Scorecard

Bridford v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Sun 01 May 2022 at 2.00pm
Erratics Cricket Club Lost by 41 Runs

Match report Cats Eyes Removed

It’s May so the routine has started, with the warm glow of nostalgia dispelling Wintertime. I’m a little late into this Erratics season as 5 games have already been played.

How will the weather be, there is always the threat of rain? An away game with no working car, a lift offered but then lost, April and May’s selector Jon Kirby steps in and collects me from Exeter St. David’s for the visit to Bridford. I can only imagine how many calls and emails it takes to finalise the details to ensure a full team of eager players. BVCC are keen to play even though it’s already drizzling. The message from the opposition is “Due to the very dry spring the wicket and outfield are rock hard and a bit bumpy.” On the drive to the ground we pass a sign - CATS EYES REMOVED, - surely prophetic.

Among the most expressive parts of the feline body are these orbs of vision. Apparently, a cat’s pupils can shrink to the narrowest of slits or widen into black pools. Eyelids may be fully open, partially closed, or drawn into a squint. Causes for these changes may be emotional arousal, such as fear, aggression, pleasure, or excitement, or environmental, such as a change in ambient light levels. What do you do when these eyes are taken away? The game raised may emotions, incidents, and challenges. Particularly as when we fielded first it wasn’t drizzling any more it was raining. We also dropped (still counting) 9 catches. The ball changed shape after the first over and continued to do so as it got wetter and muddier.

The first decision for Mark, our captain as all the Erratics had arrived, was do we play at all? We should have taken note of one of the Bridford players arriving already in whites but also wearing a Dryrobe! Some mutterings and no particular decision being made, Mark agrees to a 20 over a side game, as long as we field first, with the aforementioned cats eyes in play this would have been corrected to batting first. Do we tend to downplay luck and talk up things such as fate, because we don't like the way luck makes us feel incidental to our own lives? Are Erratics accepting that the role of luck is essential for keeping a sense of perspective, either way we got wet.

Mark and I opened the bowling, usually I can’t hold a new ball well enough to bowl this early but an already swelling seam by over two helped. Fraser bowled a series of quick arm balls, making the batsman and Jon’s life interesting but slowed down Bridford’s run accumulation. Siva’s first bowl of the season was thought provoking and always challenging. Roger standing in for Chris Cook was our only wicket taker with two well earned wickets. Kyle completed the bowling, quite how he was holding an egg-shaped ball was beyond me. It might help explain one (or should that be two?) of our dropped catches. Kyle induced the batsman to mistime his shot and lift the ball into the sky, Kyle readies himself for a caught and bowled, However Anuj, full of enthusiasm decides to step/run in also for the catch, it was dropped.

BVCC’s 123 for 2 seemed a few too many. You may notice that Ben and Anuj didn’t bowl at all. Mark felt Anuj’s aggressive form of bowling might not be sensible on this pitch. Wise Ben had foreseen how tricky this was going to be. So, Ben and Anuj opened the batting and set us up well, but with the batting crease quickly disappearing and becoming muddier both were bowled. Jon played a well-timed shot but sadly to the fielder. Mark was also caught playing early. Martin looked his customarily elegant self, inwardly grinning at Exeter City’s progression from League two, currently looking like champions. Another bowled wicket with feet stuck in the mud. My own dismissal and similarly with Fraser was a case of watching a short-pitched ball loop over the bat to go on to hit the stumps. Mark and Siva staged a recovery with some aggressive batting particularly from Siva.

Up to a day before Bridford had raised only eight team members, so added a few extra players, including a pacy left armer, Siva however took a liking to this including a gloriously pulled ball for six. Kyle and Roger were left with too much to do as we reached 82 for 9. Extras top scored with 23 including 10 no balls.

And so, to the pub, The Bridford Arms, a good drive away. Jonathan is to take the kit, but can’t find his right shoe, I am suspicious of Roger as before he goes out to bat says to Mark, ‘I don’t have a right glove?’ Jon also doesn’t have his jacket, but sets off to the car, just as Annie sets off to their car as well. This is followed by an alarm being set off, I wrongly accused Annie only to take my kit to Jon’s and try to open the boot and set off the alarm again. Jon eventually finds his shoe, jacket and car keys and we set off to the pub. Annie, Duncan and Fraser are already sitting around the fire as we arrive, and the sandwiches that have done the trip from pub to ground and back again, are devoured and with the convivial atmosphere, food, and warmth, we discuss the match, resolve some of the world’s problems and look forward to the next game.

Driving back with Jon to Exeter St. David’s I am put in mind of Malcolm Gladwell's book, The Tipping Point. The "tipping point" is a phrase that Gladwell coined to describe the point at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable. For me this Tipping Point was that road sign.

Bridford Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
2nb 10w 1lb 
for 2 wickets
13
123 (20.0 overs)		     
J Sanders Retired Not Out  26 4
K Joy Retired Not Out  25 4
L Dore Retired Not Out  25 5
P Brown ct  Hailwood B. Putnam 8
C Mayes Not Out  15 2
H Lygo b  Putnam 1
H Solomon Not Out  10 1
   
   
   
   

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Mark Hailwood2.001200.006.00
Phil Power2.001700.008.50
Fraser Chave4.011600.004.00
Sivaraman Subramanian4.003000.007.50
Roger Putman4.0027213.506.75
Kyle Wedgwood4.002000.005.00

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
10nb 3w 8b 2lb 
for 9 wickets
23
82		        
Anuj Tiwari b  Reed 11 11 2 100
Ben Youngman b  Reed 6 7 1 85.71
Jonathan Kirby ct  Lygo 0 4 0
Mark Phillips ct  Lygo 0 4 0
Martin Weiler b  N Lockwood 3 6 50.0
Phil Power b  J Lockwood 3 6 50.0
Fraser Chave b  J Lockwood 1 7 14.29
Mark Hailwood ct  Joy 11 31 1 35.48 1
Sivaraman Subramanian st  Brown 18 26 1 1 69.23
Kyle Wedgwood Not Out  5 7 1 71.43
Roger Putman Not Out  3 3 100

Bridford Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
S Reed4.011326.503.25
H Lygo3.00824.002.67
N Lockwood3.01818.002.67
J Lockwood1.00824.008.00
C Mayes3.001300.004.33
H Solomon3.001400.004.67
K Joy2.00616.003.00
P Brown1.00313.003.00