Lets Stay Together

Good morning people. In a break with time worn tradition I am blogging before noon. No glass of wine is by my side either. I might nip off and get cold lager through..........

That's better. I feel complete again. Blogging without a drink just didn't feel right.

Yesterdays match at Thame was remarkable because nothing really remarkable happened. There was no ton scored, no one took a hat trick or bowled a triple wicket maiden, no blinding catches were plucked from the air. Tigger didn't lose his temper and row with anyone, well not on the field anyway.

Decent buch of lads at Thame, I particularly like their skipper, Ian.  He is my new rabbit.

Having lost my 10th toss on the trot it was a surprise to be asked to bowl. A bright start with two early wickets had us well on top and I am sure I wasn't the only one thinking we may have an early finish. It didn't turn out that way as Thame battled hard to finish on 144. It was a hot humid day that sapped energy. Wickets were shared around.

A helicopter landed almost on top of the scorers at one point. The pilot was proud to inform anyone within earshot that it was "The Ferrari of the helicopter world". This proved two things; he also has a Ferrari and he is an absolute cock.

The chase was also routine, an opening partnership of 79 between Pritch and Bris broke their spirit and the innings was finished off well by Bernard and Boggy who added the last 60 or so in quick time, bernard hitting 3 huge sixes in the process to remind us all that he can bat after all.

So, once again we celebrated a promotion at Thame and left champagne corks in their flea pit of a changing room. Perhaps Didcot should be twinned with Thame.

A great end to a cracking season as we sat in the early evening sunshine drinking fizz for the team photo was topped off by each of us offering our choices for best moment and best game of the season.

Time to go and get another lager now and start planning for next season and beyond.............

99 problems

Hello good evening and welcome for what is my penultimate post match blog of 2012.

What a splendid day yesterday was. Tiddington are a side that we have had many close fought encounters over the years, a decent side that have always been difficult to beat. They have rolled us over on occasion but often we have felt we have under performed rather then been outplayed.

Incidentally did you know that the entire team lives in an attic bedroom in the same house?

Until this season they have been lead by a person who is, shall we say difficult to warm to. A combination of small stature, big ego and limited talent. It is not often I take a dislike to someone. I am generally fairly live and let live and prepared to accept people warts and all. It is important to be this way as Captain as otherwise you can lose objectivity and focus. Not with this person though. I have to confess I have had dark thoughts about him in the past. Empty vessels make the most noise. He is one noisy mofo.

Anyway back to the Mauling of Tiddington, for that't what it was.

Having dutifully lost the toss (4 wins, 9 lost for those that are counting) we were delighted to be asked to have a bowl.

Tiddington battled to 41 for 2, wickets coming from a brilliant Tigger run out and Gravy getting one to nip back through the gate.

Danger man Edmondson was still there with is trademark mix of solid defence and brutal driving. Keats' was in the firing line and made some excellent hand stinging stops to keep the pressure up. The pressure told as Matt got one to jag back and clean bowl him. 41 for 3.........

.............. soon became 44 for 3. What happened next was epic. There aren't many things that the King of Rotherham hasn't achieved in his time at Didcot. A hat-trick was one of them.

An edge through to Bris brought the aforementioned empty vessel to the crease. His first ball thudded into off stump. he was surprisingly quiet as he trudged off. 2 minutes later has was joined by their number 7 as Matt got another one to hit the top of off. Cue wild celebrations. Of all the time I have spent on the field with Didcot that ranks as one of the very best. Two triple wicket maidens in consecutive weeks. Stunning.

It became 44 for 7 in the very next over as Tigger joined in the fun. Lofty leapt like a hog that had stumbled in to an electric fence salmon at gully and grabbed a stunner. It was at this point that Tiddington knew they were beaten.

The tail was polished off by Tigger and Gravy with Matt finishing with 7 for 37.

We needed 71 to win and it was only ten past three.

We knocked them off before tea without any drama at all.

