Richard Denner XI at Stanton St. John, 35 overs With the Central Heating now finally, definitely, absolutely turned off, the Tory Party on yet another leader and riven by ceaseless regicidal plotting, the middle aisle of Lidl stacked to the gunnels with rubberwear to temp the impulse purchase, and Bodley chalking up the traditional opening defeat, it can only mean that the cricket season is now firmly back into its stride. Eager to turn the mighty ship Bodley around and get the season back on track, as well as sowing the seeds of a veritable feast of mixed-metaphors, match two of the season therefore promised much. With the skies showing unfamiliar hints of azure blue and an occasional warm sun beating down Bodley, made their way to the familiar stamping ground of Stanton St John to do battle with new opposition the Richard Denner XI. The fixture had emerged from the fabled social cricketing ‘he-knows-she-knows’ fraternity; namely the eponymous Richard Denner, having bested Bodley playing for Holton & Wheatley last season, offering Bodley Committee Man Stuart Ackland a match against his own side. With assurances that the contest would be an even match the offer was gladly accepted, put into the fixture diary and today, on this glorious late spring day, it would finally come to pass. Arriving at the ground was something of a shock however, for Bodley seem to only play at Stanton St John when the pitch resembles either a well baked biscuit, or Passchendaele after (and even during) a particularly violent deluge. Today the pitch appeared lush and the strip un-cratered so the omens were good as Bodley decanted from the convoy and made that all important initial assessment of this new and ‘unknown’ opposition. With a healthy mix of veterans and youthful endeavour they certainly gave the impression of posing a real challenge to deny Bodley that always much anticipated first win of the season. Indeed, Bodley were themselves ringing the changes this afternoon, with the welcome return of James Riley (eager to put his running skills to good use), the legendary Dave ‘Stuka’ Busby, and occasionals Asad Bhaktiar and Ollie Pascoe. Also joining the ranks was debutant ‘Tuppy’ Morrissey who looked every inch the consummate cricketing everyman, whilst being fiercely modest to boot. So, despite the absence of a few seasoned players, Bodley fielded a promising team, though, as always, how this would all turn out in the end was, frankly, anyone’s guess. As is customary, our captain today Gareth Jones lost the toss, and with Bodley put into the field, collective breath was held as Phil Burnett charged in like a Peregrine in pursuit of a Vole and commenced the assault on fortress Denner. Now as anyone familiar with Bodley cricket will be well aware, it is very difficult to characterise many games due to the vast array of variables that a rag-tag bunch of Librarians and fellow travellers manage to bring to any one match. Needless to say, today would not prove to be the exception to this rule, and the match proceeded to play out in a most singular manner, with tight bowling from Burnett and Ackland setting the early tone, preventing any rhythm developing at the crease, and nearly all runs being amassed from periodic boundaries. When Ackland held a fiercely driven shot from Thakore in the seventh over for example, only four of his fourteen runs had required a dash down the wicket. Likewise, when Tuppy’s genuine spin defeated Lowe and struck stumps, a solitary six accounted for his entire tally. With Robinson’s flighted specials causing uncertainty from one end, Tuppy was cashing in at the other, with Horgan undone by yet another beguiling ball, confidently pouched by Busby. When this was swiftly followed by Goodridge falling LBW first ball to yet another Tuppy special, the RDXI appeared to be reeling somewhat with four wickets down and less than 40 runs on the board. Bodley veterans in the field were wracking collective memories to try and remember when last such a promising start had been made, but the new pairing of Tariq and Akhtar soon put an end to such indulgencies, as the partnership started to develop and the runs accumulate – needless to say, mostly in boundaries… And so for a while that perennial gloom started to descend yet again in the minds of those who had been here oh so many times before, and seen one too many potential nascent victories come crashing down to earth with an undignified bang. It brought to mind the latest Best Seller from Bodley’s former Director of Fitness Stephen Arnold: ‘We Need a Bigger Rope: How to Contain Big-Hitting Opposition’. In such situations you require ‘a sign’ – some visual indication that things may not, perhaps, turn out to be so unremittingly bleak as you might possibly imagine – and believe me that is one hell of a deep well of despair to paddle in for