CAVALIERS REPORT 2nd AUGUST 2003
Normally, I would view a score like this as a complete failure. True, we lost this game. However, in the context of the Club it was a success overall. We fielded 4 teams, the First and Seconds won, the Thirds got a winning draw that keeps them 9 points clear and after having 8 players at 8pm Friday night we somehow took the field with 11 and a couple of colts surplus. This was the result of 45 phone calls during the week and endless hours of liason to ensure that the bowling needs of the Second and supposed batting needs of the Thirds were met. As a result Brian Fletcher, Barry Payne and Leeroy Samuels played in the League sides instead of the Cavaliers.
As to the game itself, I am largely responsible for this defeat. I allowed the fact I won the toss for the first time this year, the beautiful surroundings and facilities and the lovely day to con me into electing to bat. I should have bowled first, and at least got a draw and thus ensured everybody got a game including our two spare players. As it was we made insufficient runs to use all my bowlers.
My mistake in electing to bat in the sunshine was compounded by the fact we simply gave our wickets away on an easy paced wicket against a weak side who had only won one game all season. 5 players scored 92 runs of our 108 runs between them. They were Alun Williams 35, Chris Wright 20, Chris Atkinson 15 and Mike Stevens 11 with Richard Coles 11 not out. Richard Coles was the only one not culpable in throwing away their wicket to a poor shot. The key was our collapse from 64-1 to 66-7 which cost us the game. A couple of poor shots, a run out and a couple of good catches changed the game in 15 minutes between 3.30 and 3.45pm
Chris Wright and Richard Coles retrieved some respectability with a last stand of 30 runs to give us something to bowl at. However to be bowled out in two hours was criminal in such good batting conditions and the three players who played for the higher teams were all badly missed as they were likely to have helped us to the extra 50 runs we needed.
When we batted 14 year old Amit Patel kept for us for the first time and did well conceding only a couple of byes. Nick Gibbins bowled 1-45 off 14 overs and kept the opposition in check. He had the misfortune of bowling to 2 lefthanders for much of the innings and saw 2 or 3 catches just go astray. A couple of other appeals might have gone in our favour and produced a closer finish. Nick then took 2 excellent slip catches off Bal who took 2-18 off 7 overs and was probably the pick of the bowlers. But for 4 overthrows in his last over he would have had even better figures. Asam fielded excellently in a key position on the short boundary as did his brother Zesham. It took 32 overs for the Bank to reach our score. It would have been more but for a couple of miss-fields near the end and fielders drifting positions cost another 10 runs and relieved the pressure on the opposition who felt they might have struggled to get 130.
Chris Atkinson
Cavaliers Captain