Five at the farm

                                                                           Iggy writes:

It was another one of those "will it , won't it" rain days. The man from Midsomer Norton (groundsman) he say Yes, but only if it didn't rain again.

There was a last minute rush around to try and get hold of a tarp of some sort; to cover the wicket when the predicted showers came in, we couldn't get anything big enough, so that was the end of that.

Upon arrival at The Farm it was pretty obvious that there was going to be a shower or two. We spotted what looked like a tarp, locked away in the mower shed, there was a small gap at the top of the partition wall, and our Ollie was chosen, mostly because of his slender build and his agility, to take on the mission. He went up the wall like Spiderman and slid through that gap like a Giro though a letter box. Turns out it wasn't a tarp but a big Gazebo, nice one that will do the job.

Right, so The Plan; win the toss, bowl em out quickly, get the runs even more quickly and get to the pub to watch Brazil vs Chile.

RT1 and Kalu opened the attack on a drying but sticky strip, their opening batsmen were smart and got off to a flyer hitting anything short or wide straight to the boundary and ran very well between the stumps. Kalu got the big fella, caught by Tim at cover.

The 1st change brought the wickets Jules got the opener who was starting to look dangerous, caught behind by Ollie , who had charged the square leg umpire screaming obscenities en route, from behind his Hannibal Lector mask, in the previous over.
Wickets then fell regularly, the pressure of the tight bowling getting to them. Tim and Jules taking 8 wickets between them, all out for 92 in the 30th over. Great bowling great fielding and quick change arounds between over’s, they didn't get a look in.

Their skipper, who was in full rain dance mode, begrudgingly allowed us to go out and bat for 10 overs as the tea wasn't ready yet and it was sure to rain soon.
Evan had strict instructions to bat like a twat, and that he did, not wasting any time gaining a 100% strike rate for his 3, that brought Tooley to the crease, who also wasted no time, with Ahad playing sensibly at the other end, Dave hit a quick 42 in 18 balls to put the game in the bag before getting caught out by a low straight one.

The 10th over came and we had to come off for tea, still needing 20 odd runs. Then our gazebo came into use as the heavens opened, it did its job and kept the wicket dry enough to go back out on, when the rain stopped.

Ahad and Angelo went out to finish the job, with the pressure off, saw us home with ease in the 15 th over.

Not quite as planned but still caught the second half of the footy.

Tim T got MoM for the second week in a row for a fine bowling performance, His 5for costing him a jug back at the plough.

Ollie (Hannibal) Groom, won cider moment for his Umpire charge.

Ahad gets a special mention, for his 3rd not out in a row , Keep it going mate.

Scorecard

Nailed

Following complaints, it should be noted that all cricketers and events appearing in this report may be fictitious. Any resemblance to reality, real persons, living, dead, undead or asleep is purely coincidental.

At the station, team manager and taxi driver Iggy anxiously awaited the late arrival of the train from Gloucester carrying last week's Man of the Match. Meanwhile, chez Lalith, a deep sleep was disturbed by the persistent ringing of a phone. What with being stalked in the supermarket earlier while buying provisions for tea, so far Ben wasn't having an easy time of captaincy. It didn't get any better when on the way to the ground, Ev was spotted driving in the opposite direction. Somehow, within the hour the Cowboys were ready with eleven on the field at Farmborough versus Nailsea 3rd's ten.

Any more of this winning the toss business and there'll be an inquiry, but once again Ben carried on the successful streak, asked the opposition to bat first and his bowlers and fielders to toil in the heat of the baking sun. RT1 and Garnier coped admirably, any occasional wayward spewings often adeptly collected by birthday boy Ollie behind the stumps. However, it's regrettable that the young man incurred a five run penalty for the inappropriate placement of his helmet.

A few early runs leaked across a fast outfield until both bowlers got their reward for accuracy, guile and swing, RT1 with a positive LBW decision and Garnier hitting the stumps. The third wicket fell within the first ten overs when the opposition skipper foolishly swept across the line to Garnier and was without hesitation adjudged to be LBW.

Perhaps it was then that a batsman came to the crease bereft of a bat and caused much mirth and around about this time that Ange performed some aerial acrobatics to stop but not catch a ball that was thwacked at him from close range. Ollie made no mistake in taking an edge to give RT1 his second wicket although the batsman lingered a while in trying to tell the umpire, and everyone else in the valley who'd heard the edge, that he hadn't touched it. Perhaps, in the bushes, someone looked down at the twig that they'd just snapped in two.

Garnier was replaced by Asad, firing it in on a good length just outside off stump, swinging the ball enough to prevent the batsman from getting anything but an edge on it, one of which (not the one that the skipper dropped) AB - making his debut for the 1st XI - confidently leapt and caught above his head at gully, later voted as the Cider Moment. With five wickets down and barely fifty runs on the board, Nailsea looked rather ragged but maybe not incapable of recovering. They didn't help their cause when their most successful batsman hit one straight to Tooley and set off down the track for a run that his partner didn't want: a calm, accurate throw to Ollie saw him easily run out.