A consequence of Mauling Tiddington was securing the points we needed to secure promotion. As I showered later in the afternoon I wasn't sure what felt more satisfying, thrashing Tiddington or securing promotion. I'm still not sure. One thing for sure is that of all the 99 players we have seen this season there is one we are looking forward to not seeing next year more than any other.

I am so looking forward to thrashing Thame next week, another side that we hopefully won;t be playing again for a very long time.

Thank you to everyone who has played and helped us achieve our goal for this season. The real journey starts in in Division 4 in 2013

Street Fighting Man

It is two weeks since my last post and I am delighted to say that we are 50 points better off. We travelled to Horspath 9 days ago knowing that 25 points should be ours against a side battling relegation and short of confidence.

We were greeted by a hot and sticky sort of day. The changing room at Horspath is airless and windowless and reminded me of somewhere that John McCarthy might have spent years chained to a radiator. Eleven sweaty men and kit bags only added to the steamy atmosphere, it reminded me of  It Ain't Half Hot Mum.

Having dutifully lost the toss again we were surprised to be asked to field. The pitch was without doubt the most lifeless we have seen in a long time. Northern Gravy and Tigger did their best, I think they were both pleased to have a spell and be replaced by the spin twins.

Jordan picked up the first wicket as the pressure started to tell. Lofty then took over the show as he single handedly took out their top order. He ended with 5 for 34 from 21 overs, 4 of them caught and bowled. Tigger came back for a spell and finished off the tail to end with 4 for 10.

Their were no dramas as we knocked off the 118 runs we needed, Jones and Brisland dealt with the unpredictable bounce and shabby change bowlers.

We were finished in time to watch the end of the Division 1 clash on Horspath's main pitch, and very pleasant it was too. Watching a decent standard of cricket with a pint in one hand on a balmy summers evening having already collected 25 points is close to perfection for me.

On Saturday we arrived at Kimble again knowing that unless the weather intervened we should take 25 points from a side that have struggled terribly in the second half of the season.

The forecast meant that anything was possible as some matches were certain to be affected by the thunder and lightning that thankfully rumbled past us for most of the afternoon.

How do you think I got on at the toss? Of course I lost. We would bat first then.

We got off to a comfortable start reaching 47 before Pritch charged down the wicket and missed a straight loopy pie. The shot was so pre-meditated that he had sent a postcard to the bowler 3 days before.

Tubes continued his rich vein of form on his way to another 50 as we passed the hundred only two down. The middle order mis-fired yet again and all of a sudden we were 133 for 6 in the 42nd over. This was not in the script. We clawed our way up to 178 with the help of some pretty average fielding before I caught everybody off guard with a sporting declaration after 49 overs.

I suspect Kimble felt they could win the game, at 42 for 1 they were possibly starting to think that their wretched run might be about to come to an end. 20 minutes later at 49 for 8 it was clear that it wasn't.

Proving that there is still life in the old dog Northern Gravy just blew them away, his haul of 6 for 17 included a triple wicket maiden. That must have had them scampering around back in the pavilion, frantically searching for thigh pads and boxes!

Meanwhile at the other end Tigger was waging his own private war with his inner demons (and Kimble's number 3). My responsibilities as Captain prevent me from repeating some of the exchanges, and of course I cannot condone such behaviour. What the hell, it was highly entertaining and certainly put the wind up Kimble and the wind into our sails.

Defending a comparatively low total combined with the ever present threat of a day stopping storm and Tiggers inner Demons created an intensity to our performance that I don't think many teams could have lived with. We were hunting as a pack. The fielding was awesome, special mentions to Keats' ground fielding and to two stunning catches from Tigger and especially Jordan who took one of the best slip catches I have ever seen.

We won by 105 runs. Quite simply one of the best matches in my time at Didcot. To cap it all off the rain started not long after we left the field and TLFOTW lost at home.

We must play with the same desire and intensity next week at the Field of Dreams. If we do we are promoted.

Let's dance

Where were you in 1983? What were you doing? And what were you wearing? I wonder.

