Detail: 23-06-2022 - Boltcutters T20
Result: L by 7 wkts
Blues vs Brockwell Park 11 match report
A very mixed and varied Blues 11 assembled last night. Season debuts for returning Blues: Tom Jordan, Sam Wardle and Simon Crane. Angus and Yanni, specialist mid-week Blues. Myself and Youcef and then 4 new boys. The 4 new chaps all being from good Wiltshire stock meant we boasted 5 ex-Dauntsesy's boys spanning 6 years and 3 different age groups. Sadly, being a bang average sports school this did not count for much.
Excellent work by Nick Goodwin for assembling 12 Blues, such a fine job that he was able to duck out to focus on an interview still leaving 11. Hope it went well Nick!
Picking a batting and bowling line up was tough. 7 chaps all declaring they don't bowl and bat in the middle order. Welcome to the Blues. Some of you will have to bowl.
Toss won, the Blues were batting first. Angus diamond duck first up. Luckily we were playing in a field so he could not smash up a changing room, but needless to say kit went flying everywhere.
Eddy J (Jenkins junior) was next in, meaning that this was the 3rd set of brothers to represent the Blues out in the field this season, after a rare Close double act and the Tawney faithful.
Ed not having played for 5 years had been shadow batting with an umbrella Wednesday night 'to get his eye in' - fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Looking pretty composed, Ed left a few balls on length, always a risky business on the pitches we play on and looked assured. One lusty blow smote the ball for 4 and Ed was off and running. Sadly the next one he smashed down long-on's throat and unluckily the bloke held on to it. He had to depart for 5.
Tom Jordan, longest serving Blue on the field, was getting into the groove, with some textbook Root-esque late cuts down to 3rd man. Scoreboard ticking along, Tom motored to 24 before being bowled.
Jack Czapalski, aka 'JC', took to the wicket, in at 4 and ready to show the Blues what he could do. Fellow school mate Chellis stood on the boundary with shock and awe playing across his features as JC lit up the nigh sky with some extraordinary batting. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. JC flayed the opportunity bowling to all parts and got to 23 before nicking it behind. Great start to his Blues career and one hopes the first of many outings this season.
Inspired by Alex Pike's heroics on Sunday (that match report will surely appear at some stage?) Jenks was feeling the Eoin Morgan pressure of needing to post a score. With younger brother Ed standing at umpire, trigger finger twitching, could HJ show his mettle?
After surviving some tidy bowling from the seamers, 4s and singles were found and the score kept climbing upwards. Seamers were replaced by spinners: half trackers and full burgers were offered up and gleefully accepted. Boundaries flew by, ball flying to all parts. Highlight of the day was a huge 6 landing on the full in someone's garden. Brockwell 11 looked stunned, expecting an easy win, not this uncharastic punishment from the Blues skipper, to their 'really good spinners'. Then they had to work out how to climb a 6 foot fence to retrieve the ball, all with great reluctance. Next over, same treatment to a different bowler, this time into a different garden. Don't bowl there.
Yanni, played an expert second fiddle - the Stokes to the Bairstow role - and the boys looked assured, motoring to 150 odd with not many left. Reminiscent of Mitchell middling it to Alex Lees to get his mate at the other end out earlier in the day, chance struck twice. Jenks, on 68 and eyeing up a ton, was at the non striker's end backing up, when Yanni executed a lovely forward drive for it to smash into the bowlers size 13 feet and crash into the stumps. All happened in a flash, Jenks was out of his crease and now out of the game. Surprise all round. The 20 stone blower had never moved so quickly, confusion reigned, but the skipper had to go.
Youcef, who keeps telling me he is away for all of June, was next into bat. Cef was intimately aware of Pikey's record knock last Sunday, and decided with 3 overs to go, it was all about the average. Nothing silly, no quick singles and no dismissals. Yanni having got to 16 was run out going for a single that Cef firmly sent him back for. Simon Crane joined for the last over and smashed a beautiful 4 to take his score to 5 and the Blues to finish on 173. An excellent showing from a rag-tag bunch hastily thrown together. Cef on 7*, still only been out once this year, and telling everyone in the bar afterwards that 'batsmen of the year' is all about the average.
Excellent line and length bowling from Charles Ellis aka 'Chellis'. Took his first Blues wicket, with the 3rd ball of the chase. In a textbook semaer's dismissal, bowling ramrod straight with a little bit of movement off the seam to take the faintest of nicks. Well held by Youcef behind the stumps and the Blues were in the game. A superb 4 over spell and we will gladly have you back
Left arm mystery from Simon Crane found the edge multiple times and quickly found a wicket with a well taken catch from Cef.
JC put his hand up to bowl and mixed beamers with 4th stump channel balls. Surprising everyone, JC got one to nip back off a good length and the bails went flying. Jubilation all round. Did the blues have a sniff here?
Sadly not, the 7 'batters who don't bowl' were called into action and the opposite punished any errors. The no ball free hit scenario further sent their score flying upwards. Tom Jordan thrown into the attack quite late in the day slowed the run rate down and made it interesting, but alas it was too late in the day. Simon Crane made a heroic effort at long off to chase a skyward ball. In front of the assembled, half pissed oppo he ran 20 yards, dived forward, ball hit him, the distinctive tell-tale thud of leather on rib cage rang out and Simon collapsed in a heap, ball trickling along the grass. JC had a plum LBW turned down, Youcef was red with rage. Chuntering to batter and both umpires, Cef gave them both barrels. A couple more swishes to cow corner and the game was done. The Blues had lost with 3 overs left. Great work by all. Three 8 pint jugs were consumed before 5 Blues headed to the first Hootenannys session of the year.
Harry Baker and Ed Jenkins were signed up for the Digby castle cricket tour. Simon Crane, a Kiwi keen to check out Scotland's history, is a strong maybe. Rumours are JC and Chellis may also be persuaded.
All in all an excellent evening with some great lads
Jenks
[updated 16 08 2022]