Wantage and Grove Cricket Club

With promotion secured, we travelled to Horley amid talk of reversed batting and bowling orders. That was, however, unlikely to happen considering Horley were an unknown quantity after the home game fell victim to the weather and recently they had beaten league leaders Cairns Fudge. That we arrived at the ground at all was something of an achievement because the postcode on the OCA website took us to a village a few miles away. It was worth the trip though, with the ground attractively situated and the covers just being removed as we arrived.
In cloudy, blustery conditions Colin won yet another toss and elected to field with Ryan and Grant opening the bowling. Pretty standard so far, but the first over was far from standard as Horley opener Hart glanced and cut his way to 18 – yes 18 – off Ryan’s first six deliveries. We kept our composure though, and soon we had reined them in as the bowlers found their range on a harder pitch than we had faced for a number of weeks. Grant bowled tightly with little early reward, but laid the foundations for Ryan to force the other opener to edge to Ben. Horley number 3 Smith immediately looked in good touch, driving impressively through the covers and playing a classy flick over midwicket. We were all relieved when Ryan got one to jag back down the slope and hit the top of his middle stump.

Grant got a deserved wicket when the becalmed Hart edged behind, and the Horley middle order proved to be effective without it ever looking as though we were out of the game. There was one comedy moment as they tried to run an overthrow despite the ball being collected by short midwicket, and one of the season’s easier run outs was completed. On another day we, and Barry in particular, might have got wickets much earlier through catches going to hand or inside edges going onto stumps, but it wasn’t to be.
Colin took advantage of our strength in depth by trying a number of bowling options, with Mabbs picking up one wicket and a rare Saturday turn of the arm for Ian. As the innings drew to a close the batsmen hit out and it took the return of Ryan to snare some more wickets, including a superb caught and bowled, and he finished with 5-53, a fine effort after the tap received in the first over. Our target for victory would be a substantial 218, although with the pitch offering good carry and the fast outfield, it wasn’t out of the question.

Teas were absolutely splendid with an extensive selection including, pizza, fruit kebabs, flapjacks and scones with jam, cream and strawberries – definitely worthy of the prestigious award of four teapots.

The batting order boasted a new opening partnership as Ben was partnered with Nordic instead of chief blocker NiB in an effort to get the innings off to a fast start. NiB didn’t have much time to enjoy life in the middle order as Ben spooned the second ball of the innings to point, and he started scratchily as his first 6 runs came off edges through the third slip area. Nordic batted in trademark fashion, with straight balls defended and any width on the off side brutally exploited. He eventually chipped a catch to cover which was taken at the ninth attempt and departed for 17.

Barry hit a glorious off drive to the boundary off his first ball and was going well on 15 until he clipped a low chance to midwicket which was well taken by Hart off the bowling of Beck, who offered some justified retaliatory chirping as Barry departed. The skipper then came to the crease and played watchfully against the accurate bowling of Beck and Pearce. That all changed after drinks when he bashed 18 off an over from Pearce, and the momentum that was lacking before drinks had returned. Hart then brought himself on to bowl and proved a canny customer who was difficult to get away.

After being instructed to bat through and informed that it was Beck’s last over, NiB took the moronic decision to come down the pitch and was beaten by the flight and turn, and was stumped for 55. Not great, and things took a turn for the worse a couple of overs later as Colin was completely deceived by Hart and was stumped by a country mile for 34, with the target still around 80 runs away. After Ian came and went for a brisk 11, this left Ryan and our man for a crisis, Dave Summerset, with quite a job on their hands.

They started in sensible fashion by taking a look at the bowling and running aggressively, albeit with one mid-pitch committee meeting which almost proved terminal. Ryan then started to open up as the quicker bowlers returned from the pavilion end, and he unfurled some classy drives. Summerset then got in the act with a couple of boundaries of his own, including the Saturday debut of his flick through square leg for four. They got us to within touching distance of the target until Dave flicked a delivery over midwicket which was caught low down on the boundary in excellent fashion, and we wondered if we would fall at the last hurdle. Ryan had other ideas though, as he lofted a big six into the nearby field to ease concerns about run rate. Two were needed from the last over, and after blocking the first two deliveries Mabbs cut a four to take us to victory by three wickets, with Ryan finishing on a run-a-ball 55 not out.

