Match Report
Sunday 14 July -v- Minster ( Isle of Sheppey) at Minster
Our season of last gasp victories continued, with revenge gained for last year's defeat at the hands of The Islanders, achieved when Moysey stumbled through for a leg-bye from the final delivery. Darren was included in the eleven as replacement for BS de RC, who was rumoured to be at the Greg Matthews Hair Replacement Clinic. Minster won the toss and were happy to bat on a green pitch, that looked as if it would offer help to the seamers. The forecast proved correct, with Darren and Simon using the facilities to good effect. Danglers hustled through the top order, claiming three wickets, the last of which was courtesy of superb overhead catch from The Oz; if he had stood where he was told it would have been straight down his throat. Spud and Timmo maintained our stranglehold on the game, removing the middle order and although the tail wagged the score to 122 it never looked like being enough. Minster's innings was wrapped up, when firstly Jim hung on to a towering caught and bowled and finally a cat like run out from Chuckles at shortish third man, broke a dogged last wicket stand. The only blemishes in the field were Ernie's fine impersonation of the Seaman/Ronaldinho Phoenix from the Flames and a limp wristed effort from the skip, which deprived Jim of the second wicket that he always gets.
The club's response could not have got off to a worse start, with the skip returned to the pavilion from the first ball. Matters did not improve, as we lost wickets at regular intervals, leaving us at one stage on a seemingly hopeless 39 for 8. Once again the redoubtable Whale/Moyse combo steadied the listing ship. With time and overs not an issue, they edged the score up towards Minster's total, conscious that only Ernie occupied the hutch. Minster's swagger, which had reached a highly audible pitch, such was the sureness that victory was a mere formality, now began to regress through urgency, until it finally nestled on panic. The chirping Wicket-keeper decided that his bowling would rescue the day, only to have the ball smacked back over his head for a straight six. This and a loose delivery that evaded the stand in keeper for four byes, meant that only three were required from the final over. Spud and Darren traded singles, but failed to score from three of the first five balls, setting up the scurried leg-bye that secured victory. Most of the opposition were magnanimous in defeat, with the exception of the `grunty bloke', who stomped from the pitch muttering and trying to contact his mother, to bring his pram and toys to the ground.
