Scorecard

Harberton v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Sun 29 Jun 2025 at 1.30pm
Match was Drawn

Match report Since moving to Colorado over three years ago, I’ve often been asked what I miss about home. Some of these things are easy for people (even Americans) to understand: family, pubs, walks in the countryside. Very near the top of that list for me, though, is cricket, and more specifically: Erratics cricket. This can be harder for people to fathom; how can something as simple as a game in which the result is almost completely irrelevant provide so much entertainment? they wonder. But it is as much what goes on around the game as much as the game itself that makes it such a joy to be a part of. The scenery, the food, the friendship, the feeling of belonging. In fact, it's testament to this club and the people in it that I could turn up almost a year after my last game and slot into the team feeling like I’d never been away
 
And this was a typically enjoyable Erratics experience. It began with the Erratics taking to the field first in what was to be a timed game, and opening bowlers Oscar Cammack andAlex Perkin were soon among the wickets, with the latter taking two in his first over and Oscar striking soon after to leave Harberton 24/3 after a little more than 4 overs. First change bowlers Nigel Rutherford (wearing his shirt inside out) and Duncan Chave kept up the pressure with economical spells, and the pressure brought more wickets: two for Nigel and one for Duncan, and there was also a run out for Duncan after a diving stop by your reporter parried the ball back to him at the bowler’s end. Fraser Chave chipped in with a wicket soon after the drinks break to leave the hosts 103/8, and it was at this point that it began to look like there might be an early finish and an extra post-match drink in the pub.
 
The ninth wicket pair of Phil Wilson (not the former Southport FC manager [2001-2003] of the same name) and David Sommer had other ideas, though, as they batted with intelligence and eccentricity to add 93 for the 9th wicket, giving boundary rider Alex Perkin a particularly thorough workout as they ran hard between the wickets. The partnership was eventually broken by Oscar in what proved to be the final over of the innings, with Harberton setting the Erratics a nice round 200 to win.
 
Opening pair Fraser Chave and Martin Wright were watchful to start the Erratics reply, perhaps intimidated by the generous encouragement that the opposition fielders were giving to their bowlers, prompting Martin to comment that the Erratics were like Trappist monks in comparison. “Backing you all the way” they’d cry. “Wicket ball, wicket ball!” This did eventually lead to a wicket on perhaps only the 18th attempt, with Fraser caught in the outfield just as he was beginning to get into his stride. Martin followed soon after, before a partnership of 80 runs between Jon Perkin and Duncan Chave swung things back in the Erratics favour, despite the required run rate rising above a run a ball.
 
It was at drinks where our pursuit of victory perhaps met its end. Somehow, in the confusion of players milling around on the outfield quenching their thirst, the original nice, hard, still-quite-shiny match ball was replaced with Oscar’s net ball, which looked – and felt – like it had already been used for approximately 200 overs before being put through the washing machine. This “new” ball made boundaries much harder to come by, and the required rate continued to climb. Both Jon and Duncan were dismissed within the space of four balls while trying to increase the run rate - Jon for 38 and Duncan for 34.
 
The required rate at this point was almost 9 an over – a difficult ask at the best of times, let alone with the incredibly soft ball. Alex Perkin and I managed to raise the run rate a little with a few boundaries, including a cover drive of mine that those watching later compared to Duncan’s – high praise indeed! The wily slow bowling of Fitzpatrick proved too difficult to get away, though, and I holed out to long off and the game slowly petered out to a draw – but not before Alex completely skewered Nigel off the penultimate ball of the innings, calling him through for a single that was never there,to the delight of Jonathan Kirby who then had to go and stand at the non-striker’s end for one ball. Erratics closed on 177/6, 23 runs short of victory.
 
After the game we retired to the Church House Inn and as we sat outside in the evening sunshine, listening to the bells ringing in the church next door, I began to rue the fact that my two-day cricket season was already at an end. It might be another year or so before I’m able to play again, but I’m already looking forward to it.

MATCH REPORT BY: JB

Harberton Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
3nb 13w 17b 1lb 
for 9 wickets
34
199 (39.0 overs)		     
Matt Thompson run out  (D Chave) 41 54 8 75.93
Olly Brown b  A Perkin 0 3 0
Jack Hadley b  A Perkin 0 3 0
Max Norman ct  O Cammack 0 4 0
Jacob Day b  D Chave 8 26 1 30.77
Tom Dickson b  N Rutherford 5 16 31.25
Phil Wilson Not Out  77 74 10 104.05
Colin Shearer lbw  N Rutherford 0 2 0
Jamie Fitzpatrick ct  F Chave 7 19 36.84
David Sommer b  O Cammack 22 35 3 62.86
Harry Morris Not Out  0 1 0

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Oscar Cammack7.0029214.504.14
Alex Perkin7.0150225.007.14
Nigel Rutherford6.031728.502.83
Duncan Chave6.0119119.003.17
Jon Perkin2.001000.005.00
Phil Power6.003600.006.00
Fraser Chave5.0215115.003.00

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
5nb 6w 14b 1lb 
for 6 wickets
26
177		        
Fraser Chave ct  H Morris 22 40 4 55.00
Martin Wright ct  P Wilson 26 52 4 50.0
Jon Perkin lbw  J FItzpatrick 38 55 5 69.09 1
Duncan Chave st  J FItzpatrick 34 43 6 79.07
Jonathan Beverley ct  J FItzpatrick 20 25 3 80.0
Alex Perkin Not Out  11 15 73.33
Nigel Rutherford Run out  0 9 0 1
Jonathan Kirby Not Out  0
Andrew Forrester   1
Oscar Cammack  
Phil Power  

Harberton Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Harry Morris8.0030130.003.75
Jack Hadley8.034100.005.13
Phil Wilson10.0143143.004.30
David Sommer5.011300.002.60
Jamie Fitzpatrick7.012438.003.43
Tom Dickson1.001100.0011.00