SCORECARD

Yorkshire Who?

It was a balmy early August evening, with the evenings starting to draw in. The kind of day when batsmen wanted to score runs. How suitable, then, that on a surface described by some of our more discerning batters as 'turgid', the Fitmen and Wanderers still acculumated a total of 373 runs. (We have it on good authority that Yorkshire 2nd XI had already been bowled out for 60 on that same wicket by Worcestershire 2nd XI, earlier in the day. Perhaps the Pears are hiding some really good bowlers in their ranks.)
http://www.wccc.co.uk/cricket/2nd-xi-fixtures/yorkshire-1.html

Losing the toss, captain Nutt had no hesitation in accepting the opposition's decision to field first. It had been decided that the batting order should be chosen by a lottery system. Bizarrely, this resulted in a very regular-looking batting line-up: Green, Howarth, Molloy, Sehdeva, Jones, Sharif, Chisholm, Huxley, Brentnall, Nutt, Caesar Snr. Suggestions that the lottery was itself more fixed than a Zimbabwean presidential election were quickly dismissed by heavy-looking men with batons. In any case, a fine team batting performance was delivered. Green (28no) and Howarth (24) ran excellently to pile on 54 within seven overs before the former retired with a 100+ strike rate. The latter was the first of two batters to be out one-short of retiring - the other was Chas Sehdeva, who was run out at keeper's end calling for a second, by an astonishing direct-hit from deep long on. Chris Jones, Sharif, and Chiz all followed up with 20+ scores at better than a run-a-ball. The final total of 186-3 was considered competitive, while recognising that Fitmen-Wanderers meetings on this ground are almost always runfests.

Sharif and Chas opened the bowling ably, and then came first-change surprise package Marcus Huxley. His tactic of bowling right hand round the wicket - coming between umpire and stumps - to right-handers, combined with accurate delivery, was enough to give him bowling figures of 2-0-6-3 - the best on either side. Two of his victims were stumped by quick-witted Chisholm and the third was caught by Green at deep midwicket.

Despite good bowling and fielding, the Wanderers kept up with the run rate going into the second half of the innings. Wickets fell to Howarth (2-0-15-1) and Nutt (2-0-11-1). In the gathering gloom, the skipper decided that it might be unsporting to keep his quickest bowler to the end, so Brentnall (2-0-9-0) bowled overs 13 and 15. With four overs remaining, Wanderers required 30 to win with retired batsmen waiting to come back to the middle.

With a pair of catching opportunities strategically put down (credit to Robs Molloy and Green for tactical work there) and some not-too-aggressive fielding, the Fitmen did their best to keep the lower order batters in for as long as possible. But it came to pass that Wanderers' number 7 reached his 25, and his retirement saw the first of their retirees return to the crease, requiring 16 from the last over. To take on that bowling challenge, cometh the hour, cometh the man - batting hero Rob Green stepped up, having already bowled a maiden in his first over. Now, this correspondent is not sure who that returning batsman usually turns out for, but suspects it's usually a far higher standard than this. In spite of slicing one of Rob's turning deliveries (it could have gone anywhere), the batsman was seeing it better than the fielders and target was reached with a couple of deliveries to spare.

Excellent competitive Fitmen spirit in this game, followed by a nice pint of Pardoe's to round off the evening.