Author Archives: Kiddybee

Charitable Success – Once Again!

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Bedouins v Ashby Albion – Sunday 4 August

Ashby Albion win by 6 wickets

Since 2018 this fixture has always been a favourite, for both sides. And this year was no different!

Bedouins fielded a strong 11 including the return of Hill A and Mike George for his first game of the season. A very timely return to the field Georgey! Ashby had a team of 10 footballers, of which only 3 or 4 had played any type of cricket in the past, however for some, it wasn’t just the cricket they had travelled down for, as the weekend started for Ashby at 4pm on Friday evening trying our best to visit every watering hole in Worcester. A few sore heads, but a great weekend.

The toss was won by Hill J, skippering the Ashby side, and it was deemed that Ashby would put the Bedouins in to bat and bowl first. After the inevitable barrage of wides and no balls, Ashby found their range and good balls started to follow.

From a Bedouins point of view N.Smith and Lippitt opened the batting and got off to a very fast start. However, with Lippitt falling to a feather caught behind and Taylor for LBW, Jon Branch strode to the crease at Number 4 and we saw some of his usual lusty blows and not so quick singles. Jon was caught behind by the Ashby Skipper off the bowling of Sommerville for 21, including 5 meaty 4’s.

Other than a lovely knock from opener Neill Smith, the Bedouins batting limped along struggling to read the liquorice allsorts coming from the Ashby bowlers. Bastable (3), Hill (12) and Gregory (7) were the sorry story of the middle order.

A first game for Rob Bell in the Ashby side saw him remove N.Smith for 48 with a devilish ball that kept low and came back in, robbing the opening batsman of his half century – but a great knock. Bell himself then got Robinson out first ball, however the subsequent hat-trick ball to Mr Chairman wouldn’t have even troubled a second set of stumps to the leg side.

Bedouins innings was mopped up by Bullen who bowled 1 over, earning 2 wickets for no runs. Bedouins ended with a total of 131 All out.

Ashby opening batsman were initially cautious in the 2nd innings with Anslow Senior and Bullen having a look before scoring runs. Robertson and Bastable opened the bowling for the Beds with Robertson once again pick of the bowlers gaining the wickets of Bullen and Bell, ending with figures of 2 wickets for 11 runs off 7 overs.

Taylor joined Anslow at the crease and looked in good nick and a partnership was building until injury took it’s toll to Taylor who retired hurt on 28. The aggressive Makepeace was next out to bat alongside Price who both fell to smart bowling by Lippitt. Special mention to Anslow Senior who retired out with his half century under his belt.

So it was down to Usher and Anslow Junior to finish things off, both carrying their bat, Usher with 3 runs and Anslow with 12. Ashby Albion finished off with 132 runs with 6 wickets to spare.

The day ended with a few drinks and much needed food, the shield was handed over to the Skipper for Ashby for another year.

A huge Thank You for all the donations, including donations from players and friends who were unable to make the day. A grand total of £435.00 raised, with all money going directly to Ovarian Cancer Action. Same again next year!

Drinks on Lee!

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Bedouins v Austin’s Army – Wednesday 31 July

Bedouins win by 10 wickets

The last Wednesday in July ended with a very hot evening at home against Austin’s Army.

The team was a strong one this week, with Martyn Smith coming in at the 11th hour after Fellows had unfortunately had work commitments.

The toss was lost by the skipper, and Austin couldn’t get the words ‘we’ll bat’ out of his mouth fast enough, as it was picture perfect conditions for batting, and by the first looks of Austin’s 11, it looked as though a big first innings score could be on the cards. How wrong we were…

When the first ball was clipped through mid-wicket, it looked like a long night, however the wickets soon started to come. Opening bowlers Bastable and Robertson got things going, with Bastable finishing with 1 wicket for 23 off his 3 overs, but Micky Robbo was pick of the bowlers with 4 wickets for just 9 runs off his 4 overs.

It was great to see Ex-skipper Bywater back in the side, however not so much for Robbo. With a chance for a fantastic hat-trick and the field closing in, the new batsman half volleyed a dolly straight to short mid-off where Lee shelled one of the easiest chances you’ll ever see. Head in hands for 11 Bedouins! There was a half excuse for a bump ball, but it was flush off the bat in my opinion, and should have seen Lee at the bar at the end of the game with his wallet open!

