On a very warm late May afternoon 11 men from the 3rd battalion, Enstone division, entered the Somme (aka Islip) ready for battle. There was a full team this week including the return of Enstone legend Alex 'Jizza' Speke. The skipper went for the toss and surprisingly called correctly allowing him to employ the increasingly more common batting first approach, this looked a wise decision on a pitch with more gremlins than BA's computer systems. Pony, who was still somewhere on the M40, was able to relax and slow down. W.Speke and Sparky were first over the top and into the fray and were looking comfortable, even with the totally unpredictable bounce, and moved serenely on to 28 before the Skipper was caught off the final ball of the 8th over for a well made 20. Sparky followed from the first ball of the next over, unlucky to get one that stayed very low, and was adjudged to be out LBW for 5. With Forder and Wilson Senior now at the crease stability returned and the Enstone batsmen made light work of the Islip attack with boundaries coming regularly including a big 6 from Steve. With the score moving to 69 Forder was given LBW and departed having made 19. Budgie was the next man into the breach but was unfortunate to get another ball that stayed low and he was bowled for 1 with the score on 74, the pitch was now starting to have a decisive influence on the proceedings. John Watts was the next man in but was caught behind for 2, with Steve getting to his obligatory 30 before also being caught behind. Pony, who had by this point arrived, tried to accelerate the run rate and galloped to 13 before being bowled, this bought Wilson Junior to the crease, to accompany Somme veteran D. Stewart, Wilson launching 2 big fours before being the next man out, LBW, for 8 with the score on Nelson. This brought TP to the crease, who had managed to promote himself up the order, he intelligently declined to take the single on offer, sending Stewart back then watched as Dan missed a straight one and was bowled next ball for 3. Jizza was the last man in and was promptly the last man out as he glanced his first ball straight to the man (boy) at 3rd slip. Peterson protecting his average with a strong and stable 0 not out without facing a ball. Enstone were all out for 111 from 32.3 overs. With the early conclusion of the first innings and the news that tea wasn't ready the teams turned around straight away with John and Pony taking the ball. Watts started brilliantly and bowled the number 2 batsmen for a duck, the perfect start when defending a moderate total. Islip then made slow progress towards the 8th over when tea was taken. After tea W.Speke took the ball (having replaced Watts in the 7th over) and bowled with typical accuracy missing the outside edge on numerous occasions. It was Pony though who made the breakthrough, having been hit for 6 from the previous delivery he removed the opener with an aggressive ball that took out the batsman's stumps after a wild swing, this was matched by an equally aggressive celebration sending the Islip man on his way, he obviously didn't know it's not a good idea to make Pony angry. The big hitting Saghir was the next man in for Islip but his stay was short lived mis-cuing the stock W.Speke delivery high into the air with the skipper taking the catch himself. Wickets were now coming regularly and Will took 2 in 2 balls (Both kids, just like Ned) and both bowled with the first being an expertly bowled off cutter. What Will needed now was a sympathetic umpire for the hat-trick delivery, unfortunately his Dad wasn't there and even though there was a strong shout for LBW the batsman survived Will finishing with impressive figures of 8-2-6-3 although there was a general consensus that the scorer must have made a mistake. At the other end Jizza was keeping things tight and rolling back the years with some fantastic deliveries, Dan Stewart getting particularly excited with the Jizz based puns, as shown on his new water bottle... Alex being unfortunate to not take a wicket but finishing with fantastic figures of 8-2-26-0. Pony returned and removed the dangerous and extremely annoying bus driver with a straight one that trapped him LBW with no shot being played, the bus driver held his ground trying to prove something but the umpire was unmoved, Pony finishing with 8-2-30-2. TP was now bowling down the hill produced a masterful display of extremely slow bowling, taking two in two in his 6th over. The first was a straight one that kept low and hit middle stump this surprised everyone with Freddie commenting that he didn't know Tom could do that, the next man in, wearing his Grandfathers woolly jumper, hit the next ball straight to Steve at mid-on for a comfortable catch. The hat-trick delivery was beautifully flighted but unfortunately drifted slightly down the leg side, this was certainly not jug avoidance. The scores were getting close and there was tension in the air but in Tom's next over the batsmen tried to take a quick single with the ball being hit to Jizza at mid-off, he collected cleanly and threw accurately in to TP who gleefully whipped off the bails to run out the young number 3 who had made a patient 16., Tom finishing with 8-0-20-2. Watts had returned at the other end and as the score reached 98 the batsmen tried to take 2 byes, Freddie audibly frustrated with the inconsistent bounce. However the batsmen mis-judged the raw pace of the skipper who picked his knees up, chased down the ball and arrowed it in to Forder to complete the run out in what was an unusual and certainly not moral tactic from the wicketkeeper. Watts finishing with figures of 7-0-21-1. This bought to an end an excellent game of cricket with Enstone winning by 12 watched by a record crowd of WAGS, who have worryingly started to plan a weekend away, but as long as it's not in the cricket season then the heroic men of Enstone will be fine.
