|
Janmohamed named Cricketer Cup captain
OC trio in first-class action
New awards unveiled at annual dinner
Hume closes on finish, Langmead soldiers on
Place your order for new OCCC sweaters
Snow causes Dinner postponement
Rich Hume sets off across the Atlantic
Annual Dinner on January 8
Tim Evans
Meaker on ECB Fast Bowling Programme
June 2000
July 2000
October 2000
November 2000
January 2001
March 2001
June 2001
July 2001
November 2001
December 2001
January 2002
March 2002
April 2002
July 2002
August 2002
September 2002
October 2002
February 2003
July 2003
November 2003
January 2004
May 2004
July 2004
September 2004
November 2004
December 2004
April 2005
August 2005
March 2006
April 2006
September 2006
November 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
October 2009
December 2009
January 2010
February 2010
March 2010
April 2010

Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
| 
|

|
Rain blights midweek matches
Old Cranleighans 129 for 7 (Copleston E 32, Rosenfeldt 26, Crump M 20) drew with Old GeorgiansWarm and sunny turned to cold and wet, and in end after on an-off day, the match was abandoned at 4pm with the square left sodden by 45 minutes of heavy rain. In the play there was, our batting found conditions hard, with only Eds Copleston (32 off 28 balls) managing to find any touch. Two wickets on the stroke of an early lunch saw us go into the interval on 40 for 4, and our only period on top came after the re-start as Copleston and Tristan Rosenfeldt put on 52 in 28 minutes. But once Copleston went and light rain started, we lost momentum. Old Cranleighans v Grasshoppers - match abandonedThe rain which caused Tuesday’s abandonment lasted through the night and left the square underwater, and a second shower in the morning ruled out any play before the afternoon. An inspection at 2pm resulted in a 3pm start, but as the teams changed and prepared for the toss, the heavens opened again and that was that. Labels: 2009 Season, Cricket Week, Eds Copleston, Tristan Rosenfeldt
Sleepy enjoyment resumes at Headley
Old Cranleighans 242 for 6 dec (Chetwode 72, Russell 46, Wilkie 41*) drew with Headley 240 for 6Click here for match photos A lovely sleepy summer’s afternoon and a perfect antidote to the abomination resulting from poor captaincy 12 months earlier, the game going down to the last ball. Village cricket as it should be played. The OC hierarchy banished the captain of 2008 to Singapore and picked a side who would offer some va-va-voom. Michael Chetwode, drafted in after his Frogs game was cancelled hours before, volunteered to open with returning legend Peter Russell, and the pair added 110 in 11 overs. Russell, slightly tubbier but still a magnificently tanned sight for the ladies, oozed class after a rusty start. Chetwode also oozed something, but enough of that. He sliced, heaved and smote to great effect, aided by four dropped catches, and produced the shot of the day, a delightful eight iron which left a large dent in Rick Johnson’s car door. Sadly, no sooner had Chetwode’s thoughts started to flick back to his only career hundred, made on this same ground, than he played on for 72. Russell then started to open up with some beautiful drives and pulls before he suffered the same fate. Johnson, in some tight-fitting trousers (but aren’t they all) made 12 exclusively between point and third man, something Headley stifled with five men behind square on the off, while Steve Bailey made a typically idiosyncratic 34. Iain Wilkie, his remaining traces of hair now silver, started stiffly and got stiffer, but as the declaration loomed played some attacking shots which he would never have considered in his youth (or middle age) to finish on 41 not out. Headley set off at a pace, aided by Johnny Gates, who proclaimed at tea he could hold hard catches but not easy ones, proving the point by missing a succession of sitters. Just to underline the point he also fluffed a stumping or two. In fairness to him, the chairman, a specialist keeper in his slimmer youth, refused to keep as it interfered with his consumption of the excellent tea. It was tight all the way, Henry Watkinson using eight bowlers to spice up the chase. In the end Headley needed 13 off two overs with wickets in hand. Chetwode, ever reliant, was summoned and restricted the batsmen to three runs off the penultimate over. Watkinson then tossed the ball to Damion Hill, a spectator all day, for his first involvement, bowling the final over. With four needed off the last ball, a shot was launched into the deep where Johnson dropped it, but his bulk ensured there was no way the ball would or could pass him to the boundary. A draw and a thoroughly enjoyable game against a good hosts. Hopefully this ensures we will be invited back in 2010. As long as Tristan Rosenfeldt isn’t allowed to resume his captaincy. Labels: 2009 Season, Damien Hill, Henry Watkinson, Iain Wilkie, Mike Chetwode, Rick Johnson, Steve Bailey, Tristan Rosenfeldt
A win to end the tour