Wickets continued to tumble, with Lee himself picking up 1 wicket for 14 runs and Martyn Smith picking up 3 wickets for 5 runs off just 9 balls. Some fantastic bowling, fielding and catching all round. It ended after just 11 overs with Austin’s Army scoring just 52 runs.

N. Smith and Lippitt opened up the batting and after seeing off some fierce opening bowling, saw the Bedouins over the line without losing a wicket within 11 overs.

As usual, a good game against Austin’s guys, on what was a very pleasant evening at Enville.

Er, wow!

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Bedouins v Pedmore – Wednesday 17 July

Bedouins won by 42 runs

What a remarkable game. This was possibly one of the best Bedouins bowling performances ever and will go down in history together with the time Andy Hill took a hat-trick up in Halifax and David Thomas bowled the perfect spell in Worthing.

Pedmore always provide a stiff challenge and this game looked like being no different. Beds batted first and opened with Lippitt and Stanier (despite needing a hip replacement – we let anybody play in our team). The latter was little unlucky to be given out LBW on 4 when he had feathered the ball into his pads, but off he had to trudge. What followed was a fine partnership with Lippitt being joined by Ludlow. Both batsmen look in fine form and managed to find the boundary several times on what is these days a very large ground.

Pedmore were no slouches with the ball and indeed their youngest player, who looked about 12, had the batsmen playing thin air at times. It was great to see.

Not much of any great note happened during the Bedouins innings. Lippitt and Ludlow both retired; Susman continued his miserable form with the bat; Gregory flourished a couple of balls to the boundary before missing a straight one; and it was good to see Hill A back in the Bedouins ranks. His 6 not out together with Bastable’s 2 got Bedouins to a total of 108 for 3.

On the face of it, that didn’t really seem enough of a total to set a team like Pedmore. How wrong can you be?

With Beds being a couple of players light, Brain Pearsall was drafted in for his second appearance. He fits into the side well like he’s always been a Bedouin. He it was who opened the bowling together with Robertson. We we witnessed then was probably the most brutal spell of Bedouins bowling any of us can remember. By the time this pair of opening bowlers had both finished their  four over spells, Pedmore were reeling at 8 for 5. Pearsall was unlucky to only take one wicket, beating the bat on many occasions. He finished 1 for 5. Robertson brought carnage to the Pedmore side and finished with 4 for 7.

That was effectively game over. Only the Pedmore number 8 showed any resistance to a Beds fielding side that was in fine form. There were only a couple of blips. Hill A dropped a dolly and Susman came out in sympathy and also put one down.

It didn’t matter really. Pedmore limped to the final over and finished on 66 for 7. Well I didn’t see that coming.

Landlords serve notice

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Bedouins v Enville O40s – rematch – Wednesday July 3

Enville won by 51 runs

After losing several games against the Bedouins in recent history, Enville came to win this one. With a sprinkling of first and second team players in their side, it was always going to be a hard slog for the Beds. And that it was. So I’m going to skirt over most of this game as it turned out to be a bit of a farce.

Enville’s innings – well they finished on 142 for 3. There weren’t many highlights for the Bedouins except to say that Smith N, deputising behind the stumps made two very sharp stumpings, both off Gregory who bamboozled the batsmen with flight and swing. He finished with 2 for 24 from his 4 overs. Branch was skipper for the night as Jono had legged it to Benidorm, and the former was the only other bowler to claim a wicket although Robinson only conceded 15 off his 4 overs.

In reply there was really only one highlight and it wasn’t Susman’s second ball duck. Ludlow in at 3 again showed what a classy batsman he is, playing some nice shots in his 32 retired. in truth Bedouins never looked like getting anywhere near Enville’s total and the game petered out with Bedouins finishing on 91 for 3.

Tenants v Landlord – The Nail Biter!

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Bedouins v Enville O40s – Wednesday 19th June

Bedouins win by 3 runs.

Another pleasant, warm and sunny evening saw the Bedouins take on the Enville Over 40’s this week in what turned out to be very exciting game, right down to the very last ball.

