(written by James Christensen)
The Greasby Roaders arrived in their usual dribs and drabs, but, somehow, there was already a different feel in the air. For one, it was 2:15 on a Sunday afternoon, and not 6:30 pm on a hectic week night. People were relaxed. There was no-one frantically swapping suit trousers for cricket whites twenty seconds before the match started. For another, we’d be playing not one but two matches today, a genuine double header; the first against Nick Corcoran’s Eight4Sport lads and the second against Jonathan Hughes’ The Googlies.) That feeling in the air though- what was it? Looking back, I’d say it was expectation mixed with a good dose of optimism, or maybe it was just the joy of being out of the house, on a nice day, with your mates. Who knows, but if change is as good as a holiday, could it also be good for a reversal of fortune?
The Drought Breaker. (Season Two, Game Six.)
First match of the day is on WCC3 against Corky’s boys. Crikey, we haven’t played on this pitch since last year, but we immediately feel at home and that old ‘winning feeling’ starts seeping back into our bones, much like the rare and welcome sunshine on our faces, in what has otherwise been a rain sodden, and, at times, miserable season.
So the game begins and we’re fielding. The opening bowlers, big man Rob O’Keeffe and Peter Clowes, keep things as tight as the proverbial duck’s… err… tail feather region, allowing the skipper, Stephen Willett, to set an aggressive field, which remains pretty much unchanged throughout the entire innings. Good pressurised bowling and an alert field keep the wickets tumbling at a steady pace. Team Greasby Roaders finally seems like its ticking over like the well oiled machine it was at the end of last season, and we’re feeling unstoppable… Skipper Steve bags three wickets, Monty two, with one apiece going to the ‘Big O’, Renners and yours truly. (Clowesy was the unlucky bowler to miss out on a wicket, but was instrumental in keeping the pressure up and bowled three overs for a miserly 10 runs.) Charles continued his superb form with the gloves by effecting a smart stumping, while special mention must go to Phil Green who was on fire in the field, snatching two great catches and stopping anything that came within cooey of him. (Steve, that classic catch number one spot of yours might be in danger mate, and, best part, he took them FOR us…) In the end, Corky’s boys are bowled out for 72 off their allotted twenty. So the equation, gentlemen, is 73 runs required at a meagre asking rate of 3.65 an over. That shouldn’t be a problem, should it?
I don’t know where he got them from, but Corky has managed to find two blokes to open his bowling who are at least a yard and a half quicker than anyone else we’ve seen this year; fast, straight, stump to stump, alternating between just short of a good length and yorkers. Bloody hard to get away and we’re struggling. Opener Phil G is the first to go, bowled for one off two, while opener Monty sees his furniture upended, scoring four from eight. Yours truly came in at number three and had seen Monty depart from the non-striker’s end. “No need to panic James. No need to panic. Lots of time…” The big man Rob O’Keeffe joins me at the crease and we hatch a cunning plan… If I can rotate the strike and let the big man go for the boundaries we might be able to steady the ship and break their rhythm- or at least see them out; after all, their opening spells can’t last forever! Great idea in theory… I end up being caught out for six trying to hit the ball over the tallest Eight4Sport fielder I could find, who takes a brilliant, jumping, one handed, juggling catch that, cruelly, looked like it had cleared him. Thankfully, Rob O does end up steadying things, making a valuable 20 run contribution from 21 deliveries in a useful partnership with the skipper, before he’s run out in a suicidal call for a quick single. (A borderline call which might well have justified a referral to a third umpire- if we had one- but it’s a Willett officiating, and there’s no hesitation in the finger being raised! Thanks for that one Seany!)
Hey, no need to panic afresh just yet though… Stephen Willett looks set, with twenty odd runs to his name, and he’s just been joined in the middle by the ever dependable Clowsey, with in-form Charles Pickering and big hitting Rob Rennison to come.
