Scorecard

Cheriton Fitzpaine v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Sun 16 Jul 2017 at 2.00pm
Erratics Cricket Club Won by 105 runs

Match report Today's match report comes with a quiz: which of the following statements (about people who feature later) is/are true?

1. Peter Blight has tried to amend the Cheriton Fitzpaine constitution to prohibit playing cricket when it is raining.

2. Varun Kothamachu has received a 1000-pound grant to create Bac-Man, a Pac-Man game for bacteria.

3. Mike Foan is a Jain monk.

Answers will be given at the tea interval.

The afternoon began ominously: light drizzle, 'for sale' signs at Hayne Farm (which contains the cricket field) and no hosts. Happily, the drizzle relented and our hosts, when they did arrive, told me that arrangements are in place to secure cricket at the Hayne ground for the next 30 years. That would take CFCC close to their centenary, for this week was the 60th anniversary of the first match played by the club. What's more, two of the Blight brothers, Peter (80) and Maurice (77), who played in that first match, still turn out occasionally.

The Erratics were invited to bat first on a firm but mottled pitch, one on which the ball would jump and scuttle sufficiently often that batsmen were forever mindful of the sad destinies of their innings. Duncan Chave and Tom Bennett-Hughes played the situation expertly, though, and their opening partnership of 95 all but decided the game. They picked off the first 50 runs almost entirely in singles and I wondered whether any match here had gone so long without a boundary. Then Chave, probably tired of running, swung harder and he quickly reached the game's top score of 73 before playing on. Bennett-Hughes made 15 in 14 scoring shots, many of which deserved more runs than they were afforded by the sluggish outfield. Phil Power, at number 3, performed an accelerated version of Chave's innings: defensive pushes gave way to aerial flicks and he made 28. The middle order of Danny Williamson, Jonathan Kirby and Krupakar Nallala mixed boundary hits with well-taken singles to keep up the momentum and Nick Walding sparkled by hitting his first three deliveries for 4, 4 and 6. Siva Subramanian, Chris Ferro, Ben Youngman and Fraser Chave proved an ineffective tail, though, and the Erratics were bowled out in the penultimate over for 198.

Cheriton tried hard throughout but their bowling was too inconsistent to take full advantage of the tricky pitch. The exception was Tom Sommer whose steady medium pace brought him 5 wickets for 23. Cheriton can be pleased with their two newest recruits as well: Tom Jeffries and Oscar Lightfoot, returning to the game after an absence of several years, each took a wicket. (Lightfoot has an interesting sideways-on start to his run up that makes him look like a right-handed Goran Ivanisevic about to deliver a second serve.)

While the players enjoy an excellent tea, and Fraser tries to play it cool after being recognised by the tea lady for his latest stage performances, here are the quiz answers that you've been waiting for. We have to rely on Mike Foan's honesty for the first one, as he told me the story, but he assured me that it's true. Varun (who was back in town with his wife and friends for his graduation ceremony) met us in the Half Moon after the match and explained the second one to me himself, so it also must be true. The third is a doubtful, but not unreasonable, extrapolation from another of Mike's revelations: "We've got so much clover that we get a lot of bumble bees. I feel very guilty when I'm going round with the mower - I have to keep stopping." A left-over doughnut to anyone who got all three correct.

Any chance of a Cheriton victory disappeared soon after play resumed as the opening attack of Walding and Nallala reduced the home side to 19-6 within 10 overs. The combination of good accuracy, pace and swing, and two excellent, low catches by Subramanian, making his bow as wicket-keeper, were too much for the Cheriton top order. Captain Chave the Younger brought on new bowlers to try to extend the game but to little avail as Youngman and Bennett-Hughes continued the rout. J. Davis batted well for 43 and Lightfoot boosted the total with a selection of drives and swishes, but the ten men of Cheriton still fell 100 runs short of their target. The result may have been closer if the dangerous Nick Guscott had not been caught off a lifter first ball, if Charles Sheldrick had not chosen to bat at number 10 and if the watching Jeremy Tricks had been fit to play, but the Erratics deserved their overwhelming win.

Chris Ferro

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 10 wickets
0
198		        
Duncan Chave Bowled  73 7 2 1
Tom Bennett-Hughes Bowled  15
Phil Power Bowled  28 4 1 1
Danny Williamson Bowled  11 1 2
Jonathan Kirby Bowled  11 1
Jayakrupakar Nallala Caught  8
Nick Walding Bowled  15 2 1
Sivaraman Subramanian Lbw  0 2
Chris Ferro Bowled  3
Ben Youngman Not Out  3
Fraser Chave Caught  4 1

Cheriton Fitzpaine Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.

Cheriton Fitzpaine Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 9 wickets
0
93 (22.0 overs)		     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Nick Walding5.01623.001.20
Jayakrupakar Nallala5.001844.503.60
Ben Youngman6.0222122.003.67
Tom Bennett-Hughes6.0043221.507.17