Click here for the day's photos The final match of the tour and the last chance for new but under-fire captain Eds Copleston to rescue his shredded reputation. The day started with a fascinating tour of one of South Africa’s biggest townships and from there moved on to the match. The intended venue at had, sadly, fallen victim to vandalism and looting and cricket there has all but died out. Nevertheless, we had an opposition, although our travelling support was issued with strict orders not to move from immediately in front of the pavilion … it seems the previous side had ignored this rule and had paid the price. We batted first and yet again our top order failed to fire, proof if it were needed that combining excessive alcohol and no sleep is no way to prepare for a game. Matt Crump made 23 but it wasn’t until Damian Hill thumped 29 and with Alex Craven and Mike Roper making late runs, we were able to post 152 for 8. Tristan Rosenfeldt’s tour came to an end when he was hit on the finger, his you-can-get-gloves-cheaply-in-Mumbai equipment offering as much protection as a meringue. He departed muttering “when will bloody India stop haunting me” only to reappear with a comedy bandage on his hand, more befitting someone who had trapped his hand in a machine. It seemed as if it would be four losses in four when we conceded 11 wides in the first five overs as the home side raced to 34 for 0. But then we suddenly found some bottle. Michael Chetwode restored some much-needed control and then part-time spinners Matt and Tom Crump and Alan Cope chipped away at the batting. There were still some glitches – Tom Crump managed an 11-ball over – and the odd dropped catch, but we still put ourselves in a winning position before some late jitters took the match almost to the wire. Cool heads prevailed and as the run-rate climbed, we grabbed the last two wickets and finally had our win on tour. Presentations followed – we waited to see if Copleston would use the same “this is the most beautiful ground we have played at” speech but even he realised that would be too much – which included handing over more Alive and Kicking footballs. A detour at a township bar – where the “barmaid” served from behind a Fort Knox-like system of grills – followed before we headed home. After a brief pit stop we headed to Newlands for the end-of-tour dinner in the chairman’s dining room. We took the group photo in the middle with Table Mountain in the background and headed inside. Within minutes we were back out on the square to have another group photo, this time including the Johnsons who, inevitably, were late. Not Rick’s fault. Obviously. The dinner was followed by closing fines and awards. The batsman of the tour was Damian Hill, the bowler Michael Chetwode, the fielder Tom Merry, and the overall Man of the Tour Keith Crump, whose uncomplaining good humour and ability to ignore the worst excesses of his sons was an example to all. A few late-tour arguments ended the evening, various pubs were visited and the last of the squad returned to the hotel at 10am, complete with lurid tales.  Labels: Alan Cope, Damien Hill, Eds Copleston, Matt Crump, Tom Crump, Tom Merry, Tristan Rosenfeldt, Zambia and South Africa tour 2009
Naps and appalling fines
An early-morning jaunt up Table Mountain ended before it began after we woke to a grey day with low cloud. Everyone headed back for a powernap before rising two hours later to head to a wine-tasting session followed by a picnic lunch in the hills. We got back about 4pm for a second powernap and then possibly the most idiotic fines session of the six OC tours to date. Tristan Rosenfeldt looked to add some spice to proceedings by offering a Play-Your-Cards-Right twist. The idea was that the victim picked a card and guessed whether the next card is higher or lower … if they guessed right then they could pick someone else to drink their fine for them. While that sounded fine on paper, what Rosie figured without was that almost everyone would guess correctly, and that they would all hand the fine back to him to drink. In short, within 15 minutes Rosenburg was a gibbering, alcohol-fuelled wreck. While Rosie ranted and dribbled, everyone else headed out to the Waterfront for a meal which involved copious quantities of cocktails, and from there to an Irish pub where the tour wheels really came off in spectacular style. One senior tour member who is old enough to know better returned home in a police car, given a lift rather than under arrest after being found wandering the streets of Cape Town. Labels: Tristan Rosenfeldt, Zambia and South Africa tour 2009
Three out of three
