Sat Jun 10th Grannies win by 7 wickets
Match report
Managing a Grannies game is a bit like ordering a takeaway from my local Indian restaurant. Will it all arrive together? On time? With a full order? The sweat and adrenaline runs through you like cheap jalfrezi as you wait expectantly, the sporting gods casting their die and decide who is at a stag / getting married / busy playing elsewhere / got tickets for the cup final that weekend.
Good omens therefore to have a full XI a full 5 hours before the game (what luxury!) and to find most of them at the nets warming up beforehand (eh?). Some Grannies sanity restored by Moffett and Stringer rocking up a little late with the understandable excuse of children (theirs – not together – but they each have children) and the traffic (Oxford’s) and Milo Wills, who kindly strolled over from Worcester College for a game but forgot his trousers.
The sun was shining hard and no surprise therefore when the DJs won the toss and decided to bat. Archie Clarke briskly stepped forward to claim the new ball. Off spin from the Bleinheim Palace end – what brave new world this with such wonders in it! After a little loosener to see if his dear pa behind the stumps was paying attention, Archie fired a faster one through bat, pad and stumps and the DJ’s were 0-1. (Or 1-0 for any of our Australian listeners.) Archie then bowled an uninterrupted spell of 14 overs, 1 – 62 with one maiden. The DJs couldn’t get into him; as is the Grannies way plenty of balls flew up in the air unconvincingly but away from fielders; there was one moment when we thought st Clarke bowled Clarke would go down in the book but the batsman got their foot down just in time. In hindsight, Archie won us the game by getting their captain and best batsman early and screwing down one end so that the DJ’s run rate was never going to allow them to declare when they wanted.
At t'other end, a collection of bowlers did an excellent job of backing up and profiting from the Archie headlock. Tom Penton hustled and bustled out the blacksmith of a batsman at 3, with Hugo taking a smart catch at midwicket; Stringer rolled back the years to bowl to three slips and a gully; and then Hugo took full benefit of the DJ’s frustration with Archie, the spur of family onlookers and a surprisingly nimble Grannies fielding side to take 5-48 off 10 overs. As Graeme Swann and Hugo will tell you, in this modern batsman friendly world there is no higher sporting accolade than bowling honours, but maybe speak to Mrs Llewelyn when next you see her if you want the full ball by ball playback. I am sure nothing much else was discussed at Sunday breakfast in the Llewelyn household. In fairness, Hugo will have been particularly proud to dislodge their stubborn no 3, who had threatened to get out a few times but somehow gritted his way to 48, with one that went on with the arm and castled him; and Tom Penton took a very smart catch at midwicket to repay Hugo’s earlier fielding. I also enjoyed the sight of Milo throwing himself around with the wild abandon of a man who is wearing my trousers and not going to have to wash his own kit. But you can’t begrudge a man when he flies wrong footed in the air to take a reverse handed catch goal keeper style, to dismiss their no.8 and complete Hugo’s Michelle Pfeiffer. By the time Milo had bowled their no 9 (he had deemed it safe at this stage and with their no 3 gone to admit he did enjoy a bowl now and then), and after a brief interlude for the rain, the DJs had run out of time. They had to declare to avoid the ultimate cricketing sin of putting us straight in for the 20 over countdown. 189 for 8 off 39 overs was the final tally (or 39 for 189 over 8 for our Australian viewers).
Irrespective of how you looked at the maths, the current yoof do not trouble themselves with things like run rate, weather forecasts or evening traffic reports. They see ball and hit ball. I felt a little bit like Eoin Morgan as he surveyed Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow batting together for the first time: admiration for the clean striking of the ball, and a huge degree of sympathy for the bowlers. Ollie Penton had all but nailed the coffin door down by the end of the third over – he was out for a blistering 29 off 13 balls and the rifle crack of the ball off his bat did make us think of that unlucky barrel full of fish. The DJs tried mixing up the seafood platter but with the same results. Some control was exerted by their captain coming on again from the Town End, but once Alex Morgan and Will Moffett had brought the scoring rate down to a more respectable 10.0 an over, it was really a case of when not if. Will’s casual insouciance to a straight one, reminding your correspondent of David Gower in his pomp, brought Alec Younger to the crease with the score 90 for 2 off 9 overs; the 20 over countdown had started; Bumble would have told us to “start the cars...”. There was time in the day for Alex M to get to a very good 83*, Alec to get to 53, Milo to finish us off with a glorious straight 6 and then a quick beer whilst Hugo talked us through all 12 of his wickets again.
A very good Grannies performance with lots of new players contributing in a very stylish manner, and some familiar faces rolling back the years, and I hope to see them on a team sheet again soon. Although hopefully ours rather than the oppositions - I wouldn’t like to bat or bowl against Saturday’s team.
Match info
Also played: Will Moffett,Alex Morgan, Ollie Penton, Tom Penton, Alec Younger, Milo Wills
Location
St. John's College Sports Ground,
215 Woodstock Road,
Oxford,
OX2 7AD
How to get there
Travelling north on the Woodstock Rd in Oxford the turning is on the left after Frenchay Road but before Lathbury Road on the right. It is difficult to spot as it runs between two new (as of 2014) pillars and there is no sign.
What Three Words: trail.follow.blues