Wet Wet Win

The Saturday 2nds and the Sundays were rained off. But the Saturday 1sts recorded their first win in slow motion.

Midsommer Meth batted first and got 106 all out. Matt D bowled 9 for 3 off 8, TT 16 or 2 off 8, and Kalu 12 for 2 off 4.

In reply the Cowboys got the runs in the 35th over for the loss of 8 wickets. Gibbo scored 46.

TT reports the match thus:

It’s a little known fact that in the North Somerset dialect there are seventeen words for wind, yet none of them can accurately convey the climatic conditions which greeted the Cowboys on their arrival at Norton Hill School for their first outing against Midsomer Norton Methodists, who appeared to have prepared a wicket of moss on the side of a geological fault line.

Before the fun began, in what can only have been an act of sabotage to prevent a challenge to his batting average, Ev ran over Preash’s kit in the car park, which happily, like it’s owner, showed determined resistance and refused to buckle.

Having successfully tossed a coin and not seen it blown to the next county, the skipper invited The Meths to bat and handed the new cherry to Rich and Rob. Both bowled a tidy line and length, given all the geography going on, with the rain now rudely spitting, making the ball difficult to grip. No mean feat then for Lalith to hold on to a catch off RT1, who round about now had twanged part of his leg mechanism and was unable to complete his excellent spell of 1 for 7. On came Matt to replace him, bowling a menacing and threatening line which the batsmen found equally hard to put away, soon hitting the stumps to take the second wicket.

After eight overs of tight and testing deliveries for no reward, Rich was replaced at the portakabin® end by the Landlord. “Why Mr Landlord, do I not get more wickets?” asked Rich in the pub afterwards, having seen his successor sling down a rank first delivery which the hitherto difficult-to-remove batsman smacked in the vicinity of Ben, who took a superlative low catch. The answer to the question is of course to bowl more shite.

Matt’s judicious use of the ridged pitch soon brought him a second wicket, to have the opposition at 41 for 4 and without the score advancing further he hit the stumps yet again, finishing with fine figures of 3 for 9. Before the total had reached fifty the Landlord got in on the act and found the stumps too, but then came some resistance as their skipper dug in, smiting some hefty blows and forging a near fifty run partnership, eventually broken by Ev.

There were missed opportunities aplenty as catches went to ground and fielding went awry, the details of which, and some responsibility for, are best left with the fines’ fuhrer. Lalith kept his heed at the bowler’s end to secure a run out, thanks in part to their skipper, who he then bowled for 46, before wrapping up the innings in the penultimate over by bowling the number 11: All out for 106.

A generous tea and respite from the gale was taken in a portakabin® classroom and comprised fayre that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a televised cake bake-off.

From one perfect sponge to another, Grover and Ev strode out, the former returning one ball later, bowled for an ignominious golden duck. With only three runs on the board Ben was similarly bowled and despite powerfully and purposefully walloping his first ball, Angelo was bowled from the other end before the total had reached double figures. Iggy too took a direct approach, intent on putting away the bad ball, but when a lofted shot held up in the wind and was caught by his opposite number, the Cowboys were a windblasted and desperate 15 for 4.

Matt came out to bat and found the boundary once but added only another dozen runs with Ev before falling victim to the wicket which he’d earlier exploited so well with the ball. Lalith started cautiously, building a vital partnership to rescue some semblance of respectability and as the ball was given more air and he hit out, he was fortunate to be dropped at long-off. Far from dulling his resolve, an identical shot was played a short while later, which this time was competently caught.

Preash entered the scene with the score on 47 for 6 and set about rebuilding the mess with Ev, who by now was exhibiting some stylish strokeplay on the tricky sticky wicket. The newcomer blocked well and intelligently farmed the strike to his partner, despite the previous motorised assault on his baggage. The partnership crept along and the score advanced, aided at times by a little wayward bowling and nervous fielding in response to the growing Cowboy authority as the required total began to appear attainable.

Shortly after the pair had made a consummate fifty partnership the hundred came up, but just before Ev was able to complete a half century of his own, he was caught for a solid 46 which was later to earn him the Man of the Match vote. The remaining half a dozen runs were a formality, which the Landlord contributed nothing to, bowled as he was by a low straight one for a duck and it was left to Garner to finish things off with the immovable Preash, who for the second week remained not out on eleven.

Under an improbable rainbow back at the main Midsomer Norton ground, Ben’s catch was voted as the Cider Moment and the proceeds from the multifarious fines were donated to his forthcoming marathon running attempt in Edinburgh in aid of Parkinson’s UK.

http://www.justgiving.com/Ben-Preece

http://nscl.play-cricket.com/scoreboard/scorecard.asp?id=11652450