2011 - Game 17 - Sat 27/08 - KSCC 1s v Castle Cary

It seems that nearly every long season in any given sport ends up coming down to one game.  Sometimes it is the forced death or glory of a final, sometimes it is the gradual shuffling of teams into promotion and relegation positions, but once it is all said and done one key result can dictate the fate of a team in the last or next to last game.  In the first and last recorded season of the Old Testament League, the scene was set for the ages.  The league season ran for nearly 300 years and featured many famous father/son teams, not to mention the rise of many 2^nd XI’s, 3^rd XI’s and 24^th XI’s and an incredibly patient league committee to manage the growing fixture list and managing tribunal disputes.  In the end, it all came down to the final match between the old guard teams of Seth’s Sabres v The Methuselah Maniacs.  With eternal youth being awarded to the winners and the prospect of a decent stoning the losers, only 3 psalms separated the two well trained veteran outfits on the league table.  As you would expect, it was a tightly fought battle and after 89 overs of bone jarring cricket, The Maniacs required 11 runs to win from the last over with 2 wickets in hand.  The 9^th wicket fell from the first ball of the over, the batsman claiming he was temporarily blinded by a plague of locusts as the ball was delivered and being hopelessly bowled.  The last 2 struggled to scamper some singles and 2’s to put them within striking distance, requiring 6 from the very last ball of the season.  The ball was bowled and contact was made.  The ball sailed into the air and into the deep.  There was not a fielder in catching range and all watched in trepidation to see where the ball would land.  The result, unfortunately, is unclear.  The ball certainly landed very close to the boundary, with The Maniacs claiming it had gone for six and the Sabre’s arguing vociferously that it had landed inside and went for 4.  After much arguing, it was determined that God would decide and both teams patiently awaited a decision.  What is not clear, is what happened next, as the ancient scorebook recovered by archaeologists in 1912 does not record a score for the last ball.

Not surprisingly for our foreign readers, there had been overnight rain.  Surprisingly for locals, it was not forecast and the covers had been taken off, leaving the wicket a little sticky but drying slowly on a sunless breeze.  Your Brave Leader won the toss and surprised the Castle Cary skipper and some of his players by electing to bat.  The thinking was that a shower would surely come and this would be the best time to bat.  Records show that there was no rain for the rest of the day.

Once again, the KSCC openers were asked to knuckle down on a tricky wicket, which they achieved initially until Sammy G unleashed the patented pull shot for 4 and then unleashed a slightly different version that flew straight up and required him to walk off the field of play.  The Anternator came crashing back to Earth, bowled between bat and pad playing an unconvincing lunge for zero.  The Professor and Ballistic Tomlinson got their focus on, and made batting on the tricky wicket look a lot easier than it was.  Both men were patient and ensuring that they cashed in when the bowlers fed the ball into their scoring zones.  Just when KSCC looked on top, Ballistic found the leading edge trying to push one around the corner and was snaffled.  Rayzzo walked out to the middle, walked past a delivery from the spinner and then walked back to the pavilion.  This brought Livewire Benny to the crease, who immediately lit up the stage with some audacious stroke play finding the boundary with ease.   His bright innings included 2 monstrous slog sweeps for 6, one resulting in the first lost ball at the ground during a firsts game for several years and forcing a scurry for a spare nugget.  However, shortly after, he was bowled attempting a third and the skipper came and went in disturbingly familiar fashion, caught on the midwicket boundary playing a perfect line drive to left field from a full toss.  Jon Rowe’s solid innings came to end as he was bowled through the gate and suddenly KSCC were in dire straits.  Luckily for KSCC, the Fabulous Barton Brothers were brought into the fray and they played their typical game of high pressure running and aggressive scoring to put a jubilant Castle Cary on the back foot.  Freddie Barton in particular looked in good nick, finding much needed boundaries.  However, the show didn’t quite last long enough.  Tommy B drove to cover and then Freddie was bowled by a slower ball.  The Destroyer continued to bump up his average with a delightful flick over midwicket and a not out when The Strangler was trapped in front (possibly) on the first ball he faced and the last of the innings.  Thanks to the solid partnership between Ballistic and The Professor, combined with the late run by The Fabulous Barton Brothers, KSCC had posted a competitive 174.  Less than expected at the start of the innings but not a bad effort in the conditions.

