strictly without personal liability
Rawdon CC 220-8 Collingham CC 222-2
RL and Niall were at the club nice and early before the Collingham game to open up and get the flags out. Unfortunately what is becoming a regular fixture before a home game these days is the tidying up after the junior game the night before. Nobody minds the odd crisp packet but there were that many crisp packets and sweet wrappers lying about you would have thought Dick had gone back in time 50 years and was strapping them on again. Maybe the juniors have been to Headingley once too often and have familiarised themselves with the hurling of plastic glasses anywhere they fancy. No stewards at RCC though only the parents who can usually be found enjoying refreshments and a chat in the bar.
Stew lost the toss but on a good looking wicket nobody was disappointed when we were asked to bat. JP and Niall got us off to a good start taking a liking to the bowling of Burzler and Waite. Toby Jacklin was introduced into the attack and he soon accounted for JP chipping one in the air. Niall was next to go, not because he was out but because Toby Jacklin was bowling and because he had a close shout the over before the umpire thought it would be a good idea to give a young lad learning the game out LBW even though he was halfway down the track. Dave and Stew consolidated until Stew chipped one straight to mid wicket, but at drinks we were 112-3. Les couldn’t carry on his heroics from the week before and he was goosed by Boothy. Dunc and Dave continued to push the score along and we were looking at posting 270 at one stage. Dave was out caught on the edge when looking good and Doidgey was caught at mid wicket. Matty was sent in with 12 overs to go and played out 4 maidens before he was out leaving Rocky to spank it about before he was out to a dubious LBW with the score on 180. This left RL and Dunc to put on 40 for the last wicket, Dunc finished on 40 odd not out and RL was unbeaten on13. We finished on 220 which was slightly disappointing.
Dave and RL opened up and didn’t bowl the best. In fact, it was the worst RL had ever bowled for Rawdon and blew any real chance of a winning draw. Dave did pick up the only 2 wickets we took. We were unlucky and there were a lot of mis-timed shots that just went past the fielder or over heads but Collingham rode their luck and won with 8 overs to go.
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Rawdon CC 161 Burley CC 162-7
We were all at Burley nice and
early for the warm up expertly taken by Les. Just as some of
the
lads were knocking up and using the tennis court wire mesh as a back stop Mr
Brook senior appeared and scolded the lads informing them that they had just
paid £2,000 for the net and demanded nobody hit cricket balls against it.
Stew won the toss and was a bit undecided whether to bat or bowl or not. He chose to bat but certainly regretted that decision when we were 8-3.
To cheer us up after the collapse Rocky brought his old passport photo out and it was a belter. He could easily have passed as a member of the Jackson 5.
Dave and Les weathered the storm
and dug in and got us back into the game. At drinks we were 74-3 and shortly
100-3 looking at a score of 220. Dave was out first for 40 which started a mini
collapse including Les for 60. Nobody could back up the work done by Les and
Dave
and that was disappointing along with our score of 161 all out.
Tea was very interesting, the selection of sandwich fillings were ham, savoury cheese or egg and the bread was soggy. So far this season they rank as the worst we have had which was disappointing because last year they were pretty good.
Dave struck in the first and second overs hitting just short of a length making the ball lift sharply. RL then joined the party dismissing Dave Brook. One more wicket each for the opening combination and Burley were 20-5. Nick Brook and Burley’s overseas cricketer came in and pushed the score on giving Denis some punishment on the way. Doidgey couldn’t hold onto a caught and bowled chance from the aussie and when RL caught him off his gloves at slip the umpire gave it not out.
After this we picked up 2 wickets but could not get the key wicket of Burley’s overseas and he finished on 85 not out. It was disappointing to lose and much improvement is needed in the coming weeks to continue the league and cup charge.
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Beckwithshaw CC 220 Rawdon CC 221-7
We always knew that Beckwithshaw (“Becks”) would be a tough match and show some indication of how far we had come since we started to gel and play as a team after the Green Lane game.
New Becks recruit John Inglis opened the batting for Becks he has been in decent form this season, so you would have no problem gambling on him to make runs on the flat hard Becks wicket. The familiar opening combination of RL and Dave worked hard early on to keep the runs down and all Inglis could do was put the few bad balls away he received. Matty had dropped the other opener off RL but it didn’t cost us many runs as Dave removed him in the next over. At drinks Becks were 77-1 and John Inglis was 57 not out, he didn’t make too many more thankfully as Hughesy had him caught behind. At this stage Becks looked like they could have got 260 but some tight bowling and the odd ridiculous run out halted the run rate. Dave came back on at the end for the rats and mice and Becks seemed disappointed at tea with a score of 220 on the board.
