Only in England do you celebrate a draw!
Report this week is from our Perth, WA, office...
This week saw the 1st team travel up to Super Scorer Shelley’s neighbourhood for a critical game against relegation contenders Hucknall.
Unsurprisingly, player availability caused headaches for Ted throughout the week with key members on family duty and nursing injuries. However, this gave Chris Soar, Kitch, and Greeny an opportunity in the firsts.
Keyworth’s poor record winning the toss continued, and with the game shortened to 42 overs due to a predicted spot of rain, Hucknall decided to bat on what looked, and proved to be, a featherbed. Fortunately, the rain that was preventing the Aussies ripping into the English tail at Cardiff, did not arrive until after the match finished.
Andy Hiller and Kitch opened up the attack, and got a useful amount of swing and movement off the track. However it was terrible piece of running, reminiscent of Alan Donald’s “brain melt down” moment in the 1999 World Cup, that resulted in a run out being the first wicket. The “brain meltdown” continued when the other opener was caught behind two balls later.
Both Dave Hiller and Marc Bailey bowled lucklessly at the first change. The highlight of the spell being a half-tracker by Marc that to everyone’s surprise only bounced once! It was a 92 run partnership before the next breakthrough was made. Tinno caught the batsman plum LBW on the crease, which we would find out later in the day was the umpires only positive response to a KCC LBW appeal...
There was another big partnership (117 runs), before centurion Robin Maxwell (122) was dismissed. Housewives and Scorers favourite Dougie was brought into the attack to bowl some wicket taking pies, and bowled in some good (and not so good) areas before getting the inevitable catch on the boundary, this time by Adam Somekh.
There were further wickets for Tinno and Andy before the declaration by Huknall (6 for 259) in the 39th over.
Tea was the usual spread, and it was obvious the tea ladies were expecting our missing heavyweights Bobby and Meeky, as there seemed enough food to feed a small African country.
With a sizeable total to chase the initial plans were to see off the new ball, and with that Bailey and Somekh were sent in to open. It was not long before Bailey (1) was the first of five LBW decisions given against Keyworth. Ted came in at number three, and played a long and useful knock, that would not have done any favours for his career strike-rate. Yet, he did the job of supporting Somekh, whose innings was later described by the umpire as “the best knock I’d seen all season”. Adam (70) was finally triggered after one that looked to be going down leg hit him on the pads. In the spirit of the game, and the spirit of KCC (with the exception of Grant Parker), no questions were asked of the umpire. However Adam was the only player in the team who didn’t find it amusing when the umpire apologised to him after the game, stating that “he too thought it was going down leg, and if he had taken more time to make the decision, he would have not given him out”!
Tinno came to the crease needing to have a real captains knock to keep Keyworth in the game. Fortunately Tinno did not disappoint. He played a Collingwood-like innings to hold up one end for the afternoon. Although at the other end batters came and went: Doug (Bopara) Bayford was given out on a dodgy LBW decision, Ian (KP) Kitchenson was bowled after missing a straight one, and Dave (Prior) Hiller also unable to see out the overs being caught trying to play one down to third man. Due to the declaration, the game set to finish after 45 overs, as apposed to a certain hour on the clock. For this reason, no amount of cheating time wasting (such as sending out new gloves, or the overweight physio, etc.) was going to help the Millers. The game had to be saved the hard way. Fortunately Andy (Monty Panesar) Hiller came to the middle played some classic tail-end defensive shots, to see out the overs with his captain, giving Keyworth its first draw of the season to celebrate!
Keyworth finished on 7 for 187, and with Tinno having the presence of mind to chase down the extra batting point, the Millers took as much as they could out of the draw. The Great Escape starts here!
This week saw the 1st team travel up to Super Scorer Shelley’s neighbourhood for a critical game against relegation contenders Hucknall.
Unsurprisingly, player availability caused headaches for Ted throughout the week with key members on family duty and nursing injuries. However, this gave Chris Soar, Kitch, and Greeny an opportunity in the firsts.
Keyworth’s poor record winning the toss continued, and with the game shortened to 42 overs due to a predicted spot of rain, Hucknall decided to bat on what looked, and proved to be, a featherbed. Fortunately, the rain that was preventing the Aussies ripping into the English tail at Cardiff, did not arrive until after the match finished.
Andy Hiller and Kitch opened up the attack, and got a useful amount of swing and movement off the track. However it was terrible piece of running, reminiscent of Alan Donald’s “brain melt down” moment in the 1999 World Cup, that resulted in a run out being the first wicket. The “brain meltdown” continued when the other opener was caught behind two balls later.
Both Dave Hiller and Marc Bailey bowled lucklessly at the first change. The highlight of the spell being a half-tracker by Marc that to everyone’s surprise only bounced once! It was a 92 run partnership before the next breakthrough was made. Tinno caught the batsman plum LBW on the crease, which we would find out later in the day was the umpires only positive response to a KCC LBW appeal...
There was another big partnership (117 runs), before centurion Robin Maxwell (122) was dismissed. Housewives and Scorers favourite Dougie was brought into the attack to bowl some wicket taking pies, and bowled in some good (and not so good) areas before getting the inevitable catch on the boundary, this time by Adam Somekh.
There were further wickets for Tinno and Andy before the declaration by Huknall (6 for 259) in the 39th over.
Tea was the usual spread, and it was obvious the tea ladies were expecting our missing heavyweights Bobby and Meeky, as there seemed enough food to feed a small African country.
With a sizeable total to chase the initial plans were to see off the new ball, and with that Bailey and Somekh were sent in to open. It was not long before Bailey (1) was the first of five LBW decisions given against Keyworth. Ted came in at number three, and played a long and useful knock, that would not have done any favours for his career strike-rate. Yet, he did the job of supporting Somekh, whose innings was later described by the umpire as “the best knock I’d seen all season”. Adam (70) was finally triggered after one that looked to be going down leg hit him on the pads. In the spirit of the game, and the spirit of KCC (with the exception of Grant Parker), no questions were asked of the umpire. However Adam was the only player in the team who didn’t find it amusing when the umpire apologised to him after the game, stating that “he too thought it was going down leg, and if he had taken more time to make the decision, he would have not given him out”!
Tinno came to the crease needing to have a real captains knock to keep Keyworth in the game. Fortunately Tinno did not disappoint. He played a Collingwood-like innings to hold up one end for the afternoon. Although at the other end batters came and went: Doug (Bopara) Bayford was given out on a dodgy LBW decision, Ian (KP) Kitchenson was bowled after missing a straight one, and Dave (Prior) Hiller also unable to see out the overs being caught trying to play one down to third man. Due to the declaration, the game set to finish after 45 overs, as apposed to a certain hour on the clock. For this reason, no amount of cheating time wasting (such as sending out new gloves, or the overweight physio, etc.) was going to help the Millers. The game had to be saved the hard way. Fortunately Andy (Monty Panesar) Hiller came to the middle played some classic tail-end defensive shots, to see out the overs with his captain, giving Keyworth its first draw of the season to celebrate!
Keyworth finished on 7 for 187, and with Tinno having the presence of mind to chase down the extra batting point, the Millers took as much as they could out of the draw. The Great Escape starts here!
posted by kccblogger @ Tuesday, July 14, 2009
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