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.

Musclebound

We're building fires that will burn until morningThe smell of books and hot stone surrounds usTough is the leather that's strapped to my skinStrong are the bonds that we make
We feel the steam as it rises around usUp from the soil that is cracking its backTough is the leather that's strapped to my skinStrong are the bonds that we sing
Work till you're musclebound, all night longWork till you're musclebound, all night longGotta work till you're musclebound, all night longGotta work till you're musclebound, all night long
Good evening and welcome to 2012 blog fans. The season starts in 7 days time with our first winter training session. A good time to set out some expectations and details.
For the second year running we are based at Radley College every Sunday morning from 0900 to 1100. We have three net lanes booked.
So what can you expect? An organised, focused session lead by Head Coach Les Addison with Dave Slades (Jnr and Snr) and Ian Demain. Bowlers and batters will be eased in to the winter programme with the objective of building towards a peak in early May so we all hit the ground running and get the season off to a flying start.
For the first time in a while we will have enough coaches in attendance to help individuals iron out any technical flaws and learn new techniques in a supportive environment with enough time to really practice and embed them in to your game. In short we will all be able to get a bit fitter and become better cricketers.
So, what does the club expect? This is the really simple bit. 80% of life is turning up, the other 20% is being motivated, asking questions and listening. So that is what the club expects.
If you think training is something that you can pitch up to occasionally, muck about and then slog in the nets, you are wrong.
If you think that training is about effort, trying your best and being part of a team that develops together you are bang on.
I and the other three Captains look forward to seeing you all next Sunday

It May Be Winter Outside (But In My Heart It's Spring)

A very happy Monday to you all for what may be the last blog for a little while. I must start with an apology. Blogging requires a spark to fire the creative juices; that spark has been missing for a few weeks now. A succession of performances that spanned the full range between limp and piss poor against Cublington, Brackley and Shallow left me feeling listless and a bit meh. I would rather produce nothing than give you something half baked.

Not that those three games didn't contain some fine individual performances, far from it. We witnessed the rebirth of Bernard as a batsman with a purpose, a breathtaking 78 against Shallow nearly won us the game, another michelle for Jules and a first Didcot michelle for Tim were all fine performances and on another day would have set up victories.

This run of games dragged us back towards a rather uncomfortable place in the division. We travelled to Banbury III on Saturday needing to get some serious points to avoid dropping below Thame. The mere thought of that sends a shiver right through me.

So, simple then. Win the toss, have a bat, make 200 plus and then bowl Banbury out. I lost the toss and then we lost the plot. Banbury were 98 for 0 after about 19 overs and the ball was pinging around the park. 250 looked highly likely. Arse.

To again prove that one wicket can change everything they lost their next 6 wickets for 40 runs and we were right back in it. They limped to 198 all out in the final over. Great spells from The Caretaker and The Judge felt just like '09. They ended with 4 each with a couple of run outs. Another fine performance from Jules and easily Jordan's best of the season.

After a spot of tiffin we set about the task of chasing down. The ennui that has blighted us over the last 3 weeks struck again as only Pritch got runs in the top 5. We were deep in trouble needing 120 to win at more than 5 an over.

Cometh the hour, cometh Bernard. A quick fire 30 odd put us back on track and Banbury on the back foot. Jordan was next up, a complicated set of instructions were communicated. See ball, hit ball. As hard as you can. Best not to give him to much to think about we felt.

It worked as he continued where Bernard had left off. His first 4 scoring shots were 1,2,3,4,6. He biffed a few more lusty blows out of the ground and we now only needed 4 an over with 9 overs left. Sadly we had our last pair at the crease so no room for error.

Luckily this last pair had a combined age of nearly 80. It is a long time since I have batted with a long off, long on, deep midwicket and deep backward square leg. Clearly they hadn't seen me or Jules bat before as the chance of either of us getting caught on the boundary were slim.

Hilariously I was dropped at deep backward square with 15 balls left. It proved a costly drop as we knocked off the runs with exactly no balls left.

Is there a better way to end the season that hitting the final ball for two to win by 1 wicket?

So we head off into the deep depression of winter with a victory and comfortably above Thame again.

Shower Your Love

Good evening residents of South Oxfordshire.