You would have thought that Niall and Jamie may be getting used to batting together by now. They were both going along ok until Jamie absolutely “stuffed” Niall by running him out, then he played a stupid shot and was caught at mid off. Stew and Dave took the responsibility to see off some good bowling from Stuart Hudson while scoring at 4 an over at the same time. When the change bowlers were brought on the batsman helped themselves prompting the return to the attack for Hudson and Lillie. Stew was out on 70 and Dave on 50 but Duncan, then Rocky assisted Doidgey who was 30 odd not out at the end. We only needed 3 from the last over and Rocky duly obliged hitting Hudson through mid wicket for a 4.
RL acts as agent of the Jesters CC and contracts strictly without personal liability
Rawdon CC 260-4 Guiseley CC 160-9
The last thing you want when you
are heading out for the pre match warm up is to be told there is going to be a
team photo 15 minutes before the start. What made it worse was the skipper who
was the only one who knew that the photo would be taken duly forgot to bring his
new
club sponsored shirt. The other problem we had was Les had gone for a skyer in
the warm up, completely misjudged his piece of fielding, as usual, and banged
into the football changing rooms. He had a couple of minor scratches on his back
and legs but the football changing rooms were in worse shape and Joyce had
reported the smashing of a few wine glasses that had fallen from the top shelf
at the time of impact.
All was forgotten when Stew lost the toss and we were surprisingly asked to bat on a hot day on what looked like a very good wicket.
Jamie played with a lot of patience early on but he eventually had a nibble from a delivery from Dave Pennant (“DP”) and was caught at slip. DP must have thought all the hard work was done and brought himself off injured. He said he had pulled a hamstring so couldn’t bowl but then proceeded to dive for every ball and chase everything to the boundary as fast as he usually would of anyway. Niall and Stew then batted beautifully hardly giving a chance and they put on 170 for the second wicket. Niall made a good 70 and hopefully boosted his confidence in the coming weeks and Stew made exactly 100. Dave went in and thrashed 40 and we could have made nearly 300 if Rocky hadn’t messed about wasting deliveries.
Stews fiancé Mandy did the teas and there was a lovely selection of sandwiches, chicken legs and the usual buffet treats along with fruit pie and cream.
We knew if we bowled tight Guiseley wouldn’t get close to our score. Dave struck first with a dubious LBW and RL followed up by getting Adam Waite to nick one behind. For the second week running RL had completely worked a batsman over, only for Rocky to drop the simple chance at slip. Dave then got Ian Chaplin to edge a simple chance to Matty who started to celebrate before he held the catch but dropped it. With Rawdon all over Guiseley like a cheap suit they shut up shop and didn’t really go for the two points, assisted by some tight bowling from Doidgey. We would have settled for 5 points before the start but if we had taken chances early we could have had more overs at the tail.
RL acts as agent of the Jesters CC and contracts strictly without personal liability
Rawdon CC 258-8 North Leeds CC 190-9
On a scorcher of a day the toss was always going to be vital. The only downside to fielding first is that you get to stuff your face full of Kath’s quality teas.
Fortunately Stew won the toss and chose to bat. Niall and JP opened this week and appeared to receive some rather friendly bowling form the North Leeds openers. Jesters skipper D R Bell had a concert in Dudley to attend in the evening so chose not to umpire, gifting two teams’ decent officials for the day. He was quick to witter on about Steve Wales bowling an 18 over spell in his last game, this week it was about 18 balls as JP despatched him around Larkfield Road. Losing wickets at the wrong time is starting to become a familiarity for RCC at the moment. This time it was Niall, JP and Duncan who were all out within a couple of overs of each other. Stew, Dave and Doidgey consolidated the middle order and left Les and Rocky a few overs at the end. When rocky went in he was scratching about like an old Hen. Comments were made from the dressing room telling him to get Les on strike. With about 5 overs to go though he leapt into life and didn’t disappoint the large crowd hitting one of the biggest sixes you will ever see, which went over square and over Aidan Walkers house. Les also finished well on 40 odd not out.