Some of you out there weren't even a twinkle in someones eyes, some of you were wearing loud shorts and smoking cigars, others were someone's fag and one or two were sparking their clogs against the kerb stones up T'North, dreaming of colour TV and vitamins.

I was poncing about Wiltshire in baggy grey trousers, a zip up burgundy and grey shirt and grey slip on shoes. I even had a ridiculous gelled up sort of quiff come wedge haircut. I looked a complete tit.

They say all fashion comes around again. This particular era seems to have been missed in the retro scene, although judging by some of the young folk around Didcot it may be about to re-surface.

You see, the hipsters all wanted to be David Bowie, this was perhaps his least cool period in a career that spans 40 years; it's all relative though as he was still sub zero. Incidentally if you don't own any Bowie, shame on you.

Somewhere in the Cherwell area a young father stared lovingly at his young son whilst he hummed to himself - 'Under the moonlight, this serious moonlight'. He may have muttered something else, but history doesn't record the full details.

Never mind, for his son grew up with a passion for music and cricket and a fetish for brightly coloured shoes.

The sun was high above the yard arm yesterday as the ram shackle collection of Banbarians wandered across the outfield at the Field of Dreams.

We waited eagerly like a pride of lions that has just seen it's next easy meal wander across the savannah. Win the (Bloody) toss and ask them to bat and 25 points would surely be ours. I lost the (bloody) toss and of course Barry  - has someone ever looked, walked and acted more like a 'Barry'? asked us to bat. Not sure why, neither was his team. It seemed like a recipe for spoiling everyones afternoon and almost guaranteeing collecting virtually zero points and falling back into the relegation mix. Barry did just that, thanks Barry.

We racked up 261 in only 48 overs of unremarkable bowling, everyone went for lots, no one was good and no one was awful. It takes real desire, focus, concentration and technical ability to really cash in against such an attack. It is easy to relax and throw your wicket away and then spend the rest of the afternoon regretting it.

As Tubes laced up his red shoes it was obvious he wanted to cash in on his rich vein of form that had seen him score over 150 runs in the last couple of weeks.

What we saw over the next 150 minutes was one of, if not the, finest innings at Didcot. Always in control and with hardly a false shot he put away virtually every bad ball, kept out the good ones and in doing so scored his maiden Didcot century on his way to equalling the second highest Cherwell League Didcot score. 144 not out. He was supported along the way Northern Gravy with a boundary riddled 50 and then some hitting at the end from Bris and Bernard.

As if this performance wasn't enough for one day it was followed up with the tea of the season so far, who knew cup cakes be so good.

The Banbarians came out to bat with no ambition other than to frustrate and accumulate as few points as possible. Jose has produced a fine track this year and it rewards positive cricket. Sadly Banbury don't know what positive cricket is. All the bowlers gave it their all, The caretaker was rewarded with  his second five for of the season, well deserved for another fine spell. Tigger swept up the tail and finished with 4. To all of our disappointment we couldn't take the last wicket. We ended with 20 points, Banbury 3.

So the second Field of Dreams ton this season, and what a cracker it was. Let's hope it isn't the last of the season. We need an improved performance next week at Horspath, crucially we must take the chances when they come.

Gold

Good afternoon sports fans. Yesterday was quite a day wasn't it? Six gold medals in one day, a supreme ton by Pietersen and Didcot finally gave Challow the thumping they deserved!

There has been a lot written about legacy from London 2012, at the moment the only legacy in the Gates household is 2 Olympic level hangovers as a consequence of a lot of wine and an ever greater amount of rum drunk whilst watching and celebrating until the wee small hours. Will we ever learn? I dearly hope not.

Anyway, yesterday belongs to Didcot. People will talk about where they were on Saturday 4th August 2012 in years to come. They will become misty eyed and nostalgic.

Not in Challow they won't, they will talk about the day they won the toss on an absolute belter of a track and decided to bat first and then limped to 97 all out in 49 overs. Perhaps they were hoping for a rain affected match, or a miracle. They got neither.

