Match Report
Wednesday 31 July
Perhaps foolishly, Spud opted to throw a Full English Breakfast on to the festering remains of last night's curry and Kingfisher Lager session and suffered greatly for the remainder of the day. Darren, despite an early night, again failed to materialise for breakfast, but in general there was a strong representation at the tables. We bade farewell to Paul and Fiona and also Craig, before heading to Minehead for our next game. Our pre-match preparation was at some nautically named pub on the harbour-side, where Spud's bilious disposition prevented him from enjoying the ale on offer and even after a noisy lavatorial clearance, he still wasn't feeling himself; Indeed Chris Wilsdon, the nominated skipper was particularly disappointed by Spud's lack of control in the cubicle.
We arrived at Minehead College for our fixture with Minehead in good time, meeting Wing-Commander Nick McCall in the car park. It seemed Nick was more concerned with the evening's dining arrangements than the forthcoming match and seemed a little put out that no concrete booking had been made.
Wednesday 31 July -v- Minehead at Minehead College
Having failed to recover fully from his excesses, Spud felt it his duty to report to the acting skipper, that he would be unable to bowl during the early part of the day. Minehead duly won the toss and elected to bat under increasingly threatening skies. Chuckles and Darth were again entrusted with the new ball, so the rest of us prepared for a long session of ball chasing. Incredibly John bowled well for the second day in succession, picking up two early wickets, the first a catch at mid-off from Makker, who only the ball before had asked if he could wander in a bit and the second caught by The Oz at square-leg. Jim also got in on the act, benefiting from a sharp catch from our other debutante, Ralph who seemed concerned that no one was aware of the injury he was carrying that prevented him from fielding the ball; In fact everyone was aware, but it was far more amusing to slag him off when he didn't chase after the bail. Minehead were a mix of youth and experience, with every batsman appearing more than capable of scoring a few runs. With this in mind Chris operated an in/out field, which cut down the number of fours, especially down the hill to the short boundary. Ernie himself bowled a fair uninspired spell, but had Timmo bending his back to good effect at the other end. GT's six over spell yielded two wickets at a time when Minehead were looking to up the run rate, at a cost of only 24 runs. Wilsy had no time for any comedy bowlers, choosing the abrasive Antipodean's unique brand of spin, as the replacement to his dross. At the other end, Spud had given the nod that the worst of his gaseous problems were behind him and was duly summoned into the attack. Richard proved what an easy going chap he is, by graciously accepting the umpire's not out verdict against their captain, despite an obvious and audible deflection into Sumo's gloves. Chris opted for caution, despatching 'The Ox' to the boundary for a cooling off period. This proved a wise decision, as Spud first removed the opener, who had batted well for 95 and then their offending skipper, whose agricultural hoick was picked up by the sulky Carr. Minehead made the declaration at 195-8, giving us an hour plus twenty overs to respond. While Richard and Wing-Co McCall started the reply, Sumo was sent for medical supplies to deal with the various ailments- mostly drink related- that had manifested during the tour. Salt replacement drinks, headache tablets and most importantly Rennie were bu1k purchased, with Spud particularly pleased that of the nine ailments that Rennie claimed to cure, he had symptoms for seven. The Oz continued his good form, being particularly severe on anything in his driving arc, while Nick was happy to give him the strike and keep him company. Nick finally perished to a return catch and then Simply posted his intentions by getting off the mark with a nonchalantly flicked six. After another responsible knock (has he finally realised he's allowed more than ten minutes at the crease) from Neil, our mid-order collapse materialised. Richard having completed a fine half-century, followed Sumo back to the pavilion to be joined shortly after by both of yesterday's batting heroes, for a boundary apiece. The weather then interrupted Slack's single-handed assault, on the nine an over target that remained and the game was washed out with the score on 133 for 5.
Spud was bitterly disappointed to discover that for all his valiant efforts on the field, he was to be the recipient of a pint of fizzy dishwater in a penis shaped glass, the contents to be disposed of as quickly as possible; this being the traditional Minehead punishment for the 'dick of the day'. Nick informed me that he and his good lady Ros didn't like to dine too late, so we made our excuses to the opposition and headed into Minehead for our Evening Meal. Over a couple of bottles of fine Red Wine and some excellent fare, we discussed Nick's Service History, though he was quick to play down his role in the Battle of Britain. We returned to the hotel to find most of the Scouser's taking on Tony (barman) at arm-wrestling, with little success. The Oz took the prize scalp, having waited until Tony showed extreme signs of fatigue, before taking to the bar. After several bottles of Red, the Wing-Co slipped into an immaculate pair of pyjamas and routinely tuned to Radio 3. What he hadn't realised was that he was sharing with Makker, not his good lady wife and after several tolerant moments was told in no uncertain terms to turn the fffing radio off.
