Dazed and Confused

Good evening blog fans.

Yesterday's game at the Field of Dreams was like so many things in life, full of anticipation and then ever so slightly disappointing once consumed. I find chocolate is that way; unlike a fat cohiba which is big on anticipation and never disappoints.

Our visitors were the second tranche of Banbarians in as many weeks. This time from XX, no idea why XX, and don't care really.

I had been warned that they were weak, something their lowly league position seemed to confirm. The pre start warnings were all about the potential for a banana skin type result and that we must remain focused and not take our foot off their throat once we had them pinned down.

This tactic seemed to work rather well as we had them at 25 for 6 off not many overs. We must not let them off the hook though. We didn't. They crumbled like a very crumbly thing.

53 all out. Northern Gravy's medium paced swing bowling had been too much for them; he ended with 6 for 23 and was well supported by The Don, 2 for 18 and Two Tone Head, 2 for 4.

It was barely lunch time, so far to early for tea. Best crack on. We did. 11 overs later it was all over, the majority of the runs coming in boundaries.

Not much more to say really. They will be relegated. We now have to push on, starting at Thame next week.

We are 4th and everything is bunching up at the top. Top two is within reach. It is purely a test of how much we want it now. I know I do, what about the rest of you??

Jump Around

The air was heavy and thick with thunder bugs yesterday at the Field of Dreams. The sort of day that often ends in a storm; the sort of day that is perfect for drinking rum based cocktails out of tin mugs; the sort of day that is ideal for shooting alligator.

No rum or alligators in our part of Didcot, so a game of cricket seemed like a reasonable way to spend the afternoon instead.

It turned out to be one of those days that is made for cool, calm heads and one of those days with the sort of finish you only get every 5 years or so; or if you are Didcot, twice in a month.

Electing to have a bat after winning the toss seemed like a splendid idea, and at 90 for 1 in the 16th over all was well with the world. Matt and Pritch were moving along serenely, surely it was now a matter of when to declare. 22 overs later at 139 for 7 it looked a little bleaker. Matt had gone for a fine 72, the Banbarian umpire should have gone to specsavers. That was never LBW. Our middle order had disappeared, we were now in real trouble.

Two gnarled old pro's mixed reckless stroke play with dogged defence and 200 seemed like a possibility. We fell a little short at 192.

The Banbarian spinners had bowled a tight line and length and got just enough turn on a real bunsen of a pitch. Well played.

As we all enjoyed a splendid tea in the sunshine we were very glad of the start that the top 3 had given us. 192 should be enough I thought.

A dream start saw one of the openers depart in the first over, a superb one handed catch by Brockett, millimeters above the grass.

A stuttering recovery was snuffed out by Jules and Jordan, Both getting pant wetting amounts of turn they reduced Banbury to 50 odd for 4. One more wicket and we would be through them, we thought.

Banbury also had a gnarled old pro and he joined a young greenhorn. They fought back and the game tightened. % an over from the last 20 or so and only 4 down.

One wicket would change things, surely. We had to wait a while, but when it came it did change things, as so often happens it brought another with it, and another. By now Jones and Taylor were back on for second spells and had picked up a couple of wickets a piece.

Megson was still at the crease, now joined by proper tail enders. A Banbury win was now unlikely as the run rate had climbed to 12 an over with only two wickets left. Could Megson block and resist the temptation to nail a long hop through the covers. No, he couldn't. Caught behind. GAME ON!!!

One wicket needed and a handful of balls left. A couple popped up and fell agonisingly short and we were now into the last over.

Matt Jones was bowling from the Matt Jones End. A cannot remember what happened with the first 4 balls. I will remember the fifth until I die. Middle stump. Knocked back.

Cue wild celebrations; hugging, tender caresses of flaxen locks and possibly the odd squeeze of a buttock.

The result was never in doubt of course!!

We sang our song and passed around the special celebration shower gel. I love this game and I love this club. Next week cannot come quickly enough..............

