Wield vs RNA Sports, Sunday 12th May
Weather - Mid-Winter!!!
Match summary – Wield hit the wet ground running!!!
And so, a new season.
The sun shone, the trees rustled gently in the breeze, eleven good men, finely honed from a winter of conditioning, dressed smartly in their freshly laundered whites, stepped joyfully out onto the much loved turf, eager to do battle in the opening game of the summer….
Meanwhile, at Wield…
The rain fell, the trees barely held onto what few leaves they had, nine men and a boy, out of breath and out of sorts, squeezed into ill-fitting underpants, found unwashed, at the bottom of last year’s kit bag, stepped onto the sodden turf, complaining that they had to field first on such a bloody miserable day.
And so it was with some trepidation, after the skipper had won the toss and elected to field, that Wield CC embarked on the 2013 season.
The batting side made a brisk start, benefiting mainly from Josh’s attempts to keep the ball dry by avoiding the playing surface altogether. Ken and Josh were quickly sent into the long wet grass, after unsuccessful spells and the opposition having reached 40 for no wicket.
Philip played the seniority card to get the benefit of the prevailing gale, and so debutant Shaun, replaced Josh at the other end. This combination of youth and experience, pace and guile, follow through and no follow through – had the batsmen bewildered and was to be the turning point of the innings.
Shaun, toiling against the wind, struck first, removing both openers in quick succession, and thus opened up the middle order to the man at the other end.
Philip’s early season form was a joy to watch. Too much flight and the wind would likely have taken the ball into the Yew Tree car park. Too little flight and the wet on the ground could have prevented it reaching the full 22 yards, but as it was the bombs were guided with precision, and soon had the batsman dancing down the track, only then to retreat hurriedly in ignominy.
Having played his part, Shaun made way for Robin. Given the difficult conditions, Robin shortened his run up so as to avoid slipping on his delivery stride – this effectively meant that Robin did away with his delivery stride preferring to start and end his run up in the same place.
Philip and Robin, showing great control, kept pressure on the batsman and the scoreboard turned over slowly. The early drizzle had turned into a more persistent rain and the fielders, with nothing much to do were getting cold and grumpy. We needed cheering up!
We didn’t have to wait long for a moment that made it all worthwhile. Robin bowled, and the ball was spooned gently into the covers for the waiting Robson Snr to take a regulation catch. A safer pair of hands is seldom to be seen wearing a Wield shirt!
He steadied himself, barely needing to move to pouch the catch that seemed a formality. But then, indecision! He pointed his hands to the sky, then in front of his chest and then to each side, in a sort of cricketing hokey-cokey. Suddenly, inexplicably, he decided he would attempt the catch lying down, thrusting his hands between his legs at a ball that appeared to be mocking him as he floundered on the ground. The ball eventually struck only his knee and the batsmen ran a comfortable single while the remaining fielders’ wiped tears of merriment from their eyes.
A chastened Tony soon replaced Philip who had finished a lengthy spell on 2-27 from 11 overs. Tony enjoyed immediate success capturing a wicket in his first over and two more in a second that included a hat-trick ball that missed the stumps by the sort of margin his hands could only dream of when attempting a catch. Tony finished with 3-1 in 3 overs.
The innings was tidied up by Charles with two quick wickets and the opposition all out for 103. The target, whilst modest, would probably have been 50% higher on a dry surface, so Wield would need to avoid complacency and over indulgence during the tea-break.
Alas, the cakes! We would have to focus only on avoiding complacency to see us through.
Toby and Ben opened our reply, but after an initial flurry of quick runs, Toby, eager to get to the warming embrace of the pub, soon succumbed to an attempted pull and was caught comfortably at mid-wicket.
This brought Tony to the wicket. Neither he nor Ben could hit the ball anywhere near the boundary which meant that quick singles and scampered twos were the order or the day. With Tony at the crease this would normally be a cause for concern but on this occasion they accumulated runs at a good pace and with little drama.
Ben survived a couple of close stumping calls not least because the popping crease had long since been washed away by the incessant rain. As Wield approached its target, so did Ben near his 50, and it seemed for a while that Tony may steal his thunder by hitting the winning runs. But no, the cricketing gods smiled on Ben and he reached his 50 whilst bringing the scores level.
The win was duly secured and the first match of the season had been played in the rain from the first ball to the last.
A win, a top quality tea, a first jug, and an early contender for the seasons best dropped catch and most village moment, all rolled into one.
All we need now is the sun!
Ken Thomas
