2007 Season
Broomleys vs DCC
Paul writes...
Getting to August Bank Holiday weekend with just four, yes 4, games behind you is something of a shocking statistic. For those reading abroad, this was predominantly due to rain�.and more rain�..and floods. Last week we set off to Hilton, sailing due south down the M1 with water coming over the central reservation form the opposite outside lane. I rang Crossy, who was ahead of me (having conveniently hit a riptide) and asked if he was at the ground. He confirmed he was there and could nearly see the wicket from the pavilion!......I drove home.
But the weather Gods were obviously having a bad day,beautiful yesterday and now not bad at all at Broomleys, a little blowy for the spectators, but generally blue and some sunshine. Yep game five was on � Broomleys again after a trip into the bureau � no one complained that we had been there for our very last fixture because we like Broomleys. In a short space of three visits we have always found a nice ground, a flat wicket, a good bunch of blokes and significantly�.. a top drawer catering situation � super tea and an after match bbq.
A few firsts today:-
Has the club ever before had back to back fixtures with one club?....i don�t think so
First cricket match for Harry Flight, son and heir to Jeremy, who thoroughly enjoyed himself and spat his dummy out less than Benno on a good day at Kegworth
First cricket match for my 12 week old dog Watson, who also thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon out, including his walks around the ground with Max.
Anyway back at the match, I managed to bag �tails� and we were off. With Crossy and Blakey calling off in the week we drafted in Brad and his chum Danny ( who had played at Repton). Nick poured himself into the changing rooms�.Lord knows how many pints it was Saturday night. I noted he was growing his hair and his quick if pessimistic response was that he thought he would grow it whilst he still had some. Rob and I understood that one.
Anyway out the refreshed Jeremy and the dishevelled Nick trudged onto a straw coloured flat track�. Their skipper had said �well you�ve got to on that haven�t you?� when I inserted ourselves. Surely a tasty 200 plus was on the way.
Jez departed with 9 to his name, 30 on the board in the ninth. Nick was sobering up and him and Adey built a very nice partnership of 47 in 8 overs. I saw most of that from the umpires point of view. I have to say I was fascinated with Nick�s power and technical ability�..fully justified in my best DCC X1 of the last 30 years � see �captains log� on the web.
Anyway, whether due to a temporary lapse of concentration or due to an upsurge from his nether regions, he missed a full leg stump delivery from their offy and he was offski for a solid 45. Jamie (2) and Rob (4) both struggled to get going, so there I was in the middle batting 6, 97-4 in the 26th and trying to work out how many weeks since belper meadows when I last had a knock � 10/6/07, that�s 77 days.
Disregarding this I was able to nurdle and nudge a few around with the patient and productive Adey and we got to 130 before I wound up for a big one, unfortunately on the quick�s slower ball (if you know what I mean) and merely gave a paltry caught and bowled for 14. This score was matched by a cavalier Smudger, who along with Richard (7 no) and Kev (1 no) scraped us to a total of 166 -7 in our 40. Credit to Adey with 41 who calmly held things together.
But this was less than we had hoped � the Broomleys boys had held it together pretty well with 7 bowlers and a very enthusiastic wicket keeper who stood up all game, leaving us pinned to our popping crease.
Tel thought it was 30/40 short and I have to say he had a point. I mean the aforementioned keeper had nipped in with a ton a couple of weeks before, the wicket was still dead flat and we weren�t exactly brimming with bowlers.
The Broomleys boys were quick in the outfield but even quicker in the tea room and there was a scramble to get the best titbits. As a latecomer to the table I was pleased to see the late arrival ofbuttered new potatoes � nice touch and a bit of luck for me�.maybe that luck could stick with me out in the middle.
At 26-0 after 4 overs it certainly didn�t appear so. I had challenged Smudge to better his last bowling figures at the ground and keep his 8 overs below 21 runs. With fourteen off his first two it was going to be tricky. All the bowlers were counting how long it was since they had last bowled, cueing their excuses up for after the match post mortem.
Rich was plugging away at the other end and put down two red hot c & b�s which we could have done really � to say the least. But in consecutive overs he and Smudge removed the openers and all of a sudden we had a different game � 44-0, to 44-2, in the 12th. So the centurion of the previous match was batting along with a teenage prodigy and they stayed together for 20 overs, until the 32nd, accumulating 80 runs. But it was slow � I had moved the bowling round, Jamie, Rob and latterly 3 good overs from Danny had all mixed it up nicely. We dropped back to give the single and tried to strangle the run rate�.quite successfully. Not without some entertainment along the way � Rob�s drop at gulley of a looping goober which was floored in comical fashion and a juggling fete of some skill from Richard on one of the aforementioned failed c & bs. But the breakthrough had put us in the game, with them faltering from 120-2 in the 32nd�..to 129-4 in the 36th.
We were doing a super job in the field by now, diving, blocking and closing down every run we could.
Jeremy was given the task of locking down one end and the third wicket had been bagged with a stunning caught and bowled � a dive to his right taking the ball millimetres from the deck and sending back their key batter. But now he was in the groove with some very tidy off spin. But the batters had to have a dart and as I spread the field two mighty biffs to long on were rewarded with wickets, as Brown Dog junior caught two to make for his earlier juggling. The first was an absolute trimmer, as the ball was travelling at pace and he seemed to see it late but hung on to it with great determination over his head. The second was a few strides forward and waist high � a doddle in comparison.
Thus Jez (after a fair few over it has to be said) bagged his first 3 wickets for the club 7-0-34-3)
At the other end from Jez was my death bowling specialist ( see eastwood 2006 ) �KB, Brown Dog senior. And whilst it took a few balls to get it together, that metronomic accuracy was in evidence and we clamped them down to 148-6 at the end of 39 overs. So, with 19 to win, we were close. 2 fours in the first 3 balls was a bit scary but 13 in all from the over gave us a victory. Kev and Jez - our death bowlers did it for us, along with some great fielding and a very nice victory was posted.
Defending 166 on there was a great effort. A win by 5 runs.
We retired to the changing room happy with our lot. One of their guys popped his head around the door, but no congratulations, just��sorry boys, forgot to put the immersion on!��. so it was cold showers all roundfor those who fancied them�........cue little tinkler jokes a plenty.
We assembled for a beer, Benno trying hard to get fit for next week got stuck into 2 cheeseburgers � which apparently help sore calves. Richard in his lively Bermuda shorts was regretting his choice of clothing as the end of August cool evening came along. But I�m sure the Brown Dog contingent was a happy one going back up the M1, playing a key part in a great team performance.