The equation was simple, win and we seal promotion. Lose and we are bigger chokers than Tottenham.
Nob lost the toss and we were asked to bat. The toss record has been slightly better this year, I think it’s 4/17. John and Phipps got us off to a good start, spin at one end and the best bowler in the league (barring Matt) at the other end, whistling it past the openers noses and chests. Both held firm until somehow John was bowled by a full toss for the second week in a row and Snail soon followed, struck plumb in front. Nob and Phipps saw off the opener before Phipps decided to run himself out despite looking in the best touch he has all season. Foxy came to the crease for the first time in 8 weeks after breaking a toe nail and unsurprisingly got off the mark with a 6, then hit another, then missed a few, then hit a couple of lovely fours, then skied one and got caught. It was enjoyable whilst it lasted. Nob, Tabby and Ed all had it a go but scoring was tough on that wicket and all of a sudden we were 111-7 and in a bit of bother. Enter Matt ‘The Finisher’ McDonald and Olly ‘The Hobbler’ Kendall. They calmed things down, saw off the returning opener, scored more freely than anyone else in the team and Olly even ran a few twos. By ran I mean shuffled. Unfortunately had taken him tablets in time so his back, hamstring, calf and any other muscle he has seemed to collapse at once and he ‘retired hurt’ but I would class it as ‘retired fu**ed’. George Davis bashed a few and supported Matt who had now passed 50 for his first jug of the day and we reached 217 all out from our 45. An excellent return considering the start we had.
Teas were good 7.5/10. Very cake heavy but we are now approaching the winter months so eating plenty is definitely on the agenda.
The visitors, clearly not fussed about the result, reversed the order which was enjoyable for Matt as he claimed 3 wickets in his opening 4 overs, add one for Snail and we were half way there. Olly bagged three, Jimmy two and George one to ensure all 5 bowlers got themselves a W. Matt pouched 3 catches to cost him another jug and the victory was wrapped up inside 25 overs, with 2nd XI’s promotion to division 3 secured for the first time in the clubs history.
Credit to St Andrews, they had huge availability issues but still put out a team of sorts and stuck at it throughout the day. They also had cold beers waiting at the end of the game and are a good bunch of blokes.
One thing that put a dampener on proceedings was John being taken ill. He’s recovering as we speak but we didn’t really feel like celebrating with one of our core players missing.
I’ll finish on a happy note. An excellent season has culminated in something that we did not expect, promotion! We have kept the core of the side together; Nob, Olly, DQ, John, Matt and Phipps, every one of them has contributed a match winning performance at some point throughout the season.
Next year will be a challenge, without today’s Star Man, Matt, who moves to Australia. We have a number of youngsters who have established themselves in the 2’s this year; DQ, George Davis, Banny and Jimmy Hay, and will hopefully be delivering match winning performances and pushing for 1’s spots for years to come. The old guard of Olly, John, Snail and Phipps continue to deliver the goods week in week out and that experience will be required in order to survive in division 3 next season.
Lastly, thank you to everyone who has made a tea, scored, given lifts, watched and to the 32 players who turned out this season. The weather hasn’t been great, but we have!
See you next season.
Nob