The team was already depleted and got worse throughout the Wednesday afternoon with Susman and Aston both falling foul to injury and illness. In stepped Weaver Senior and Weaver Junior (Ollie), both neighbours of Neill Smith, and also Brian Pearsall who stepped in at the eleventh hour. Many thanks to Lippo for this introduction, of which proved a fantastic inclusion, as Brian just happened to be an opening bowler for Worcestershire Over 60’s. All 3 inclusions fitted in to the squad straight away.

The toss was won by the skipper and the Bedouins were to bat first. There was a good opening partnership between openers Lippitt and N.Smith, only for the latter to get out caught by an awful delivery, but a superb catch at Gully. Lippitt was back to his very best with an array of lusty 4’s and reverse sweeps, retiring on 32.

Chris Ludlow came in at 3 and showed off some of his very best shots, including 2 superbly timed 6’s on his way to a very composed 30 not out. The middle order of Taylor (13), Weaver (2) and Bastable (6) had time at the end of the innings for some lusty blows to bring the Bedouins innings to a close at 123 for 2 at the end of 20 overs.

Enville this year had a good mix of young and old starlets, and from years gone by, the Bedouins were aware of some very dangerous players at the top of the order, namely Tonks and Cox. The top and middle order were no match for the bowlers however and the beds were able to keep the score down and take wickets just at the right time.

Cox was bowled by Bastable for 2 runs and the experienced opener Tonks was caught by the skipper at cover off the bowling of Pearsall, who bowled beautifully at the Enville top order with figures of 4 overs, 1 wicket for 11 runs.

It’s fair to say that Austin Gregory lives rent free in Enville skipper Z. Mahmood’s head, with once again the bowler getting the better of the batsman with a looping in swinger that clipped the bails. Gregory finished his spell of 4 overs for 18 runs and 3 wickets, one wicket of which was expertly stumped by N. Smith, who deputised very tidily for Howells this week. The other end was held up very well by Chris Rudge who was also a relative newcomer, and was unlucky to get a wicket in his 4 overs. A noble mention to Enville chairman Rob Miller who scored a solid 30 in amongst the falling wickets.

In the last 5 overs Enville required 47 to win off 30 balls and it was down to some canny death bowling from Lippo and the skipper himself to keep the score down. Enville continued to attack the target, even though there was a couple of wickets shared between Lippitt and Hill. However, a good partnership between 2 Enville youth lads wasn’t quite enough, and Lippo kept the runs down in the final over, including just a single off the last ball with Enville needing 4 to tie the match. Enville finishing on 120 for 7.

A nail bitter down to the last ball, and as usual the game played exactly in the right spirit. The game was watched by a very pleased Bedouins Chairman, who stayed to the very end to watch the beds clinch the win.

Fingers crossed for a re-match on 3rd July.

Beacon light the way

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Bedouins v Beacon – 12th June 2024

Bedouins lost by 6 runs

On paper Bedouins had a strong side out for this home fixture with Beacon. But scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find a lot of those players carrying knocks and strains, and struggling to be at their best. That was unfortunate against a side where you always need to be at your best to beat them.

Having said that it was a good effort from the Beds and they took it right to the wire. Beacon batted first and as you’d expect their side was sprinkled with decent batters. Bedouins opened with the pacey (compared to the rest of us) Bastable with the Skipper at the other end. The first wicket fell to the former with just 10 runs on the board and things looked promising, another comfortable catch for the skipper. He was unlucky not to take a wicket, finishing with  0 for 22 from his four overs but only had himself to blame, dropping a return catch, though to be fair, the ball was travelling at a fair old speed. Bastable finished 1 for 20 from his 4 overs.

Beacon are a canny side and always find a way to keep the scoreboard moving, and this they did. Smith M and Susman were first change at each end. Smith conceded a few boundaries but castled one of the Beacon boys in his 1 for 27 from 4 and Susman managed the same in his 1 for 17 from 3.

Then Agent Stanier came on to bowl. Usually a bowler to be relied on to keep the bowling tight. But he too is struggling with injury and it showed with his last over going for 19. He finished 1 for 29 from 3 overs and Lippitt at the other 0 for 12 from 2. Beacon finished 130 for 4.

