Another Saturday, and the weather was improving all the time, from a forecast on Wednesday showing a distinct chance of rain, to mere drizzle by Friday, and by Saturday the sun was definitely out to play. So were the Curdridge players, looking forward to getting a first full league game of the season after last week’s abandonment.

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Following the toss, Curdridge would bat first, and out went Dom and Rob to face Southampton Community’s opening bowlers. Rob negotiated the first ball safely, got off the mark, and Dom eased himself gently into his innings by hitting the next two balls for a 4 and 6. The first handful of overs saw a fast start on the scoreboard, thanks to some good quick running between the stumps by the openers, and Dom getting into his stride whilst at the other end Rob flailed the bat ineffectually like a jellyfish stuck upside down in some concrete. Unsurprisingly, Rob was soon trudging off the pitch having donated his wicket to the opposition.

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Fortunately, Curdridge do have some batsmen, and in strode Jules, fresh off two not-out half centuries in the friendlies, and both he and Dom set about building a total. A dash of good fortune came as Dom skied a shot, but three fielders converged indecisively on it, and one managed to run into Dom, resulting in the ball landing safe.

 

That half-chance aside, Jules and Dom were soon striking the ball to all parts of the Bowl, and runs were flowing each over as the score mounted, speeding well beyond a 50 partnership and taking the score into the 80s before Dom found his stumps knocked back, departing for run-a-ball 33, with the score at 84-2 after 15 overs. 

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Next in was Jack, and he’d pick up where Dom left off, accompanying Jules in the run-fest as Community cycled through their bowlers to no avail. At 20 overs and drinks the score was 101-2, and Community were facing the daunting prospect of a solid Curdridge platform with plenty of batting still to come.

 

Post-drinks, the innings would carry on in much the same manner, before Jack was caught & bowled for 37 in the 28th over, and the score 162-3. In next was Dan, with orders to biff, and biff he did from the outset, keeping the runs flowing and the bowlers getting tired and frustrated, before being bowled as he continued to attack. Jules at the other end continued to accumulate his score and glue the innings together, as Craig came out to join him at the crease.

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More big hatting from both batsmen continued, and Community had no answer. The score passed 200 in the 33rd over, aided and abetted by some fielding mishaps on the part of the opposition which would have any bowler fuming (and certainly did) but that we certainly weren’t going to complain about. With the score on 230, though, the ball found the edge of Jules’ bat and then into the gloves of the wicket keeper, and off Jules walked without the need for the umpire to give a decision. 

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Agonisingly short of a century, Jules had fallen for 99, but an innings which had first held the score together after the early opening wicket, then accelerated alongside successive partners to drive Curdridge’s score onwards. 

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Alan would join Criag in the middle, and both he and Craig kept the runs flowing, adding nearly 30 in the last three overs, to bring Curdridge home at the halfway point on 259-6. Contributions from nearly all the batsmen and an imposing score, but we knew on a day for batting we’d still need to be well on our game to prevent Community hunting the total down.

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An excellent tea was provided by Mike, during which he extolled the virtues of houmous, it being a new discovery to him, apparently. I must tell my butler to acquire some of this newfangled foodstuff.

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With a target of 260 from 40 overs, it was Community’s turn to bat, facing our opening bowlers Dan and George. The pressure was immediately put on the batsmen as Dan and George kept the bowling tight, and the score just couldn’t keep up with the required run rate. The first breakthrough came from Dan, with Jack pouching the ball behind the stumps, and the score was 19-1. A second wicket soon followed, with Dan taking a caught & bowled to leave Community reeling on 27-2, and Curdridge beginning to sense a chance for victory emerging.

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Thereafter, though, the Community batsmen dug in and, despite tight bowling which in some cases was doing everything bar catching the edge or the stumps, another wicket wouldn’t come. The Community total began to mount, although never at the required run rate, which was inching ever higher.

 

A change in the bowling brought Tom into the attack, and Sam at the other end, and both continued where George and Dan had left off in keeping the run rate below where it needed to be. Sadly for Tom, in his fourth over something went in his leg, forcing him to pull up short and then having to hobble off the pitch in search of ice. So, into the attack to finish the over came Dom, selected presumably by dint of needing only a single letter to bowl like Tom. 

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With the fielding side down to 10 men, would the gaps in the field prove costly? Well, no, as a matter of fact. Where Community’s fielding had, in all fairness, let them down, the Curdridge fielding was full of energy and effort, as the ball was chased down all over the park. At drinks the score was 97-2, lots of batting still in the hutch, but the required rate having risen to 8 an over.

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The breakthrough would finally come as Dom continued to bowl, the ball driven fiercely back but right into Craig’s hands at mid-off, and the catch was held to bring the third wicket with the score on 115. By this time, Tom had selflessly returned to the field, opining that even an extra body was better than none, and he is deserving of a worthy mention for the stint he put in for the rest of the innings despite obvious discomfort as he ran down every ball that came towards him.

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A fourth wicket would come as Sam got in on the act, darting a quicker one through to knock the stumps back, and the pendulum swung further in Curdridge’s favour, the score now 124-4. It would soon be 124-5, as the ball was struck hard to Tom, who, fooling the batsmen into going for a single by misfielding it, recovered the ball and sent it to the bowler’s end for the batsman to be run out by several feet. Another fine example of the application we’ve started the season with in the field.

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Next into the attack would be Jack, having swapped the pads with Alan at drinks, and the next breakthrough would be Jack’s too. With the score on 144 he somehow bowled the batsman round his legs, the batsman twirling 360 degrees as the ball brushed the leg stump and off came the bail. It was, I think even Jack would admit, a very silly wicket, but the book says Bowled, Childs, we weren’t complaining and the wicket is what counts! Jack would take another wicket soon after, a fine caught & bowled as he scurried backwards, stretched, leaned, and caught a difficult chance. Victory was in sight at 147-7.

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As is always the way in cricket, though, the cricketing gods never want you to have it your own way (and I should know, just look at my batting). In that peculiar state that cricket can bring where the tail end have seemingly too much to do, the pressure lifted from the batsmen and the ball begin to fly all over the pitch, finding the other side of the boundary with alarming regularity.

 

Mike’s spell had started with customary verve and tight bowling, but his fourth over was flayed, and nails were beginning to be bitten as the score rapidly mounted. Even though by now Community needed more than 10 an over, with boundaries coming every over they were, for a short time, matching the rate, and the score raced past 200. 

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Fortunately, in came George to the rescue with his second spell, first slowing the rate down, then inducing a top edge high into the air, but he was calmness personified as he took the catch, for the third caught & bowled of the innings, and the eighth wicket had fallen at 218. 

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A ninth wicket quickly followed, a run out from Dan, winging the ball to Alan, who then threw and hit the stumps, and Community were 222-9, with too much to do to get over the line. A hard fought-innings ended on 232-9, and a 27-run victory for Curdridge.

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A victory today which came from all three departments, batsmen putting together a mammoth total, bowlers keeping the run rate pressure up, and fine fielding being key, particularly in light of how many runs Community gave away. We come away with 23 points and a great start to the season after last week’s deluge.

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Thank you to Jan for scoring, to Jon and everyone who helped with the pitch, which most of the batsman made excellent use of, and to Mike for volunteering for the first tea of the season.

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Next week, away to top-of-the-table Trojans.

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Finally, the awards ceremony:

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Donut of the Day: there were a couple of dropped catches, but it would be churlish to single those out, so there’s only one realistic recipient - this week Rob gets Donut of the Day, on the basis that everyone else actually contributed to the victory.

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Champagne Moment:  Difficult one this week, some great fielding, catches taken, run outs, excellent batting with finesse and aggression both. I think it’s fair for the Champagne moment to be getting over the line for the win. (Or perhaps when Craig fell over chasing the ball up the hill).

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Man of the Match: This week it goes to Jules for his 99, holding the innings together, and let’s not forget also in skippering and making bowling changes which seemed invariably to bring breakthroughs.