Overall a fine effort to chase down a big target, but we were forced to work hard by a Horley side who played hard but fair, including all batsmen walking, and were very generous in their post-match comments. We wish them all the best for next season.

Man of the match – unanimously Ryan for five wickets and a fantastic 55* to win the game
Champagne moment – Ryan again, for his six or his catch
Pig’s ear – was almost Ian for a stroppy walk to the park bench to sulk after his dismissal, but this was outvoted by the spot that Grant was sporting on his nose, which could have illuminated an aircraft hangar, or been seen from space

For our last home game of the year, we faced Chesterton, who we had beaten in the cup, but been smashed beyond sight in the league. However, the difference this time was in knowing that a win would put us beyond Chesterton in second place and secure promotion with two games left to play. After last season’s final day heroics that would seem a bit of an anti-climax but nonetheless we were all keen and ready despite the early morning deluge which looked like it might prevent us playing. As it happened we got out there on time. We were fielding first and Ryan and Duncan opened the bowling. With all the rain it was nice weather for ducks and we were hoping ducks would be the order of the day for the Chesterton opening pair (although in reality Ian was just desperate to get a pun in the match report nice and early). Grant made an awesome stop in the first over but his throw in for the potential run out was more akin to a four year old with a broken arm so an early opportunity was missed.

Despite an early rain break, both bowlers were keeping things tight, neither giving opener Campbell any room to play his favoured back foot shots, and Ryan eventually saw for him with an excellent pitched up ball which smacked middle stump and sent one bail halfway to the boundary. Chesterton’s demon run scorer Lewis was next in and he and White looked like classy batsmen from the off who we would have to prise away rather than being given their wickets. Fortunately Duncan was on fine form, which meant we were able to celebrate White’s wicket when he edged behind to Ben behind the stumps (another “professional” Wantage wicket – we’re getting good at those!).

Things were tight as the drinks break was reached without more wickets. However, the old adage “drinks brings a wicket” was proved correct as Grant forced the batsmen to slice to Barry at gully. When he trapped another batsmen LBW we were looking good, although Lewis was still there and batting well. Our opportunity to get him came once Barry had replaced Duncan and Colin fielded the ball and threw it in with Lewis stranded half way down the wicket. Barry had ages but instead threw the ball at the stumps, missed, and gave him a rather large life.

On the plus side, Grant forced our nemesis from last time Trevor Price to attempt his customary bash over long off. This time however, Colin was there, and despite being the smallest person on the field he just managed to cling on to a high chance which left us truly in the driving seat. It also saved any boundary markers from being destroyed! In the meantime Barry was receiving some real tap at the other end, his policy of bowling half trackers to a not particularly packed leg side field proving a questionable one. However Mabbs was to come on to replace him and force the issue with some tight bowling that deserved more than it got. He did force one wicket, and Grant dropped a chance over his shoulder at square leg in a very casual manner. Barry finished off the innings with two wickets in the final over, although not before Lewis had brought up his hundred with a smash over mid-wicket for six. Chesterton finished their innings on 179 for 8.

Teas were marvellous, because Ian made them. There were customary amounts of squirty cream and jam, and a delicious fruit selection.

Ben and NiB opened our innings as per usual, and both looked confident and assured. Their run rate was much higher than usual as we went at four an over. Ben in particular looked in excellent form as he drove and pulled his way to an excellent 30 before we had another short rain break. Things were looking good though as the two of them put on 92 before Nick was LBW. He had almost walked before the umpire gave him out so it was not a great surprise when the finger finally went up.

