2s have memorable 9 wick win against Weirs - Unofficial

And the time is …..

I’m standing in for Wilf who has an obsession with start times. I don’t worry so much about what time it is ; if I can remember what day it is that does me – however I am standing in for the master and will therefore pay due respect and inform everyone that the game started at around 12.45.
The late start was due to teas or lack of them – if anyone thinks that a captain wanders up at start time works out batting and bowling order and then goes to sleep think again. Amongst lots of other things he (plus wife – this is a true cricketing partnership) has to check teas are in order. As they weren’t, at the official start time he was in Morrison’s carefully picking out cheese and meat to go in the sandwiches which Barbara and Margot put together.

Clothes make the girl ….

I believe every girl knows that clothes are important. There is a need to look good but also bear in mind practicalities. Above all else shoes matter – young teenagers don’t get the practicalities which is why you see 13 year olds tottering about on 5 inch heals. When you reach 20 odd however you should know what makes sense which makes it surprising that Jill turned up without cricket shoes but not surprising that she subsequently refused to field until she had a pair. The 7 or 8 overs this refusal lasted saw 80 odd runs scored so it would have been handy to have her on field even in her socks. After 13 calls to home they finally arrived. Towards the end of the match she was also handed a big plastic bag full of clothes, which I presume are the clothes she’ll forget next week.

Happiness is ……

In Ifti’s case a cigarette. Now most of us had never seen Ifti smoke before. When asked about this he replied yes I do smoke when I am happy.
Now I don’t know whether to be pleased about this as this means he was happy yesterday or a little sad because I presumably have never seen him in a happy state before.

The Art of sledging

Weirs have always been a slightly edgy team but one of their number is edgier than most – He played and missed at a couple ; Arjun said “come on he’s getting angry”. The edgy man replied “I’m always f****** angry”
Arjun is growing up (note the kind of beardy thing he is developing) but he now knows you should only sledge people if you can have the last word and some people wind themselves up anyway.

First Innings

Weirs batted first and got 259-7 of which their opener got 140 or so. It was looking more like well over 300 at one point but a good spell in the middle by Nick (4-17 off 10) and Raj (32 off 10) stemmed the flow and provided a 5 an over target which on a good pitch at Torrance House is always achievable if a couple of batsmen get in and make decent scores.

Slip Catching

Here is a little cricketing secret – although the majority of people who play 2nd X1 cricket either have played or will play in the 1st X1 there are some fundamental differences between 1s and 2 s cricket. One of the biggest is that in the 1s people are put in the slips because they can take slip catches but in the 2s they go there because they are old and infirm and whilst they can still bat and bowl a bit they can no longer run or bend down.
I don’t know if there is a planet alignment thing going on but this season something very unsettling is happening and every edge going behind to the wicketkeeper, slips and gully are being caught. Nick was the beneficiary this week as Ifti took a super one handed catch an inch off the floor at 1st slip, 2 balls later Alan was seen diving full length (only a slight exaggeration) to take a catch at 2nd slip and the following over Tommy dived forward to take an excellent wicket keepers catch just off the floor.

Second Innings

Although Torrance House does allow positive thoughts when chasing 5 an over it is still a mental challenge as 5 an over can quickly become 6 or 7 an over if there are any quiet spells. The trick is to start at 4 /5 and keep it going consistently. Ally McD and Dr. Raj did more than that starting at 5/6 an over that meant the runs were knocked off with 9 overs to spare. Their batting was superb with Ally (136 not out) claiming his maiden century and Dr.Raj falling just short of his century. They mixed classy boundaries all around the ground with sensible (not running 3s) 2s and occasional quick singles.
Although Ally got very excited on reaching his ton and scored another 36 runs in about 10 balls it looked like a 100 was on for the Doctor as there were still 6 to get and Ally had worked out he wasn’t allowed any more runs. Unfortunately 4 wides meant there were only 2 to win but 4 needed for the hundred. This proved a step too far and the Doctor was caught out attempting the required big hit.

Number 3 …

Number 3 is usually seen as a bit of a glamour position but not when the first wicket has put on 259 and there are only 2 to win. Fortunately Arjun had a night of debauchery on Friday which took in , dodgy bars and a casino , and resulted in one hours sleep. As a result he was a bit sleepy and wasn’t that aware of what was happening. He has also of course learnt a second lesson on top of his sledging one, which is establish who is writing the match report before going into too much detail about the night before.

Dr.Raj is posh – official

It is not unheard of for a batsman who has been out in the middle for a while to call for a glass of water to sustain him. However I suspect it is unique that a batsman has called out for the whole ground to hear that it isn’t just water that he needs but very specifically - Sparkling water. He didn’t specify the brand but I have little doubt that it will have been one with an Italian sounding name that costs £5 a bottle.