Tommy B rocked Castle Cary with 2 wickets in the first over.  The first blasted through the uncomfortable opener to destroy his stumps and then he nabbed a caught and bowled from a leading edge on the very next delivery, kicking off the innings with a double wicket maiden.  The Strangler joined in not long later, cutting one back in through the gate and Castle Cary looked broken at 8/3.  However, Atkins and the captain Bontoft went into survival mode.  The both played through the conditions and saw off first Tommy B and then looked to find runs where ever they could be found from The Strangler.  The Professor came on from the top end and, in his third over, used the bat, pads and foot of the dangerous Atkins to wriggle the ball through onto the stumps.  Former local product Darren Wood came to the crease and looked in no mood to mess about.  He saw off the end of Snooky’s excellent long spell before deciding to take the long handle to the spinners.  The Destroyer bowled a fairly tight line but The Golden Boy Freddie Barton came in for some select punishment over the midwicket boundary after a promising first over maiden.  Castle Cary were well back in the chase, but Spence made an important breakthrough when the skipper went back to cut one that he shouldn’t have and was bowled when the ball turned back in.  It was then Castle Cary’s turn to have a KSCC like stumble, losing 2 wickets in the one over.  Spence had one caught at deep mid on and then The Anternator effected a run out as he dashed onto the ball from mid wicket and beat the bat to the bowlers end as they took a suicidal single.  However, with Wood still looking like he could take the game away at any point, El Capitan effected a double change and brought on the closers, himself and Tommy B.  The game looked won when Wood was trapped in front by a rarely straight pitched slower ball from Your Brave Leader, but Cary tai continued to kick with a swift partnership between numbers 9 and 10 putting the KSCC score under pressure.  Requiring 17 from the last 2 overs, they had to then confront one of the great mixed bag overs ever to be seen on these shores.  El Capitan put the ball wide of off stump and down the leg stump to supply Cary with some very helpful extras to put them on their way.  Unluckily for them, nestled in those great clumps of dirty brown stench were two sparkling nuggets of deliveries.  After 2 wides, one found the target and swung in between bat and pad to clip leg stump.  Then, another wide later, number 11 copped a jaffa that cut in through the gate to take the top of off and it was all over.  KSCC guaranteed promotion and Castle Cary’s challenge for second spot was over.

After the celebrations that night, KSCC were delighted to hear that Middlezoy had lost and that, if results went their way the following week, then first place could still be up for grabs in the last game of the season.

Batting:

                M Tomlinson         41

                J Rowe                  41

                B Chant                29

                F Barton               28

Bowling:                               o             m            r              w

                C Hansen             5              0              23           3

                S Churchill           6              0              24           2

                T Barton               11           2              32           2

                S Snook                12           2              29           1

                     J Rowe                5               2              18           1  

2011 - Game 16 - Sat 20/08 - KSCC 1s @ Horrington

Of all the sports to grace our wonderfully doomed lump of rock called Earth, few sports are geared towards the concept of the highlights package as cricket.  There cannot be a single true fan of the game who has not been at a live game, turned momentarily to thank someone for a cup of tea and then missed the only wicket for 183 minutes, a spectacular delivery never to be repeated.  The concept of a highlights package to summarise the tedium into a cohesive story of derring and do dates back to the early days of the 16^th century, when burgeoning playwrights were invited by the King to record the babbling utterances of Mad Prince Cuthbert.  The Mad Prince would walk the halls of the Palace in 3 to 5 day episodes and would, once all the leeches had run out, lead his doctors to attempt to recreate the fictional game of ‘Cricket’ prevalent in these murmurings, a seeming constant amongst all the other talk of cakes and seagulls.  A young scallywag called Billy Shakespeare was among this cadre of playwrights and it is from here he drew much inspiration for his later works, including the famous line “To take 2 or middle?  That is the question.”  These sessions were then summarised into 1 hour plays which were enacted on the stage so that the public could enjoy what would later prove to be an amazingly coherent and prescient account of the English County season 1968-69.  So enthralling were these highlight plays, that England was formally separated into the Counties so that people could migrate to an area of the country where they could share their adoration of Prince Cuthbert’s fictional teams with like minded individuals.

By the time of the Victorian era, Cricket had become reality.  However, with this reality came the uncomfortable notion of the exploits of real life persons being immediately re-enacted on the stage that very evening.  Many talented cricketers and less talented actors were lost to pistol duels during this time when players took exception to the way that they were portrayed on stage.  Ever the innovators, Victorian engineers came up with a unique system to protect viewers of the game from the slow, boring bits and only show the excitement of highlights!  A series of large steam engines were installed at The Oval which were attached to giant iron screens placed around the ground.  Above each set of screens sat an expert cricket pundit, who’s main skill was to be able to read the ebb and flow of the game in such a way as to recognise when something exciting might happen and open the screens at a suitable juncture.  These screens would open at a frightening rate and with a great thunder clap of force as pressure was released from the giant engines.  Not surprisingly, this did often cause the required highlights to occur.  Batsmen would be bowled as they leapt in surprise and fielders would be clattered by the opening screens, completely miss the ball travelling towards them and result in a boundary.  Even in the earliest days of television highlights, producers would routinely install enormous speakers at the ground to boom out the simulated noise of the traditional iron gates to keep the MCC happy.    

