2002 Match Reports
27th April - Away to Wandgas
Well the weather wasn't great but for the first time in living memory (well, of Tom Hayden's playing memory probably) we actually played a game in April. Forgive the sketchy report but I wasn't there to witness this landmark event.
Anyway, Alex put them in and in the 40 over format Wandgas racked up 188 for 7. New bowler Paul Chapman took two wickets as did Mike Hayden and, in the skipper's words, we didn't bowl badly. Highlights included (yet) another fine catch from Tom H off his brother's bowling, plus an early catch in the bank for Richard Millar. The Hayden family were keeping the team going as David was behind the stumps.
When KMCC batted we struggled against a good attack but Steve Hart batted very well from the openers slot for 33. Tom featured again with a useful 18, and Clatters edged a little closer to that 100th career run with a single. We were all out for 106 however and the season begun with a defeat.
Team: Alex Ritchie (Cpt), Alan Clatworthy, Paul Chapman, Richard Driver, Bob Hart, Steve Hart, David Hayden, Mike Hayden, Tom Hayden, Richard Millar, Rob White
4th May - Away to Sunbury Village
The skipper won the toss, on this cup final day. Having no interest in an Arsenal - Chelsea final, he elected to field first. (Or was it because of our batting performance last week, and the dubious state of the pitch). This was a timed game, with tea between innings, which is mentioned because it had a bearing on some of the skipper's decisions. In general, we bowled and fielded well. After about 38 overs Alex, Mongoose, Mike H, Tom H, Bob Hart and Scott had all bowled and, with the aid of good fielding (with the exception of Rich Driver's Swan Lake impression near the boundary) restricting Sunbury to about 100 for 4. Being a timed game, and knowing the opposition weren't going to declare anytime soon, the skipper then introduced Nigel, to float his leg spinners, and bamboozle the batsmen. This he did. Sunbury declared on 165 for 9 after 49 overs. The bowling was good, and the fielding excellent in places, with two run outs (including one spectacular fielding moment from the skipper), and a couple of great catches (especially Steve Hart's which was by all accounts particularly memorable) among the wickets. Things were looking up at this point. But then we went into bat. The less we say about it here the better. Nobody, with the exception of Tom and Bob who both scored 16, batted well. I grant that the pitch played apart in a couple of the wickets, but the stats will show that we were bowled out in the 32nd over for just 82. Loss number 2 of the season. The good news is that Sunbury Village were not disheartened by the game. They put out a team made up mostly of first team players, and it showed, mainly in their bowling which was tight and accurate.
Team: Alex Ritchie (Cpt), Dave Cutts, Richard Driver, Dave Griffiths, Bob Hart, Steve Hart, Mike Hayden, Tom Hayden, Nigel Spalding, Scott Tricker, Rob White
11th May - Away to Princes Head
We had never played Princes Head before, so we didn't know how good they were. All we knew was that they were a pub team who played on Richmond Green. Having never played there we were all looking forward to it. Unfortunately, due to a fair on Richmond Green, the venue for this, our first game against Princes Head, was changed to King Georges field in Ham, and we were also asked to provide out own lunch. Things didn't look as good as they had done. On arriving for the game things looked decidedly worse. The promised changing rooms didn't seem to be in evidence, there was no opposition, and no discernable square was visible from the car park. However, on further inspection two strips had been 'prepared', the opposition did turn up, and the changing rooms were over the road. The pitch looked as good as those we have had the pleasure to play on so far this season; uneven. The skipper lost the toss for the first time this season, and KMCC were put into bat in this 40 over game. After our previous efforts at batting this was ominous. Mike Hayden (3 Haydens in the side) and Steve Hart (2 Harts in the side) started cautiously. The bowling was good, and the uneven pitch meant that runs were hard to come by. Steve fell for 1 in the 5th over, with the score on 17, to be replaced by the 2001 Batting trophy winner, Dave Harry, for his first innings of the year. Mike fell 2 overs later with the score on 18. Dave and the Alex (who eventually scored his first run of the season) batted with concentration, putting on 49 before Alex caught a leading edge to cover for 20. Slow progress continued to be made until Tom Hayden came in to fire a quick 16. Princes Head rattled through the tail leaving Dave stranded on 62, and KMCC all out on the last ball of the innings for 147. Having seen Princes Head bowl so well we knew that we had to bowl and field well if we had any chance of winning the game. Lacking any real firepower, Dave H opened with Alex, and both bowled well. Dave took the first wicket, a caught and bowled (taking his fantasy points past 100), with the score on 9. Mike H and his younger brother Tom came on as change. The batmen took a shine to Mike who was soon replaced by Clatters, but Tom plugged away to take another 2 wickets. Clatters bowled well, having several catches dropped, until his fifth over which the batsman took a shine to, going for 24. Princes Head batted positively and reached the target in just 24 overs. Out third loss of the season, and, before the ex-Vice can say it, our sixth loss on the bounce. We really need a good all round performance to get our confidence back - maybe next week After the game, those that went back to the Princes Head found them to be very sociable, and would like another match against us.
Team: Alex Ritchie (Cpt), Alan Clatworthy, Richard Driver, Nick Hart, Steve Hart, David Hayden, Mike Hayden, Tom Hayden, Dave Harry, Nigel Spalding, Scott Tricker
18th
May - Away to Bank of England
Another
match against a team we hadn’t played before, well not since 1941 if the
Chairman’s memory is correct. Everyone
was looking forward to the game at their luxurious surroundings in Roehampton, and players
turned up well in advance of the game in anticipation – Well all except Griff who
managed to drive around Roehampton for a while unable to find the ground. He was even later than the Millar man.
