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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