Scorecard

Woodford Green v Ongar Cricket Club Saturday 1st XI on Sat 02 Aug 2008 at 1.00
Ongar Cricket Club Won by 43 runs

Match report This was without doubt the must not lose game, bottom versus second bottom, the footballing equivalent of the six pointer or in this case the 40 pointer. If we slipped to defeat at rock bottom Woodford Green then we might as well all pack our bags and consign them to the loft for good. Things were not helped on the morning of the game when 'Coles' failed a fitness test. The poor little sausage had been off sick during the week, his first sick days for four years I believe and he felt he wasn't strong enough to play................what a gaylord.

The all important toss was predictably lost by Lovey, much to the groans of the players as they warmed up with some fielding drills in the damp, overcast and muggy conditions. Asked to bat by the oppo, Ongar found themselves in unchartered water as Jamie 'Zammo' Abbott and Joe 'Fred Flinstone Curtis (ask Jarv) first put on a 50 partnership and then posted a century stand. What a start. The fun and games came to end when Joe was given out LBW for 36 and this started a mid order wobble as Rakesh, Dan Shutts, Jarv and Tom Stock all came and went cheaply. All the hard work looked to have been undone and it was feared that we would not hit the magic 200 which, after the fantastic start, was the minimum requirement. Jamie was finally out for 76, no, not LBW this week, he chipped one to the mid wicket boundary where he was duly pouched much to his disgust as a ton was on the cards.

This left the task of first hitting the 200 mark and then surpassing it to Blakey, Pinal and Matt 'Private Parts' Adcock. Blake hit a more than useful 25 before being caught and Private Parts hit the ball as only he can when he has his eye in and blasted a quickfire 24, one particular lofty blow went so high it would have required permission from air traffic control to land. In between these two, Pinal found the boundary on regular occasions and his 34 was invaluable to the cause as the Ongar innings closed on 240 for 8. First half of the job was done. You could see by the body language that the WG boys were down and hadn't expected that at the toss.

After a rousing speech from Lovey, the boys took to the field with one thing in mind - 20 points. A change at the top saw Zammo open the bowling and he took the first WG wicket with an absolute peach that squared up Anderson and just clipped the off stump bail. Naipaul was next to go when Private Parts, on at first change, banged one in short which caught the glove and ballooned up to Nobbler who bagged it. Masters was next to go, again falling to yet another short ball from Private Parts. Sayeed and Khushi then frustrated the Ongar bowlers but the partnership was finally undone thanks to a fantastic one handed catch by Shutts which gave 'Parts' his third wicket.

As the game entered the last 10 overs, it looked like a draw was on the cards as the Ongar bowlers ran out of ideas and didn't exactly bowl to the fields set by Lovey. I'm sure if he had any hair he would have been pulling it out as the ball went to the boundary on a regular basis. This prompted a finger jabbing assault on Blakes chest by the skipper who demanded that he knock over the last remaining batsmen. This must have done the trick as Blake first knocked back the off stump of Amit and followed this up with a leg stump yorker which saw Shirley return to the pavilion first ball. Job nearly done. As the game drifted into the last few overs, Blakey sent one down that was just back of a length and attempting a drive, all Khushi could do was spoon the ball up to cover where an in-rushing Joe pouched the winning catch - cue celebrations and hand shakes all round. Job well and truly done.

It's easy to say when you've won but it was a great game of cricket, played in a good spirit. This was backed up by umpire Tony Clarke who, sporting a rather fetching red bandana, congratulated both sides.

At last, the run of six defeats was over and the boys could enjoy a well earned post match pint with our old friend Mario who was watching from the sidelines.

Get well soon Colesy

Ongar Cricket Club Saturday 1st XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 8 wickets
0
240
(0.0 overs)		    
Jamie Abbott Caught  76
Joe Curtis Not Out  36 1
Rakesh Bagga Bowled  6
Daniel Shuttleworth Lbw  1 1
Matthew Jarvis Caught  3
Tom Stock Bowled  7
Blake Hall Caught  25 1
Pinal Patel Not Out  34
Matthew Adcock Bowled  24 1
Neal Clark Not Out  0 1
Andy Love  

Woodford Green Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
A Raza9.014900.005.44
J Shirley9.033200.003.56
A Naipaul9.0054154.006.00
J Khushi15.0541410.252.73
B Makerdam10.0145315.004.50

Woodford Green Batting
Player name Runs
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 10 wickets
0
197 (0.0 overs)
J Sayeed Caught  45
M Anderson Bowled  1
A Naipaul Caught  9
C Masters Caught  11
J Khushi Caught  70
A Raza Lbw  1
S Carter Bowled  28
D Hawkes Caught  4
Z Amit Bowled  13
J Shirley Bowled  0
B Makerdam Not Out  0

Ongar Cricket Club Saturday 1st XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Blake Hall15.4356414.003.57
Jamie Abbott8.0045145.005.63
Matthew Adcock7.0044314.676.29
Daniel Shuttleworth4.0024124.006.00
Rakesh Bagga3.0010110.003.33
Matthew Jarvis1.001600.0016.00

  • Umpire :
    A.Clarke @ K.Goult
  • Scorer :
    Geoff 'Crackerjack Pencil' Page
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