Match Report vs Chepstow
20 September 2020 @ Chepstow (Skipper Will, report
Tim)
Disclaimer: So, I am now at the end of the match report and
I’ve just realised that it’s content is perhaps
on a par with SteveO’s report from a couple of seasons
ago. For those that don’t remember/weren’t around
it basically said little more than we played a game of cricket
one day and won / lost (I can’t honestly remember).
Neither can I remember much about this game, and I’m
no good at comedy writing. I thought about a quiz like Dave’s
from a few matches ago, but that would mean rewriting the
report and, through my own lethargy, I am now under a tight
deadline from Dan; so I have added a single multiple choice
question at the end. One answer per person please. Those that
get it right will be added in to a draw for a drink of their
choosing at the next Casuals’ gathering.
Chepstow - 20th September 2020
‘At school he used to dream about being Bruce Lee
But the need for chops in the Manor Top
Ain't all that great you see
And so he gave up on his black belt and first Dan
As near as he got to China was a week in Camber Sands’
And in much the same my entire knowledge of Chepstow was
gleaned from Saturday afternoons watching horseracing on World
of Sport (for the youngster amongst us, before Sky, sports
existed on terrestrial television predominantly on Saturday
afternoons when, coincidentally most people who were interested
in sport were themselves out playing or watching sport) and
latterly peering at the TV screen in a smoke filled betting
shop, and so I jumped (well jump might be a bit of an exaggeration,
but you get the general idea) at the chance to take a Sunday
drive out and play a bit of cricket for only the second time
this season. Pre-match research the night before (again, a
research is a bit strong - consists of trying to work out
where the ground is and how long it will take to get there
making sure I am there sometime after Richie and before SteveO)
filled me with trepidation – the opponents website looked
very professional and even contained something called a Form
Guide (again something I only associate with trips to the
bookies or the races) listing the last five results for both
sides. No idea whether said guide was accurate or not, but
the fact that they appeared to take things seriously was enough
to make me think we could be in for an interesting encounter.
To set the scene, fast forward to the start of their innings,
DT sagely remarked as we took the field that, with the addition
of Shakey, this was perhaps the most unathletic of XIs that
the Casuals could field. Rewind to arriving at the ground
to find that the average age of their team was perhaps twenty,
even allowing for the fact that their skipper was about fifty.
A mismatch? Of course not. And of course SteveO was late.
I’m not even sure that occurrence warrants mention in
a report any more (at least he got there this time), although
this weeks’ ‘excuse’ - a story about a gin
bottle that I have unfortunately now forgotten – did
seem (at the time) to present as an entirely plausible reason
for arriving after the game had started. (In other SteveO
news, he’s got a new car. I kind of lost track with
this story, but it did seem to me that he’d perhaps
been on the wrong end of the deal…..)
And so to the match itself. Captain Will won the toss, elected
to bat and named the absent SteveO at 4. The innings started
solidly rather than eventfully with Pabs and Rob at the crease.
They navigated the first 6 overs, waiting for SteveO to appear,
before Pabs fell for a 24 ball duck with the score on 8. Rob
and Will pushed on, but Will fell for 14 with the score on
25 and the arrival of SteveO at the crease effectively heralded
the start of the Casual’s tail. James and Rob stuck
around for a bit before the latter was bowled for 30 and the
former bowled for 28. Dan chipped in with 16 and Goff 9 (briefly
raising hopes of a Lisvane style comeback) and there were
3 more ducks in the innings Keith, Tim and (surprisingly)
DT.
Casuals all out for 108 in the 33rd over.
Pabs Stumped 0
Rob Bowled 30
Will Bowled 14
SteveO Bowled 4
Keith Bowled 0
George Caught 2
James Bowled 28
Tim Bowled 0
Dan Bowled 16
Goff Not Out 9
Dave Bowled 0
Extras 7
A meagre total, but defendable on a good day, and with Dan
and Goff sharing early wickets maybe this was to be a good
day. Dan in particular would have had more on another day.
And on another day there perhaps wouldn’t have been
8 byes (mainly, if not entirely, off Goff….). But he
didn’t and there was, and in the end Chepstow sauntered
to their target in the 29th over for the loss of 5 wickets.
Honourable mentions to Keith and DT for taking a wicket apiece,
to Goff and Keith for fine catches, and Rob who was involved
in a run out that I am struggling to remember, but am thinking
it had an element of comedy about it. A mention also the Chepstow
batsman who came out and took guard at the non-strikers end,
and for captain Will for keeping those Casuals prone to mishaps
in the field well away from the archery that was going on
over the far side of the pitch.
Dan 8-2-20-1
Goff 8-0-22-1
Dave 6.2-0-26-1
George 2-0-19-0
Keith 3-0-9-1
Tim 1-0-7-0
And so, a socially distanced post match pint in the early
evening sun brought down the curtain on the most bizarre of
seasons. Fingers crossed the next one proves a little more
normal and that, when we play them next season, Barry Wanderers
field the team that they put out the week after we played
them….
Finally, as promised, to the multiple choice quiz –
one of these statements isn’t true, but which one?
1. I ride horses and during the winter months compete in
point to point races
2. I have played competitive cricket in a team with both Mike
Gatting and Andrew Strauss
3. I was a DJ around the time that Britpop was popular and
had a hand in a number one record of that era
Anyone know where Manor Top is?
back
|