Bedouins v Beacon – 14 June 2023

Beds lost by 29 runs

Whenever you go on a bad run you always try to look for the positives. The Bedouins had not been on form but today would be a turning point in the season.

Skip had been practicing the toss this week with a two sided coin. He still managed to lose to himself. Beacon took advantage of his bad form and Bedouins were fielding.

Beacon always bring a competitive side ready for a battle. However, they bring it in the right mentality and play for fun just like the Beds. That’s why we invite them back every year. Today was no exception. Beacon set off like tanks pummelling the opposition and Forster (27) and Gowan(29) got them off to a flyer. Golden (19) and Harvey (15) kept the score board moving.

Bywater was out of sorts. Still suffering with injury to his shoulder. Dr Mike George had previously diagnosed a torn rotator cuff and Skip started to believe that may be the case so after getting tickled all around the ground, withdrew from the firing squad.

Bastable made a bowling debut and looked right at home. I was told he had not played for a while due to ongoing injuries. I assured him he would fit in well with the Beds and was welcome in our 8 man slip cordon. Clearly some talent there. The Beds will beat it out of him eventually.

Robertson, Lippitt and Branch would support the skip with some tremendous bowling. Bedouins had started to take wickets and the mood was lifting. Unfortunately though the Beacon boys scored as they lost wickets, keeping the score board moving.

The Beacon tail wagged and Curtis hit 19 before the 10 men of beacon were finished in the last over.

Robertson 4 overs 3 wickets for 15, Branch 4 overs 2 for 23 and an inspired Lippitt 2 over 3 wickets for 21 finally gave some fight to the Bedouins season.

Beacon had put on 143……an above par score. This would be tough.

Bedouins actually made a good go of chasing that 143 down. Only Six batsmen used. Branch (30) was back on his usual top form. Lippitt went early on 12. Smith battled to 27 with some tight bowling coming his way and Stanier showed us all how to do it by retiring on 32.

Encouragement was the word i had found here. Yes we only got to 114 but our heads had not dropped and we showed some fight. Enough to impress another potential new recruit…….more of that later

Much socialising and stories ended the night and we look forward to seeing Beacon again later in the season. Well done to them on today’s victory.

Bedouins v Kinlet – 31st May 2023

Kinlet won

Some of the older Bedouins fixtures really get the adrenaline flowing and its fair to say that Kinlet would fit that category. Legendary matches with tight finishes and competitive but friendly summer evenings. We all look forward to this game despite the fact that Kinlet seem to get the better of us slightly more than we do of them.

Skip has given up with tosses. He can’t win them. Skip had clearly been feeling the pressure, unfit, lacking the answers to change the flow of the season so he decided a new tactic again at this match. This time it was “be late from work and let someone else try to win the toss and pick the batting order’. It worked….almost.

I’m not sure who won the toss as I didn’t make that bit but Jono had set everything up which i was very grateful for. He had even sorted the batting order. I was impressed……makings of a future Skipper? Maybe….

Bedouins were in to bat and the outfield was…..slightly shorter than last week.

Branch unusually went early on for just 8 runs. Lippitt though followed his recent good form probing the boundary on his way to another 30 retired.

Kinlet mixed up the bowling as they usually like to and the wickets were evenly spread. This seems to be a winning formula. Bedouins would adopt this tactic if half the teams shoulders and backs were not out….

Contributions from Hill (20) and Stanier (9 not out) were the highlights of a rather steady Bedouins total. The low light was a first ball duck from the Skip……again rushing for the buffet.

Bedouins came up with a below par 84 and Kinlet had victory in their sights.

Bishop and R Crook led the Kinlet chase and both made batting look easy. Bishop retiring on 30, crook on 33. It didn’t take many overs to be honest. Bywater nursing a torn shoulder, Gregory, Hill and Robertson managed to stretch the punishment out to 16 overs with Robertson being the most effective. 4 overs 2 for 18 not a bad return considering the conditions.

Unfortunately that was about as exciting as the resistance got. 84 was ‘never enough’ and Kinlet knocked them off with ease.

Skip was left scratching his head and rubbing his arm…….wondering when things would improve.

Great game Kinlet, we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Bedouins v Oldswinford – 17th May 2023

Beds lost by 49 runs

And so another year of Bedouins fixtures begins. Full of confidence from the recent nets, new team mates and freshly cleaned whites. Unfortunately the smell of defeat was all too familiar.