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In advance of any great sporting event preparation is key. For the members of Enstone CC, about to battle arch rivals Wytham in a must win match, a variety of approaches were taken. Dan prepared a new Paul Newman based anecdote to relay to the team, Freddie purchased the book, “Sledging for wicket keepers: a beginners guide”, whilst most of the team spent time either on the Physio bench or spraying themselves with WD40 in attempt to avoid further injuries and silence creaking joints. Will meanwhile got lost the night before (highlighting his worth as a Geography teacher) and mysteriously ended up in Kiev, participating in the Eurovision song contest (having cut his teeth singing ‘the wheels on the bus’ to the Enstone CC youth supporters wing the previous Sunday). With only 9 players, the skipper elected to bat first and with opening partner Parker, got to work dispatching indifferent Wytham bowling to all parts of the field. After hitting 7 boundaries, and sharing a substantial opening stand, Speke departed for a well-made 32. Parker continued his imperious form, passing 50 for the second time in as many innings for Enstone. The score moved to 151 before Wytham were able to take a second wicket, Forder being run out for 27. S Wilson joined Parker at the crease who fell just 12 short of what would have been an excellent century. The foundation having been set by the top order, the middle order (with 9 players there was no tail!), marshalled effectively by S. Wilson (who was eventually caught in the final over for 31) chipped in with useful contributions to take the score to 218 for 7 at the end of Enstone’s 40 overs. There was a sense of optimism amongst the Enstone 9 as they took to the field after tea. Watts and P. Anthony kept it tight. Pony won the first moral victory of the Wytham innings when, despite trapping their opener plumb in front, the umpire was unmoved. Shots were hit in the air that fell just out of reach of the fielders as Wytham limped to 50. Eventually Speke was rewarded for his accurate bowling with two catches in quick succession going to Watts and then Forder behind the stumps. Wytham rebuilt, but just as one of the batsmen was getting his eye in, hitting a succession of sixes, he was caught in the deep going for another big shot by P. Anthony, who took it comfortably despite not actually seeing the ball until the last possible moment. If Pony’s catch was an example of ‘liquid cricket’, then the next wicket to fall was anything but. Stewart came onto bowl, lulling the batsmen into a false sense of security with a few loose deliveries before pouncing with a ball that the batsman could only lob gently into the air. Stewart ran towards the ball, and with his eyes fixed on glory, promptly dropped it. In the meantime the batsmen had decided to begin a meeting in the middle of the wicket. A distraught Stewart didn’t notice the run out opportunity and what followed had uncanny resemblance to an Alan Partridge sketch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwW3ytid4DA Happily he did finally come to his senses, he then threw the ball to Forder who took the bails off with the batman well short of his ground. From this point on, Enstone’s victory was never really in doubt The wickets continued to fall in an excellent display of catching from the fielding team including an outrageous caught and bowled from D Wilson, which made up for the fact that he had previously lost his pocket money for launching the ball at his father’s face.
