Autumn Mists
Summer Sun
September 4th
1st Team
Without fail there is always something happening when we meet with the KFC boys, look at the mammoth tied game earlier this season at home, so with hope and trepidation Duffy took his troops to foreign lands on the very day when Anton Bruckner was born.  Bruckner was famously a great admirer of Wagner and adopted many of Wagner’s traits in particular dissonances, unprepared modulations and roving harmonies but never strayed far from his Austro-German Romanticism. There is a fascinating book that could be written about Wagner’s influence on those who came after but for now we will follow the cricket.
Duffy has been criticised for being a poor tosser and today was no different but what was different was Mad, Bad Sedge with the new ball in his hand but it worked as he looked smoother in his action than he had done for months but this was only a result of Wendy pulling some obscure muscle and not bowling. This has been a season long issue with the finely honed machine that is Wendy misfiring, perhaps the piston need replacing with a Wankel rotary engine? There was a feeling that this bowling performance was almost good enough as it was but the old failings in the field did not give the bowlers the support that was needed, it might be unfair to highlight the casualty Wards as needing more than a bandage and a sticking plaster but it will not stop us doing so!
To the batting and Evo found his mojo in partnership with Duffy to give the innings substance and impetus but (we have seen that three letter word far too often this season) from a commanding position of 97-0 to 118-4 is not only disappointing it is sloppy. The duty of the not out batsman is to remain not out and help the incoming batsmen in establishing another partnership; something that again did not happen. Chappo battled hard with some support from Sat Nav before the laws of physics were misapplied to send Tom on his way. Chappo was still going well before he tried to use after-burners that he does not have to run himself out. In the end Matt solidly saw out the draw and 12 points were harvested.
2nd Team
In a startling display of bravado Freddie bowled 15 overs straight off whilst suffering the agonies of many a cowboy who strayed from the path of righteousness. On a tired end of season track anything on the stumps needed careful watching but the bowlers as a bunch had a tendency to stray from this path and be picked off boundary by boundary. David Yates continued to impress and could (and should) have had even better figures but for poor catching and a deeply unfortunate no ball.
122 to win was simply a stroll in the park once the tired & emotional Sam was removed. Don dabbled as he normally does in a partnership with Jake the Peg who had a tidy little net to reach fifty before gifting his wicket when victory was almost in sight. Del & Potts calmly took the lads home and a Pottsie push into the covers gave the final single to finish the game with plenty to spare.
August 30th
1st Team
Back home again with a determined Duffy leading from the front in a game that seemed from the side to be played in black & white with a underprepared track, lots of heavy rain on Sunday (perhaps) to blame and a very much slower than usual outfield. Miller came and went almost unnoticed, Dan walked in response to a truly wonderful piece of work by the visiting keeper and Evo middle his first ball directly to short cover. Lots of work for Duffy & Chappo and they rose to the occasion with obdurate innings and a solid performance that Sir Geoffrey would have been proud of. James looked in awesome touch considering the conditions before managing to run himself out and with a lot of bat throwing the innings ended in an odd fashion with Chappo shouldering arms to the last ball to leave himself on 47* and the score on 148. Odd? So an inconclusive score that left both captains hoping for the best but fearing the worst.
The visitors found the going equally hard going with Matt & Peppa bowling strict line and length leaving the batsmen to choose survival or suicide. This war of attrition played well into Duffy’s hands with the umpire popular Wendy looming ever closer and so it proved with some more than useful fielding keeping the pressure on. With game almost gone the visitors tried to blast their way out of trouble and made some good progress but with only 3 wickets left it was very much uphill for them and when James within the space of two balls achieved a run out and then a steepling catch it was almost game over. Wendy cleaned up the last man and 24 points were in the bag and the result that Duffy wanted started the dialogue of “if only we........” Two games to go and comfortable consolidation with a winter of much hard work and big decisions looming.
2nd Team
With the game over before 2.30 there was ample time for reflection for our travelers and an opportunity to watch and assess the first team. With Captain Scott winning the toss Mad Jock and dancing Queenie Stevey took full advantage of the callow nature of the home team and inflicted mortal wounds from the very start of the game. Young David again showed his remarkable maturity with four wickets and he even had the grace to allow Freddie a wicket.
Chasing a hatful of runs Don launched the ball to all parts whilst Sam followed a different script that paved the way for a prompt victory and a curry tea! Much to commend in this victory and a successful season comes ever closer to its end.