You may have noticed these match reports are a little well…..late. That will be because our main man Ade has had to have some time off to tend to Mrs S. Sometimes there are more important places to be than at cricket and i’m sure we all wish Nikki a speedy recovery and will assure her that once she is fed up with bed side service, Ade doing all the housework, tending the garden, cooking, washing, ironing…………Hang on we are never getting him back! In all seriousness, we miss you pal and hope you come back and win the bowling stats again………even after giving us a head start.

So….anyway, you got Skip for a few games. Wallowing in self pity at his lack of results and complete lack of fitness. Poor grammar, terrible sentence structure and slow not just in moving but also in typing. Lucky you!

Our good friends at Oldswinford turned up full squad and raring to go. Bedouins also made a slight mis-calculation with the opening fixture managing to arrange 12 players. All good though with a rotation system in place that gave everyone the chance to play. There was clearly something in the air tonight, heightening the senses, bringing tears to our eyes and sending the blood to places its never been, thanks again to our team sponsor………….deep heat!

The game begins after Skip loses the toss……again! We are fielding.

We are back to the late 90’s with an opening partnership of Bywater and Gregory. Gregory starts tidy with 4 overs for 14 runs and Bywater, despite appearing to have eaten his way through a small factory and wearing an extra small bedouins crop top….bumbled in to give impressive figures of 4 over 2 wickets for just 9 runs. A marvellous start. I do distinctly remember a stunning catch in the slips from Branch. Never in doubt.

Staniers Snr and Jnr both chipped in with steady spells but it was Branch who stamped his Bedouins authority and made inroads into the Oldswinford middle order. 3 overs 2 wickets for 24 runs had the Oldswinford on the back foot at least for a few overs.

Brett Brigdale had been and gone making a quick 30 runs for Oldswinford. Griffiths also hitting 33 very quickly and well supported by Farnsworth Snr with 23. Bedouins realising that despite a good start and splattering of wickets that a steady total of 125 would be tough.

Bedouins were actually forced into a tactical change due to the potential outfield impacting our very own Usain Branch. It’s true that he is not as mobile as he used to be…or that’s what he says. How is always first to the bar though?

The length of grass in the outfield did cause us to consider consider putting in a sheep at no.1 although he would not be allowed in the clubhouse afterwards. Apparently bbaaaahhhhd. (come on…..you didn’t get this quality before)

Lippitt and Gregory started up our reply. Lippitt making 30 ……almost. Falling on 29. Gregory and Smith falling cheaply. Overs flying by……

Bywater was in a rush to get to the buffet and smashed a quick 22 although the long grass was even slowing the big boy down.

The Beds that followed didn’t have time to impact unfortunately and we ran out of overs just like the Enville groundsman had run out of petrol.

Well done Oldswinford, a sterling effort played in the right spirit.

Beds finish on 76….must do better.

Bedouins v Ashby Albion – Sunday 7th August

Bedouins lost by 36 runs

We play our game ‘seriously for fun’. But sometimes there are things more important than the game, as in the case of our final fixture of the season. For several seasons now this fixture has traditionally become a fundraiser to help fight ovarian cancer, something instigated by Jonathan Hill, and the reason why he brings his Ashby Albion side to Enville. This year saw a total of £445 raised for the charity, the largest total yet.

On a hot summer’s day the one thing Bedouins needed was a full team to face the young and fit Ashby side. Most of them play football. It shows, they are no slouches in the field. However, after Jon Stanier was struck down with the squits, Bedouins were left with just 10 players.

Ashby batted first and it wasn’t long before it was evident the two opening bats were quite capable of demolishing the Beds bowling attack. Bywater (0-45-7) had his figures ruined with three fours off his last over but at the other end Robertson (unusually for him) was struggling to keep the runs down. Things weren’t helped by Susman dropping Pilbro on the square leg boundary when he was about half way through a knock that amounted to 46 runs. At the other end Anslow made a fine 50 made up mostly of boundaries.

The momentum was knocked out of the Ashby innings when Spears and Susman came on to bowl. Susman (3-32-7) had revenge on Pilbro, having him stumped with his very first ball. Spears was unlucky to finish with only one wicket in his spell (1-38-7). Bedouins took the upper hand with Mugglestone (2), Makepeace (4) and Price (14) all departing quickly. However that brought Jon Hill to the crease. He’s been in fine form for the Bedouins with the bat this season, and that continued for Ashby.

It was amazing that Jono was on the pitch at all having been in bed with the same problems as Stanier all weekend. In fact, he was so bad, he missed the traditional pre-match night out in Worcester with the rest of the Ashby team. So the fact he played a captain’s innings and just managed to make his 50 in the last over, despite looking like he could collapse at any moment on a baking hot day, was testament to his determination.

