Match Report

This week Lavant welcomed our good friends Lynchmere to the hallowed turf but with a slight twist to the proceedings. Due to an ‘admin error’ with the green booking the game needed to start earlier to allow for a wedding reception to enjoy the delights of the outfield. So the game needed to start at a test match time of 11am which was perfectly fine with everyone, there were NO issues or moaning. The whole team was philosophical about it with no complaints or need for the captain to triple check with everyone during the week they knew what day and time to arrive…

So 10.30am the team arrived adorned in their PJ’s and teddy bears under their arms yawning and raring to go! 

The two captains wandered to the middle for an early morning toss and yes….yet again the Lavant captain won and, with the pitch looking flat and hard, elected to bat, revving up his batting unit to deliver a big total. 

After waking up a few of the team (and getting them to rub the sleep from their eyes) the Lavant skipper asked the in-form man (Justin) to strap on the pads and accompany him to the middle looking to build on their massive partnership from the week before.

And boy what a start with the Lavant skipper (buoyed from his early season form) looking to deliver the fast start he is always keen on with a flurry of boundaries in the first 3 overs racing the score along, but unfortunately was undone by a good ball (and getting a little carried away) being clean bowled for 18.

At the other end Justin (who was in the form of his life) was playing watchfully and capitalising on anything that he could score from. Joining him was Harry and between them they both settled into a match defining partnership. It was a masterclass from both men, seeing off the opening bowlers, hitting gaps, running hard with clear calling and keeping the scoreboard moving. 

At the halfway stage the scoreboard was at the 100 mark and with Justin passing 50 yet again both men then looked to shift gears and up the run rate. Suddenly the scoreboard really started to motor with boundaries flying to all parts of the ground. 

Justin rode his luck at times but when you are in form and going well sometimes Lady Luck smiles on you and in those moments you need to make the most of the opportunity, and Justin certainly did being selfless with trying to score as much as possible to get the team a massive score. 

At the other end, Harry was also trying to go through the gears and was able to register 50 before being clean bowled and walked off to warm applause and congratulations from his team mates for his efforts.

With ‘super Steve’ taking a nap due to the prospect of a long bowl Tam was next looking to keep the flow of runs going and got into his work fast, smashing the ball brutally and maintaining the increasing run rate. 

Then the moment of the day came with Justin (after a couple of nervy shots before) finally able to pass the magical 100 mark with a very fitting big 6. Huge applause and celebrations erupted from the home side (it even woke Steve up) allowing Justin to take the applause and raise his bat taking in the moment. 

At the agreement of both skippers Justin retired on 105 and was able to put his feet up after a terrific knock. Well done Justin!

With only a handful of overs left (and Tam bizarrely managing to drag on for a quickfire 14) it was left to Lloyd and Phil to take the side home looking to get as many as possible. 

Lynchmere returned to their opening bowlers and in fairness did a good job stopping the charge to the end with decent balls in good areas. Lloyd was able to smash the last delivery for 4 ending with 8 n.o. and Phil 3 n.o. and the team total a massive 231!

Lunch was taken. With a real lack of volunteers wanting to do the early morning sandwich making shift a HUGE big thanks to Matt’s wife and mother in law. Congratulations were offered, cake was eaten and tape was applied. The Lavant skipper (concerned with the bowling from the week before) rallied his troops and delivered a Churchillian speech reminding the team that even though it was a big total nothing was won yet and not allowing complacency to creep in.

And what a great speech…..because after 3 overs Lynchmere had already registered 40 runs!! I think i’ll not bother next time…

In fairness to Tam (who was subject to the majority of abuse from the Lynchmere opener) he tried everything to stop the flow of runs but the batter just seemed like a man possessed, hitting huge shots all over the ground. With the Lavant skipper considering taking Tam out of the attack the clubs premier bowler delivered a massive momentum swinging moment by taking the critical wicket of the opener assisted by an outstanding catch by ‘super Steve’ Brooker in the deep who did a brilliant job tracking the ball and hanging on to the relief of the whole team. After the wicket Tam was able to rein in the run rate and keep things steady for the remainder of his spell finishing with 1-41 from his 5 overs.