most Bodley veterans. But lo such a sign did indeed come to pass! Now some may remember a match against OUP at Stanton way back in 2018 when Dom took a fabulous catch on the boundary in the last over to secure a famous win for Bodley. Now what gave added significance to this moment in time was that it coincided with what proved to be an auspicious fly-past by a Spitfire, and as if some cosmic synchronicity had once again kicked in the reappearance of the elliptical legend overhead resulted in an immediate wicket for Asad, as Atkhtar’s defences were finally breached after a well struck 31. Pascoe was soon reaping just reward for his spell of pacey line and length too, with Tariq’s off-stump violently knocked to a recumbent pose and the bails dancing a merry quadrille. It was all rather splendid stuff, and it wasn’t long before the once-glimpsed pit of despondency was beginning to look more like glorious sunlit uplands as the RDXI recovery began to stall, and with committed fielding from Riley and the usual trouser shredding gymnastics from Jones further restricting the run tally, Bodley were seemingly on course to work through the tail before the regulation 35 overs. Now there are several different, and often conflicting approaches to such situations that have been adopted during Bodley’s studied past. Facing an opponent seemingly on the metaphorical ropes has, on occasion, elicited sympathy and accommodation from captains of a certain stripe. Other tend to a more ‘Nietzschean’ will-to-win approach and, given the rather unpredictable nature of any Bodley performance, this is not entirely inexplicable, and so to the rather Milner-esque strains of ‘no mercy’ the Bodley juggernaut rolled on. Now it is a well-known fact to those who know it well that one of the true signs of summer is the first Busby over bowled in anger, and so as the ball was casually lobbed to the ‘Stuka’ eyes looked eagerly on to bear witness to what was about to unfold. To any debutant, the sight of Busby ambling up to the crease and releasing the ball like a contortionist having a seizure can be both unsettling and a little confusing. A Busby over is, after all, rather like a cricketing ‘finger-buffet’ if you will, containing a few very juicy morsels that get dispatched with gusto. Like any buffet however there will always be the ‘dodgy prawn’ hiding in open view and it is this that Busby so ruthlessly exploits, and almost as soon as you hear the muttered “What the…” from the batters lips the ball is edged into the welcome hands of Pascoe at square leg. And so the legend that is Busby most assuredly lives on! With Burnett claiming Lowe with a piercing ball to the stumps, and Asad likewise securing his brace with L. Wyatt undone trying to chase the game, the innings was finally brought to a close with Ackland claiming a well-deserved wicket with a ball that evaded M. Wyatt’s mighty swing but not the stumps. And so with more than a little self-pinching Bodley decamped from the field of play having managed to restrict the RDXI to what seemed a definitely attainable total of 121. Only time would tell if this would prove to be the case however. Meanwhile, there was the small matter of lunch to be considered, and with the sun gently warming the cockles, much cake and sarnies – with pickle no less – were devoured, all washed down with tea served in plastic beakers, giving the entire episode the air of an outing for those not quite trusted not to do ghastly things to themselves or each other. Suitably refreshed, it was time to see if Bodley could follow up their performance in the field with some similarly impressive batting. And so an air of anticipation pervaded the Bodley camp as Neely and Asad strode out to the middle to start the chase, and as Neely calmly stroked the first ball to the boundary there was a palpable sigh of relief as the promised victory edged just that little bit closer. With Asad now at the crease expectation rose to fever pitch, as his much-promised swashbuckling approach was now about to makes its presence felt. Unfortunately, the RDXI opening bowlers had not read the script and instead unleashed an unrelenting assault of probing deliveries, with Wyatt well and truly buckling Asad’s swash, and a portentous silence duly descending on the boundary. It was not just the ceaseless attack on the pitch that Bodley had to contend with, with Ackland omitting an entire overs’ worth of runs from the scoreboard tally it seemed that fate may, afterall, contrive to deprive Bodley of a victory, one way or another. And as if any reminder was necessary, it wasn’t long before Neely had himself succumbed to the dangerous opening spell of Akhtar, departing for a well struck though disappointing 11. One of the joys of the vagaries of a Bodley innings is that they often bring together batters of contrasting