SCORECARD

A GREAT START FOR THE MIDWEEK FITMEN

So to the first midweek fixture of the season. Surely all good Fitmen would be keen to play. Ah well not exactly but a strong team still took to the field with the exiled Jack Caesar making a quick return from the gulags of Cambridge and Dan Lawson returning from many years of hard labour down under.

As usual Jim Frost called the toss wrong and the Fitmen were duly asked to toil in the field. Surprisingly the wicket looked good and flat (well at least for that notorious sticky dog at Richmond Hill Rd). The Fitmen opening attack of Brentnall and Howes hadn't read the opposition script however and soon wiped out the openers and a smart throw from Jack C saw the number 3 back in the hutch without troubling the scorers or for that matter even facing a ball.

With their skipper at the crease the oppo staged a small fight back until that wiley practitioner of the bowling art Sharif induced a leading edge for a smart caught and bowled. Jim Frost soon brought himself on at the smell of easy wickets and soon had the batsmen bowled playing all round a devilish slower ball before tossing up a fine selection of pies and flans for the lower order batsmen to tuck into and make the score a bit more respectable.

Meanwhile at the other end Aid Martin quickly picked up 3 quick wickets before he was hauled off complaining that he needed a chance to increase his tally of fantasy points. This gave Dan Lawson the chance to get involved with two tidy overs of left arm something or other. Aid Martin got his way and finished off the innings with one more overdo; no wickets but somehow despite an eccentric throw he picked up 15 more fantasy points with a run out off the last ball.

Skipper Frost then gave careful consideration to the order that his batsmen should appear at the crease only for all of this cerebral activity to go to waste as bomber Bice and Howitzer Howarth had the game All but won after eight overs. Bice particularly tucked into the bowling like Billy Bunter let loose in the cake shop scoring 59 not out.

Howarth after a quick fire (well for him at least) 17 at just under a run a ball felt sorry for those waiting eagerly in the pavilion (ramshackle lean to) and got himself out clean bowled. In strode new boy Richard Harris ( there must be a Dumbledore joke in there some where) and that was that as he proceeded to score 19 not out off 8 balls.

And so to next week and the next exciting instalment of balls bails and middle aged men.