The Official 2013 Village Cricket Thread...
Discussion
Interesting game on Sat. Away to team lying 2nd, we're 4th.
2 late dropouts meant we went with 9 men FFS.
Lost toss, invited to field on an absolute road in about 30 degrees, nice darts.
Somehow we bowled them out for 175, one of our blokes took 5 for 26, blinding effort. I can't bowl at the moment, Achilles problem.
I opened and hit 3 long hops for 4 in the first over. End of 2nd over we`re 14 for 2, I`ve got all of them.
Our skip came in and started whacking it around and we put on 110 until he was caught for 76, so we're now 124 for 3 but with only 9 men we're 5 down really. I'm on 42.
I then stand and watch the next 5 wickets fall for 10 runs and our last man comes in at 134 for 7.
He blocked it whilst I just cut loose and with some huge slices of luck along the way, he edged the winning run to end on 3 not out and I was 83 not out having hit 37 in our last wicket partnership of 42. Won by 1 wicket.
They were as sick as goats, we were reasonably happy and got pissed.
2 late dropouts meant we went with 9 men FFS.
Lost toss, invited to field on an absolute road in about 30 degrees, nice darts.
Somehow we bowled them out for 175, one of our blokes took 5 for 26, blinding effort. I can't bowl at the moment, Achilles problem.
I opened and hit 3 long hops for 4 in the first over. End of 2nd over we`re 14 for 2, I`ve got all of them.
Our skip came in and started whacking it around and we put on 110 until he was caught for 76, so we're now 124 for 3 but with only 9 men we're 5 down really. I'm on 42.
I then stand and watch the next 5 wickets fall for 10 runs and our last man comes in at 134 for 7.
He blocked it whilst I just cut loose and with some huge slices of luck along the way, he edged the winning run to end on 3 not out and I was 83 not out having hit 37 in our last wicket partnership of 42. Won by 1 wicket.
They were as sick as goats, we were reasonably happy and got pissed.
REASONABLY!?
I'd have been ecstatic ...
These games do come along like this - up against the odds, bowling first on a track straighter and truer than a Fen road. Nine players etc ... including one bloke invariable wearing trainers .
We wanted 105 many years ago to beat the League leaders, but fell apart from 80-4 or something and were bowled out for 98 if I recall. Gutted doesn't even cover it ...
Enjoy those wins as when they do happen, they are much, much more enjoyable! Good knock too Hammer!
I'd have been ecstatic ...
These games do come along like this - up against the odds, bowling first on a track straighter and truer than a Fen road. Nine players etc ... including one bloke invariable wearing trainers .
We wanted 105 many years ago to beat the League leaders, but fell apart from 80-4 or something and were bowled out for 98 if I recall. Gutted doesn't even cover it ...
Enjoy those wins as when they do happen, they are much, much more enjoyable! Good knock too Hammer!
Great effort Hammer , good win, amazing last wicket stand 
Lots of people seem to be struggling with one form of leg / foot pain this year, the hard ground I assume?
Now been out for 6 weeks myself, first Achilles then leg pains, got an MRI tomorrow to see what is going on in my back, as the expert says its a neural problem.
Lots of people seem to be struggling with one form of leg / foot pain this year, the hard ground I assume?
Now been out for 6 weeks myself, first Achilles then leg pains, got an MRI tomorrow to see what is going on in my back, as the expert says its a neural problem.
Cheers chaps. When I said reasonably happy, was somewhat understating it, we all went nuts at the end.
When the 7th wicket fell they were all giving it large in my ear, was very sweet looking them all in the eyes shaking hands at the end. They couldn't believe they'd lost.
Truth is our bloke who took 5fer won it, without that they would have posted a score we wouldn't have got close to.
Yes busa my heel is very sore caused by bowling too much on rock hard wickets, age doesn't help much either.
Still, very proud of myself for Sat, makes all the gym work in the winter worthwhile.
When the 7th wicket fell they were all giving it large in my ear, was very sweet looking them all in the eyes shaking hands at the end. They couldn't believe they'd lost.
Truth is our bloke who took 5fer won it, without that they would have posted a score we wouldn't have got close to.
Yes busa my heel is very sore caused by bowling too much on rock hard wickets, age doesn't help much either.
Still, very proud of myself for Sat, makes all the gym work in the winter worthwhile.
