Post date: May 5, 2013 8:48:18 AM
A sunny if chilly day got the league season off to a start on Saturday with BCC away to local rivals Whitchurch. With new rules for the season meaning no playing for a loosing draw it was going to be interesting to see how Whitchurch would go about the game! Batting first, Creddy and crew got off to a slow start with excellent spells by the Fogerty brothers with dad chipping ion some helpful(!) advice when needed from behind the stumps. Bowling in great areas, there where no freebies and the first 10 overs slipped by with only 20 odd on the board. Tom Fog thought that he trapped Creddy in front early on but the umpire (who to be fair was consistent in his interpretation throughout) didn't agree. A double change saw Alex J and skipper Juts carry on the good work and both settle in to tight spells giving little away. Whitchurch dug in and where on 75 before loosing their first wicket. With Credicott going on to make 50 before chipping one up, a slow but solid base was in place for an increase in tempo from the home side.
Butler and James E came on to mix things up a bit, James doing well until having a loose last over (which looked a bit better thanks to buying a wicket) and Butler completing a very promising spell of left arm over variation. Pleasingly, more of the variation was planned than not and he took 4 wickets. Charlie proved that he's not quite dead yet with a catch and the odd stop that belied his age with Ricky Ewen and Joppers-the-younger both outstanding in the field. Skipper Jutson and Dan-the-man Fogerty came back to squeeze the over rate down and Whitchurch were clearly ticked off not to get the 200 they should have.
Setting a gettible total of 198, tea saw some nervous glances as BCC batters knew that this was one to win. It was with a palpable sense of tension that BCC prepared for the first league innings of the season.
The pitch had played very consistently during the Whitchurch innings but it wasn't long into the BCC innings when it became clear that this was not going to last. Fog senior and Jimmy opened the reply and after cracking his first ball for six, J was skittled by one that didn't get up playing back. His brother Ricky faired a little better before unluckily playing on leaving BCC 2 down and Mark shaking his head. Phil H came to the middle, holding a bat for the first time since last season and looked solid before the pitch got the better of him as well with a low bounce making him miss his timing on a drive and knocking out middle stump.
3 for not-very-many saw father and son combination Mark and Tom build a partnership that reminds you why you turn up to cricket. With plenty of cries of 'shooooot', the Fogs got BCC close to a hundred before Marks decrepit bat with a middle the size of a peanut, let him down and he was caught in the mid field for 28. Ian J was next in and never got going before mis-judging one that knocked over the stumps. Charlie and Tom put on another decent partnership but just as it looked as if the game was in the bag after all, Charlie forgot his age and tried to muscle one over the long on boundary which only made it half way and was caught on 23. Mark 'mid life crisis' Butler strode purposefully to the wicket and knocked a stone out of the wall with a mightily struck 4 before succumbing to the BCC aversion to building an innings. Heads went down when Tom F (who was clearly counting) tried to play a late cut dab to one that was just not wide enough and was caught in the slips for 50. The innings was wrapped up pretty quickly with Lee, Alex J and Dan Fog offering little resistance to a chirpy Whitchurch.
All in all, a great game which whilst only coming away with 9 points, you would take in place of a miserable win in the rain and a promising start in the field and with the ball........now to get some nets in!