The
skipper won the toss (again), and, put them into bat.
For the record this was to be a time game.
The Mongoose still wasn’t on the field and so the skipper and the Ex
opened the bowling. Things started well for
KMCC with a wicket falling to the skipper in the first over. The ball was moving around off the pitch and the
Ex2 would be disappointed not to have been playing. The
openers bowled their usual tight spell, and after 10 overs the Bank of England were 17 for
1. Griff had now managed to be on the field
for 8 overs, and the skipper brought him on to bowl.
He took his chance and probably bowled his best spell for the club, bowling
11 overs and taking 3 for 29. Bank of England
put on 77 for their 2nd wicket before Griff bowled their other opener, and 7
runs later Tom Hayden ran out their number 4 with a direct hit from mid off. Tom and Scott both bowled well, and Clatters, who
replaced Griff, recovered from his drubbing last week to post figures of 3 for 16 off 6
overs. Rob White also bowled well with his
first overs of the season. We bowled and
fielded really well this week (the keeper providing another run out near the end of the
innings), and Bank of England declared on 154 for 9.
After
tea, Mike Hayden (now known as Dundee) and Cutts, opened the batting. Cutts was out lbw in the 4th over,
which brought the Ex to the crease. Dave and
Dundee batted solidly to start, and then Dundee opened his shoulders, and took a real
liking to the Bank of England bowling. Dundee ended up on 88 not out, and was ably backed
up by the Ex who avoided his 2nd jug in successive games, ending up on 47 not
out.
Our
first win of the season, and deservedly so. We
bowled and fielded well, and for the first time did the business with the bat. Long may it continue?
Team:
25th
May - Away to Bletchingley
Yet
another match against a team we haven’t played before, and probably the longest
journey we will have to make this year. Certainly,
the skipper and the Ex were treated to a scenic tour through Surrey on the way. The setting was a very pleasant village ground. The field was on a hill, but the wicket looked
flat, and green.
The
skipper won the toss (yet again), and, again put the home side into bat. Lacking any decent opening bowlers the skipper had
to open with himself and the Ex. Both bowled
well, extracting some movement out of the pitch. After
nine over the score was 10 for 3, with Dave taking 1 for 1 from his four overs, and the
skipper 2 for 8 from his five. From this
opening spell Bletchingley never really recovered. All
the bowlers bowled well, with the wickets being spread evenly between them. Clatters took 2 for 33 from 9, Tom; 0 for 14 from
7, Rob White; 2 for 2 from 5, Bob Hart; 2 for 4 from 4, and Nigel; 1 for 12 from 3. Bletchingley ended on 83 all out. The bowling and fielding was again of a very good
standard.
After
tea, Dundee was out first ball to a top spinner from Bletchingley’s leg spinner,
which brought an exuberant celebration from the opposition, and some obvious hope. KMCC were 21 for 2.
David Hayden, who had kept very well earlier, joined Rich in the middle. Some good defence, combined with some good
attacking strokes (including a couple of six’s from Dave), brought KMCC home. Rich ended up on 22, and Dave 35, his highest
score for the club so far.
KMCC
won their second game on the run by 8 wickets, and with 20 minutes and 20 overs to spare. A very convincing performance.
Team:
1st June - Away to Old Dunstonians
The Conference supplied this fixture which was played on a beautiful wicket and outfield in West Wickham. The clubhouse (with bar) looked out over the wide flat ground - there was even a white rope around the boundary - need I say more? The skies were cloudless as the Old Dunstonian batsment took to the field. The skipper was busy on his mobile but soon ran out to organise the field and to take the first over. In fact he and Griff bowled very good opening spells and, backed by good fielding, restricted the run rate to around two an over. Dave Harry at square leg took two good catches from the bowling of Dave Griffiths, and when the skipper had another batsman bowled with one that nipped back we were making good inroads. Further wickets followed including a run out (a direct hit from Steve Hart) and at one stage the Old D's were 65 for 6. However, they had a good supply of batsmen (they all wore helmets as evidence of their ability) and the late-middle order recovered the situation with a quickfire stand. Our bowlers were tiring in the heat and the effort of bowling 49 overs but the fielding held up well. Steve Hart and Mike Hayden led by example and the skipper was a busy man all afternoon. We pretty much held our chances and at tea Old Dunstonians were 162 for 8 declared.
Obviously in the Kent League (home of Old Dunstonians) it is de rigeur not to change bowlers too often. The OD's overseas pro turned out to be a canny spinner who bowled very accurately throughout the innings - 22 overs and 6 wickets. Mike Hayden set out his stall early on with quickfire runs but we lost Dave Cutts and Dave Harry to the Murralitharan look-alike. Mike was doing all the scoring but Steve Hart batted well with him before suffering a nasty blow on the head, followed by a controversial stumping. It was difficult to tell which hurt more.
With Alex joining Mike we were behind the run rate but still in with a shout. Mike reached his fifty (out of about 60 runs in total) but fell to the next ball. The jug-celebrations on the boundary were cut short only momentarily as the Chairman quickly confirmed the score had been reached. Alex then played a very well judged innings against the accurate and almost unchanging Old Dunstonian attack. Wickets fell around him and it was clear that the skipper did not want a rash batting collapse to cause defeat. He offered advice to each batsmen as they came out, which they sometimes remembered for up to 3 balls. As Alex got his eye in we had glimpses of his old self as the rare bad balls were sent sailing over the boundary for 6. Griffy came in and after two defensive shots a fielder was sent out to cow corner - how did they know? But Griffy did his job and stayed there while Alex turned up the heat. There were just not enough bad balls bowled however and even Alex resorted to hoisting one towards the bovine section of the ground in the last over with a colossal six off Murri. The lowing from the crowd was perhaps a little unkind to the skipper's technique. After the late flurry we finished 8 runs short with 3 wickets left, for an honourable draw and a very good game of cricket. The skipper's 60-odd not out has brought him right back into form and he is now off on holiday for the next few weeks.