Some years ago I used to play in a midweek work league, quite friendly and fun. Our skipper, a senior English gent, used to shout, 'Man in!' everytime a new batsman comes to the crease after a wicket and we were all expected to clap him( or her sometimes) in.
Does this 'tradition' still go on in village cricket?
Still have all my old kit, keep popping up in my local ground to watch a game on a Saturday/Sunday afternoon and get the itch to start playing again, join a club properly this time.
Does this 'tradition' still go on in village cricket?
Still have all my old kit, keep popping up in my local ground to watch a game on a Saturday/Sunday afternoon and get the itch to start playing again, join a club properly this time.
Dr Z said:
Some years ago I used to play in a midweek work league, quite friendly and fun. Our skipper, a senior English gent, used to shout, 'Man in!' everytime a new batsman comes to the crease after a wicket and we were all expected to clap him( or her sometimes) in.
Does this 'tradition' still go on in village cricket?
Still have all my old kit, keep popping up in my local ground to watch a game on a Saturday/Sunday afternoon and get the itch to start playing again, join a club properly this time.
In my experience this still happens in yer akchul village games, certainly doesn't in the Kent League where you're more likely to get sledged by some upstart 17 year old who has been watching too many DVDs of Australians. Does this 'tradition' still go on in village cricket?
Still have all my old kit, keep popping up in my local ground to watch a game on a Saturday/Sunday afternoon and get the itch to start playing again, join a club properly this time.
Hammer67 said:
Dr Z said:
Some years ago I used to play in a midweek work league, quite friendly and fun. Our skipper, a senior English gent, used to shout, 'Man in!' everytime a new batsman comes to the crease after a wicket and we were all expected to clap him( or her sometimes) in.
Does this 'tradition' still go on in village cricket?
Still have all my old kit, keep popping up in my local ground to watch a game on a Saturday/Sunday afternoon and get the itch to start playing again, join a club properly this time.
In my experience this still happens in yer akchul village games, certainly doesn't in the Kent League where you're more likely to get sledged by some upstart 17 year old who has been watching too many DVDs of Australians. Does this 'tradition' still go on in village cricket?
Still have all my old kit, keep popping up in my local ground to watch a game on a Saturday/Sunday afternoon and get the itch to start playing again, join a club properly this time.
How we loved that from the boundary edge ...
Glad it's something that goes on still, 'cause very few teams we played against did that to us at the time, I'm talking around 9 years ago.
Have you had rivalries with particular players from other teams? Let's have some anecdotes!
I'm a bowler and very happy to bat 10 or 11. I could hold a bat and liked blocking and pretending I'm in a test match to save the game, but don't want the team to think I can score runs (as I can't), so always volunteered to bat last.
Our team was pretty much bottom feeder in the league and other teams came to play us in the knowledge that they are going to win no matter what, such was our propensity to snatch defeat. However, since I started playing with them (was a young man then), it injected a bit of youth in to the side and I quickly became the strike bowler, bowling along side our best player (who therefore opened the batting and bowling!
). I wasn't very quick at all but could hold a decent line and length, and tried to hit the seam. Picked up a few things being around guys who took their cricket much more seriously, tagging along to their club net sessions, bowling with them and if I'm lucky got a bat.
There was a batsman in one of our opposition teams old enough to be my dad, whom I enjoyed bowling to. At the level I played you could quickly work out if a batsman is good by their offside play. You very rarely got batters who could drive in front of square on the offside. Most batters you bowl at the 6th stump and you can keep them guessing and quiet. This guy was different.
I bowled my usual 'stock' ball and he sent it screaming between point and cover a couple of times. Not pleased. He took a guard that showed all three stumps, tempting you to bowl at the stumps. No footwork to speak of, but had very quick hands and always managed to whip it to the onside if you tried to bowl at the stumps. Very frustrating.
Managed to work it out in that match that I needed to move around in the crease for every ball to keep him guessing and not give him any width. From then on I managed to keep him quiet as he struggled with the variations in the angles that cramped him for room. Win! Never got him out though.
I'll share a different encounter. Another one of our opposition teams had a player who was their best batsman and bowler, and their youngest one to boot. He was a bit cocky and doesn't mind to bounce a batter playing without protection. It's hard enough to get the ball to bounce that far in the kind of pitches we played in, he actually does it and likes to intimidate. We were losing that match and I must have gone in at 10. This guy was bowling and I decide to have some mischief to annoy him (bad idea!). I was wearing protection so I wasn't worried.
