ALMOST UNDER WATER, AND OVER THE MOON...

Old Fallopians 69 All Out
Stefan 3/27
Dave Lane 2 wickets, Taz 1

London Fields 72/3
Robin F 31 no
Chris 15 no

London Fields win by 4 wickets

Robin Astley on our first match of the season:

With a mixture of early season eagerness, tactical nous and sheer determination to play whatever the conditions, LFCC got their midweek campaign started in the best possible way. With A WIN!

The visible panty line league was aptly monikered as the heavens opened and players wondered if they were here for cricket, rugby or a wet t-shirt competition. (Without the fringe benefits of lithe female bodies.)

Our illustrious captain true to form lost the toss and was invited to field in the ever deteriorating, inclement conditions. Down to six players things looked tricky. With the batsmen hitting cleanly, opening bowler Stefan cleverly throttled back the pace and scoring was much more difficult. Late arrivals Taz and Robin bolstered the field and immediately Stefan struck. In total he took three wickets, one a crafty slow bowled Yorker,a la Harmison v Clarke circa 2005, removing danger man Freddie and setting up a hat trick ball with the next batsman caught plumb. With sterling support from Will at the other end, quickly the old Fallopian's batting had been removed, Midweek Virgins Dave Lane and Robin F (behind the stumps) combined with on line bowling and tidy glove work for a stumping and Taz ripped them in from the other end, bowling a fallopian with a slider. Modest as ever, Taz credited the pitch.

By now every member of the team was soaked to the bone but Chris marshaled his troops and the pressure was ratcheted up on the Fallopian’s. Taz and wickey Robin F got a smart run out and then Skipper Chris took a high swirling catch to finish things off.

Set 70 on the nose to win should present no problems even in fourteen over cricket but with every fibre of the batsmen drenched, the fields still had to apply themselves. Johnny come lately Robin A opened the chase with Will and was lucky to survive a good LBW shout first ball. With a mixture of runs and byes a twenty odd partnership was added until Robin (9) was bowled trying to sweep Fallopian’s South African spinner.

Soon Will followed for 7 but had been in good touch, unluckily hitting the cover fielder with crisp drives. VPCCL debutant Robin F then made a mockery of the condition with an outstanding 31 not out in partnership with Nick Isaac (3) and a bullish 15 from captain Chris.

With only two boundaries in the innings due to the Somme like outfield, sharp running for twos and threes were the signature of a fine win in ridiculous weather, this match was even wetter than the league triumph over Coach and Horses at Springfield park last year. The total was reached with two overs to spare for the loss of three wickets.

It’s worth noting that despite the atrocious weather both captains wanted to play and never was a grumble heard, only light-hearted banter from the superbly sporting Fallopian’s. Finally a great tradition of mid week cricket was upheld with the silly hat award going to Robin F’s flat cap and jumper combo. Well done everyone.

See you next week!

SEE WHAT WINNERS LOOK LIKE!

I have 'facebooked' photo's from last week here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17234&l=26975&id=566095338

CHAMPIONS!

What a difference a week makes... a 50 for Jason Lord and two wickets each for Robin Astley and Ty Graham see us to victory over Pacific and wrap up the Division 2 title...more to follow...

FIELDS PUT VALLANCE TO BED

Needing a win to attain 2^nd Division status against a team also needing success to qualify for the top league, an epic performance was required – three hours later we had delivered just that.

Losing the toss (again) and fielding first (again), Ty and Steve bowled perfect lines to the opposition’s openers. Ty rewarded with an early wicket after forcing the batsman into wild swings at the ball. Two more soon followed for Steve, with help from great catches by Alex and Will, and we were well set. After 8 overs Vallance had just over 50, were 3 wickets down and another bat had retired hurt. Our opponents have a fine record in this league though and fought back with a mix of clever singles and aggressive hitting. John, Chris, Ruby and Will all took a bit of a pasting and after the full sixteen overs, we were set a target of 156.

A quick start was essential, and Paul T(ea) and John got us going at 10 an over with some excellent exploiting of the gaps in the field. With boundaries hard to find, John ran five consecutive 2’s at one stage. Shattered, he was bowled by the Vallance spinner on 30. A similarly run happy Paul T(ea) followed soon after for a whippet-like 25 and we risked collapse. Needing 83 off the last 8 overs, Will and Alex consolidated before opening up. An injury to Alex left him needing a runner, but he was still able to find the gaps enough to get Will on strike. A huge 6 when on 48 gave Will his half-century and retirement and just 14 were needed from the last 2 overs…

The returning Vallance opening bowler finally took the wicket of Alex (17), and Chris and Ruby could only scratch 2 runs off the over. With 2 new batsmen and 12 needed from the last 6 balls things were tense. The fielding side’s tails were up and there were more than a few words…so the last over…

1^st ball – Chris hit for 4 and the game was back on…

2^nd ball – A wide. 7 needed from 5.

2^nd ball (again) – Chris managed to get bat on ball and a quickly sprinted 3.

3^rd ball – Ruby hit for 2 – 2 needed for victory.

4^th ball – Played and missed, momentum swung back a little.

5^th ball – Clump! Ruby hammered straight down the ground for 4.

A 4 wicket victory in fading light, our biggest ever successful run chase and a game where all 8 played a key role. Will’s 50 was a joy to watch, Ty and John kept their heads and umpired admirably in a pressure cooker situation, and a special mention to Turley who kept score when we ran out of players in the enveloping chaos.

Scorecard below...

Woop!

LFCC V. VALLANCE SCORECARD

London Fields won by 4 woop woop wickets!

Vallance 155/5 (16 overs)

Name	Overs	Maidens	Wickets	Runs
Ty	4	0	1	23
Steve	4	0	2	27
John	2	0	0	31
Ruby	1	0	0	11
Will	3	0	0	34
Chris	2	0	0	26

London Fields 158/3 (15.5 overs)

Name	How Out	Runs
Paul Tea	Stumped	25
John	Bowled	30
Will	Retired	54
Alex	Caught	17
Ruby	Not Out	8
Chris	Not Out	8
Extras		16
Total:	158	Ovs:	15.5

WOW!

London Fields win amazing match V Vallance with a ball to spare!




















...more info to follow!

MUG SHOTS 2

8/5/07 Team V Central London


(Alex, Pete, Jason, Robin, Chris, Dave, Ruby, Ty)


Thanks Robin!

MUG SHOTS 1

25/4/07 - Team V Old Fallopians

(Robin, Alex, Jason, Richard, Ruby, Chris, Ty, Will)

I can't explain why everyone looks stoned. I really can't - we're serious sportsmen!


(Thanks to Robin for the pics!)