SATURDAY XI v WATERLOOVILLE - 28th May 2016
Cricket returned to Reading Room lane after a 2 week break with the Curdridge outfit keen to get back to winning ways after the Ventnor disappointment,
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Waterlooville were the visitors, flying high in the league having won 3 of their 4 games to date.
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A morning of intermittent drizzle had left the pitch a little damp, with something in it for the bowlers, but it still resembled the normal Curdridge ‘road’ by the time play started.
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Both teams were keen to get the game finished early to make it to the pub for the England game - this as it turned out was not going to be a problem!
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Skipper won the toss and stuck with tradition, inviting the opposition to have a bat.
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We opened up with the ‘;Dave and Del' show - one end tied up with the ball dropping on the same spot time after time (some might consider this boring), and Dave starting his run up in the car park to ensure he had generated enough momentum by the time he arrived at the crease to trouble the batsmen with his pace.
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Predictably the first wicket arrived with Del knocking back the openers poles, then David got involved with a classic caught behind dismissal (apart from Jack’s showboating behind the stumps to show off his juggling skills).
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Dave and Jack then repeated the trick to send another back then Clodey took a good grab at mid-on to break the back of the middle order, Waterlooville 4 down with very few runs on the scoreboard.
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Del then produced a mystery ball, pitched on leg, hit top of off, batsman left staring at the wicket in bewilderment, and the Clodey / David combination sent back another.
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Curdridge were keen to keep the pressure on, learning from their Ventnor experience, and looking to wrap up the innings quickly.
Step forward ‘The Salmon’, Al Bollard repeating his feat from earlier in the season, diving to his right, (he may even have left the ground momentarily), and fully outstretched to take another worldy in the gully. Cue another astonished batsman!
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David decided that he had seen enough and rattled through the tail, including Helmet who contributed 5 runs to the total (this proved to be a significant contribution).
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Two more takes behind the stumps from Jack and a straight one saw David with a fantastic figures of 6-5 of his 8 overs. JUGTIME!
Remarkably Waterlooville were reduced to 27(Twenty Seven) all out within 17 overs - believed to be a Curdridge record for a league game (well Nick couldn’t recall a lower score, and he has been around for ages!)
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Skipper sent out ‘Dad’s Army’ (Nick and Chris) with strict instructions to not get out, and bring back the full compliment of batting points. They clearly wanted a bit of a bat as they gently teased out 15 overs of test match cricket to crawl to the target of 28 for no loss.
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A great performance by all, and the ambition of getting to the pub before the game was achieved easily - leaving us enough time to debate how bad the pitch actually was (definitely a 2 Jon honest!)
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Next week Curdridge travel to Solent Rangers who sit top of the league - another big game!
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Champagne moment - The return of ‘The Salmon’,
Man of the Match - David Janes, 6 for 5, well bowled!