Week 17

Fitzhead – Home

With the fear in getting a verbal lashing from Carl, I did not ask him for a match report from Saturday’s game. Even though the players enjoyed the read – see week 16 - Carl did expect some editing before it went on the social networks. I did edit it for the written press however!

So Saturday, a full 80 overs of umpiring, that was five hours worth, and if Fitzhead held their catches I am sure it would have been about three hours of adjudicating! Well, thankfully the visitors dropped loads of catches, which enabled Stowey to amass 231 (this is not a typo), yes 231 in 40 overs; Lee Rich ran out his captain in the last over trying to gat a not out and playing for his average!!!

Matt Coombes was the star with the batting scoring 97, which included plenty off four’s and sixes! One six he hit off their spinner was quite amusing; in fact I think the bowler went for a few boundaries that particular over. In handing his jumper to me at the start of the over he realised that he lost his lucky charm, and after he was despatched for 20+ runs, he found it, mumbling to myself “I told you it was lucky!”

It was unfortunate for Matt to get so close to three figures, to be fair he was going for another big shot and got the faintest of edges to the wicketkeeper. I was gutted to give him out caught behind, knowing he was so close to a ton. To be fair afterwards he said he would off walked if I missed it – questioning my ability to umpire Matt?

Another decision I have to give this week was a run out, my first of the season; in fact I gave two, like buses eh? Poor Mark Sortwell, picked the best fielder in the side to run two to, well, he wasn’t even the frame. I don’t mind easy decisions like that to give. LBW’s I hate. You have to think off at least four things before you can come to a decision and when the ball hits the pad the rest is just guess work.

When the Fitzhead opening bowler, (left arm over) appealed, which I subsequently said “not out”, he had the nerve to question my decision (which he has every right to), but not I aggressive manor. “Which of those three stumps was that missing?” he asked. When I replied that the ball pitched outside leg stump and therefore you cannot be out LBW, he shook his head, trudged back to his marker and ran in a bit quicker. The next over the same thing happened, he went to appeal, said not out to him self, went left arm round and after the over asked to change ends!

Lee Rich come of age during the Fitzhead run chase, taking six wickets (his first “Michelle”) and took them at the right time of the innings. Three quick wickets in his opening spell, then another three important wickets when the Fitzhead batsmen showed a lot of fire and was slowly taking the game away from Stowey.

So Stowey won, still mathematically possible not to be bottom, and there was two jugs back the club after. Happy days indeed. Next Brompton, last game of the season, and Brompton need to win to become champions. Looking forward to a drink with Roy after.

Thatchers’ time.

Week 16

Lydeard St Lawrence – Away

The most exciting weekend this season for Over Stowey, and where was I? Sulking, as my Victoria Sponge didn’t get a prize in the local flower show!

So the mighty 2^nd XI travelled to Lydeard St Lawrence and came away victorious. I asked Carl for a match report and this is what he came up with:


Mark, I hope the flower show was worth it, you missed a cracking match to start your tour: Having won the toss Lydeard batted first in a game reduced to 30 overs a side and finished on what should have been a winning 168-7 (M.Redding 55. Julian 5-39). Shit can take wickets because this was the worst I've seen Julian bowl for a very long time. Stephen and Carl both bowled well but didn't have much to show for it, Lee Rich, for a change, had a nightmare and the figures to prove it. 

After tea Stowey lost wickets regularly but scored runs all down the order, with Dan 25, Pikey 34 and Dig holding his nerve and the innings together to win the game with a six with only five balls left and Stowey nine wickets down. A really enjoyable game played between two shit teams who both enjoyed a game that was competitive and played in the right spirit. Shame you missed it not least because I ended up doing a lot of umpiring....I could try batting a bit longer!!!
 

Several points of note Dan and Dig both hit their first sixes in senior cricket, both to the longest part of the ground. Stephen Miller, probable not for the last time, opened both the batting and the bowling. He only opened the bowling because not for the first time Julian got lost and missed the start. Julian then had to leave early and for the second time this season left his boots behind. Never a dull moment in the 2^nd’s.


This victory was not enough to move the 2^nd’s off the bottom of the league, however there are two games remaining against Fitzhead and then away at Brompton – will that be my first away game?

For the first time this season both senior sides won, with the 1^st XI winning against Lydeard 1^st XI, I have been told in despatches that Jack batted well – in fact Jack was the one who told me.

