Whippersnappers at Great Tew. A four innings marathon of cricketing glory. Having not had the pleasure of our usual end of season social runathon last season, it was with much enthusiasm that Bodley assembled at Great Tew for a four innings match pitting Bodleian staffers against Rest of the World (admin, colleges, friends, various departments, etc etc). Two reasonably (on paper, at least!) balanced sides took to the pitch with Phil skippering for ROTW and Gareth for Bodley. A format of four innings, each of 18 overs to account for the reduced numbers meaning eight a side, with retirements on 25 and three overs max per bowler was the plan. Batting orders would be constructed to ensure everyone got a go, and bowling changes likewise. With the post-match BBQ being cared for by Gareth, it was decided that the Bodley XI should bowl first, to ensure the food could be rustled up in good time for the end of play. All that being clear, play began... Max and Dom opened the batting for ROTW and with the second delivery of the innings sent the ball for four. Could it have been another Ackland slower ball? It certainly wasn't slow to the boundary. The evergreen Stuart got his revenge a couple of balls later with a clean bowled - an even slower ball apparently, though this only brought Tim 'Bubba Watson' Philipson to the crease. Gav was bowling well at the other end but in Stu's second over Dom - having started well with some deft leg-side touches and sharp running - was well caught by Mike Webb at point. Two wickets for Ackland. Best return all season! Young Dan Shaw joined the buccaneering Tim and these two started to find the boundary as a miserly James Shaw and a hard to read Mike Webb ran in from either end. Mike was setting up the batter beautifully with a succession of wides and then bullseye dot balls, leaving poor Dan in something of a pickle as to where the next one might go. As if by magic the final ball of the over was sent down over the wicket, pitched on a good length, bounced a little, jagged back a bit, and clattered into middle stump leaving Dan really rather bemused at the whole over. Well bowled! James soon after picked up the wicket of Tim and ROTW found themselves at 40-4 in the seventh. Ella Shaw came on to bowl some very tidy overs, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Phil (clean bowled first ball last time round, as if you'd forgotten the ball of last season), whilst the skipper did his best to give the oppo some runs with all manner of rubbish from the other end. With Dave Shorten, on loan from Bodleian feeder team the Mads, and James Riley now at the crease Gareth went for quite a few though Ella bowled much better and took the wicket of James with a pearler of a clean bowled. Sadly this only brought another Dave to the crease - Shackleton - and like his illustrious namesake he was determined to endure to the end. David Busby and Matthew turned their arm over, and before a third over could be given to the more economical amongst us, Dave Shorten had retired on 32, Phil had come out and smashed 33 of his own and then Shackleton retired on 31 whilst Shorten returned for a punishing assault to finish on 55 and take the innings to 165. Quite a good score, I'd say. Hmm. Mike and Stuart were pressed into service to open the batting for Bodley, a mixture of touch and fly swatting to get things going. Tim and Phil took the new (old) ball and were initially treated with contempt until Phil clean bowled Mike and then in the fifth over Max did the same to Stu. Gav and the skipper both started well but were likewise out for single figures, caught behind by Dan and caught at slip respectively off Dom and Dave Shorten. With things looking a little wobbly Dave Busby entered the fray only to be well beaten by Dom's flight. James Shaw however was going great guns at the other end, more than ably supported by daughter Ella, and these two put on a terrific stand of Thirty odd before James nicked off to Phil for 24. Matthew joined Ella and the pair saw out the rest of the innings, finishing on 15 for Ella and 19 for Matthew - very well played both. Bodley's score was a tad short at 108, but it was good to break the hundred mark and we weren't bowled out. Tea today, and in the absence of the Picnic King Andrew Milner, was dedicated to birthday boy (last week, but near enough) Phil, who brought along a quite fantastic cricket-themed cake to share with his teammates. As chance would have it, it was also Dave Shorten's birthday that day (what better way to spend it Dave?!) so these two fine men cut the cake together and all tucked in to more cake than Andrew could fit in his hamper. Happy birthday both! The disparity in the scores was the topic of much debate at teatime, and eventually there was general