Match Report: Farnham Royal C.C. vs. H.C. Trotters C.C. (40 overs)
Sunday 24th June 2012
Played at Farnham Royal C.C.
Trotters Line Up: Ed Wolfenden (C); Andy Jonwood; Kris Macnamara; Patrick Mellors; Charlie Radclyffe; Amitabh Sachdeva; Adam Saunders; Tommy Smith; James Wolfenden; John Wolfenden; Matt Wolfenden.
This fixture nearly went the way of so many others before it this season, due to several days of rain in the run up and an uncertain forecast; but the decision to leave it until the last moment to decide whether to go ahead or not paid off and the game got underway beneath blue skies.
Those welcomed back to the team for their first appearance of the season included Skipper Ted Wolfenden; Amitabh ‘Shovel Hands’ Sachdeva and the 4th member of the Wolfenden dynasty, Big Matt.
It was Jumbo and Tommy who opened the batting, as they had done to good effect in the last fixture against Eaton Bray and they set about their task in a very disciplined fashion. The slightly soggy and slow outfield was denying them a few 4’s and there were no short boundaries to target, so they were being made to work hard for their runs. After a decent stint, Tommy went for 10 runs and Amitabh took up the challenge adding another 14 and taking a hard fall in the process, before going to a very harsh LBW decision.
At the drinks interval, there was some concern that the match might have to be abandoned (not because of any lack of orange squash) but because an almighty downpour started. It soon passed though, leaving clear blue skies and bright sunshine. Bizarre.
The skipper was up next to join Jumbo, who by now, was cruising on towards his 50. In a classy and confident knock, Ed added a very respectable 25 before handing over to John who had the misfortune of becoming the first Trotter of the season to leave the crease with a duck. Radclyffe was next to take to the field and with the overs bowled fast approaching 40, he helped himself to an impressive 28 before losing his wicket. Kris Mac made a quick 1 not out in a fleeting cameo at his home town club, cut sadly short by the conclusion of the innings. The plaudits went to a shattered Jumbo who made a superb 68 not out, despite the unrelenting sunshine and some pretty decent and consistent bowling from our younger and frankly much fitter opponents.
A score of 170-5 had been put up, which was not too bad given the longer boundaries than we have been used to and the conditions in the outfield. Had the pitch seen a bit more sun in the week before the game, this would easily have been over 200.
The tea on offer at the break was most welcome, with the mini samosas proving particularly popular and our hosts did not underestimate our appetites. The brew was a right touch as well.
With half an eye on the clock, due to the England v Italy match kicking off at 19:45, the players took to the field once again and Chas and Andy opened the bowling, starting brightly and Andy was desperately unlucky to have a wicket not given for a no ball. The impressive Adam Saunders picked up right where he left off against Eaton Bray and restricted the opponents’ scoring with some superbly tight bowling, aided and abetted by a resolute and well organised field. The benefit of having Amit back was there for all to see, with the ball sticking to his hands and countless runs being saved by the big man.
At the mid-way point things looked good for the Trotters, but Farnham Royal responded by stepping up the run rate dramatically and benefitting from a drier outfield. There were also some very questionable decisions not given, one of which did result in one of the Farnham batsmen walking, which was highly sporting of him, especially with the match so tightly poised.
John and Ed would be the only ones to find the breakthrough though, taking 1 and 2 wickets respectively and Jumbo contributed with some decent overs, despite his exhaustion. Kris and Adam took excellent catches as well and at the 35 over mark it was still anyone’s game.
Chas rounded off with another of his trademark onslaughts, but the Farnham batsmen were in their stride by now and could afford to take a few chances with their shots and they went for some big hits. In a fascinating conclusion though, it was Farnham that held their nerve and wrapped up the win with just an over to spare.
It was another agonisingly close defeat for the Trotters, but further improvements as a team had been made and most important of all, it was great just to get out and play some cricket after so many abandoned fixtures.
Man of the Match: By quite a margin the votes went to Jumbo. Great knock, which would no doubt have been a 100 were it not for the damp outfield. Well done!
Special Mentions: Go to Adam for some very tight bowling and a superb catch and Amitabh for a decent first knock of the season and a run saving performance in the field and to Charlie also for his trademark pace bowling, which always looked dangerous. Kris Mac’s textbook catch was absolute quality as well. Well done guys.
Tea Score: Average score was 6 out of 10. The scones in particular attracted many compliments, but they were let down slightly with some questionable sandwich fillings. A decent spread all the same.
Batting Figures: James Wolfenden – 68 n.o. Tommy Smith – 10 Amitabh Sachdeva – 14 Ed Wolfenden – 25 John Wolfenden – 0 Charlie Radclyffe – 28 Kris Macnamara – 1 n.o. (Andy Jonwood, Adam Saunders, Pat Mellors, Matt Wolfenden - D.N.B.)
Bowling Figures: Charlie 0-23 (8 overs) Andy 0-26 (5 overs) Adam 0-24 (8 overs) John 1 -28 (8 overs) Ted 2-43 (7 overs) Jumbo 0-22 (3 overs)
Next up: We have a fixture on Sunday 1st July against Ibstone C.C., weather permitting. Bob will no doubt be in touch with details shortly.