Wytham finished on 167-9 off their 40 overs. Enstone won by 51 runs. It was a glorious late spring day in Enstone as the teams arrived. Enstone took the usual decision to bat first and as the opening pair of Speke and Parker took to the field rest of the team settled down for some sunbathing and discussing the work of the late, great Paul Newman. After enduring the best the FFMCC could offer in terms of bowling the opening pair seemed to be settling in for a good spell but having hit a stonking 4 W. Speke got a little over excited and mistimed a shot and was caught. As he left the field an Enstone player asked if the bowler had done anything special and the captain replied by quoting Paul Newman in The Sting “Hell, no. I just cut into him!” F.Forder then took the crease but decided not to hang around long, out for just 6, as he needed to learn more about Mr Newman’s filmography; about which he was woefully ignorant. Claiming, outrageously he had never even seen Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Parker was undeterred and continued to frustrate the opposition by smacking the ball all over the field. He was helped for some time by A.Smith (3) and more notably by S. Wilson who shrugged off his lingering thigh strain to notch up a healthy and productive 30. To quote Paul Newman in Colour of Money “You make him feel good, I teach him how to run.”
Spirits were as high as the warm sun over West Oxfordshire and S. Parker passed his 50 with a cracking shot for 4. But just as he was setting his sights on a season debut tonne he too mistimed a shot only to be caught like his unfortunate Captain. It was, however a remarkable bat notching up a brilliant 67. This left J. Watts, who quickly settled down to some excellent run making, and B. Gregory who had set aside his essay marking to grab bat and pads. Sadly, despite a valiant stint he was embarrassingly run out by Watts. And leaving the field he complained bitterly “You can’t play your friends like marks, Hooker”.Also quoting Paul Newman in The Sting. P. Anthony established a useful partnership with Watts as the run total grew but sadly Watts marched down the wicket to attack a loose delivery from a FFMCC spinner only to completely miss it and get stumped a good 10 feet from his crease. D. Stewart took to the field desperate to beat F. Forder’s 6 and after a sizeable 4 and a couple of singles a delivery that really had some pace to it took his off stump, just. It brought to mind Paul Newman's line in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof “People like to do what they used to do after they’ve stopped being able to do it”. D. Wilson had a brave knock before being caught out. Leaving T. Peterson and Anthony a few deliveries to try to get to the 170 that Pony so wanted to reach. They did it despite .Peterson never actually hitting the ball despite a valiant effort of the final ball. Enstone left the field for tea with a healthy 171 and high hopes for the first win of the season. After a delicious scran by K.Anthony Enstone set up their field and welcomed the opening bats. Watts and Anthony quickly set about them with some impressive accuracy and ferocity keeping the run rate very low with three maidens between them. Speke took over and with a look of steely determination quickly took a wicket. When the new batsman didn't give quite the respect for Speke’s bowling that it deserved he was reminded of Paul Newman’s line in Butch and Sundance: “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”: “Listen, I don’t mean to be a sore loser, but, uh, when it’s done, if I’m dead, kill him.” There was no need as Will powered a wicked delivery past the disrespectful batsman chipping a piece of the stumps with it’s venom. He got a little fortunate with his third dismissal as the umpire gave lbw for a delivery that pitched and stayed well on the legside. Surprisingly Speke did not complain about that umpiring lbw call and the Umpire was heard to wryly quote the famous movie star, Paul Newman “Boy, I got vision and the rest of the world wears bifocals”. As drinks were taken at the half way mark there was no doubt in the mind of the Enstone players that victory was assured. However, the two batsmen returned to the crease with renewed focus and intent and started taking quick singles and boundaries. T. Peterson took over from Anthony and despite some accurate bowling couldn't find a way past the bat or to keep the runs down. Stewart took over also at the other end and similarly found the runs adding up. He did take the wicket of the dangerous left hander