After England had polished off Denmark in the world cup, the KMCC game started late at 14:50. Seveno batted first and made slow progress against Alex Ritchie and Steve Harry. When Tom Hayden took the second wicket they were 25 for 2 after 18 overs, but the middle order picked up the rate as the KMCC bowlers began to drop the ball a little short on what was a flat but slow pitch. We held on well in the field, Steve Hart ran a few miles out on the long boundary, and we contained the score to 146 for 5 in 41 overs at the tea declaration.
Because of the late start we would only get about 35 overs but that did not worry the openers, Mike Hayden and Dave Cutts. They set off at a tremendous rate and we were 29 for 0 from the first four overs as the Seveno bowlers also served up enough short stuff to give the batsmen a chance to hit out.
They didn't need asking twice and both raced away. The long boundaries meant that fours were difficult to come by and a succession of threes followed, testing the KMCC boys' fitness levels. "Dot ball please Mikey" exhorted DC after a particularly tiring over. The rate continued at more than 6 an over however and both openers passed 50 as their heartrates passed 250. The ten wicket win was brought up in the 22nd over with a succession of lovely clips through midwicket. "Moo!" lowed the ignorant spectators.
In all a very enjoyable win thanks to an excellent batting performance. Once again we did not have much real firepower in the bowling but stuck to the job and the fielding was very good. The Man from Seveno failed to appear but the rest of Seveno were very sociable and we look forward to next year.
Team : Alex Ritchie (Capt), Mike Hayden (Vice-Capt), Dave Cutts (W-K), Richard Driver, Dave Harry, Steve Hart, Tom Hayden, Nigel Spalding, Scott Tricker, Steve Harry, Richard Millar
A short blast round the M25 took KMCC to the village of Chaldon and their home ground, Six Brothers Field. It was a picturesque spot where the outfield appeared to have been mowed out of the surrounding meadow only recently. Steve Hart, who was making his captaincy debut, lost the toss and Chaldon invited us to bat. Steve himself and Dave Harry opened the innings and we made a solid start, putting on 37 before the skipper was LBW for 13. Richard Driver took a while to get off the mark, 25 minutes to be precise, leading to much gloating from Richard Millar, but the ex-cubed got going, and before he fell for 13 he and Dave H had put on another 57. Scott Tricker then joined Dave for an entertaining thrash. Scott made 23 and also indulged in a little fielding while he was out there, getting his right kidney in the way of one of Dave's straight drives, a nasty blow which made a very loud thud. "Wait," called Dave thoughtfully, spotting that the quick single was probably not on while Scott was rolling about on the floor in agony.
Scott carried on, but was out soon after, and Dave eventually holed out for an excellent 90 leaving Richard Millar and Tusker to complete the final two overs unbeaten. KMCC ended on 181 for 4 in 42 overs.
The ground was fairly small so 181 looked a competitive but gettable score, and so it proved. Dave Griffiths took a wicket in his first over, and so did the other opener, Steve Harry. However, Chaldon recovered well and started to score fast while we in turn could not hold our chances. Several magnificent outswingers were edged in and out of Richard Driver's outstretched right hand, while the ex-squared was guilty of a shocking blooper from Griffy's bowling, and with 20 overs to go Chaldon were about 100 for 2. By now Dave Harry and Bob Hart were in the attack, and Dave started with some success when he pushed several other fielders aside to claim a caught and bowled. One hitter was replaced by another however and Chaldon still had the upper hand. After two huge sixes had lost two balls, Chaldon's Chris Moyles lookalike skyed one off up to Tusker at deep long off. After an agonising wait the ball dropped from its great height safely into Tusker's hands and he stayed a few inches inside the boundary. It was a turning point, and although Chaldon continued to threaten with regular boundaries, the wickets also started to fall. Dave Harry did most of the damage and he finished on 6 for 62 from 12 overs. Steve Harry only took 3 wickets in his 12 overs but was a lot more economical than some thought possible given the help-yourself stuff accompanying the wicket taking at the other end. Chaldon's last wicket fell to Mr Fantasy League Points after another good catch from Steve Hart out in the deep, with the home side just 20 runs short. History thus records Steve Hart's first game in charge as an exciting win snatched from possible defeat, with great credit to Chaldon for keeping up the run chase right to the end. As for Dave's fantasy league points, the Cobra will be celebrating in Taipei as he's the only entrant to be 255 better off.
Team : Steve Hart (capt), Scott Tricker (w-k), Dave Harry, Richard Driver, Rob White, Richard Millar, Nigel Spalding, Dave Griffiths, Bob Hart, Alan Clatworthy, Steve Harry
For the second year running we enjoyed a lovely sunny day in Battersea Park, and whilst London's urban elite took their exercise, walked the dog, and ignorantly hung about behind the bowler's arm, we got on with the serious job of beating a good Legless XI team. It was a 40 over game, Legless won the toss and, ever the professionals, batted first once they discovered their opener's hangover wasn't too bad.
