CHILCOMPTON SPORTS SATURDAY 2nds 140-6 THORNBURY 4ths 136-9
Determined to put the narrow defeat to Mells behind them, the first ever toss for interim Second XI Captain, Adam Marshall, resulted in exactly what he was hoping for – having the chance to bowl first against Thornbury 4ths at the picturesque CSG.
Chilcompton’s very own Curtley and Courtney – Michael Gooderham and Sean White – got things off to the ideal start, restricting the travelling team’s openers with some exemplary line and length seaming. It was White with the early breakthroughs, splaying the stumps twice (including those of top-scorer, Tom Rimmer) and taking a sharp caught and bowled on his way to handsome figures of 3-for-22.
Conscious of putting batsmen roughly a quarter of his size (and age) in harm’s way, Jon Loud charitably got started with a couple of Harmison-esque wides, before tightening things up with a tremendous spell that somehow brought him only a solitary wicket, despite losing count of the times he passed the bat (1-15).
Coming up the hill, rookie, Sam Winsley, was busy earning his club shirt with a maiden-heavy set of six overs (0-13). Runs may have been at a premium, but so were wickets – frustrations were rising, with the seconds’ number one cheerleader and club legend, Neil Moon, arriving just in time to see the skipper shell a regulation snaffle behind the sticks.
Cometh the hour, cometh the Ramrod. Putting last week’s dubious “two-and-a-half over” spell behind him, Steve Longden struck in his first over – somehow finding a way to get the ball past/under the bat and resting it neatly against the stumps. Getting into his stride, what followed were some genuinely tricksy overs that yielded a further two wickets and figures of 3-for-37.
It was left to Gooderham (1-for-26) and a precise Dave Travis (1-for-11) to try and prise out the last few wickets with the over count dwindling. Despite the best efforts of Lord Rob Bath in the field and his three sharp catches, the Chilis were left one wicket short as the (admittedly junior) visitors limped to an under-par 136-for-9 from their allocated forty.
Following a hearty lunch, the agitated crowd begged for entertainment. Somewhere deep in the changing room, Ross ‘Tubes’ Warren must have heard, as he set about swinging at everything and clubbing his way to a prematurely-terminated 11.
Alas, that would conclude the calypso cricket, as Marshall and DoC Travis prodded and scratched their way through the following overs, facing an attack that generated little in the way of pace or accuracy – Marshall mercifully skying one into the gloves of the wicket-keeper for 33.
Travis and the sprightly Simon Tandy batted with determination and control, with some attractive shot-making and wily running. Both fell in quick succession (for 36 and 12, respectively) with the scoreboard stuck on 122 and ten overs remaining. The pick of Thornbury’s bowlers, Greg Messer, accounted for Dening (2) and Gooderham in consecutive balls – each an in-swinging missile homing in on the off peg.
Lord Bath was looking steady at the other end, but were Marshall’s men about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory? Cometh the hour, cometh the Ramrod... part two.
With two lusty fours, Longden put the result beyond doubt – adding 11 to Bath’s classy 27. The latter eventually battered a winning boundary with eight overs to spare and the chance to get into the bar before the early arrival of the victorious Firsts.
The Seconds make the trip to Coalpit Heath this weekend, with a their bronzed permanent Captain returning from his ill-timed holiday.
Dave Travis