Cowley CC v Andoversford CC Thursday 8th August 2013

Hi everyone!! Today’s match report comes from the quill of Sam, hopefully my first step towards my Pultizer.

Ten man Cowley arrived in Andoversford on a dreary and overcast evening with a sloping pitch running away from the clubhouse. Andoversford won the toss and elected to bat first, a decision that, to begin with, looked to be an inspired decision.

Keith opened the bowling to the left-handed Collingson who dispatched the first ball of the innings to the fence, which set the trend for the first ten overs. Jake opened the bowling at the other end, with the other opener Wall also finding the boundary and giving Andoversford a lightning start. Keith bowled a much tighter second over finishing with figures of 2-0-22-0. Jake then made Cowley’s first breakthrough, knocking back Collingson’s off stump, much to Jake’s delight and the batsmen’s clear annoyance. The breakthrough acted as a cue to the other opener Wall that it was really time to open the taps. He took particular offence to my bowling, plundering 22 off one over I hate to admit. It was a fantastic display of power hitting and there was little Cowley could do to prevent the boundaries flowing. One six almost cleared the bar and the car park! I was rightly brought off after two overs and replaced by Conrad who showed me up and got rid of Wall after he finally missed a ball and departed for his quick fire 49. We all breathed a sigh of relief after that wicket, but panic struck again as soon as we looked at the scoreboard and realized Andoversford had smashed 86 off the first 10 overs and were looking like posting a big total.
However, Cowley then began a brilliant fight back. Wickets came in clusters and the run rate began to plummet. Firstly Conrad got rid of the number three for 12, who was well caught at second (ish) slip by Jon and then got rid of the next man first ball, easily caught at mid-on by Keith. His hat-trick ball was well defended, but a fantastic over nonetheless. James, who had replaced Jake, the got the number four batsmen as he attempted a cut through gully. Once again Jon was perfectly placed and took an even sharper catch as the ball was had been given some juice by the batsmen, who was back in the hutch for 6. James then gave more evidence that he is destined for the bowing cup this year, bowling the number 6 for just five with a ball that died on the turf and cut in. The scoreboard was now looking a lot healthier from Cowley’s perspective as Andoversford has gone from 86-2 to 91-6 in a matter of four overs or so. Sam returned after Conrad had completed his spell, finishing with figures of 4-0-21-3 that had clawed us back into the game. Sam was given some respite by the cricket gods with a wicket to compensate for his hammering in his first spell, bowling the number 7 who missed a straight one for a duck. Jake also came back into the attack replacing James (4-0-10-2, effective as ever!) and claimed the wicket of the number 9 (who we thought was James’s Dad in disguise) for one, caught by Conrad at point. Captain Blakey then decided to turn his arm for the final overs without due reward as Andoversford finished on 120 from their 20 overs. Cowley had managed to restrict the opposition to only 34 off the last 10 overs and had kept us in the game with a run-a-ball target.

Conrad and Jon began the Cowley chase, with Jon ever watchful and Conrad with his usual big hitting style. However, Conrad’s style didn’t pay off on this occasion as he was bowled in the second over for 1. This brought Keith to the crease and was the subject of some sledging from the Andoversford youngsters. The oppositions bowling was slow and pedestrian, making it difficult for either Jon or Keith to get any pace off the bat. Jon did get the run-rate going in the right direction with a couple of boundaries, one beautifully hit down the ground for a one bounce four. Keith responded in kind with a lovely four through the covers. Keith was undone soon after though, bowled by the crafty left armer, hitting off in the process. This brought Jake to the crease who is renowned for scoring quickly in order to get the innings back on track. The slow bowling did for Jake as well though, as he played through a shot, catching it early and ballooning a dolly into the covers for two. James was the next man in and began positively. Cowley were finding partnerships hard to come by and Jon was the next man to go, bowled for 17 as he tried to up the run rate. Sam was the next man in both he and James found the ‘slow and low’ bowling difficult to get away. James then got a ball that would have frightened most daisies, bowled for nine. Cowley were now really up against it and well behind the run rate. Jonny W was the next man in but his visit was short lived as he went in a similar way to Jake, well through a slow ball and giving a simple catch for a duck. Sam wasn’t far behing Jonny, trying to hit a double bouncer out of the ground but finding only mid-on’s throat for five. Blakey then began to get some boundaries on the board, sharing a good partnership with Mike, who supported well. There were a couple of great sixes from Blakey as he did all he could to get us to the 120 target. But he fell for a well-made 33. This left Adrian and Mike with the task of getting 34 off 7 or 8 balls as the light began to fail. I’d like to report that we succeeded but alas we fell short, finishing on 92 from our 20 overs.

Andoversford's fast start had done the damage and the slow and low bowling was difficult to get away…..home advantage maybe playing its part. And so to the beers in the clubhouse. There was a rumour of a jug of Pimm’s from Jon but it was just a rumour. We head for Chedworth on Tuesday and our last mid-week game of the season and Blakey’s last chance to set a marker for Eric in the Captain’s win column.

*no animals were harmed in the creation of this match report, except for the squirrel who had a go at my BLT.