Match Report

After being away for a number of weeks the mighty Lavant finally returned home like a company of men returning from the front lines. There had been bumps, bruises, aches and injuries but none of this was able to dampen the spirits of the committed men (many of whom had pulled out all the stops to be available to play this weekend, something I am extremely grateful for).

As the Lavant skipper arrived at the ground, the early summer sun had finally arrived and was bathing the outfield. No hat, gloves and winter coats required today! 

This week we welcomed Arundel Castles who looked keen and ready to take on the home side who were assembling and preparing the facilities. Apart from our resident Belgian martial artist who had arrived at the ground to tell everyone he needed to leave to run an errand to Bracklesham Bay. If only we had some sort of technology that allows you to communicate remotely…..it will never catch on.

After deciding not to argue (and potentially receiving a Helicopter Kick) the Lavant skipper was feeling the pressure at the toss knowing he was at least a player down.

Thankfully the Lavant skipper is good under pressure and delivered the goods by winning the toss and electing to bat first.

After rallying the troops, picking up an umpire clicker and having to perform surgery on one of the opposition shoes (who’s sole had come away from the base….yes the Lavant shoe curse hits once again) it was GAME ON!

Walking to the middle was Justin and Harry looking to continue their good opening partnership for this season. It became very apparent early on that the heavy rainfall so far this year had taken its toll with the pitch failing to deliver anything in the way of bounce.

Both openers had to remain very watchful and (as like the week prior) had to be patient and wait for scoring opportunities.

Thankfully both men, showing their class, were able to jump on those chances when they came and dispatch the ball to fences (and farmers field) with aplomb! 

However after an early flurry of runs, and a change of bowler from Arundel Castle, those opportunities started to become less and less. In the 9th over, with 38 on the board, Harry looked to force the pace but missed a straight delivery and was out LBW for 16.

With Tam only just arriving back at the ground ‘Super’ Steve Brooker was next and, as he always does, brought a level of calmness and polished / shiny batting helmet to the proceedings.

With Justin at the other end settling into his work both men formed an imperious partnership and started to not only counter attack but also turn the screws on the Arundel Castle bowlers who just could not keep control of the situation.

With Justin starting to find his timing and Steve being ever busy the scoreboard started to tick along nicely at by the 20 overs mark a platform had been set perfectly for the rest of the batting unit and also allowing Justin to pass 50.

In the 25th over Steve, looking to push on the scoring, was out caught and bowled for a solid 33 but walked off to the appreciation of his team mates for his efforts as the score had moved to 145 with 10 overs remaining which had put Lavant in the box seat to push on for a big score.

Next in was Tam ‘Jean Claude’ Van Tran who looked to hit the ball hard but found it frustrating trying to get it away to the boundary with the slow outfield and was out stumped for 5.

Up next was Dave ‘The Shoes’ Burford but he seemed traumatised from witnessing the surgery opposition’s shoe sole and was out caught for 1.

With a flurry of wickets Will ‘T-Rex’ was in next and was able to settle things back down with Justin and get the innings back on track. Pulling out many of his trademark shots his team mates were loving the invention.

Justin at the other end looked to get into top gear but, due to the slow outfield, found most of the innings required having to run every single run on offer. Showing high fitness levels he was able to keep up with the Apex and both men steady things nicely and got the teams scoring back on track. Justin’s efforts toughing it out in difficult batting conditions were rewarded by registering his first 100 of the season! Great work Justin.

However….at the 33rd over (with 180 on the board) everything changed. With everyone trying to go full tonto to get as many runs as possible in the final overs it was made even more clear how hard it was to score runs the moment you try and force the pace. 

Will T – Out LBW for 11

Justin – Out stumped for 101

Will MC – Out caught for 1

After these flurry of wickets the innings, and the score 180, looked to be ending in a whimper! 

Greg W (making his Sunday debut for Lavant) and the Lavant skipper found themselves in the middle with 2 and a half overs remaining hoping to push the score on and take the team home.

With Greg looking solid he played with a straight bat and was able to punch the ball away and run hard. At the other end in complete contrast the Lavant skipper had decided to swing like a rusty gate and was able to bludgeon the ball to the boundary. 

When the 35 overs were concluded Greg and the Lavant skipper were able to form a crucial 20 odd partnership, bat out the remaining overs and push the team score to a very decent 206.

With the Lavant skipper having to rush off to strip off and apply many layers of tape the team were able to enjoy the tea break in the warm summer sun. 

With the mummification completed, tea enjoyed and bananas consumed Lavant took to the field looking to defend their total.