Dave had a bit of a sulk on when told he couldn’t open from RL’s end. He didn’t have a long first spell and was soon replaced by Rocky who picked up the wicket of Rob Winter straight away. RL got wicket number 2 but it was Rocky who steamrolled through the top order and ended up with 4 wickets. Dave managed to get over his bottom lip and come back for a spell at the end and bowled in tandem with Doidgey. North Leeds needed but 8 runs for an extra point at the end but Doidgey kept it tight and he nearly got the vital wicket at the end.
Calverley CC 118 Rawdon CC 118-5
Sunday 31 May
This second round cup tie could have been a cracker for the RCC faithful. The beer was flowing the BBQ was lit, sadly Calverley skipper Baz King didn’t read the script and elected to bat after he had won the toss.
Dave fresh from sulking the day before continued to do the same, but felt a bit better when he cleared out Aldred second ball of the match. The rest of the batsman came in scored a few, then were out. Some nice glovework by Matty got rid of Gareth Lee off Rocky and he finished with 3 wickets, as did Doidgey who was assisted by a diving one handed superb slip catch by RL.
While we were fielding Nodderdale League Pro Macca turned up, skulked around but didn’t have the decency to have a word with any of the lads or come near the changing room.
The run chase was a bit in the style of the West Indies. We smashed the ball around but lost wickets regularly. Dave lost his rag middle innings and threatened to launch his bat at the opposition captain. He received a real ticking off from the umpire Dennis Bull who was disgusted by his behaviour. Next ball the he got hit on the pads and Dennis raised his finger faster than you could say revenge.
It took us about 28 overs to knock the runs off which means we play Kirkstall at Kirkstall in the quarter final.
RL acts as agent of the Jesters CC and contracts strictly without personal liability
Rawdon CC 193-9 Pool CC 140
Playing at Pool has never been
very enjoyable for RL. It seems to have a certain “glitch in the matrix” feeling
about it. Pool were in full warm up mode when we arrived
in dribs and drabs and to our amusement they have found a coach for this season
who from where I was standing seemed to be giving motivational speeches as they
did their stretches.
RCC batted first on a wicket
that kept so low the ball nearly went underground. Some hilarious and somewhat
village sledging by Pool’s Australian overseas player didn’t stop us getting off
to a good start (probably because he was bowling at the time) until Niall didn’t
take on board earlier advice and was out trying to pull one that didn’t get up.
Despite having coursework problems Jamie batted 3 and knocked it about nicely
until he was triggered LBW. Stew made a nice 50 but our
scoring spluttered a tad until some good hitting at the end by Doidgey, and the
generosity of Mr grumpy who gave us plenty of byes which resulted in a long stop
being used got us up to 193.
Former
RCC batsman Dave Wilkinson opened up for Pool CC along with James Ward.
Apparently during the winter RCC had attempted to sign Ward. RL learnt that
instead of the usual meet up for a pint to discuss terms Loll, Stew and Doidgey
took him to the China Red for a meal, outrageous. Anyway, he didn’t get a duck
but only a number 1 (beef and mushrooms) as RL knocked him over. With a
combined age of 90 odd Rocky and Hughesy showed the rest of us how to do it as
they effectively bowled Pool out. Not even Mr grumpy could sweep them to
victory.
RL acts as agent of the Jesters CC and contracts strictly without personal liability
Rawdon CC 167-7 Adel CC 80
When we arrived at the club we
were surprised not to see Rocky there. Stew explained that Adel was nearly a
home game for Dennis. I’m not sure if Stew was implying that Den lived in the
graveyard next to the ground or not, but it reminded RL of the James Bond
classic Live
and
Let Die where in one scene a gravestone is tapped and up pops a man in a hat.
There was also confusion in respect of the team. Jamie had dropped out mid
morning because he had some course work to finish (might be a good idea to do it
during the week instead of being on facebook 24/5). Willows phone, for the first
time in history was switched off so he didn’t know he was in the ones. He did
turn up shortly after the start but then informed us he had to leave at 6.30 to
go to a football do.
In the absence of JP Stew opened
with Niall on a soft wicket, but Adel didn’t really use it, they bowled too
short and we made a great start. Niall was unluckily first to go when the ball
rolled off his bat handle to the keeper. Dave went in number 3 and stroked the
spinners around but just as he was getting into his stride Tim Grey goosed him
with a high slower ball. Duncan had
been promoted up the order and along with
Stew kept the board ticking nicely. They both made 41 and with Doidgey and
Dennis hitting a few at the end we made a respectable 167. Dennis having to do
the drinks for Adel when they were fielding was the only village point of the
day.
