Scorecard

Brook Green v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Tue 18 Jul 2006 at 6pm
Erratics Cricket Club Won by 11 runs

Match report 2 Match Reporters had been chosen by the selector and captain...
1. Phil Ellis
2. Jonathan Kirby


On the evening of the day-before-the-hottest day of the year, captain Matt Cook graciously allowed the opposition to field first, in temperatures that would have melted Boycott’s icy resolve to remain at the wicket. But clearly not so for the Erratics openers. David Pearson batted doggedly for his 12, but partner Peter Hinds, opening for the first time, was the star of the Erratics batting.

Peter slapped the ball all over the ground (alright, mainly to the mid-wicket boundary) for a magnificent 67 – his highest score ever.

The run-rate of 8 per over looked set to increase when Matt Cook came to the crease and hit the first ball for 6.. However, a similarly high score was not to be, as Matt uncharacteristically missed an on drive, and was bowled for 20.

Jonathan Kirby looked to be taking over the mantle until he pulled a hamstring. He played on for a couple of balls but eventually had to be helped from the field in considerable pain (making the match 10 v 10). However, when yards from the boundary, he was offered a pint from the bar and his spirits improved accordingly. (Editor: Especially with a cold bottle of Becks clamped to his thigh, courtesy of the generous Dominic Prosser.)

When Erratics took to the field, they were to face ..an Erratics batsman ! Ken Horne seemed to be settling (taking a few runs from both opening bowlers when Phil Ellis bowled him on the last ball of the third over. (?) ran out another Brook Green batsman in the next over by John Pearson which brought the impressive looking Richard West to the crease. He looked set to match Peter Hinds, hitting several boundaries from Ellis’s next (and final) over.

However, the Erratics matched the quickening run-rate with steady wickets from an accurate spell by Dominic and very quick bowling by James Burrows – can’t remember who got West but it was a peach of a ball!!). (Editor - it was Burrows)

Tim Mileham kept wicket well for the Erratics and was involved in two controversial decisions. His quick thinking (after a fumbled gather) saw the Brook Green batsman out of his crease and ran him out from a good 8 yards behind the stumps. The umpire gave him out immediately (as the law states), but there were subsequent mumblings about the ball being dead. Tim was then very aggrieved when he appeared to stump a Brook Green batsman, but this time it was not given.

Brook Green kept the pressure on, closing in on the Erratics’ total, but wickets also fell steadily with good contributions by J Pearson, Simon Orpen and Matt Cook who bowled the last over with 12 to get. However, the tail did not wag and Erratics won by 11 runs.

Apologies if I’ve got names wrong or missed any contributions but I’ve written this from memory without the aid of the scorebook!

Match Report and Photos by Phil Ellis

An inadvertent additional report...

The evening began with puzzlement for John Pearson. If Newton Poppleford was more T.S.Elliot than Wordsworth, what was the County Ground at the end of this hot summer's day?

Meanwhile, David Pearson was playing for the right side on this occasion (see this other report) and he set the tone beautifully by striking the first ball of the innings for 4. Well, this is 20 over cricket, after all. Cut off in his prime by a fine delivery from Richard West, David's assault on the Brook Green bowling was taken over by Peter Hinds...

Peter was in his element, especially with the bowlers feeding his pull shot, which yielded no fewer than eleven boundaries. But he does the posh stuff too, and when Simon Lawrence bowled a beauty on off stump, Peter deposited it over extra cover for six. This was definitely a shot that rivalled Brian Carpenter's effort at Marldon last year. Peter was later to blame "the curse of Kirby, turning ones into twos, and twos into threes" for tiring and spooning a catch. This was only after delightedly and deservedly reaching his highest-ever personal score.

This served to bring in Matt Cook who signalled his intentions by depositing the first ball he received over the mid-wicket boundary. Had it been a reverse-sweep for 6, he would have won the prize of £50 that Simon Orpen is apparently offering to the first Erratic to emulate Kevin Pietersen in this way. But I digress. John Curtis soon accounted for Matt, and the Erratics innings concluded at the reasonable total of 166. Time was, that would have seemed huge, but we are still in the shadow of the run-fest at Newton Poppleford.

Promisingly for the Erratics, for those times when he plays for us, Ken Horne (21 - runs, not age) got the Brook Green innings off to a fine start with some stylish drives and a lovely square cut. Richard West (25) also showed some of his renowned batting flair. They were dealt with by excellent balls from Phil Ellis and James Burrows respectively. It was left to Henry Pike (48n.o.), son of Frank, and Tristan X (32) to chase the Erratics total. It's to their credit, and to the credit of all the Brook Green batsmen that they never appeared to give up hope - in spite of the dark mutterings I'd heard earlier in the field on the lines of "too many runs, might as well go home now". There were indeed too many Erratic runs on the board, but the win was only by 11 runs.

Credit goes to Captain Matt Cook for getting people into the game. He had only 20 overs to play with, and the gathering gloom of a late July evening meant limited options with the quicker bowlers such as James (3-15) and Phil ((1-25). By using seven bowlers, after checking that Tim preferred to keep wicket rather than bowl, everyone contributed something with bat or ball, though the sporting Simon Topping, who'd travelled from Plymouth, only faced about an over, as I recall. Still, it's like that sometimes. If you've played enough games, you know that there will be times when you neither bat nor bowl at all, even in an afternoon game. Either way it more fun than many things you can do on a summer evening.

I end with a cautionary tale. The Brook Green Victorians appeared to warm up for the game in the bar. Most Erratics just relaxed, though one or two did limber up in the nets. (It was good to see Guy Clark make an appearance at this point.) Only one Erratic did additional warm-ups and stretches, and it was this person who had to retire hurt after pulling a muscle while batting. The injustice of it all. Perhaps I should have had a pint instead? Still, it did mean that the Erratics had to field with only ten players, just as the opposition had done.

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
3w 7lb 
for 3 wickets
10
166		        
David Pearson Bowled  12
Peter Hinds Caught  67
Jonathan Kirby Retired Not Out  50
Matt Cook Not Out  20
Dominic Prosser Not Out  2
Simon Topping Bowled  5
Simon Orpen Not Out  0
Tim Mileham  
John Pearson  
Phil Ellis  
James Burrows  

Brook Green Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.

Brook Green Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 13w  
for 10 wickets
14
155 (19.3 overs)		     
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Phil Ellis3.0025125.008.33
John Pearson3.0028128.009.33
James Burrows2.001527.507.50
Simon Orpen3.003500.0011.67
Dominic Prosser4.0020210.005.00
Matt Cook3.3021121.006.00
David Pearson1.001000.0010.00