Wounded Knee

Good morning pop pickers and welcome to my last ever blog. As a single man that is. Some days I sit here searching far and wide in an attempt to dredge some nuggets of interest from the previous days cricketing fayre. This week there was no such problem after a day filled with incident, drama and nearly 600 runs.

We were on the road again, this time at Tiddington. My first visit to a lovely little ground, or at least that is how it looked when I arrived. Little did I know that it hides a dark, dark secret.

Winning the toss for the first time in a little while I had no hesitation in asking Tiddington to bat, a mistake of Hussain like proportions? Maybe.

There were very few highlights in our bowling and fielding performance as Tiddington racked up 310 for 7. There opener carried his bat on his way to an unbeaten 150. A classy knock with shots all around the wicket. He was well supported and made the most of a cracking track. We bowled with discipline and rarely looked ragged with the ball. A couple of spilt chances had they been taken may have restricted the score to under 300. Sometimes you have to give credit where it is due and say well batted.

The whole innings was marred by a nasty injury to Vish. For the first time I saw a cricketer leave the ground in an ambulance. Something I never want to see again. Showing 100% dedication to the Didcot cause Vish chased the ball to the boundary in an attempt to stop 4 overthrows, he slid into what we all assumed were painted wooden boundary boards. They were concrete. The thud was sickening. He didn't move. We all instantly knew it was bad.

Vish is in hospital today. Our hearts are with you little buddy.

Tea was a splendid affair featuring homemade chocolate bon-bons, homemade sausage rolls and ice lollies. Nathans melons were splendid also. (Thame: take note, there are shops not far away that sell food and milk).

Chasing 310 to win sets some challenges. Cookie set off like a train. He was super focused and in great nick. Tiddington weren't quite sure what to do and I felt went defensive with the field placings way too early. 5 fielders on the boundary after 6 overs when you have over 300 on the board is super defensive. Not surprisingly runs dried up. When we did find the boundary a fielder was instantly moved out to cut off the runs. I know that it isn't easy getting the balance right but sometimes you have to risk losing to win a game like this.

We accumulated runs none the less with contributions from everyone in the middle order. Bernard had his best innings in a Didcot shirt and proved that the £2.5M spent on his sojourn down under was money well spent. He mixed solid defense and careful shot selection with powerful clean hitting to notch up 95 from only 84 balls. He was well caught on the boundary, had this gone for 6 his second fifty would have taken him 24 balls. Well done Bernard.

This rousing display of power cricket lifted the Diddy spirits and when combined with Thatchers cider on draft was reminiscent of Taunton in the 80's with Viv and Botham at the crease. Splendid.

Incidentally, can anyone name three Nik Kershaw (star of the 80's) hits? There is a special prize waiting for anyone who actually reads this and posts an answer.

We ended on 268 for 6. Could we have won it? Maybe. Life is full of if's, buts and maybe's.

So, we return to the Field of Dreams next week after an extended break. I am looking forward to returning home. A few questions may be answered next week.

Can Bernards tea match his batting prowess? Will the phantom bunny concealer make an appearance? Who will fill Vish's (tiny) shoes? Will we get to see the wheelchair ramp used?

All will be revealed in a weeks time.....................

Hungry Like The Wolf

I am happy to report that the firsts recorded their first away win of the season yesterday at Thame.

Put in to bat on what looked like a sporting wicket with plenty of grass and some suspicious looking filled in patches didn't inspire much confidence. Two early wickets and the doom mongers were muttering about how we can't win away from home. At 56 for 7 with the ball cutting and seaming around corners combined with low and slow bounce it looked like we would do well to make it past the 68 we rolled Thame over for earlier this season.

It is not often that the skip gets in to bat with time to play himself in, let alone with 27 overs left. He was due a knock after about 4 years in the wilderness. With a sense of timing normally reserved for passing comets (they only come past once or twice every century) he dug deep, relishing the attritional nature and lack of pressure to score quickly. Joined by The Caretaker as the ninth wicket fell at 85 they put on 41 in an unbroken partnership that gave us a a total to bowl at. It was The Caretakers best innings this season and the skips best for more than 15 years.

Tea passed without incident or enjoyment; I mean who runs out of milk so that 3 cups of tea have to be shared? Pathetic.

Thame rarely appear to be 'up for it' and yesterday they looked even less interested than normal. Half their team stayed in the pavilion watching the golf. No supporting from the boundary from this lot.

This lack of interest and dysfunctional behaviour is pure gold for us. Early wickets from Morne and Northern Gravy had Thame reeling and out of the game at 11 for 4. This rapidly turned in to 19 for 7. Morne bowled slow medium pace cutters and was unplayable ending with 3 for 8 from 10 overs. Matt simply bowled full and straight and let the ball do the talking as he ended with 6 for 19.

