Scorecard

Cheriton Fitzpaine (mini-league) v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Tue 09 Jul 2019 at 6.00pm
Erratics Cricket Club Won by 6 Wickets

Match report Mark Hailwood reports...

‘It used to be more or less mandatory to start a match report with a quote, but the practice seems to have fallen out of use in recent times’, I moaned to Ben Pullan as we traipsed across Exmoor on the North Devon Tour. So, here’s one:

‘They’re a good side this lot’ – a comment I overheard from a Cheriton player as the yet again triumphant Erratics made their way back into the pavilion having secured the victory they needed to win the league phase of the Cheriton Fitzpaine T20 League of Friends. On now to Finals Day in a few weeks’ time, and as favourites too. It’s nice to hear, of course, and it is backed up by the facts: we have now won 12 of our last 13 matches. Even in the one defeat we scored 167 runs in 20 overs and lost by just 1 wicket. So, here’s a question for you:

Are we winning too many games?

I like a win as much as the next cricketer, of course, but as a team whose ethos is at least as much about participation, do we need to ask ourselves if these wins are coming at a cost? Are we taking the competitive decision, over the inclusive one, too often? Personally, I don’t think so – my sense is that our captains invariably get a wide cast of characters involved in every game – but does everyone feel that way? It seems to me important that we ask this question every now and then.

When I’m not moaning about us being too good, I do rather enjoy observing the resultant cricket we’re playing. Here, Fraser lost the toss, as is his custom, and our hosts – it was a novelty to be actually playing Cheriton at Cheriton for once – fancied a bat. Despite the overcast, muggy weather, and losing a wicket to the first ball, it still looked a good decision, as there was a bit of pace and bounce in the dry pitch and the ball was flying off the bat. But we bowled and fielded well – even your humble narrator, recently described by Ben Pullan as ‘of all of the regular cricketers I know the most uncomfortable looking under a catch’, manged to hold on to two – and Fraser’s regular bowling changes brought regular wickets. The skipper and Nigel were especially miserly, but everyone else kept their head when under assault, and a total of 128 to chase felt gettable. The all-knowing Mike Foan called it as 10-20 runs too short.

And so it proved. Duncan was in blistering form from the get go, and raced to 25 before being trapped Lbw by Ben, Cheriton’s finest bowler. So, here is another question for you:

Is Duncan Chave the best Erratics batsman?

On this ground Krups should certainly be considered a challenger. Does he ever get out here? He always seems to serve up a sumptuous diet of late cuts and brutal sixes on his way to a retirement, and it was business as usual here. Thanks to their efforts we were well on our way, especially with Matt ‘Reaps’ Crawford in at 3 in the form of his career and enjoying a string of consecutive not outs – a streak that perhaps unsurprisingly failed to survive a bout of running between the wickets with Martin Wright. The latter then missed a nice leg break, and things got difficult for a while. Cheriton are canny bowlers on this track, and they starved us of runs in the middle overs. With 5 to go, the rate had climbed to 8 an over. Never an easy task, but one to relish for a side in fine form.

And as the sun made a better-late-than-never appearance, turning the sky a deep indigo and the barley fields a luminous pale green, what a treat it was to watch George ‘Jimmy’ Greaves and Captain Frazzle keep their nerve, and start to accumulate through quick runs and judiciously struck boundaries. The latter, in particular, can chalk this up as a true Captain’s knock, especially when he struck the host’s best bowler for 4 of the final ball of the penultimate over to leave us needing just 1 to win from the last. Connor took up the baton from George, and eased us over the line. It was an impressive showing against a tough T20 side, and a deserving way to claim top spot in the league by leap frogging Cheriton themselves.

The only disappointment was that we sent an understrength side of just six (mostly vegetarian) Erratics on to the Half Moon for food afterwards, but here too the impressive performances continued, with Connor shouldering the burden of the meat eating community and putting away a phenomenal number of pork tubes and chicken shapes. The rest enjoyed generous helpings of egg sarnies, chips and garlic bread, and endured my one-size-fits-all impression of Bruce Forsyth/Murray Walker/a dalek, followed by a peaceful drive home on another beautiful evening in glorious Devon.

Cheriton Fitzpaine (mini-league) Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
12nb 5b 2lb 
for 7 wickets
19
128 (20.0 overs)		     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Ben Youngman3.0023123.007.67
Nigel Rutherford3.01515.001.67
George Greaves2.0014114.007.00
Connor Johnson-Goodier3.0020120.006.67
Fraser Chave3.00723.502.33
Phil Power3.002700.009.00
Mark Hailwood3.0025125.008.33

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 1w 5b  
for 4 wickets
7
129		        
Duncan Chave Lbw  25 3 1
Jayakrupakar Nallala Retired Not Out  31 1 2
Matt Crawford Run out  6 1
Martin Wright Bowled  13 1
George Greaves Bowled  20 1 1 1
Fraser Chave Not Out  20 4 1
Connor Johnson-Goodier Not Out  7 1
Phil Power  
Nigel Rutherford  
Mark Hailwood   2
Ben Youngman  

Cheriton Fitzpaine (mini-league) Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.