2007 Season
Kegworth vs DCC
Smudger scribes:
After enough rain in the last month to give even Noah a heart attack, a fixture was at long last declared �on� and off we all excitedly headed for Kegworth, a welcome return to the fixture list after an absence of a few years.
Not the most familiar Dorchester line up for a variety a reasons with special thanks to Gav and John for answering the last minute call and getting us up to 10.
Crossy had taken the executive and totalitarian decision to nominate Rob as captain for the day and things started well with a correct call leading to us getting the first swing of the willow. Myself and the newlywed Richard Barlow opened the innings but it wasn�t long before Rich was nutmegged by a straight one for a duck.
Crossy was next in and, after getting away with one or two miss-timed pull shots early on, he soon began to find his range against some variable bowling. His cover driving in particular was a joy to watch. I, meanwhile, crafted a Boycott-esque 18 off 18 overs before being bowled in what felt like, and must have looked like, rather ugly fashion with the score on 82.
Ady was next in but he could only manage five but during this time a Kegworth member was good enough to bring out a pot of tea and half a dozen mugs to the Dorchester faithful support and a super cuppa it was too.
By this time, Crossy was beginning to hit the ball to all parts but in particular into a variety of neighbouring gardens and allotment plots. He finally fell for 79, a great knock in which his last four scoring shots were all maximums.
Rob and John pushed the score along; one clip off his toes by Rob in particular being met by Norman�s approval before John perished for 13. Gav came and went rather quickly after that but not before he had made a right mess of his bat leaving it with a crack which would have had Tony Greig reaching for the car keys.
However, this loss of wickets was not the prelude to a wag-free tail, oh no. Benno started off in typical Benno style with three fours but The Vicar, who came in after Rob departed for 21, at first seemed content to practice his immaculate forward defensive stroke. However, some encouraging words from Crossy (OK, he actually gave him a bit of a rollocking) resulted in The Vicar transforming himself from a batting rabbit into lord knows what as he smacked a long-hop through mid-on for four; a shot greeted by a mixture of shock and amazement. Divine intervention? Quite possibly.
Not content with this, Mick did exactly the same next over; Benno now happy to play the Chris Tavere anchor role (difficult to imagine I know but it�s true, honest). Mick was finally bowled for 11 and left to a sitting ovation and then tried to convince us that he personal best is actually 23. Benno finished with 27 not out with last man Brown Dawg Majorfinishing unbeaten on two as we finished on 195 for 8. Top marks to Kegworth for using nine bowlers.
After tea and with some black clouds looming in the distance, we set off to defend our total. The Vicar, clearly still on a high after his batting performance, opened the bowling in genuine all-rounder fashion with John, whose last appearance for the club a couple of seasons ago had brought him figures of 4 for 26 off 6 overs. Sadly, there was no breakthrough against Kegworth�s openers and the score was on 58 after 11 overs.
Benno and myself tried our luck next and while the run rate dropped a little, no wickets were forthcoming with only one or two half chances on offer. Rob�s head scratching began to reach fever pitch as he sought a breakthrough while I, and doubtless one or two others, began to ask the question, �have Dorchester ever lost by 10 wickets?�
Their first team opener finally reached a deserved century with a pull shot which went about an inch over the top of Mick�s head without him knowing much about it. Six inches lower and a quick trip to Holy Noses would have been in order. At this point, the aforementioned centurion decided to let the others have a go and promptly retired.
We finally took a wicket in the 33rd over courtesy of Gav who went on to bag a couple more. However, by this time club captain Paul, who had popped down to watch a few overs, had already seen enough and was heading for home. Kegworth finally reached their target in the 38th over which was bowled by Rich whose leg spin makes Paul�s pies look quite sharp.
So, a loss but most importantly was had played a game of cricket at long last. Let�s hope the second half of the season is drier than the first.