It looked at one point like he might run out of batting partners with Lippitt (1-26-4) and Smith N (2-24-4) bowling the final few overs and getting amongst the wickets. But he made it and Ashby Albion finished on 215 for 7 from their 35 overs.

Bedouins innings got off to a fine start with Branch and Lippitt looking in confident mood but with both looking set for a big innings Branch went C&B for 18, and Lippitt was caught by Jon Hill when on 15. You can’t keep Jono out of the game, and that proved to be a running theme.

He did the same to Smith N who felt aggrieved that he had middled the ball so well, only to see Jono take another blinding catch. He then went and repeated the feat, accounting for Bywater for 30. Lad,s lads, note: Don’t hit the ball at Jono.

Spears showed his experience with a fine knock of 56. While he was at the crease it looked like the run chase might be on. Susman at the other end was still looking a little rusty with the bat and with Spears having retired, the Bedouins tail end was struggling to wag.

Of course, Jono came onto bowl and sent Susman back to the pavilion after he missed a straight one trying to find the boundary. Jono’s 2-12-3 and Anslow’s 3-26-6 were the pick of the Ashby bowlers. Although Spears came back to the crease Bedouins were left needing too many runs in the closing stages.

So Bedouins succumbed to the youthful Ashby side, but at the end of the day it was the charity that turned out to be the winner thanks to the generosity of all involved. A fine spread was put on by the Bedouettes and a very pleasant day was had by all. Let’s hope we can do it again next season and raise even more money. After all, in the words of Smashie and Nicey “it’s for charity mate”. And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, see below.

Beacon v Bedouins – 3rd July 2022

Bedouins lost by 6 wickets

Games coming thick and fast so quick report on this one. Short of players again so drafted in Kev Taylor and Guy Sheppard. Looked like a solid 11 until Jono took poorly and had the set off home. Big miss as it turned out.

Beds batted with Smith N (32 not out) in fine form, Susman however, not so. Departed for 7.

Outfield was like lightening. Kev Taylor looked little troubled until missing a straight one on 19 leaving Lippitt and Stanier to get the bulk of the runs, both reaching retirement (runs or age, take your pick). Stanier with a couple of sixes.

Ellerton, excited to be playing his second game in four days, improved on his 0 in the last game by being 0 not out  this time. That’s progress. Beds finished 137. On the face of it a good score but Beacon can never be written off.

Bedouins seemed to be restricting Beacon fairly well on such a quick outfield and with only 10 men. Smith M (2-24-4) was the pick of the bowlers, often perplexing the batsmen with deft touch of flight. Lippitt was in the wickets too with 2-27-4. But with four overs left and needing 30 runs Beacon lit the afterburners and before we knew it the game was done.

We’ll skirt around Taylor dropping two catches.

With a full side including Jono, would we have won? Of course.

Bedouins v Belmont CC – Sunday 31st July

Bedouins won by 4 wickets

If you thought Gregory’s performance on Wednesday night was good, it was paled into insignificance compared to that of Jonathan Hill on Sunday. I’ve scoured my memory banks (what’s left of them) and I can’t think of a better all round performance than that of Hill Jr on Sunday. I’m sure someone will put me right. More about that later.

Bedouins looked set to start this game with just nine players. But sometimes things happen for a reason. It just so happened Dave Ellerton was a bystander on the ground and when invited to play, he jumped at the chance and took to the field in borrowed kit. He was quick to tell us his cricket experience was limited, but as we all know in the Bedouins, that matters not a jot.

Belmont were a new fixture and so an unknown quantity. They were put into bat first and made slow progress in their 35 over innings. Beds included Enville stalwart Trevor Spears in their ranks and it was he and Stanier who opened the bowling. Stanier finished his first spell after four overs (finishing with 0-29-7) but Spears bowling left arm round, was on the money and finished his spell with 1 for 9 from 7 overs.

Only the Belmont no.4 looked really threatening with the bat until he fell to the worst ball Susman (2-19-7) bowled in his seven over spell and was caught by Stanier behind square. In fact, it’s true, catches do win matches and there were six in the Belmont innings. Unfortunately for new boy Ellerton, his attempt to take a catch at square leg ended in disaster as the ball went straight through his hands. Even more unfortunate was the fact his hands were in front of his face at the time, resulting in a thick lip. However, it’s not put him off. He loved his Bedouins experience so much, he wants to keep playing.

Robertson had a caught and bowled in his 1 for 35 from 7 and there were another two stumpings for Howells. But so to an incredible spell of bowling from Hill Jr. His 4 for 35 from 7 included two stunning caught and bowled. The first, the ball was hit hard straight back him and above his head. There was an audible gasp when in a flash he got his hands up to take the ball clean as a whistle. His second was probably even better with the ball flying out towards mid-on. For a moment it looked like disaster may strike as Susman came trotting in from deep mid-on to attempt the catch (we all know what would have happened there) until he realised Hill was careering towards him at a rate of Knots. Hill screamed for the ball and took it, arms outstretched, with the ball coming over his shoulder.

