Wolvercote CC at St Edwards School, 20 overs
We've been playing Wolvercote CC for five years now, with a victory nowhere in sight. With a strong team and decent weather forecast, a mixture of old stagers and two debutants - we welcome Dave Freeman and Ben Parish to the Bodley ranks - we assembled at the ample sports facilities of St Edward's School (when does a school need a golf course?) to set about getting that first win. Skipper Gareth Jones won the toss and elected to bat, and off we went. The pitch was greener than parts of the outfield, and had perhaps been confused with one of those nearby putting greens by the groundsman. Being only ten we were pleased to be batting first. Dave F and David Shackleton formed a new look opening partnership and quickly looked comfortable, handling the low bounce and some pacey seamers well. With clouds rolling in and the skies darkening a close field maintained the pressure as Bodley ticked along in ones and twos, the odd boundary helping build a score. By the halfway point we were 52-0, a decent score with plenty of batting to come. Next over, Dave F was out, bowled to a good one for a terrific 18. This brought James Shaw to the crease, and he picked up where he left off last season, walloping fours and racing along as Shackleton carried on playing that classical game that has us all cooing so often. With Shackleton keeping a dominant James company and Wolvercote rotating the bowlers with a generally close field, the score soon accelerated. Both retired with 30s, leaving Matthew Neely to shepherd the remains of the innings with some sharp running. By now those dark clouds had opened up and the rain was falling steadily, but we played on regardless, with the low bounce making life pretty difficult for Matthew and Ben, who after a useful boundary was smashed, gave way to Tim Philipson and then the skipper. Bodley finished on 130-3, a good score given the conditions and the opposition. A quick turnaround and with the rain having apparently settled into a groove of steady heavy drizzle (and my was it cold!), Bodley set a ring field, bolstered by the just arrived and very welcome Steve McGranaghan, began the second half. Steve was immediately pressed into service to open the bowling with James. With the first over producing runs for the attacking Wolvercote batters the final ball was likewise smashed at chest height through the off side ...to be brilliantly caught by Gareth running forward at cover. 6-1 from 1, a good start. For the next nine overs a tight line and full length was promptly found, having seen anything shorter given the treatment in the first half. Gavin Robinson and Shackleton took over the bowling after Steve completed a frugal spell. In the tenth Shackleton induced a skier, which was confidently pouched by James in very tricky, wet conditions. 54-2 from 10. The next over brought another as Gav took a quite stunning caught and bowled, later admitting that the prospect of the ball hitting him in the face gave him ample focus to pouch the missile. Well caught, Bodley putting in a great performance in really difficult conditions, with Andy Hudson and David Busby doing sterling work on the boundary to cut those fours off. 57-3 from 11, and Bodley slightly ahead. Unfortunately, for us, the Wolvercote number five not only sported a terrific old-school sun hat (is there a finer hat to bat in?), but also made the pitch look like an indoor net, and the score fairly ticked along. Thankfully, in the eighteenth over James bagged a third with a sharp run-out, having already seen that number five batter retire for a potentially match-winning 31. With two overs to go debutant Dave F was brought on, and with the kind of slow, dipping bowling that when as accurate as it was here, drives batters to distraction, delivered a crucial over of just two runs. So, one over to go, Wolvercote needing a challenging 20 runs to win, with one fairly well set batter looking to hit out. First ball went for a stolen two, then a four was smacked past the fielders - 14 needed from four balls. Bodley are focused, on the balls of their feet, and the field close, with a couple of men back for the big hits. Sharp fielding keeps the next ball to a single, and the newer batsman faces, only to be well caught by Ben, leaving things at 117-5. Bodley can relax a little now, and with the next ball a dot and the final ball a single, Bodley win by 12 wins. A fantastic result, brought about through careful, but attacking batting and energetic fielding from all involved. After five years of trying we finally record a first win against Wolvercote, may it not be the last! A lovely match, played in sodden rain that thankfully cleared up towards the end - and a huge thank you to the opposition for playing on, can't say I've ever played through such a prolonged spell of rain before! That's also our first win of the season - may we have many more! GJ.
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Note from the Ed.Generally always written late on the night of the game. Any accuracy or sparkling prose is purely accidental. Archives
September 2019
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