Bedouins v Kinlet at Enville – Wednesday, 29 June 2011

Beds lost by 109 runs

Spratters writes:

The evening began with a sky reminiscent of the one depicted in John Constable’s ‘Chain Pier’ which soon gave way to a mixture of Cummulo Nimbus and Cirrus clouds emerging from over Enville Hall.

But anyway that’s quite enough of that b******* , now for the cricket.

Firstly, as in the away game against Kinlet on 15th June, the Beds only fielded 10 men. However, they fielded 11 players. How was this possible?  Well, history was made, (as far as I know), by the inclusion of the first lady Bedouin, Katie Roberts, of Enville and Old Hill. Correct me if I am wrong Mr. Susman. (Not Katie being a lady but being the first lady Bedouin). [Checking it out – skip]

John Warner, Bedouins legend, answers the point of contention above: “Kim (Warner) and Jo Hill did play in the 80s at Romsley, and I think that it was John Swithenby’s girlfriend who played either against Landers or Ombersley and took a great catch. Possibly Bernard George’s daughter played a game in the early days, but I cannot be sure.”

Kinlet won the toss and elected to bat. Possibly because four of them had yet to turn up. (It would have been better if they hadn’t.)  It was an encouraging start, with Spratters and Gregory taking the first 8 overs, during which Spratters took 1 for 10 with a dazzling display of mediocre swing bowling, and Gregory went for 24, Kinlet beginning to open up during his last over.  34 off 8 seemed quite respectable but then the opposition began to launch into their attack. Roberts and Pearson came on first change, returning figures of 0 for 20 off 2 and 0 for 23 off 3 respectively. Vice vice vice vice skipper Bywater replaced Roberts at the Kinver end, and made a breakthrough in his first over, an edge behind cleanly taken by keeper Hill jr.  Unfortunately the scoring rate increased leaving skip with 3 overs, 1 for 37. Currie replaced Pearson, finishing with 3 overs 0 for 37 and Woodhouse 1 over 1 for 11. Kinlet finished with 167 for 3. A formidable total.

Kinlet took to the field thinking they had this game in the bag, but they hadn’t reckoned on the batting genius that is John Branch.  Unfortunately John Branch wasn’t playing so they were absolutely right.  Austin Gregory and Richard Garner opened and made a positive start until Gregory was bowled for 4 and Garner fell c&b for 1. Things seemed to be picking up with a partnership between Hill jr. and Woodhouse, the former hitting 2 handsome boundaries. Unfortunately Woodhouse was out c&b for 7 and Hill jr. bowled for 18. Next came Johnston, out for a duck and then our leader, Mr Bywater, who after impressively taking a middle guard, was also bowled for a duck. (Good name for a duck eh? By water. Geddit?)  Katie Roberts had just settled down on the bench and completed only 2 rows of knitting when she was called upon for the no.7 slot. Looking good until caught behind for 5 , during which time Hancock made a spirited 5 and Spratters 6. Currie hung around and made 2, before being run out and Pearson 2 not out, brought the Beds to the heady heights of a staggering 58 all out.

So, in a nutshell, we lost. And Kinlet won. But I reckon they were just lucky.

Spratters

Bedouins v Wilkes Tranter at Enville – Wednesday, 22 June 2011

Beds win by 9 wickets

As this is being written, the skipper is packing his budgie smugglers and heading for sunnier climes so just a few brief notes from the game versus Wilkes Tranter. Team news: Hill A was still sidelined but Johnston made a return to the side and there was a debut for the Skipper’s old school buddy, Rob Lock.

Beds won the toss and put WT into bat, with Spratley taking the new ball and using it to good effect with 1 for 4 from 4 overs. Pearson was tight at the other end and after 7 overs WT had edged along to 17 for 2. Lock bowled a couple of overs and demonstrated that having started his cricket career as a pacey opening bowler, he is now very adept at tweaking off-spinners.

WT never really got going and finished on 85 for 6 from their 20 overs, with the skipper mopping up at the death and finishing with 3 for 3 from his two overs.

The Bedouins never looked in any trouble with the bat. Branch opened with Johnston and both retired on 33. Hancock (now known as Conan the Destroyer) was possibly unlucky to be given out LBW off his backside but did manage a run to christen his new bat (a Grey Nicholls ‘Destroyer’).

Hill J (11 not out) finished off the game in the 16th over with another huge six and is fast getting a fearsome reputation for hard hitting.  Bedouins made light work of this win and should take confidence from that into the next home fixture with Kinlet.

Adios……

Kinlet v Bedouins at Moffatt School – Wednesday, 15 June 2011

Beds lost by 4 runs

The Beds travelled over the water (the River Severn that is) to play Kinlet in the picturesque grounds of Moffat School. The usual conundrum of trying to get a team together for an away fixture and as a result the Beds had to play with just 10 men. Hill A. had finally succumbed to his foot problem and Hancock was struck down with a virus but the good news was Captain of Vice was away so the team could could enjoy the peace and tranquility of the countryside. There was more good news as Currie had been given a clean bill of health and so returned to the side and Pearson was back from off-shore.

Having been soundly thrashed at Kinlet last season, the Beds were determined to put in a better performance and in truth, this was a game they should have won.

