Match Report vs Sparsholt
04 September 2011@ Sparsholt, Hampshire (Tour) (Skipper
Muff, report Shakey)
Following a quiet pint at the hotel bar the Cazh meandered
into town, drawn by the promise of the curry that was to come.
After a brief conversation between Goff and the curry house
manager, in a pseudo-cockney but allegedly wintonian dialect
which no-one really understood, the Casuals settled down to
the feast aided by a menu printed in our honour! It was a
veritable Noah’s ark of excellent fare with cows, lamb,
prawns, salmon, chicken and water buffalo coming in two by
two as a constant flurry of plates tested our bellies to bursting.
A slow and bloated walk to the next pub put paid to most of
the team with only Goff, Shag and Lovers lasting the drinking
pace.
Next morning it looked as if the only thing that might leave
Winchester would be an ark. Rain was constantly falling and
any sort of match looked unlikely but by 11.30 the rain had
stopped and news reached us that the covers at Sparsholt should
see us through. On arrival, watery sun yawned through the
gently receding clouds, the covers came off the picturesque
ground, and soon the Casuals opened their innings against
a Sparsholt side which looked decidedly young and athletic.
There is nothing worse than a batting collapse – apart
from a Casuals batting collapse. It’s the desperate
search for pads and gloves and bats and caps; the indecision
about where anyone is in the batting order; the scrambled
search for a willing umpire who shouldn’t have to bat
soon or isn’t sat depressed in the corner after failing
to trouble the scorers; it’s the abject feeling of embarrassment,
particularly acute on tour in a foreign land, when the opposition
visibly stop celebrating the wickets and await the arrival
of the next victim.
The nadir of 15-6 was reached at the end of the 6th over
and Sparsholt took their opening pair off. It was only then
that the batting revival began against a very attacking field.
With nothing to lose, and no men out in the deep, Richie decided
to at least die fighting and launched an assault with the
alcohol-fuelled Goff. Eight runs came off the 7th over, nine
off the 9th, ten off the 11th, twelve off the 14th and by
the end of the 15th over we had fought back to 76-6 and Sparsholt
had men back patrolling the boundary.
It couldn’t last though. Richie was bowled for a heroic
41 in the 17th over (69 run stand), Goff was also bowled for
a resolute 20 and we passed 100 in the 22nd over with 2 wickets
and 13 overs left. What Sparsholt didn’t know was that
Hood, Swain and Stewart were our nine, ten and jack and that
they were intent on risk-free accumulation so we at least
had something to bowl at. Winkie and Kim proceeded to amass
60 precious runs for the ninth wicket with Andy finally caught
for 27 and Kim posting 33* as we batted our 35 overs out in
reaching 153-9. At least we had restored some dignity and
if we could get some early wickets……
The Casuals got off to a great start as Dan and Andy bowled
fast and straight with no easy balls to score off. They picked
up a wicket each in their respective opening overs and Dan
also induced a nick behind in the 9th as the home team desperately
tried to rebuild. Lovers and Tesh came on as change bowlers
but the stranglehold never faltered. Tesh conceded the first
Casuals boundary in the 17th over but it was the only one
in his opening spell. The Sparsholt reply was dangerously
one-paced as they took the fourth wicket stand to 31 before
Lovers claimed their number 3 and then bowled another in his
next over. Tesh also snaffled one before Paul came into the
attack after the 22nd over with the batting team on 61-6.
With clouds gathering and the wind picking up on an increasingly
chilly evening the steady procession of new batsmen continued
as before. Cheese was tidy and deserved his 3-18, Paul should
have added to his impressive season’s tally but Goff
grassed a fly-ball and, although the last man swiped with
gusto towards the end to make the reply look more effective
than it was, Sparsholt stumbled to a meagre 114-9 off their
35 overs. It didn’t seem that bad a wicket but if you
bowl straight, field with enthusiasm and get some early momentum
against a team who thought they had you beat 2 hours before
it just shows that anything can happen.
Played two and won two in Hampshire meant that 2011 was now
destined to be a winning season. Well done to Goff for organising
such an enjoyable tour and thanks to Lovers for services to
skin-tight pink leotards – we await the photos.
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