The plan was to keep it tight and restrict the scoring. RL playing in his 100th consecutive game for the club (including rained off games) was a bit wayward at first but soon struck, bowling Mark Whitehead and Dave Standring in the space of 3 balls. Dave took 2 more victims and Adel never recovered from this even though they had a chance for the draw but 3 wickets from Doidgey got us the victory.
RL acts as agent of the Jesters CC and contracts strictly without personal liability
Kirkstall CC 165-9 Rawdon CC 164-8
The changing room was certainly very quiet this week in the absence of Macca. We weren’t sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. It turned out it was a good thing as JP decided to replace him. After hugging and kissing the opposition JP then likes to have a go at his own team mates on and off the field.
Kirkstall lost the toss and were inserted, as RL took his water bottles down to third man the Kirkstall players started to walk out with their opening batsman. Nobody was sure what was happening as they started to line up for a minutes’ silence. It turned out that Stu was meant to have told us that Kirkstall had requested a minutes’ silence for Joss Siddall whose step father had died in America. Nobody minds showing respect where appropriate but Joss Siddall and his brother Andy have always abused RCC players and never shown any respect, so was this the right occasion for one?
Like a bad penny the new ball had come back to RL who shared a good opening spell with Dave. RL was on fire ousting the first four Kirkstall batsmen. At drinks Kirkstall were 57-5 and Stu decided to bring on Rocky. Even though Rocky had taken two one handed catches he couldn’t find a breakthrough so Doidgey tried his luck. Just as we were turning the screw and Kirkstall were 8 down the heavens opened and we took an early tea. After the mopping up exercise we found out that we had lost 7 overs but with Kirkstall on 120-8 there was no sign of a declaration. They decided to bat out the full overs and we could only take one wicket, leaving us with a target of 165 in 43 overs.
Mo and Jamie struggled against the new ball bowling of Stuart Hudson but not against Mulligan and we all wished he could have bowled more than 3 overs. What was evident was the old style Kirkstall were back. After being reasonable for the last 2 seasons they have turned back into a load of gob shites, stepping over the line on many occasions and showing no respect for the game. This is alarming when 70% of their side are poor cricketers. Jamie made a nice 20 odd before kissing the Kirkstall team goodbye after the keeper took a great catch from Hudson. Mo didn’t last long and Stu tried to play a pull shot first ball and popped up a dolly. Dave and Niall came together and put us back in the game, they both batted superbly before Niall was out on 28. Dave carried on the good work to make 50 but couldn’t really find support despite a controversial 6 hit by Rocky only to be overturned by the umpire who had signalled 6 at first but was talked round by the Kirkstall captain so he signalled 4. At the start of the last over we needed 11 to win and Duncan and Les were at the crease. Duncan struck a massive six third ball straight on to the top of the clubhouse and went for the same next ball, only to be out to a great diving catch on the edge. Les and Matty couldn’t work out how to get a tie which left us 2 short of victory.
RL acts as agent of the Jesters CC and contracts strictly without personal liability
Green Lane CC 183-6 Rawdon CC 137
All the lads were well up for this game and hopes were high after a good 5 points gained against Otley CC. The pitch looked a bit bowler friendly and Stu won the toss and decided to do the same.
Consistency is the key with umpiring at it’s what players always look for. If an umpire is bad then as long as he is bad for both sides who cares. As Macca and Dave bowled there seemed to be an awful lot of wides given, the most I had seen before which was fine as long as it was the same for both sides. It wasn’t. Dave broke through first then had Dave Whittaker plumb second ball. Macca had been working Abbott over but when he found the edge Matty dropped a difficult catch. Macca did strike with two in two balls but Green Lane, without batting well, had been scoring quickly. Doidgey couldn’t bowl his usual tight line and length this time and RL finally took the wicket of Abbott but any hopes of a second wicket were dashed by Stews inability to hold simple catches. The rain came so it was time for all of the Green Lane players to stand around and watch while the Rawdon players put the covers on for them at their own ground. Tea was taken early due to the rain and it wasn’t too bad, some things were good some things were bad. RL also found out that Greyhounds like Jam Tarts. Can’t get beat next time out! After tea it was time for the Rawdon lads to do the mopping up so we didn’t lose too many overs. Green Lane had a slog then decided to declare to make it an equal 48 over a side game.
Mo and Jamie opened up but struggled against the new ball and the big wet patch left on a length (at the end of the covers the Green Lane lot were controlling). To detail each of the top five being dismissed would be boring, they all struggled and a rash shot or two played. Doidgey and Macca got us back in the game but were unfortunate to be out at the wrong time. Rocky and Matty were battling for two points when Rocky was unluckily dismissed with two overs to go.
