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U12 XI v Mowden Hall
by Our Procrastinating Correspondent - Betty Lathanever
This match went down to the wire and anyone who saw the spectacle will understand how exciting a game of cricket can be.
Captain Archie decided to put Mowden in to bat and when in the third ball a run out was successful - George running wide from slip position to gather the ball and hurling it at the stumps - you could see the team puffing their chests and thinking of an early tea!
Unfortunately it brought in Mowden’s No. 3 batsman who knew how to bat! He scored 51 before Douglas got him towards the end of Mowden’s innings. But previous to this it was unusually slack fielding and bowling that helped build Mowden’s score - 38 extras and 4 dropped catches in total.
Those are the bald facts (but we aren’t interested in those, really, we need the hairy ones. Ed) belying what really happened. Henry Roberts and Douglas Donaldson bowled reasonably well - it was the odd wide delivery that had Cap Archie stretched to the limit and with a short boundary behind him it was inevitable that a couple of ‘5 wides’ were given to Mowden! Oooops!
Catches that win matches were put down and names shall not be named! But you know who you are and a mark has been placed against your name in the 2nd XI annals - not a nice place to have your mark!
Good throwing from Tom Armstrong-Wilson made the batsmen think twice before running from a shot to square leg - Tom hitting the wicket more often than not. Leo eventually pouched a good catch at gully before a spell of good bowling took 4 wickets for 32 runs, but only 19 coming from the bat! Henry was turning the ball a long way but it was not quite pitched well enough to do serious damage.
It only took 25 overs to dismiss Mowden and at the time the score of 137 seemed eminently gettable but events were to prove otherwise.
Douglas and George opened Belhaven’s account and a very slow start it was. That did not matter as we were playing a ‘timed’ game but the runs had to be made somewhere! The first 8 overs saw 4 maidens (Ah-ha. A bit of excitement for the spectators! What were they like? Ed) and 2 wickets for 27 runs.
George once again made no foot movement, was late on the shot and was bowled whilst Ali swept across the line and lost his off stump. (Let’s hope he finds it again soon. Ed) But at least Lefty would put things right as he had promised before the game started to make some off drives.
Four balls later Lefty succumbs to temptation on a particularly straight delivery, swings lustily to leg, misses and hears his middle stump rattle the bails off. Oh dear.
Then a little bit of sensible defensive batting appeared in the guise of Andrew Watson, who likes nothing better than give the scorer plenty of chances to jot down a dot ball! But at least he was anchoring the batting and Douglas, at the other end, began to make contact more regularly. Sadly, with Douglas on 41 from 72 balls, a run was called that really wasn’t on and poor Douglas had to mooch back to the pavilion on the short walk of shame.
But it was a sound knock and had he not been out the runs would probably have arrived. Instead Cap Archie arrived to try his bit of right-hand-follow-through magic. 26 runs were added with Andrew, who played one too early and popped it up back to the bowler, who thanked Andrew and shouted for his dismissal to all and sundry. But at least Andrew had added a very valuable and stylish 28 runs and had looked good for a few more.
During this partnership Archie tried to give all the close fielders some catching practice. Luckily, for most of the time, he missed the fielders and so scored a few runs before flipping the ball gently to the bowler. Whacking his pads in frustration, Archie hunched his way to the pavilion.
Toni the Spaniard treated the ball as would a matador a bull by swiping wildly but artistically at each delivery. He scored 10, including a lovely punched straight drive right out of the 2nd XI training manual, before an urge to run when it was not possible to reach the other end took a hold of him. And so the Conquistador was sent packing.
At this stage the score was 126 - yes within sight of the 138 required to win and Edward and William as the pair at the wicket. Time was beginning to run out but there were at least 3 overs left and slowly the score rose to 134.
Consternation in the pavilion as all the team and their supporters suddenly realised that a) there was a possibility of wining and b) there was a possibility of losing. Don’t ever say that the 2nd XI cricketers and their supporters are not on the ball!
What happens next defies belief, credence, faith and credulity. (Tautologous, rewrite please! Ed) Edward was facing and, as the penultimate over began, noise erupted from the pavilion to the tune of , “Only 4 runs to get. We can do it!” (Not a tune I’m familiar with! Ed)
Was it perhaps this utterance that put into Edward’s head the glory shot? To win with a mighty four and be hoisted aloft on the shoulders of his team-mates for a lap of honour around a wooden bench? He tried but missed and heard the clatter of stumps and bails. As he disconsolately traipsed back to the pavilion Leo emerged, blinking into the strong sunlight and trying to assuage his nerves with a slight swagger.
Dreams of heroic actions also coursed through his mind and as the ball arced its way towards him Leo had already made his mind up to strike for victory in one shot. Sadly the shot did not connect accurately enough and the wide mid on fielder gratefully accepted the catch given him.
This cannot be happening! Aaaarrgghh! Groans from spectators and team swept across the ground disturbing the normal tranquility of a Belhaven cricket match. Into this maelstrom of emotion walked Tom A-W - a diminutive figure in his second appearance for the team. Nerves were jangling as he took guard and faced.
Relief as his first delivery was paddled away and Tom’s look of fear diminished somewhat. The following ball was a full toss and here was a chance to tickle it away to leg and let William face the rest! As if in slow motion, the bat swung legwards and a red blur passed underneath the bat to strike the pads. There was a brief moment of stillness until the bowler’s shriek of “owzaaaaaaaaaaat” woke the umpire up. The dreaded finger of doom was raised as the umpire realised that the ball would have taken out middle and leg stumps.
Poor Tom turned to leave the field amidst the rejoicing Mowden players but was manfully consoled by William who had taken a while to realise it was all over.
Thoughts of what might have been were wistfully thought, put away in the recesses of the Belhaven attic of cricketing memorabilia and everyone moved on.
Apart from a solitary small figure gazing disconsolately at the distant trees, occasionally flipping through a small blue book and jabbing at it with a pencil, wondering when, if ever, an unbeaten season would arrive and how he was going to break the news to the Outgoing Chairman of BHCC in the Short Room that night. Could he not have controlled the ‘finger of doom’ just once to gain victory? But no. Fairness must be seen to win through and the Retiring Chairman would also see it that way, he was sure.
And so the diminutive coach put on a brave smile, thanking all the supporters for their outstanding contribution to the players’ welfare (sweets, cuddles, more sweets and fizzy drinks) and their unstinting support in all weathers and circumstances. He wandered off to write the season’s report and pepper it with exaggerations in order to wrestle next year’s budget from the Head of Coaching so that the 2nd XI can afford another cricket ball. Ah, well. Semper Laetus.
I'm so sorry that there aren't any pics to show you. I told you there weren't up the page and I had a feeling you thought I was joking.
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David Peek, 01/07/2009 |
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