Colin was next in and continued his recent form, holding up an end perfectly well whilst Ben saw himself over 50 and we looked for an easy finish. This was not to be the case as Ben pulled the spinner to cow corner and was caught for an excellent 72 – his best knock of the season. Barry scored a quick-fire 14 before also bashing to cow. Colin then followed suit after scoring a good 30 before Ian decided that learning from other’s mistakes is for losers, and also pulled the spinner to cow and being caught for one. It must have been the damp pitch that was causing everyone to pull the spinner there. That’s all this reviewer wants to say. The Chesterton fielders certainly couldn’t understand why all our batsmen were playing those shots either.

Luckily, Dave “Game finisher” Summersbeater was next in, and with Ryan scored the remaining 15 runs to see us over the line and to promotion. Celebrations at this stage were pretty muted with lots of gruff congratulations and “well dones”. Showers were by all accounts slightly less muted, with ? of a bottle of vanilla shower gel being guzzled instantly and scorer Mongo joining in, just for fun. Other post-match entertainment included The Challenge™ which amounted to sprinting to the other side of the field and back. Grant was apparently leading the way, and others were forced to change back into spikes and take the challenge themselves. NiB acquitted himself extremely well, taking second place, whilst Barry fell over with about 20 metres left to go to everyone’s amusement. It would also prove ill-advised for the President’s XI game the following day as muscles would undoubtedly be tired for this most important of Sunday matches.

We then partook of a few beverages at the club before anti-lads Stewie and Duncan were forced home to their partners because they were in the doghouse for playing twice in a weekend. The rest of us hit the Blue Boar and the Swan for early drinking games and then an unusually early finish, with everyone home before midnight! A sad indictment upon all of us considering no-one was over the age of 28. Not that it stopped hangover central on Sunday morning. On the plus side we did get to drink luminous drinks in the Swan which is a promotion requirement.

Champagne Moment was Colin’s catch. Dave’s runs to win the match were also nominated, as was a stop by Stewie at point which would have graced many a cricket ground.

MotM was Ben Putt for his 72.

Pig’s Ear was Grant. I can’t even remember what for. I think it was a combination of the dropped catch and previously mentioned four year old’s run out attempt. Barry was nominated for his run-out misdemeanours too.

Net Result: Promotion! Yeah, cricket!

IC

As England were racking up the runs against India and we started to wonder whether our Day 5 Test Match tickets were going to prove worthwhile, we all found our way to Uffington, surprised to find that the heavy rain which had hit Wantage in the morning had not found its way there. It didn’t look like a cricket match was about to be played however, as all 11 Wantage players stood around ready and waiting but opposition players, umpires, stumps and a boundary rope were all conspicuous by their absence. Eventually the umpires and a selection of Uffington players turned up in a rush to get ready for our 1:30 start and Colin committed the worst indiscretion of the day by losing the toss. With the weather bringing the promised rain the Uffington representative (if not their captain who was still missing!) chose to bat. In some respects this was the correct decision as the weather promised to be better later on, but it seemed odd when Ben and NiB opened our innings with only 7 fielders to contend with.

They were unable to take advantage though and progress was very slow as we went at less than one an over for the first 6. The rest of the Uffington team slowly joined the fray but the only thing of note to happen was NiB failing to pull a ball off Green which meant he hit it to the “man in the pink hat” who took a nonchalant one handed chance above his head. It was as unexpected for their team as ours as they whooped and cheered, and Colin went in at number three. Progress remained slow as the pitch and very wet conditions made for very difficult conditions in which to score, as Key got a lot of movement down leg off the pitch and Green was both swinging and seaming the ball away from the batsmen.

The Wantage fans and watching players were getting slowly frustrated on the sidelines as the score remained at no more than 2 an over. Colin and Ben did both hit one or two excellent shots through the off side but it was not an easy pitch to score on and they were at least doing the worthwhile job of protecting our egg shell middle order from the leading bowlers. Colin then won pig’s ear by being out yet not out yet not out yet out, or something. It was difficult to tell on the sidelines but it seemed that he was given out caught behind, looked a bit miffed whereupon the bowler withdrew his appeal because he agreed that the ball had not come off the bat. Spirit of the game indeed!