approaches in entirely uncontrived circumstances. Today would prove to be no exception to this rule as the hard-hitting Pascoe now shared the strip with Boycottian apostate Jones, eager to add to last seasons rich run of form. Although promising much, the new partnership was alas undone by yet more sharp bowling with Jones getting a fine snick that was pouched behind. And with three wickets down and only 33 runs on the board it was beginning to look like a classic Bodley wobble, so all eyes turned to Burnett as he ambled out to the middle in a cloud of silver hair and good intensions. And just as the red glow of a twilight sky foretells of better times to come, so it was that a change of bowlers and resolute and purposeful batting by Pascoe and Burnett began to tip the advantage once again back to Bodley, and with overs to spare it began to look very much like a done deal until Ackland somehow managed to suddenly appear out in the middle in the dreaded white coat, which seemed about as auspicious as Dr Crippen appearing at your hospital bedside with a large selection of pills. Needless to say it wasn’t long before the inevitable shout erupted from the middle and all eyes on the boundary turned to this incorrigible dispenser of doom out in the middle. But then the second miracle of Stanton St John occurred, for it appeared that someone had presciently sewn the arms of the Umpires coat to the sides making it impossible for Ackland to raise the dreaded finger. As such it was a near flawless display of umpiring from Ackland with no LBW’s given which, as far as most could recall, was the first time such a thing had occurred since John Major had been in Number Ten. In fact the only blip was his belief that shouting “No Ball” a second time cancelled out the first erroneous call. But let us not get distracted from the events as they unfolded on the field. Having survived his near-death brush with the Ackland finger Burnett settled into a productive serenity, with deft scoring shots dispatched and purposeful running between the stumps all adding to the fast accumulating total. At the other end meanwhile, Pascoe was combining guileful tip-and-runs with languid dispatching of the loose ball, and it came as a bit of a shock therefore when he only half-connected with a drive which was well taken by Akhtar, having added a vital 36 runs to the score. And so the final act of the performance would see ‘Tuppy’ make his Bodley batting debut, and it wasn’t long before genuine technique started to make its presence felt, with unflustered defence mixing it with sensible hard running and more expansive scoring shots, which saw the target of 123 rapidly hove into view as the twentieth over approached, and Robinson performing sterling work keeping the notoriously fiendish scoreboard updated ball by ball. And as Burnett stroked a final boundary to secure the victory he could depart the field of dreams with an assured and undefeated 43 to his name, with Tuppy sharing the spoils with an impressive undefeated 24 run debut. Of course no Bodley win can ever be glibly dismissed as a foregone conclusion (with defeat wrenched from the jaws of victory all too often over the years), but despite the almost inevitable mid-innings wobble this was, objectively, a really most assured victory and one, moreover, secured with 14 overs in hand. And so as congratulations and commiserations were duly exchanged and spikes kicked off, Bodley could reflect on what had all the appearances of an almost complete performance. Tight bowling, combined with athleticism in the field, had contained the RDXI attack and restricted the run chase to something eminently attainable. Moreover, Bodley had bowled out the opposition with overs to spare, which has always been an Achilles heel in the past – not today would Bodley be undone by the immovable batter or wagging tail! Special mention must also go to a fine performance by Neely who proved to be a bulwark behind the stumps, preventing those all too precious extras that can make all the difference between victory and defeat. And without whom, of course, hearty thanks go to the Richard Denner XI for being such good opposition in a game that swung more ways than Dave Busby in a nightclub cage. Social cricket is notoriously difficult to gauge and handicap so it is always welcome to come across like-minded teams that present a friendly challenge, and it is hoped that this will become an established fixture over the coming years. And so with a win chalked up only two games into the season it was with an air of optimism that Bodley departed what is proving to be the rich hunting ground of Stanton St John, most in search of well-deserved ale, and Ackland to fulfil a pressing engagement with certain items he had recently purchased from Lidl. TP.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |