Buckle in, this is going to be a long one, packed with events both on and off the field. First of all, of course, we have to continue the new ‘Advice from Eden’ column, with the two top pieces of wisdom this week being:

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1. You all need catching practice. Just go home, throw a ball up in the air, and practice catching it.

2. Find a bigger tree. (For further illumination, please refer directly to Eden or Mark Emm…)

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Whilst the second piece of advice, I’d say, is certainly relatively context-specific, our catching so far this season is leaving a lot to be desired, and whilst today there were few really simple chances, we’re again putting catches down in the field and feeling the cost of it.

 

Anyway, another Saturday, another hot day as the next heat wave kicks in, and another home game, which we should be thankful for, given next Saturday we’re away at the delights of the Millbrook Rec.

 

Jules is really getting back into the swing of this captaincy lark, as he once again lost the toss, and we found ourselves in the field. This was an afternoon, it would turn out, that would not be aided by being down a player, only having 10 in the field really does create the gaps and make everything that much harder…

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Opening up as usual were Mike and Tom. Mike started as he has so often, these days, keeping the batsman honest and even in the first over the openers were starting to swing, to no avail, besides some early niggle from one of the batsmen.

 

It would be Tom, though, who once again struck early, with his second ball removing the batsman’s leg stump. Said batsman then stood there staring at the stumps for about ten minutes wondering how he’d got out. (Ok, it wasn’t ten minutes at all, but he did stand there a long time – unfortunately for him, and as experience has shown me recently, the stumps don’t magically reinsert themselves as though nothing has happened…). A great start though, as Tom continues to pick up wickets this season, and Eastleigh were 1 for 1. 

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Unfortunately, from thereon it was something of a tale of woe, missed chances, good batting, and gaps in the field, as the Eastleigh batsmen set about building a total which never looked like it would be checked. Despite the perseverance of both Tom and Mike, and it looking at times like we might nab another wicket early, no such luck was ours, and the partnership began to build, as once again catches started to go down in the field – non overly easy, it should be added, but it is becoming too regular an occurrence.

 

A change in the bowling was called for, and with Mark Emm and Sammy replacing the openers. It would be Mark Emm who would first strike and then be struck. As the batsman tried to flat-bat Mark out of the park, instead the ball nipped through and knocked the stumps askew, to leave Eastleigh 88-2. Not long thereafter, however, it would be the ball doing damage to Mark’s finger, instead, as a shot came crashing back and he ended up with a dislocation. 

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If you are an avid reader of these match reports, you may recall a season or so ago Harry getting his finger dislocated, and it only being remedied when Mike Punt came up to him from behind and reinserted it… Well, at the call of ‘Mike, you can deal with dislocated fingers’, Mark decided discretion was much the better part of valour and managed to reinsert it himself.

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With Mark’s bowling out of action, though, and feeling that we hadn’t given Eastleigh enough runs already, Rob had a couple of overs. Then we got someone else to bowl.

 

The score would continue to mount, until the next breakthrough was wrought by Sammy at the Hillman end, as he, too, got the ball through to knock the wickets over. The very next ball he struck again, with a plumb LBW as the new batsman was forced back onto his stumps. 140-3 became 140-4.

 

Unfortunately, at the other end the Eastleigh skipper was still sending the ball all round the ground and these wickets did little to arrest momentum. With neither Mark Acaster nor Jack able to make another breakthrough either, back into the attack came Tom, and took his second and our fifth wicket, with the score on 201, another batsman bowled.

 

Tommy Maidment on his first outing on a Saturday this season was given a difficult job, tossed the ball at the end of the innings, to no avail either. The runs continued to flow throughout, the catches continued to go down, and the injuries continued to mount as Jack took a blow to the hand, and Sammy stopping a bit of a rocket was forced to depart the field in order to find ice.

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The Eastleigh run-fest would end with the score on a hefty 273-5, the Eastleigh skipper not out on 123. Not our best bowling or fielding performance, and that lack of a fielder does make a difference. Thanks to Eastleigh for lending us a fielder when first Mark temporarily, and then Sam, had to leave the field. 

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Where fortune wasn’t smiling, though, was at us on the pitch with runs aplenty for Eastleigh and injuries aplenty for us.

Tea was provided by Mark Acaster, and then it was on to the Curdridge innings, with a mammoth total was on the board for us to try to chase down. I must have transferred the jinx, last week, however, after noting the success of the new opening partnership of Mark Emm and Dom, as this time it lasted about as long as I had been. 

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Mark had bound up his finger, although apparently it had been moving around in ways fingers are not necessarily supposed to, and he and Dom headed out to the square. Unfortunately, there was an early strike for Eastleigh as they appealed for caught behind and Sammy’s finger went up, leaving Mark walking off the pitch and having a distinctly polar opinion as to whether he had in fact hit it, but then umpiring is a hard job – if you don’t give decisions the opposition assume you’re cheating, if you do give decisions your own team decide you’re incompetent… That debate I expect will rumble onwards.