The game saw another debut 'keeper don the sweaty KMCC gloves, this time the Mongoose himself, Dave Griffiths. He and the rest of us soon realised that the wicket was, as in 2001, hard, fast and erratically bouncy. Alex tormented the openers at one end while I proudly bowled my first ball in the new England cricket shirt I'd just bought. The batsman edged it to Griffy, he made no mistake, and it was a dream start for KMCC and my shirt. Alex saved some of his overs for the end, and when Tom Hayden replaced the skipper he began by lobbing down a kindly full toss. His kindness was repayed with interest as the batsmen hit it to Tusker who safely pouched it. Buoyed by this Tom tried the same again next ball, same effect, this time Barnso took the catch. Defying convention, Tom's hat-trick ball once again didn't trouble the grass, and the batsman lobbed it tantalisingly just over square leg for 4. Tom's next few overs were much more accurate, although not nearly so much fun. By now, Legless were reeling at 26 for 4 but their skipper started to get his eye in and raced to 55 before Clatters bowled him all ends up with an excellent quicker delivery. Clatters removed the last recognised batsman in a similar way and generally locked down the Legless middle order. Meanwhile, Dave Harry tried all manner of deliveries at the other end. Short, long, bouncy, anything went for the Ex-Skip. The fact that none of them worked didn't put him off, and Legless found it hard to score runs. The final blow was a spell from KMCC talisman, Wily Wasley. Legless's total of 157 in the 40 overs was low on an outfield that was very fast, but they would have been encouraged by the help the wicket gave to good bowling.
Facing this competitive score we started well, Dave H and Steve Hart putting on 38 before Steve played over a yorker. Alex joined Dave and they began one of their trademark stands together. Both looked solid against some good bowling, picking the bad ball well and keeping us up with the run rate. They soon decided to meet midwicket for a chat about how things were going. Unfortunately this was whilst they were supposed to be running a quick single and Alex returned to the pavilion, run out. Tusker shored things up for the time it took him to walk to the middle, get bowled and walk back, which was unfortunately not very long.
I joined Dave for a brief partnership, resisting the red mist for a world record 15 seconds before edging to slip. The hail of wickets meant that Bob Hart came in to a barrage of abuse from the surrounding fielders who, encouraged, were trying some gentle sledging. Bob proceeded to play an innings of excellent judgement, one which would ultimately be a match-winner. Dave Harry cruised to an impeccable 54 before becoming peccable and trying to hit a straight ball over Battersea Power Station. Nigel Spalding came in, and he and Bob faced some torrid overs trying to maintain the 4 an over run rate. They kept us in it by scampering some quick singles and with trademark straight drive from Bob. When Nigel was bowled in walked Griff, the hopes of the team on his shoulders. We needed 13 from the last two overs, and Bob got that down to 7 before leaving Griff a couple of sighters. Second ball was duly thumped back straight for a glorious six, and the celebrations began on the boundary. The one run to win in the last over was achieved thanks to a wide on ball 2. In 2001, we'd lost a close game to Legless through careless batting, Bob Hart had been in at the end and that time he couldn't hit a cow's bum with a banjo. How times changed in 2002.
Team : Alex Ritchie (capt), Dave Griffiths (w-k), Dave Harry, Steve Hart, Rob Tusker White, Steve Harry, Bob Hart, Tom Hayden, Nigel Sneaky Spalding, Bob Wily Wasley, Alan Crafty Clatworthy.
6 July - Away to North Holmwood
This was the first time for a while we have visited our favourite ground, and the weather came up trumps with a nice sunny day. We fielded first in this 40 over game, and ten-man KMCC took to the field admring the view over the Surrey downs. We were accompanied by a friendly old horse looking over the fence down on the square leg boundary. He'd clearly seen a lot of cricket in his time and as he chewed on some grass he watched with a knowing eye. But enough about the Team Secretary, on with the game.
The pitch was slightly damp and offered bounce from the downhill end in particular. Alex and I opened and kept the runs down, Alex exploiting the bounce to have a skyer caught by the 'keeper, Dave Cutts. Cuttsy went on to take another catch and a stumping to remind us why he's still number one choice behind the stumps. Meanwhile, as Holmwood tried to accelerate Dave Harry came on and after a couple of dull overs took two wickets in two balls, one a very good catch in the deep by Richard Driver. Avoiding the hat-trick jug, Dave then took another wicket on the 4th ball to leave the NH middle order in disarray. Clatters started with a dropped caught and bowled but soon got into the groove up the hill and Cuttsy provided a stumping. Our ground fielding was very good and there were a couple of runs outs, and although several difficult catches went to ground we held some good ones too. Nigel Spalding got some prodigious if unpredictable spin, bowling up the hill to finish, all of which helped hold North Holmwood to 142 from their 40 overs.
Opening our innings Mike Hayden and Dave Cutts looked very expensive with their matching suntans, but Mike was undone as he edged the quick opener onto his stumps in the first over. Dave Harry continued his good form when he came in and Cuttsy got some of his timing back before losing it briefly and being caught for 24. Alex joined the ex-skipper and whilst they were not belting the ball about they batted well against a good attack. Dave was getting thirsty and called for a drink, out came Mike with a bottle of unlucky North Downs Spring. After a few glugs Dave returned to the crease and was out next ball, for 48, driving over cover. As Mike returned I foolishly had a sip from the water bottle myself. Richard Driver, who had been wearing his pads for so long, was able to take them off after 3 balls in the middle when he tried the same cover chip. When Alex was out we had a mini collapse on our hands although we only needed about 25 to win. Last week in my match report I mentioned that Tusker had shored things up against Legless for the time it took him to walk to the wicket and walk back. The joke was on me this week I played an even quicker innings (the walk back is shorter at NH), not impressing the visiting in-laws.
