CURDRIDGE vs TROJANS IV's - 26th July 2025
I’d like to get back to writing a match report on a victory, but we seem to be having one of those seasons where we come out just on the wrong side of everything. After a solid start to the season and being in the top half, we’re now definitely in a relegation battle.
Before going onto that, a word for Harry, who spent the week working out what loquacious means and then looking in a dictionary to find the word thesaurus – which he thought was a type of dinosaur…
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Our latest foray was away at Trojans, but relegated to a school pitch next door due to an archery competition. Quite impressive, a side being moved from their own pitch! On an afternoon which started out cloudy and with rain, Mark once again called tails on a double-headed coin and Trojans put us in to bat.
Out went last week’s opening partnership of Jack and Rob, fresh from some decent scores. Of course that would put the mockers on it. Both opening bowlers found their line and length very early, and the runs were difficult to come by as overs ticked by and the runs were slow to come, the only (looking for positives here!) advantage being that the opening bowlers were using up their overs without a breakthrough. That breakthrough came though as Jack – keen to be off to Australia – edged one into the slips and departed for 2, ruining his average for the season in the process…
In came Alan, having sat through last week’s innings with his pads on without ever getting a bat. The overs carried on cycling through, and the score was looking decidedly low compared to usual, even as Rob managed to scramble his way up to double figures. One of the slip fielders was very keen on the bowler getting ‘One for the geese’, which was the oddest sledge I’d ever heard until I noticed the small platoon of geese which had in fact wandered up to spectate, and the proceeded to waddle in a leisurely fashion across the pitch.
Just as the opening bowlers seemed to be on the cusp on of being changed, Rob got a full ball which landed right on top of his toe, and doing, as it would turn out, considerable damage. The first ball of the next over, whilst thinking ‘that actually hurts quite a lot’ Rob’s concentration went for a Burton, he wafted at a slow full toss, was clean bowled and fell over, before ruefully limping off the pitch. 24-2.
In came new player Billy, who evidently had been wondering what sort of a team he had joined, as he apparently had no trouble with the bowling, proceeding to strike three boundaries off the rest of that over and accelerate the run rate considerably. At the other end, though, Alan was dismissed and the Curdridge batting order seemed to be failing to fire today.
However, things would change, with Craig joining Billy at the crease and suddenly the ball was beginning to be lashed to all quarters of the park, and with the Trojans opening bowlers seen off the runs began to mount. From 14 runs from 7 overs the score was on 52 from 12, and looked to continue before Billy lofted one towards the boundary but finding only the fielder’s hands to leave us on 65-4. Still, despite his disappointment his attack had injected life into the innings which was continued by Craig and
Gary, fresh from his score last week and in no mood to let up.
As both Craig and Gary took the attack to the bowling the score moved to 100 by the 20-over mark and the innings seemed to be recovering. Not long after drinks, though, Craig was caught to leave us at 112-5 and the danger of the innings subsiding. Not to be, as Danny came to the crease and did his job of letting Gary do the hitting, as the score moved to 150 before a low one snuck through to clatter into Danny’s stumps. Harry – returning from injury incurred in the first league game of the season – strode out, and looked set for a few balls before getting a good ball which he edged into the slips. Out marched the skipper and immediately began to marshal the runs, another batting point being gained as the total went beyond 175 before Gary was finally dismissed after another cracking innings, 61 from just 48 balls. Sam was next in, supporting Mark and adding to the total as it inched upwards before being dismissed with the score on 199, leaving Mike the last man to go in, ably seeing off the good balls and getting Mark on strike to ensure we’d pass the 200-mark and also deny Trojans the final bowling point, setting a decent total of 209-9, a good effort by the middle and lower order and a target which gave us a fighting chance to defend.
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So, into the field for the next innings, and Danny and Harry would open up the attack. Both Dan and Harry found their range early, but few chances came against two in-form batsmen. Harry in particular looked like he’d never been away (until nearly the end of the match – see later…). The field was set heavily to defend the off-side, and fielding would have to be sharp today. Unfortunately, the first ball struck in his direction demonstrated that Rob couldn’t actually run on that injured toe, and having to be moved to a less critical part of the field, effectively rendering Curdridge down to 10 fielders and leaving Rob to frustratedly roam the outfield like an injured wildebeest that had in fact already been put out of its misery, butchered, and served up with a nice glass of claret. (Claret, in fact, was the colour I discovered my sock to have turned on removing my boot at the end of the game…).
