League cricket returned for the 2s on Saturday as Stu’s mighty team of young talent, AI programmes and heavy blokes travelled to a public park in Billericay to play Rainham. Confused? Yeah so were we, the oppo forced to play miles away due to internal club politics.
Arriving on the dot straight from rugby, the skip won the toss, opting to bowl first, buoyed by overhead conditions and a young hungry seam attack. Hot wheels got things kicked off and started beautifully, the oppo skipper struggling to deal with good length, nice pace and some handy swing. Joe Cole complimented James well from the other end, bowling some real heat. Some early season rust was to blame for the occasional head high beamer, reminding us all of our mortality. Wheels took 3 well-deserved wickets as the Rainham upper middle-order quickly fell away. As the boys were freezing on the field, the GTCC fan club comprising of Wheels Sr and Cole Sr was sinking into some cold ones of their own on the side drawing numerous jealous glances from those of age on the pitch. Eddie Vale replaced Joe and Kendall came on for James as the remaining Rainham opener began to free his arms. Smashing anything poor (of which there was plenty from us all), the opener quickly raced to 100 hitting some big boundaries into the neighbouring playground, leaving the bot to awkwardly ask for the ball back. Rainham continued to pile the runs on throughout the innings, J Hewer offered some control with a late spell, supported well by Ed and Owen took a handy 4-fer with his right arm grenades, but ultimately the bowling all round was too wayward and the oppo were allowed to simply amass too many runs. 2 hours of boundaries later and GTCC were chasing 320+.
Tea provided an opportunity to regroup as 11 varieties of meal deals were unfurled. From Co-op to Sainsbury’s and even M&S, the local Billericay supermarkets clearly made a bit of cash from the 2s. Tea also provided FGA with an opportunity to check on his chest having worn one HARD in the process of taking an earlier catch. Launched to FGA at mid-on, our glorious coach wore leather like an absolute champ, finishing the successful attempt with a little juggle for added spice.
Batting order set and Pearson and Hewer opened, the bot giving hewer out for an early LBW, largely so that he could sack off his umpiring shift. Cheers Ben. Phippsy came in at three and the skip and VC batted well together, even dealing with the incessantly average chat from Giraffe neck at Square leg, clearly still fuming at his earlier duck. Unlucky champ. Both men made decent scores, with Stu reaching 52, not that anyone knew as Ed on the book had failed to register an incoming 50. FGA came in and looked good for 49 with the Bot failing to capitalise on pre-season form. Owen, Wheels and Joe offered little company for Dicko and before long GTCC were all out 100 odd runs short.
The twos go again at home to Canvey 1s next week, determined to get back on track.