For the second week running, Bob Hart entered the fray a little earlier than he had hoped, but once again he played well. Richard Millar and Nigel stuck around for a bit, Nigel in particular managing some valuable runs but it was left to Bob Hart and Clatters as the last pair to get 15 from the last three overs. With one over to go Clatters had played the quickie admirably and we needed 10 to win. Bob had his eye in now and he took 6 from the first two balls including a lovely four over mid-wicket (moo). The third ball was our undoing though. A lovely strike out to mid off looked to us as though it was going for four, but as Bob and Clatters cruised the second run a cruel optical illusion was revealed - it had in fact only gone 15 yards and Clatters was run out without the need for the third umpire. Technically we lost by only 2 runs, and we needed the consolation that only the North Holmwood bar can provide.
Team : Alex Ritchie (Capt), Mike Hayden (vice), Dave Cutts (w-k), Dave Harry (ex), Steve Harry (ex2), Richard Driver (ex3), Richard Millar (J**man), Nigel Spalding (Sneaky), Bob Hart (Nickname TBA), Alan Clatworthy (Clatters).
13 July - Home to Deansbank
Match report absent - webmaster not playing.
The sun wasn't supposed to shine but it did as Alex won the toss and chose to field on the usual well-groomed no.1 square at KGS. Kew were yet another unknown quantity for us and their opening batsmen got them off to a good start with 25 in the first 5 overs. We struck back however, beginning to keeping the runs down and taking some early wickets. When Dave Harry replaced Alex and Clatters replaced me they carried on the good work and after Clatters had taken two wickets in two balls Kew were despairing at 54 for 7. They had strength in depth and recovered well with a good stand for the 8th wicket, while our fielding showed its usual mix of well caught and the odd not-so well dropped catches, the highlight being Mike Hayden with a one-handed take at cover. The innings turned again when Scott Tricker came on to bowl and successfully wrapped things up with a very useful 3 for 3, to leave Kew on 119 all out.
We batted for half an hour before tea, against a lively bowling mixture, although Mike Hayden and Dave Cutts survived well to 36 without loss. Extras had already started to make a useful contribution and they continued this after the break as Kew changed their bowlers regularly. They had a lot of young players who bowled quite quickly but with wayward direction. Mike and Dave looked like they were on their way to another ten wicket win when Cuttsy left a straight one and Dave Harry came in join Mike. A flurry of byes and boundaries followed as Mike raced towards his fifty, but it was perhaps typical of our innings as the winning 4 byes left him high and dry on 46 not out.
Team : Alex Ritchie (Capt), Mike Hayden (Vice), Dave Cutts (w/k), Dave Harry, David Hayden, Scott Tricker, Nigel Spalding, Steve Harry, Richard Driver, Bob Wasley, Alan Clatworthy
27th July - Home to Stockwell Athletic
Temperatures in the 80's and patches of blue sky made the perfect scene for cricket at KGS. About 4 Stockwell players had arrived by the start time, but this just gave us the chance for an impromptu net practice on a spare wicket out in the middle. I batted, while Nigel aimed at a carefully placed feather in the pitch. I offered my usual encouragement by being bowled and stumped several times. Er, I meant it of course.
Stockwell got up to 10 players plus a 9 year old, and declared themselves present. Mike Hayden put them in rather sportingly and we took to the field. We opened well and kept the runs down. The pitch rewarded the accurate delivery (so I am told) and the Stockwell wickets began to fall regularly. The Vice had clearly watched our practice session as he soon unleashed Nigel onto the Stockwell middle order. Dave Cutts was on hand to collect a stumping as the high flying leggies hit that feather. Meanwhile, Steve Hart was quietly ploughing through the wickets at the other end, supported by good catching, and he ended up with a career-best 5 for 16. Dave Cutts had racked up the KMFL points with 2 caught and 2 stumped in a performance so good that we won't even mention the 2 byes.
It wasn't hard, but Stockwell bowled much better than they had batted. They were without several key players, and in an echo of last year's injury-fest another bowler was playing with a dodgy ankle. Mike Hayden and Dave Cutts's ebullient style ensured we were 38-0 at tea and the game was almost over. However, with the score on 73 Cuttsy was out, and in sympathy Mike succumbed next over. David Hayden and Richard Driver took things sensibly on to 98 before the deadly Stockwell 9-year old was brought into the attack. Richard showed no emotion to the youngster as he clubbed the 4th ball back over the bowler's head. Unfortunately he had forgotten the bowler was only 3 feet high and the ball looped into mid-off's hands. As Stockwell's junior section went back to his Tellytubby videos, the watching crowd murmured their absolute sympathy for the ex-cubed with promises never to bring up the number 9. That's 9. Tusker came in to finish the business and we had won by 7 wickets. Despite the relative ease, you got the feeling that had we been chasing 140 it would have been close. All 9 showers were out of action again so over 9 smelly KMCC players retired to one of 9 local pubs leaving around 9.
Team : Mike Hayden (capt), Dave Cutts (w/k), Steve Harry, Steve Hart, David Hayden, Richard Driver, Nigel Spalding, Richard Millar, Rob White, Scott Tricker, Dave Griffiths.