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Next up was Jules, but within a few balls he had lost his stumps and Curdridge were 2-2. Rob had been at number 5 in the batting order, but with Jack still suffering the after-effects of his hand injury Rob found himself promoted to 4 and off out to the middle to met Dom. What followed was batting for the draw, despite the fact that that wasn’t on the table, as Rob determined not to give his wicket away in the face of what was, to be fair, not half bad bowling.

 

Runs were (very) slow to come for a few overs as both Dom and Rob settled in to nullify the early breakthroughs. Or rather, Dom settled in to nullify the breakthroughs, whilst Rob settled in to just try not to get out. Dom also had to deal with a different bat after he ended up with a wonky handle. However, after a few overs which were difficult to get away, Dom started to find his rhythm, as the boundaries began to flow. Unfortunately, what he also then found was the fielder on the boundary, a solid catch being taken and our innings in even more trouble. T

 

hat trouble mounted further on a difficult day for Tommy M as he came out to bat but then departed after a top edge was immediately taken by the wicket keeper, and with the score in the 20s still, we were 4 down.

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In strode Jack next, still sporting an injured hand and wary of being unable to grip his bat. By this time the plan was no longer to get to 273. To quote the late lamented John Virgo on Big Break, it was now a case of ‘pot as many balls as you can’. By which I mean of course score as many runs as you can.

 

A partnership began to build, slowly, with 50 and a first batting point as the target. With Rob riding his luck with a few edges, Jack soon got into the swing of things, with his trademark airborne shots clearing the field, and the first batting point was secured. The way our luck was going though, it couldn’t last, and Jack, like Dom, managed to send the ball right into the hands of a fielder on the boundary, forced to depart just as he was getting going.

 

Again, the innings was teetering. Tom and then Mark Acaster came in and unfortunately departed both in swift succession, and with still almost half the overs remaining it looked like it would be a shortened afternoon. 

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Mike was the penultimate batsman, with just Sammy still in the hutch, but Mike had a look of determination as he strode out to the crease, and with Rob still slowly, very slowly, accumulating runs at the other end the plan remained to get as many batting points as we could, get through each over, frustrate the bowlers and don’t give them the bowling points. The next batting point target was reached, so 100 was next in line. S

 

teadfast batting at both ends ensued, with a little good fortune now and then, but also sensible, for the circumstances, approaches, awaiting the bad balls as the Eastleigh bowlers became more tired and frustrated. A particular highlight was the Chinese cut Mike played, and then stood there looking at the ground, seemingly oblivious to Rob charging up the strip shouting “Yes!” followed by “Run, you moron!”… Fortunately, Mike realised he needed to run just about in time, and safely made the single. Just. 

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Still, the partnership continued, and another batting point was racked up as the score reached 100. Into the final 10 overs, and now it was a battle both to get to 125 and see out the overs, as a moral victory of sorts was in sight. Disaster struck, at last, though, with the score on 117, as Rob was finally tempted by a slower ball but succeeded only in mistiming for a top edge, and disappointedly departed for 40, when he should really have carried his bat through the final overs. Out went Sammy, our last man, with 8 runs needed for another point, and 6 overs to navigate. 

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Those eight runs were duly scored and125 was reached, as Sammy struck a couple of boundaries despite the fielders all in close – although those boundaries do seem to have gone missing from the scorebook… Every ball negotiated was closer to something being salvaged from the match. 

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Still more rock-solid batting from both Mike and Sammy saw out the final five overs, and we’d made it to the end of the 40 without being all-out, Mike having done an excellent job of holding up one end even in the face of the returning opening bowlers. 

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So, there it was. Honestly a bit of a trouncing. Every point will help and we’d scraped our way to 134 when at one stage 50 looked in doubt, but a very small mercy and we shouldn’t be in the business of looking for positives to excuse a loss (we can wait for that from the England football team).

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We’re going to need to take our catches.

 

Thanks to the magic pitch elves once again, who get a week off now as we are away next weekend.

 

Next Week: Away at Millbrook versus Southampton Community.

Donut of the Day: This week we have a couple of stand out awardees. Sammy for letting a ball straight through his legs for 4 (and I’m not saying that just because it was off my bowling…) and Mike for his “attempt” at putting the stumps into the pitch – there is a photo on the Bowl of Dreams Whatsapp of just how far he got before giving up…

 

Champagne Moment: Stick the bottle back in the fridge, this week.

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Man of the Match: No Man of the Match this week. Well done to Mike for his all-round efforts today, the only bowler to go below 5 an over, and determined batting ensuring we weren’t all out, and kudos to those carrying injuries for keeping on going, but no stand-out performances.