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.

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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.

Big Yellow Taxi

I sit down this evening in a far more bucolic mood than last week. The countryside was glorious today, a stroll on the Downs as the wind blustered about and the rain showers scudded past would have been relaxing enough, however basking in the afterglow of yesterday's win has left me with a warm feeling of contentment this evening.

My first visit to Cropredy did not disappoint in any way. A lovely ground moored between the River Cherwell and rolling buttercup strewn fields is what cricket is all about, the sun shone and everything was right. If I could just win a toss for once. I lost the toss. Again.

Invited to bat by Cropredy we set off at a fair lick as the opening bowlers struggled to find line or length. We pushed past 50 at 6 an over before Pritch got a straight one that kept low. Les had a very easy decision to make.

The Judge continued on past 50 for the second time this season before falling to the sucker punch. The umpire struck back. Clearly sensing that, at 118 for 1 we were in danger of batting the home side out of the game. Jules allowed an innocuous loosener to hit his pad. It did not matter that he was playing a shot, was hit outside the line and got a good stride in. He was out on the 'H' of 'How's'...... That is how quickly the finger went up. He took it well!!!!!!!!!!!

Cropredy's 14 year old leggie was bowling beautifully and risks could not afford to be taken by either Bernard or T'Gravy. They pushed the score on and Matt passed 50 and looked in good nick with a steely determination. Bernard departed with the score on 150 odd. He found the only fielder in the deep. He refused to believe his own eyes and stood staring in disbelief as he wished he had hit it either: Straighter, Squarer or harder.

Brockett joined Matt and they accelerated perfectly to 250 odd before Bris was out for 40 odd. Matt then kicked on and went past the ton in style. A superb innings that showed Matt was back to close to his best. The punch of the air released a lot of emotions in all of us. So, declaration made at 275 for 4. Over to Cropredy to see what they could do with their 50 overs.

A special mention has to be made at this point to the fielder who redefined what 'A shocker' is. He would have done no worse had he been dressed in leg irons and boxing gloves. I suspect he will never play cricket again and is now barred from Cropredy. How we smirked.

Cropredy were never in it. An early wicket brought excitement. Hussain batted like he had a flight to catch. As he ran himself out after he had scored his 50 it transpired that he actually had a cab to drive and was not going to miss out on the start of his shift. I kid you not.

He departed, and with him went hope. Sat in the back seat.

Jordan and Jules bowled 26 overs between them, taking 6 wickets for 45 runs. It ripped the heart out of their innings. Ably supported by Matt and a fine a Bernard run out we had them 9 down with 150 needed to win. Could we take the last, vital wicket? The overs ticked by.

Robbie came back on and did his best to hit the outside edge or the stumps. In the end it took an impulsive, wild yahoo! of a shot from the aforementioned shackled boxer. Angry Chris pouched the skier. Cue celebrations..............Hip, Hip Hoo bloomin Ray.

What did we learn?

The top six fired. The opening bowling has room for improvement. And Cropredy will be relegated. I can't wait for next week.

High, wide and handsome

Good evening brothers (and sisters).

A belated blog this week; it seems that juggling cricket, work and children is not perhaps as easy as I once hoped it might be. The squeeze had a birthday as well, so blame her for the late blogging.

Sadly, there were very few highlights from Saturday's tame performance against the market square heroes from Thame.

Following the toss McStay inserted his own team on what looked like a typical Didcot track. Somehow they racked up 206 from their 53 overs. I am going to gloss over much of our bowling performance, reliving it is too painful. The Judge and The Caretaker found good rhythm and control after an opening burst from the lad Jones had whipped out the first couple of wickets, including a great catch at slip from The Caretaker, who can look forward to many more afternoons bent over between Brockett and The Judge waiting to grab the ball.

Control was elusive for the first 20 overs as a plethora of wides, no balls and byes racked up. 35 of the first 60 runs were extras, enough said. I am sure that some time at the nets will sort out problems with run ups and line. I certainly hope so.

Anyway the spin twins whirled away and wrestled control back, 28 overs, 3 for 91 between them.

Spare a thought for Brockett who had more bruised fingers than Stevie Wonder after a nail the tail on the donkey game at Roy Orbisons 70th birthday party. The pitch was by now starting to misbehave a little, some staying low and some spitting nastily. Thame's Richard Carr wore one on the thumb. He is a native of Malta, and it takes very little to make him cross. Splitting his thumb open actually seemed to calm him down.

Anyway, tea was taken - thank you to Mr and Mrs Bernard. A super spread.

Our innings never really got going, wickets fell regularly until Brocket and Angry Chris put a partnership together to take us to 127 for 5. Both looked comfortable and well in control until the lethal combination of a trigger happy umpire and the demon pitch saw for them both. Good innings from both.

We fell short by 25 runs. Everyone in the top 9 will be thinking that had they gone on with their innings we would have won. That's all it would have taken.

So, lessons learned and plenty of mistakes not to be repeated.

We must, and will, do better against Cropredy.