Eastwood, Notts 16th September 2001
Weather : Windy, showery, sunny. Typical September.
Paul lost the toss and we bowled.
The day dawned bright and clear which is more than a lot of heads did after the pre dinner dinner at the Panda the night before. Still not sure about the logic behind that, although it was never going to be as bad as the "wine tasting while we were batting" at Retford last year, was it?
We took a good side, including the dark destroyer, Dave Hibbert. Eastwood put out a good side too. The pitch looked a bit green and squidgy, but its usually a bit of a flat track.......
Alec and Andy to start us off against a strong Eastwood batting line up, and very well they bowled too. An early wicket and good line and length restricted Eastwood, but the acceleration came when the first change came. Dean (our man on the inside had said that certain batsmen weren't playing too well (he hit 60 odd) and that it was a nice batting track (see below). Dean (who came on to cries from his Saturday mates of "Look, the off spinners coming on!") and Smudge copped for some stick, as did Rob. 6 overs of Rob and Smudge cost 48. Ouch. Dean was hot and cold at the other end, one memorable cold bit being seeing him lifted for 6 into some poor unsuspecting garden shed not a hundred yards away. Not very often he gets hit for 6. Once the second wicket feel (step right up, skip) we dug in and did pretty well to restrict them to 228. Never mind, good batting, nice track (according to Dean), off we go.
Normal service was resumed as Steve opened the batting and after 1 ball we were 4 for 0. However Steve fell quickly (the disappointment of an average only in the 70s must be terrible) and Crossy for 30 ish, bringing Jamie and Dave Hibbert together. Whilst its fair to say there were some lusty blows and lots of boundaries, there were also times when an arthritic snail could have made 2, and not a single, out of some of the shots, however I should not chastise the Cripple Brothers, as that's where I may be going.... And lets face it, Dave is a lot bigger than any of us. After they were broken up, wickets fell quite regularly and the pitch started to do quite nasty things only previously hinted at. Dave got one on the shoulder, Rob one just under the heart, and Smudge a nice blow to the wrist. At the end, we only fell about 40 short, but short nonetheless. As the last ball was bowled it started raining. A poetic end to the season. Mention must go to Birdy for the biggest hit of the season that's been caught out on the boundary. If he'd have hit it square not straight, it would have been 6 whilst still rising.
The honours at the end went to Steve Gaunt for batting and Alec for bowling (and I don't think anyone would disagree with that). Also, this was Paul's last game in charge, as he's going to stand down as skipper for next year (he'll still be playing though). Far be it for me to say anything, but I'm sure I speak for all the team in wishing him all the best in his captaincy retirement and thanks for everything he's done for the team, over the last God knows how long. Its been a pleasure. More of that at the do I'm sure.
Eastwood 228-6 (40 overs)
DCC 185 ish (40 overs)