FOSS v AVCC
Well we kicked of this week playing Friends of Stonehenge School (FOSS). Or at least, that’s what they call themselves as I counted at least 9 Shrewton CC shirts… so maybe we were playing Shrewton in disguise.
Assembling at Amesbury (many of us got lost in the rapidly rising housing estates there), the evening was very windy and bitterly cold….around 6-7C with the wind chill factor. Just what you expect for the first match of the season.
We kicked off late, and Graham won the toss. hde put us into bat. The opening line-up changed a bit as players were first press-ganged to open and then various latecomers arrived and so we re-shuffled with Simon Borthwick greeted warmly with “Hi mate, get your pads on, you are meant to be walking out now”…
We batted very solidly. 105-5. Pretty good. Simon B got us off to a solid start with 16 (only dropped once), and Tim Gent showed us he can still open with 10 dot balls before getting off the mark and hitting the dizzy heights of 3. Highlight of the innings was Greg Caswell who hit 47, lasting for 14 overs before falling in the 18th off a good catch. Michael Rae and Adam Stephens both scored 2 and were undone by some deadly straight’uns on a pitch with movement as it was showing wear from having been played on 3 times in 4 days. Nigel Roe….welcome back…then played a nice cameo for 12 not out and Graham helped close the innings on 4 no as we scampered 17 runs off the last 2 overs.
It didn’t feel enough against a very good and competent side. Last year we beat them when we got 117 and they stalled on 99. So it felt like it would be close. So it proved.
Their openers were a class above and got them off to a great start until Greg Caswell got one opener lbw with his 1st ball. Plumb. And congratulations for their umpire for giving their man out…..we know many who would say they could not see in the dark clouds and windy swirls making play difficult. However, no 3 batsmen decided to flog us around and their score quickly advanced until Graham got their no 2 out on 75 in the 12th over, thanks to a fine catch by Jamie Corden at mid-off.
After that, we could feel the nerves set in as this started to get like last year’s game and we managed to get 3 quick wickets…..one from Michael Rae (looking fast)…and then the highlights. Mary Corden….feel proud….and whatever you gave India and Jamie for tea…please repeat …as India came on to bowl and got her first wicket for the club, on her debut. Accurate bowling. And wait for it….she got out their first team no.3 batsmen for just 1. Yes, he took some stick from his colleagues and when pressed later in the pub, he said he was not sure what to do when India had already started apologising before he hit it (don’t know why, it was a good straight ball). Like the technique and welcome India.
Of course, big brother, Jamie needed to restore peace and bragging rights in the car, and next over caught and bowled another key batsmen. Excellent performance, Jamie. I can see the Corden family in tandem causing havoc with opposing teams in the future.
Sadly, we did not have enough runs left in the tank and just narrowly lost. I think if we could have been around last year’s score the result might have been different.
Anyway, a good solid start for the season. Good spirit, good effort, and we certainly enjoyed the bar afterwards. Might need to work on the catching as we dropped 5…and that might have made a difference in a tight match.
Next up, Keevil.