Heroic failure
A loss by 5 wkts did not obscure the fact that we had a great day as usual with these most generous of hosts.
Things
got off to a bad start with half the team including your Captain being
held up by road works on the M25. As a consequence, Cudders decided to
take the bull by the horns and do the toss up on my behalf. Their skipper
apparently told him that they were rather weak and encouraged us to bat
first and Ian, being the nice chap that he is believed him and took the
bait. Subsequently, we realised that they had exactly the same side as
last year! Ian's defence was that as we only had six men on the ground
at the time, it would have been difficult to field but I'm not buying
that!
Rob Symondson and guest Graham Neale got us off to a nice steady start
and seemed in little trouble until Graham was surprisingly bowled for
13 with the score at 40. Alex Cudworth went off at a rate of knots fuelled
by a massive alcoholic intake the night before and three times in one
over lofted the opening bowler back over his head although dangerously
close on each occasion to David Allaway, the current Henley 1st XI Captain
and their best fielder. Allaway then came on and bowling fast left arm,
put one through Alex's befuddled defence to knock out his stumps. At 70/3
I was not worried with the strongest batting side we have ever taken the
field with and the heartening sight of Edgar striding confidently to the
wicket to join Rob Symondson who was batting in his usual confident and
pugnacious style.
Horror of horrors, however, after some good and confident batting, Edgar
found himself mesmerised into chasing a sharply turning leg break and
nicking it to the keeper while Rob inexplicably lofted one into the covers
to be caught of Allaway for 41. Rob's rather lame excuse to his disappointed
Captain was that he was feeling a trifle tired!
Lunch was taken with the score a rather disappointing 85/4 but with the
reassuring sight of Monte Lynch (England, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Guyana
& Walton on Thames) at the wicket together with Justin Redfern (late
of Paris).
A splendid lunch accompanied by bottles of Old Speckled Hen and bottles
of port probably did little for the concentration but Monte seemed to
have the bit between his teeth and set about the bowling with some determination
even hopping a number of singles on his severely damaged ankle and with
Justin contributing some of his usual muscular blows, the assembled throng
settled back to watch a massacre. Regrettably, this failed to materialise
as Monte holed out in the covers for 33, yours truly perishing in almost
exactly the same way for 14 and Justin nicking one to the keeper for 18.
Wickets then tumbled until a splendidly defiant last wicket stand between
Cudworth Senior and Cudworth T put on 20 for the last wicket and hauled
us up to 175, about 60 less than it should have been.
There were likely to be about 15 overs before tea and things could hardly
have started better. Alex induced the opener to drive hard to mid-off
where Mike Reeve took a very dropable catch with aplomb. Matt Hallam then
took a thick outside edge off the bat of David Allaway and your Captain
surprised everyone, including himself, by taking a smart catch to his
right at point. At 15/2 and their best batsman back in the Pavilion, things
looked good and Matt and Alex kept the pressure up with some good fast
bowling until in the 3/4 overs before tea, the No 3 batsman broke loose
with some big shots and we found ourselves munching the Victoria sponge
rather glumly at 55/2 which seemed rather disappointing.
After tea, we began with Edgar at one end and Toby at the other and although
both bowled well, the batsmen seemed to find at least one ball an over
to despatch to the boundary on a couple of occasions for 6. The score
mounted inexorably until I had a minor dispute with Graham and Monte as
to whether we should have a gully or square leg. Rather pompously, I rejected
square leg on the basis that I was not going to set a field for bad bowling
(I was that bowler) and was as amazed as anybody when the batsman obligingly
cut my very next ball to Edgar in the gully to be well held. Graham, very
sportingly, said he would never question my field placing again but secretly
was thinking that I'm just a lucky bastard!
Sensing an opportunity, (120/3) Alex came back into the attack and perhaps
the champagne moment of the day came when Monte held on to an impossibly
sharp catch at slip by his ankles before anyone else had had time to realise
what had happened. Monte, with tongue firmly in his cheek one imagines,
declared it to be the highlight of his career!
Soon after, the new batsman lofted a drive off Alex to mid off and Edgar
took another sharp catch off his feet. That however was the end of the
excitement as the number 4 had been quietly going about his work, with
the occasional violent blow, and after completing a fine 50 took them
home with about 10 overs of the final 20 remaining.
All in all, another great days cricket at this lovely venue delightfully
hosted but ultimately, a rather disappointing batting performance let
us down.