Up first, returning to his rightful place, the team’s overseas premier opening bowler started proceedings at the river end and was majestic with his bowling. First over a wicket maiden (snaring one of the openers LBW). Second over – maiden. Third over – Maiden! It was relentless bowling giving the batters nothing and in his 6th over he then picked up the wicket of the #3 clean bowling them with a beautiful delivery that nipped back through the gate. Tam (after complaining of having heavy / iron legs) completed this 6 overs for a brilliant 2 for 12! 

At the other end Keir ‘The PM’ Sessions who was able to also have an instant impact trapping the other opener plumb LBW! With the Arundel Castle innings floundering their #4 batter entered the fray and from the get go launched into an aggressive counter attack for which Keir was subjected too. With the ball being muscled away Keir showed great character and held his nerve to hold his lengths and contained the aggressive #4 as best he could. With the runs flowing a change was required so Keir finished his 4 over spell 1 for 34.

With the Arundel Castle #4 looking to dominate the bowlers there was only really one option that the Lavant skipper could and should turn to in these circumstances. When faced with someone trying to be an alpha you can only meet aggression with aggression and the Lavant skipper called upon his Apex (who had been hunting in the deep)!

Growling and snarling the ‘T-Rex’ was deployed and fired down a quality first over but then followed up in his second over by inserting dominance on the Arundel Castle #4 by cleaning and bowling him. As had been the case all day the ball stayed low but it was a crucial breakthrough for the team removing a clearly dangerous player. After rattling off another smart over the Lavant skipper decided that the snarling beast needed to be ushered back into his hunting ground. Will ‘T-Rex’ completed his hunting…errr..spell 1 for 13!

At the other end, with Tam suddenly having lead in his boots, the Lavant skipper asked Will ‘The master’ MC to enter the attack and he also exploded into life picking up the wicket of the other dangerous looking #5 batter (forcing a false drive to be smartly caught by Greg)! With the opposition 5 down the Lavant skipper had to make the tough choice and kindly asked Will to stand down to allow others a bowl. 

With the Arundel Castle batters reeling the Lavant skipper decided to turn to his ‘spin twins’ Peter ‘The Proffessor’ and Greg W.

Peter ‘The Professor’ was up first and was slightly guilty of his first delivery being a bit of a loosener! However as a spinner sometimes understand those types of deliveries are able to pick up a wicket the Arundel Castle #7, looking to launch the ball into the farmers field, hit it flat and travelling at speed, right into the hunting ground where Will ‘T-Rex’ was able to throw himself into the ball’s bath and stick out a little arm and take a stunning catch right on the boundary! 

Two balls later Peter, who had now warmed up, wheeled away and delivered a perfect off spinning delivery that pitched and turned through the gate cleaning bowling the #6. Peter, not finished there, then followed this up by clean bowling the #8! After this flurry of wickets Peter kept things tight and completed his 4 over spell 3 for 6!

At the other end Greg got into his work early and put on a master class of off spin bowling. Flighting the ball nicely, getting above the eye line, and landing it time after time on a good length Greg offered nothing. Only going for 4 in his first over, then a maiden he was able to deliver a wicket maiden in his 3rd over taking a thick edge of the #9 batter that was gobbled up by Tam.

In his 4th over Greg was able to take the final wicket of the #11, again catching a top edge which looped up to Justin at slip! Greg completed his 4 over spell with stunning figures of 2 for 4!

Arundel Castle had been bowled out for 72 in the 21st over giving Lavant a comfortable victory

I just like to go on record that as captain I greatly appreciated the efforts from the main bowlers who have to not only bowl the ‘tough’ overs at the opposition best players but also step aside to allow others an opportunity to shine in the team. I know as captain that a lot of the time I am spoilt for choice (with some not even getting a bowl when they certainly should be) but it certainly is not a reflection on their ability or my appreciation of their qualities. I have said before this season regarding our batting that we are a team that is a sum of its parts but that also applies to the bowling unit too.

Today’s game optimised this with the batting unit performing well (assisted by a great 100 from Justin) and all the bowlers were able to contribute in bowling out the opposition and completing the victory. 

Well done, everyone. On to the next! 

Man of the Match

An easy one to pick this week. On a tough wicket to score Justin really stood out. Initially finding it hard to time on a low slow pitch he stuck with it and knuckled down. Hanging in there allowed him to build a patient innings and bat through which (as shown by the opposition’s innings) was hard to do and formed the backbone of Lavant’s batting total. Justin registering his first 100 of the season was a fitting reward for his efforts. Well done Justin.

Champagne Moment

This week’s champagne moment goes to Will T for a stunning grab on the boundary. Although the batter didn’t get the elevation he wanted, the ball was really travelling. So much so once Will had taken the catch it knocked him off his feet! It truly was a great grab!