Theale & Tilehurst 1st XI vs Sandhurst 22nd July 2006

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Report by Doc

So far this season games have either been played(or abandoned) in pouring rain or blistering sunshine. As the heavens opened it appeared to be the former. However Lemmy appeared more optimistic as he turned up in his whites. In a reversal of normal procedure he then changed into his civvies. Maybe, just maybe, the Police entry qualifications aren’t as stringent as they could be.

During the rain delay the previous nights thunder was discussed. It was unanimously declared by all who heard it, the loudest clap of thunder ever. I can also exclusively reveal that the exact location of this clap of thunder was 3 feet above my ceiling and not in fact Armour Road as stated by a certain ‘finger’ spinner. Worryingly Spike likened the noise to a whip crack. If that’s so can I ask you all decline any invites to one of Spike’s regular S&M sessions.

Thankfully the bone dry outfield soaked up the downfall and Sandhursts’ new covers kept the wicket mostly dry. Once the rain stopped it was game on, albeit reduced to 33 overs each.

Cat went out to try and win an important toss between two teams battling to avoid relegation. He duly lost and T&T were inserted. Although the wicket looked a good one there were a couple of damp patches where the covers leaked and this made batting an interesting prospect in the early part of the innings.

After an initially tentative start the scoreboard eventually started moving, but this was in part to some indifferent fielding on the Fine leg and Third Man boundaries. Cat Stephens was the mainstay during this part of the innings and was eventually dismissed for 54. This meant that both Adam and Jamil were at the crease, with the promise of fireworks to come.

A period of lusty hitting ensued and the score started to race along merrily. It was conclusively proved at this point that Adam & Heave are the perfect couple as Adam launched a six over the midwicket boundary. Jamil was also cursed by Sandhurst for his ability to hit straight whilst moving his front leg to square leg. I always called that making room. Both were then dismissed in their 30’s and were quickly followed back to the pavillion by Spike who was dismissed in his 0’s.

There then followed an unusual cameo by Doc. Not so much that he scored his runs quickly, more that he finished not out. Eventually time was called and T&T had a very healthy looking 195. This was felt to be 25-30 runs over par so we felt confident at the half way mark, provided we bowled to our ability. However given there were only 33 overs to get 10 wickets on a good pitch the general feeling was that a winning draw would be a good result.

The bowling started well as Doc got a typical fast bowlers opening wicket by way of a stumping. Yet another sign from on high that perhaps the middle age truck was on collision course with his body. Lemmy soon got in the act with another more conventional dismissal of the dangerous Simon Hards, the first of his two in total.

The middle age truck had locked its brakes and was sliding uncontrollably towards Doc as his slower ball became so slow that the batsmen caught his bat in his pads and watched the ball bounce under his bat with just enough momentum to dislodge the bails. Another fine example of the damage express pace can cause.

A change of bowling was called for as Jamil and Fingers came together to try and unravel the Sandhurst middle order, where Aron Shalom lurked ominously. Jamil bowled well, but with no luck and came away wicketless. Fingers proved that bowling at your best was not necessarily the way to get wickets as his famous ‘dipping’ full toss claimed the first of his 3 victims.

‘Nelson’ Cullum then came on. This was unusual in as much as it is the first time that I have seen each successive bowling change from one end bring on a quicker bowler than previous (old ball spells excluded). He bowled with pace and hostility which bought us a wickets and left us 10 balls to get the last wicket. Unfortunately neither he nor Lemmy was able to find the killer ball and a winning draw was achieved. But the win had been tantalisingly within our grasp.

All in all it was a thoroughly good team display and secured a vital 24 points against our fellow relegation battlers on a weekend when no other teams were able to play. It is no coincidence that in a week with no dropped catches we put points on the board. Long may that continue.