Click here for the day's photos By now under pressure after two defeats and with the resignation of another captain ringing in his ears, Eds Copleston promised changes and a new purpose for the game at Constantia Vitsig, a glorious little ground nestled in a vineyard. He even took those members of the XI who didn’t tell him where to stick it on a pre-match run. For 20 overs it seemed a corner had been turned only for us to run slap bang into a massive brick wall. One problem was that despite the youth and size of the squad, injuries were taking their toll and so we went into the match with four front-line bowlers and only one able to take anything more than a four-pace run-up. After a rollicking start, the guile of Chetwode, Cope and Matt Crump (reduced to bowling spin because of a detaching toenail that belonged in a museum of horrors) reduced Constantia to 98 for 5 in the 19th over. All was well. Except Eds was left without any of the four to bowl the last seven overs. Putting his faith in Langmead and Hill was a bold move that didn’t quite work as those overs yielded 109 runs. Langmead 4-0-58-1, Hill 3-0-50-0. Gray, Constantia’s opener, made an excellent 129*including nine sixes, as they posted 268 for 8. The talk at the break was of the need for a positive start, but we lost Rosenfeldt in the third over (although he did score his first run in five innings in South Africa) and by the end of the tenth over we were 30 for 3 with Cope and Matt Crump out. From then on it was only ever going to be a face-saving exercise. Copleston briefly sparked with 26, Gates played himself into some form with 25, Hill bludgeoned 30 and Langmead at the end made 38*, but it was another heavy defeat by 91 runs. After fines and the passing of Dick of the Day to Hill for his bowling, we dined at one of South Africa’s best restaurants where we managed to behave. For about half an hour. The napkins were knotted, the wine flowed and Chetwode muttered “don’t any of you know how to behave in a real restaurant” more than once. We were joined by the Johnsons who had decamped to a luxury villa on the estate for the remainder of their tour, a move which was widely condemned in public and envied in private. Labels: Damien Hill, Eds Copleston, Matt Crump, Mike Chetwode, Sam Langmead, Tristan Rosenfeldt, Zambia and South Africa tour 2009
Defeat under Table Mountain
Click here for the day's photos The second match of the tour took place at Western Province CC, a stunning ground situated under Table Mountain. The weather was glorious, and our hosts even went as far as handing us the toss on a plate (quite possibly the only thing Eds Copleston will win all tour). We started decently, Damian Hill’s idiosyncratic strokeplay contrasting and outscoring the more classy Alan Cope. Cope fell leg before to a Tom Merry instant decision, and thereafter we limped along, with only a stand of 63 for the fourth wicket between the Crumps enabling us to reach a half-decent total. The gamble of pushing the veterans Chetwode and Watkinson into the middle order to boost the scoring rate failed dismally. Copleston and Matt Crump scurried and swept at the end to help us reach moderate respectability. Between innings we were treated to a sight never before seen at an OC match as Chetwode warmed up with some painful and horribly stiff contortions. No matter that he needed help to get up afterwards, it showed excellent intent. Left to defend 160, we did make an early breakthrough when Watkinson won over the umpire with an obscenely long three-part screeching appeal. The ball was going down leg but no matter. It turned out to be our only success of the afternoon and our bowling was cut to ribbons and our fielding, increasing affected by sambuca Belgrano calls the previous night, became increasingly listless. WP Chairman’s XI romped home by nine wickets with almost eight overs to spare. A marvellous barbeque followed, showing up Rick’s efforts in terms of quantity and also timeliness, and fines then took place against the backdrop of sun setting next to Table Mountain. Rick, to widespread acclaim, took the Dick of the Day tie. The journey home, past houses with ubiquitous razor-wired walls and promises that they were protected by armed response units, was enlivened by a karaoke session, the highlight in quality being Mike Roper, in entertainment Hill’s Suggerhill Gang rap. The evening started full of promise but ended with the usual number of casualties. Despite warnings not to venture out after dark, Rick led the 4am walk home through the deserted streets to the hotel. Even the local thugs knew not to mess with a 5’4” puffball dressed in a hideous blazer. The one unanswered question was the whereabouts of the nominated 12th man during the game. Rosenfeldt was missing at the start on an almost inevitable burger hunt, but then spent the remainder of the day telling everyone within earshot about his regular bowel movements. Any sympathy from neutrals soon evaporated when it transpired that his problems started in Lusaka when his desire for meat took him on a 45-minute cab ride which finished in two chicken burgers from a street vendor. Labels: Damien Hill, Eds Copleston, Henry Watkinson, Matt Crump, Mike Chetwode, Rick Johnson, Tom Crump, Tristan Rosenfeldt, Zambia and South Africa tour 2009
Happy New Year!