We didn't drop a catch either. Nice.

Only two of Thame's side offered any sort of resistance with the unfortunate Richard Carr spooning a slow full toss straight to midwicket from Cookie. His departure ended any hope Thame had of pulling off an unlikely win as they were all out for 80.

Perhaps we needed a game like this to put some fire back in our belly. Results elsewhere went our way and finishing second is back in our hands now.

Next week we travel to Tiddington and need to be ravenously hungry for the 25 points. We must fight for every run and wicket like our very lives depend on it.

Nothing less than 100% effort is acceptable. I am looking for proof from every player that they want to win this league. No more excuses.

Frustration

It's back to the 70's tonight pop pickers. A decade that has left a lasting impression on popular culture. Who could forget Sweet, Mud, The Seekers and of course The Prodigy. Happy times.

Beer was about 10p a pint, petrol hadn't even been invented and a mobile phone was actually cemented into every street corner and painted red. You could leave your back door open as well in them days. People actually went to the pub to have a drink rather than a crayfish tossed in a balsamic reduction. I still enjoy a pickled egg in a bag of salt 'n' vinegar; mind, it is difficult to find a pub that sells pickled eggs these days. Progress, pah.

1974 witnessed the peak of The Drifters meteoric career. Born in Braintree before the 1960's The Drifters shuffled about aimlessly for years before Their chart smash 'Kissin in the Back Row of the Movies' sold 58 million copies in a week in the UK alone, it knocked 'Tiger Feet' off the top spot and started a feud between the two bands that was only settled 6 months later in a pub car park with bike chains and cudgels. (Mud won, obviously).

This song was a firm favourite in the Perera household. Viraj was bored of glam rock and had recently sold his platform shoes and silver jumpsuit. The easy listening, saucy, Drifters were an obvious replacement.

History doesn't record whether Jimmy Perera was present to watch The Drifters perform a barnstorming set at Swindon Oasis in 2008. All that is recorded is that a bolster cushion was requested to enable a small boy to see his favourite band. You can draw your own conclusions.

Challow visited the Field of Dreams and ruined a perfectly splendid day. How a side can be buoyed by such negative, dull aspirations is beyond me.

They fulfilled their dreams by not being in the game for even one ball and clung on by the skin of their teeth, nine down and 70 runs short. This sort of toss is what ruins cricket as a sport.

We were invited to bat first on the now traditional bowlers graveyard. Everyone got a few runs, Jimmy going on to notch up another half century. Is it time to kick on and pass that ton? I think so. Cookie and Bernard batted brilliantly and we added 100 runs between over 37 and 47, eventually ending on 257.

We were all reminded of what we missed from Dan Alderson on his return to Didcot.

Tea was spectacular. I have never seen so many varied homemade cakes. A stunning effort from Sarah Broughton that raises the bar to previously undreamed of levels. The Usain Bolt of cricket teas? I think so.

The Challow innings is hardly worthy of note. I wouldn't have bothered writing a single word had it not been for the introduction of Brought Filth for a simply stunning spell of 3 overs that saw him take his first ever First Team Cherwell League wickets. Ending with figures of 2 for 72 from 3 overs. I wish I could say he swung the game our way. I can't. Challow resorted to patting back slow full tosses and didn't even run for leg byes. My only hope is that they broke down or had a puncture on the way home.

After the match Jimmy rushed off to strap on his platform boots and head down the Roxy. The rest of us ate more pavlova and tried to forget a miserable afternoon.

Beer & Sex & Chips 'n' gravy

Good evening blog fans. You find me in a considerably more convivial mood this week. Last Sunday was pregnant with opportunity; everything was lined up ready for a momentous day. Plenty of cold beer and wine, BBQ fired up, outlaws popping round later in the afternoon.

The World Cup really has been dull this year, hasn't it? Or am I just becoming old and cynical? Anyway Capello and his bunch of pampered, under achieving millionaires fulfilled their potential absolutely. Has there been a more inevitable and disappointing end to anything since The Roman Empire slipped into The Dark Ages?

The Field of Dreams welcomed the auld enemy again yesterday as Brackley's finest visited us for the fifth consecutive year. It has been one of the spicier fixtures in recent years. This year was different however. I can't remember a better bunch of players, and has there ever been a better visiting umpire than Dennis? I can't remember one. It just shows what happens when the village idiot misses the bus and spends the day marrying his cousin.

