Sunday 29th September

Match Report

On a cold and windy autumnal Sunday in late September the mighty Lavant had been hoping that a break in the weather would allow for the final game of the season to be played out.

Thankfully (after a LOT of rain during the last couple of weeks) Derek was able to resurrect the hallowed turf at Lavant and get the pitch and outfield into a decent enough state for a game to get underway. This week’s fixture welcomed Emsworth to the ground (who had kindly rearranged this fixture from when it was rained off on the 8th September).

The two team captains agreed to a 30 over game to try and make sure a result was possible before the forecasted rain hit later in the day. After a couple of weeks break from tossing the Lavant captain missed out and Emsworth elected to bat. 

GAME ON! 

The game started up with the Lavant skipper turning to one of the premier left arm bowlers from the Lavant squad in Matt H to open up proceedings. Matt’s progress this season has been encouraging and it was nice to see him finding a bit more rhythm to his bowling by swinging the ball and putting it in the right areas and got the team off to a good start! Matt finished with a respectable for 18 of his 3 overs with lots of encouraging signs to take into next season.

At the other end, buoyed by his MOM performance last week, Justin came charging in (obviously fueled by nibbling on some of the tea he had been preparing in the morning). Bowling to the Emsworth opening bat (who was also called J Murrary) the team could hear him muttering in his run up ‘There’s only one J. Murray’. Thankfully Justin was able to clean bowl J. Murray as most of the team agreed it was bad enough having one of them on the field at any given time…

At the other end Will took over from Matt and looked to run into the light breeze hoping to continue the good work that Matt had started. Granted Will may have had to deal with a small draught of wind in his face (which he never mentioned once through the whole day) and got off to a shaky start before showing his class and kept things tight finishing with 1 for 36 off his 8 over spell (which included a smart stumping) in nearly perfect bowling conditions.

At the other end (with the wind in his sails) Justin carried on his great form with the ball ripping into the Emsworth top order displacing their stumps and also taking 2 smart caught and bowled. Justin ended the last game of the season with a well deserved five for (finishing with 5 for 5 off his 7 overs)!

After the solid platform had been laid by Matt, Justin and Will it was a perfect time to unleash the King! With the left arm bowlers offering something for him to work with from their follow throughs it didn’t take long for ‘King Richard’ to extract plenty of turn and cause no end of issues for the emsworth lower / middle order who were looking to counter attack. Given the state of the game Richard bowled incredibly well to hold his nerve against the Emsworth #6 who was looking to hit boundaries. On another day Ricahrd might / should have had more wickets to his name but bowled an amazing 8 over for only 23 runs

At the other end James ‘The Slayer’ Cartmell had joined the attack and was equally frugal with his bowling under the pressure of a batting team looking to push hard. James constantly put the ball in the right areas with great control and didn’t allow anyone to get after him and was a key component in keeping the total down to a respectable amount finishing with 2 for 8 off 4 overs. 

Emsworth finished with 93 for 9 from their 30 overs leaving Lavant with a tricky chase on a pitch that looked hard to score on.

Tea was taken, the last set of bananas were eaten and the end of season beers were moved into the fridge.

The Lavant skipper walked out the middle with Harry looking for a solid start and set a decent platform for a potentially tricky chase. The proceedings started well with the Lavant captain finding early boundaries and putting the Emsworth bowlers under pressure. Equally Harry at the other end looked in good nick and didn’t take long to hit gaps and run hard whilst also pouncing on anything loose and sending it to the fence.

After such a solid start (and looking comfortable) it was a shock to all when the Lavant captain was clean bowled trying to defend a straight ball. The frustration was etched all over his face as he walked off however with the scoreboard at 31-1 and a 3rd of the runs required already scored some solace could be taken from the skipper for (yet again) getting the team off to a good start.

With slight nervous murmurings from the home side about reaching the required total next in was Joe who looked assured from the start calming the home side’s fears. Joe was very watchful, hitting the ball into gaps and running hard with Harry to keep the scoreboard moving. It was perfect judgement from both men on a wet pitch and a slow outfield. 

At the other end Harry continued and grew more and more into his innings timing it sweetly and accumulating the required runs. Near to the end Joe opened up his shoulders and was able to give the crowd what they had all come to see … .blistering 6 hitting that we have all grown accustomed to with one straight 6 landing in the river. Losing a ball in the river is a LOT cheaper than smashing a window! Joe finished with a well deserved 30 not out.

With a solid partnership both were able to chase down the total within 16 overs with Harry finishing with 43 not out.

In these kinds of low scoring games I do want to also mention Phil, Fraser and Steve who all put in a big effort in the field and helped the team going on a cold day!

With the game won and the season completed for another year cold beer was distributed (mainly due to Joe’s brilliant bottle opening technique on the roller) and with thank you’s given and the season toasted thus concluded the 2024 season. It was great to share this with the core group of players and also to those who were not able to play but still game down anyway (free beer has that effect)! We also toasted the people who couldn’t be there on the day as the Lavant squad has been crucial to this season.

A BIG thank you to everyone. Lavant CC is a true village cricket team in every sense as it relies heavily on the contributions of everyone to make it possible. From finding and picking players, trying to be fair and keep everyone happy, organising fixtures, sorting out the off field admin, preparing the pitch, keeping the facilities going, providing tea, running a dodgy card reader etc etc. 

There have been ups and downs but I hope the main messaging has been consistent and clear all season. The focus is on being competitive AND fun and the team spirit that has been built this year has been something to be proud of.

Of course not everything has been perfect but (for the last time this year)….I blame the shoes ;O)

Man of the match goes to Justin for an amazing 5 wicket haul which not only ripped through the Emsworth top order but most importantly put the team in a winning position.

Champagne moment goes to Will for having to run into a stiff wind for the whole of his spell. Something that he was VERY philosophical about all day and hardly mentioned at all….not once at the start of the game…. OR during his spell….or after his spell…or during tea…. Or in the changing rooms after the game….or at the pub….

Well done everyone. I’m going to sign off from writing match reports now and go and lie down in a dark room now until April…..