As if sensing it’s time for a last throw of the dice, the Eight4Sport skipper brings back his two strike bowlers with immediate results. Clowesey is caught out for two, while Charles returns to the ‘hutch,’ furniture knocked over, without troubling the scorer. Suddenly, what had been mild concern gives way to fully fledged apprehension- surely, SURELY we’re not going to throw this one away! Not after working so hard!!!
We know that overs are not an issue. There’s still six or so to be bowled. How many runs left to get though? Blank faces within the hutch- surely can’t be more than 12 or 15. Okay then, let’s say 15 runs, with two wickets left- shouldn’t be a drama. And then the unthinkable happens- the howler! Renners is adjudged lbw playing well forward, ball striking front pad on the top of the roll, and accompanied by a loud, wooden noise that everyone seemed to hear except the man that mattered the most; the umpire. So a somewhat aggrieved Rob Rennison trudges back to the ‘hutch,’ while any children within ear shot are told to quickly cover their ears, and it’s all up to that man again- Stephen Willett; last man standing extraordinaire…
Let’s see. Renners made five, leaving Steve about nine to score from about four and a bit overs. The Eight4Sport boys are sensing an upset here, but they know they’ve got to get this last wicket- too many deliveries left to bowl to hope to win through containment. They’ve used up their best bowlers and it’s their lesser lights who are going to have to save the day. But Steve is coolness personified. He keeps his head down and waits for the loose deliveries. A few dot balls while we hold our breath, then THWACK, it’s a lofted four, just bouncing inside the rope. Six runs to get…. Next, it’s a cleverly worked two, as Steve opens the face of the bat, and glides it into a gap. A dot ball. Another dot ball. An uncharacteristic rush of blood; a swoosh of air and another dot ball, but Steve’s still there. Then finally, gloriously, the loose ball that Steve had been waiting for… THWACK- off the meat of the bat and the ball is launched over the long off boundary for the winning runs and our first victory of the season.
In the end, it’s a one wicket victory with 2.2 overs to spare. Smiles all around and commiserations to Corky’s lads, who almost pulled off a brilliant upset, and gave us a corker of a game that was enjoyed by all. I think Clowesey summed it up the best when he said that it was a game where everyone contributed in some way, whether bowling, fielding, keeping or batting. Well done lads, a stirring victory for the team! Let the cricket world be advised, we are well and truly back in business!
The Encore. (Season Two, Game Seven.)
There’s not much time to enjoy the fruits of victory, before it’s off to the adjacent ground, WCC2, for the second match of our double header; this time against The Googlies, led by their illustrious maestro and choreographer Jonathan Hughes (aka ‘the dancer,’ aka ‘the prancer’, the LMS Prima Donna and, rumour has it, one time Lois Spence stunt double… Yes dear Yozza, your reputation has indeed preceded you!) (Or, at least, was tipped off to us just prior to the writing of this report!!!)
For the second match, we have a slight change in personnel, waving off Monty and Phil G from the first game, and welcoming back Graham Wild and Nick Birtwistle for the second. Yes, Roaders aficionados, you read correctly, the much anticipated return of NICK BIRTWISTLE was about to happen, after he’d wrestled with the laws of physics and… err… lost. BIG TIME!
The interesting thing about this second encounter was that, for both teams, it constituted the second game of a double header; with our respective adversaries from the first matches playing just the one. The big difference, of course, is that we were coming straight from a rousing victory, while The Googlies still had the taste of a 63 run defeat in their mouths, at the hands of Double Bubble.
Undoubtedly, the libretto the Googlies were hastily constructing in their heads would see them resurrect their afternoon with a face saving win over the Roaders. By comparison, we already had a title, ‘Winning is Grinning,’ a script and a fully rehearsed orchestra at our disposal!