August 29th
Today the ancient and prestigious inter section cup was restarted with the Football section absolutely stuffing the over confident Cricket section in a fairly one-sided final before being presented with the prestigious cup by Club President Ted Richards OBE. The Social section achieved their stated ambition by not setting the Cricket section a too difficult task; we could see even that early in the competition that their confidence was not matched by their ability to withstand pressure! The much fancied Golf section floundered under the early football onslaught and simply did not have the ability to come back into contention.
Quiz King Freddie showed why he is a whiz with the coloured crayons and not with bat or ball; early return of the infamous duck for the Quiz King! Other players to leave an impression were the three generation Cotons who included Quiz King Freddie amongst their many victims in the field. So we come to the final where the historic cup commemorates the trials and tribulation of a lonely Ukrainian cabbage seller who daily walked from the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains to sell his home grown cabbages in the pleasant village of Castle Bromwich. This competition is etched within the collective memories of CBC&SC and well overdue for re-examination in white hot heat of Bank Holiday competition.
In the final the cricket section were well outgunned in almost every aspect of competitive play by the unfancied football section and found themselves needing 16 from the final over but a total capitulation in these final 6 balls resulted in a triple wicket maiden! Stuffed? You bet! Roll on the next annual completion for the cabbage seller’s cup!
August 28th
1st Team
So our merry band of expectant cricketers come to the pleasant village of Lyndhurst is the largest village within the New Forest. It is often called the "Capital of the New Forest" and is a popular tourist location with many shops, cafés, pubs and hotels. In 2001 Lyndhurst had a population of 2,973 people Alice Liddell also known as Alice Hargreaves, the inspiration for Alice in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, lived in and around Lyndhurst after her marriage to Reginald Hargreaves, and is buried in the graveyard of the church of St. Michael & All Angels. (Hang on someone has told me that we aren’t in Lyndhurst but somewhere very different but I am sure that it is equally pleasant?) So in this charming hamlet Duffy proves to be a pretty poor tosser yet again as the home side bat first on the greenest of greensward and run into Pepper Pig & Mad Matt at their collective tightest. This looks promising especially when the slow bowlers Evo & PK pick up wickets (I might have believed you when you said we weren’t in Hampshire but Evo 5 wicket? We must be in Wonderland!)
A total of 150 to win with the odd couple putting together a sound opening partnership to look in complete command but perhaps Duffy ain’t Usain Bolt as Wendy runs him out. Nevertheless we are well set up at 56-2 but somehow subside to the slowest thunderbolts of all time and do not even get half way to the target. Such a disaster is met with stoic realism by the skipper as he reflects in the glorious five star surroundings of a pretty Hampshire village and the wonderland of Alice.
2nd Team
The last time we played this lot we lost the most prolific opener the seconds have ever seen so Don & Sam in their own eccentric ways made sure that they did not impress the visitors enough to put in a transfer bid. Dan Radish did not understand this logic on his brief visit from the ones and simply murdered the bowling in an awesome innings of total control and dominance. He raced to his hundred, whilst Sam toyed with the lower reaches of double figures, and when fatigue set in he still had 15 overs to play with. However Bill & Potts chipped in with some gay 30s to take the score past 300 at tea.
Mad Jock & Breakback Dave strove manfully to make a breakthrough but the best bowling on display again came from young David Yates who could have picked more than his two wickets with a little more help from the field. An interesting interlude highlighted the chasm between the wit & wisdom of the Farthings and the high church morality of countryside Christianity and “never the twain shall meet” The final desperate overs were given to an odd assortment but the visitors never looked like losing this encounter, perhaps they had God on their side?
August 21st
1st Team
As night follows day then good follows bad but more usually it is poor following indifference but (it will be worthwhile counting the buts) on the 525th anniversary of the start of the English Civil War the big guns and fireworks were missing from this very damp English summer day. Considering the amount of effort that was needed to ensure that this game even started there was, for much of the game, a feeling of blandness than no amount of huffing and puffing could overcome. There was a great deal of suspicion that if this had been a second team home game then the effort would have been missing and no game would have been played.
Castle took the new ball with the aggressive Wendy showing that he was determined to be the main man once again, great, great ambition but the calm and methodical style of Matt (congratulations on his promotion from the 3rds) paid the most dividends with 2-27 from 15 almost faultless overs. As with all games affected by rain the permutations were almost endless but by restricting the visitors to 113-8 Castle looked to have control of the game but and when is there not a but with our lads it was not to be as the last two wickets took the score to 200 AO.
