Wield vs Bournemouth Wanderers, Sunday 1st July
Weather - Quite pleasant for February!!!
Match summary – Second Wield win in a week, What the hell is going on!!!
Cricket has been played in many places and in strange conditions – at base camp Mount Everest (2007), the South Pole (2012, in a temperature of -35 degrees), the North Pole (1991 – between a British and a US submarine – we won), and on the Brambles sandbank between Southampton and the Isle of Wight at high water – on a regular basis.
It rather looked on Sunday morning as if Wield might be joining this list of unlikely venues as the monsoon like rain lashed the area, adding credibility to our bid to provide a venue for Olympic sailing events. But by around 2.30 (or 2.45 as we call it in Wield) we were able to take the field against the Bournemouth Wanderers. The match started under scudding grey clouds, weather which, like Wield’s performance, improved as the day went on.
You may read ill informed press reports to effect that the Wield side is composed mainly of delinquent pensioners all on much deserved disability payments. While of course this an outrageous slander – it is a firm team rule that Zimmer frames must be parked where they do not obstruct the bowler’s run up – Bournemouth had clearly read about this and provided a team that abounded with huge personal charm and considerable cricketing skill, but with a collective age that surpassed Methuselah by several centuries. Wield by contrast had suddenly discovered that life outside the intensive care unit was possible, and fielded several people below even today’s reducing pensionable age. In particular we were delighted to welcome back Lord Flasheart (Ed Robinson), our iconic juvenile lead, who has been playing (mainly skiing) for the last few months in North America.
Wield started well, and for once managed to keep it up. Two wickets fell cheaply, and although the next two Wanderers to the crease managed not to wander too much, they were slow to score. A brief burst of runs took them towards a small margin of respectability (60ish) when things slowed down again. The Wanderers started taking risks again to boost their score, with inevitable results in loss of wickets. At one stage, it looked as if we might be able to bowl them out, but we resisted temptation while restraining them to 113 (or thereabouts – no score book to hand) by tea. We went up to the pavilion well pleased with ourselves.
There is nothing in this world so fine as a good tea served by lovely ladies after a good afternoon in the field. Wield performed quite strongly in this department, as is our custom, but were beaten hollow by the Wanderers, whose performance at the tea table was unbelievably good, and left every plate empty.
Although the sun was now shining, with the ground looking idyllic in the slowly setting sun, we soon discovered that batting conditions were hard going. In fact the sun seemed to set very slowly as the young pretender (Tony Robson) batted on and on….and on and on and on, eventually reaching a well deserved 50 (at the cost of young Jack R sulking at not getting a bat).
Young Lord Flashheart dashed the hopes of his followers by going in and coming out swiftly, (one hopes that his mojo has not been lost along with his passport) but Wield eventually passed the Wanderers’ total with a comfortable margin of overs to spare. An afternoon during which it does not rain, a delightful opposition, and excellent tea, and a lovely day’s cricket with a good result – what more could one ask for?
Philip Geddes
