CURDRIDGE vs BURRIDGE 4's - 30th May 2026
A frustrating loss to report, this week, and frustrating sums up many aspects of the game. There’s something about playing Burridge at Burridge, it always seems to be a sweeping win or a loss accompanied by myriad frustrations. Last year it was defeat snatched from the jaws of victory, this year, we just weren’t quite on it. More on that later.
The heatwave was supposed to be over, but the weather hadn’t noticed, and one thing Burridge certainly doesn’t have is shade. On a day when batting first was a good idea, naturally we lost the toss and found ourselves in the field.
The opening partnership of Mike and George swung into action, and kept things tight early on. There were few chances offered by the batsmen, and the breakthrough just wouldn’t come, even lacking many opportunities for catches. Nonetheless, the opening bowling spell kept the runs to a steady, but relatively slow, flow, without Burridge ever seeming to get away. The effort was still there in the field, as it has been in recent weeks, despite the frustrations of a short boundary one half of the pitch and a prairie on the other side – but then, it’s the same for both teams.
With drinks at 15 and 30 overs today rather than the usual 20, it was at the end of Mike’s opening bowling spell that drinks came, with Burridge scoring at around 4 an over, but Mike the pick of the bowlers for the day having conceded only 28 runs from his 8 overs. At the other end George had been replaced by Mark Emm, and Sam was to come on as the next change when Mike finished his spell. At 20 overs the score was only 88, but still without a wicket to have fallen.
Unfortunately from here, Burridge use the platform they had built, as the ball began to be despatched the boundary with some ease and regularity. The breakthrough finally came as Sam bowled a visibly tired batsman with the score on 141. A second wicket quickly followed, falling to Giles but with credit to Mark for his diving catch at mid-wicket. Mark described it as a dying swan, and who am I to argue… Actually, it was a very well-timed dive, and the ball went direct into the hands not far off the ground. 153-2, and perhaps we were fighting our way back into this.
With Jack having replaced Sam a third wicket was to fall with the score on 179, with the stand-out moment in the field as George ran in from long-on, sliding in under the ball to take a cracking catch. Jack would take a second wicket, knocking the stumps over as the batsman tried to turn the ball round the corner but instead on succeeded in a neat pirouette before falling over as the ball clattered into his stumps. Despite this regular fall of wickets, the score was climbing rapidly as boundaries continued to be struck with regularity, from 197-4 the score moved on beyond 200. George returned to the attack and picked up our fifth wicket as Craig took a sharp catch behind the stumps, but by the end of the 40 overs Burridge had amassed 240-5.
A good total, but we have regularly been scoring over 200, and on this pitch in these conditions it didn’t feel out of sight, if the batting went well.
This has been a ground in recent years that Rob has generally managed to make some decent runs on, so of course in keeping with how it’s going this season it was not long before Jules joined Dom at the crease. Dom continued his recent form as despite the difficult start to the innings the score began to mount, in the face of difficult bowling. A 50-partnership passed, but then Jules’ stumps were knocked back as he departed for 14, and the score 62-2.
Jack joined Dom at the crease, and the left-hand, right-hand combination of batsman in form has often been the signal for the innings to accelerate both in recent years and this season. Unfortunately, this week Dom was to depart soon after, also bowled, only 8 runs shy of another half-century but nonetheless having done the job of building the first half of the innings.
At 79-3, a partnership was needed to rebuild and push the innings on; this was duly delivered by Jack and Craig, particularly as Craig’s powerful hitting sent the ball past the boundary with regularity. The total was mounting, but so too was the required run rate. Trying to push for runs Jack found himself halfway down the strip before having to turn back and scurry for the crease.
Jack was still in, that was until the score reached 168, at which point Jack, too, found his stumps dislodged. This would herald something of a collapse, as just five runs later Craig was bowled for at attacking 49, and Alan was then bowled without (overly) troubling the scorers. 174-6, and it was looking like we might struggle to get full batting points with only a few overs left.
Fortunately, George wasn’t having any of that and went on the attack. Mark Emm would also lose his stumps with the score on 195, to make it a complete set – all the wickets we lost were bowled – but George’s attack got us beyond 200 and full batting points.
As we learned last season, every point will count, so there is at least that to take away. Nonetheless, finishing the innings on 205-7, a 35-run loss.
So where did it go wrong?
At some point after the first drinks break, I’d hazard. Last week we didn’t hold our catches. This week, let’s face it, four of the top eight in the batting order only managed to accumulate 19 runs between us, and only one of the six bowlers used went for fewer than 4 runs per over, with the other five all over 5 runs an over, some well over. Harsh, to be sure, but not one of our best performances.
Onwards and upwards, there’s always next week.
Thank you once again to our valiant scorers, especially in the baking heat and no shade to be had.
Next week: at home to Fair Oak IVs.
Champagne Moment: This week claimed by George, just like the catch he took from long-on.
Man of the Match: No single stand-out this week but due credit to Dom for glueing the first half of the innings together, Craig for pushing the innings on, and for Mike’s bowling spell at only 3.5 runs per over.
Donut of the Day: Realistically, several disappointments this week, but sometimes that’s the way it goes (granted for some of us more often than we’d like, recently), not for want of trying. Nothing to be singled out as particularly daft or amusing though, so roll on to next week.