BREAKING NEWS – Macca has announced he is leaving the club because he is not enjoying it.
After the club and former team mates have bent over backwards to accommodate him I find this behaviour outrageous. Let’s see if he will be able to survive in the real world.
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Rawdon CC 238-5 Otley CC 145-9
Stu lost the toss and we were asked to bat on what looked like a decent wicket.
Mo and Jamie opened and there was quite a lot of sledging early doors to Jamie about getting a fiver a run etc (last season he earned a tenner). Mo was out first quickly followed by Niall. Stu couldn’t steady the ship against the seaming ball and Jamie followed shortly. When Doidgey was out we were on 60-4 and prospects of a big score wasn’t looking that great. New signing Les from Zimbabwe joined Dave and the rest is history. A record league sixth wicket partnership, quality running between the wickets and some huge sixes at the end was very entertaining. Dave scored a great unbeaten ton needing 9 off the last over to reach it, and Les finished on 60 odd not out.
As
Dave was a bit tired, Macca took first over unfortunately he turned into a
nervous wreck. The first over went for 15! He soon turned it round and picked up
the wicket of Bailey bowled round his legs. RL had been looking forward to
watching Dale Thormey the overseas superstar bat. He can certainly hit a ball
and pulled one straight into Ronnie Browns garden off Macca. Rumours were at the
time of the shot Ronnie was telling everyone that he used to do that too. Dave
soon worked him out and had him caught behind from a good catch from Matty.
After Dale fell Otley seemed to shut up shop and nobody took any risks. Macca
took 3, Dave 2 and Doigey, RL and Les all took 1. About the only exciting thing
to happen was a comment from RL on the Kevin Keegan barnet that Les has and Mo
telling the bowler to bowl bouncers all the time!
RL acts as agent of the Jesters CC and contracts strictly without personal liability
Rawdon CC 166-8 Collingham CC 167-3
http://www.aire-wharfecricket.org.uk/Coliingham25Apr.xls
RL acts as agent of the Jesters CC and contracts strictly without personal liability
Rawdon CC 258-5 Burley CC 229-8
The first game of the 2009 was against our old friends Burley.
The first disappointment about the fixture happened a week before the game when RL received a text from Jesters skipper Belly informing him that he would be officiating in this match. No chance of an LBW there then.
The pre match warm up was a bit of a struggle for all, the physical element was ok, the restriction of movement offered by the tight training tops wasn’t.
Stu won the toss and elected to bat. Former opening pair Si Wilson and Niall were missing from the team. Niall was on holiday and Si said he was working (on who we don’t know). JP and new signing MO (taxi driver and new signing, not to be mixed up with MOO, the run machine we signed from Gomersal CC last year) opened up. These two did an excellent job, seeing off the new ball and reaching 85-0 at drinks. MO was out shortly after and Stu played a few big shots and missed a straight one. Dave Morgan our Australian import came and went LBW (think he was rusty) then came Macca who played the way he plays and was out in his teens. Doidgey strode out and cooked up a nice little partnership with JP before he was out on 88. Rocky came in for the last few overs and played some big shots to be not out on 30 and Doidgey was not out on 60 odd. We had amassed 258 an unusually big score for us on the first day of the season but the wicket was flattening out.
Dave and Macca opened up and found no real movement or early penetration. Doidgey was brought on and bowled as tight as a Gooses knuckle and was rewarded with a wicket. RL was brought on at the bottom end, the same end that Belly stood at. A couple of bad balls were punished and then a massive LBW shout against Nick Brook was actually given by Belly. The disgusted look on his face as he raised the finger really told the story. Despite this success story changes were needed and Rocky had a go but couldn’t make any inroads. At drinks Burley were on course for 6 points so a double change was required. Dave and Macca came back and both bowled well and picked up wickets. This left Burley with only a slim chance but with 5 overs to go they shut up shop anyway and the 4 points gave us a good start to the season. The comedy moment of the day came from a delivery from Dave that was driven to the extra cover boundary where Nobby was sitting. Not wanting to get hit by the ball, Nobby tried to jump out of the way only to jump into the path of the ball, do a sort of star jump and fall onto the field. Ridiculous!
Next week we visit Collingham so gin and tonics, pimms and monocles at the ready.
RL acts as agent of the Jesters CC and contracts strictly without personal liability