3rd August - Home to Woking and Horsell 4th XI
This was a game saved out of nothing, as at 3PM on Friday we didn't have a fixture, and then at 1PM on Saturday the rain was teeming down. Luckily Gary the groundsman was chilled out about the whole spectacle and gave us the OK to get started on pitch number one. The square looked lush and green, the day was warm, and when our new-found oppo, Woking and Horsell 4th XI, agreed to field first most of us just sat down on the pavilion balcony to watch the entertainment. Despite the slippery run-ups and constant drizzle the W&H openers bowled well, Mike Hayden and Dave Cutts on their mettle to stay in. Cuttsy fell first for 16, the first of many shots to take a higher trajectory than intended that afternoon. Dave Harry looked on for a big score when he picked out a reluctant deep square leg fielder. The youngster looked nervous as the ball approached but Dave's awareness of the field placing was so poor there was no way to avoid the catch. Richard Driver entered the fray and held up his bat for a guard. "Anyone shorter than this is not allowed to bowl at me" he announced. No toddlers discovered among the oppo, the team sec went on to make 21. Although everyone scored runs, wickets fell too and our batsmen trooped back to the pavilion complaining that the skiddy top surface made timing difficult. Mike Hayden showed it could be done with some glorious cover drives in a top-scoring 81. The balcony dwellers were entertained, not least by the sight of Nigel "the octopus" Spalding in the scorebox all afternoon hurtling around keeping all the scores and overs up to date. Our mammoth 200 for 5 entailed some magnificent arm actions from the crafty leggy especially as he kept all the batsmens scores up to date as well.
When W&H batted the notoriously tame KMCC attack bared its fangs once again and Griff (2 wkts) and S Harry (3) ripped through the W&H top 5 for only 19 runs, all at a maximum speed of 6mph. After the X3 dropped his weekly slip catch, Nigel Spalding was introduced and he bowled his longest spell for the club (9 overs) taking two wickets. The KMCC catching was generally good and had it not been for the unusually stringent umpiring of wides we could have wrapped the game up 21 runs short of the 100 W&H eventually made. They did not do themselves justice with the bat, and to be fair they had the worst of the conditions, so with friendly clubs dropping like flies around us both, we agreed that this may be one game we can play again.
Team : Mike Hayden, Dave Cutts, Richard Driver, Steve Harry, Nigel Spalding, Richard Millar, Dave Harry, Dave Hayden, Scott Tricker, Dave Griffiths, Steve Hart
10th August - Home to Star Club of Mumbai
We knew this game was going to be a bit special when two of our players turned up in a shirt and tie - Nigel Spalding swapping the Haiwaiian look for more of a Saville Row touch. The perennial tie-wearer, Richard Millar, congratulated Nigel but complained about the lack of sartorial elegance in the rest of the squad as he dusted off his unironed 40-year old cricket kit for another outing.
Over the last couple of weeks we've been used to opposition teams struggling to get 11 players against us, so it was a refreshing change to see Star Club's mini-bus containing about 25 squad members. Selection of the lucky XI complete, the Star batsmen took to the field. There were so many players about the two captains agreed to play a 12-man game and an extra fielder, Imran, joined us. As Mike Hayden struggled with whether to add to the usual five slips and two gullies, two overs later the batsmen complained there were 12 players on the pitch so Imran went off again. Meanwhile Indian cricket was enjoying our bowling and as the opening bat danced down the track on my third ball to loft one over mid-wicket for 4 I pondered just how many different types of team the Conference categorise under "medium strong".
At the other end Griff was returning to form and the extensive pre-match net he'd conducted was paying off - he bowled one opener in his best spell for a while. Josh Hamill our Aussie ringer came on to bowl his highly recommended leg breaks and on the odd occasion they hit the wicket they were effective. Star Club continued to make fast progress and were 100 for 1 at the half way mark, but their exuberance began to tell as catching chances started to be given and held. Josh took three wickets and Dave Harry picked up five wickets and the only three maidens of the innings while Dave Cutts took two catches and a leg side stumping. Star Club is where Sachin Tendulkar learned his trade, but then he probably never faced Nigel Spalding on a damp track at KGS which was the problem that now faced Star's middle order. Nigel carried on our leg spin theme and was unlucky not to take a wicket. The clouds were gathering overhead however and when one of Nigel's flightier deliveries disappeared into the cumulo-nimbus the warning signs were there. Sure enough in a few seconds the skies opened and a deluge of rain fell, turning the squares at KGS into lakes. We took tea at the 39 over mark with Star Club on 202 for 9.
At tea more rain fell and it was obvious the game was done for, however Star Club held a presentation and very generously handed out souvenirs of their UK tour to the KMCC players and to Bob Wasley, who as a player and Vice President was our senior representative. We hadn't known about this beforehand which meant we had embarrassingly little to offer in return but nonetheless it was an excellent occasion. We left the ground, disappointed that we couldn't have a go at chasing 200, but highly impressed with the spirit and generosity of our Indian touring opponents. The sense of fun and occasion that they brought to the day is another reminder that as far as world cricket goes these days India is the capital.
Team : Mike Hayden, Dave Cutts, Dave Harry, Steve Harry, Dave Hayden, Nigel Spalding, Scott Tricker, Richard Millar, Richard Driver, Dave Griffiths, Josh Hamill, Imran (briefly).
17th August - Home to Clapham Inns - Lost by 9 runs
24th August - Home to Epsom Methodist - match report courtesy of Vice Skipper, Mike Hayden
It was another bright sunny day down at KGS and the KMCC were looking to get back to winning ways after a narrow defeat to Clapham Inn. The skipper decided to play a timed game as we hadn't played that format for a while, as soon as we were put in we knew that it would be a good game to win.