Ben eventually fell to first change bowler Johnson with the score on 80-ish off 30 overs and Barry joined proceedings with the express intention of upping the run rate. He and Colin did this before Colin was bowled for 33, and it fell to our middle order to hit some hefty blows and lift our score to something respectable. Ryan played some strong drives before being caught at square leg, then Ian joined Barry in the middle. Barry ran himself out whilst attempting to put the fielder under pressure which looked a bit village to say the least, although he scored a decent 30. Olly then lasted only a few balls before being bowled. It meant Dave Summerset, having not scored on Friday, had to start scoring, and quickly. He and Ian put a rapid 30 runs onto the total, despite Ian attempting to run himself out 3 times. He departed for 24 after hitting to long-off and it was left to Mabbs and Dave to run hard for the last 4. This they did, lifting us to 175 and our fourth batting point which included a HUGE six from Dave in the last over, dispatched over wide long on – what a man!

The Uffington innings started slowly as Ryan and Duncan turned the screw, and it became apparent that 175 was actually an excellent total on a tough pitch. Breakthroughs were slow, but the run rate was almost as slow as our own. The first wicket eventually came in Grant’s first over, who had replaced Ryan and found some prodigious swing, which at times proved difficult to control. That said, the brilliant catch low down at gully by Barry looked like as professional a wicket as Wantage have ever taken. Barry certainly enjoyed it. Professional-looking wickets continued as Duncan’s tight bowling brought him some rewards, an excellent first slip catch by James Mabbs and a thin edge through to keeper Ben. Duncan had apparently taken exception to Ian’s claim that he had lost a bit of pace recently, and the effect was having him really push the ball through and getting some rip-roaring wheels going on.

Our first change bowlers proved too much for the Uffington middle order and in turns they began to lob some catches to our ring fielders. Mabbs came on and bowled a tight, fiery spell after Duncan’s twelve overs for 18. This was as well as he had bowled all year and he got a well deserved 4 for 10 including two in two balls. NiB, Ryan and Dave all took simple catches as we ran through the Uffington order for 78. The final wicket fell off Barry “simon” Martin as he shouted “DON’T DROP IT” at Colin in an amusing attempt to put him off and we walked off happily with an excellent team performance, a 97 run win and 29 points.

There was also more good news as some of us went out for a delicious curry and we discovered that Chesterton had lost to Great Horwood by three runs. This puts us 52 points ahead with 3 to play, and with Chesterton at home next week, and you know what that means…

Pig’s Ear went to Colin for his hokey cokey moment – in/out/in/out. Nomination also to some horrendous chat throughout the day, from Barry for his “Don’t drop it!” and Duncan for congratulating Mabbs on a great spell as he was about to bowl. Credit also to the umpire for yapping as we were about to bowl a ball!

Champagne Moment was Dave’s HUGE six in the last over of our innings. Barry’s gully catch was also worthy of a mention and Ian’s six over the bowlers head got a sympathy nom.

MotM: Went to Mabbs for his 4-10. Dave was a close contender for his 28* at the death and Duncan for his fine bowling.

~Icey

An early meeting up the club saw a few hungover faces, but everyone was in good spirits for the game against Brill, which was begun at 12:30 to allow us to get back for PicNic’s wedding in the evening. We arrived after driving to the wrong side of the ground, and were surprised to see a damp pitch which wouldn’t have looked out of place at the Glastonbury festival. There was a radio recording going on next door to our changing room, and the next-door-toilet was a brutal assault on the nose even by Wantage standards, but none of this really mattered once the coin was tossed and Colin chose, quite sensibly, to field.