Click here for the day's photos There can be few more unsuitable ways to prepare for a long hard night of partying than spending the day battling the Zambezi river during five hours of intense white water rafting. Copleston apart, this is what the majority of us did and it was exhilarating. In the stunning deep gorge in scorching sun we took on rapids with names such as the 'Washing Machine' and the 'Devils Daughter'. Flipping over in the middle of some grade 4 rapids and getting stuck under an upside down boat can be a little hairy. However fun was had by all. Minutes after arriving back at the hotel from the rafting trip we were departing for a more sedate form of water activity - a sunset cruise aboard an exclusively chartered boat with as much food and drink as we could consume. Floating alongside crocodiles and hippos wasn't going to stop an over 25's versus under 25's boat race. Some impressive downing from the young shavers Cope and Roper left it all for Rosenfeldt to do on the home straight but, despite pouring half of the bottle of beer down his front, he couldn't secure a win for the older crew. Following the boat trip we rocked up at the Waterfront Hotel for Livingstone's biggest party. Despite the rest of the party goers appearing to be under 18 to begin with, the cheap alcohol flowed and the crowd matured. An absolute cracker of a night ensued. Labels: Alan Cope, Eds Copleston, Mike Roper, Tristan Rosenfeldt, Zambia and South Africa tour 2009
Opening match washed out
 Boxing Day 2008 and the introduction of a throng of OC blazers brought some colour to the much maligned Terminal 5. Tristan Rosenfeldt was on hand to provide some last minute kit including the ‘vital’ tour underpants… The flight itself was fairly uneventful by previous standards. There was excitement at the announcement of the Gates’ engagement – until it was revealed that this was simply a ruse to get their hands on a glass of free champagne. The weather forecast on the flight was ‘good visibility but scattered showers’. The tour organisers wore worried expressions as we were actually greeted by fog, low cloud and torrential rain. It took an age for the baggage to arrive and unfortunately for the youngest of the Crump clan he is still waiting… Our exclusive coach took the scenic route from the airport stopping at the wrong Protea hotel. With the Twenty20 match not due to start until the afternoon the opportunity for a couple of hours sleep was welcomed by all except Ed and Eds who were dispatched to inspect the pitch. The pitch inspection was coupled with a press conference with our chaps fielding questions from the local press, flanked by the Zambian Cricket bigwigs. On their return it was disappointing but not surprising to learn that the Twenty20 had been rained off. However we did take the opportunity to get out of the hotel and run a coaching session for about 20 youngsters. Cricket training sessions were followed by some touch rugby, football and some beers. It was great to see the enthusiasm of the young Zambians and no shortage of skill too. The press were in attendance again – Ed and Eds by now local celebrities. The nine tour virgins were ‘welcomed’ at the traditional fines session, Matt Crump the proud recipient of the dick of the day cravat, before we went off for some splendid steaks at the Lusaka Country Club. It was then back to the ‘Arcade’ that backs on to the hotel to sample the local nightlife, and try to get to grips with being a cash millionaire in Kwacha . A busy start then, and we must hope that the ground dries up enough for cricket tomorrow. Labels: Ed Henderson, Eds Copleston, Matt Crump, Tristan Rosenfeldt, Zambia and South Africa tour 2009
Henderson plunders, Rosenfeldt eats
