In a parallel to the T20 World Cup, Great Totham indoor team were in good spirits after winning their first 2 games in Division 1. So far, a strong opening pair of Nick & Joshua reminded all of Roy & Buttler, a fiery middle order of Joe & Pooky could be compared to Bairstow (will FGA have something to say about this!!) & Livingstone. John playing the Moeen Ali role, minus the beard, minus ability to spin the ball & minus ability to bat explosively, with Cheesey, a mixture of Rashid, Jordan & Woakes.
However, team discipline was questionable this week. Joe played the Flintoff role of openly encouraging team mates to go out on a pedalo the evening before the game to Popworld. Joshua quietly attended other such establishments & tried to sneak in after curfew, but with my new video doorbell, I was able to see the evidence in the early hours. Cheesey took his lead from David Gower & didn't slum it with those in Chelmsford, but went to The Savoy instead, enjoying fine wines. Pooky didn't respond to the questions regarding Saturday evening as he was too busy researching the aerodynamics of the indoor ball when the temperature drops in November. Jack was the perfect debutant, texting the skipper that he hadn't been out the evening before in preparation of his debut. John, of course, was in bed by 10pm, a late night treat at wekends.
Now, with a squad to select from, the selectors' axe fell on Nick & the long -awaited, injury-delayed debut of 3rd team skipper Jack was met with much anticipation.
Upminster had played 3 lost 3 so far, a Scotland of the division. John lost the toss & Upminster elected to field. In Nick's absence Joe stepped up to open with Joshua. The opening bowlers did well, restricting Great Totham somewhat. But, Joe & Joshua kept the scoreboard ticking over, using the wall & collecting 3s. Then, both decided to be more aggressive & one over costing 27 runs helped massively. With the score in the mid-70s Joe retired to bring in Pooky, Joshua retired to bring in debutant Jack. Indoor cricket was a mystery to Jack & after 3 balls it was still a mystery. His debut was over, complaining that the bowler 'kept bowlng at my pads', but somehow managed to hit the wickets. After his superb batting performance in the last match Cheesey moved up the order, but one ball later John went to the crease. Some good running saw the total rise, but, one quick single too far & Pooky was run out by a whisker.
Joe returned, bowled soon after, leaving father & son to finish the innings off. Both finished the innings off in style, hitting the back wall & running the 2s & 3s well. Joshua's 48 & John's 29, both not out, enabled the team to reach a total of 126.
Great Totham took to the field, with no Nick, Joshua wore the gloves. Cheesey & Pooky bowled the first 2 overs, a catch by Joe off Cheesey & a Nick-like miss by Joshua resulting in a bye left Upminster on 2-1 after 2 overs, a brilliant start. Joe, Jack & John bowled the next 6 overs, keeping the score down, building pressure on the batsmen. John took a caught & bowled, then Pooky missed an absolute dolly catch. Cheesey & Pooky came back to finish off the innings. A catch by Joshua (take note, Nick) & an LBW put the game out of reach of Upminster. John was pleased with figures of 2-14 until realising that Cheesey & Pooky both had 2-3, Upminster reaching 50 all out, with no boundaries. A superb performance with the ball.
Next week sees Drew's return, against New Zealand, sorry, close rivals Writtle. The Chadwicks are rested/rotated/dropped, but Great Totham still are confident that the squad is strong enough to make it 4 from 4 & remain top of the division.