First ball I face, he bowled a slow ball with an action so obvious that I picked it so early. He must have meant it to be one of those looping yorker but it reached me as a full bunger. I sent it right back behind him for a boundary. Could tell he wasn't pleased as no one had hit him for a boundary in the match. Next ball, I decide to take a couple of steps down the wicket early enough for him to see me (again bad move!), he dropped it short and it was quick. Before I could go halfway through the pull, the ball crashed in to my face/helmet grill. Now the juices are really going! He comes towards me in his follow through and says, 'Don't you dare walk down to me!' Boy, now I'm really going! Next one, full, fast and gun barrel straight. I missed, he hit, I was out plumb LBW. That was fun!
We did manage to go all the way in the league once though, and I scored the winning run. The perennial bottom feeders winning the league. It was very dark, 1 wicket remaining, 2 balls and 1 run to win. A slow bowler was on, I missed it, it missed the stumps and the keeper missed it too. We ran a bye and won. Great memories.
Have you had rivalries with particular players from other teams? Let's have some anecdotes!
I'm a bowler and very happy to bat 10 or 11. I could hold a bat and liked blocking and pretending I'm in a test match to save the game, but don't want the team to think I can score runs (as I can't), so always volunteered to bat last.
Our team was pretty much bottom feeder in the league and other teams came to play us in the knowledge that they are going to win no matter what, such was our propensity to snatch defeat. However, since I started playing with them (was a young man then), it injected a bit of youth in to the side and I quickly became the strike bowler, bowling along side our best player (who therefore opened the batting and bowling!
). I wasn't very quick at all but could hold a decent line and length, and tried to hit the seam. Picked up a few things being around guys who took their cricket much more seriously, tagging along to their club net sessions, bowling with them and if I'm lucky got a bat. There was a batsman in one of our opposition teams old enough to be my dad, whom I enjoyed bowling to. At the level I played you could quickly work out if a batsman is good by their offside play. You very rarely got batters who could drive in front of square on the offside. Most batters you bowl at the 6th stump and you can keep them guessing and quiet. This guy was different.
I bowled my usual 'stock' ball and he sent it screaming between point and cover a couple of times. Not pleased. He took a guard that showed all three stumps, tempting you to bowl at the stumps. No footwork to speak of, but had very quick hands and always managed to whip it to the onside if you tried to bowl at the stumps. Very frustrating.
Managed to work it out in that match that I needed to move around in the crease for every ball to keep him guessing and not give him any width. From then on I managed to keep him quiet as he struggled with the variations in the angles that cramped him for room. Win! Never got him out though.
I'll share a different encounter. Another one of our opposition teams had a player who was their best batsman and bowler, and their youngest one to boot. He was a bit cocky and doesn't mind to bounce a batter playing without protection. It's hard enough to get the ball to bounce that far in the kind of pitches we played in, he actually does it and likes to intimidate. We were losing that match and I must have gone in at 10. This guy was bowling and I decide to have some mischief to annoy him (bad idea!). I was wearing protection so I wasn't worried.
First ball I face, he bowled a slow ball with an action so obvious that I picked it so early. He must have meant it to be one of those looping yorker but it reached me as a full bunger. I sent it right back behind him for a boundary. Could tell he wasn't pleased as no one had hit him for a boundary in the match. Next ball, I decide to take a couple of steps down the wicket early enough for him to see me (again bad move!), he dropped it short and it was quick. Before I could go halfway through the pull, the ball crashed in to my face/helmet grill. Now the juices are really going! He comes towards me in his follow through and says, 'Don't you dare walk down to me!' Boy, now I'm really going! Next one, full, fast and gun barrel straight. I missed, he hit, I was out plumb LBW. That was fun!
We did manage to go all the way in the league once though, and I scored the winning run. The perennial bottom feeders winning the league. It was very dark, 1 wicket remaining, 2 balls and 1 run to win. A slow bowler was on, I missed it, it missed the stumps and the keeper missed it too. We ran a bye and won. Great memories.
Good stuff Dr Z, it must be great to bowl and get a bat - I never did them both in a match - well once, in a sixes comp when I had no choice, and got carted for about 30 in my over, dropped their best player on the boundary and then scored single figures as we got hammered so not my best hour playing cricket ... !
