This week saw Crick Lions’ first trip to play Stoneleigh. Set in the tranquil surroundings of Stoneleigh Abbey, the pitch was nestled just a cricket ball’s throw away from the abbey itself. This would also be the first game where there would be paying spectators (or people who paid to see the abbey and accidently stumbled upon a cricket match). Crick’s fate was actually determined before the match even started. With several trees encroaching on the field of play, the boundaries had to be demarcated (some trees were worth 4 runs if you hit them, others 6) and short boundaries meant that the abbey windows were being eyed up.
Feeling confident, Lions skipper Mark Jones declared to the opposition skipper; “We’ve got some big hitters in the side”. At this point, eyes rolled, heads were in hands and the pressure was already on Crick’s batting order to deliver. It would be Stoneleigh’s batting order that delivered first, however.
Stoneleigh got off to a good start to their innings and their openers blended aggression with resolute defence to cruise to an opening stand of 96, with Tim Nash (8-1-40-1) making the breakthrough by bowling their top run scorer for 70. The father-son Gibbins duo of Charlie (8-3-12-0) and Jammy (4-0-10-3) damaged the wicket column and kept the runs to a premium, and a special mention must go to Bomber (4-0-34-0) who had a first bowl after a long injury lay off. The small boundaries meant there were plenty of excursions into neighbouring fields and hedgerows to clean up after bad bowling. There were also a few comedy chases down the hill to stop the ball going in the lake in front of the abbey. However, the biggest comedy moment in the field actually originated in the farmer’s field when, after having retrieved the ball from its latest encounter with the boundary rope, Rocky threw the ball back into Jammy who had come to meet him halfway. Rocky must have said something that upset him though as Jammy hurled it backwards, back over his head and deeper into the field for poor Rocky to fetch. Needless to say, the rest of the fielders were in stitches as Jammy buried his head in shame.
A real fielding highlight though was the safe hands of the Lions skipper, leading by example by taking three catches, all in the deep. The third of which was a stunning, one handed, over-his-head catch which Mark will no doubt tell his grandchildren about (and everyone else he meets in between) for years to come. Whilst having a good old chin wag and flirt with wife Kirstie on the boundary after not having seen her for the best part of three hours, the ball was heaved high in the sky towards motormouth Mark who turned quickly, re-adjusted and stuck out a hand in hope rather than expectation. One hand in the air clutching the prize, Mark performed the classic Rodley/Shearer celebratory sprint across the outfield before being engulfed by his teammates. Although the Lions were confident of ending well in the final drinks break, the final 10 overs were costly, and Stoneleigh sailed over the 200 mark to set Crick a total of 212 to chase.
With Paul Preece unavailable to remind everyone that “It’s not a test match”, Crick’s run rate at the start of the innings was nothing short of pedestrian. However, with lessons learned from recent games, the whole order knew the importance of keeping wickets in hand and batting deep into the innings, especially when chasing such a commanding total. True to form, the biggest contributions came from Rocky whose 30 runs anchored the innings for Crick, and Charlie (a run-a-ball 42) who continued his fine form with the bat. Other than that, no one managed to score over 14 for Crick, although it must be said that the opposition bowled with discipline and used their knowledge of the home pitch to their advantage. Crick were eventually all out for 129 off 33 overs, falling well behind the target. On a pitch that felt like a mixture between dust and concrete, it was difficult to time the ball due to the unpredictable bounce (that’s our excuse anyway). But ultimately, the difference between the two sides was Crick’s inability to hit consistent boundaries and capitalise on bad bowling, as several shots didn’t quite have the legs to go all the way, despite the desert-like outfield. The two sides will lock horns again next Sunday at the CCG, whilst a quiz to raise money for the cricket club will be held at the Red Lion after the game on Sunday night. All are welcome.