Hullbridge v Little Baddow Cricket Club Saturday 2nd XI on Sat 19 Aug 2006 at 1.30pm
Little Baddow Cricket Club Lost 97 Runs
For the first time in god knows how long the skipper wins the toss and invites the opposition to make first use of a rather cracked looking wicket. Glenda strikes in the first over of the match, much to the opener's surprise. The Predator then gets in on the act to see off the dangerous Oxley with a blinding catch to the Welshman behind the stumps (yes Keith really was keeping wicket), and shortly after takes another wicket to leave the oppo in some peril, nice catch to the Silver Fox. Hullbridge manage to consolidate over the next 20 overs, as their skipper decides to use his pad more than his bat and Glenda is his usual frugal self. The Edge eventually gets rid of their skipper when he does use his bat with a catch to the Chef and then the Silver Fox comes on to trap the big hitting Shepherd plumb in front with a peach of a delivery. Casting his eye around the field for a slow and econoimical bowler the Edge throws the ball to Big Dog for his first bowl of the year, this proves a master stroke as Big Dog takes 2 wickets from his 5 overs at the death and then the Edge himself finishes off the Hullbridge innings with an over to spare.
After an exceptional tea with not one, not two, not three but four different varieties of homemade cake the Welshman and Big Dog get on with the run chase. Things progress nicely until the Welshman offers a return catch to Taylor and then Big Dog goes to a blinding catch from their skipper. The Chef plays some big shots before holing out and Alex falls unluckily to a catch that hits their wicky and then rebounds to slip. The Edge is caught plumb in front for a blob before the Sliver Fox and the Predator offer some resistance before they are both bowled to leave us 86 all out. A disappointing batting performance with a number of us getting a start but failing to go on to make a sizeable score.
The most disappointing and rather embarrassing aspect of the day is the fact that we are only able to muster 8 players for a league fixture, this comes on top of having only 10 for the previous 2 fixtures. While holidays take away a good number of players, with our place in Div 5 guaranteed for another year these last few fixtures provide the perfect opportunity for the youth to come in to gain some much needed experience. The club as a whole really needs to ask itself if it can support 4 teams on a weekend and why is the youth so reluctant to come and play league cricket? A sad day indeed!
Little Baddow Cricket Club Saturday 2nd XI Batting
86 for 7
Hullbridge Bowling
Hullbridge Batting
183 for 9
Little Baddow Cricket Club Saturday 2nd XI Bowling