At the other end it was slightly less dramatic with Matt H (having his first bowl of the season) quietly going about his business and getting into his flow. The left armer was able to get into his rhythm early and you could see the confidence growing as he was able to strike picking up a smart caught and bowled (hitting the ground hard but able to cradle the ball into his body) removing the #3 and then was able to extract a very fine nick through to the keeper’s gloves picking up the wicket of #4 too. Matt may have only been able to make one winter net but that seems to be more than enough finishing with an outstanding 2-29 from his 6 overs. The only negative for Matt on the day was the curse of the Lavant outfield striking once more by claiming yet ANOTHER pair of shoes with Matt arriving back to the changing room later with the sole ripped off and sporting another ‘crocodile’ shoe….goodness me how many times does this have to happen until something is done. It must be the shoes!!! 

With the game entering a critical period and Lynchmere looking to rebuild, the Lavant skipper turned to ‘Super Steve’ and Ian ‘Radar’ Rawnsley to fire up the Lavant ‘legacy’ bowling partnership. Tasked by the skipper to bowl tight lines, bowl to their fields and stick to the plan both men delivered the goods for the team. Steve (with great support in the field by the whole team) restricted the Lynchmere batters to only being able to hit singles and keeping the run rate in check finishing with a tidy 0-38 from his 7 over spell.

At the other end, and considering the context of the game, his good mate Ian R delivered a truly outstanding spell of bowling. An utter masterclass of what is required when an opposition team is trying to chase a big total. The pressure was on and like Steve Ian stuck to the plan and kept things tight and gave the Lynchmere batsmen nothing whilst also passing the edge over and over again. It was remarkable he didn’t pick up a single caught behind!

It goes without saying that Ian’s spell turned the game in favour of the home side and was a matching winning performance on a par with Justin’s 100. Sometimes as a bowler you don’t have to take a load of wickets to win a game for your side and this was one of those moments. Ian R finished with a remarkable 0-18 off his 7 overs. 

With the screws being turned on Lynchmere and the game coming to its conclusion the Lavant skipper turned to ‘Mr Chairman’ Mark S, Justin, and Tam to try and close out the game. 

With the field set and a cunning plan formed Mark started proceedings brilliantly. As a spinner (and that stage of the game) you know that the batting unit will be coming after you. Mark S bowled with flight and guile holding his nerve swinging the pressure back onto the batters shoulders. With the pressure building on the batting side something had to give, and in Mark’s second over he was able to pick up the critical wicket of the set #5 batter plumb in front of all three for LBW. In his next over he then extracted the (also set) opener again plumb LBW! And just to top it off in his last over picked up a classic spinners wicket catching the opposing batter out of his crease allowing the keeper to execute a smart stumping. Mark S finished the game with a smart 3-15 off his 4 over spell.

At the other end Justin was having a slightly tougher time. His extra pace was doing him a disservice, allowing the Lychmere batsmen able to use this to their advantage with any deflection off the bat racing away to the boundary. After 3 overs, with Tam waiting in the wings (and the Lavant captain sharpening the axe) Justin was able to wrestle back some control  which bought him another over from captain (who put away his shepherd’s crook for the time being) and finally his endeavour paid off, clean bowling the #6 batter and finishing off his spell of 1-38 from 6 overs.

With the run rate becoming insurmountable Lavant were able to close out their 35 overs restricting Lynchmere to 185 and winning the game by 46 runs! A massive crowd (of very smartly dressed people) had gathered to watch the end of the match. Obviously word has got out about the team’s current form and people were racing to the ground to take it all in. Most of them had their backs to the game as the thrilling climax was just too much to watch…….OR……it was the wedding goers who had arrived from the Church. I’ll leave it up to you to decide.

An after match pint was enjoyed by both teams at the pub with the agreement from both parties that both sides had fought hard and contributed to a great game.

Man of the match is shared this week. Not many times do people score 100 runs in an innings and (based on current form) not many were surprised to see Justin do it, however it is always a momentous achievement and something to be celebrated, but most importantly more times than not will set up a match winning score for the team. Congratulations and well done to Justin.

BUT…..people who know the game will also know that the bowling spell from Ian R was equally as important. In cricket when bowling sometimes it’s not all about taking the most wickets. As a captain all you could wish for is to have control of the game and Ian R delivered that in spades. Considering the context of the game to stand up and bowl 7 overs for only 18 runs swung the momentum back in our favour. Well done Ian R.

Champagne moment goes Steve for a terrific piece of fielding in the deep. The ball was seriously travelling so for Steve to not only pick up the flight of the ball, run into position and (crucially) cling on was brilliant (even more so considering that it was the key wicket of the Lynchmere opener who was going ballistic). 

Well done to everyone. Enjoy the Swiss horns. I’m off to find a speech writer to help me with my half time team talks….

On to the next!