Skip won the toss and invited Brackley to have a bat. We started well with a wicket in the first over, Gravy was quicker than normal and ripped out the off stump. He continued to bowl with vim and vigour, catching the outside edge on at least three occasions. Only one went to hand (actually left breast) and was spilled. A now trademark sharp catch from The Judge and another direct hit from the Lost Boy for a run out and Brackley were 50 odd for 3. Brackleys number three is a class bat and was in great nick until he slapped a wide one to Pritch in t'covers for a sharp catch. 77 for 4. Was there anything to come from Brackley? Yes. But not enough. Cartwright Jnr. batted beautifully for 79 and was the last wicket to fall. His best innings against us, for sure. Nobody could stay with him long enough to post a competitive total. The Judge accounted for the dangerous Cartwright Snr. with a smart catch from Brockett.

Northern Gravy did the damage, ending with 6 for 56. His best spell so far this season. He even carried on after he had split his webbing. The man is an inspiration.

183 was 50 short of par at Chennai. Our run chase was un-eventful. Exactly the sort of run chase I enjoy the most. The Lost Boy anchored our innings. Having been dropped on nought he punished Brackley by carrying his bat on the way to 71. Vish never looked like getting out and was particularly severe on his older brother (bowling for Brackley for the first time).

A couple of (Word Up) cameo knocks from the cod piece wearing Jones and Cook saw us home with an hour or so to spare.

A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon then. I am already licking my lips in anticipation of next week.

Dirk Wears White Socks

Like Guinness, good things come to those who wait. This could be a metaphor for how to bat at The Field of Dreams or it could be an apology for the tardiness of this weeks blog. It appears there is a small group of sad, desperate men in South Oxfordshire whose Sunday is not complete without a fix of post match analytical ramblings mashed together with oblique references to song titles. To you I apologise profusely.

Saturday started with the now oft exploited and written about trip to West London to oggle at SJM and participate in Cricket AM. I thoroughly enjoyed it , particularly meeting Dirty Dirk Nannes. What a cracking guy, I imagine he would be highly entertaining on an all day session, preferably in his native Amsterdam.

So, what of Shipton? Are they better than us? Can we beat confident, capable, experienced sides?

We didn't make them work hard enough, that is for sure. I believe that Didcot on top form are a better side, and certainly well capable of beating teams like Shipton; full of experience and talent and most importantly confidence.

The weather was like Chester le Street on Saturday, the pitch straight outta Chennai. What has happened to the bouncy, pacey square of a few years ago? The only danger was playing shots too early in an innings, once you get the measure of the pace you could bat for a week and not see a ball spin or seam. The new league balls lose any hardness after about 7 overs and cannot be shined for love nor money. Who'd be a bowler?

Shipton racked up 257 for 5, pacing their innings beautifully, had we not dropped their skipper on 13 (twice) we may have restricted them to 30 less or so. He went on to make 98 not out, batting nearly 50 overs. We toiled, heavy with fatigue and post stardom blues. I think we actually did reasonably well all things considered.

Our run chase never quite gained the momentum we needed to seriously threaten Shipton. Skipper Gates was torn between playing safe and not letting Shipton open up a points gap by beating us. With hindsight perhaps we should have played more aggressively. Last weeks capitulation to Banbury was still playing on my mind and I didn't want us to lose two on the Jonathan.

The real positive was Crab Hands return to form. The best he has looked for a couple of years, welcome back Matt, let's hope the form continues. The big stride and effortless push through extra cover was back, as was the on drive and whip to midwicket. Brockett batted beautifully also, never looking in trouble once he got his feet moving and ended with a tidy 42 not out.

So, what did we learn?

Enough sleep and lack of distractions before the start are important. That three an over for the first 30 overs is fine, so long as you have wickets in hand. Catches win matches (again). Don't hit the ball to the one fielder in the deep when you have an ocean of space around him.

A big game next week at table topping Tew awaits us. I will be getting an early night on Friday, getting up focused and arriving at Tew in plenty of time for a decent warm up.

What about you?

Sunday Blues

It had to happen at some point I suppose, the unbeaten record, held for 22 games, ended yesterday at Banbury as the firsts fell to a 2 wicket defeat.

Asked to bat first, we never got going, losing wickets regularly we limped to a total of 106. Many of us batted for the first time this season and it looked like it too. The Banbury pitch played well and we were undone by consistently good bowling that saw 7 of us clean bowled. The only player to look comfortable was The Judge who drove imperiously on his way to 30 odd before running himself out. I think I will gloss over the rest of the innings.

