Match report 15 April 2007

away v Glynde 40 over match

Weather unseasonably hot and sunny (24C)

Glynde might have won the toss and elected to bat

Glynde 299-7, WG 132 all out. - Glynde won by 167.

PLAY RUSTY FOR ME

It wasn't just the understandable early season rustiness that was annoyingly apparent on this sunny Sunday, it was a worrying tendancy to shrug shoulders and just give up. Any Australians watching would have been laughing their socks off at such a limp wristed performance. Where was the team spirit? Where was the backbone? Answer:- lying in a quivering jellied heap on the ground. Anybody who has watched the World Cup would realise that the weaker teams can compete with the stronger by working their socks off in the field. Intimidating batsmen, putting doubt in their minds, stopping them relaxing and preventing easy runs. If we don't give it everything for our one game of cricket a week, what's the point in playing?

The start of the match was delayed somewhat by the Glynde umpires sticking to a 2.30 kick off even when everyone else on the ground was ready at 2pm. Not a lot of common sense there... anyway Glynde batted first and got off to a flyer as Stef Halsey sprayed the ball repeatedly down leg side for wides. Eventually the over finished and the score had raced on to about 15. James Fellows then managed a copycat over and Glynde already after just two overs had probably enough runs on the board to declare.

It wasn't all one way traffic however as Healey at first slip dived forward to take a one-handed catch off Smith and Emile Chasseaud pulled off a cool-headed runout. Chances went begging as the Glynde batsmen made merry until Watts took a stumping off Huw Williams and Lee (Judas) Atkinson took two cracking catches off the bowling of Martin Fellows. Atkinson himself had a catch taken by Chasseaud and Williams chipped in with a clean bowled. It was satisfying to note that Glynde were restricted to less than 300, but only just!

Tea was a splendid affair but the batting after wasn't. Maybe the quantity of prawn sandwiches affected the top three in the order but their combined score of 9 after just 3 overs meant that Healey slowly trudged to the wicket with a full stomach.

Huw Williams started the fight back with some clean hitting, but got carried away after hitting a four straight down the ground and was stumped the next ball attempting an identical shot. Healey was then joined by turncoat Atkinson and together they put on some runs whilst looking fairly safe against the spin-twins Adams and Bailey.

It wasn't to last as a low bounce did for Healey and he was gone for 43. Watts, Halsey, Green-Powell and Hall failed to trouble the scorer except to hurriedly put 'out' next to their names with a little drawing of a duck. By this time Lee (Iscariot) Atkinson had managed to horribly injure himself (probably due to his body twisting with guilt) and had to bat with a runner (12 year-old Jo). With Martin Fellows at the other end it was bound to end in calamity, which of course it did with Lee being run out by his new team-mates for 39. Martin finished on the inevitable 1 not out.

Martin Fellows now heads both the batting and bowling averages.