Eltham CC

Match Report

Match report Eltham CC Vs Thurrock CC

Well done Mr Fisher for finding another very good fixture against an excellent bunch of chaps who play cricket the Eltham way. It could be argued that the surroundings are not the most idyllic and from one end the bowler does run in to the backdrop of 2 elderly tower blocks.....interestingly one of these buildings was named Bevan House. Mr Wouldham felt sure at one point he saw a delivery of pop, ice cream, and other confectionary items!

As ever in this northern fixtures some of our players found the travel planning a little troublesome and we started the game 3 men short. The most worrying mobile message came from Ash who advised the skipper that he was still on the bridge...given that there is a tunnel from South to North this gave some cause for concern. 'Hooters' Pearmine was another late arrival but he had the excuse of bringing a friend to make up our numbers...enter Shaky! Nik had grown weary of listening to his colleague's exploits as an under 19 Pakistan cricketer and decided to put him to the test. We were just grateful that Mr Bulpitt wasn't playing as the thought of several hours of 'Shaky' jokes and puns didn't bear thinking about!

The skipper, true to form, lost the toss and we took to the field..which has to be said, was probably the greenest pitch I have ever played on. It was also 'sticky' and with very long boundaries. Messrs Tanveer and Rosenthal opened the attack and it was soon quite obvious that this was to be a low scoring afternoon and singles would be at a premium. Nik and Shaky were kindly allowed on to the pitch at the start of an over and Nik responded by running out their opener with a direct hit at one stump. He followed this up later with two quite stunning catches off Pad and Pete S.

Nik and Shaky were enjoying an on field battle for supremacy and, as noted above, Nik started well. He was also very keen for his dear friend to be allowed to bowl. His wish was granted quite early on and after all of the usual 'I haven't bowled for several years' comments, the over started. About 10 minutes later, the over finished. Nik could not contain his delight and was openly smirking in the covers as it was teapot time behind the stumps. To his credit, Seb (as is his real name), came back strongly to complete a good spell including a wicket and a catch.

The bowling was, on the whole, very tight...which was not always the case with fielding. A highlight was Ash throwing down the stumps at the keeper's end ... after having aimed at the bowler's!

Given that it was an overcast afternoon (despite the forecast of sun and 21 degrees) this was a 35 over match and a score of 121 was going to be challenge but one we felt was achievable. Gary Bill (playing like a real man as he was suffering from a chest infection) had declined to bowl on the pudding of a pitch and so was promoted to open the innings with Nik. The bowling was tight and scoring wasn't easy but an opening partnership of 57 gave us great hope and optimism. Nik was in fine form and peppered the boundary with big hitting....on a normal ground he would have extended his lead in the 6 hitters league but even he was unable to cross the ropes. On one occasion the fielder did signal a six ... and then turned round to see the bowl had in fact landed inside the line. They ran two.

Nik was the first victim of the impressive Neal (Mongo) for an excellent 38. Gary followed soon after...also to Neal. At this stage the score was 62 after 20 overs and we were on target for a win. Ten overs later we were still only on 83 having been pinned down by some tight bowling and an increasingly difficult pitch. All the chaps who came and went tried to increase the rate but to no avail...it was not to be and another trip to Essex ended in defeat.

It was, however, a very enjoyable afternoon and the banter was excellent... 'me old cockney sparra.'

And so on to our final game of the season at Hunton....now, did I tell you about last year when I hit this massive 6...well... The comments board is,of course open, and I assume this will allow Mr Bulpitt to exercise his mind with 'Shaky' one liners. This will, no doubt, 'Drive me Crazy'...boom boom!

Andy 'Teapot' Redman