In reply Bedouins got off to a decent start. Smith N is in good form and Fellows at the other end played a few classy shots before being caught on 14. Taylor was controversially run out on 4. Susman joined Smith N and showed a bit of his old form with the bat. He even middled the ball a couple of times, shock. This partnership looked promising until Smith N was clean bowled on 24.

Not to worry, the skipper was coming to the crease with the promise of a display of his big hitting. Ah but he can’t buy a run at the moment and was bowled by a devil of a ball that turned nicely when he had made just 1 run. The Beds didn’t give up hope. Lippitt played his shots, including the reverse sweep and Beds weren’t far behind the run rate. Susman retired on 33 and Bastable joined Lippo to close the game out. But it wasn’t quite to be and after a great effort, Bedouins finished 6 runs short on 124 for 4.

So a pretty even game but the bragging rights stay with Beacon. Let’s hope we can turn them over on their own manor later in the season.

Ring-a-ding-ding

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Bedouins v Kinlet – 29th May 2024

Bedouins lost by 21 runs

It’s pretty safe to say that one man made a big difference in this game. But more of that later. It was good to get back onto the pitch with our good friends from Kinlet. It’s always a fun competitive game with the lads from t’other side of river. And with their ground under threat, how many more chances will we get to play each other?

On a rather dull and cloudy evening, Kinlet decided to bat first and Beds made little inroad into the batting side. Robertson and Susman both got through their 4 over spells without bagging a wicket and after 8 overs Kinlet found themselves 45 for 0. Susman was a little unlucky not to take a wicket with Taylor performing one of the most outrageous juggling acts in an attempt to catch the ball. Just when it looked like he’d snaffled it at the 5th or 6th attempt, down it went. Classic Bedouins.

Bedouins fought back hard with the bowling changes. The flight and guile of Smith M seemed to unsettle the Kinlet batsmen. Maybe too much time to think about which shot to play isn’t a good thing? At the other end the skipper brought himself on to bowl and was also troubling the batters. He finished with 2 for 17 from 4 overs. But it was Smith M who took the plaudits with a super spell of 3 for 5 from his 4 overs.

In amongst those wickets there were a couple of catches for the skipper who is proving this season to have a very safe pair of hands. One caught and bowled was taken diving to his left, reminiscent of his footy days between the sticks.

Lippo came on for a couple of overs and took a wicket with his first ball. He should have stopped there. He finished with 1 for 17 from his 2 overs and Bastable finished with 0 for 22 from his 2. It was during these last few overs that Kinlet had their ringer at the crease. He was obviously not a regular at 9 in the batting order. He proceeded to dispatch the ball around the ground including three sixes in his innings of 35 retired. On a ground where it seems mighty hard to get the ball to boundary, those sixes made all the difference (plus the 4 Susman let under his boot – shocker).

Who was he? Where does he play his cricket? Nobody was forthcoming and requests to see his contract were ignored. Anyway, we’re not bitter, are we lads? Kinlet finished on 109 for 8.

Bedouins sent Smith N and Taylor out to start the innings but it wasn’t that long before the latter was dismissed LBW for 3. Smith N, who looks in fine form, was joined by Susman and they put together a decent partnership, but both struggled to find the boundary. Smith N retired on 30 and not long after Susman top-edged a full toss to square leg and trudged off for 16.

Lippo played all round a straight one for 4, which left the skipper and Bastable at the wicket. Things looked promising with three overs left and two big hitters at the crease. It looked like going down to the wire. But the skipper was castled by Kinlet’s Mooney, something that gave the bowler great cause to celebrate heartily. Branch joined Bastable but it was a lost cause. Bedouins ended on 88 for 4 with just the two boundaries in that total. Kinlet’s big hitter made all the difference.

With our game v Pedmore cancelled, we next host Beacon.

 

 

Bedouins bully Oldswinford

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Bedouins v Oldswinford – Wednesday 15th May
Bedouins won by 54 runs

We’re not used to this, having glorious weather for our first game of the season. But Enville looked superb as the new Skipper Jono tossed up in his first game at the helm. In true Bedouins tradition, he lost the toss and Bedouins were put into bat.

If truth be told, Oldswinford didn’t bring their strongest team, but it was great to see a sprinkling of youngsters, all keen as mustard. Remember the days when we had our own youngster Jono? Taking to the field at the age of, what was it, 14, 15 or 16? I can’t remember exactly, the mind plays tricks these day, but how good to have seen his journey to becoming team captain.

