Medstead vs Wield, Sunday 22nd May
Weather – Sunnyish with a howling northeasterly
Match summary – A great victory and we retain our only trophy again!!!
Survival Sunday my TV screamed just before I left for the match. Little did I realise that it was referring to the Medstead pitch!!!!!!!
Our skipper lost the toss and unsurprisingly we were inserted, Matt Love and myself strode to the crease blissfully unaware of the minefield that awaited. After we marvelled at the Bob Willis style run up of the Medstead opening bowlers everyone watched Matt being a class act dealing with the bowling and the pitch beautifully and myself making it look incredibly dangerous!!!
Our opening partnership was broken on 26 runs and 5 blows on the fingers for me when Matt mistimed one to mid wicket. Ed joined me and the scoring slowed, unlike the blows I was taking and the wafts Ed was playing. Ed finally clubbed a few before gloving one to the keeper for 13.
Toby joined the battle and we struggled our way to the drinks break, A quick pep talk from my son did the job and I gloved the next ball to the keeper and walked!!!!! Toby somehow paddled one to square leg where the fielder had his hands in his pockets and still caught it!!!!
Dougie strode to the crease and decided attack was the best form of defence. He and M-HT took the score from 66-3 to 100-3 until Michael's new found good form was ruined by missing a straight one.
Dougie continued to bludgeon the back up bowlers including a quite extraordinary cross bat slap that went flat over mid-off for 6 but this madness could not continue and in true Wield fashion Dougie lost his leg stump and nearly his toe for a jug avoiding 47.
This brought together the dream team of the skipper and Jack, Yorkie protecting a run of 14 matches without being out. After watching the minefield of a pitch as umpire our brave skipper decided to protect his well being rather than his average and popped his first ball (a full toss) back to the bowler!!!!!!!!!!
Robin joined Jack and one of them played some classy shots and one of them some slogs.....Robin lost his off stump and David played out the last 2 overs with Jack.
We headed to tea on 157/8.
Without the pace (or long run ups) of Medstead, Wield stuck to its long held strategy of bowling as slow as possible and a fine plan it was as wicket after wicket fell to the increasingly slower bowling. The usual pathetic catching being Medstead's only real hope!!!!
The roll call of shame including Toby (as usual), Ed (not as usual but much easier), Max (really!!!!!!), M H-T (very easy) and a couple of missed stumping's (imagine my surprise!!!)
Bob Dylan once said "all that has gone before pales into insignificance".
Well now we come to the "piece de resistance".
Douglas Butler who it's fair to say enjoys taking the proverbial's out of anyone for dropping a catch, Dougie calls for a top edge off the bat, it gently and serenely floats in the air towards first slip defying gravity with its lack of speed. Our hero casually raises his hands to the sky like a tulip to the morning sun!!!! The next moments are in hilarious slow motion as the ball fails to stick and falls slowly to the ground. I fail to see what happens next as I am on my knees and the tears are flowing, I look up to find 7 of our players and the batsmen on their knees as well!!!!!
We wipe the tears from our eyes and proceed to bowl Medstead out for a measly 104 with the final scorecard showing Robin (3), Dougie (3) and the skipper taking himself off on 4 wickets again.
A 53 run victory, Yorkie gets out and some silverware, a good day!!!!
Tony
