JP: Where's Steph? I need to see her
Steph's Assistant (SA): Moscow
JP: (looking puzzled)
SA: It's in Russia. Or what used to be called the Soviet Union
JP: Yes, I know where Moscow is thank you. Client work I take it?
SA: Well she is with a client. At the football....
JP: WHAT?
SA: Y'know - Sony. They sponsor the Champions League. Or is that Playstation? Anyway - they gave her a ticket. A Big Corporate Do. Flights, hotel, everything. Didn't she mention it?
JP: What, mention it to the Chelsea-Supporting-SPA Chairman? Oh I doubt that very much. Can you get her on her Blackberry? Tad urgent
(some minutes later)
Steph: (tipsy) Hi JP
JP: How and why? Leave out no details. No matter how small
Steph: A ticket came up and they invited me. I thought you were going with ITV?
JP: No...
Steph: Or with Sky?
JP: Nope
(silence)
Steph: I have bought you a commemorative scarf...
JP: So I'm here and you're there. In some other world this would make perfect sense
Steph: It's really raining here
JP: Oh well, that's okay then. Glad I'm not there getting wet on the night of the biggest game of my life
Steph (sniggering) You said that as if you were playing
JP: Well enjoy it. And don't worry at all about the 5pm meeting I have scheduled in with you this Friday..
Steph: (laughing) I've just met Fabio Cappello
JP: Bye Steph
Welcome to Captain's Blog. It's been that kind of week. No ticket. And my team lose due to a slip up by their skipper (I know the feeling). And if that isn't arse-ache enough I get double arse ache with the colonic irrigation I have done on Friday (it works by the way - have lost 4 lbs in weight and 2 inches around my gut so up yours Steve Oakey). And Clint has called me about a 1000 times this week about the Sunday side. And what with Ed' foot surgery I so needed a nice friendly cricket match to set me straight.
Which never happened either. We played a cricket match but it wasn't that friendly. Should have been. Could have been. But wasn't. We welcomed Eastwoods from Leigh-on-Sea as our conference fixture and they were nice enough - bit of a rag bag bunch but then so are we. Their hobbit-sized skipper Mark was okay but they... kinda looked like they didn't know each other. Most odd. I lost the toss and Mark inserted and we made 225 thanks to contributions from everyone notably Jamie for another half century and Stevie who got 30-odd opening which was his first bat of the season. That was a good score. So far, so nice.
It all changed after tea (excellent effort on the tea-front JW- Waitrose indeed and freshly made) when they started their innings. Their opener, a small, elf like creature called "Mr Mole" (thanks to Angus for that) nicked one in the first over. Outside off stump, didn't move his fee. Bat miles away from his body. But a definite edged. We all heard it (I heard it a wide mid on!). Did he walk? No sir. Did his team mate who was umpiring raise his finger? No sir. WHAT! How can he stand there when he knew and we knew (and he knew we knew) he'd edged it to Angus?
My blood was up a bit. I know its just a friendly game of village cricket but as Mike said, that's exactly the point. So I instruct Charley to bowl full pelt. We get the other opener out 2nd over with a yorker that smacks the batsman's boot. He literally hobbles back to his hutch. And... they make 151 before Charley gets the last wicket with 20 balls to go. Justice.
Everyone bowled very well, notably Jamie and Charley (a 3-fer each), Paul (2 wickets) and even the spinning skipper got in on the act (and I won't even mention the two dropped catches off my bowling, one of them by my new bessie mate Panther.......).
Man of the Match: Charley - for a great spell of controlled, aggressive bowling, 3 wickets, some runs and a fantastic diving catch at mid off. And he's only 15.
Champagne Moment: Charley's catch
Mug of the Match Moment: How many times has Angus featured in this? This time, with their batsman stranded down the other end he catches the fielder's throw only to miss the easiest stumping in the world by 'throwing the ball out of his gloves' as he attempts the stumping. Unbelievable. Well, not if you know Angus.
So, win number 2. And how did the skipper fare? Well, putting Steve in to open when he arrived so he didn't have time to think about it was not a bad decision, and setting Charley a batting target of 25 to give his something to focus on rather than worrying about getting out was fairly simple psychology (he made 18). And moving Steve to square leg where he took his catch off my bowling. All good stuff. But with 12 overs remaining we needed 6 wickets. Then 5 in 10. Then 4 in 7. It was our ability to close the game out and help get the team believing we could do it that I was most pleased with. We really deserved that victory and it would have been a travesty if we had let them off the hook. WELL DONE EVERYONE. And thanks to Ali for getting me to change my mind and get Charley to bowl straight at the death. Lives and learns - cheers matey.
Some of their players shook our hands but most didn't bother. I made a point of shaking Mark's hand regardless and the hand of their number 4 bat who made 50 when he was walking back to the pavilion because he played well and in the right spirit. That's the Canfield way. They left pretty quickly. Clint - not a team to have back I fancy.
Next week (rain permitting) we are at home to Flitch Pilgrims - the ex-Felstead public schoolboys who gave us a right bloody nose last year. Nice bunch they are but also damn fine players. Let's see if we can give them a game.
Have a great week everyone and well played one and all. We're back. I'm back. And look, so is Steph (with a scarf AND match programme). Glad I never made it in the end.
Laters
Preacherman
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