SCORECARD

Didn’t we have a lovely time the day we went to Lichfield?
Lichfield Nomads 164 all out; Old Mo 166-2
Fitmen win by 8 wickets

The venue was actually Whittington, a delightful village 3 miles south east of Lichfield. The village is perhaps best known for its Barracks. Until 2008 it was the base for “Phase 1 Common Military Training” (i.e. becoming soldiers) for The Royal Signals and The Royal Engineers. It is now the training centre for “Defence Medical Services”.

On driving through the village searching for the venue a frisson of excitement spread through the cars on approaching www.doginnwhittington.co.uk . However the car park was empty so the team wound the windows back up and moved on to the ground.

The pitch itself was Whittington Cricket Club’s ‘old ground’ – a picturesque setting surrounded by mature woodland…………….and a cock at fine leg. Their ‘new’ ground located just across the lane looked magnificent and clearly involved a major investment. Church End Cuthbert along with the usual Eurofizz accompanying Herefordshire’s largest in the well-appointed clubhouse.

Flat track, hot afternoon – perfect time to call tails and win the toss. The Fitmen were duly invited to field on a scorching mid-May afternoon.

A strong batting line up and a benign looking track meant that, within reason, the visitors knew they could chase most totals……………as long as the home side didn’t excel at the crease.

Indoor Batsman on the winter Sunny opened uphill and initially struggled to find his rhythm - and blamed it on a recent snooker tour to India. Everyone struggled to understand that one but he came back well in his second spell finishing with 1 for 23 off 7.2 overs conceding just 3.14 per over.

Skipper baggsed the downhill end and got into his stride taking an early wicket in his 4 overs that conceded 14. Anticipating a leisurely afternoon spectating, Chairman suddenly found himself roped in at the last moment…………..and was ‘rewarded’ with 8 tight fisted overs snagging a couple of wickets at less than 2 an over.

Felix made his debut complete with sparkling new whites purchased on the morning of the game. An absence of a couple of seasons meant there were some cobwebs to blow, but showed enough promise to indicate a useful season during his sabbatical year in Birmingham.

The return of Pommie-Pat demonstrated the value of a short sentence in the colonies, picking up a wicket in his 7 overs at just 3.5. Geraint’s honeymoon in Venice obviously recharged the batteries and straightened the run up as he picked up 2 wickets cheaply in his 4. Camp George puffed up the hill and looked to be getting back to his best with the benefits of the canvas season evident.

Tuckerrrrr even got a stumping and there were two fine run outs (well, Sunny’s was!) Two well taken catches from Geraint and only two ‘dropped’ catches - both of which would have been stunners (gully and mid-on).
So – apart from conceding a world record of 64 extras in a 164 total it was all going swimmingly.

A few twitches at the absence of chilli based food products at tea time along with a concern that Sunny may suffer with the absence of spicy chicken wings if he was called on to bat. Top order batsmen overheard lamenting the absence of lemon drizzle cake as they strapped on their defensive attire but onwards………..

The first pair looked comfortable enough although they failed to do anything at all in the first two overs in their 15 dots in a row start. Over 3 perked up the crowd though with 11 plundered before Tom (12 @ 86) fell to a straight one that he missed (kept a bit low I guess). Rich strode purposefully to the crease and clattered a couple before Bicemeister (3 @ 27) went to one that really did keep low!
Still, cometh the hour cometh the main men……..........

Rich played pretty much every shot in his 99 not out @ 174, whilst Tuckerrrr halted any possible jitters with 29 not out @ 91.
15 x 4s and 3 x 6s in a master class ensured an early finish…………….but no lack of excitement as the game bled away from the hosts.

Powering towards a ton, with Tuckerrrr seemingly content to play second fiddle it could only be a matter of time.

But suddenly without warning the Cumbrian Cragg turned into the Cumbrian Clubber.
Was it the prospect of denying Umberto his ton? Surely not.
Some jug avoidance pact? Who knows?

With 20 required for a FitVictory, Rich only needed 8 for his ton. Foregone conclusion?
Well his partner’s strike rate suddenly went into overdrive. From 16 @ 75, it shot to 13 @ 250 and the game was won and two not out batsmen boosted their averages.

Job done…………….very pleasant post-match hour at The Bell (Pedigree and Stowford Press).
Newbold on Avon next Sunday................always a pleasure and a wide range of refreshments including pickled eggs.