brilliantly caught by Wilson at point. Peterson almost immediately dispatched the new batsman only for another left hander to arrive. By this point the two bowlers were tiring at the expense of pace and accuracy and Stewart especially was probably kept in an over too long. With ten overs to go FFMCC still needed 68 to win yet with 4 left were somehow within 20. The field grew quiet and desperate; mistakes started creeping in to simple fielding. Both bats were dropped and even with the inclusion of S.Wilson to bowl and the return of Watts the damage had been done and the total was passed with 10 deliveries to spare. It was an agonising loss made worse by how convinced the lads were of victory. Nevertheless it was a good all round performance and there were positives to take with them into the next game against Wytham. The boys could do well with remembering the words of Oscar winner Paul Newman in Harper. "The bottom is loaded with nice people, Albert. Only cream and bastards rise." Maybe it’s time for Enstone to be creamy bastards again. The NHS is a wonderful institution, a national treasure and something that Enstone Cricket is proud to support. Our method of support? –Getting as many injuries as possible when fielding, then visiting the doctors in the days that follow. After last week’s hand injury to the skipper, alongside a dodgy back for Peterson, the race was on to see who could get the best injury. As Enstone surprisingly fielded first, the Oxenford batsman seized the initiative with some powerful hitting. Pete Anthony and Jon Watts were punished for any error in line or length. The prize for first casualty went to Piers Myatt who stopped a stinging drive, in true Julian Watts style, with his shin. Shortly afterward Pascoe fell to Watts, bowling him with the help of an inside edge. The number 3 batman followed shortly afterward, LBW to a clever slower ball from Pete Anthony (6-2-23-1). Enstone sensed an opportunity and the scoring slowed. Yet it was Manwell who was causing the Enstone bowlers the greatest problems. Despite bowling changes causing some pressure, as the batsmen got used to the bowling, they hit out with power. Speke (3-1-20-0) felt the brunt of this with the second injury of the day, as he dropped a sharp caught and bowled chance and damaged his thumb. Rouse (6-1-31-1) and Myatt (8-2-28-0) helped keep things tight and ensured the batsman worked for their runs. Rouse claiming the wicket of Rainer caught by Myatt at point. Despite some strong bowling from Kev Anthony (3-0-23-0) and Peterson (6-0-50-0), the runs continued to accumulate with Manwell hitting a fine 100. As the Enstone fielders chased around the pitch more injuries followed, with both Stewart and Wilson succumbing to leg strains. The walking wounded continued to try and stem the flow of runs, with Watts (8-1-42-2) coming back with another wicket and helping limit the opposition to 222 when more seemed likely. Following a fine tea, Enstone emerged from the changing room strapped-up, dosed-up and prepared to fight for victory. Oxenford’s opening bowlers tested Enstone’s top order with a mixture of pace and swing. The pace of Shafi undoing Kev Anthony (0) and Forder (4). Wilson and Speke then saw off the opening bowlers. With runs starting to flow, thanks to the injured Wilson having a runner in the form of the ever athletic Pete Anthony, optimism grew. Then the skipper fell to Shackleton for 28, with Wilson following shortly after for 25. At this point a collapse of Enstonian proportions seemed likely, with Myatt (0) and Rouse (2) both falling cheaply. Yet the steel of Enstone’s lower order should not be underestimated. Watts (21) and Pete Anthony (17) played some glorious shots to keep the game going, and a potential run chase in the offing before both fell to Pascoe. Peterson made a fluent 7 not out, while the injured Stewart (0) was unable to emulate the glory of last week, partly down to his injury.
Enstone finished on a disappointing 114, but some lessons were taken from the game; don’t stop the ball with your shin (Myatt), stop dropping batsman that go onto to make big scores (Speke) , warm up properly (Wilson and Stewart) and don’t volunteer for running (Pete Anthony). More importantly the team realised that the talent and capability is there, but we need to take our chances and capitalise on starts with the bat. With a full team in the offing for next week, who knows what could happen. Whatever does happen, let’s hope there is there is an ambulance in attendance, just in case. |
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