Eymet Cricket Club

Match Report

Eleven hang-overs, 35 degrees C, a ground nicely sheltered from any hint of a breeze – we needed to win the toss and get into the shade. Alex, with the Hotel logo still visible on his cheek, lost the toss. The Stragglers were in the field, and this was for 35 overs. Willing bowlers were hard to find. Patch C had opted to be 12th man, and found himself umpiring. Patch M and Jasper, who hadn’t completely forgotten that they were on a cricket tour, opened the bowling, as the heat continued to build. Mobility in the field was compromised. Heat and excess alcohol were beginning to have their effect. Jasper struck early with an LBW, and then Patch got the nod – 25 for 2. Apart from Patch, who bowled his 7 overs straight through, Straggler bowlers were unwilling (or probably unable) to bowl long spells. The batsmen were now gaining the upper hand. However, a well-tried combination of a Chairman’s grenade caught by Jasper at long-on paid off, and just enough wickets kept falling. Our chef from Friday kept the score rumbling along, but every time a partner got in, he got out, two run-out when taking the on the long arm of Jasper. 163 for 8 from 35 overs was good for the ground (outfield quite long and supporting the fielding side). Eymet seemed quietly confident.

When the Straggler top order shouldered arms and surrendered meekly – 10 for 2, 22 for 4, and 48 for 6 – Eymet must have through they had it in the bag. However, to ensure that everyone got a bat on tour, the order had been reversed to a degree, and the Stragglers still had some big guns to come. Patch M and Alex slowed things down a bit, and restored a sense of order. But both fell with runs still required, and it needed les freres Smallwood to ensure a Straggler victory. Jasper (42) was not quite middling the ball as he had the day before, but still found the found the boundary enough. Al (46*) was seeing it like a football, and, appropriately, hitting sixes into the football ground next door. Jasper miscued one too many and was gobbled up at long-on, but that just brought Olla to the crease, and a couple of big sixes later, the last bouncing nicely off the roof of the stand, the game was over, 168 for 8 with 3 overs to spare. Perhaps it was as well that the least keen to bat for medical reasons, had been saved the responsibility of finishing the job.