Scorecard

Lympstone v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Thu 26 May 2022 at 6.00pm
Erratics Cricket Club Lost by 5 Wickets

Match report Tim Fawcett reports:

After two weather-ruined fixtures the previous week (one against the Met Office, who you might have thought would wield more power over such things), the Erratics headed to Clyst St Mary and the manicured surroundings of Winslade Park, full of hope for a good game of cricket yet some trepidation about the likely result. With only two wins in 11 previous T20 fixtures against Lympstone—the lowest success rate against any opposition played more than five times—the statistical tables of history weighed heavily on the visitors’ minds. Then again, as a wise man once said: “Statistics are like a ventriloquist’s dummy. Shove your hand far enough up them, and you can make them say whatever you like. Although only children and idiots will take any notice.” Right then, statistics be damned: Lympstone were ripe for the taking.

Erratics skipper Jayakrupakar Nallala (Krups) called correctly at the toss and chose to bat first. Lympstone clearly had pitifully low expectations of what sort of total the visiting side could muster, given that the maximum runs their dysfunctional scoreboard permitted was 49. And for a while, at the start of the Erratics innings, it looked like they might not be far wrong. On a hard wicket with occasionally low bounce, Jonathan Kirby and Matt Crawford began watchfully. Kirby was bowled at the start of the third over, followed soon after by No. 3 Tim Fawcett, bowled for a duck. Crawford struck a couple of fours before he, too, was clean bowled, leaving the Erratics wobbling on 15–3 in the sixth over and in desperate need of someone to steady the ship.

Cometh the hour, cometh the Martins: Weiler and Wright, drawing on their years of experience, read the situation perfectly and began steadily accumulating. The ball seemed surprisingly difficult to get away but the Martins regularly picked off leisurely singles, punctuated by the occasional boundary. Lympstone’s captain was getting increasingly twitchy with his field placings and when Weiler finally perished to a catch in the 12th over, the total was a much healthier 58–4 (or, according to the numerically challenged scoreboard, 5…–4).

Now joined by his skipper, Wright pushed on, signing off with a four after a fine innings of 33 not out. His retirement brought Nigel Rutherford to the wicket, who alongside Krups began to unfurl some attacking drives as the Erratics looked to accelerate. The pair struck some lusty blows, one from Krups nearly decapitating Rutherford, who hobbled out of the way just time. Their partnership was broken in the 18th over with the score on 96 thanks to a fine stumping by the Lympstone keeper Maytum, who had kept very tidily throughout. Anuj Tiwari came to the wicket and he and Rutherford clobbered a much-needed 26 off the final two overs, boosting the Erratics’ total to a competitive 122–5. A little light, perhaps, but much better than it might have been.

A strong performance in the field was needed if the Erratics were to prevail against the tides of statistical history. Lee Grant opened the bowling with a tight spell, giving little away to the Lympstone batsmen. At the other end Tiwari began more ErraticallyTM, following up a couple of wides in his first over with a peach of a delivery that took the opener Cooke’s outside edge and was eagerly pouched by Rutherford at first slip (7–1). Soon after, Grant was unlucky to be turned down for a close lbw shout that the batsman claimed he had hit, only for the umpire then to signal leg-byes.

By the end of the fifth over, Lympstone were 19–1 and their batsmen were beginning to settle. Skipper Krups introduced Fraser Chave and Crawford into the attack and the Lympstonians cut loose, picking out gaps in the Erratics field with ease and moving the score past 60 in the 10th over. Chave held his nerve and was duly rewarded with two wickets in two balls at the end of his third over, one thanks to a fine catch in the deep by Tiwari. Two further wickets followed in his fourth over, the last one an impressive caught-and-bowled circus act that he finally decided he would hold on to at the third attempt, leaving Lympstone teetering on 75–5. He finished with 4 wickets for 30 runs.

Fawcett and Ben Yarde-Buller were the last two bowlers into the attack, inducing several false strokes but unable to stem the flow of runs. Lympstone batsmen Maytum (31 not out) and Burton (30 not out, finishing with a runner) both eventually retired, leaving Nos 8 and 9 in charge of the run chase. When the frontline pairing of Grant and Tiwari returned for the last two overs it was sadly too late to stop Lympstone from registering another victory, with 5 wickets still in hand.

Only two Erratics wins from 12, then (for any children or idiots who are listening). Soothed by the prospect of some Lympstonian hospitality, the players decamped to the Swann Inn, where pints of ale and blisteringly hot platefuls of sausage casserole awaited them.

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
10w 3lb 
for 5 wickets
13
122		        
Jonathan Kirby b Wilkinson 2 9 22.22
Matt Crawford b Gould 11 12 2 91.67
Tim Fawcett b Gould 0 6 0
Martin Weiler ct Hendy 15 24 1 62.50
Martin Wright Retired Not Out  33 32 3 103.12
Jayakrupakar Nallala st Burton 16 14 3 114.29 1
Nigel Rutherford Not Out  21 16 4 131.25 1
Anuj Tiwari Not Out  11 4 2 275.00 1
Fraser Chave   1
Lee Grant  
Ben Yarde-Buller  

Lympstone Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Wilkinson4.0121121.005.25
Gould4.0026126.006.50
Archer3.001900.006.33
Hendy3.0017117.005.67
Salter3.001900.006.33
Burton3.0019119.006.33

Lympstone Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
5w 1b 2lb 
for 5 wickets
8
124 (19.1 overs)		     
Cooke ct Rutherford B. Tiwari 3
Laen-Gay ct Tiwari B. Chave 18
Maytum Retired Not Out  31
Minter lbw Chave 7
Rendle ct Nallala B. Chave 4
Burton Retired Not Out  30
Wilkinson ct & B. Chave 6
Handy Not Out  11
Gould Not Out  6
Salter  
Archer  

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Lee Grant4.001600.004.00
Anuj Tiwari2.10919.004.15
Fraser Chave4.003047.507.50
Matt Crawford2.002200.0011.00
Tim Fawcett4.002000.005.00
Ben Yarde-Buller3.002300.007.67