Asad bowled out his economical spell, rewarded for his accuracy with a second wicket for a ball that clipped off stump, leaving Lalith to mop up with some loopy turners, which when they pitched, spat this way and that and were too good for the shortened Nailsea tail. He also ended with a brace of cheap wickets to have the opposition dismissed in the 29th over for 79 with the tea urn barely tepid.

Out to bat strode Ev and Ange, gladiatorial with their blades in the heat of the arena. A watchful start against some nippy bowling paid dividends as the pair settled and enjoyed an unbroken partnership before tea, Ange smiting some powerful blows, Ev accumulating with footwork and style.

Tea was delicious, varied and ample although the earlier supermarket stalking incident appeared to have befuddled Ben into purchasing enough watermelon to feed the population of the Mendips. A lot of it would later mysteriously appear as cattle fodder in a field near Stanton Drew.

The refreshed opening batsmen continued where they'd left off, assuredly pushing the score on at four runs an over and reaching their half-century partnership, shortly after which Ev was caught at mid-on for a solid 24. In strode captain watermelon to join Man of the Match Ange, who was playing too well and having far too much of a nice time to get out. Neither of them did as they knocked off the remaining runs - Ange undefeated on 30 -  helping the Cowboys to a nine wicket victory in the 21st over, a vast arsenal left unused, surplus to requirement, a bit like the watermelon.

With no refreshments to hand and another two dozen overs left in a glorious summer's day, various routes were taken to Stanton Drew where both were found and to a backdrop of distant hot air balloons and nearby bovine copulation, the 2nd XI fought to complete a splendid victory against Whitchurch 3rd XI.

Scorecard

Ill wind

Trying to bowl at Nailsea on Saturday was like throwing a wiff waff ball at a coconut in a hurricane. Which is why I doff my woolly hat to Messrs Burgess, Tinkler, Kumara, Wilkinson and Gibbons for keeping the ball in tight corridors and restricting Nailsea to a fairly paltry and gettable total.

The Cowboys lost here in the final over last year as a cold wind blasted, many small children ran around shrieking and footballers swore behind the beech hedge. Plus ca change.

On paper, the Cowboys looked invincible. Sadly, the paper was caught by a gust of wind and blown down the Severn estuary. And it had all started so well, with Iggy winning the toss and asking the opposition to bat on a slightly damp but fast-drying wicket.

Mister Burgess from the church end and Mister Tinkler from the other opened up the assault with the new ball, which they delivered accurately and beguilingly, despite a stiff breeze in an exposed field, the aspect of which is surely ripe for the erection of several wind turbines capable of supplying electricity to the whole of Bristol.

The ball did have an alarming tendency to fly swiftly from edges to the boundary line, but Joe and Rob kept the runs down and the pressure on, forcing both openers into errors that cost them their wicket. Your correspondent was then given the ball, which he controlled with the dexterity of an inebriated driver in a multi-storey car park, much to the Nailsea batsmen's glee and profit. Did I mention the wind?

Lalith and Mark then showed how it was done, with spells of brave and tight bowling, more than ably assisted by debutant Preash who bagged a couple of stumpings as the Cowboys fought to regain control. Ev came on to bowl at some children who bravely hit back a bit before being dismissed. Somewhere along the way a ball got launched into the airspace above Ben's head and he was blinded by the light - revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night - and forced to take protective action as the ball plummeted to earth a few feet away. How we laughed.  Iggy, having pulled a muscle to ensure his position at slip, held two sharp chances but was unable to bowl, so to limit the opposition to 159 all out on the penultimate ball of the innings, with Ev taking a tidy 4-17 was a par performance. Could we sink the birdie?

Not on a tea of persil-white bread and sugar. Haven't they heard of wholegrains here? At least it wasn't windy inside.

Dave and Ev opened the batting needing four an over. The latter returned in the second, caught behind playing horizontally, leaving Ben to build a partnership which crept up to two an over before Dave was also caught by the keeper. Duncan helped move the score along, Ben timed the ball sweetly for boundaries, then Duncan was caught for a dozen and Mark joined Ben, who was bowled in the 21st over for 29. The Cowboys were 62 for 4, still needing another hundred runs. Lalith arrived at the wicket only to lose Mark the following over, bringing Preash to the crease, who proved a steadying anchorman as Lalith played his shots and sometimes found both ball and boundary.

With the required run rate nearly in sight, Lalith fell to another catch and your correspondent joined Preash, successfuly middling a few before feathering a tickle to the keeper as the ball drifted away. Have I mentioned the wind? Joe stuck around much longer, building what was to be the highest partnership of the innings with Preash, keeping the target in sight and making it look possible. When he fell for a spirited 27 the injured skipper came to the wicket with a runner in tow and possible hilarity ensued. None of us were laughing when he returned after pulling his first ball straight into mid-wicket's hands. RT1 strode confidently out to face the hat-trick ball, the Cowboys still requiring 29 from the last five overs with the last pair at the wicket..

Despite making Nailsea work hard, running and striking with intent and coming close to a remarkable recovery, the Cowboys fell just a dozen runs short with a couple of overs remaining when Rob was bowled for legs eleven, stalwart Preash not out on the same score.

The Man of the Match vote went to Joe and the Cider Moment was shared between Joe palming a ball from his face, Ben's "invisible ball trick" and Iggys two slip catches.

Scorecard

 Photo courtesy E.G.