Match Report

After a two week wait due to the foul weather which forced the first weekend game cancellation this season, the mighty Lavant were on the road for the last time. Autumn cricket can always be a bit dicey and with many of the team on weather watch all week they were pleasantly surprised upon arriving at the ground to see it bathed in beautiful sunshine.

However the poor recent weather had clearly taken its toll with the ground very wet and heavy under foot, the square green and grassy and the pitch for the day very soft, wet and spongy.

With a young and energetic Singleton team putting in some serious practice in the net the Lavant boys decided not to be shown up by the young whippersnapper’s and play some ‘one hand one bounce’ cricket in front of the pavilion. 

The Lavant skipper walked to the middle and had obviously lost his tossing form from the break in the schedule, losing the toss and being asked to bowl. Trudging back slowly to the team looking to rev up the group (on a day where it appeared that it would be a low scoring match) he hoped his bowlers could keep the runs at a premium.

After consulting with his premier strike bowler which end he preferred ‘Jean Claude Van Tran’ got into his work quickly exploring the conditions and giving away nothing to the Singleton openers. Only offering the occasional single Tam set the tone perfectly and (as always) gave the Lavant captain a real dilemma to either bowl him through or keep back some of his overs for later for if / when things get tight. On this occasion the skipper withdrew Tam after his 6th over.

At the other end Lavant were welcoming Tom Young to the side making his debut near the end of the season. After showing great commitment by kitting himself out in a full set of whites, some new bowling shoes and getting in some sneaky net practice during the week, the Lavant skipper was keen to get him into the game early (rather than let him wait nervously in the field). Tom did brilliantly well considering he had not bowled in many a year and certainly didn’t let anyone down and should be proud and encouraged by his start (and was the only one to extract some swing through the air all game)! After the physical toll started to show (blowing hard and taking deep breaths) Tom pushed hard in his last over and was able to take the prized wicket of one of the Singleton openers (clean bowling him)! It was a terrific reward for a hard effort. Tom finished his 4 over spell 1 for 16. Well done Tom! 

After a solid start Dave B was asked to come into the attack and look to continue the squeeze. After taking a bit of punishment in his second over Dave bowled full and straight, always challenging the batters techniques and asking questions. It was a solid spell of bowling against batters who were not getting any joy from the other end and were clearly trying to push the scoring along. Apart from his last over Dave kept control of the run rate and was unlucky not to be rewarded with any wickets finishing his 7 over spell 0 for 30.

Replacing Tam was another Lavant debutant Stuart Smith and although he was a ‘new’ player to the side, he really wasn’t as he has got to know the Lavant team well over the last couple of years. The cunning leg spinner settled into his work fast and had to bowl the majority of his deliveries to the dangerous left handed Singleton #3. Stuart did a brilliant job keeping the batters quiet and really put the squeeze on. It was a brilliant spell of leg spin bowling, holding his length and varying his line (with some big turn on a wet pitch) which had the wicket keeper salivating at the chance of a catch / stumping! It was a credit to how well ‘Stewie’ bowled, how few runs he went for and how much trouble he was giving the Singleton batters.

Similarly with Tam the Lavant skipper withdrew Stuart from the attack at drinks looking to hold back some overs for later in the game. 

After drinks Peter ‘The Professor’ came into the attack. Rather mysteriously Peter had been away on holiday and picked up a calf injury. Rumours floating around the purpose (or madness) of this break during the cricket season. Or was it just a facade to cover something? Was he away in a ‘warm weather camp’ putting in the solid hours honing his craft? Who knows….either way the Prof pushed through the pain to get through his action and had a mixed day. With loose balls being pounced on by the starved Singleton batter runs started to flow HOWEVER Peter was able to make two vital breakthroughs. First picking up the very important wicket of the dangerous Singleton #3 forcing him into miss queuing a sweep shot that took the glove and popped up into the air allowing the keeper to dive forward on the leg side and snaffle an important grab. 

Next Peter drew the #4 batter (who was also looking to push on the scoring) to hit a ball skyward. With the ball going up a mile Chris ‘John Maclean’ set off…..gobbling up the ground…using all his Bognor 10k experience. Maybe a little too much as at one stage it looked like Chris had overrun it! Thankfully after a quick readjustment Chris got under the ball and took a brilliant catch. He almost made it look easy!!

Peter finished his (slightly expensive) 5 over spell 2 for 32.