OCs 189 for 8 (Rosenfeldt 56, Henderson 53*) lost to Frogs 191 for 4 by six wickets At 5pm on the day before the game we had eight players and no catering arrangements in place for Sunday's game against the Frogs. A thought shower and no little blue sky thinking later we had 11 men and a car boot full of economy meat and salad. Adam Takla and Dave Shapland came in for their OC debuts whilst Ed Henderson and Tristan Rosenfeldt scuttled off home to prepare some salads for the BBQ (green for the former, potato for the latter... under his mother's supervision). Sunday was a fine day and and it was a pleasure to welcome Rob Warbuton as captain of the opposition. Rosenfeldt arranged for us to bat first so that we could prepare the BBQ and Warburton cleverly arranged for there to be no ten-over limit per bowler in the fifty-over match. Johnny Gates composed an elegant 9 until he was shot out by an umpire keen to get into the action. Damian Hill butchered a quick twenty, Shapland didn't hang around and Tom Merry, still mentally in Infernos where he had been the previous night, thought he could steal a quick single. Rosenfeldt was at the other end and quite simply wasn't having any of it. Henderson, flagrantly disobeying doctors orders not to aggravate his foot, came in at the allrounders position of No. 6 and scratched around for an unbeaten half century, his maiden for the club. A total of 180 in 50 overs wasn't enough but it was at least something and, given the relative weakness of the batting, was a decent effort. Early wickets were required but not forthcoming. A Paul Vickersesque left hander wiped several ugly boundaries despite craven bowling with impressive control. Henderson claimed his first wicket as an off spinner and Hardy-King bowled with pace and aggression but the result was never in doubt. The Frogs won by six wickets with 10 overs to spare. Labels: 2008 Season, Damien Hill, Ed Henderson, Johnny Gates, Tom Merry, Tristan Rosenfeldt
Season ends with a win at Elstead
OCs 256 for 9 (Johnson 63, Watkinson 38, Cope 29, Gates 24*, Henderson 22) beat Elstead 166 (Boxhall 30, Crump T 2-7, Williamson 2-16) by 90 runs We finished our season with an emphatic 90-run win at Elstead, a new fixture and a pleasant way to complete a most successful summer. A record of 12 wins, two draws and the one defeat is probably the best in the club’s 118-year history. Click here for the full report. Labels: 2007 Season, Alan Cope, Henry Watkinson, Jock Vickers, Johnny Gates, Martin Williamson, Matt Crump, Rick Johnson, Steve Bailey, Tom Crump, Tristan Rosenfeldt
South Africa 2009 the next tour?
The new era of OC touring began last night at The Angel in Thames Ditton when Tristan Rosenfeldt, Rob Merry and Ed Henderson agreed to succed Rick Johnson and Martin Williamson as tour organisers. A long discussion about destinations ensued and the happy trio went to away to examine the possibilities. The favourite is a two-week jaunt to South Africa, with a shorter trip to Dubai the alternative. Damian Hill suggested Devon. Prices, availability and interest is being researched and a more concrete proposal will be circulated to all the club shortly. In the meantime, contact Tristan, Rob or Ed for more information. Labels: Ed Henderson, Rob Merry, tours, Tristan Rosenfeldt, Zambia and South Africa tour 2009
Rosenfeldt's night of shame
 Tristan Rosenfeldt’s already precarious bid for the OCCC captaincy was all but ended in 48 hours last week. On Friday, he was forced to cancel a match against Cryptics when he only managed to get seven players … a good achievement when Henry Watkinson had given him eight four days earlier. But Rosenfeldt’s antics on the Saturday were beyond description. Attending a fairly up-market marquee party, Rosenfeldt, in party mode while on gardening leave, proved when everyone who went to India already knew, that he cannot hold his drink. He started dressed, but before long was topless on the dance floor, inviting any unsuspecting passing female to “have a grab” and insisting “when you’ve had fat, you never go back”. Things took a turn for the worse when, after an hour or more of this, he bumped into the same person for a third time. For some reason this partygoer took exception to Rosenfeldt’s incoherence and thumped him and the big man went down like Frank Bruno. He recovered, but by now things were heating up. He aimed a retaliatory swing, missed, and his attacker did likewise and also missed … but, unfortunately, connected with the jaw of a passing girl. Suffice to say a melee ensued and the brawling heap, for by this stage Rosenfeldt’s friends had waded in, were all ejected, but not before Rosenfeldt completed his evening of shame by throwing up on the host’s lawn.  Labels: Tristan Rosenfeldt
Rosenfeldt leads youthful CWT side
