Great Totham CC v Horndon-on-the-Hill CC- National Village Cup Preliminary Round
Given there are 26 teams in the Essex & Suffolk group, I was more than surprised to be drawn at home to Horndon on the Hill for the second time in three years, and I have to admit I was a little worried about the game after the hammering they gave us first time round! Availability was decent considering we were in April, but some had been put off by the potentially cold weather.
They shouldn't have been worried, come gameday Bull Meadow was bathed in glorious sunshine and it was a mild 13 degrees. The pitch was green and soft, I'm not sure what else you could expect. And perhaps the only surprise when Horndon called the toss correctly & opted to bowl, was that I would have batted first anyway - I felt the pitch was likely to deteriorate and wanted the pressure of runs on board.
Henge & Pigeon opened the batting, with Pigeon refusing to take first ball as "I don't want to be out on the very first ball of the season". It was a sedate start, with no real shots made in anger, then disaster struck. "Yes, No, Sorry" from Joe Davis left Pigeon stranded halfway down and we were 8/1. Lumpy came to the crease and was bowled around his legs shortly after. The less said about my innings the better, and we were in trouble at 20/3. When I asked Melman to play, he warned me he would be hungover & late. I had no problem with this is one of the two situations when he plays his best cricket (the other being when he has somewhere to be). He built crucial small partnerships with Henge (25 runs), RK (24 runs, of which RK scored 0), and JFH (36) in a composed & well-structured 50. He brought up his 50 with a 6 into Baron's garden & we were back in the game at 105/5.
However, Melman's innings finished in the next over with 55 from 58 balls (6 fours and 3 sixes) and Yeatesy snicked his second ball to the keeper & made the umpire give him out. No-Byes Logue joined JFH and a period of steady accumulation followed. They put on the first 50 partnership of the game, as No-Byes passed his highest score from last year (21) and JFH posted his highest score since 2018 (40). Superb batting from the two of them that dragged us up to about par. JFH was last man out in the last over and overall I felt 178 was defendable.
Up the hill George Baron was unplayable, with just 11 runs conceded from his 8 overs (and only 6 off the bat). Down the hill we struggled, Hot Wheels was a one-over wonder & next time I will believe him when he says he can't bowl downhill. RK kept it tidy without being too threatening, and it wasn't until Henge's second over that we had any consistent threat from the top end. Henge took out their opener LBW, and their #3 bowled with almost identical balls. The field came up for the hattrick ball, but that was left alone well outside off. We had our foot in the door at 43/2, and we kept it tight until drinks. Horndon staying roughly on the required rate. The Horndon opener looking immaculate. The first over after drinks, some bizarre running gifted us a wicket, and we had an end open which JFH exploited to his advantage. He spun his one ball for the season for a bowled that clipped off stump from around the wicket, then burgled the opener with a full toss caught at deep-square by Lumpy. He made an extremely impressive 73.
Henge & I returned to the attack and we took two more wickets leaving Horndon on 159/8 - needing 23 from 18. We took another wicket in the 39th, but the last ball was well driven through cover for four, leaving 7 from the last. Up steps yours truly the captain opting to take the ball in the crucial moment! Two dot balls were followed by a no-ball and two singles. 4 from 2. The penultimate delivery was then flicked behind square for four to give Horndon the victory. An incredibly tight game, hard-fought to the very end.
Gutted to be on the losing end, but we competed incredibly well against a side who compete several leagues higher than our 1st XI in the Essex League. My man of the match is Jonny Hewer for his vital 40(70) & 2/37, but honourable mentioned go to Josh Chadwick for his 55 from 58 & Joe Davis for his 4/39.
Our Road to Lords will have to wait for another season! Look forward to seeing you all in a few weeks time for the league to commence!
