Our second pre-season friendly saw the visit of Linton Park. They had stuffed us last year but seemed a better match this season.
Skinner was back in charge and, unusually, won the toss. He chose to field, partly because of the forecasted rain.
There was no sign of Oscar Hollis. Fortunately the opposition seemed to know that he was playing football and tracked his whereabouts on social media for us.
Abis Malik returned to the fray after what seemed an absence of decades. He bowled up the hill with skill and venom. Several of his deliveries jagged back sharply narrowly missing the top of the stumps.
He got the first wicket with an absolute beauty. The batsman looked disgusted at the track but it was nothing to do with the wicket, which was playing well.
Peter Trott came down the slope. As ever, he got substantial late in swing. His delivery approach was described as languid by one of our more intellectual number. Other members of the team nodded along sagely, without having a clue what he was talking about. He soon got a wicket, clean bowled.
Olly Patton replaced Malik. He wasn’t turning the ball much but that’s how we like our off spinners in the Mighty Third XI. He has a lovely flight and caused the batsman some trouble. He got three wickets, the first courtesy of a skier that Skinner couldn’t really avoid from behind the stumps
His keeping was generally a bit rushed and he fluffed an easy stumping chance. He did take a stumping off Patton but it was not a classic. He basically batted the ball onto the stumps.
The third wicket was a good l.b.w, accounting for the opposition’s best bat.
Questions of jug avoidance were raised when Olly put down a tough chance off his own bowling and hit the bails noisily with another delivery. They stayed put somehow. He finished his unchanged spell with an impressive 9-0-28-3
Oscar Hollis who had finally arrived, was next down the slope. He bowled well and only conceded 21 runs from his 6 overs.
Jez “Baron Von Trapp” Trott bowled his flighty leg spin down the slope. When he gets it right, it turns sharply and bites and bounces. He got a wicket in the last of his six overs.
Arguably he should have one earlier. With a man on the midwicket boundary, a six just cleared the rope landing about two foot behind the statuesque fielder. To save him from embarrassment, we shall not name him, but when his team mates looked over in disgust, he was heard to say “I am the Club Chairmn and too important a person to jump”. Jez ended 6-0-30-1. Fortunately Tim Lush made an effort and took his catch.
Guttsy bowled two very tight overs.
Malik 9-0-35-1 and Peter Trott 9–0-43-2 returned at the death.
Linton Park ended 174 for 7 from their 40 overs.
After tea, Tim Lush and Ted Blythin opened the batting. They looked comfortable and had put on 67, before Ted drove a ball back down to the opposition young leggy. He dropped the ball but it went onto the stumps and Tim was cruelly run out, backing up, for 30.
Nigel Baker was next in. Trying to keep the score rate moving, he reached for a very wide ball and chipped it into the covers for 2.
Olly Patton was in at no 4 and started well.
Ted Blythin hoiked at a straight one after batting well for an excellent 32.
That meant a father and son combination in the middle with Dave Patton, out there. It was good to see Dave, our Club Chairman, in the middle. Both played some lovely shots and ran hard. Admittedly, one of them looked happier at the running than the other. They put on 67 in good time.
Unfortunately a rather uncouth type turned up on the sideline and started abusing Dave when he edged a few. Most unpleasant.
Olly was caught for a swift 32.
We played on through the showers, unlike the pathetic second team who were too worried about their mascara running, and wimped out of their game.
Oscar Hollis played a lovely square drive before being bowled for 4.
Guttsy safely saw us home.
Dave Patton, realising he was on 49 with only one to win, bribed the bowler to chuck down a leg side wide, so he didn’t have to buy a jug. Shameful.
We won by 5 wickets with a couple of overs to spare.
Onto the league season next week.