Eltham CC

Match Report

Match report Eltham CC Vs Franklin Lewin CC

The first Australian team to tour England consisted of a group of Aboriginal players, some of whom had been taught the game, in just a few months, specially for the tour. They came over in 1868 and acquitted themselves very well, their opponents including county teams and the MCC. As it would have been difficult for English folk to pronounce aboriginal names and to avoid having to record (in scorebooks far too small for the purpose) entries such as "c. Arrahmunijarrimun b. Jumgumjenanuke", they were each given "European names" such as Bullocky, Dick-a-Dick, Twopenny, Red Cap, King Cole, Mosquito, Jim Crow, Mullagh, Sundown - names which would have abounded in European phone books of the time if anyone had been clever enough to have invented the telephone before 1868 (see note 1).

For this report, the tables have been turned. Imagine that this account is to be read by aboriginals who would be confused by our european names - but who had had a very good geography teacher!

A beer to the first ECC member who can explain the source for the *-starred and other ECC names!

A short 40 mile trip along the M25, towards where the sun would later set, for a 40 overs Conference game against the "Fat Lads" C.C. (a.k.a. the Franklin Lewin C.C.). Our captain, Manitoba, lost the toss and Eltham had to field first. The first day of summer had taken us by surprise and so did the first 4 FLCC batsmen who averaged 37 runs apiece; the openers put on 80+, with Steinaker (sty-nacker, sty-nayker, stine-acre/acker, steen-acre/acker) scoring 50. *Malawi and *Guadeloupe had opened the bowling but the latter (getting nowhere) soon made way for *Palestinian Terry(tories) who eventually struck the first blow; after his maximum 8 overs, he finished with figures of 8-0-35-1.

*Malawi tried hard but achieved only 8-1-39-0, though *Djibouti did bust a thumb in putting down a catching opportunity off the former's bowling. *Western Sahara (6-0-37-1) and *Djibouti (4-0-22-0) fared little better.

Now, you're made captain if it's thought you have an eye for the main chance - and this is where and when Manitoba came into his own! After the successes of their top order batsmen, the next 5 "Fat Lads" could manage only 1,1,5,2 and 6 runs respectively and this was when Manitoba (bowler number 6) brought himself on for such rich pickings - finishing with figures of 6-2-13-2. *Guadeloupe also returned at the same time and returned figures of 8-1-23-3. The FLCC total of 176-8 did not seem an impossible target - if one could keep away from the delicious chocolate cake hoiked around the ECC table, by the hosts, at teatime.

The FLCC bowling was opened by the aptly named (T) Beegan; aptly named because he be-gan with overs which read MWMM(7runs)W and finishing with 8-5-16-2. ECC suffered 3 quick losses and in the 10th over found themselves at 25-3 wickets. *Guadeloupe (60) and CReWe(37) added 77 in good time for the 4th wicket but the final 6 wickets would add only a further 27 runs. *Polynesia Francais (0), Manitoba (0), *Palestinian Terry(tories) (2), *Polynesia Francais, pere (9), *Western Sahara (0) and *Malawi (2) did little to advance the ECC cause - and there were to be few flights (off the bat at least) from JfK today (only 11).

When *Djibouti joined the good Doctor (Surgical) the score stood at 126-9, i.e a further 51 runs were needed for victory but from only 37 balls! This was not a situation which any amount of winter nets can prepare one for ? as we're not fed chocolate cake before taking a "net". However, a good start was made with 3 runs coming from the first 5 balls; the required acceleration rate was just being worked out when the "Fat Lads" trump card struck again - and for the final time. Weedon, sensing, as Manitoba had done, rich pickings from the ECC tail (which, apart from batsmen no. 2 and 4, had started at no.1 - sorry, *Polynesia Francais, but this was unusual!) came on, also as FLCC bowler no. 6, au Manitoba ('cos you can't say a la Manitoba, can you - as he's male!) and earned himself figures of 6.4-1-25-5. The good Doctor (Surgical) was deceived by a wicked grubber whilst *Djibouti, allowed to face only one ball, was left to just dream about what might have been i.e. glory - which would have meant someone else having to concoct perhaps a more straightforward eulogy.

A nice summer's day, a nice (car) drive, a nice ground, nice (Fat Lads) blokes, a nice tea - just a pity about the bloody result!

Note 1 In case this has just slipped your memory, Alexander Graham Bell was not given a patent, to develop a device for transmitting speech sounds over a distance, until 1876.

Reporting: *Djibouti (David Jones)