Ryan opened the bowling, and played the Duncan Wooloff role almost to perfection, as he kept a tight line and didn’t give anything away throughout his twelve over spell. The only thing which let you forget it wasn’t Duncan was the lack of complaining about “not getting the wickets he deserved”! He did, in fact, take 2, bowling someone with a yorker early on and forcing a catch to NiB at cover. At the other end, Grant bowled tightly for most of 8 overs, only one over getting a bit of tap as he let fly with 5 wides and got hit for a couple of fours.

Brill’s opener Fitsell was scoring slowly but clinging tightly to his wicket, so the scoring rate remained between two and three an over even as Mabbs came on to replace Grant. Ryan finished his spell after only going for 20 and immediately Chaz got a wicket as he came on to replace him, Ryan taking the catch at mid-wicket. Chaz began to dominate proceedings as his recent wicket-capturing form continued and he tore through the Brill middle order, getting the left handed Mansfield caught and bowled and Judd well caught by Mabbs at point. Only a fine catch at mid-wicket by Barry off a very ill looking Mabbs interrupted “Charlie’s” dominance. Mabbs was performing wonders, considering every other ball he was hacking up yards of luminous green phlegm. He was strictly banned from shining the ball with his mucus and high fives were off the menu lest we caught his plague, so elbows were the weapon of choice for congratulations.

Barry eventually replaced him, and although he failed to get a decision on a caught behind, he struck soon after, getting Green LBW, and then a caught and bowled next over. In the meantime, despite getting struck for two mighty sixes by Kavanagh, Chaz saw off the innings, taking an excellent 5-28 and deserving the majority of our bowling plaudits. Ryan, displaying a cricketing knowledge beyond his age, declared that the total of 117 was actually pretty competitive as the pitch was, as one of the Brill batsmen declared, a “pudding”, with variable bounce and the potential to break things. NiB was to discover this to his cost in our innings.

Ben and NiB opened as usual, and looked pretty settled until Ben was unlucky to poke behind off his legs, before Colin was caught behind. He felt he had edged into the ground but the umpire, 11 Brill players, NiB at the other end and most of the Wantage team felt he probably hadn’t. So having scored 99* in the return game he was unfortunately unable to make a century for the season against Brill!

Barry was next in and looked confident and assured as usual, but took on one too many shots and was well caught at cover and suddenly Brill’s total looked a long way away, especially once Ryan had edged to slip. Ian played some airy shots in a style as far removed from NiB as possible, and it was not a great surprise when he was bowled by a good yorker from Kavanagh, who was bowling a tight spell and according to Brill’s own report deserved some luck for a change. Dave Somerset was next in and kept a cool head as he usually does in these situations, adding 12 good runs in a fine partnership with NiB which steadied the ship somewhat although when he was also out bowled to a full toss things were looking very dodgy with 40 runs still required.

Stewie and Chaz both fell for ducks although both at least survived a few overs each, giving NiB the chance to extend his run scoring. The adrenaline was pumping hard now, as he later revealed he no longer felt the pain in his thumb suffered from an injury in the field and his new bat had its virginity taken after he cracked his faithful old Newbury. Grant entered the fray with about 30 needed for victory and looked calm and assured, which was more than could be said for his watching team-mates. Nick began to hit the bad ball hard and true as he dominated proceedings, playing some excellent flicks off his pads over square leg, and a couple of excellent off side dabs. All this despite wearing a ball on the helmet, after a good length ball leapt up and took him in the head. It was to the dump with the helmet, and Colin’s green lid at least got the chance to spend some quality time in the middle as NiB wore it to finish his innings. Grant was oozing confidence by now and between him and Nick they took us to within 15 before both were dropped in the space of 6 balls. Grant tested the fielder at cow corner before NiB was dropped by Brill’s sub fielder (on after an emergency call out for Brill’s keeper) at mid-off in what would prove to be crucial fashion.

