A severely depleted 10 man Totham side arrived at OC’s picturesque ground fearing the worst. We lost, but the worst didn’t happen. There were some good performances, some good fielding and most importantly on a day like today, some fight.
Nob lost his 6th straight toss (that is every single toss this season) and the visitors were inserted. John made an entertaining start to the innings, being dropped no less than 5 times before he had reached 20, three of which were absolute sitters, but also dispatching the short balls for four either through or over mid wicket. At the other end Dicko was playing second fiddle happy to bat long and do a job for the team, and the two reached the first drinks break with the score 55/0. I’m not sure what Dicko drank/took at drinks, but he aimed 4 almighty mows at the next 4 balls, edging a couple of twos through slips before absolutely twatting one over mid wicket and out of the ground for 6. The chairman succumbed soon after, chasing a wide one, and a strong, sensible opening partnership ended with the score on 84. Snail arrived at the crease and both batsmen continued to find gaps with the odd boundary, keeping the run rate around 4 an over. John reached a very well made 50 before departing for 63, Cailean joined Snail and the pair looked to push the run rate without taking the chance of exposing our tail. When Cailean was bowled for 19, Nob joined Snail and the pair found boundaries hard to come by, but made sure they picked up plenty of 1’s and 2’s. The run rate climbed to nearly 5 and over and Totham left the field on 216/3 and quietly happy with their afternoon so far.
Tea Rating 7.5 - Good sandwich selection, lacked sausage rolls/cocktail sausages/some form of chicken, but pulled it back with what can only be described as a sublime choice of cakes, biscuits and cookies.
We knew we were up against it with just the ten men in the field and a somewhat depleted bowling attack, but what we didn’t account for was the quality of the batsmen. Quite what enjoyment Premier Division players get out of hitting ton after ton in division 4 is anyone’s guess. Matt McDonald delivered the fastest bouncer I have ever seen on a cricket pitch which thudded in the McNeills helmet with the second ball of the innings. This was the only time either batsmen looked in any kind of trouble until the introduction of golden arm Jimmy Hay. His first ball was a beauty, it turned, it bounced, and it was dropped behind the stumps. He didn’t let that deter him, and in his 4th over the right hander ran out of patience and found Cailean and long-on, who despite a juggle held on for Totham’s first and only wicket. Totham tried everything they could, Jack Ridge bowled well, DQ showed signs of a return to form, and Banny’s left arm spin is improving all the time. The fielding was very good overall, but the most pleasing outcome of today was the attitude shown by everyone despite a clear gulf in ability between the two sides, we kept going until the end and played with smiles on our faces.
Star Man - John Chadwick
