And now for the main event of the Dodgers weekend away: our Sunday fixture against a Cirencester CC friendly XI. This is the first time the club has ever played at a ground with its own Wikipedia page, and so we wanted to make sure we did the occasion justice. To that end we actually warmed up in the nets ahead of the day's play, a rare bid for match fitness that we hoped would serve us well on the parched but otherwise scenic setup at this historic club. Jack, our local representative and the organiser of the fixture, had the privilege to captain Dodgers and was instrumental in getting our cohort to a full eleven thanks to debuts from friends Will S and Josh and father Ray.
Dodgers opened the bowling with spells from Gary and Will P, who steadily built pressure on the batters through four tidy overs- Gary claimed his reward in the fifth over when he forced a mis-shot that went to the steady hands of Will S in the ring, completing his spell slightly injured but with a wicket maiden. The next ten overs saw our openers rotated out for Stockers and Karan at first change- during this long stretch the run rate remained low as Dodgers put in a shift in the field, including noteworthy efforts from Mike at gully, Ray in the covers, and Brendan at point. It would be remiss of me not to highlight Matt's maiden as well, which featured as part of a five-over spell that went for only 12 runs. Karan took an over or two to find his areas but once he locked onto the off peg his left-arm swing was nearly unplayable. In the final over before drinks Jack introduced Josh, self-described as rusty but proving otherwise with his sixth ball when he took a caught & bowled that buoyed Dodgers spirits as we gratefully hydrated.
Then, with his first ball after drinks, Josh bowled Charlie for a golden duck- a source of great amusement for the two friends and a moment I'm sure he'll look back on fondly. Jack brought on himself next, plugging away relentlessly in that expertly coached style that always troubles batters and keeps them firmly planted at the crease. This came alongside a tidy spell from Brendan, thanks mostly to Karan's tireless fielding on the offside boundary. Jack finally got his well-deserved wicket in his penultimate over, at which point he brought back both Karan and Will to claim wickets of their own: Karan on a well-taken catch by Ray and Will P with two-in-two bowled, the latter a smaller lad who 'needed to learn that there's no mercy in adult cricket' according to our pacey firebrand. Cirencester did manage to accelerate slightly in the final overs, but not before Will S bowled James just as the batter was looking to get his eye in. The home side finished 173/8, and a very honourable mention goes to young opener Ruben who finished on 69* and carried his bat. He played confidently and comfortably even as wickets fell around him and held his own against some top bowlers with a lot of collective experience- well batted lad.
We were told this Cirencester total was the recent par in these dry conditions, and so we didn't relax going in to bat despite a required run rate of under 5. But some hastily scarfed tea under the relief of shady cover first of course!
Opening for Dodgers: who else but Mike and Will P. The two started nicely, climbing to over 30 inside five overs- so I hope Will won't mind my saying that he went out in a blaze of glory that has become a bit of a staple in the latter stages of the season, getting bowled for 14. Josh walked out listening to Gary's commentary that we didn't want to see him back in the hutch for another 20 overs. On this lofty premise he nearly delivered, forming part of a hefty partnership with Mike that lasted a comfortable 15 overs and frustrated some decent bowling from the young Cirencester squad, including a very sharp spell delivered by spinner Arty. Josh finished on 39 (38) and had steered us to the hundred-up with Mike. Next man up: Will S, who added another rapid 31 valuable runs to the total and helped put Dodgers in a winning position before being well caught on the boundary just in front of the spectators.
What to say of our man Mike then? He produced a vintage 50* that combined the best of his patience against the better bowling and the punishing shots against the odd bad ball, with plenty of late dabs mixed in for good measure. Some observations from the crowd during this innings included Izzy astutely capturing how he plays with more swag as he grows into the game, Crawf complimenting the thwack when he properly connects with a wide ball on leg side, and everyone enjoying the trademark ergh when he failed to capitalise on a wayward delivery or picked out the only fielder on the boundary, trudging through for a single when he fancied a four. By my count we had at least five of those audible from our picnic table. In the end though, the D Train arrived back at the bar in style, enjoying his deserved retirement- not D(railed) but D(fiant) in the face of Cirencester's best efforts to dismiss him.
Ralph and Ray thus joined at the crease to see Dodgers home, now requiring less than ten runs in over five overs. Plenty of time boys, no need to - oh Ralph has been caught on a skied delivery. Fair enough, Charlie probably deserved a wicket in there. And Brendan, despite some cringeworthy batting technique, saw out four dots to return the strike to Ray with two needed to win. Pethick Senior wasted no time, crunching the next ball to the boundary to bring us the victory. Plenty of handshakes all around for a match well played and well contested by both sides.
My thanks again to skipper Jack, his three handy recruits for our side, and everyone at Cirencester CC for having us, especially Charlie, who captained the team valiantly and brought the right attitude and approach to the fixture. For his efforts we even gave him a bonus MotM vote below, which he begrudgingly gave to Josh; true friendship is a beautiful thing. Many drinks and fun catch ups were enjoyed on the benches of their clubhouse, which even had a historic fireplace in the changing room- appropriate for a club founded in the 1850s!
Man of the Match
Mike 9
Jack 1
Josh 1
Will P 1
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