Only Shallow

The firsts game at Shallow yesterday had a real sense of Deja Vu about it as the hosts yet again demonstrated their monumental lack of wit, enthusiasm, attacking flair and will to win. They are to cricket what Mourinho's Inter Milan were to Football, except they don't win anything. Anti Cricket.

It's a shame really because the ground and facilities are among the best there is.

Asked to have a bat we were delighted to take advantage of the pitch. We lost a couple of early wickets and then Matt followed at 65 for 3. Were we worried? Not. One. Bit.

Connor joined Bris at the crease and they took the score to 190. Bris played his best innings in a Didcot shirt and unluckily fell 6 short of his maiden ton. Shot of the day was the swept 6 to the longest boundary at the ground, there was a lovely straight drive for 4 early in the innings that was darn good as well. Bris will have to wait a week for his ton.

Connor continued his rich vain of form and ended his innings on 58 with the score north of 200. We declared on 221. More than enough I thought.

A rather splendid tea was taken inside as we watched Jade Dernbach doing his best impression of a cricketer. Needs more work Jade.

Shallow took to the field and proceeded to ensure they wouldn't lose. Only two of their players looked as if they had even played the game before. The rest batted as if they had read a book about cricket, and not really understood it. The run rate climbed to 8 an over and suddenly they woke up and realised they had better get some runs. They didn't get any runs. They got out.

65 for 1 in the 27th over gradually became 98 for 4 in the 35th. I cannot remember the detail of what happened after this as I had lost the will to live. We bowled well, particularly Keatsy and Jules who ended with 3 for 45 and 5 for 32 respectively. I think some were caught, some were bowled and there was an LBW.

Shallow ended on 162 for 8. They didn't lose so they must be very happy with themselves. Well done.

No doubt Bris, Connor, Keatsy and Jules will be getting the usual winter approach from Shallow's mister fixit to go and join them.

Down Under

When (Sir) Bob Geldof awoke from a sugar rush haze of space dust and sherbert UFO fuelled week long bender he wrote 'I Don't Like Mondays'. It went on, of course to inspire many a cry for help suicide bid amongst hormonal types across the Western world.

Long before the phrase 'Man Up' had been coined by Australian poofs the rest of us got on with our Monday's, resigned and determined to get on with life.

For the record I am not a massive fan of Monday's, but then who is?

Saturdays however are my most favourite day of the week, especially when we are playing cricket. We travelled the long and winding roads to Cublington this week. A pretty ground looking over rolling countryside, settled in the middle of a small village with a cracking pub in it.

Winning my second toss of the season I had no hesitation inviting them to have a bat. As they racked up 173 for 0 I was regretting this decision a little. As seems to be de rigeur in these parts they had an Aussie who manages to fit the Cherwell registration rules. Love to know where they found one. Anyway he bludgeoned 112 at more than a run a ball. It felt like we were being Tubbed again.

He rode his luck a little and almost killed Pritch. It was a Porsche Cayenne of an innings, ugly, fast and brutal. Well played. After his departure Cublington stuttered and appeared to have not a lot else to offer as they limped to 253 for 6 from 48 overs. A pretty impressive score, but at one stage I thought they might score 400!! Through the mayhem The Judge picked up his second successive 5fer. He was the only one who seemed to have a plan, and he bowled to it very well.

So, a sporting declaration, 254 to win from 52 overs. A few spots of rain at tea didn't alter the match and I believed we would win.

We got just the start we needed, 66 for the first wicket at 5 an over, Pritch finding some form and timing hit a solid 44, we were on our way. Our powerhouse top order failed against some accurate bowling as no one really got in. 93 for 4. My belief was wavering a bit now.

This brought Bernard to the crease to join Big Doug. I predict big things for this pairing. One more pleasing on the eye than the other, one more brutally effective. They took the game to Cublington. The chirping out in the middle disappeared and the fielders moved ever closer to the boundary. They scored 74 in 10 overs and put us right back in the match. Doug perished to what many thought was a brave LBW decision by the umpire, you don't see many given having skipped two big paces down the pitch and hit on the full. It changed the momentum of course. Shaun followed a little later with the score on 185. A more petulant departure from the crease is hard to remember, perhaps Dennis Lillee managed it.

