June 2010 Blog Posts (13)

TITANIC

Titanic was the ship that could never sink. At 39-5 [15 overs] Crouch End's top order again looked all at sea. Hit-Girl and Rob-J mustered a partnership of 62 with grit and class, it's obvious which is which. Hit-Girl fell just when the tide was turning for 40, so we had to partner grit with grit from Mohsinul and debutant Marcel.

146 to win off 50 overs may have been possible for Crouch End to defend on a wet wicket, maybe earlier in…

THE DARK KNIGHT

It's derby day and that can only mean one thing. Edmonton domination.

Whilst Crouch End never had control of the game, it didn't completely slip thanks mostly to Hitesh's bowling. Stand out figures of 5-40 in a total of 221.

The chase was briefly on after Hitesh joined JJ for a flourish of 40. With 100 needed off 20 overs, wickets tumbled as they so often and obviously do and Crouch End remembered they couldn't…

Winchmore Hill taught Crouch End a lesson.

Leave this division and don't come back. All the skippers plans failed, all the fielders past the ball, all in all enough to make you retire. Srinath bowled with great skill and discipline but got no reward. Rhusharb was the only other bowler to come out with credit. Rob Jenkins went FAR, to complete weekend figures of 20 overs 398 runs 3 wickets.

Winchmore Hill 232-9 45overs

Crouch End lost an early…

Hounslow Heath was cold and windy on Saturday. It used to be the resort of highway men but now contains Heathrow, the M4 and the ground used by Richmond 5^th XI. For the 3rds to return from that inhospitable spot with one point in their swag bag was not such a poor outcome for a hard afternoon’s work.…

Skipper Tom Morris writes.......

This Sunday saw the Friendly XI face an amicable Bharat Olympiads, bringing back happy memories from the club’s previous affiliation and a chance for a number of youngsters from both sides to have a bash at…

Crouch End stuck in fellow promotees Alexandra Park and got stuck into fellow promotees Alexandra Park. Jon Smart got two early wickets and then dropped the biggest clanger of the season. The tumbleweed that followed the drop moved faster than the catch.

The spin attack of Rob, Shobuj and Sri kept the pressure on but the star performer was Rhusharb's swing and point fielding.

While he was the catalyst in Play Of The Day, Sri delivered the cou de gras. A diving…

THE BROTHERS GRIMM

One of my earliest memories is of me sat in the bath with my brother JJ, throwing toy ships around the choppy waters. Suddenly I had to go to the toilet and went to get out of the bath. It's common courtesy not to piss in a shared bath.

Instead of having to climb out and dry myself off, JJ suggested I went into a cup he found. So I stayed in the warm bath and was careful not to spill, cause faux pas and ruin a lovely evening.…

The 3rds took full points on Saturday against Perivale Phoenicians at Mill Hill but made very hard work of doing so. A very satisfactory fielding performance was followed by some unconvincing batting; and a win which should have been wrapped up long before the England game, didn’t come until just before kick-off.…

THE PHANTOM MENACE

Crouch End notched their first serious score of the season with quick contributions from JJ, Hit-Girl and DJ. It was set up by Ali's brilliant and mature 86. Crouch End posted 262-8 off 54.

'This is a complete waste of time', remarked one rattled tail-ender not wishing to don his pads so late in the innings, time he could have been spent bowling or eating.

'Oh what are we doing here BUT wasting our time' Ranil's…

A very good 3^rd XI game emerged from an unpromising start at Mill Hill on Saturday. Tamils won the toss and chose to field, a strange choice on a hot afternoon considering they were a team of predominantly heavy, middle-aged men. Furthermore their bowling attack was unconvincing: but then so too was the batting as Simon and Richard stuttered their way through the first 19 overs.…

RAIN MAN

Rob Jenkins finally took a break from the driving as Omar Khan insisted

'I'm an excellent driver. I'm an excellent driver'

Amazingly, Rain Man got us there safely. It was raining so we ate crisps in the pavillion. Highlights include Quavers.

Rain Man showed his amazing math brain by calculating there are 14 Quavi…