26/05/2024
With apologies for the tardiness of this post, but below an excellent match report of the friendly fixture against Friends of Witley School (FWS) on Sunday 19th June. It was a belter, so stick with itđ
Hambledon Sunday XI Vs. Witley School P.T.A XI by Sam Gilling, stand in skipper on the day.
And the winner isâŠâŠâŠ..well, weâll get to that later shall we!
Last Sunday saw a previously traditional Sunday fixture reinstated post the Covid lockdown and the weather certainly played its part as both teams and a fantastic number of spectators were greeted by that elusive perfect English summerâs day. Even the sight of a BBQ which was expertly manned by Pete (thanks again!) all afternoon didnât bring the rain clouds out!
Onto the cricket then, and with HCC themselves consisting of a number of debutants following various length sabbaticals from the game and the P.T.A team also composed of various levels of regular playing time, itâs fair to say that Captains Gilling and Neal stood at the toss with no idea as to what may unfold.
The P.T.A batted first with openers Neal and Steels walking bravely onto the field to face HCCâs fearsome opening pair of Mackenzie, from the village shop end following his traditional pre-match Sunday roast (chicken this time if youâre interested) and Walesâs answer to Glenn McGrath, Griffiths from the Oakhurst Cottage End (once heâd finished cutting up cakes and getting the âsum-upâ machine to work!).
The opening exchanges were cagey, with both batsmen defending well against probing bowling on a wicket which is still yet to firm up following the never-ending spring showers. The opening partnership was broken in the 5th over for 17 runs when, with Mackenzie bowling, Steelsâs (6) patience ran out going for a big shot over midwicket which was mistimed and caught in spectacular diving fashion running back towards the crowd by Ollie âSafe handsâ Bayne. Sadly âSafe handsâ did then go on a leave of absence a few times for many fielders during the rest of the innings but this catch certainly made up for that!
This brought the P.T.Aâs Dooley to the crease at number 3 who immediately raised suspicion that he knew what he was doing by wearing a full set of kit and, as was pointed out to me, âstanding like a cricketerâ.
This intuition proved correct, as following the opening bowlersâ spells Dooley took excellent advantage of the short square boundary to work his way to an eventual 64 guiding the innings with valuable assistance from Neal (8), Perkins (15), Morrison (13) and Kelson with a swashbuckling 33 before being well stumped by young Nick Reed, who a special mention must go to for demonstrating excellent glovework behind the stumps throughout (3 stumpings in all!).
The innings then petered towards a close with Strachan and Botsfordâs 3 and 1 respectively and the two not out batsman, Richardson (1) and Aneja (2).
Off we hobbled into the interval for tea, scones, cake and other more exciting refreshments from the fridge with a good score set of 175 required from 30 overs for Hambledon to chase down for victory.
With refreshments complete (although I noticed some fielders very sensibly took additional hydration onto the field with them) the second innings began. The P.T.Aâs opening bowlers, Garfoot and Strachan bowled tidily to HCCâs opening partnership of Harper (or Gavaskar as heâs more suitably referred to) and club stalwart Bruce Sleap. The pair laid a solid opening foundation of 20 before an unfortunate run-out resulted in Gavaskar being sent on his way for 14. Unfortunately I was obtaining some much-needed refreshment at the time of the incident but I believe Mr Sleap offering to buy Gavaskar a beer at the end of the match may be all the evidence needed to point the finger of guilt!
This brought âSafe Handsâ Bayne to the crease at number 3 who started to build momentum before departing stumped for 12 followed soon after by Sleap, bowled by Kelson for 8 with the score on 51/3 in the 15th over. With HCCâs Fradgley and Gilling now at the crease, needing 124 at a mere 8+ runs per over, it did start to look like the batting âplanâ may have been slightly over-ambitious. However, the partnership took the bull by the horns and with some l***y blows, especially from Fradgley who managed to find a Teslaâs bonnet well over the groundâs longest boundary, and the occasional sight of some form of timing the ball from Gilling, the score grew to a nail-biting 14 needed off the last over.
The crowd, now fully engaged (although perhaps more through self-preservation), settled in to watch the drama unfold.
Steels now bowling - having given up wicket-keeping duties - bowled a legside line meaning the batsman had to take on the long boundary which was well patrolled by a number of fielders. Over the first 3 balls both batsman felt theyâd missed out with a few poorly timed shots to full tosses allowing the field to hold firm leaving 10 now needed from the final 3 balls. The first of these was a single for Fradgley (who finished on an excellent 71) leaving Gilling (finishing on 47) on strike needing 10 from the final two balls. The first of which was despatched for 4 leaving 6 required off the final ball. Steels very sportingly bowled a wide leaving 5 for a win or 4 for a tie.
So, this takes us nicely back to where we started, âAnd the Winner isâŠâŠâŠâŠ.?â
Well, sadly for HCC, Gilling only managed a single meaning the P.T.A won by the closest of margins and congratulations must go to them for a well-fought victory.
âCricket was the real winnerâ was heard multiple times in the very enjoyable social gathering in the early evening sun. The P.T.A were of course winners of the match but to see so many families stay to watch the whole game and so many children waving bats and throwing balls around the outfield really was a highlight of the day.
A huge thanks must go to Jo and her ever-enthusiastic P.T.A members Tiff, Sam, Emily and Rosie for helping to get the P.T.A team together and organise the Bar, Face Painting and BBQ, as well Sion for handling the cricket club side of things.
I hope those of you who havenât been to watch or get involved in the club before enjoyed the day, and thank you for coming out in such support We would love to see you in a playing (especially!) but also in a watching / social capacity again over the summer.
Sam