I have to confess that I am less coherent than is usual for this time on a Sunday, forgive me Lord.

In an extraordinary reaction to events in Tiddington yesterday some toys were thrown out of prams in Tottenham last night. This is the influence that the Squeeze has in this part of North London. A couple of phone calls on her way back yesterday and a carpet shop and a couple of Police Astra's are toast. Do not mess with the squeeze.

Those of us old enough to remember the last period of London riots are getting excited right now. Recession, lack of opportunity, division, lack of social mobility, despair; tend to herald an upsurge in artistic endeavour, in particular, protest music.

This has to be good news. Nothing good ever came from prosperity, hardship breeds creativity.

Who here has seen a Whale? I mean really seen a Whale? I saw one once, smaller than I had hoped. Like much in life, disappointing.

Much like Canada.

We were all out for 93, can't blame anyone really, they bowled well, we got out. Funny sort of day really. Hey ho. That is sport I guess. One week you are absolutely cock a hoop, the next just cock, no hoop. At all.

The highlight was the shower. Intense touch and someone pissing on Matt's foot without him realising. So, season over. All we can do is beat everyone is front of us, especially Shallow.

A question for you. The opposition are 19 for 5 from a handful of overs. You are captain. Is it advisable to remove both slips and adopt a defensive run saving field? (for clarification Viv Richards is not at the crease). Answers on a postcard to the usual address.

Anyway back to 1981. The Specials; number 1 with Ghost Town. A biting indictment on recession torn Britain, Coventry in particular. This town, coming like a ghost town, all the shops are being closed down. It was overtaken by Green Door by Shakin Stevens. Proof that social comment will always be outsold by snake hips. By the way, Shaky is hung like a horse.

Modern Romance also had a hit in 1981 with 'Ay ay ay ay moosey' I urge you to check it out. The lead singer now works in a key cutting booth on Oxford Street with Zammo from Grange Hill. This is true. Or at least part of it is. While you are at it check out Adam and The Ants, especially Dog Eat Dog and Young Parisians. I am off for much more wine.

Toutes Alors........................

Crosstown Traffic

Have you ever had a shower with a dead rock icon?

Think really hard, as it is the sort of experience that can slip the mind in a jiffy.

I had a shower with Jimi Hendrix yesterday. I expect that half of you reading this have never heard of him. He was the Amy Winehouse of his day; that is, he was dead at 27 after a turbulent relationship with a number of controlled substances. The mists of time have clouded things a little and I like to think he had more class than poor Amy, in reality he probably didn't. Choking to death is NOT CLASSY. Ever.

He could riff like no one else (again, under 20's - look up riff on wiki if you don't know what it means.)

Anyway, I had a shower with him yesterday. And it was lovely. A near perfect shower actually. One more wicket would have made it perfect.

We hosted the league leaders, Horspath II yesterday. Unbeaten in two years, a formidable proposition, perhaps.

Having dutifully lost the toss and therefore saving me the, for once difficult decision of what to do, we were invited to have first dig.

Jules and Pritch put on 60 for the first wicket and never looked in too much trouble against a bowling attack that to a number of neutral observers was the best seen in many years. Against such tight line and length runs were scarce and at drinks we had just 62 on the board. Crucially, with the loss of only Jules for a well made 34.

Pritch is not known for enjoying scratching around, he much prefers to crack on. The discussion at drinks was short; carry on as you are, keep wickets in hand, runs will come later.

He did just that and was third out in the 48th over with the score on 164. A fine innings of 77, chiseled out of rock. Of course there were a number of dot balls, on the whole it was a model of restraint, patience and concentration. It was also exactly what we needed. The foundation of the innings and therefore the perfect platform to launch our middle order. This brought Henry 'Shock' Brisland and Connor 'Awe' Morrison to the crease.

What happened next was the cricketing equivalent of a bunker buster. Delivered from a great height, with precision, and engineered to leave no trace.

The last 5 overs added 74 runs and left Horspath reeling around wondering what the f**k had hit them. Bris had hit them. Once, very hard, in the face.