The Bedouins side was missing some hardcore regulars but that gave some of the newer squad members a chance to take the field. And so it was Taylor and Bastable opened the batting in what proved to be a fruitful partnership. They never really looked in trouble until Taylor was run out, but Bastable struck the ball hard in reaching 30 and retiring. At 67 for 1 after 10 overs, Beds looked to be building a hefty total.

Things slowed a little in the second half of the innings. Stanier started slowly, supporting Bastable but was then joined by the skipper who was bowled for 8. Uncharacteristic. Is that the pressure of captaincy? Ludlow took his place but had little time to make a big impact. He finished 4 not out and Stanier 26 not out. Bedouins finished on 109 for 2.

In return, Oldswinford’s innings never really got off the the ground.They played their better batsmen in the top half of the order but it made little difference as Robertson and Tom, son or Martyn Smith quickly took control. As a result Oldswinford were four wickets down after just four overs and that was effectively game over. Robbo finished 2 for 8 from 3 overs and Tom 2 for 3 from 3.

Susman looked back to a bit of form after missing most of last season, finishing with 3 for 16 from 4. Bastable had a couple of wicketless overs for 12. Really, the last 10 overs or so were about the Oldswinford youngsters getting some batting time which was great to see. Oh to be that old again and just starting a cricket career.

Unusually, a few good catches were held by Bedouins. Tom, Jono and Smith M take a bow. Stanier, get in the naughty corner.

An enjoyable evening, good to be back out there. Hopefully more good weather and fun cricket to come this season. Next up, our friends from Kinlet at home on Wednesday 29th.

 

 

Fossils buried

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Fossils v Bedouins – 16 July 2023

Bedouins won by 14 runs

Games against the Fossils, a team of 70 year-olds who have previously played at a very high standard, are usually quite sedate affairs. There’s not usually a lot of excitement or cut-throat competition. This game was the exception.

The Fossils welcomed us to the beautiful ground at Birlingham on a Sunday where the weather couldn’t make it’s mind up. Leaving Kidderminster the heavens had opened by the little ground near Pershore escaped the rain and it was game on.

Hill Senior and Susman put in rare appearances this season, and Howells grabbed the reins from the skipper for the day in his absence. It’s not quite clear if the toss was won or lost. The Fossils sometimes tend not to worry about things like that. Bedouins were batting.

The majority of the Fossils bowlers are anything but quick. But don’t let that fool you, they are all crafty old dogs who know where to put the ball for maximum effect. Hence Bedouins quickly fell apart at the top of the order. Branch, Smith N, and Lippitt were quickly back in the pavilion, with the latter suffering the indignity of being run out by his batting partner, Hill junior.

At 14 for 3 it looked like being a short afternoon. Hill junior however redeemed himself by making it to the retirement score of 40. He was supported by Ludlow who played some fine shots until he was smartly stumped on 11.

Stanier came to the crease and he and Hill Junior pushed the score along with a good partnership. Hill Junior’s retirement brought dad to the crease. Good to see him back. However he was disappointed to miss a straight ball and trudged back to the pavilion for 16. Later he was delighted to find the scorer had confused him with Stanier and he had been accredited with 39 not out.

Susman and George added a few runs at the end and the Bedouins finished with 135 from their 35 overs.

Bedouins opened with Stanier and Robinson. Both were quick to take wickets leaving Fossils 12 for 2. Neither could dislodge the Fossils opening bat who was definitely not over 70. He was younger and fitter and boy could he hit the ball. He got to his 40 and retired.

Meanwhile wickets tumbled at regular intervals. Stanier had finished with 3 for 22 and Robinson 1 for 25. Hill junior bowled a few overs with his one wicket being Hill combined effort, with Hill A taking a smart catch. See, he can still do it.

It was spells from Susman (3 for 6 from 7) overs and Lippitt (1 for 13 from 7 overs) that slowed the Fossils run chase down. At this point we should say that Fossils like to play a rule that the opposition have to get them all out to win the game. Beds rarely get near skittling through a whole Fossils side but that was about to change.