As it happened, Nick was still there to slam a full toss over backward square for six off the 4th ball of the 43rd over to take us to victory. The Wantage players were ecstatic, even Dave despite the ball cannoning into his car. NiB looked delighted in the middle as he threw his arms up in the air in an unusually dramatic display of emotion and we were relieved and happy to come away from the wind turbine-assisted match with 28 points.

We didn’t hang around for pleasantries although Brill were an excellent bunch who played cricket in the right spirit (batsmen who walked! A rarity for the season) and certainly on this evidence don’t deserve to be in the relegation zone. Instead we were off to shower and suit-up in preparation for the important event of a Wantage CC wedding! Even Toby the plastic Australian turned up and a good time was had by all. Barry performed a memorable dance to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies”, the Eton Mess on offer was astonishingly good, and Timmy Lane and Chaz brought out their braces. Ping, Pang, Pong was also enjoyed by an extensive section of the Wantage playing staff and supporters, although Barry was less impressed, declaring “Why are you all playing Chinese games when in ten years we’ll all be able to play Chinese games?!”. I’m sure there was some logic in there somewhere. He soon left to eat buffet straight from the table with his fingers.

The festivities were finished with some sprinkler dancing as Nick and Kerry began their life as a married couple – let’s just hope they don’t give up on doing teas!

Motm: NiB, obviously, for a brilliant 58* which won us the match. Chaz’s 5-for was also worth mentioning.
Pig’s Ear: Colin for his complaints about his dismissal.
Champagne Moment: Undoubtedly the winning runs, which could have had Dave’s windscreen out if it had only gone another metre!

~Icey

The first weekend of August brought with it our penultimate Saturday home game of the season. It’s a good job that’s the case, since the day started with the now customary breaking of the ground maintenance equipment. This week’s culprit was Grant, who contrived to shear off the connector between the tractor and the outfield mowing blades.

Our pre-match fielding drills were well underway as the opposition arrived after their long trek from Great Horwood, and for a change the fielding looked quite convincing as most catches were taken and very few throws endangered the health of the people sat in front of the clubhouse. This momentum continued to the toss, which Colin won and elected to field after some morning showers.

The opening batsman Steve Willett immediately showed attacking intent and was keen to get stuck into any full pitched deliveries from Grant and Ryan. The other opener proved a good foil with steadier accumulation, and they ticked along at 4 an over without looking troubled. The breakthrough came off Grant, who showed admirable discipline by continuing to bowl a good length to Willett, who hit the ball to long off where Colin expertly took the catch. The other opener fell shortly afterwards as he looked to increase his scoring rate and gave Colin some more catching practice. The old adage ‘one brings two’ proved correct for this and several other occasions as wickets fell in pairs for most of the Horwood innings.

Barry then proved he’s cleverer than he looks by remembering that the number 3 batsman strongly favours the cut shot, and fields were set accordingly. He stuck around for a while and was bowled by Chaz just as he looked to be building a good platform. Most other batsmen came in and got a few runs, but we removed them before any partnerships became threatening. Highlights included an insistent Chaz taking a catch off his own bowling right in front of a startled Timmy “Simba” Lane and his ever-increasing mane, although Simba stole the limelight later on with a diving catch at gully that was worthy of any occasion. Chaz took two wickets in two balls to reduce the opposition to 122 for 8, and with the first ball of his next over completely fluffed his lines by delivering a frankly awful hat-trick ball that was nearly called a wide.

The score was in the 130s as the ninth wicket was taken, and field closed in to keep the number 11 on strike. Unfortunately the number 11 was Daniel Willett, who had inherited his father’s ball-striking ability and launched Mabbs for into the car park for six. The field quickly became more standard as Willett and his skipper Robby Taylor played very well and dispensed some tap to Barry’s bowling in particular. The last ball of the innings brought the final wicket and all-important bowling point as Mabbs bowled Willett to get himself a deserved wicket and the innings closed on 175 all out. In terms of bowling figures, Chaz finally got the wickets his performances this season have deserved with 4-42, and Grant’s 2-26 of 12 with 4 maidens was also impressive.