agreement that there would this time round be no return after retirement for ROTW, though the suggestions of one hand one bounce, blindfolded batters, and batting with a stump were all turned down. Nevertheless, with a lead already at a healthy 57, ROTW went out again to bat against a more focused Bodley... Max and Dom again opened up, this time against Gav and Matthew, with Mike now behind the stumps. The batters made a good start but the early introduction of David Busby brought the magic of a wicket maiden for this much loved Bodley original - no-one does it quite like Dave. The skipper and Ella both came on and bowled very tidily, keeping the rate right down, with Gav picking up a well-earned wicket in his third over to further press the advantage. Whilst all this had been going on Tim was practising for a winter of fairways and smashed a brilliant, hedge-rustling 37 before being bowled by one of Stuart's many slow/slower/even slower/has he actually released it balls. Very well batted Tim. Ella picked up the wicket of Max for 18 with a perfect LBW, and whilst Dan was rattling the branches of the nearby trees and Phil was running like a march hare trying not to face Ella, ROTW finished up on 111, giving an unlikely total of 277 for Bodley to chase. Without wanting to contrive anything too much, it was agreed that for Bodley, needing to score 169 to win, there would be no retirements - let's finish with bats flailing! A more traditional opening partnership of Matthew and Mike, with Gareth at three (BBQ duties being a priority here!) set out to undertake a Stokesian chase. The accurate and canny Dave Shorten took one end, with Dom equally effective at the other, and the pressure soon brought about a fine edge from Mike through to Phil, now behind the stumps (South African cricketers really can do it all). The skipper joined Matthew and to the dismay of all in attendance blocked out the remaining balls of Dave's over. After that these two opened up and chased for all they were worth, Gareth taking boundaries off Shackleton and Shaw, and Matthew continuing the superb form he's shown all season. Max eventually delivered a Busby-esque ball of such flight and dip that Matthew simply had too long to think about how to play it before it prevented him from doing so and floated into the stumps - a well made 25 though and the score was ticking along. James Shaw joined the skipper but was unceremoniously caught at slip from Max's next over - good bowling! With Gareth wondering how on earth he was still there as the wickets fell, and the BBQ no nearer to being fired up, Gav came out and the two batters agreed that biffing it was the best course of action. Sadly ROTW had some whippets in the field and save for a terrific tonk to cow from Gav the wickets kept falling whilst the runs were kept under a measure of control, Gav falling to Burnett's occasional off-spin, having come out from behind the stumps for the occasion. The Cotswolds' answer to Ricky Ponting joined the skipper at the crease, and Stuart decided Gareth was taking his batting too seriously and fired up the BBQ himself. David Busby has a wonderfully animated batting style - high backlift, full swing and follow through, and then a Crimean charge to the other end - and if you're lucky - back again in time for tea. Twos were scrambled, bowlers were taken out by the charging Dave, and Gareth somehow ended up on 43 not out, though very much out of breath. Bodley racked up 108, again, giving them 216 and the game to ROTW by 61 runs. Quite a win in the end but a great game nevertheless and exciting to the last. With the BBQ somehow ready bang on time (thank you Stu) a hearty feast of meat and vege options were merrily enjoyed as the party wound down with a few drinks. One of our finest players - young Dan Shaw - is off to University this month, having played for us since he was eleven, and to mark the occasion and thank Dan for being a terrific cricketer and an even better person, Stuart gave a little speech that perfectly captured why the Bodley CC are a special thing indeed. Long may we continue to play cricket together. And Dan - we'll see you next Summer! A huge thank you from all of us to all of us for making it another great summer of cricket. We've played twelve games, lost six, drawn one, and won five - not too shabby. We intend to run the tour again next year and are told that Jack Cox cricket should be making a return, so a full season beckons in 2022. Cheers all, and see you at nets. GJ. A few pics from the post-match entertainment (click the thumbnails for bigger pic): Whippersnappers games don't count towards the official stats (generally a good thing!) but for the record here's the scorecard...
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