With the game coming to a conclusion the Lavant skipper turned to Justin to continue his role this season as the ‘finisher’ and was dependable as ever. With the keeper up Justin was getting the ball to nip off the surface and was unlucky to pick up wickets with a close stumping not given and an edge flying past slip. Keeping the runs tight he didn’t give anything to the batters who were desperate to score. After persistent bowling the rewards came clean bowling the limpet-like Singleton opening batter and then also clean bowling the #7, finishing his 5 over spell 2 for 9.

Capitalising on his decision to hold back overs from Tam and Stuart both were asked to enter the attack to see out the game and both men being rewarded from their day efforts with Tam clean bowling #5 finishing with 1 for 12 off his 7 overs, and Stuart picking up a wicket in his final over (also clean bowling the #6) finishing with 1 for 19 off his 7 overs.

A special mention goes to Andy and Tom who threw themselves around in the field trying to stop anything that came near them. It can’t be stressed enough in a low scoring game how crucial it is to keep the fielding standards as high as possible and stop any runs where possible. Tom and Andy in particular putting their bodies on the line and covering a LOT of ground. It was a top effort and something Lloyd ‘The Lumber Jack’ would have approved of! 

With Singleton restricted to 118 from 35 overs the team walked to tea pleased with their efforts but also mindful on a tricky pitch and a slow outfield it would still require a solid effort from the batting unit to chase down. 

Tea was taken, hot drinks were consumed and more than one layer and jumper were donned as the Autumn chill could start to be felt. 

With Chris ‘John Maclean’’s blistering form with the bat (and an iffy shoulder preventing him from bowling) he was asked to join the Lavant skipper to open the batting and get the team off to a solid start.

With Singleton deploying their impressive all rounder to open the bowling the young quick was fast to make the most of the sluggish pitch first forcing a thick edge from the Lavant skipper for 4 and then a ball holding up in the pitch and drawing a mistimed shot that was caught in the bowlers follow through.

With the Lavant skipper out for 4 Joe was in next and was very watchful dealing with the Singleton opening bowler meeting the ball with a solid defense.

At the other end Chris was also having to deal with the variable bounce forcing himself to get forward and wait for something to score off. After the early wicket both men dug in and started to form a partnership building the score to 22 until Chris (looking to score) misjudged a delivery and was bowled for 13.

Next in was Harry who had been tasked by the Lavant skipper to fill some very big shoes (or gloves) for the batting unit as he was deployed into the ‘Super’ Steve Brooker position for the team. Keen to always have that solid rock of a player in the batting line up to anchor the innings so others can bat around, Harry was more than up to the task. Deploying his customary ‘cricket manual esque’ showreal of beautiful shots was a little frustrated at first trying to find a way through the circle of fielders. 

Harry and Joe steaded the ship carrying the score up to 46 until Joe fell similarly to the Lavant skipper mistiming a ball that seemed to get stuck in the pitch and was out caught for 12.

With people scrambling to pad up, next in was Justin and with the game momentum shifting both Justin and Harry did was needed. Keep a very close eye on the ball, stabilise the innings and then try and pick up the runs when on offer. 

Both Lavant batters stuck in, kept out anything problematic and suddenly you could feel (as the partnership grew) started to find ways of scoring. With the table turning you could sense that the momentum was shifting and the pressure starting to be put back onto the Singleton bowlers.

With some stunning drives by both men (front foot from Justin and a back foot punch from Harry) a calmness started to return to the Lavant team. Highlighting the slow outfield many a shot to the boundery was only 1 or 2 but there was moment were Harry and Justin ran a four to much cheering from their team mates!!

It seemed to be that nothing was going to stop either of them getting their team over the line and both men carried their bats (Harry 33 not out and Justin 43 not out) after reaching 120 and giving Lavant a solid win!

As the sun came out for the late afternoon hand shakes were exchanged and drinks were consumed in a really good win with one of the clubs closest rivals.

Man of the match jointly goes to Tam and Stuart. In a solid team performance the two men who had to bowl the most to the more destructive Singleton batters were the ones who set the foundation of the win. After their spells Singleton were very much behind in the game and when asked to come back and bowl at the end they both continued where they left off and were rightly rewarded with wickets. Well done to both.

Champagne moment goes to Chris Mac for a really really good catch. Not many like to take on catches that go up a mile, are moving away and require you to have to catch them while on the move. Chris set off early, made up the ground and held on brilliantly for a crucial wicket.

With one more game to go (and hopefully the weather behaves) we move on to the last one in 2025.