They both played excellently, Shaun picked up 61 and top scored, they can both be proud.

The rest of the innings faded away as we continued to chase what would have been an unlikely victory. We fell short despite some effective hitting and never lost our belief that we could win. We could have blocked for the draw, but where is the fun and honour in that?

Afterwards we retired to the pub and had a marvellous time. The best bunch of lads we have played against for a long time and a cracking game of cricket

Next week we must beat Brackley. Failure to win will make next week an extremely black Monday.

Underdog

Oh what a night, late December back in '63............

I have no idea what this means, or what the Four Tops are up to these days. Who cares, we beat Cumnor this evening in the first round of the Bernard Tollett Knockout cup.

Our own Bernard had selected a youthful side, blended with the experience of a few mature, seasoned pros.

Cumnor turned up early looking exactly like the Division 1 side they are. Fit, lean, well drilled and perhaps expecting a relatively easy work out against the minnows from Division 5.

Asked to bat first they lost wickets regularly, first to Pritch, 2 for 37 opening the bowling with Northern Gravy keeping the other end tight on a pitch that actually had some bounce and life in it. Amazing what a bit of rain and Big Daddy magic can do.

Next up were Stan and Laurel whirling away. They had the cream of Cumnor bamboozled as they didn't know whether to stick or twist. Jules ended with 4 for 34 and ripped the heart out of the innings, Jordan finished with 2 for 16 and didn't get hit for one boundary. The best mid week bowling performances that either has produced for a long time, possibly ever. The ground fielding and catching was superb with special mentions to Big Doug, Griff and Baldrick. Bernard captained with a calmness that oozed confidence and made all the right calls.

They ended with 110 for 9 from 20 overs. Getable.

A short rain delay left us with a revised target of 98 to win from 19 overs. A good start was needed and we could win this.

Soon we were 9 for 3 with Viraj, Bris and Bernard back in the hutch. Oops. Cumnor were looking confident that this would all be over very soon and that their dismal batting display would soon be forgotten.

Guess again. Connor joined Matt at the crease. Neither looked troubled as they went about dismantling all 8 bowlers used by Cumnor. A mixture of powerful drives and cheeky singles from the pair wittled away at the target until we need around 4 an over. Connor finished on 34 and Matt on 53 from only 43 balls; both not out. We had done it with 2 full overs to spare.

What was most impressive was the calm focus displayed by the whole team. It is easy to say that Cumnor under estimated us and didn't play to their potential. We will never know. They had 7 first teamers playing, so i don't think they did under estimate us, and i think we didn't allow them to get in to the game. Let's take some credit here for a job well done.

I wonder who we will be playing in a fortnight? Hook Norton would be good. Some excellent pubs there.

---

Messsage From The Godfather

A hot, sultry day at The Field of Dreams yesterday rewarded those playing and watching with one of the most nail biting and exciting finishes in memory.

Tiddington are one of those sides that provide a measure of how good we are, everyone will roll over Cropredy this season, Tiddy are a sterner test.

Inviting the opposition to have a bat after winning my first toss of the season felt like a decent omen. What we needed was control at the start of the innings, something we have lacked so far this season.

What we got was even better than hoped for. Matt once again bowled a fiery opening spell with no luck at all. he should have picked up a couple of wickets but didn't. The Don was back from Afghanistan and looking and feeling fitter than ever before. He bowled his best opening spell for Didcot and picked up the wicket of Tiddy dangerman, Edmondson. He also deserved more reward than the wicket he pouched. Never the less what we had was a lack of wides, no balls and byes and that put us firmly in control.

The change of bowling brought early reward as The Caretaker suckered Maule into one big shot to many as he could stand the pressure no longer. A good catch from Angry Chris doing the rest.