There were also catches for Hill Jr’s mate Zac and Susman amazingly held on to a skier at mid-off to leave Hill on a hat-trick. Belmont finished on 131 for 8.

Bedouins started their reply with Smith N and Susman at the crease. With a modest total to chase there was little need for heroics. However Susman was quick to depart for 6 given out LBW which gave Belmont some encouragement. Smith N departed too not long after for 6 to a ball that pitched and literally rolled along the floor, taking his off stump.

At 17 for 2 things looked a little bleak for the Beds, but enter Superman Hill Jr to round off his MOTM performance. He was patient at the start and it was hard to get the ball away but he was joined at the wicket by his pal Zac Price and a good looking partnership developed. Price hit a couple of boundaries but then was caught, departing for 12.

Stanier joined Hill Jr to continue the good work and the win looked easily attainable. Hill Jr had reached 44 having hit a huge straight 6 but on trying to repeat the feat on the next ball he toe-ended to mid-on. Things were a little tense after that with a couple more wickets going down but Bedouins met their target with a couple of overs and a few wickets to spare. Another very pleasant afternoon of cricket and the game was finished in time to see the Lionesses storm to victory.

Bedouins v Pedmore – Wednesday 27 July

Bedouins won by 10 wickets

It’s been a funny season for the Bedouins. So many times they have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, getting into match-winning positions only to fail in driving home their advantage. So would you believe me if I said Bedouins won this game by 10 wickets, and with 11 overs to spare against a strong Pedmore side, meaning they had achieved a ‘double’.

Pedmore batted first with skipper Bywater opening the bowling. His first over was a maiden. During his second over he picked up an injury (a lot of those in the Beds side these days) and he had to take himself off to be replaced by Susman (1-17-4). At the other end Gregory had set about slowly dismantling the Pedmore innings with an incredible spell of bowling that deceived and bamboozled.

He finished with 4 for 11 from his four overs. Three of those were clean bowled and one was another sharp stumping from Howells behind the stumps (there have also been a lot of those this season). As a result, Pedmore’s innings never got going. The fielding side were even holding their catches, one for new boy Trevor Spears and another for Gregory (you couldn’t keep him out of the game).

Even a change of bowling didn’t give Pedmore any respite. Stanier (3-16-4) replaced Gregory and straight away was in the wickets. In the 14th over Pedmore were 55 for 9. It was only a late rally that saw them make it to their final total of 72 for 9.

So having got into this strong position, how would Bedouins react with the bat? Skipper said it was as good as won before the batsmen made it to the crease (wow, brave man). But we have seen it many times this season where our batting has lacked conviction and the game has been lost.

Not this time. Smith N and Lippitt were not hanging around. The ball was dispatched to the boundary in quick succession. There was no playing safe here and as a result Lippitt quickly retired on 31 and Smith N (22 not out) and Hill J (16 not out) finished things off at the end of the ninth over.

Let’s hope this form continues on Sunday with our next game being against an unknown quantity in Belmont CC.

Bedouins v Amblecote and Wollaston – Wednesday 13 July

Bedouins lost by 21 runs

This was another defeat for Bedouins in a dismal season, but at least the weather was actually summery for a change. With Amblecote batting first, the ball was thrown to George to start the Bedouins attack. He lasted three balls. His first ball almost bounced off his toes as his shoulder gave way. Two more balls proved painful so he called it a day. Then we witnessed something not seen in a Bedouins game for many a year –  Branch came on to bowl. And very good he was too. So good in fact, he was kept on to finish the spell and ended up with just 8 being taken off his 3.5 overs.

Lippitt provided some comedy gold with his fielding. Chasing the ball down, he got a foot to it and nonchalantly flicked it up into one hand. He used to play football you know. However on turning through 360 degrees to throw the ball back in (all this was in one movement), he ruined it by throwing the ball in completely the wrong direction. Priceless. Lippitt did redeem himself shortly after, taking a good catch off the skipper’s bowling.

It was a fairly even contest, Bywater took a couple of wickets (2-23-4) and only Gregory really got going for Amblecote and Wollaston, retiring on 33 after finding the boundary at regular intervals. Hill J (1-24-4) was the only other bowler to take a wicket. Towards the end of the innings, Hancock, who had been haring around the field like a Whippet, pulled up lame having done his hamstring. Another casualty for the Bedouins to contend with.

