Scorecard

North Nibley v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Sat 29 Aug 2015 at 2:00pm
Erratics Cricket Club Won by 6 wickets

Match report by Jonathan Kirby, who was, on this day, turning out for his 300th game for the Erratics. (Didn't know this till 8 months later...)

Our excellent hosts, North Nibley, sportingly closed their innings after 45 overs of Erratic bowling, though the clock showed 2 minutes remaining before tea. Similarly, they pushed hard after tea to ensure that we had 21 overs before the final 20 were called in this timed game, so that our disadvantage would be no more than 4 overs. No-one could have known what would happen, but the result was desperately close, and although we had wickets in hand, North Nibley might easily have had a well-earned draw instead of a falling to defeat with just 5 balls remaining. You might say that this was a harsh return for their generosity, but they had contrived to create a genuinely exciting game of cricket.

North Nibley had batted first, beginning with a century partnership. Of the Erratics bowlers, masterfully marshalled by captain Penny Price, Ben Youngman and Chris Cook were particularly luckless, with at least half a dozen edges going in between or falling just short of the slips. Having scored steadily, the runs were somewhat choked off by Chris Cook and Phil Power, but it was the introduction of Fraser Chave that unlocked things, with a wicket first ball and a second falling in the same over. Matt Cook's run-out of one of the North Nibley openers was a highlight of our fielding.

Sweetly struck sixes were a feature of the middle of the North Nibley innings, but wickets continued to fall and their final score of 224, though imposing, did not seem impossible.

Incidentally, the youngest North Nibley batsman scored his first ever 6 off the bowling of a highly disgruntled Danny Williamson. Danny had reason to feel peeved because the batsman had only run 2 before the laser-like throw by David Pearson from long-leg to the bowler's end managed to find its way past all the Erratics fielders between him and the long-off boundary. More on our fielding in a moment - Ben Youngman, beware...

After a traditionally excellent tea, we set about the chase, Fraser opening with Martin Wright. The North Nibley bowling was rather good, and runs were hard to come by for a good while. There was some controversy about 2 LBW decisions, to one of which Fraser succombed, after which Duncan and Martin started to build. Duncan was spectacularly caught by the North Nibley captain, leading high at square leg and catching with one hand a ball that had seemed destined for the boundary. That brought an initially watchful Matt Cook to the crease, so it was Martin's turn to be expansive and the runs came more quickly.

With the 2 Cooks at the crease, the game was finely poised. Matt, in particular, was going well, and although 8 an over were required for the final 10 overs, we kept on track. Chris fell to a Penny Price stumping decision with 3 overs remaining, but with some chaotic scrambling of runs, Matt was kept on strike, and strike he did. A 6 into the car park had everyone holding their breath, and several car owners rather worried, but the ball bounced harmlessly into the adjacent school playground. A 4 off the first ball of the final over sealed victory for us.

Now, it seems to me that Ben Youngman is making a play for a clean sweep of all the Erratics trophies this season. His double fracture of the jaw at Marldon was obviously intended to put him in pole position for "The Black Ox", while his near immediate return to active duty aftewards, coupled with the sheer quantity of games he has played, becoming one of our key strike bowlers must surely put him on the shortlist for Erratic of the season. On Saturday, he began his campaign for the "Wobbler"... Twice, a ball passed him nearby on its way to the boundary, and it seemed to Chris Cook that if only he had dived, Ben might have stopped it. Chris suggested that Ben was simply working to keep his pristine whites, well, pristine, a suggestion which seemed to cause Ben to get the proverbial hump. As someone who went to extreme lengths to earn the Wobbler (a heart attack), I was unimpressed by this effort at indignation, so I will now offer Ben a bit more encouragement to "lose it" properly. With a name like his, I bet he's never heard anything like this before...

Ben Youngman, there’s no need for that frown
Ben Youngman, get yourself on the ground
Ben Youngman, so your whites will get brown
But you can wash them clean again

Ben Youngman, it’s down you must go
Ben Youngman, when you’re fielding, you know,
You can stay up, but I’m sure you will find
That the ball will pass you most times

It’s fun to get green stains on your whites
And it’s fun to get brown stains on your whites
It’s like everything… you can learn to enjoy
You can slide and stop all the balls

It’s fun to get green stains on your whites
And it’s fun to get brown stains on your whites
We’re not being mean, this is totally real
You can do it whenever you field

Ben Youngman, are you listening to me…?
Etc


North Nibley Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 7 wickets
0
224 (45.0 overs)		     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Ben Youngman10.0328128.002.80
David Pearson6.003900.006.50
Matt Cook3.001400.004.67
Phil Power9.0061161.006.78
Chris Cook9.0033133.003.67
Fraser Chave4.011527.503.75
Danny Williamson4.002600.006.50

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 4 wickets
0
225		        
Fraser Chave Lbw  7
Martin Wright Caught  37
Duncan Chave Caught  39
Matt Cook Not Out  90
Chris Cook Stumped  27
Jonathan Kirby Not Out  2
Danny Williamson  
Penny Price  
Phil Power  
David Pearson  
Ben Youngman  

North Nibley Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.