With dire availability this week it was no surprise that the 3s ended up with 10 men (some men & some boys actually), boosted by the generosity of Paul Wheeler & Max Wiley helping us out, for the long trip to the picturesque surroundings of Thames Rugby Club, home of that well known village club of Rainham. The wicket looked like it belonged in a village, but not one where runs are scored.
Great Totham lost the toss & were put in to bat, the game delayed as players from both sides struggled with the Saturday shoppers looking for Lakeside. John & Tim started off relatively well, not troubled by the pitch, with the ball keeping low generally, but batting did involve anticipating the one that would take your head off without any indication. Being in no danger John decided he was back in the 20th century, in his mid 20s & still quick. A push into the offside, a decisive call of 'YESSSS!' for an easy single. But, wait, John is in his late 50s, not mid 20s & was run out by a long way. Tim followed not long after, giving some catching practice to gulley. Danny, Tickle & George all got started & played some good shots, but all then got themselves out with poor shots. Tom joined in catching practice & Max Wiley accompanied Paul in a late order partnership. Nick managed to play pinball with his pads & the ball, which eventually trickled onto his stumps. Max Clarke was last man out, with Great Totham reaching the humiliating total of 78 all out.
Bring your own teas allowed for a quick turn around. Tim now showed his magnificant captaincy by thinking outside the box & opening the bowling with Tom. The first ball was given air from Tom's hand, hit the magnificant surface, spun both ways & lifted, causing the batsman to play a cross bat swipe getting a top edge that looped towards Paul. Would it be father & son combination? No, Tim moved & took the catch for a brilliant start to the innings, 0-1. Danny bowled from the other end, probably one of his best spells of bowling, finishing with brilliant figures, 8-6-3-1. Tom bowled well & the mixture of pace & spin restricted Rainham to less than 2 per over.
Both Tom (8-1-21-1) & Danny finshed their spells & John & Max came on. More of the same, with limited runs scored, but Totham needed wickets. The slow run rate pressurised Rainham into some rash shots, one of which was caught by Tickle, followed soon by a pea-roller from John that hit the stumps at least 5cm from the ground. George replaced Max, but the poor batting display made it hard for the bowlers to be successful. George took a wicket with a beautiful delivery, a wide full toss, outside off stump that was hit straight to Max Wiley, soon followed by a straight ball, missed for another wicket. A run out by Max Clarke then gave Totham hope. But, Rainham did well by hitting the bad balls to the boundary & won in the 30th over, by 2 wickets.
The bowling was excellent, but the team was let down by poor batting, generally mistakes by us, not by great deliveries that were unplayable. So, although disappointed there was some positive to take into next week's home game v Hornshurch.
