OUR LAST GAME. And a beautiful day, how different from recent experience. The opposition, A Few Good Men [ex Durham University], whose first visit to Stonor this was, arrived promptly. We did not. They were a very agreeable and helpful lot, and busied themselves bringing out tables and chairs in the sunshine. Eventually we dribbled in, but Adam, Jake and Ally Fraser only made it – from Cambridge and Marble Arch respectively – just before lunch. Jake had waited vainly, through a mix up, for Cobb Jr. to arrive. Adam, so he said, had been enjoying the company of a few good men in Cambridge. I mention the late arrivals because it had a bearing on the match. Martin Bowden, our captain and Alistair Metcalfe, their skipper, agreed – optimistically I thought – on a 40 over game. In the event the light persisted, just. We won the toss and […]

HEAVY RAIN in the night had drenched the pitch and it was generous of groundsman Tony Fisher to let us play. Terry Blake, captaining the Hermits as always (N. Bird was the V&A’s skip), won the toss and elected to bat (!). An odd decision considering the sodden outfield and muddy crease. We played a 35 over game, with an option to reduce to 32 if the rains came (they did, but only when the match was just won and lost). The wet pitch dictated our bowling order. Our key weapon was Jake Warman, but it would have been wasteful to open with him as his speed and accuracy need dry footing and ball. So Nixey opened for 3 overs with Shaun bowling his accurate medium pace the other end. Nixey nearly got Terry Blake out third ball when he skied a short one (or long hop) to Dennis at […]

A VERY GOOD DAY but it is quite a lot of work without a Sarah there. We played a 40 over game and bowled first starting with, arguably, the finest opening pair seen for the V & A – Jake and his mate Jack who is 6 inches taller and even quicker.Dennis and Adam came on afterwards and both bowled very well. Without Bird N. or Andy we were short a keeper so Fredi Devas, who kept for Bedales under 14s, bravely put the gloves on. He did a top job but dropped a sharp one off Jack and a low one off Adam, before getting hit on the side of his eye from an edge off Den’s 5th over. Richard Woolhouse took over for the last few before lunch while Fredi was patched up. Jake picked up the first wicket in his 5th over, with their opener adjudged LBW […]

ONE OF THOSE AWKWARD mornings when it’s not nasty enough to cancel, but looking distinctly iffy. As it turned out the sun shone intermittently and rain never threatened. From the cricketing perspective wind and an erratic pitch – its vagaries compounded by a wet summer and haphazard cutting – made batting tricky. The match started late, partly because Tim Young, the Thebertons’ supremo, got stuck in traffic in London and then meandered around the Chilterns without benefit of directions (left in Chiswick). Their captain Paddy balked at V&A skipper Simon Foster’s suggestion of a 30 over game and 35 overs was agreed as a compromise. Several of the Thebertons mentioned that they were very strong, as they had been the previous week when they’d ‘rolled over’ the opposition. They suggested they should bat first to make a day of it. Simon Foster, ever stubborn or perverse, won the toss and […]

BECAUSE OF SOME COCK-UP we were 13 – having struggled to find 11 for the last two games. In fact we turned 2 players down and one failed to get out of bed. And Linthwaite buggered off before our innings so we might have had practically two teams. Rupert Morris was captain but was late – he had to turn back because he thought he’ d left the oven on (‘ Old men forget’ –Henry V). So I tossed with the Erratics’ skipper James Rivington and somewhat imposed a 30 overs match, because a) the forecast was iffy and b) some of us had to leave early and anyway most are incapable of fielding for much more. Long declaration games can be dull. I won the toss and elected to field, assuming batting would be easier in the afternoon (it wasn’ t). There were a few grumbles from the opposition […]

A rather different day apparently. A declaration game, only their captain David Maddocks, now sporting a new haircut, believes in safety first so they batted for 51 overs for 200 odd runs. As far as Martin can recall [it was a long time ago, last Saturday] the pick of our bowlers was Linthwaite’s timber merchant friend Peter, with Dennis (2 wickets) and Enzo (1 clean bowled), Chris Williamson and Mooro, and Bowden (also with 1 clean bowled) and Linthwaite himself all (or almost all) picking up wickets. We actually batted for 41 overs so there wasn’t a huge disparity. But we got bogged down and with 20 overs to go it was apparent that we were not going to get the runs so a draw beckoned. At this point captains have an option to bowl their own crap to make the total gettable and thus encourage foolhardy shots, and wickets. […]

We batted first in an overs game. They gave us two excellent players – as last year –Matt Chataway, the Joggers’ captain’s brother, and Eddie, a very good bowler. We played more than adequately for our 180 odd, with runs being scored by Richard Woolhouse (30), Matt (a fine 60), Dennis (40) and Bowden (25). Figures are approximate because a) I was away and don’t have the scorebook and b) Martin’s memory is befuddled with substance abuse. They are an adventurous lot and always go for their shots, whatever the situation. But very good bowling by Eddie, Richard (a brilliant caught and bowled), Linthwaite and Dennis skittled them out for 110. So a nice day with pleasant company, and a result. Super catering courtesy of Lucinda, which she also did for the next game. Her teas are memorable, her cotton dress too, all in all a tea lady at the […]

THIS GRUELLING MATCH was played in a pleasant breeze and sunshine. Skipper Martin Bowden and their captain Joss Buckley agreed on a 20-overs-after-6 game. They were not to know that this would condemn us to 58 overs in the field. The pitch was soggy so Martin, having won the toss, put them in. This looked a damn good toss to win when they were 45 for 7, and then, after a little wag, 68 for 8. Simon Roche got a lovely early wicket with outswing (pitching outside leg stump and hitting middle and leg), Eddie Holmes nicked the off stump, Martin got two including Mike Morris with a beauty, a trademark inswinger; James Nixey caught a very good catch off Linthwaite with professionally cupped hands at mid-wicket, Guy Seddon picked up two wickets, including an LBW notable for the gay appealing of both bowler and wicket-keeper, a puny and belated […]