Will that victory be enough to save the 1^st XI from the drop? Will the 2^nd XI avoid the wooden spoon? Will I actually get to umpire an away game? All these question will no doubt be answered over the next few weeks, what an exciting climax to the 2014 season.

Now for a Thatchers or two to calm down my nerves.

Week 15

Crowcombe III – Home

A very enjoyable game indeed, a game played completely in the right spirit, unfortunately the mighty 2^nd’s came second best yet again this season and are now firmly routed to the bottom of the table, as Lydeard St Lawrence won on Saturday.

As a bowler, you set a field to stop a batsman scoring in their favourite areas, hopefully forcing them to make a mistake and then claiming his wicket. One such incident happened on Saturday; unfortunately a Stowey batsman was in the receiving end of such cunning.

Dan Butson was going well, scoring strongly on his leg side and despatching the bad ball for four. The Crowcombe captain decided that a change of bowling was in order, and duly the opening bowler came off, to be replaced by what can only be called a very slow bowler. In setting his field he asked one particular fielder to move back seven paces, not five of 10, just seven, as “you will have a catch in a minute.” The fielder counted out seven paces, the bowler sent down his first delivery, and Dan duly obliged in giving the fielder a catch, in fact he didn’t even have to move, straight to him and out. Much hilarity amongst the away side, poor Dan was completely mystified.

I used to like bowling to Over Stowey’s most prolific batmen Phil Rich, as I would sometimes get him out. It may cost a few sixes, but I would eventually get my man! Phil’s favourite shot is over cow corner or straight over my head. So I would have four fielders protecting these areas, sometime five. The first couple may go out of the ground, but I would try to send a flatter delivery or one with a bit more tweak on it and the mistake would be made, not enough distance and right down the throat of a fielder, the only thing left to do was to catch it!

As I said in my first paragraph, the game was played in completely the right spirit, as one of the Crowcombe players pointed out that Division Five is a real friendly division to be playing cricket in. I didn’t have to give one decision on Saturday, only had to signal four’s, sixes, wides, byes etc.  A sort of game I like. I do have a big issue in giving LBW’s, so not to make any judgement on such decisions on Saturday was a blessed relief. I only ask that the bowlers know the rules, not thinking that if hits the pads its automatically out, the ball may be hitting the stumps, but it is where the ball pitches is the key. Anyway, enough about that.

I did, however, give a back foot no-ball, the first time I have ever done that, and when I explained it to the bowler, it made him slightly bemused; he then bowled the next few overs a bit quicker and he took a few wickets, in fact five in total.

Next Saturday is the big one, a game which will go a long way to see who will have the unfortunate pleasure in getting the wooden spoon, either Over Stowey or Lydeard St Lawrence. With Lydeard winning on Saturday, even victory for Stowey over Lydeard will still mean that Stowey would have to find another win somewhere to get off the bottom of the league.

The game next Saturday is away, and guess what, it looks as if I am going to miss that one, well some of it anyway. So it would just mean I will have one more chance to go away when Stowey play Brompton on the last game of the season. But I have a nagging feeling that I have a wedding to go to that evening.

Ok, it’s Thatchers time.

Week 14

Stoke St Mary – Away

A fixture which has long been in my diary as it would have been my first away game of the season, but it was never to be.

Carl had 12 players available, plus myself as umpire on the Friday evening, and within minutes of him ordering a pint at the Social Club on that Friday he had lost six of them to the 1^st XI. So with half of the 2^nd XI playing for the first team against Carhampton I suppose this sort of counts as week 13, so I may have to change the heading:

Week 13

Carhampton – Home

With a downpour at about an hour before play was due to start it looked unlikely that this match would go ahead, but with the sun beating its ray down on the ground the match started a little after 3pm, with the game reduced to 30 overs.

Carhampton batted first, they scored 123-8, which proved to be too many for Stowey, as they only made 92. The second team players did contribute, scoring some valuable runs at the end and gaining extra bonus points, which could help in the long run.

Anyway, what did that journalist, Martin Johnson, once say about the England touring team to Australia one year, “there are three things fundamentally wrong with the English team: they can’t bat, they can’t bowl and they can’t field.

Well here is some examples form the Charity Six-a-Side weekend recently held at Over Stowey:

 

 Thanks Shane for the pictures, might try a Thatchers or two now me thinks.