Pritch had worked so hard for 48 overs for 77, Bris took about 30 balls to hit his 67 not out, five 6's were dispatched, balls were lost, bowling figures were decimated. Fun was had, basically. 240 for 3 is a good score any week, against Horspath was that little bit sweeter.

We all enjoyed a fine spread at tea. The vanilla slices were a personal favourite. Bris ate more than is healthy, he had earned it though.

Would Horspath try to chase? We hoped so., as we have too many Shallow attempts in the past couple of years when teams don't bother.

Tight opening spells from T'Gravy and The Archbishop built pressure. A wicket apiece. Horspath, 50 for 2 in the 19th over. In the balance.

Jules entered the fray and destroyed the middle order to leave Horspath 125 for 7 from 38 overs. Only one team in it, Horspath haven't lost for two years though so would fight to the final ball. T'Gravy came back for a surgeon defying second spell, he removed our achilles heel - T'path skipper, Manger. 127 for 8, 8 overs left.

Surely another last ditch victory would be ours. Those of you paying attention will have worked out that we didn't get it. We had them nine down, but couldn't quite finish them off.

So, Horspath escaped with a draw and 4 points. We had beaten them though. And everyone knew it.

We dominated 100 overs and showed what talent, determination and fight we can bring when everything clicks in to place. It was so nearly the perfect performance and showed the value of two entirely different but equally valuable innings in setting a score and then backing that up with guile, variation and concentration in the field. My only regret? You'll have to ask me that face to face.

Never has Crosstown Traffic sounded so good whilst soaping your nuts.

Heartbreaker

Good evening Diddymen and good evening to any guests. An apology firstly for the delay - having written previously about how irritating wasps are, last night one went out of it's way to prove my point by crawling inside my shoe and promptly stinging me when I had the audacity to put it on.

One bout of anaphylactic shock later I am now left with a comedy Elephant Man style swollen foot, at least the heart palpitations and chronic low blood pressure have gone.

Anyway, enough of my woes. What happened against Cropredy? I hear you mutter.

Anticipation was high and the appetite was keen as we gathered at the FOD. A washout last week preceded seven days earlier by the thrashing of Banbury XX meant that we hadn't had much cricket for nearly 3 weeks.

Having lost the toss I was pleasantly surprised to find ourselves bowling anyway. We got off to a great start with an early wicket before Cropredy put together a very useful 2nd wicket partnership. we dropped a couple of chances and Hussain and Orchard made us pay. The Archbishop was particularly unlucky to remain wicketless in another fine opening spell.

With the score well past the hundred it was down to the spinners to put a brake on things. The Judge got one through the defences of Hussain with a smart catch from Bris off Jordan taking care of Orchard.

The pendulum swung and Cropredy never recovered the momentum they had enjoyed as Jules ripped through the middle order. A couple of smart catches from Crab Hands at slip and no other drops together with two run outs contributed to a decent fielding performance.

We ate our tea feeling confident we would chase down 205 and be home early.

The first 100 came up at nearly 6 an over with only the loss of one wicket, happy days. Matt made everything look very easy as he breezed to a fifty at less than a run a ball, well supported by Pritch, with another 30 odd, it all looked very comfortable.

Cropredy had other ideas. The introduction of leg spinning wunderkid S Hussain accounted for Matt; Doug soon followed Pritch back. Still we didn't need to worry, did we? 60 odd to win with Jules and Bris at the crease, on paper we were still in charge. It didn't feel like that from the boundary, I can tell you.

As if it were written in the stars we were 8 down, some smart bowling, one brilliant gully catch and some dumb batting putting the pressure right back on us. Still needing 20 odd from 4 overs. Didcot 2011 vintage doesn't win comfortably. Surely we wouldn't throw it away, would we?

Jordan went out to bat like an American Pilot hopped up on amphetamines. It worked, one boundary was followed by the biggest six anyone has ever seen at the FOD, out of the ground and onto the ring road. Fetch that!

In the end the gnarly old pro's saw us home with an over to spare and 9 down. Far tighter than it should have been, but 25 points none the less.

Credit is due to Cropredy who played some great cricket and never stopped going for the win. There league position doesn't reflect the way they played on Saturday and I'm sure their first win isn't far away.

We prepare for Horspath, top of the league and seemingly unbeatable.

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.

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.