DODGERS v SUPERSTARS
16 OVERS MATCH
CHISWICK
20 MAY 1999
Result: Superstars won by 7 wickets
Dodgers Man of the Match: Phil McBarron
4 matches played and 4 defeats!
This was the game that very nearly wasn't. Due to cock ups with the train the game didn't start until 6.45. Heavy rain was also falling and the two captains came within a whisker of abandoning the fixture without a ball being bowled. Being mostly hardy souls and ignoring the odd prophet of doom (you know who you are!) it was agreed to attempt a reduced overs match of 16 overs per side.
Dodgers won the toss and elected to bat. The early exchanges were slightly surreal and bore all the hallmarks of a practice game (people were expecting an abandonment at any moment).
However, after about 6 overs of the Dodgers innings the rain relented and the game took on a more realistic atmosphere.
An out of form so far McBarron and last week's hero Chris Jacobs started fluently enough against the Superstars opening attack of Yogesh and Siva. Following the loss of Jacobs, Priest joined McBarron and the pair put on 59 for the second wicket. Unfortunately, with the ball not coming onto the bat, they found the going extremely tough against the slower and straighter bowling of Steve Dennis and Jason Marchant and got bogged down (quite literally on the heavy wicket!). Superstars also unveiled a new fast bowler, Simon Gundry, who subjected Priest to some hostile short pitch bowling in the poor light (he could prove quite a handful on the quicker pitches of mid-Summer).
Dodgers eventually limped to 92-5; following the loss of Priest, the Dodgers middle order of Westhead and Crawford perished in the pursuit of quick runs. McBarron also holed out late on to avoid accusations of average protection.
Superstars started their reply well. They shrugged of the early loss of Matt Cuntway (bowled neck and crop by Crawford) and used the pace of the ball to accumulate steadily. As with Dodgers, they stalled against the slower straighter stuff of the Dodgers occasional bowlers. Captain Carr was outstanding and was not flattered by his return of 3 overs, 1-8 (crawl, crawl, may I open the batting and bowling, field where I want and be relieved of all kit duties please?!). Sian also bowled steadily and claimed the prize scalp of Barry Gigg bowled middle stump. David Pope's single over was a revelation and displayed a talent previously so well hidden, that a group of Eygptologists were planning an archaeological dig.
We also unveiled a new player, Graham Turner, a friend of Guy's from the Treasury. Graham was obviously very rusty and his single over went for 17 which proved very costly in the context of the game. Graham redeemed things somewhat with a good catch to dismiss Tony Whitrod.
In the end, Superstars reached their target with 2 overs to spare, which was closer than many of us thought at one stage. We were probably 10-15 runs short of an adequate target, which was probably the amount Superstars saved in the field with some super stops, notably by Gigg and Cuntway in the covers (once again Superstars had the edge on us in this critical department).
Lets hope for a change of fortune against DTI on Thursday.
Quotes of the week
Guy Westhead: "I've got a new girlfriend. I met her at a nightclub - she asked me to dance. I like a good boogie." (anyone who has seen Guy's mobility in the field may find it hard to visualise him strutting his stuff like an East Anglian John Travolta).
Andrew Crawford: "Priest and McBarron should not bat together. Their styles are too similar - they score too slowly - we need a slogger at the other end."
Baby Talk
The Adeys have called their new son George Robert. They rejected my suggestion of Lucas (think about it!).
Tip of the week
Don't use your own bat or one of our good bats in wet conditions. When I inspected my bat last night (no puns please) it was full of cracks and splinters caused by last week's wet wicket.
Reminders
Kevin Roper and Neil Priest still owe their match reports for the previous two games. Incidentally, is Kevin growing his sideburns to try and get the part of Mr Darcy in the next TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice?
MATCH STATS
16 OVERS MATCH
CHISWICK
20 MAY 1999
Result: Superstars won by 7 wickets
Dodgers Man of the Match: Phil McBarron
4 matches played and 4 defeats!
This was the game that very nearly wasn't. Due to cock ups with the train the game didn't start until 6.45. Heavy rain was also falling and the two captains came within a whisker of abandoning the fixture without a ball being bowled. Being mostly hardy souls and ignoring the odd prophet of doom (you know who you are!) it was agreed to attempt a reduced overs match of 16 overs per side.
