Match Report

After a grey, windy and dreary weekend the mighty Lavant (once again on the road) were travelling all the way to Hampshire to face (a surprisingly youthful) Clanfield. Although the forecast was ropey and it was lightly raining upon their arrival the team were hopeful that things would clear up as last year’s fixture was lost to rain. It did give the team a chance to gaze upon Clanfield’s new pavilion which was very impressive, and many of the team enjoyed the extra spacious changing rooms. There was almost enough room for the Lavant skippers cricket bag and kit.

…almost.

Upon inspection of the middle it was an interesting pitch (when we found it). Emerald green and used, you could make a case of bowling first and make use of the new ball but then face a tough task batting second on an already worn pitch (which will only get worse)…..or bat first and make the most of the better batting conditions to get a score and exploit the bowler friendly conditions after.

Decisions decisions. 

Of course the Lavant captain is a simple man. Although there were no witnesses to the toss it probably went something along the lines of this:

‘Me Lavant skipper. Me win toss. Me bat. Go Well’

So Lavant batted first then (no shocks there and hopefully curtailed the cries from within his team about him not being a top drawer tosser).

The tried and tested openers (Justin and the Lavant skipper) slapped on the pads, donning it would seem more strappings, joint supports and tape than normal, and headed out the middle to continue their decent opening form for this season.

Obviously with the form Justin is in he got going like a train, seeing it like a cannonball it soon became obvious it was more like a beach ball and soon after that a zorb!! After a couple of weeks without being able to bat he was clearly ravenous for runs, climbing into anything loose like a hungry hungry hippo gobbling up any opportunity to score as he wasn’t in the mood to be hit on the wrist again! 

In a total flip of roles at the other end the Lavant skipper (who has been struggling recently) was happy to check his ego and support his batting partner looking to push the ball into gaps and run singles to keep the scoreboard moving and highlighting that the point of a partnership is to work together and bat for the good of the team. It was an uncharacteristically slow innings but it was what was required to build a solid partnership. The two good friends posted yet another 50 opening stand for the season in the 9th over.

When the change of bowlers came the breakthrough arrived for the home side with the Lavant skipper flummoxed by the unusual action of the new bowler caused him to be totally out of sync when trying to defend and was clean bowled for 19.

Next in was ‘Super’ Steve who was a little miffed as he had to put down his strawberries and cream, pack away his tennis racquet and head out to the middle to join Justin. Some had said he had been to Wimbledon the day before…

Steve continued the good work building the Lavant innings with Justin and the two men were relentless, giving nothing to the home side and really putting the hammer down. 

With the scoreboard motoring again Justin was able to register yet another 100 for the year. It was SO good he was clapped twice for it! Justin retired for 101. Very well batted.

At the other end Steve (slightly overshadowed by Justin’s scoring) was busy doing what he does best. Batting with class and accumulating runs and anchoring the batting in a steadfast fashion. Steve registered another 50 for the season which was also SO good he wasn’t clapped for it.

Unselfishly (knowing there was plenty of batting in the hutch to come) Steve was out trying to execute an almighty heave to the leg side and being clean bowled. Chucking his bat and screaming in the umpire’s face ‘You CAN NOT be serious’ seemed an odd reaction….maybe next time we should have clapped his 50?

(just for clarity this is just a joke / satire….Steve clearly did NOT scream at the umpire)….

….(he just smashed the stumps, pushed over a child and kicked a dog on the way off)…

………(AGAIN…JOKE)….

…………(or was it)??

On with the game….

So…..many people would have heard and been VERY excited about the ‘great reunion’ this week and they would be right to be truly excited. The crowds were huge, many a dog walker apoplectic with the excitement of seeing the famous two back together again after all this time. Yes that’s right….Lloyd and Nathan were not only back playing at the same time but also the two good friends were batting together! 

If only half the team could tell me which was which!

Deciding not to look back in anger the two men got into their work quickly. It was great to see them both not only get a chance to bat together in the middle but also work together as a batting partnership and just roll with it. Both are still learning their craft when it comes to cricket but showed a lot of promise hitting boundaries and running well with Lloyd hitting impressively into the covers and Nathan (equally impressively) trying to hit the slower bowlers straight over their heads! D’ you know what I mean?

The only blot on their copy book was Nathan getting out in yet another bizarre manner (run out once again) by running on a no ball and in a rather dopey manner (after completing the run) wandering out of his crease to be run out at the other end. Nathan and run outs are starting to become synonymous….in fairness to Nath when he wandered off he did admit to not knowing the rules!

