A 1 o’clock start was always
looking shaky for a Rascal’s team, but the prospect of a prompt start was
rocked to its foundations by an 11.30 call coming in from our captain letting
us know that he was going to be late (I hear you gasp in horror at the very
idea of Neilo being late). This in
itself was not exactly earth shattering news and actually pretty par for the
course, but as the call came in from A&E where he was tending to his son’s
double thumb dislocation, it looked like the delay might be of more than a few
minutes.
Most of the rest of the team,
working on ‘Rascal’s Time’ did manage to muster at the pitch (some were already
there (shrieks again!!) for a creditable 1.20 and we were all set to go at
1.35. Tossing duties were shouldered by
Skilbeck who, having been given clear advice that we fancied an overs match and
batting second, won the toss and returned with the news that he had opted for a
timed game and batting first.
Incredulity was followed by the dawning realisation that he was
probably, annoyingly, right. With the captain missing for at least half the
match, a pretty thin bowling line up anyway, there was little option in
reality, so good call Eddie.
Eddie and Geoff Knight opened up
for us and, though scoring slowly, saw off their opening bowlers; a rather
useful and pacey pair of 15 year olds.
Geoff finally capitulated having demonstrated an amazingly complete set
of cricketing (air) shots that the extended edition of the ‘Cricketer’s
Complete Guide to Batting Stroke Play’ would have been proud of. The strike rate did pick up, and Eddie and
the ‘Dos Paulos’ (yet another 100
partnership by the Rascal’s with little return on the victory front?) took it
to within a few overs of the allotted tea time.
There was a small clattering of wickets at this point, but all in the
cause of taking us to 232 for 5(?). A
fairly respectable score and one we felt would be enough to make a game of
it. Phil Richardson was though overheard
during tea to muttering darkly that we were ‘7 or so runs short in my view’,
ominous and prescient words perhaps?
Ant Lund made an early
breakthrough, but this was followed by a hiatus in wickets and a steady, if not
flamboyant, flow of runs. All changed
with the arrival of one Zak Keeling.
Having requested a fielding position that was unlikely to see a catch as
it is ‘my least favourite thing in cricket’, he strode up to the crease with
his first ball of the season in all forms of the game, delivered a medium pacer
of perfect length to James Fielding (a scorer of more than one century against
us in previous years). James was
defeated by the bounce and hit it firmly back into the (very safe, it now
seems) hands of Zak. One more wicket, a
fine snick to the safe hands Mackwood, our faithful and youthful keeper, saw
him open his account for the team with a double wicket maiden. Two overs later he had another in very
similar fashion and the Rascals were cock-a-hoop and scenting victory.
From here on though matters did
not go quite so well; excellent fielding, some very solid bowling support
(Grigson, Skilbeck, Keeling J and P) and a number of exceptionally close calls
on appeals not withstanding, they managed to ease past our total with 4 overs
to go.
Other than a small spat that
involved querying if their third umpire (if they indeed had one) might have
lost the faculty of speech and that, with the two on-field umpires, they would
have made a perfect team of sensorially challenged primates, the match was
played, as ever, in the best of spirits. There was of course their much
appreciated supper laid on at the Rose & Crown. When Jasper and I left the pub at 8.45, Eddie
and Rosco were still haggling over the last fiver for the tea-money, Phil
looking for the last answer to his crossword and Neilo was late for work on the
opposite side on the M25. Aaah, Halcyon Days!!
With one match to go and the
glorious return of our errant Chair, we can still look forward to doubling our
victory tally for the season!!
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