Dundee and Cuttsy opened the innings with the intention of lasting until tea. Three balls later (three balls more than last week) and Dundee was sitting down with his teammates after a rising delivery clipped his glove on the way through to the keeper. In came Steve Hart and a consolidation period between himself and DC commenced. With the score at 14 after 10 overs DC was bowled by a ball that totally deceived him. On the way back to the boundary he was heard to say that it was the first ball that wasn't down the leg side, and that he was slightly miffed about getting out - or words to that affect. Still on 14 Steve was bowled and was replaced by Tom Law a KMCC debutant who was brought along by Dave Hayden to make 11. Tom and Alex then made steady progress (after Alex was dropped on 4) against some very accurate bowling with the ball beating the bat on numerous occasions Alex passed his 50 and was well on his way to 100 when Tom was finally out for a very good 41 in a stand if 135 with the skipper, by this stage the Epsom players were moaning about the number of overs they had bowled and it was approaching 4.30 when Alex made his ton and promptly marched off - Epsom had bowled 47 overs in what was approaching 3 hours - All of which was lost on DC who had slept like a baby through most of the innings. The KMCC had scored 169 - 4 off 47.4 overs
At Tea the skipper had wanted all his players out and ready by 4.50 no problems - we were all ready to go, the umpires were ready, the batsmen were ready but we seemed to have lost our skipper, nothing like leading by example! Anyway our 63rd new opening bowler of the season was unleashed on Epsom, well it seemed that way as his first 3 balls were bouncers that cleared the Epsom batsmen's head. After he had found his line and length David Hayden gave the batsmen a thorough going over in a spell of 5 for 27 from 12 overs his pace and bounce gave the batsmen little chance to settle into any rhythm. With some tidy bowling at the other end from the Skipper and Wiley, Epsom were restricted to scoring just 54 and being 7 down (after 19 overs) by 6pm. At that stage there only looked like there would be one outcome - a KMCC win, but with some dogged batting the Epsom lower order managed to last until the final over when the Skipper, after bringing himself back on dismissed the 9th man with 4 balls left in the final over. We were unable to knock the final man down and Epsom reached 96 - 9. A moral victory for the KMCC however it does go down as a draw. The fielding and bowling must be commended and there was a cracking spirit running throughout the side and in the final weeks of the season that will count for a great deal, keep it going.
These days it's nice when a team doesn't cry off midweek, so when Rowan had only 4 players at the start time of 1:30 they were not by any means the worst culprits this season. However, at 1:55 there were still only 6 Rowanites attending which meant they could field two batsmen, two umpires and two waiting to come in. There was a distinct lack of atmosphere around the KMCG. The rest of the Rowan team were, for some reason, in Mitcham and on their way, but this was not particularly reassuring. We opened the bowling therefore knowing that a quick breakthrough could result in a very short game.
David Hayden was firing down the fastest bowling we have had in our weaponry for a while and though he produced some superb deliveries the canny batsmen did well to hang about. At the other end Griff made the first breakthrough, forcing a ball to creep through the batmens guard and clip the bails. After Dave Hayden finished his fiery spell I also managed to trickle one onto the stumps. The strip was benign however and the ball was of shocking quality. As the batmen and umpires changed around frantically the rest of the Rowan squad arrived. They wandered about the ground aimlessly looking for the changing room, oblivious to their lateness, and indeed oblivious to the large red door marked "changing room". The code for the door was yelled at them in frustration - something which may have contributed to an unfortunate break-in later that afternoon.
The burglary caused another lull as we checked our wallets etc. Fortunately the moth-colony in the treasurers bag survived intact, but with the interruptions and the silence, the game felt a bit disjointed. Rowan continued to make steady progress but they seemed to bat on a long time. Steve Hart bowled well, and Dave Hayden came back for more pace at the end. In between, Clatters had made a welcome return from Oz and whilst down under he had obviously learned a thing or two from Shane Warne, at least in the pie-eating department.
Fourth and Fifth change were the skipper and Barnso, and given they have opened the bowling many times for us perhaps our strength on the day was not borne out in the Rowan total of 173. Two good run outs finished things off but these were the highlights of an otherwise quiet day in the field for us.
Another cake-biased feast from Gary left us with an hour plus 20 overs. Mike H and Dave Harry began well but the bowling was accurate and it was difficult to hit the pudding-like ball very far. Mike was bowled and the Skipper strode in. Alex and Dave H batted well, but when these two are scoring slowly you know that either the bowling is tight, or the batsmen are in fact rubbish and have fluked all those centuries. Coming to think of it..... Anyway, with only 16 overs bowled in the first hour we were on about 40 for 1 and faced a 7-an-over target for the last 20. Although we lost Alex soon afterwards, he and Dave had upped the rate and Steve Hart continued the good work. Steve's athleticism was causing the ex-skip some problems as he was carrying an injury and after some limped three's, Mike came back out as a runner. A pantomime ensued as everyone took time to adjust to the formation, most of the time all three of them were running. Although Dave had accelerated to his 50, "he" in the shape of Mike was run out soon after. It was then the turn of Richard Driver, who entertained us with a fantastic cameo performance, but as this was of his new play - "The Hag and her Daughters", no-one was too interested. When RD did bat, there were flashes of the old Ex3 apparent immediately and he scored some very quick runs, as did Dave Cutts before he too fell nobly for the cause. All this meant we were actually keeping up with the rate and needing 10 from the last over. Raining on our parade, the opening Rowan bowler then returned to the attack and, with new batsmen at the crease, took a couple of wickets which meant we were never going to reach the total and we finished 6 short with 7 wickets down. A draw was probably a fair result although we were perhaps the victims of the timing. We batted well against a good bowling attack though and this should give us confidence for the next two games. The change in atmosphere for next week may also be noticeable.