For the first time in the club’s history, we will be playing two cup matches on the same day. While the senior side travel to Old Cholmelians in the Cricket Cup second round on Sunday, June 24, Tristan Rosenfeldt leads an A team against Old Georgians in the second round of the Cricket World Trophy. The side for that game, which starts at 11.00am on Jubilee, is as follows: Tristan Rosenfeldt (capt), Graeme Brown, Tom Crump, Jonny Gates, Damien Hill, Jumbo Jupp, Sam Langmead, Rob Merry, Mike Roper, Phil Roper, Seren Waters. The great thing is that the XI is young, with Brown the veteran at 29 and Rosenfeldt the second oldest (and by far the baldest) at 24. “As you can see this is a very youthful looking side and also one packed with quality,” said Rosenburg. “Many of us have played together but it will also be good to play with some of you guys for the first time, and I think this so called ‘Development Side’ really emphasises the strength in depth of talent the club has. I am very much looking forward to captaining this side. “I am sure you all know, the Cricketer Cup side is playing on the same day hence the selection of this side. This game gives the opportunity for us all to play competitive cup cricket for the OC’s but also gives a platform to many of you to prove your worth and to start knocking on the door of Cricketer Cup selection, let’s give Henry and the selection committee some real headaches for future cup team selection.” Labels: 2007 Season, Cricket World Trophy, Damien Hill, Graeme Brown, Johnny Gates, Jumbo Jupp, Mike Roper, Phil Roper, Rob Merry, Sam Langmead, Seren Waters, Tom Crump, Tristan Rosenfeldt
Rosenfeldt puffs as we come up short at Esher
Esher 239 (50.5 overs - Tallent 73, Moores 49, Porter 4-40, Chetwode 2-47, Copleston 2-50) drew with Old Cranleighans 232 for 6 (44 overs – Gates 61, Merry 58, Copleston 53, Ahmed 2-45) Fresh from back-to-back wins the previous weekend under Henry Watkinson, the captaincy was handed to Tristan Rosenfeldt. After listening to his self-promotion while we trekked across India, it was time for the big man to show everyone whether he was all hot air. Signs that it was came when he immediately announced it was “without doubt a prouder moment than my future wedding or first-born’s birth will be”. On a pitch in wonderful condition, Esher won the toss and confidently decided to bat. With one short boundary and a lush outfield, it certainly looked a day for the batsmen. This was proved to be the case when after 27 overs of the new regime, with the skipper relying on Mike Chetwode and Alex Craven to get the early wicket, Esher were trundling along comfortably on 117 for 0. This score certainly did not reflect the quality of bowling, but emphasised the woeful fielding. The absence of Damien Hill (who stumbled out of a Clapham nightclub the night before and no doubt made a few 3 or 4am phone calls to certain female members of the OCCC India tour before eventually hitting the sack) from the field for the first hour didn’t help. Johnny Gates, a man with a burgeoning reputation for not being able to catch a cold, shelled two in as many overs to take his season’s tally of drops to four, much to Chetwode’s amusement. Chetwode bowled his usual tight line, a perfect example to many of the youngsters playing and was unlucky not to have a better haul to his name. The breakthrough came when Moores was caught behind by Rob Merry, via the back of the bat as he shaped to sweep Hill. It was at this point that Chris Porter came into the attack. Taking just a few balls to get into his stride, he took his first wicket of the day in his second over with a ball that jumped … cue wild celebrations and a Porter clenched fist.  It was a renewed buzz and atmosphere around the field that greeted Sohail Ahmed (one unnamed OC, finding out he was a Pakistani Academy player, chirping “well, you’re gonna be embarrassed when you get a duck”). It is his third season at Esher and he has no doubt adapted to Surrey life wonderfully, and promptly got off the mark with a well struck six. However, life at the Academy had in no way prepared him for Eds Copleston. Having been found out on the turning wickets of the subcontinent as a man who offers no spin at all, Copleston and Porter become our very own Warne and MacGill. After being smacked for 10 in his first over, Copleston deceived Sohail with a cleverly flighted, slower, held-back