Kinlet won the toss and elected to bat. The agreed format was that everybody had to bowl two overs and retirement was 25 runs. Kinlet started cautiously with Currie (0 for 10) and Pearson (0 for 4) containing the opening batsmen well.

The batting side, however, soon got into their stride and utilised the small ground to hit several sixes. All the Bedouins bowlers took some stick and at 100 for 2 from 15 overs a big score looked on. There then ensued a flurry of wickets falling. Spratley bowled a tidy two overs to finish with 2 for 1 and Bywater 1 for 4 and there was also a series of run-outs thanks to some ambitious running between the wickets. Kinlet finished on 129 for 7. A gettable score on such a small ground and maybe the total should have been less; there were some comical fielding moments but it should be said the outfield was not the easiest to field on. Currie had to resort to the shin pads so it must have been awkward.

Bedouins opened with Branch and Boom Boom Bywater. We have managed to ruin Bywater’s average completely now as he was soon bowled for just one run. The next partnership of Branch and Thomas (12) looked promising with Branch despatching the ball to the boundary several times before he had to retire on 28. Thomas was just starting to get into his stride but then edged to the wicket keeper and as you would expect from a Bedouin, he walked without waiting to see the Umpires decision.

Hill J and the skipper started to put a good partnership together until the latter got too ambitious and was caught at long on for 19 by his (ex) footballing buddy, Simon Guest. Hill J. launched a fabulous six over deep mid-wicket followed up with a four, but was then stumped on 15.

Gregory looked in good form and was keeping up with the run-rate and at 94 for 4 in the 15th over, it was game on. Currie played a cameo innings hitting two boundaries in his 11 before being bowled. Gregory too succumbed on 20, being caught on the boundary (again by Guest – perhaps we should sign him up?). Ferguson and Spratley went cheaply and at the death it was down to Pearson and Branch to try and get 10 runs from the last two overs. It was going quite nicely until Pearson received the only ball of the day that reared up. He instinctively got a bat on it but the ball looped to gully and it was all over. Beds were left 4 runs short.

So it was detention and lines for the Bedouins, but the good news was, they did it in the pub and were well entertained by a friendly Kinlet squad. There will be a return fixture in two weeks time were the Bedouins will have a chance to turn the tables.

Bedouins v Open GI at Enville – Wednesday, 8 June 2011

Bedouins won by 14 runs

The Bedouins were made to dig deep last night to secure a victory against a highly determined but extremely sporting OpenGI team at Enville. For the Beds, Currie was still side-lined and Hill A. was struggling with injury although he played. Pearson had gone off-shore somewhere and so Richard Ferguson was drafted in to make his debut. Gregory and Goodman returned to the fold.

Unusually, the skipper won the toss and elected to bat but seven overs into the innings was beginning to doubt whether he had made the right decision with the Bedouins on the ropes at 26 for 4. The usually reliable opening pair of Branch and Hill A. both found the wicket to be unpredictable and added to that there was the pace of the two OpenGI bowlers to contend with. Mostly the ball kept low but occasionally it spat up off a length and both had to take evasive action. Branch played a couple of nice square cuts for 4 but was eventually caught at mid on. Hancock entered the fray sporting new pads but didn’t really have long to test them out as he was bowled for one. Beds new found batting sensation, Boom Boom Bywater, didn’t quite live up to his title as he was bowled for 0 – average ruined.

At this point Hill J and the skipper came together with the later facing the prospect of ‘a pair’ having managed a golden duck in a game last week. But these two forged some sort of a partnership and slowly managed get the scoreboard moving with a partnership of 34. Hill J. with his ‘no frills’ batting style proved to be what was needed and he hit the only six of the night in his knock of 18. It won’t be long before we see a big score from him.

The skipper retired on 30 having tormented the bowlers with some streaky edges and Gregory, Goodman, Ferguson, Spratley and George all chipped in towards a Beds total of 110 that looked unlikely at one stage and also looked as though it wouldn’t be enough.

It was the Bedouins bowling performance that won the game though. Open GI were certainly carrying enough firepower to out-do the Beds total. Spratley and Gregory opened the bowling and bowled their allotted 4 overs straight through. They immediately built pressure on the batsmen with the first 6 overs seeing only 19 runs conceeded with two wickets falling in that time. Each bowler claiming a wicket with Hill J taking a good catch behind the stumps and debutant Ferguson with a difficult catch made to look easy in the deep. Spratley finished with 1 for 19 and Gregory 1 for 15.

The skipper then brought himself on and had an immediate impact on the game taking two wickets with his first two balls; a sharp stumping from Hill J. who gave another excellent performance with the keepers gloves and then a caught and bowled. He finished with 2 for 9 from two overs. At the other end Goodman was tidy and eventually finished with 1 for 16 from four overs.

The game started to swing Open GI’s way when Bywater and George came on to bowl. Both struggled to find their usual tight line and length. George eventually had to be withdrawn through injury and was replaced by Goodman. Bywater (3 for 17) eventually found his rhythm and although Open GI had had a couple of good overs, he and Goodman managed to put a strangehold on things and eventually Open GI fell 14 runs short.

It was a classic example of why we all play this brand of cricket. Both teams played to win, but both did it with a smile on their faces and the result was, everyone had a very enjoyable evening rounded off with another first-class buffet.

The Beds now face a difficult trip away to Kinlet where they were well and truly trounced last year. They will need to be on top form for that one.