Mount Edgcumbe v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Sun 15 Jun 2008 at Unknown

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Mount Edgcumbe v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Sun 15 Jun 2008 at Unknown
Erratics Cricket Club Lost by 85 runs

Match report Ever seen one of those banal articles entitled '50 Things to do Before You Die'? Well, I'd like to propose that every Erratic should play at Mount Edgcumbe before they die or before their career ends, whichever is the sooner. This was my first visit to a ground which we've only been playing at since 2006, and, apart from the result, I enjoyed it immensely. For anyone who hasn't been there, the ground is situated in the country park which surrounds Mount Edgcumbe House and has a fantastic panoramic view of Torpoint, the Tamar Estuary and Plymouth. While this might sound underwhelming (I was inclined to agree with John Curtis's comment that it was the only decent view he'd ever had of Plymouth), it's actually utterly magnificent. Ultimately, however, the quality of the view could not save us from a comprehensive defeat.

With ten Erratics (plus Harry Molins) on the ground, having battled their way through a motorbike rally on the A38, Chris Ferro lost the toss and we were invited to field. John Curtis was the missing man, having accidentally made his way to a ferry which only took foot passengers rather than cars with the result that as the opening overs were bowled he was staggering up the hill to the ground under the huge weight of the kitbag. Many a 'rampant unicorn' would have either collapsed or simply returned home in a state of high dudgeon, but John is made of sterner stuff, and the kit (and Curtis) duly arrived about half an hour into the game. By this stage, the Edgcumbe openers were picking up the pace, with the left-handed Shattock accumulating steadily, and seventeen year-old James Burke, fresh from an innings of 71 in the Devon League Premier Division the previous day, striding ahead at the other end with a seductive combination of watertight defence and some of the best cover drives I've ever watched go past me at extra cover.

All was not lost, though. Throughout the opening stand the Erratic bowling and fielding was reasonably tidy, and, with the score on 102-0, Burke was dubiously given lbw for 56 and a rapid collapse followed. David Pearson (4-57) bowled a typically penetrative spell and he was well supported by some whippy seam-up from Ferro (4-22) and some sound catching. Both Sam Cook (despite James Burrows advancing towards the ball in a manner which brought such famous fielding collisions as Waugh and Gillespie and Molins and Thomson to mind) and Chris Ferro (despite dislocating the tip of one of his fingers) held on to skiers and the Mount were soon 120-8.

After this we failed to turn the screw and they finished on 156, a total which appeared achievable under the circumstances - the weather and light were improving and the pitch and outfield were both excellent by our usual standards. Unfortunately, their bowling attack was also a bit better than we're used to.

I knew Burke was primarily a bowler and I felt something was up when I saw the Mount keeper disappearing into the middle distance, making me reflect immediately on my decision not to wear a helmet. After that it came as something of a relief to find that I could actually see the ball when he bowled it to me, although it appeared to gain pace and lift off the pitch in a manner that I've never come across before. For good measure he also bowled a relentless off-stump line and a consistent length. The other opening bowler was very useful too, and in fact seemed to me to do more with the ball than Burke, even if he lacked his pace and accuracy.

The obvious outcome of all this was that we were soon in deep trouble, with Mileham, Ferro and Cook back in the pavilion, soon followed by Molins and David Pearson. Despite a season's-worth of playing and missing and several bruises, Carpenter managed to stick around until both opening spells had finished and had the privilege of still being at the wicket in the 21st over of the innings when John Curtis hit the first boundary. However, as soon as a slow bowler came on, Carpenter's eyes lit up in typically misguided fashion and he was eighth out bowled behind his legs having a swipe for 15 when he should have simply been looking to stay at the wicket and play for the draw. With Curtis and Turner also having come and gone by this stage we still weren't past 50, and it was left to James Burrows, with a stroke-filled 14, and John Pearson, to see us to 71 all out and defeat by 85 runs.

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Although we were well beaten, I feel that, as Duncan Fletcher might have said, there are 'positives' we can take from the game, chief among them being our fielding display, which seemed to me to be much sharper than many of the geriatric offerings of recent seasons. It's amazing what a few young, enthusiastic, relatively fit members of a side (Ferro, D.Pearson, O.Kirby) can do to drag everybody up a level or two. And, although we were ultimately blown away, we're likely to go a good many seasons before we encounter an opening attack like that again. Burke is one of the better cricketers of his age in the country - he played for England under-15s in 2006, has since been coached by Dennis Lillee at his Pace Academy in Chennai and has been taking plenty of wickets for Somerset Seconds this season. Someone like that was always going to be too good for us and it's to his credit that he was both prepared to cut his pace down and make sure he pitched the ball well up (I'm happy to overlook the accidental beamer he bowled me) in order to avoid doing any serious damage and to prolong the game. He also seemed to me be a very polite and mature lad, with none of the arrogance which one can find in very good young players. I hope he'll go far. We, meanwhile, go to Stokeinteignhead.

Mount Edgcumbe Batting

Player name		Runs
extras TOTAL :	2nb 6w 17b 2lb for 9 wickets	27 156 (42.0 overs)
J Burke	lbw Ferro	56
Shattock	ct D Pearson	30
Moore	b Ferro	8
Mathis	ct D Pearson	0
Ware	ct D Pearson	0
Gill	b Ferro	1
Allatt	b D Pearson	6
Ware	b Ferro	0
Wilkinson	Not Out	14
T Burke	ct Curtis	14
N.O. One

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Bowling

Player Name	Overs	Runs	Wickets	Average	Economy
Sam Cook	7.0	25	0	0.00	3.57
James Burrows	5.0	19	0	0.00	3.80
David Pearson	16.0	57	4	14.25	3.56
Chris Ferro	10.0	22	4	5.50	2.20
John Pearson	4.0	9	0	0.00	2.25
John Curtis	1.0	5	1	5.00	5.00

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Batting

Player Name		R	4s
extras TOTAL :	2nb 9w 5b 4lb for 10 wickets	20 71
Tim Mileham	b J Burke	2
Brian Carpenter	b Ware	15
Chris Ferro	b J Burke	8
Sam Cook	b Wilkinson	0
Paul Molins	b J Burke	0
Matt Turner	b Moore	0
David Pearson	b J Burke	0
John Curtis	lbw Moore	4	1
John Pearson	Not Out	8	1
James Burrows	ct Ware	14	3
Oliver Kirby	b Ware	0

Mount Edgcumbe Bowling

Player name	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Average	Economy
Wilkinson	10.0	0	21	1	21.00	2.10
J Burke	7.0	3	7	4	1.75	1.00
Moore	5.0	1	6	2	3.00	1.20
Ware	6.2	2	22	2	11.00	3.47
T Burke	4.0	3	6	0	0.00	1.50

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