Rain had come down during the morning and most of the drive from the general Kilmington area to Wells was performed through steady to hard rain.  However, arrival at the ground showed that the worst of it had missed the thriving mecca of East Horrington.  The wicket was still covered with a light drizzle in the air when the start time passed, but the covers soon came off and both sides got their first look at a green wicket.  As ever, El Capitan choked on the toss where the choice of action was obvious, and was duly invited to get his openers padded up.

Sammy G and Ballistic Tomlinson toiled hard in the early overs to stifle the new ball.  It was hard going, with the pitch giving the sort of assistance normally only offered to bowlers by Indian Test batsmen when off the sub-continent.  It was an impressive effort by both to stay in control and to ignore the odd ball that did a bit.  While Mark performed his normal role of acting as bodyguard to the standing umpire, Sammy G started to crawl out of his shell with a couple of lofted straight drives to make use of the not overly distant straight boundaries.  Once the hard work was over, Ballistic decided to let someone else have a go, playing a trademark uppish drive to the man at cover.  The Anternator strode to the wicket with purpose and immediately deployed that purpose with some effect.  Without middling the ball, he managed to clear the boundary a couple of times and he and Sammy G upped the run rate with some good running.  With Ant looking good and an assured looking Sammy G passing 50, Horrington were being put under considerable pressure on the scoreboard.  However, another big score went begging for Sammy G when he was run out for 63 as The Anternator looked for one too many.  Livewire Benny had the power shut off before he got started and so the unsinkable Ray Rose strode to the wicket to anchor the innings.  While The Anternator continued to pummel, Rayzzo picked up 1’s and 2’s aplenty against the increasingly ragged Horrington.  At 152/3 in the 30^th over, things were looking pretty good.  By the 35^th over it was 195/3.  The 40^th over passed with the score on 238/3.  During this time, The Anternator passed 3 figures for the first time in KSCC colours (white), to the jubilation of his team mates and the inanimate pain of his pads which he struck viciously in celebration.  Not long after, he was finally out trying to push the scoring even harder, run out and with another 7 6’s in his pocket for the sixes trophy.  El Capitan was caught on the boundary chasing runs, but Rayzzo cleared the boundary twice late to see KSCC finish with a massive 283/5 from their 45 overs.

Some big scores had been scored at Horrington, so there was still the thought that there was a job to do in the second innings.  Even if the score was enough, it would be critical in the chase for promotion to secure the full 35 points for the game.  Tommy B’s first over was all over the place and went for 8, some in wides and one from a clattered stand and deliver 4.  However, the tyro struck back in his second over to work the opener over and then shatter the stumps in a wicket maiden.  He then helped Snooky grab a wicket maiden of his own, taking a sharp debut catch at first slip from a trademark Snooky outswinger.  The pressure was kept on Horrington when the dangerous De Lange was run out by a direct hit from mid off courtesy of Livewire Benny.  There was no run there, and Benny made him pay for it to continue the high standard in the KSCC fielding in the early overs.  From that point, Horrington started to shut up shop with the target a long way off.  The Professor made a long awaited comeback with the ball and was keeping it tight, but the remaining opener gave him a hand in the wicket column and punched a catch into the deep.  The chase for wickets was on, which regulations dictate should be achieved through engaging the spin twins.  Spence was the first to strike, having 2 men caught long and straight.  One of those catches was the catch of the season, Sammy G making ground to his right and taking the catch at full stretch, horizontal and mere inches from the ground.  The Destroyer then picked up his third wicket with the batsman playing the wrong line to an offie and disturbing the bails.  It all looked on, but Horrington started a mini-fight back.  The result was never in question, but it looked like they could hold out with wickets in hand despite Freddie looking very dangerous with the ball.  Darkness was creeping in after the late start and so the pace bowlers had to be kept in the pocket...it would be down to the spinners.  One valuable wicket was found through some inspirational fielding by Freddie out near cow corner, whipping the ball in as the batsmen took a single and taking out the top of the bail to catch the batsman short of his ground.  There was still one wicket required in the final over and the until-then-wicketless Golden Boy turned one through the gate to seal a memorable victory for many reasons.

It was a complete performance.  Great batting, great fielding and great bowling.  A satisfying team performance.  So many highlights.

To cap it off, Castle Cary stumbled at Wells, turning the KSCC v Castle Cary matchup next week into a must-win for them and a chance to secure promotion for the mighty KSCC.

Batting:

                A Williams           108

                S Gillatt                 63

                R Rose                  50*

                M Tomlinson      22

Bowling:                               o             m            r              w

                S Churchill           11           0              39           3

                J Rowe                  5              1              10           1

                S Snook                8              2              17           1

                T Barton               6              3              18           1

                F Barton               9.4          1              27           1