Scorecard

Bridford v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Sun 28 Aug 2005 at 2pm
Erratics Cricket Club Lost by 4 wickets

Match report by Peter Hinds

When John Pearson launched a six off the final ball of the Erratics innings the mood was positive: Bridford would need 187 to win off 40 overs. It seemed to be a competitive target on this occasionally-misbehaving pitch. The Erratics’ batting display had been solid.

Tim Mileham got the innings off to a rapid start, cracking two balls to the boundary in the first over. Erratic spectators in the shade of the pavilion/tent were liking the look of this. However, Bridford bowler Blackie had the pace required to coax some uneven bounce from the track and Mileham succumbed trying to keep up this scoring rate.

‘There’s a 50 in that pitch’ he muttered as he marched back to the pavilion, and, after Ken Horne had gone for a useful 16, Matt Cook set about chasing this individual goal. He made a brisk 25.

Captain Kirby tried next and looked full of runs, but he fell just one short, bowled on 49. (If memory serves he tonked 18 off poor Cooper’s (only) over.)

This was the closest any Erratic would come to a half century. Yet, nonetheless Sam Cook put on 23 with some characteristic big hitting, after which John Pearson and Peter Thomson finished things off with some deftly-dobbed singles and sprightly running between the wickets (notwithstanding a combined partnership age of 130 years!). Oh, and with that six. (A glorious shot from Pearson, much discussed on the Gloucester tour the following week. Editor.)

Incidentally, all the Erratics batted, and all got off the mark: a pleasant statistic to muse on over tea.

Defending 186 was certainly possible, but it would need tight bowling and good fielding all round. We were assured by Bridford that their batting had ‘a long tail that never wags’ so a good start would be requisite.
John Curtis opened and looked threatening, taking two well-deserved wickets in his second over. Peter Hinds bowled like an Australian: unfortunately the model was Gillespie not McGrath and the runs flowed.

Curtis couldn’t add to his 2 wicket tally and he was changed for Mileham which precipitated an extraordinary dismissal: Lockwood – looking dangerous on 23 – smacked a ball hard, straight, and on the up; it went directly at the batsman backing up, hit him on his pad, above the knee-roll, and lobbed up to Mileham who took the catch. After some head-scratching the bemused umpire gave it out.

Mileham bowled well in two spells, punctuated by ear-splittingly unsuccessful lbw appeals and glares of Warne-like incredulity at the umpire.

Since the start of the Bridford innings, though, the Erratics had been behind the game and couldn’t quite get into that long, wagless tail. Opener MacMurdo put on a bruising 71 (there was a 50 in the pitch after all) and Dillon piled on 56* (there were two).

The cause wasn’t helped by at least four dropped catches; three of them quite simple - though Sam Cook did take a smart, low, diving catch to remove Parkinson for 0.

Matt Cook came on later in the Bridford innings and bowled some sharp medium pace very economically, but it wasn’t until he switched to leg spin that his wicket came.

Towards the death John Pearson bowled a very troublesome (for the batsmen that is) and thrifty spell and deserved more than his one wicket, but he only got through five of his allotted 8 overs as Bridford wrapped things up with five overs to spare.

There was some decent bowling here, but far too many four balls (and six balls) were sent down and too many runs had haemorrhaged early on.

Bridford were always comfortably ahead of the run rate, passing the required total for the loss of six wickets.

Overall, a disappointing result, but the game was played in a good spirit on a more-than-pleasant, late-August afternoon. This was, of course, day 4 of the Fourth Ashes Test with England pressing for a win. Perhaps the Erratics were distracted in the field by reports of the alarming loss of wickets as England chased 129 for victory?

Bridford wobbling on 116 for 7 would have been far more palatable!

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 14w 9b 3lb 
for 9 wickets
27
186		        
Tim Mileham Caught  8
Ken Horne Bowled  16
Simon Topping Caught  5
Matt Cook Bowled  25
Jonathan Kirby Bowled  49
Peter Hinds Caught  6
Sam Cook Caught  23
John Curtis Bowled  6
Oliver Kirby Caught  1
John Pearson Not Out  15
Peter Thomson Not Out  3

Bridford Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.

Bridford Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 6 wickets
0
189 (35.0 overs)		     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
John Curtis7.0056228.008.00
Peter Hinds4.003400.008.50
Tim Mileham6.0028214.004.67
Matt Cook8.0218118.002.25
Ken Horne2.001200.006.00
Sam Cook3.003500.0011.67
John Pearson5.0011111.002.20