SCORECARD

All tied up at The Graveyard

Wow – What a game. Skipper Sammy Moore later to become Hammy Moore assembled a strong Fit XI to take on our old foes WMD for the opening T20 of the season. Winning the toss (heads) and despite forgetting his trousers, confidently decided to bat 1st with the sun due to set at 8.32PM

The sun was out but there was still a distinct chill in the air. Very few Fitmen properly attired. Ian Timms sporting a natty casual fluffy jumper was joined by his more traditionally attired Tuckerrr as the opening pair.
With only 57 scored in 30 overs on Sunday, seeing the 1st two balls being dispatched to the mid-wicket boundary by our curmudgeonly Cumbrian, was a breath of fresh air. He raced to 25 off just 14 balls before realising the pitch wasn’t a road and that the WMD bowlers were really quite good. Timmsy found things tougher going but still delivered an important dozen runs before getting out caught giving it the heave-ho. 42-1

Sam freezing in shorts, cracked a glorious cover drive for four, tried it again and was out bowled by a beauty by the impressive Deps. Having Juma coming in at 4 settled any nerves with an as ever cultured and classy 17 off 16 with the 1st maximum of the season thrown in for good measure. Tucks still ticking along nicely, Robbie Nutt came and went without troubling the scorer but it was the scorer himself who was in trouble with no fellow Fitmen willing to pick up the club pen, Jade Dawes plummeted down the batting order.

Umar benefitting nicely in at 6 always gets on with it from the off, delivering 14 more crucial runs with 2 boundaries before being clean bowled by our protagonist for the evening – Ifty, but more of him later. Billal, heave miss, heave miss, 4, unsurprisingly out caught next ball. Super Kevin Cuthbert gleefully promoted to 8 took fully advantage with 8 off 5 balls and then there was Tucker, drenched in sweat holding his meaty wand, an image I’m sure none who were there will ever forget. A quite superb performance of 55 off 50 balls (7 fours, 1 six) in the opening match in tricky conditions against good bowling. Class is permanent.

127 for 6 felt like a good score if we could keep the runs down early doors.

The first over from Martin – dot, 6,1,2,4,3 was not what was needed. Mumbling about retiring on the spot was a touch churlish perhaps but in his next over another rank long hop smashed for 6, his world was falling apart. A full toss top edged high into the darkening skies, a real steepler. Thank the cricketing gods that Juma was underneath it. Never in doubt. Super Kev allowed only 19 off his opening 3 overs but after 6, WMD were ahead of the required rare on 47 for 1.

Tuckers runs will always grab the headlines, but Billy and Bal should also take a bow for their impact on the game. Billal bowled with great variation and accuracy, allowing only 6 scoring shots from his 24 balls, grabbing a key wicket with a superb delivery, finishing 1-9. The best bowling spell of the night of both teams. He turned the game firmly back in Fit favour.

Bal was more expensive, with the short leg side boundary, anything slightly short was punished for 4. The key in Bals 24 balls, were 2 key wickets. The delight was clear to see when the WMD danger man was utterly flummoxed by a lovely delivery. Great work. 92 for 4 off 14 overs however meant they only needed 36 off the final 6 overs. More than gettable.

Dave Moore’s first over went for 8 and Juma’s went for 7, WMD now only needed 21 off the last 4 overs – Game over? Never? What about if the skipper then pulls his hamstring saving a single? Hammy, Hammy Moore? Not a problem. There was some excellent Fit ground fielding throughout keeping this tight. There was a shocking drop and piss poor fielding thrown in as well – but “This is the Way”.
The Fitman way.

Dave just bowled consistently on a great length allowing no boundaries and conceded 5 and then only 3 runs off the penultimate over. Nerveless bowling dragging us right back into the game – utterly incredible stuff. We’ve all faced Juma in the nets and very rarely been able to pick which way its going to turn. Super talented, but suddenly when WMD need now 10 off the last over to win, the chips are well and truly down. Pressure cooker!

Ball 1 – Single, Ball 2 – Fours runs…great shot. OMG. Ball 3 – 2 more runs. Only 3 needed of the last 3 balls. Ball 4, cracked away for another 2 runs – Scores now tied, just a single needed. In it comes, bat on ball out to the super nimble Martin backwards of point…terrible underarm throw that Tucker somehow manages to reverse throw back onto the stumps with the batter just inches short!
Final ball, in comes Iffty the ever amiable WMD opening bowler who has been our downfall on numerous games over the past decade. Surely it’s too much to ask? Juma strides in, whips down an unplayable delivery and the bails fly into the air.
Ifty in doubt? Fitmen will out!!
Match tied. WMD 127-7.

Only if it had happened on May the 4th rather then the 3rd, could it have got any better. One for the annuls. Quality. Beers all round. Both teams buzzing at having been a part of such a crazy finish.
Cricket is such a great game