7th September - Home to Cheam Parish
This is still the fixture that inspires most competitiveness in us, and we've had the worst of the results in the last few years. Cheam always bring a strong team and this year they'd just finished 2nd in their league, so we were expecting it to be harder than ever. Richard Driver organised a KMCC net at 12:30 and a lot of the team turned up, although surprisingly I was 10 minutes late.
After the morning rain, Alex lost the toss and we were put in to bat. The first couple of overs were torrid for Mike H and Dave C but they rode it out and started to play some nice shots. Flanagan was taken off but Mark Walker removed Cuttsy with the score on 42. Dave Harry came in and he and Mike began another fruitful partnership. Cheam's fielding was exceptional and they saved many runs but the batsmen kept the score going. Mike departed for a j-a 45 but Alex replaced him and made a very fast 30 before holing out. We would all have settled for 160 at the start of the match but with Richard Driver picking up from last week and Barnso accelerating, all of a sudden we were past that mark with overs to spare. Dave H made yet another 50, powering through the old war wound to a total of 66, and after some scampered runs from the middle order we finished on 218 for 6 from our 40 overs. Right from the word go the batsmen played well and we had set ourselves up nicely.
When Cheam batted Dave Hayden's pace surprised them and some field placings drawn from years of playing each other (eg two deep-backward-points for Trevor Jones) meant that although runs came, we never lost the plot. The skipper bowled well and as usual economically. Tom Hayden replaced his brother and picked up a quick wicket caught behind. Cheam's batting, though perhaps not always as deadly as their bowling, is still formidable and their big-hitting left hander began to make inroads into the total. We battled to keep the run rate down but there were enough bad balls for the batsmen to keep the boundaries coming. The pavilion in particular took a pounding as it sat on a nice short boundary.
Wickets were hard to come by - old adversary Mark Goodliffe and the lefty took the score well past 100 for the loss of only two wickets. Then Mike Hayden held a catch from Griff's bowling to dismiss the big hitter, though scoring continued apace. Another critical wicket was Flanagan who was stumped by DC off the bowling of Clatters, though Mark Walker came in and proceeded to thump some worryingly big boundaries. Barnso came on to keep the runs down and was hit for 6 first ball, although he picked up a wicket when Griff held a running catch a square leg. Although our bowling was ok, it was suffering against good batting and in comparison with our own excellent fielding. Partly thanks to dodgy running, the latter helped us make 4 run-outs. Indeed this was how we got rid of danger-man Walker, and with 2 overs to go it all left Cheam needing 22 runs. They only had a couple of wickets left and after another run out the last wicket fell to Dave Harry with 20 runs still required.
So, we had won a fixture that over the last few years has produced more defeats than most. Our top 5 batsmen set the standard, they really did their jobs when it mattered and the Hayden brothers inspired a fine show from the whole team in the field. The bowling? Well, we perhaps didn't raise our game but it was good enough on the day.
Chasing 218 is not easy but of the teams we played this year Cheam are one of the few that could easily have achieved that total. As a neutral, I'd hope that the game could have been appreciated as a good battle between two well-matched teams, involving over 400 runs and 16 wickets. As someone anything but neutral, GET IN THERE!
14th September - Away to Sheen Park
Our final game of the season away to Sheen Park is always a very friendly and normally competitive game. The skipper lost the toss, which was not a good move. Sheen Park elected to bat, and KMCC took to the field with high hopes after last weeks game. Things looked even better in the second over when Sheen Park lost their first wicket, when their opener hooked a full toss from Dave Hayden straight at the Skippers chest at fine leg. Unfortunately this was our only glimmer of hope. SP batted well, scoring 4's at will for a while, on the very fast outfield. Wickets did continue to fall, but not as quickly as the runs were coming, and after 20 overs SP were 108 for 4 and KMCC were looking at chasing a 200+ total. The bowling and fielding did improve dramatically in the second 20 overs, and SP were restricted to 190 for 8 at the close. This included two run outs, and some very good bowling at the death by Clatters and Scott. However, the bare facts of the innings are that we gave away 42 extras, including 31 wides, figures that are best forgotten quite quickly.
KMCC went into bat with the knowledge that we had to bat well, but that the total was very achievable. This thought, again, was quite quickly dispelled. Dundee was out early, LBW to one that kept a little low. The following ball to the skipper was a beamer, straight at his head, and the next ball he was out, bowled by a short ball that kept extremely low. 10 for 2. Rich joined Cuttsy, who opened his shoulders and showed how it should be done. Rich was out in the 8th over to one that kept even lower than the skippers, and the next over the Hon Treas edged one to the keeper while trying to cut. He was obviously one of the few people who knew he nicked it, and he very sportingly walked. Rich Millar was out the following over, and after 10 overs we were 40 for 5. Scott and Dave Hayden both began to play well, moving the score to 62 before Dave had one keep a little low and he played on. Steve Hart joined the fray, batting solidly, while Scott began to bat very well, and especially enjoying placing the ball between second slip and gully. Scott was out for a very good 29. 99 for 7. Steve continued to bat well, but Rob, Nigel or Alan didn't stay around to help him, and he ended on 15 not out.
We were beaten by a better side, but were unfortunate with some of the wickets. Not a great way to finish the season. As usual SP were very sociable in the pub afterwards, one of the reasons this is such an enjoyable game to finish the season with.
Team : Alex Ritchie (capt), Dave Cutts (w/k), Alan Clatworthy, Richard Driver, Steve Hart, David Hayden, Mike Hayden, Richard Millar, Nigel Spalding, Scott Tricker, Rob White