Dodgers won the toss and elected to bat. The early exchanges were slightly surreal and bore all the hallmarks of a practice game (people were expecting an abandonment at any moment).
However, after about 6 overs of the Dodgers innings the rain relented and the game took on a more realistic atmosphere.
An out of form so far McBarron and last week's hero Chris Jacobs started fluently enough against the Superstars opening attack of Yogesh and Siva. Following the loss of Jacobs, Priest joined McBarron and the pair put on 59 for the second wicket. Unfortunately, with the ball not coming onto the bat, they found the going extremely tough against the slower and straighter bowling of Steve Dennis and Jason Marchant and got bogged down (quite literally on the heavy wicket!). Superstars also unveiled a new fast bowler, Simon Gundry, who subjected Priest to some hostile short pitch bowling in the poor light (he could prove quite a handful on the quicker pitches of mid-Summer).
Dodgers eventually limped to 92-5; following the loss of Priest, the Dodgers middle order of Westhead and Crawford perished in the pursuit of quick runs. McBarron also holed out late on to avoid accusations of average protection.
Superstars started their reply well. They shrugged of the early loss of Matt Cuntway (bowled neck and crop by Crawford) and used the pace of the ball to accumulate steadily. As with Dodgers, they stalled against the slower straighter stuff of the Dodgers occasional bowlers. Captain Carr was outstanding and was not flattered by his return of 3 overs, 1-8 (crawl, crawl, may I open the batting and bowling, field where I want and be relieved of all kit duties please?!). Sian also bowled steadily and claimed the prize scalp of Barry Gigg bowled middle stump. David Pope's single over was a revelation and displayed a talent previously so well hidden, that a group of Eygptologists were planning an archaeological dig.
We also unveiled a new player, Graham Turner, a friend of Guy's from the Treasury. Graham was obviously very rusty and his single over went for 17 which proved very costly in the context of the game. Graham redeemed things somewhat with a good catch to dismiss Tony Whitrod.
In the end, Superstars reached their target with 2 overs to spare, which was closer than many of us thought at one stage. We were probably 10-15 runs short of an adequate target, which was probably the amount Superstars saved in the field with some super stops, notably by Gigg and Cuntway in the covers (once again Superstars had the edge on us in this critical department).
Lets hope for a change of fortune against DTI on Thursday.
Quotes of the week
Guy Westhead: "I've got a new girlfriend. I met her at a nightclub - she asked me to dance. I like a good boogie." (anyone who has seen Guy's mobility in the field may find it hard to visualise him strutting his stuff like an East Anglian John Travolta).
Andrew Crawford: "Priest and McBarron should not bat together. Their styles are too similar - they score too slowly - we need a slogger at the other end."
Baby Talk
The Adeys have called their new son George Robert. They rejected my suggestion of Lucas (think about it!).
Tip of the week
Don't use your own bat or one of our good bats in wet conditions. When I inspected my bat last night (no puns please) it was full of cracks and splinters caused by last week's wet wicket.
Reminders
Kevin Roper and Neil Priest still owe their match reports for the previous two games. Incidentally, is Kevin growing his sideburns to try and get the part of Mr Darcy in the next TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice?
MATCH STATS
DODGERS
P McBarron ct Siva b Marchant 43
C Jacobs b Yogesh 7
N Priest b Marchant 27
G Westhead st Carter b Taylor 2
A Crawford ct Marchant b Taylor 1
Kevin Roper not out 4
Extras 8
TOTAL (16 OVERS) 92 for 5
Did Not Bat - G Turner, J Carr, D Pope, K Matthews, S Brown
Superstars Bowling
Yogesh 2 overs 1-14
Siva 3 overs 0-15
S Gundry 2 overs 0-6
S Dennis 3 overs 0-14
M Kammelard 2 overs 0-14
M Taylor 2 overs 2-18
J Marchant 2 overs 2-11
SUPERSTARS
B Gigg b Brown 29
M Conway b Crawford 7
T Whitrod ct Turner b Carr 28
T Carter not out 17
S Gundry not out 1
Extras 10
TOTAL (14 overs) 93 for 3
Bowling
K Roper 3 overs 0-16
A Crawford 3 overs 1-24
J Carr 3 overs 1-8
G Turner 1 over 0-17
S Brown 3 overs 1-22
D Pope 1 over 0-5
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