It was squirty jam all round at tea, provided by Grant who had been press-ganged into tea duties by the skipper and provided a fine spread.

The Horwood opening bowlers came steaming in off some of the longest run-ups we’ve seen all season, and were quite a handful with the tall Waddington moving the ball away while Robby Taylor bowled off cutters at a lively pace. Ben and NiB were however unusually fluent and the scoring rate from the start was at the dizzy heights of above 3 an over. After a sparkling wicket-keeping performance with two catches and no byes, Ben was looking particularly strong on the drive but fell for 12 as he belted a ball to short extra cover and the fielder clung on to the catch as it thudded into his chest. Simba then arrived at the crease and cruised to 15 before nibbling at a tempter from the excellent Nick Glister and a sharp low catch was held at gully.

New batsman Barry used the outside edge liberally early in his innings and was somehow dropped at cover off the consistently accurate Glister. He then settled in and together with NiB took the score over 100 as they worked the ball around and pretty much ended the match as a contest. NiB was then saved the inconvenience of buying a jug when he was adjudged LBW for 46 with the score around 130. Ryan was promoted to number 5 and hit a breezy 12 before falling to a sharp catch at point, which brought the skipper to the crease to see Barry past his fifty. Colin made up for the indiscretion of a horrible heave by playing a glorious cover drive that was lapped up by the crowd, and the winning total was reached for the loss of just 4 wickets which meant that we pocketed another maximum haul of 30 points

Pig’s Ear – Grant for the tractor breakage mentioned above, which was later followed by him looking to make an intimidating throw back at the batsman, pulling out of it, and somehow ending up throwing the ball past midwicket and allowing the batsmen to run a single. Honourable mention goes to Barry who became stuck on the fence at the road end and ended up ripping a large hole in the crotch of his trousers

Champagne moment – equal votes for Timmy’s leaping catch and some fancy footwork by Ryan around the sightscreen which prevented a boundary. The yelp of surprise that preceded his tiptoeing was particularly amusing.

Man of the match – equal votes for Chaz’s 4-42 and Ben’s flawless keeping.

To settle champagne moment and MOTM there was some genuine theatre as a best of three scissors-paper-stone series was played out. You could have cut the atmosphere with a cricket stump as Timmy was either advised or snogged by Daddy Nick Burton in his contest versus Ryan, and he eventually emerged victorious to riotous celebrations. For MOTM, Ben had the unenviable task of taking on Chaz and despite some coaching he was unable to make any inroads as Chaz ran out a comfortable winner.

We found our way to Stanton St John, ready for a high-intensity top of the table clash against in form Cairns Fudge. The feeling was that to win the league we’d really have to grind out a result so it was a good start when Colin won the toss, even if he later admitted he didn’t know what to do. The Wantage fielders were relieved as he chose to bat in the roasting afternoon sun – the British Summer finally beginning. In NiB’s absence Ryan took over opening duties, and played an uncharacteristic watchful innings, with Ben playing his customary tight role at the other end.

The two of them saw off the opening attack of Patel and Shaw, going at a paltry two an over, but importantly not losing any wickets and putting on a fine opening partnership of 50-odd. This included a set of late cuts by Putter, and an excellent six over the first change bowlers’ head by Ryan. He was eventually out trying to push the scoring rate along though, with a good catch at cover forcing him to depart for a decent 25. Timmy Lane was next in, and after taking a few balls to get going eventually started to see it well and hit some excellent fours, before playing on to his stumps for 27. Barry was next in, forced to play an unfamiliar role of having to push the scoring along from the off as we seeked a faster run rate. Unfortunately the ball apparently kept a little low and he was forced to depart for a golden duck. This now means the only member of the top 6 not to have got a golden duck this year is NiB – so beware next week Mr Burton!

