Sun Jul 18th The Grannies lose by 8 wickets
Match report
A Stag Do is never without a few hiccups, we all know that. Throw a bunch of responsibility-free men together into a weekend melting pot of alcohol, testosterone, cigarettes, a diminished sense of morality, and unforseen consequences always occur. And so it was that Mr W Dunn, his band of merry men and the Stag, all got together the weekend before the crunch match at HQ against the Armadillos. Predictably, by Tuesday I was informed that 5 of our star players had all been hit by the C-19 bug - and yes, now that they couldn't play I feel totally convinced we would have rolled the Armadillos that day. Dry coughs and headaches were oozing from our 5 sick aces from where graceful form and searing pace had oozed only a few days earlier.
No crying over spilt milk though, or over my foolish pals. Any captain will know that you'll always get a few drop-outs in the week, and true to form this meant at some point we were down to 3 players that week. Bob and Mike hammered the phones/emails and we pulled in a few players. With the count at 7, I went to Lord's on the Friday night for a Blast game having bet the oppo I could press-gang a few unsuspecting spectators - Lord's is a true Granny crowd, no pun intended. Miraculously, 3 stooges fell to the Queen's head and I was in the game - they promised me they had played cricket, once or twice before. Good enough for me.
Sunday rolled in, pearler of a day. In the end we had 9, the 3rd stooge got reprimanded by his wife-to-be - quite frankly returning home punch drunk to announce you're planning on spending most of the weekend with a bloke you've just met and his pals is a tough sell. The oppos conjured up a last-minute ringer and off we tossed, and were put in to bat.
We started watchfully under the watchful eye of stooge 1 and last minute ringer, maybe a bit too watchfully for a typical Granny pace in a 35 over fixture. Soon though, stooge 1's defences were broken and swashbuckling Alex Warner turned up, fresh from Madrid. He didn't mess around and sparked some life into the game and his partner, last-minute ringer. With 40 on the scoreboard, Alex Warner fell and gave way to T Greville-Williams, who clearly wasn't good enough mates with W Dunn and the Stag contingent to catch Covid. His unpopularity was the Grannies gain though, and he settled into a scything rhythm against a good pace attack. Ringer 1 then fell for a strong 26, bringing Max Adams to the crease fresh from more serious duties in Iraq. With a colourful display from both - Adams more erratic than Grev, we were picking up the run-rate. Good things don't last for ever though - Max fell for a spicy 17, and Kit Schutz joined Grev at the crease. In theory this should mean calm but minutes later he was back in the hutch having been (or got) run-out. I saw nothing and would not like to be a witness for either Grev or Kit Schutz your Honour... With Grev holding the innings together I felt I could play my natural 'game' - whack-a-mole. With the 35 overs nearly up we both set about it, and whilst I holed out for 36, Grev finished on an unbeaten 65 with stooge 2 keeping him company at the end. Grannies 192/7 off 35 - respectable.
Spoiler alert - the young Armadillos made quick work of the 192, and won by 8 wickets with an over to spare. This doesn't tell the whole story though. 8 overs in and we'd kept them to 22, thanks to an unfaltering line from Hugh Jones and fluke on my part (no wides Bob!). Truth be told though, we couldn't keep it up all day and they were a solid bunch. C Devas and B Whelpton had the misfortune of coming on 1st change to a couple of set batsmen (I can assure you they were male so don't feel obliged to say batters), and they set about it. We continued to plug away - as did the oppo, and despite stooge 2 taking a wicket with his 2nd delivery (I think since prep-school), the Dills had the game in the bag with Skipper Ant Pickard notching up a solid 52*.
Despite the scoreline it was a pretty engrossing game - maybe one for the match-ups rather than the overall game. Played in great spirit as ever, huge thanks goes to Oli and Alex as stooge 1 and stooge 2, Sam Carter as ringer, and the rest of the motley crew. Thanks also to Ant Pickard who trusted we'd pull through with a side...!
Match info
Also playing:
Max Adams
Tom Greville-Williams
Charlie Devas
Alex Warner
B. Whelpton
Covid has decimated the team - players needed!
Location
Sheffield Park,
Forest Row,
TN22 3QX
How to get there
The Cricket Ground is within the National Trust's famous Sheffield Park Garden, Sheffield Park, East Sussex TN22 3QX Telephone: 01825 790231. It lies midway between East Grinstead and Lewes, 5 miles north west of Uckfield, on the east side of the A275 (between A272 and A22).
Use the main entrance off the A275, signed Sheffield Park and Garden. Follow the sign to the visitors car park. Continue past the car park through the two sets of wooden gates. If the gates are locked the number for the padlocks is 1111.
Once through the bottom gate, follow the track around to the left and you will see the signs marked "Armadillos CC Car Park". Please park within the signs; you should not park beyond the final sign stating that parking is not allowed beyond that point. You may however drive up to the pavilion to drop off any equipment, but must then return to the designated car park straight away. You will see the ground (and the pavilion) through the trees from the car park. The ground is surrounded by a deer fence but the gates through it will be unlocked.
There are one or two points that we would please ask you to note.
� The ground is within the confines of a National Trust Grade 1 Listed garden.
� If gates are closed or locked when you come to them, could you please ensure that you close or lock them again after you have passed through.
� Please remember that there will be members of the public visiting the garden; in particular, there is a 10 mph on the roads down to the ground. We would ask you to observe it.
� Dogs are not allowed at all within the Garden and therefore not permitted at the ground.
� We are required to draw your attention to the fact that the two oak trees on the left of the vehicular access into the ground are not considered safe by the National Trust. We would therefore ask that you avoid walking or sitting beneath them.