Eltham CC

Match Report

Match report Eltham CC Vs Bexley Jets CC

The annual match to remember our ex-Skipper Jim Hill, who played for both the JETS and Eltham and sadly died in 2009, saw some farcical cricket but also a marvellous finish to a very tight game which saw Eltham recording a narrow victory by the smallest of margins.

A lot of the usual faces still come along to this match. Neil Cowland was on form with an array of unorthodox strokes including one massive hit over the top of Pete Swain who was lurking near cow corner. The Bevan Boys, Jason and Matt, were also in attendance, although Jason spent most of his time in the field attempting to stop his littlun from invading the pitch (and by littlun, we don't mean Matt!). Ray Lang was there, resplendent in a pink shirt which was enough to frighten the Eltham players into submission when he bowled.

Mick Cohen was there in an umpiring capacity only, although JETS skipper Mr Bulpitt was still able to tempt him to bowl a couple of overs of his wily leg-spin. No averages this year Mick, but some marvellous sledging (including while he was umpiring, timing out Seeds who had taken his usual time to get to the crease). Andy Flynn was there, along with some little Flynns, even smaller than Pete Fisher who was also in the JETS team.

Alan Horne was there too, nursing enough injuries to suggest he may be the subject of a forthcoming article in The Lancet.

In short, it's always lovely to see the old JETS faces coming together again for a laugh over a game of cricket.

Not much to say about the cricket except to say it was, as usual, played in a buoyant spirit, with large amounts of banter from both teams and a lot of laughter. Everyone apart from Andy Redman as wicketkeeper had at least two overs to bowl (Andy could have bowled but we've seen enough of his teapot already this season, thank you very much), which saw some lesser-spotted actions making an appearance. That Eltham were able to win was only due to the skipper retiring not out early to tend to the bbq, only to return following a clatter of wickets to save the day with Ricky Webber, who we believe got his highest score for the club including a couple of big fours over the top - nice one Ricklar! This pair brought Eltham to a narrow one-wicket victory in a game that really could have gone either way.

A few beers were then sunk over a marvellous bbq courtesty of Chef Swain, and glasses were raised to Jim, who would doubtless have enjoyed the match.

It is not clear whether this game will take the same format in future years, but we do intend to always do something since the Jim Hill evening is always enjoyable, and those that remember Jim, remember him fondly.

Reporting: Colin "Rowbottom" Wouldham