Jags 105/4 (Fardell 26*, Morgan 26*, Purton 17, Maddala 3-23) beat CUP 104/7 (D'Silva, 33*, Slack 23, Purton 4-15) by 6 wickets
MOTM - Purton
So, after a long winter, cricket is finally upon us once more. The day was more autumnal than the sporting endeavour suggested, and I had the usual pre-game enquiries suggesting it was damp and cold and surely we weren't going to be playing tonight. Surely. As ever, the MET office report won over more negative sources of meteorological prediction, and we had a game on.
The game is on till it's off, evening cricket is a Schrodinger's sport when it comes to weather.
Early May so a shortened format was in the offing and our game was against CUP at the CASS Centre, a ground with a lovely pavilion and an absolute ploughed field of a pitch normally. It was however available and free, so we there we played.
I also had forgotten the pre-game joy of people telling each other on WhatsApp that there is traffic in Cambridge. Knock me down with a feather and call me Susan - traffic; shit; in Cambridge; during rush hour?! Heaven's to Betsy, whatever next. Green Grass? Blue Sky?
We lost the toss and took the field, early rust was evident but we were greeted by two founder Jags, in Piers Morgan (resplendent in partially Norwich coloured brand new kit) and Steve Mann making his annual slip appearance. Rust was evident in both the fielding (Mark, Dan, Baker, I'm looking at you) and in the attempts at banter (mainly me here...). We had agreed a 15 8 ball format, but this morphed into 18 6 balls owing to a breakdown in communication between the umpires and the skipper and the scorers. I've never encountered a change of format mid game before. There was also no scoreboard, which is just odd as you never know how well or badly you are doing. Also, the scorers were not very good at the actual scoring, so whilst I'm comfortable in my head with what happened, it isn't 100% reflected in the scorebook.
CUP opened with the well known and highly cultured D'Silva. Brett got us going, conceding a nicely hit 4 first ball. Barker took the other duty, and bowled pretty well for a man who spent part of the year in Mordor, but also conceded a nicely hit 4 at one point. It continued in this vein for each of the first 3 overs. I tried some banter attempts, the only one that sort of landed was a comment about how CUP had spent loads of money on everything other than the pitch and scoreboard, which made me and possibly one other person laugh. Over 4 bought the first breakthrough with Barker bowling one opener top 3/4's of off. Brett came in for some more D'Silva tap the next over, and the new batsman for CUP was very very very cautious - blocking his stumps and defending each ball like he was Sanka in Cool Runnings protecting his egg.
A movie from simpler and nicer times
Mailes bowled nicely and then D'Silva retired with a 4 and then a 6 from Brett, who had done his best sacrificial job for the team. The game settled into a pattern of low gently scoring, not scoring, and rubbish fielding. Matt was doing ok behind the stumps, Dan fumbled a couple in the field, Baker didn't pick up a high one, but it all felt very early season what-the-heck-is-this-sport.
Purton replaced Mailes and Cooper replaced Barker I think, and Cooper livened things up by going for 4 and 6 in his first two balls, before getting his lines back and bowling much better the rest of the over the one that followed. Purton was looking on dynamite form with the ball, and the pitch such as it was allowed a bit of rag. I kept chirping and at one point Dan told me to put a sock in it, which advice, dear reader, I did not follow.
Purton eventually tempted the CUP skipper out with some good length variation and Parrish completed the stumping. At some point he did exactly the same to another batsman, but it has not made it into the Playcricket app - so my only evidence that it happened was that I was there and I saw it with my eyes. Purton and Parrish were a dynamic duo of spin and stump. Could be a weird name for band that, Spin and Stump. Mann did some fine work in the ring, there was some Baker/cake related chat that didn't quite land, and it got progressively darker.
Cooper got a wicket with a bowled to the man who had taken 32 balls to get 6 runs (eek), bowling him off his pads I think for a strike rate of 18.75.... He'd got his lines back, and he'd technically got a wicket, so that's a result we're all fine with. Purton got one bowled, I can't remember the specifics but the zinger bails were dislodged and flashed a bit, and then next ball got a caught and bowled, pitched straight back to him to finish on 4 wickets (3 in play cricket and 4 in real life) for a really quite something of a start to his Jags season. P Morgan bowled an over that is really not properly recorded in the book, but it definitely featured some loose balls and then some better ones. Barker finished us off bowling one, then sort of bowling the other but the bails didn't come off (so not out) then joining the dots to finish things.
104-7, hard to tell exactly whether this was par. It was getting chilly and dark so we just got on with it. The pink ball was less a ball and more an ovoid at this point. Mailes and Purton opened the batting, an excellent start it must be said. I recall some good hustling running, Purton creaming a legside 4, and we got to over 5 for 34 runs. Mailes had hit some lovely 4's here and hereabouts, and we were perfectly on the rate. Purton's last contribution was a lovely straight hit 4, before he fell next ball to the left arm off spinner, bowled. Then a bit of early season hilarity.
Threadgold went out muttering about facing spinners first up in his season, all the way out, took a tentative looking guard and deep in his crease was bowled by the exact same ball that had got Toby. George Baker then wandered out silently, nervously, took guard deep deep in his crease, went back to the ball, and was bowled. By the exact same ball that the previous two gents had gone to. So it was my turn. The post hat trick ball (a hat trick that was barely celebrated by the way), I just reached forward and kept the next two out - per Liam's hastily offered coaching as I walked past him as umpire. I got going with an edge/late cut to fine leg. I was then out next ball to a no ball (which also hasn't made the book), caught wonderfully at point. I had a life!
Did I use it, did I ever. Next ball I clubbed into the ring on the offside and set Chris off on a suicidal single that he didn't make. The fielding was good, but it wasn't my call and it was silly biscuits on my part. I apologised profusely, but no doubt Mailes will be throwing darts at my face at home this evening.
Piers and I then took a bit of time to reset, some quiet overs and it looked like the rate was going to be a problem. I eschewed a helmet for reasons that are hitherto unclear to even me at this point. Piers had his great little Norwich coloured spikes on, and mainly used them to stay stuck solidly in his crease. Eventually he got going, with a couple of lusty 4's, one to the off side if I recall. We were a spot behind the rate, so started pushing the singles a bit. Over 13 I finally found my range, thanks to some generous bowling, and hit three 4's, including clubbing one straight to a lady fielder causing her some mild injury as it deflected off her and out.
Seeing my actually hitting the ball with the wooden thing in my hands inspired Piers to do more of the same, and we actually accelerated after a very slow patch. I even manged to hit the left arm spinner, he of the hat trick straight back over his head for 4, Purton style. In the end we cantered home with a couple of overs to spare - but with this scorebook who knows what actually happened.
The pitch was a bit of a mess, the odd one keeping low the odd one bouncing up (Purton managed to hit one guy on the helmet with a bouncer), but it was really quite nice getting a Jags a la 2013 partnership going with Piers.
The pavilion is cheap, so we had our drinks there and chatted about AI, and how we're all doomed and should all take up a trade. I apologised to Chris some more and Mann bought us drinks.
I should add as well that I smelt like a bottle of deep heat for the entire game as a freezing muscle spray had gone off in my bag and made my kit soggy and chemical smelling as well. It may me feel a little high, perhaps that explains the batting!
Next week, the Leys School. One of the nicest things that happens on any day of the year other than possible Christmas.