delivery that dropped marginally short of the man at wide mid-on. He was clearly flustered, and Porter immediately picked him off, caught well at deep mid-on by Chetwode, exorcising the demons of the week before and his knuckle staying firmly within his skin. This started a mini collapse. Copleston took a slip catch to remove Esher opener Tallent for a well made 73. Trusty, in only his 2nd game for us and a tennis player at school, showed his cricketing credentials with some solid ground fielding and topped off an outfielding performance with a well-judged catch in the covers … the same, however, couldn’t be said for Mark Shapland, who shelled an easy enough chance to deny Porter his first five-for for the club. The stares exchanged between them were reminiscent of the times Mark failed to deliver the bread and milk within three minutes of the break time bell going. A definite no-no. Porter bowled well throughout and ended up with 4 for 40. Copleston picked up two wickets for his efforts, Rob Merry with some sharp glovework to get a stumping and Eds bowling the one that went “straight on” (the variation in action so very hard for the naked eye to pick up on). It was down to Craven and Chetwode to come back and polish off the tail with, backed up well with some good catching in the outfield, particularly from Jon Greeves, university housemate of Hill (the man who joined in the fielding banter with a scream of the name ‘Michael Jackson’, we still don’t know why). Between innings the teams trudged off for a wonderful BBQ and a couple of well-earned drinks.  Gates walked out purposefully - and full of chicken, steak and several sausages - to open the innings with Shapland, both being given a chance to make up for their dropped catches. Gates started well, looking solid in defence. This lasted all of four balls when Gates tentatively prodded one to mid-on and backing it up with a call of “Yes … no … wait ... no … yes … shit” which left Shapland run out without facing a ball. Shapland joined Sam Langmead as early-season victims of Gates’s calling. Rob Merry, batting at No. 3, started his innings without the same fluidity he had the previous week, playing and missing at a few outside off stump, the run rate slowly rising. Gates on the other hand looked like a man with a point to prove, driving beautifully through the off and tucking away delicately off his legs. Merry found his touch, hitting two big sixes to overtake Gates and record his second consecutive fifty off 65 balls, including four fours in six balls. He was bowled, bringing Porter to the crease. He eased himself back into batting with a couple of solid fours before yorking himself with some poor foot movement. At the start of the last 20 we were 116 for 3, 124 needed. Copleston kept us up with the run rate as Gates reached only his second OC fifty off 77 balls in a flurry of boundaries, before losing his head and being stumped for 61. Copleston then took charge of the chase, running between the wickets like a man possessed and making a run-a-ball fifty, even though Esher were leaning heavily on Sohail who was tough to get away. Hill did a fine job in rotating the strike and proved to all that he can do a role at different times of the innings, particularly finding the straight boundary. When Hill departed, sharply caught behind when trying to force one through the off, the game was evenly poised, but it turned when Sohail had Copleston caught superbly by Ahmed at deep mid-off for a well constructed 53. Twenty off two overs was never going to be easy and the pedestrian Rosenfeldt and Greeves struggled to get the bowling away, not for lack of trying. Rosenfeldt, who perseveres with an over-tight shirt as if wearing it will defy the laws of calorific intake, showed his worth when he pulled a buttock muscle while swishing – in a John Inman manner – and missing. It rounded off a wretched day for the would-be skipper, but underlined he has the swollen ego and lack of fitness that the job demands. We finished eight light but it was a great early-season game and at least Rosenfeldt avoided the humiliation of squandering our unbeaten record.  Labels: 2007 Season, Alex Craven, Chris Porter, Damien Hill, Eds Copleston, Johnny Gates, Mark Shapland, Mike Chetwode, Rob Merry, Tristan Rosenfeldt
| 
| |