20 Jun AVCC v Collingbourne

However, both sides were fully assembled in time and as the rain stopped, we gladly decided to play cricket. Much banter relating to the previous game which we sneaked by 1 run with 4 run-outs in the last over……and the captains, Graham and Mark, tossed up. Graham won…no doubts…and put Collingbourne into bat on a damp pitch - hoping to get some early wickets and have better batting conditions later when the forecast said the sun would shine. Despite the rain, the pitch looked fine and well prepared. The outfield did look a little long and there were reported sightings of giraffes and antelope in the savannah like conditions. Not many 4’s tonight was the view. We opened up with David Battison and Matt Haslett…who both had the batsmen quickly in trouble with a good variety of bowling and accuracy. Matt struck in his first over 5-1 off 1.5 overs , and David struck in the fifth over with a smart caught and bowled. 9-2 in 5 overs. Great start.By the end of their spells, Collingbourne were 21-4 off 8 overs with Matt taking great figures of 4-2-5 and David 4-2-16. Tamang and Shane Williams then brought the battle to Collingbourne, Shane opened up with a chocolate box of deliveries…chest high no balls, hostile bouncers, great turning lines, and took 2 wickets, both bowled in his first over. The first was aptly described by a number of players as a WTF ball as their batsman was bamboozled by a hostile straight full toss. 32-6 in the 10th over. Truly remarkable; what a way to announce yourself on the pitch. Most excellent as Bill and Ted might say. Shane finished with 3-2-5 and Tamang held his end up well with 3-0-12. The scoring rate did not really accelerate much, and Graham brought on Greg Caswell and Alex Armytage (welcome back Alex, as not seen for a couple of seasons) to keep the pressure on. Greg was his usual miserly and hostile (bowling) self and bowled well for 3-1-4 taking one excellent wicket bowled out. Alex looked like he had gained pace and bowled the fastest and more hostile of the evening with 3-1-20. if it wasn’t for the lusty hitting of their captain - the well respected Mark Brett on 24 not out - towards the end the score would have been very low. As it was, Collingbourne’s innings concluded on 65-8..the equal lowest score we have kept a team to at 20/20. Only Mark Brett got to double figures and extras (18) outscored the total of 8 of their players combined. Although should be noted that Tim Gent kept wicket steadily and only let 2 byes go (both on wides). Overall, a great bowling and fielding performance…no catches dropped, no balls let through grasping fingers and all the bowling tight. However, we did not go out to bat with confidence as the weather men had got it wrong. It poured for 20 minutes and ave us worse conditions than at the start. We also noticed their opening bowler (Ellis) bore an uncanny resemblance to Joel Garner…6ft7ins of menacing, willowy fast pace beckoned. And, yes, Ellis was fast!. Ish was out 2nd ball of the innings (his first) without seeing the missile aimed at his stumps. 1-1. Matt Haslett was lbw for 1 to a good length ball from Aaron Brent (son of captain Mark) in the next over 4-2. Billy King (welcome back for the first time this season; lambing now complete) in the 3rd over to another unseen missile from Ellis; and with David Battison succumbing to Aaron again in the next over, we found ourselves 12-4 off 4 overs and wickets easily keeping pace with wickets. The run rate was OK but would we survive the 20 overs? Alex Armytage came in to accompany Angus Harley who was holding his end together well. Alex hit some lusty blows before being bowled for 7. 27-5 off 6 overs (at least less wickets than overs). It didn’t seem good and at this time (the first time I have seen this) all remaining batsmen padded up as it looked like a short innings ahead. Angus then fell to an amazing caught and bowled by Sinclair (the senior one)for 12 well-earned runs and we were 47-6 in the 9th over and still needing 19 to win. Normally this would be viewed as not much to get, but it didn't seem like that as the sun finally began to shine. Tamang and Shane Williams then steadied the ship…..before Shane went for 6, bowled Macey when all seemed to be OK on 63. Greg Caswell came in and 3 balls later hit the winning 4 with a nice leg side shot and we won with 6.4 overs to spare by 3 wickets, scoring 67-7. All a bit close and difficult. But the weather played a big part, as did the bowling as both sides really bowled well. It was a good game of cricket, with both sides playing well and competitively, and having a laugh or two along the way. Good evening overall, and ideally completed in the Ship later on, when our victory was celebrated. A June double over our local rivals. Well done all. That’s 7 wins in 10 games this season (only 2 losses) and so a very decent start to the season, especially with so many personnel changes this season. Shane and David have settled in well as regulars, Tamang has been a welcome addition, and it has been good to see returnees Matt and Alex. I’m also pleased to see Dudley Perrin regularly turn up and watch - he was there in the rain last night - as we have always wanted to build a community of players and friends. Dudley is one of the (almost) originals and so always good to see him and get his advice and banter. Footnote, Skye Newland completed the scorebook without being asked and did a pretty good job. I can see her playing for us one day.