Ambelcote and Wollaston finished on 117 for 4.

Branch and Lippitt opened the Bedouins reply. Amblecote’s opening bowler was quick but erratic. His first over at Branch saw the ball pitching halfway down the wicket much to the batsman’s amusement. I know, I was square leg umpire.

Lippitt played some beautiful cover drives using the bowler’s pace to caress the ball to the boundary. Both batsmen contributed to a good start and things looked promising for the Bedouins. Smith N missed a straight and went LBW and the Hill J arrived at the crease. He is in fine form and again he made the retirement figure of 30.

It was great to see Aston get a knock and he was delighted to get some runs on the board with his new bat, as where his team mates. This is what Bedouins cricket is all about, encouraging players to improve. Not only did Aston get runs but his fielding is coming on leaps and bounds too.

However, the closing stages of the Bedouins innings saw them get bogged down and fall behind the run rate. In the end they fell 21 runs short of the Amblecote total.

Bedouins v Enville O40s – Wednesday 29th June

Bedouins lost by 47 runs

Last season Bedouins beat Enville twice. It didn’t seem to go down well that the landlords couldn’t beat the tenants on their own patch. This season, Enville made sure there would be no repeat by putting out a strong side.

But to give respect to Enville, they sure did bat well with five reaching the retirement figure of 30. They were aggressive at the crease from the start  and George (0-45-4) and Susman (0-44-4) particularly bore the brunt of onslaught and were dispatched to the boundary at regular intervals. The Skipper, who opened the bowling, was slightly more economical with 0-25-4.

Things weren’t helped by a couple of dropped catches with Susman dropping a straightforward effort on the boundary that probably he would have held in his younger days. When will his poor run of form in the field end?

Robertson was the only bowler who really looked to be causing the batsmen any real concern as he finished with a wicket in his 1-26-4. The upshot of all this was Enville posted one of the highest, if not the highest total Bedouins have ever had to chase down – 179 for 2. But not before on the very last ball of the innings, Susman finally managed to cling on to a catch from Stanier’s bowling, much to the delight of both players.

Bedouins actually put up a good fight in chasing down such a huge total. Branch lost his opening partner Smith N pretty quickly for one, but went on to make his 30 which included six fours. Hill J, in at number three also retired on 31 which included his customary huge six.

The skipper was unlucky to get out to a one-handed catch at long off. Even more unlucky as the fielder looked decidedly under 40. Hancock gave it his all before departing for 5 and Susman, well, enough said…

The Bedouins innings finally drifted into a coma at 129 for 4, a total which in most other games may have been a match winner. But not on this occasion, Enville were too strong and too determined to have their revenge for last season. Rumour has it, there may be a return fixture this season. That could be interesting.

Bedouins v Beacon – Wednesday 15 June

Bedouins lost by 7 runs

The good news, the skipper won the toss for the second week on the trot. The bad news, it made no odds – Bedouins still lost the game. SKipper elected to have a bowl in this instance with his decision based on the fact it would make the game last longer, he said. Fair enough. Did Joe Root ever contemplate that tactic when out in the middle?

It looked to be a good move during the first few overs of the Beacon innings. Opening bowlers George and Susman quickly removed both Beacon openers, and then George followed up his first wicket by having Beacon’s number 3 caught and bowled in what was a slow motion low down, on the knees catch. A good one to be fair. Not easy at his age.

It seemed Beacon packed out their middle order with some of their more able batsmen. George had finished his spell with a good (2-17-4) and Susman was expensive with (1-28-4) and that theme continued with Bywater and Gregory both finishing with (0-27-4). They weren’t helped by the fact that the outfield was fast, and most of the fielders were slow on a hot and humid evening. Numbers 4, 5 and 6 all retired on 30 for Beacon and in fact Bedouins failed to take anymore wickets and Beacon amassed a healthy total of 133.

That was a total that Bedouins had surpassed last week at Pedmore, so it was achievable. Branch and Lippitt laid the foundations with a steady start although the latter was visibly frustrated at not being able to get the ball away as he would have liked. More often than not he managed to pick out a fielder. However both finished undefeated on 30 and 32 respectively and with 59 from the first 10 overs it was game on. Smith N and Bywater continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over with the skipper particularly leading from the front and trying to get the run rate up to keep Beds in with a chance.

But when Smith N had gone for 19,  wickets began to tumble. Gregory was bowled for 8 and Hancock was run out for 3. Bedouins needed 10 runs from the last over but it wasn’t to be. Susman went for a golden duck leaving the pressure on the inexperienced Aston. Bedouins finished 126 for 3.