Meanwhile The Judge was weaving his spell at the other end, he bowled 17 overs straight through and ended with 5 for 39. Smart catches from Pritch, The Don and two C+B together with a bowled. A cracking performance that kept the screw on Tiddy throughout. The Don returned and picked up 3 more wickets to end with 4 for 31 from 17 overs. A superb performance from both Don and Judge and Tiddy were all out for 165, crucially in the 52nd over, giving us 48 to chase the runs. Credit to everyone for a fine fielding performance, both catching and run saving. What was about to unfold proves yet again just how vital every single run is.

A fine tea was taken in the sun as the wise old sages agreed that Tiddy were 50 short of par.

Our innings started in slapstick fashion as we lost Jules from the first ball. Matt and Pritch put on 50, Pritch looking increasingly fluent whilst Matt never quite got into his groove. 54 for 1 was looking comfortable. 54 for 4 was not. We lost Matt, Pritch and Bernard in identical fashion as they attempted half hearted pull shots off Tiddy's midget medium pacer and spooned up looping catches to square leg. After the third I may have muttered something along the lines of 'for F***s sake.'

Now we were in trouble. Never mind though, because when you are in a jam, who you gonna call? They didn't answer, so we had Brockett and Angry to take us up to 92 and back in the hunt. Bris looked particularly good again and they both batted very sensibly.

We shot ourselves in the feet again as we lost 3 wickets in quick succession. reeling at 107 for 7 needing 5 an over - this would take some winning. Jordan had finally finished sulking and brought his 'A' game to the wicket. Three big sixes, including a whizzing flat six that left many gasping in awe and we were right in the hunt at 158 for 8 with 3 overs left. If Morrison tayed at the crease we would win. He got out trying to win it in style. A fine knock that was almost worthy of the SuBo award. This drought The Don to the crease where he joined Specials Head Allen. We needed 6 from the last two overs, no wickets in hand.

You have to admire The Don's sense of theatre, he played out a maiden.

So six balls, six runs. Dot. Dot. Two. Two. FOUR!!!! Cue wild celebrations from half the people there.

A great game to watch and be part of, as long as you win it. Credit to Tiddy's players, who competed right to the end in great spirit and were unlucky to lose. As I said earlier, sometimes every single run counts.

No room for any complacency at all now though. We very nearly lost a game we should have won comfortably and that is very, very frustrating.

We travel to top of the table Cublington with a few people playing for their places as those in form in lower sides make very strong cases for promotion.

* Todays song title is genius by the way*

The Coin Toss

A visit to Horspath yesterday. The weather had a menacing, dark foreboding feel about it, rain in the morning meant that covers were still on a pitch that looked like it had been heavily watered.

As the covers were wheeled away it was obvious that this was one toss you needed to win, especially as the forecast was for drying winds and sunshine later in the afternoon.

You can probably guess the rest. Having been asked to bat we were quickly reduced to 70 odd for 7 on a pitch that was near impossible to time anything on and that was offering prodigous seam movement and steepling bounce off a length. Only Matt offered any resistance and ended up being hit at least 7 times for his trouble.

This brought Tom to the crease. Tom may be new to some of you. Remember the name. Not Tom Robinson of 2-4-6-8 Motorway or Glad to Be Gay fame. (We need a nickname for our Tom).

Same name, different M.O. Whether our Tom is Glad To be Gay or not is currently unknown. What we do know is that when he is the zone he is a sight to behold. He swung wildly and effectively and in the process managed to really irritate the Horspath opening bowler. With some support from Phil The Caretaker they took us up to 136. Credit is due to a very good Horspath side for bowling very well in helpful conditions and also for backing there bowlers up with some quality fielding and catching.

Tea was a rather splendid affair, served inside where we could at last shelter from the drizzle and wind.

It was vital that the drizzle and wind continued if we were to stand a chance of defending 136.

We started brightly and Matt took two early wickets. The sun was out by now and the pitch quickly flattened out. Horspath's opening bat played very well to accumulate 72 not out as they easily scored the winning runs with the loss of three wickets.

So, a game that was heavily influenced by the toss. we will never know what may have happened had we won and fielded first so it isn't worth speculating. Instead we must focus on next weeks home game against Tiddington.