Colin was next in, and was unlucky to have Ben depart almost immediately for a well played 56 off 90-odd balls. He had done a fine job seeing off the openers but was caught at cover trying to push the scoring along. Ian was next in and the watching Wantage fans were starting to get nervous as our total looked to be slightly below par. He immediately took the attack to the bowlers, scoring a rapid 24 off 13 balls and putting some momentum back into the batting. He was bowled playing a hoik off the Fudge spinner, but the tone had been set for the rest of the innings where the other batsmen took the same cue in trying to lift us to 200. Mongo leading edged a six over cover before getting bowled, Mabbs scored a decent 10 before missing an excellent ball, and Colin skied a hoik into the leg side and was caught for 25. It was left to our “worst” batsmen to lift the total over 200 and they got close, Duncan unfortunately calling Grant for a single that was too tight and then attempting one of his own, both being run out despite an awesome pulled four from Chaz.

Final total was 196 all out, which unluckily left us with only 4 bonus points and Fudge with 5. Teas were a distinctly middle class affair, over in the nearby pub. Ten out of ten for the chips, samosas, sausage rolls and slivers of cake.

Fudge began their innings positively, and were always going at the rate due to a number of “four-balls” – there seemed to be at least one every over as Ryan struggled to find his line or his length. Grant was bowling a variable line, being called for quite a few wides but trapping one of the openers LBW. Duncan replaced Ryan early and began in his customary tight fashion, although he did commit an indiscretion in the middle of his spell by complaining after having an LBW turned down and turning the batsman inside out with an excellent full ball. He followed this up with a half tracker which deservedly got dispatched into the trees where we were unable to find it again, forcing us to use an older, less shiny cherry.

To his credit, he brought it back, getting a deserved wicket caught at mid-off by Colin, and Barry came on at the other end and bowled one of his best spells. Unfortunately it was not to prove his day, as a number of tough catches went down off his bowling including one almost over Colin’s head at long-off, a sitter at point by Mongo and a tough one at wide mid-on by Ian. Between them, though, Duncan and Barry were keeping the run rates just below what Fudge required although we felt an extra wicket or two would be very beneficial, particularly with the opener looking strong on 50-odd. Barry took two wickets in an over soon afterwards and things were starting to get very tense as we entered the final few overs. Chaz took over from Duncan and bowled an excellent spell.

Unfortunately in every over there seemed to be one four-ball bowled and Fudge stayed up with the rate every single time. Chaz got the opener caught at mid-on for 69 and brought our nemesis from the last game Andy Small to the crease. Immediately he was able to get the score moving, and when Mongo dropped him at deep point there was a real sense that the game might have been lost, despite Fudge still requiring 5.5 an over. They kept finding these runs, including smashing a very important two fours in an over off Chaz, meaning they required two off the final over. This they completed with a skier over Mongo’s head, which he almost got back to for a catch but couldn’t quite cling on.

So we ended up losing by 5 wickets, although the game itself was a lot closer than that suggests. We shot ourselves in the foot by dropping too many catches at crucial times, and the bowling was a little loose at times, although you have to give the batsmen the credit as they were able to hit the rubbish for four on nearly every occasion. Let’s hope we can improve on those and hopefully have the chance next season to meet Fudge in division 4 if we can play well for the remainder of the year. If nothing else perhaps we can join them for another all you can eat Thai meal for a fiver! Good luck to them as well, it would be very surprising if they weren’t to win the league now.

Man of the Match was Ben for his 56. Barry also got nominated for his tight spell.

Champagne moment was Mabbs for running a four, although Ryan’s 6 and Mongo’s 6 also got mentions, as did an amazing Chaz stop with his boot.
Pig’s Ear went to Mongo for his succession of dropped catches, although Chaz breaking a plastic chair and falling off backwards at the same time also deserved a nom.
Net Result: Only 6 points, which is a disappointment that doesn’t really match our performance which was at times on a par with Fudge, who walked away with the full batch of 30.