As you get older and move up playing a better standard you can tell the better players as they just hit the ball so much harder ... we played against a decent village side who had an opener who I later found out could have played at least county standard if circumstances had been different. He coated along to about 40 off about 100 balls, without ever once looking that great, although his technique was superb.
In the last 15 overs he just went berserk and it was was just too easy for him ... I was at long off and the ball just kept going over my head into the car park.
I think he was undefeated on 160 or something daft ... different class entirely and a nice guy as well.
This was the same ground where I was fielding at a deep midwicket on a boiling hot day in front of a low wall - no-one about etc ... when from nowhere a bloke appeared with a barn owl on his arm ... I was a bit surprised by this and he sat on the wall right behind me. An over or so later, one of their guys top edged a pull and it went over the wall into the long grass behind us. "Mind the owl" the guy shouted towards the square ...
Weird!
As you get older and move up playing a better standard you can tell the better players as they just hit the ball so much harder ... we played against a decent village side who had an opener who I later found out could have played at least county standard if circumstances had been different. He coated along to about 40 off about 100 balls, without ever once looking that great, although his technique was superb.
In the last 15 overs he just went berserk and it was was just too easy for him ... I was at long off and the ball just kept going over my head into the car park.
I think he was undefeated on 160 or something daft ... different class entirely and a nice guy as well.
This was the same ground where I was fielding at a deep midwicket on a boiling hot day in front of a low wall - no-one about etc ... when from nowhere a bloke appeared with a barn owl on his arm ... I was a bit surprised by this and he sat on the wall right behind me. An over or so later, one of their guys top edged a pull and it went over the wall into the long grass behind us. "Mind the owl" the guy shouted towards the square ...
Weird!
uk66fastback said:
Good stuff Dr Z, it must be great to bowl and get a bat - I never did them both in a match - well once, in a sixes comp when I had no choice, and got carted for about 30 in my over, dropped their best player on the boundary and then scored single figures as we got hammered so not my best hour playing cricket ... !
As you get older and move up playing a better standard you can tell the better players as they just hit the ball so much harder ... we played against a decent village side who had an opener who I later found out could have played at least county standard if circumstances had been different. He coated along to about 40 off about 100 balls, without ever once looking that great, although his technique was superb.
In the last 15 overs he just went berserk and it was was just too easy for him ... I was at long off and the ball just kept going over my head into the car park.
I think he was undefeated on 160 or something daft ... different class entirely and a nice guy as well.
This was the same ground where I was fielding at a deep midwicket on a boiling hot day in front of a low wall - no-one about etc ... when from nowhere a bloke appeared with a barn owl on his arm ... I was a bit surprised by this and he sat on the wall right behind me. An over or so later, one of their guys top edged a pull and it went over the wall into the long grass behind us. "Mind the owl" the guy shouted towards the square ...
Weird!
Mind the owl! As you get older and move up playing a better standard you can tell the better players as they just hit the ball so much harder ... we played against a decent village side who had an opener who I later found out could have played at least county standard if circumstances had been different. He coated along to about 40 off about 100 balls, without ever once looking that great, although his technique was superb.
In the last 15 overs he just went berserk and it was was just too easy for him ... I was at long off and the ball just kept going over my head into the car park.
I think he was undefeated on 160 or something daft ... different class entirely and a nice guy as well.
This was the same ground where I was fielding at a deep midwicket on a boiling hot day in front of a low wall - no-one about etc ... when from nowhere a bloke appeared with a barn owl on his arm ... I was a bit surprised by this and he sat on the wall right behind me. An over or so later, one of their guys top edged a pull and it went over the wall into the long grass behind us. "Mind the owl" the guy shouted towards the square ...
Weird!
Used to be around a club that was competing near the top in the Surrey C'ship premier div and I used to go to nets with my brother playing for their 3rd XIs. After their nets finishes, the 1st XI boys strap up and if you are in the vicinity, you better be on the look out for a bullet coming at you. Scared of bowling in the adjacent nets-I can only imagine how quickly the actual bowler will need to react to get out of the way!
Even bowling at my brother who was comfortable 3rd XI material and would have played for the 2nd team if he didn't give up, was always struck by how much time he had to play the shots. Was never quick enough to trouble him. It's a big step to the 1st XI and then you get to county level, players there are absolute beasts.
I remember seeing an international A team player in action in the nets at another club. He was actually a keeper bat for the A side, and he was bowling some spin in the nets and I remember thinking, this bloke is turning the ball at a pace not far off what I bowl!
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