I shall be on the look out for ‘cricket for dummies’ book from work!

Nathan was out for a solid 25. Interestingly Lloyd finished with 25 not out. You just can’t separate them. It’s like they are brothers! Little by little they are becoming decent cricketers.

There was only one last thing to report from the innings. Will ‘T-Rex’ T walking out to face one ball and slamming it for 4! Great work Will….carrying his bat for 4 not out! 

The Lavant innings finished with a commanding 245 from their 35 overs.

Tea was taken and with a huge dark cloud opening up the heavens onto the ground it gave us a chance to really appreciate the nice pavilion! Sandwiches were eaten, a massage gun was used and cricket was watched on a phone (which was rubbish and soon turned off).

Thankfully the dark clouds passed and the mighty Lavant took to the field eager to get on with the game in case any more poor weather arrived! 

With so many runs on the board the Lavant skipper was looking to set attacking fields for his opening bowlers, stationing people in catching positions and looking to pick up early wickets. 

Throwing the ball to his premiere opening bowler Tam ‘Jean claude Van Tram’ started the proceedings and executed his skills perfectly. Tam has always been a strike bowler for his skipper but recently he has also found great control and doesn’t give the batters an inch. His economy has been amazing of late and today was a continuation of that form. In his 6th over, after some tight bowling, the pressure gave and the wickets came, picking up the Clanfield #3 and #6 clean bowled. Tam finished his 6 over spell with 2-14!

At the other end the team was welcoming Max for his full Sunday team debut. Max, who has been playing in the T20 side this season, had settled in with the team so well that it felt like he was already part of the Lavant cricket family. Undeterred by being asked to open the bowling the young leg spinner found it a little difficult to find his lengths first up however (with the backing of the whole team) after that he settled into one of the most unplayable spells of leg spin you are likely to see. Landing the ball time and time again on the same nagging spot not only did he show great control but also extracting prodigious turn and bounce which had the wicket keeper licking his lips! 

After bowling a maiden the following over brought about the first of his wickets (a caught behind). Next over Max forced the batter into a false shot hitting the ball straight back at him to pick up (considering how tall his is) a really sharp low catch! Next over another false shot caught smartly by Nathan! Max finished his 5 over spell with 3 for 19.

With the heart ripped out of the Clanfield batter order the Lavant skipper turned to his other spinners Peter ‘The Professor’ and Mark ‘The Chairman’ to press home the advantage!

Peter seemed to struggle initially to hold his line and lengths but didn’t let his head drop and stuck to his task and kept wheeling away and was richly rewarded for his efforts! In his second over he cleaned bowled the #7. Next over he managed to extract a false shot which was grabbed by Nathan for his (second catch of the day). In his last over over of the day he clean bowled the #10 finishing his 4 over spell 3 for 18.

At other end ‘The Chairman’ hit the ground running picking up a wicket in his first over (forcing the #8 to chip the ball up in the air to Tam). In the second over Tam should have grabbed another if it wasn’t for the ‘sun’ being in his eyes…..there were many puzzled looks from the team due to the massive dark cloud hanging over the ground…..even Steve wasn’t wearing either of his two pairs of sunglasses…

Not to worry because in the following over Mark was able to draw another mistake and the #8 was out safety caught by Will ‘T-Rex’ T who was able to see the ball quite clearly (although his ears still don’t like to hear people shout catch).

Thus bringing the game to the close Lavant had bowled out Clanfield for 60 in the 17th over for the win.

A note of appreciation to Clanfield who showed the true spirit of ‘village cricket’. Normally one of our more ‘competitive’ fixtures on the schedule it was good to see an opposition team be prepared to field a side (regardless of its strength) to fulfil the fixture. So thank you.

Man of the match goes to Justin for yet another magnificent 100. I’m running out of superlatives but it was a slightly different 100 to the others. Getting off to a flying start, getting in top gear early and just kept going and going. The basis of the team’s success this season have been largely due to his runs and we should never take that for granted.

Champagne moment goes to Max for not only a really smart caught and bowled (getting down so low for such a tall man) but also for some simply unplayable deliveries. One ball in particular came down straight, drifted in and then turned sharply missing the edge by a fraction. I can tell you that anyone who enjoys wicket keeping as much as I do will always love keeping to a decent leg spinner. It was a joy to watch.

Well done everyone, on to the next!