Club Statistics
Match Summary: vs. Energy Exiles, Sunday, 23 Sep 2007
Ground: Nursery Road
Captain: Andrew Wingfield
Match type: 35 overs
Toss: Andy's Team elected to bat
Weather: Fine & Sunny
Opposition: Energy Exiles scored: 158 all out (29.1 overs)
Exiles Score: 179 for 9 (35 overs)
Result: Won by 21 runs
Man of the match:
In fine weather so often lacking during the more traditional summer months, the Energy Exiles club met for its season finale at Nursery Road.
Though some veteran Exiles members were sadly missing, the club was grateful to the friends of Martin (again) and Simon for turning out and ensuring almost a full quota for the final game.
Despite the end of term atmosphere, there was no doubting the underlying pre-match tensions simmering just below the surface as the team news filtered through. Masterminded in the pub (as the most Machiavellian plans often are), Andy and Amil mischievously conspired to ensure that age old rivalries, and some not so old amongst the Exiles (and indeed family members) were to be pitted against each other.
Batsmen | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Keith Roberts | not out | 65 | 71 | 12 | 0 |
2 | Robbie Foreman | ct. T Gundry b. Hilson | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
3 | Simon Gundry | ct. White b. Bucke H | 10 | 37 | 1 | 0 |
4 | Martin Kerrison | b. Guest | 8 | 18 | 2 | 0 |
5 | Adam Bucke | ct. Phillips b. Vadgama | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
6 | David Stiffell | ct. Phillips b. Guest | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
7 | Charlie Weatherhogg | st. Patel A b. Vadgama | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
8 | Andy Wingfield | ct. White b. Hilson | 8 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
9 | Naren Patel | b. White | 7 | 23 | 1 | 0 |
10 | Gwyn Thomas | ct. & b. Vadgama | 3 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
11 | Robbie Foreman | not out | 7 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
Extra(s) 5nb 35w 15b 2lb | 57 | |||||
179 | 184 |
Bowler | O | M | R | W | Avg | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jeff Hilson | 5.0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 5.5 |
2 | John Tither | 4.0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | - |
3 | Toby Gundry | 3.0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | - |
4 | Hugo Bucke | 3.0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 24.0 |
5 | Guest | 5.0 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 12.0 |
6 | Raj Vadgama | 5.0 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 8.3 |
7 | Mike Phillips | 3.0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | - |
8 | Chris White | 5.0 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 18.0 |
9 | Dan Petrak | 1.0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | - |
10 | Quentin Davies | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | - |
After a slow start Andy has become quite the tosser in the last few games and with his good run continuing, he had no hesitation in batting first. However, the loss of an early wicket and some tight bowling from Jeff and John yielded a sluggish start. As Jeff tired following an effort ball aimed at Simon's head (almost paying off), the bowlers, although still making use of a lively pitch, struggled with their accuracy.
Looking to accelerate, Simon fell tamely to a long hop from Hugo, but not before late cutting his cousin exquisitely (!) over gully for 4. Keith, on the other hand, marched serenely onto the first of his retirements; while wickets fell steadily throughout the innings. The author's memory is hazy on precisely what followed but recalls most batsmen scoring a solitary boundary before falling to good balls or rash shots. For example, Martin flattered to deceive briefly before being bowled during a really good spell from Hamish; David was also bowled looking to play himself in through cow corner and Charlie charged down the pitch to the prodigious turn of Raj and was half way to the pavilion when the bails were whipped off. Adam, Naren and Andy also added swift runs before the policy of quick wickets served to get Keith back into bat and finding a resilient partner in Gwyn put together a crucial partnership of 49.
After 35 overs, Andy's side reached about 175 and given that 10 was the 3rd highest score, the contribution by Keith (c. 70no) cannot be underestimated. Extras played a significant part but hardly surprising given that some had not properly bowled for several years and wickets still fell regularly.
At the interval just about honours even.
