2005 Season - Hilton - 2005/06/12
Jez writes:
A glorious sunny afternoon, a beautiful batting track, another 500-run match and some decent scoff at half-time... Dorchester arrived at Hilton with high hopes, most of which turned out to be misplaced. Actually, to be fair, the tea was all right.
The fourth fixture of the season raised many questions: would we score two fifty odd and lose again? Would Crossy�s recent transition from care-free thirty-something to settled, responsible (!?) parent affect his batting prowess? Would our bowling attack, missing several of its regular protagonists, be able to muster more than three or four paltry wickets between them?
Paul cleverly lost the toss and we were invited to bat first.
Jez and Jamie set about combating the vagaries of a unpredictable strip and Jamie rattled up a sprightly 37 in good time. For much of the innings, the bowling was consistently inconsistent. In fact, if variety is the spice of life, we were undoubtedly facing the spiciest attack of the season. Undeterred, we moved the score on to 100 - 2 in the 28th, with the Cross now at the crease.
A perfect opportunity to push his average into the mid-400�s, the true benchmark for any decent club batsman. Ah... oh... bugger. It wasn’t to be and his first single-figure score of the season saw the much-envied average culled by a shocking 153-runs!
The customary 240/250 now looked a long way off and some lusty hitting from the bottom half would be required if we were to get close to that kind of total.
Jez eventually steered his way to 50 but the lower order didn�t really fire, and we settled for 156 - 8 instead.
Surely it would have been a different story if Brad Taylor, playing his first innings for the club, had been elevated up the order? A sweetly-timed on drive from his second ball got him off the mark with ease and he accepted the cheers from the pavilion with his bat thrust high into the air like Excalibur. If this is a sign of things to come, Dorchester is in safe hands.
We tea�d well and donned every conceivable item of clothing before taking the field, bearing strong resemblance to eleven Michelin men on their way to war.
Al soon troubled the quieter of their two openers, sending a well-disguised shooter into the base of off-stick. Rich Brown, opening the bowling from the other end, made an impressive debut for the club and finished with figures of 1 for 16 off 6 overs. Benno was as miserly as ever, conceding a run an over in his seven but the bowling plaudits belonged to Mick Stewardson, with 4 for 28. Pure 18-carat that right arm, Mick. Well bowled, mate.
Some decent catching, a couple of run outs - always good for a few fantasy points - and some fairly inopportune shot selection from the opposition meant that we were good for our second victory of the season, as Hilton�s innings ended at 108 all out.
With the fixture against "Lord of the King�s" not for a few weeks, we now have a well-earned break as well as a fantasy transfer window. Perhaps it�s time for some judicious mid-season trading? Be sure to send each of your transfers to Smudger, along with a shiny pound coin!