Although not fast to accumulate, the runs began to mount as the Trojans openers dug in and the early wicket we needed didn’t seem to be coming. With the field beginning to be spread to cut out boundaries it wasn’t a rapid run chase, but comfortable as Trojans always stayed around the 5 runs an over needed. By this time the clouds had gone, the sun was out and the conditions were made for batting on a pitch where the ball just ran away – including down the double embankment which bordered one side of the pitch, and short boundaries helped lofted shots clear for six. With the score into the 40s Harry’s perseverance paid off, as the batsman hit a drive hard into the covers but Alan moving quickly and low to his left took the catch cleanly in both hands to find the breakthrough.
Despite this, the other opener carried on accumulating and nary giving us a sniff of a chance, ably supported by the number three, on one of those days when everything airborne seemed to go into gaps in the field, any edge went wide of slip, and the variable bounce of the first innings seemed to have dissipated. Billy came into the attack, and Sammy from the other end, to mount a dual spin attack, and despite the turn both bowlers found the batsmen playing carefully defended where they needed to and picked off runs where on offer. At drinks still only one wicket had fallen, but still Trojans were only on the run rate and a few quick wickets might bring us right back into it.
A wicket duly fell not long after, an optimistic single called and Billy showing his fielding as well as his batting and bowling credentials, to wing the ball in to Jack and secure the run-out. A fourth wicket followed just one run later, with Mark into the attack and cleaning up the stumps of the number four to leave Trojans on 133-3. The surviving opener, though, was still finding the runs at the other end. Mike into the attack bowled an excellent line and found movement with the ball, but no way through would come as the total carried on inexorably towards the target.
The fourth wicket fell with the score on 181, a catch into the slips held by Gary, and Mark would pick up his third wicket soon after to leave Trojans on 185-5, needing 25 runs from 6 overs. Again a vital wicket might turn things around, and it felt like it was going down to the wire. Danny back into the attack finished his overs, still keeping the runs down, and into the attack came Harry with 5 an over still required, but the infuriatingly composed opener reaching his century (in fairness, an excellent innings in which we never looked like getting him out).
Into the attack came Harry, with 16 runs needed from three overs, but here on his return to league action Harry ran out of steam, with two good balls followed by a variety of extras and boundaries, and with two overs left only three were needed, fittingly scored by the opener to get Trojans over the line with just 9 balls left. A competitive match and due credit to Trojans who played in a good spirit.
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Another game which got away from us; twenty or thirty more runs would likely have secured us the win and it felt like one of those games where we can look back at all the little things which didn’t quite work, with misfields, overthrows, and sluggishness in the field costing us vital runs, and the top of the batting order failing to fire. The only consolation being to find that one of our relegation rivals had been docked 20 points…
Next week, away at top-of-the-table Locks Heath. But the last time we played a team at the top of the table, we won, and we’re due to get back to winning ways!
Man of the Match: as has been happening every week, a range of players stepped up, Billy coming into the club with a vital attacking innings and a run-out, contribution with the bat and in the field by Craig, and good bowling spells from Mike and from Mark with three wickets, but this week it goes deservedly to Gary for his 61 which anchored our innings.
Donut of the Day: on his return to the side, Donut of the Day goes to Harry, for attempting to throw the ball to Rob after retrieving it from the boundary, only to roll it into the top of the embankment, and see it rolls away back down both slopes and into the hedge for Rob to limp off after. Thanks Harry!
Champagne Moment: Struggling to think of one this week, so I’m going to arbitrarily award it to myself for running on one foot round the boundary and putting in a sliding stop to save a boundary. Not that it made a lot of difference, and if anyone can think of something better I’ll gladly retract.
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Thanks once again to Jan for sitting through the whole game scoring on a not particularly comfortable bench, and in the full glare of the sun for much of the second half, whilst also helping out Trojans’ roped-in scorer.