The first 15 overs was high quality stuff, Tigger and Northern Gravy steaming in against two quality bats determined to tough it out. It was an even contest, the odd chance went begging and some edges flew into gaps and some good shots were played as well.

41 dor 0 soon became 51 for 4 as first Tigger caught the edge for a straight forward catch behind and then The Caretaker ripped out the next three. Jordan bowled beautifully and was joined by Jules who promptly took the next 4 wickets to leave them 67 for 8.

For the first time this season we saw the old magic return with the spin twins both bowling well in tandem. They were back to their best. The overs flew by and the runs dried up. I haven't enjoyed myself so much in the field for a long time. I love the phase of the game when two slow bowlers are on top. Between them they bowled 25 overs, 13 maidens and took 7 for 27. Top quality boys.

The quicks came back to mop the tail up. Tigger turned from a cuddly cartoon tiger into a snarling beast of a man. He doesn't take kindly to lower order batsmen at the best of times, when they hit him for boundaries it really makes him mad. a short rain delay allowed his blood pressure to return to somewhere close to normal and his colour from purple to red. He took the two final wickets and Challow were all out without scoring a point. Marvellous. Nothing puts you in the mood for a tea like a sub 100 total.

The runs were knocked off without drama for the loss of just 2 wickets. 70 of them were scored by Tubes in another fine knock. He didn't give one chance and was supremely focused. The way he dispatched the short ball was especially pleasing, the fact that he was wearing red shoes can only have added to the humiliation. It only took 26 overs, and would have taken even less had we not had to endure Northern Gravy paying homage to Sir Geoffrey with an epic 14 off about 50 balls. He said that he had enjoyed it. Thats Yorkshire men for you. an odd breed.

Tubes took the Man of the Match, as the only batsman to pass 30 in the match it was well deserved. The battle of the Didcot openers is hotting up now. Lets hope they both get runs next week.

We are back at the Field Of Dreams next week as awe welcome Banbury 4. I cannot wait.

The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers

I am now officially annoyed with the Jet Stream. Ok, it may have brought an end to the hose pipe ban and the worry we had back in March that matches would be cancelled because the square was too dry to play safely on!! Other than that though, what has the Jet Stream ever done for us? Nothing, that's what.

Each of the last 3 weekends has arrived with the threat of torrential rain looming out West. Each has passed with a sigh of relief that we have managed to play a game of cricket.

Yesterdays game against Horspath 3 was accompanied by gale force winds as well. Nice one Jet Stream. That we managed to play at all is down to the work put in by our grounds team and the willingness of two teams and umpires to get a game on. The outfield was just about fit, and the pitch was a tantalising mixture of dry and dusty with some very wet patches. Good toss to win then.

The toss duly won we battled out to the middle to have a bowl. Sladey took his squeaky cough with him up to the Matt Jones end and bounced in with the wind in his sails. Something of his approach to the wicket reminded me of Tigger.

Meanwhile Northern Gravy puffed up the hill and into the wind, his approach to the wicket reminded me of Eeyore. His return of 2 for 21 from 12 overs included some of the finest LBW appealing seen in many years. After the umpteenth unsuccessful pleading yowl I expected the umpire to start crying. The fact that he still looked hostile at the end of his spell is testament to the hard years working down t'pit in t'Rotherham as a young lad before heading south to seek his fortune.

Meanwhile Tigger was skipping in without a care in the world, the 30mph tail wind almost compensating for coming off the short run. The normal run up had to be abandoned as it started in almost knee deep water.

Horspath were seeing demons in the pitch. demons that could be largely defeated by getting forward and playing straight. Almost comically at times a succession of batsman felt that staying rooted to the crease and playing across the line was the way forward.

49 for 8 suggested that this strategy was at best risky and perhaps needed tweaking. Tigger made them pay with another fine spell of fast bowling and had figures of 6 for 22 at the drinks break. This included 3 double wicket maidens. incidentally 7 of the 10 wickets that fell yesterday were bowled or LBW, not one ball shot at all. Yes it was a little low, but poor technique was the culprit, not the pitch.

