Sunday 8th May

Words from Tom Morris:

Sunday Wildcats vs. Spartans

A warm May welcome to the Spartans for a re-enactment of the Battle of Thermopylae saw a day of ups and very few downs for the Wildcats, particularly in the catch department.  However, in keeping with the tough resilience of the Hellenic Warriors, they dug their heels in with some tight bowling, leaving the Sundayers’ hopes fading under the shady branches of the weeping willow, a good 50 runs short of victory.

The day started with the appearance of a new signing, Vijay, with a promising arm and Old Faithful, Bernard, just waiting for his geyser to explode.  Unfortunately, things stayed rumbling beneath the surface for some time, as the surly Spartans began swiping their shields this way and that, looking frighteningly likely to restore the 300 lost in that awful film.  And then, the catch…

An innocuous delivery, a huge swipe, a massive deflection, the ball flies skyward behind deep gully, spinning hopelessly away from the nearest fielder – but wait, who is the nearest fielder?  None other than Rob ‘flying fish’ Youdale, flipping like a salmon coming back to spawn, clenching the ball with both fins millimetres from the ground.  Game on!  What followed was a period of excellent bowling, including a tight two-wicket spell from stand-in Charlie who, with a borrowed kit two sizes too small, looked like a cross between Bob Willis and Jacques Tati.  He backed this up with a catch on the boundary and Sahil found his form with 3 for 37.  But Bernard’s eruption was worth waiting for, with two wickets, a run-out and a catch sending the Spartans back to the pavilion licking their wounds, all out for 176 off 34 overs.

However, what could have been a day by the seaside turned out to be sand in the ice cream and seaweed in the trunks, when the first fifty still wasn’t on the board as the fifth wicket went down.  Bernard (27) and Vijay (18) made a valiant effort in the rear, but all to no avail, with the boys crashing out for 128. 

Small consolation was the incessant chundering of AJ, all-round family entertainer and raconteur, now available for after-dinner speeches and personalised public heckling. 

All in all, could have done better goes on the report again, but the potential for improvement is still there, as shown by the solid performance on the field.

Man of the match:  Bernard, a gentleman in all aspects of the game.