The Googlies bat first and immediately they’re in trouble. Rob O’Keeffe and Peter Clowes both take a wicket in their first overs, while Steve Willett effects a sharp run out with a one movement, pick up and shy at the stumps from cover. So, with a score line which reads three down for not many runs, it’s the Maestro himself who strides to the crease; a look of dogged determination etched across his face. If anyone can choreograph a recovery, then surely it’s the Yozza; an experienced campaigner and genuine all rounder, with three half centuries to his name and a swag of wickets under his belt. Like a pro, he has a good look at the first ball and assesses the bowler and the pace of the pitch, but the second delivery seems to stop on Yozza and before he can contain his grand battement à la seconde (sideways step), he hits it straight down the throat of mid off. Sadly, Yozza’s innings may have ended in a silver duck, but for ballet fans, there were still a few choice dance moves to savour. My personal favourite was the Lois Spence inspired flounce of the bat, perfectly evoking all the subtle nuances of self-recrimination and frustration that one inevitably feels, after having thrown away ones wicket. Still others may have preferred the pirouette back to the pavilion; a study of elegance in dejection. I wanted to cry. I wanted to applaud. Was I the only one who was appreciating the work of this true artiste, this batsman come dancer if you will? Err… probably….
To put it simply, the Roaders were in blistering form in the field, with Peter, James, Rob O, Graham and Steve all picking up wickets. Lovely glove work again from Charles (picking up another catch from my leg spin), and dynamite, ‘sharp as a tack’ fielding from everyone, especially Steve, who has shown a real talent for throwing down the stumps from side on.
The proverbial fat lady, by now, had finished her warm up scales and was awaiting the conductor’s final tap of the baton, before opening her lungs into a full throttle opera of Wagnerian proportions.
After exactly 16 overs, The Googlies are bundled out for 72. Now, if you’re thinking that figure sounds eerily familiar, you’d be right. It’s the exact same score we bowled Eight4Sport out for, just a few hours earlier. So once again, it’s 73 required at a modest asking rate of 3.65 an over.
For this assault on a 73 target, we open with the tried and true combination of Graham Wild and Rob Rennison; the ‘bro-mance’ of the Greasby Roaders and two men who claim to have an almost telepathic understanding in their running between wickets…
And with the score on two, it’s Graham Wild walking back to the ‘hutch,’ run out (by his partner) for one, after facing just three deliveries. So much for the telepathy boys, but more importantly, is this the end of a beautiful bro-mance?
Coming in at first drop is Nick Birtwistle; his first foray at the crease this season. In the field, Nick had moved gingerly but with purpose, and we all held our collective breath whenever Nick bent, ran or threw a ball back to the keeper. Just when would the pop rivets begin to, well, pop we asked ourselves? Is Nick asking too much, too soon of his poor, battered body?
Nick answered our concerns with a well compiled 34 runs (off just 33 balls) in an innings which steadied the ship and set up an emphatic victory. It was classic Nick- the calmness, the thoughtfulness, that great cricketing brain of his churning over. It does have to be said that he did look a little more buggered in the end than he normally does, and when he finally holed out, it was probably more due to tiredness than anything else. So well done Nick! All in all, a great return mate. And well supported by Renners, who contributed 20 (from 26), making up for his earlier run out of Graham. (Although to rescue that Bro-mance, you may have to do a little more Rob!)
While we were watching Nick at work, there was some discussion that a new nick name might be in order. First suggestion was the ‘Six Million Dollar Man’- after all, he had been rebuilt in a sense, and had the screws still showing in his arm to prove it! A rash shot, just falling short of the field, and an effort to get out of the starting blocks like a seized up tin man, had us de-value our original assessment to the ‘Six Euro Man.’ (The surgeons were French after all!) Then it became Mechano man, and finally, rather fittingly for a return of superhero stature, Captain Mechano.
The winning runs were notched up by Charles Pickering (11*) and Steve Willett (7*) with two overs and five wickets to spare; about as comfortable a win as one could hope for in LMS cricket.
And thus it ended- our first Super Sunday- made all the more pleasurable by the double victory and the fact that all of our players were Roaders through and through.
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