Jules replaced Gravy and started with a ball that bounced 3 times. He blamed the wind, we knew that it was part of the well proven Hitchman plan to lull the batsman into complacency. It worked of course as he got his customary wicket with utter filth that ended up with a fine diving catch from Boggy.

Tigger finished up with 7 for 37, not surprisingly he was later spotted taking an active interest in the honours board.

Tea was taken inside to get some respite from the weather with Diddy on 20 odd for 3. We were perhaps a little nervous, especially as the seconds had successfully defended 77 a few weeks ago on a similar pitch.

We need not have worried as Peter Pan Pritchard carried his bat for an innings that was both battling and fluent and always determined. He was ably supported by Boggy who hit a crucial 15 runs in quick time to give us momentum just when we needed it.

25 points in the bag. Hopefully better weather next week we see us welcome Kimble to The Bog of Dreams.

In Pairs

Good evening one and all and welcome back for another season. Admittedly a little later than planned thanks to the moistness we have all experienced. Anyway, off we go again.

As has become customary I sit here on a Sunday evening, limbs heavy and with a light heart. The heavy limbs unusually cannot be blamed on running around yesterday, i blame the rose I had for lunch and the shiraz i am supping now for that. The light heart comes from a rather splendid weekend spent with family and friends with seared meat and brown booze. Oh, and a comprehensive victory against that lot from over the river.

At last, Saturday dawned without a cloud in the sky. I wondered whether Boris Yeltsin is still alive as i surfaced from my slumber. (I have just checked. He isn't.)

I should state that I hold Yeltsin to account for the demise of Didcot B Power Station. If he were still alive he would be personally responsible for the axe hanging over the Field of Dreams. Communists and hippies are a threat to cricket everywhere.

The Field of Dreams looked fantastic yesterday, green and lush with a sheen of expectation hanging in the air. The warm up was top quality and set the tone for what was to follow. As 'That Lot From Over The River' walked through the gate I felt proud. We have one hell of a team, and we looked like it.

I willed the coin to fall in our favour against a team with a reputation for wanting to avoid defeat. It did. We will bowl. Hurrah.

It was quite warm yesterday. I honestly don't think one person mentioned it, such was our focus.

A couple of fine opening spells from The Prodigal Son and Northern Gravy kept things tight with the run rate hovering around two an over from the first 15 or so. Plenty of threat and plenty of good batting and a little luck meant that only one wicket fell. Didcot on top at the first drinks break.  A wicket or two more would have been nice though.

TLFOTR opener batted nicely for a well composed fifty and was well supported lower down the order to put TLFOTR in a potentially commanding position with 9 overs left. It looked as if we would be chasing 250 plus. I think it was Pritch who suggested we should try to get the last few wickets for as few runs as possible. Good advice.

196 for 5 in the 44th turned into 217 for 9 after 53. Momentum had swung. We knew it, even if TLFOTR didn't. The Prodigal Son marked his return to the Field of Dreams  with 4 for 57. Don't tell him, but he probably deserved a pfieffer. Dave was well supported by the rest of the bowling unit and our fielding remained at a high level despite the heat and its effects on concentration levels. A thoroughly professional performance.

Tea was taken on the patio, the melons were a highlight and wonderfully refreshing.

I felt we would chase 217 and win, I didn't think we would make it look quite so comfortable though.

Prtich and Tubes were in the zone before the innings had started. They started at quite a lick and had the 50 up inside 9 overs. They made it look far easier than it actually was. The 100 partnership followed and then the 150. Three highlights for me; firstly the running between the wickets was excellent (as long as we discount the the running once that had got past 180, which was frankly appalling); secondly Tubes signature shot - the shimmy followed by the punched on drive for 4; finally Pritch's off drive - disdainfully dispatching the ball. They stayed together until 198 when exhaustion got the better of Vet Pritch. Matt joined Tubes for long enough to stop him getting a ton in his maiden innings and we won by  9 wickets with plenty of time to spare.

Winning felt good. Especially as we had to work very hard for it.

375 more points to play for, our quest has begun.