Bedouins v Oldswinford at Enville, May 9th
Bedouins lost by 8 wickets
There’s poor light. And there’s bad light. And then there’s the Stygian gloom in which most of the Bedouins’ opening game of the season – against Oldswinford, at Enville – was played. You can tell how dark it was – the scorer had to call out from the scorebox to enquire the name of the incoming batsman, only to be told that it was his son!
Following a Bank Holiday weekend of glorious, sunny weather, it was sod’s law that all would go downhill by the time Wednesday evening arrived. And that’s the way it was. But at least, the game was completed (some of it in rain), even though the result was not a good one for the Beds – defeat by 8 wickets.
It all started so well. Bedouins batted first, and the skipper had clearly been on the red meat again. After three boundaries in the opening over, JB completed his first 20 runs without actually having to move from the crease, as he found the middle of his bat with regularity. At the other end, Ian Woodhouse took some time to find his touch, but finally weighted in with a couple of trademark Woodey sixes, before being bowled for 25. Meantime, John Branch was also bowled, for 24.
The tempo slowed in the middle overs of the Bedouins innings, while three more wickets went down. Then Adrian Susman (16 not out) and Lee Bywater (18 not out) took the total on to 101 for 5. Along the way, big Lee near-as-dammit decapitated his partner, with one particularly powerful straight hit for four.
The home team’s total was always likely to be a bit short of par, and so it turned out. Oldswinford made a solid start against the pace of Bywater and the guile of the evergreen Mike George – the latter returning the impressive figues of 1 for 15 in his four overs. The only other wicket fell to Ross Morgan, who, it has to be said, bowled a “variable” length, but still made a welcome injury-free return to Bedouin ranks.
Jono Hill had the dubious privilege of having a bowling return of 0.1 overs, for two runs, as the skipper displayed a somewhat surreal sense of humour by bringing him on to bowl with just two runs needed for victory.
Oldswinford thus won the game by eight wickets, with almost four overs to spare. At the wicket at the close was the Beds’ own Jon Stanier, who had transferred himself to his “other” team to make up for late withdrawals. It remains to be seen whether his application to return to the Bedouin ranks will be accepted any time soon!
Bedouins 101 for 5 (Woodhouse 25, Branch 24, Bywater 18 not out, Susman 16 not out)
Oldswinford 102 for 2 (George 1 for 15, Morgan 1 for 28)