Batsmen | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Quentin Davies | ct. Foreman b. Thomas G | 6 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
2 | Mike Phillips | b. Wingfield | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
3 | John Tither | ct. Gundry b. Wingfield | 30 | 31 | 5 | 0 |
4 | Raj Vadgama | ct. Wingfield b. Kerrison | 24 | 23 | 5 | 0 |
5 | Amil Patel | not out | 29 | 22 | 4 | 0 |
6 | Jeff Hilson | b. Gundry S | 2 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
7 | Chris White | b. Roberts | 16 | 30 | 3 | 0 |
8 | Toby Gundry | ct. Wingfield b. Stiffell | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
9 | Hamish Guest | b. Thomas G | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
10 | Dan Petrak | b. Wingfield | 11 | 18 | 2 | 0 |
11 | Hugo Bucke | b. Patel N | 8 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
Extra(s) 0nb 18w 0b 0lb | 18 | |||||
158 | 175 |
Bowler | O | M | R | W | Avg | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gwyn Thomas | 5.0 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 12.0 |
2 | Andy Wingfield | 4.2 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 6.0 |
3 | Keith Roberts | 4.0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 20.0 |
4 | Simon Gundry | 4.0 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 13.0 |
5 | David Stiffell | 4.0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 17.0 |
6 | Naren Patel | 5.0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 14.0 |
7 | Robbie Foreman | 2.0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | - |
8 | Adam Bucke | 2.0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | - |
9 | Martin Kerrison | 1.0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 9.0 |
After tea Amil sought a brisk start by opening with Q and Mike, but Andy countered with his own plan and led the charge with Gwyn. It paid almost immediate dividends as Q played the ball too early for Robbie to take a sharp catch at short cover off Gwyn and Mike was cleaned bowled by Andy.
John and Raj steadied the ship playing with both control and sensible aggression. And when John retired, Amil continued in the same vein despite the best efforts of his father and soon also reached 25. Raj having slapped the ball around came tantalisingly close to retirement on 24, but finding himself in such unfamiliar territory prodded meekly into the skipper's grateful hands at short extra cover. Perhaps a decisive moment in the game.
There were smiles all round as Jeff strode confidently to the wicket to instigate one of the more anticipated duels of the day. No surprise, therefore, that Andy immediately elected to bring himself onto bowl but not even the sight of the skipper charging in from somewhere near the boundary rope could rattle the champion cricketer. Simon returned and with Charlie declaring a slower ball by means of a pre-arranged signal stood up to the wicket; however with the sight of Jeff standing at the other end, the signal went unregistered and Simon steamed in. The ball leapt off the edge, ricocheted off Charlie's chest and onto his chin. Luckily with his wedding only 3 weeks away no lasting damage was done. Credit must go to Charlie; wicket keeping for only the second time, he kept quite beautifully and let nothing past all day, though harshly this must be deemed a dropped catch! No matter Jeff survived only briefly before his sturdy defence was somehow breached, leaving Simon one ball at Toby which he comfortably negotiated. However, next over his eyes lit up at a rank long hop down leg only to succeed in spooning the ball into the skipper's safe pair of hands at square leg. Hamish fared only slightly better. After sweetly striking through mid wicket he was bowled trying to launch Gwyn's slower ball and playing through the shot several minutes too early.
With Andy shuffling his bowlers around with greater regularity than Rafa Benitez rotates his squad, everyone turned their arm. And despite some lusty blows from the tail enders, the run rate slowed and wickets fell as, in particular, Naren bowled with real pace and Keith found turn and bounce.
As the gloom descended, the game was heading for a tight finish with about 26 needed off 6 and both John and Amil back at the crease. But Andy, now back into the attack, held his nerve to induce John into looping the ball to Simon at extra cover and, in doing so, saw his side sneak home.
So another season ends with 7 wins, 9 losses, 1 draw and possibly an unprecedented 14 games cancelled due to the weather and player shortages, but which also witnessed some nail biting contests - making for some exciting cricket along the way. So it was appropriate that the last for 2007 went a similar way.
Report By: Simon Gundry