I wonder what contorted thoughts were whirling around George's mind as he wrote these lines back before most of you were born. George was an icon to an impressionable teenager; the big hair, sports wear and matey heterosexuality were an intoxicating mixture for someone brought up in Devizes.
I couldn't have guessed what the deeper meaning of 'I'm Your Man' was at the time. Where did it all go wrong George? You could have had your pick of either Pepsi or Shirlie and instead went down an altogether different path.
Summer arrived yesterday and hopefully it is here to stay, most things are better with the sun on your back, cricket is most definitely one of them.
The men of Tiddington were welcomed to the Field of Dreams in what promised to be our first real test of the season. Tiddy are a decent side but ending up being out played and outfought by Diddy.
Putting them in to bat on a hot, sticky afternoon can make you unpopular as a Captain, nobody enjoys running around when they could be sat in the cool of the changing room. The bowlers responded without complaint and we had them at 64 for 5 with two wickets for Stimpo and The Judge with one for Crabby. The next 16 overs yielded a mere 37 runs with no wickets. It was a little dull to be honest; Tiddy just shut up shop and seemed to be batting for an imaginary draw before they realised that they were batting first and finally woke up. The next 10 overs was a calypso carnival of wild, reckless shots played with a gay abandon. 23 runs were scored.
We did take 4 wickets though, The Caretaker serving up an irresistible mixture of cleverly flighted stuff with late dip and drift thrown into the mix. He threw down the odd pie as well to keep them honest. They didn't have the stomach for the pies and managed to hit them tamely straight to us. I was tempted to call one of them back after he hit his first ball (a slow long hop) limply to square leg. It didn't seem fair that someone get out that way. I didn't of course.
A flurry at the end would set us a target of 157 to win before Stimpo finished off the tail.
After a superb tea taken picnic style of the grass we were ready to set about the chase. Tiddy's opening bowler had a rear end that would have made Fred Trueman proud and George Michael's heart race. He blustered in, huffed and puffed and generated good pace and accuracy with movement as well. Pritch was the only one to stay with Vish for any sort of a partnership, hitting a couple of lusty maximums on the way to a quick fire 23. We found ourselves at 58 for 5 and in a spot of bother. I can truly say that I wasn't worried though, I never doubted we would come through.
Vishane hadn't looked troubled at all, his will to keep on going, never altering his processes and always having the toughness of mind to wear his opponents down. He was like a gladiator, repelling everything thrown at him, he couldn't be tempted to throw it away. He was an inspiration to the rest of us.
He was joined by Broughtie who did what he does best, he nurdled, cajoled and coaxed the ball. Is he the Collingwood of Didcot? It was certainly a nuggety performance.
We beat them by 5 wickets. Didcot's Young Guns had done the business for us. Step up Jack Stimpson - 3 for 29; Jordan Morrison - 4 for 27 and most impressively Vishane Perera with 76 not out.
Please spare a thought for Lord Brockett who has been next man in in all three games so far and has cumulatively spent 65 overs padded up. Your time will come next week - I promise!
No report from the 2nds and 4ths yet, I can report that Viraj's Army is still top after taking 16 points from a game they dominated. Birkinshaws Brigade are improving week on week and are mid table despite losing a close game yesterday
Witney Mills 2nds scored the winning runs with 2 balls to go to beat the 3rds. Batting first, Didcot scored 194 for 8 in their 45 overs. Haydn found his 2009 form and top scored with 41, although lucky to be dropped in the slips when still on 0. Sam C proved once again that he is a genuine all rounder with a classy 33 and Jose and Santosh both scored 28. Jose decided to score most of his runs through extra cover, they finally caught him after the sixth lofted drive and Santosh was so upset at being caught off their dibbly dobbly 60 year old bowler, his bat was flung to the floor in disgust before the ball had even been caught.
In reply Witney got off to a flyer with the 50 coming up in the 9th over. Robbie bowled with great pace and hostility but the faster it came at them, the faster it was going to the boundary. Les bowled excellently in his 3rd team debut before an injury forced him out of the attack after 3 overs. DP helped slow down the run rate and then the introduction of Mike brought immediate rewards with the opener caught behind with his third ball. This brought out their star batsman, Richard Tilly who took a fancy to the bowling and continued to keep the score board ticking over. Sam Couldrick picked up the other opener in his first over, stumped by Elvis, and with Witney 116 for 2 we were into the tail! Robbie came back into the attack and clean bowled the next two to finish with 2-58 and Mick picked up another, 2-44. The star of the bowlers was Sam who collected another three wickets including Tilly when he was on 89. Sam finished with figures of 4 for 33 from 12 overs, an outstanding display. However Didcot could not pick up the final 2 wickets and lost in the final over.
Witney's top three batsman scored, 17, 53 and 89. The highest score from the next seven was 6 and had we only been able to hold onto some of the chances that they gave early on, it could have been a completely different result. The ground fielding was much better than last week and the batting and bowling was much improved as well. Catches win matches the saying goes....yesterday we confirmed it is correct!!
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