Defending 106 is never going to be easy and requires self belief as well as great bowling and fielding. We created intense pressure throughout the Banbarians innings; fielders round the bat with plenty of chirp from the new "Most annoying player in the Cherwell League". Cookie talked himself hoarse with some of the most banal yet entertaining drivel heard for a long time. The 40 minute spell before tea had them two down with a wicket each for Stimpo and Cookie.

We attacked with the spinners straight after the break taking another 6 wickets before they reached the victory target.

A quality performance in the field part compensated for the disappointment, in reality we were at least 50 runs short and didn't deserve to win a game batting like that. A more positive approach would have won have got us the runs we needed and the tentative, defensive approach was old Didcot from two years ago.

We must, and will respond for the visit of table topping Shipton next weekend.

I hate losing.

That Smell

What is your favourite James Bond film? If it is Moonraker or The Living Daylights, leave now. You disgust me.

I have a soft spot for Live and Let Die. Roger Moore and Jane Seymour have a certain chemistry; there is the New Orleans Jazz vibe; the spitting law enforcement officer and of course the sinister top hat wearing bald voodoo witch doctor rising out of the grave.

Some voodoo magic was visited on the Field of Dreams yesterday (possibly).

The scent of victory was in everyones nostrils before the match started yesterday for the visit of basement side, Nondescripts. They had lost all their matches and we expected to win.

Having won the toss we invited Nondies to have a bat on a wicket that looked full of runs. They never broke free of the shackles as we took wickets regularly and kept things tight in the field. Northern Gravy bowled with no luck again but should have had at least 3 wickets. Laurel and Hardy mixed containment and attack in the middle of the innings and took 4 wickets between them; 2 smart catches for the boyman Perera, a great tumbling catch from Tee Kay and a smart run out from The Caretaker being the highlights. Stimpo was the pick of the bowling, ending up with 4 for 26, including the top three. I can smell a fivfer is on the way as Jack improves every week. He out thought every batsman yesterday.

Some particularly good cheese and onion sandwiches were eaten as part of a fine tea in the oppressive heat before we set about chasing a target 100 short of what was needed.

It was during tea that the voodoo curse struck. Was it revenge for last seasons humane dispatch of a a rabbit by Skipper Gates coming back to haunt him? I don't know. What I do know is that I have spent a few hours this morning washing and disinfecting all my kit and I have had to buy a new cap.

We set about the chase with a real purpose as The Judge and Jimmy Perera put on 40 odd for the first wicket at 5 an over. Vish was joined by Matt as they took the score to 119. Vish again batted beautifully scoring his 70 from only 88 balls, including 14 boundaries. The rest was a formality as Cookie and Matt saw us home in a little over 30 overs and we were done and dusted by 6pm.

Results elsewhere mean that we are top with 10 points more than at this stage last year. The next four weeks are critical for us, and nothing less than 100 points from these games is acceptable.

News from elsewhere: The seconds had a bad day (more below), the thirds had a good day(see earlier blog) and the fourths recorded their first victory to leave them mid table.

The challenge for all three sides seems to be finding consistency and a run of three victories for any of them will see them challenging at the top of their respective divisions

Disappointing outing for the 2nds!

Seconds were out at Great Tew and were beaten convincingly by 6 wickets. Didcot didn’t have a good day defending their total of 202 for 6.

Didcot batted first and scored 202 for 6 in their 45 overs. Great Tew bowling attack was accurate and Didcot lost both the openers when the total was 32. Then came a 102 partnership between Brad Lynch (61) and Chris Parsons 33. Both batted very sensibly and should have gone to score much more; Chris playing a ‘lazy’ shot was caught at square leg and Brad got himself run out. Andy Griffiths chipped in with 16 and Ross Fryatt was not out on 22. With wickets in hand we could have pushed it a bit further, may be!

There wasn’t anything in the wicket but accurate bowling was required as Great Tew did.

Didcot didn’t have a good day in the bowling and fielding department. However there were some positives; we did take 4 catches, Jose Taboada at slip in the third (4^th?) attempt, Rob Keat at covers, Andy Griffiths at covers a diving catch woken up by his team mates shouting ‘catch’, and an excellent diving catch by Ross Fryatt behind the stumps. If we did take the other catches as well things might have been different. The batsmen who was 55 not out was dropped twice!

Bowling wasn’t as accurate as Great Tew. Although we took a couple of wickets early on they came at a price.

Andy Griffiths took two wickets but at a cost. Rob Keat took 2 wickets not cheap either but he created the chances that we missed.

Sam Smith and Carl Hancock bowled well but were unlucky not to pick-up any wickets, especially Carl’s 6 over spell was fiery and accurate missed the edge 90% of the time.

Disappointing day out, only collecting 8 points for the day’s work. Hopefully lessons learnt and better things will follow soon!