Fossils could sense defeat, they could also see a way to win. Much to the displeasure of certain Bedouins, the Fossils started to blatantly throw away wickets in an attempt to get their opener back in. One batsmen even hit his own wicket. Outrageous, but it worked and the opener returned.

He took an instant liking to Hill Junior’s bowling and hit him for a couple of fours and a six. It left Fossils needing 14 from the last over with the big hitter facing. Cue a masterful piece of captaincy from Howells. He brought Branch on. His first ball was a tempting lopping flipper out of the back of his hand. I watched from the square leg boundary as it all seemed to unfold in slow motion. Said batman danced down the wicket for the big hit, missed, and was stumped by Howells to shouts of delight from the whole Bedouins team.

Very dramatic. Just when you think you’ve seen it all… A good game to win.

Out with the old, in with the new

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Pedmore v Bedouins – 21 June 2023

Bedouins won by 28 runs

So it has been very rude of me not to welcome some ‘new’ and not so new names to the Bedouins ranks. Firstly, our left arm wizard Micky Robbo has finally decided he is not that tight and become a fully fledged member. I think he felt bad after winning the bowling figures last year. We told him that you only got the wine if you paid your subs. That’s £45 a bottle then Micky……and i hear that Stanier has still not delivered.

We met Chris Bastable in the last game – talented …..lets not big him up too much. Not hard to look talented in the Bedouins.

Also we had Dave Ellerton settle right in by getting himself injured whilst ‘Dogging’ or at least that’s what he told me. Although he did say the dog is ok. Dave made his debut early in the season and is actually mobile so see you at deep point when you are back pal.

Julian Fellows made his debut up at Pedmore and we will look forward to seeing his batting talents moving forward. I am reliably informed that he was somewhat of a cricket superstar in his younger years. It appears that that talent has followed him into ‘middle age’. See look how i am being nice. Apparently he has a glamorous career which is why I am watching what I say. I am not going to say what he does. I am just going to point out that my favourite tv show is ‘Airwolf’. nod nod wink wink.

Chris Ludlow also made a debut against Pedmore. Although skip restricted his access to the action it is clear that there is a talented cricketer there. I can say that honestly after being clattered around winter nets for two months. You are very welcome.

So…..following on from last weeks improvement what could we do this week with all this new talent.

Well we only went and bloody won!

Skip went out and did as only skip could do losing his 425675638 toss in a row and being put into bat.

Lippitt shocked us all getting a duck and Branch was out soon after on 17. Then my hard rocking amigo’s it all clicked. Smith, Bywater and Stanier all retired 33,31 and 30 to put on a competitive total.

Smith did try to kill Bywater by making him run all of his total but despite a couple of cancelled ‘code blue’ calls, several oxygen tanks and one kiss of life. Bywater made the single he needed…..no i am only joking. Like flying ferrets they were…..back and forth…..Smith hitting five boundaries and Bywater just the three. Not very often the big lad tots them up like that.

Staniers innings was one of class and form. Like a conductor with his orchestra he played a tune that made Pedmore wither.

Fellows joined and showed some sharp running between the wicket, nudging and knocking 13 not out…..we look forward to more.

142 was set. The captain excited and game on!

Pedmore are always ready to go. And go they went…straight at the Beds attack. despite losing Grainger early on 11, both Holt and McGahey retired quickly on their 30’s.

That was as good as got though for the gents. Impressive bowling from all of the Bedouins kept the run rate steady and low. Two wickets from Stanier and Robertson complimented one from Gregory.

With over 30 runs needed from the last couple of overs the question only remained who was bowling.

A batting heavy side and injuries has caused a small dilemma but in the end Skip brought himself on with his bad shoulder to throw some grenades and Lippo tidied up at the other end. Pedmore could only muster 114.

I must give credit to Pedmore. They always give us a game. The pitch is always immaculate and they do not compromise the spirit of cricket just to get a result. Today their skip got a chance to play with his young son. Not more than 12 years old it would be easy to stick him in the deep and chase a result. Thats’s not what Pedmore do….They play like the Beds. So Max not only followed in his dad at 7 in the order but also gave a mean bowling spell from the top end. One for the future lads……watch out.

Great game, great curry, great company and an invite back in a few weeks. Thank you Pedmore for a great evening