So the target was 118 off 29 for a winning draw and with Duffy going off like a rocket this looked highly achievable but (remember the importance of these three letters) but this rocket fell to earth pretty quickly. Not a disaster as Dan showed the full blade to ease the ball through the covers and we were well ahead of the asking rate but wickets started to fall to the unlikely sounding pair of Mr Bean and Petal. The usual solid style and temperament of the middle order was for some reason missing and totally out of character shots were attempted but without success. Double-Divi Sedge launched the first ball from the first change bowler over the boundary but got himself out in the same over with a sky high vertical drive, not a good day for the Spitfire!
A draw was calmly achieved when PK, in what looks like a natural role for him, watched the ball and not the bowler and ignored the eccentricities around him. A losing draw and a lot of hard work to achieve 2 more points than would have been on offer if the game had been abandoned; but a game was played and surely that is the whole point?
August 14th
With no play for the ones & twos, must be the first time in history that the Goldliner Methodists have played when we have not (something to do with early ground preparation maybe?) the focus of attention falls this week onto the thirds. Muneer’s boys have going about their games with a determined air of gradual improvement and the development of the juniors into good cricketers. From an early low of 16AO there have been many improvements in not only in how to play league cricket but how to develop the mental strength to challenge much vaunted opponents. This was apparent in Muneer’s determination to get a game of cricket played when the forecast was not promising. In the leafy surroundings of Shard End on the Lake Muneer claimed the toss and decided to bat when the collective wisdom said the opposite.
David Yates, with his second team experience, strode to the wicket with his greenhorn partner, Steve Wall, to give the innings a solid foundation. Unfortunately the over-exuberance of youth let young Steve down after smacking a few fours and a six over the posh side and was beaten by the proverbial straight one. A loss of concentration cost David his wicket straight after a rain break but by this time Robin of Loxley  was well under way and the hooded man was able to give words of advice to a limping Quinn who listened so attentively that he made his maiden 3rd team 50 before getting himself out. Another player on début, Tom of the Wood played within himself to give great support as Robin of Loxley made the first ever 3rd team century in between the showers and let Muneer declare to give himself 41 overs to bowl out the visitors.
The visitors opening bowler summed it up succinctly “That’s only 5.5 an over, should be a stroll” Little did he know that the fearsome Lesley with wind, slope, sun and the rolling gait of an out of control caravan tore into the visitors. Matt with his limited experience toiled manfully uphill into the wind in support of the main man as the opening bowlers took a couple apiece. The bucolic Steve Wall in his skin-tight flannels was given an opportunity to take 4 wickets in the evening sunshine but the return from injury of the popular Zaf was a real bonus as he claimed two wickets to claim victory for brother. A great result for the 3rds and confirmation that this first league season was not simply one of consolidation but a proving ground for emerging players and it is obvious that Steve, Tom, Matt & Palle will have learnt much from this their first game in the 3s. We will follow their development with much interest, well done to all these youngsters!
August 7th
1st team
In 1968 when King Crimson first wrote the epoch defining 21st Century Schizoid Man did they really know how apt it would be for our 1st team in 2010 or was it simply a reflection of the progression of the Vietnam War? Whichever theory you support you must admit that the sublime batting was in direct contrast to the untidy, chaotic and downright awful fielding display. Claiming the toss due to the late arrival of the tractor boys from Coventry Wendy soon put the wind up the openers whilst Pepper Pig showed the effects of two weeks on a hot sunny beach and soon gave way to the ever eccentric Sedge. Despite the non-fielding display 90-5 looked a good effort and should have resulted in a below par score of 160ish. We do not do simple and efficient and the final score of 246-8 was not the score we could have expected at the halfway stage. Difficult to comment on the bowlers performances as the fielding display totally overwhelmed whatever good balls when they were produced. Sedge did manage to get filthy again from an extremely clean start and we all wonder how he manages to achieve this each and every week.
With the vagaries of the league Rules on rain affected games being put into action this meant that we had 16 fewer overs to surpass the visitors and who knows what would follow after the much delayed tea. Duffy & Miller, each staying true to their own eccentricities, immediately launched into the visitors attack with venom and not a little style. Duffy in particular played an innings of brutality but also a large degree of unexpected elegance (are we talking about the same Duffy here?) Going well and above the asking rate when Windy suffers another case of cramp causing his retirement. This brings to the crease in rapid succession the much fancied heavyweight brigade of Chappo and Evo and both managed to get back to the pavilion very quickly. Duffy still going well but a catch claimed on the nearby football pitch sees him also depart rather earlier than anticipated. Sat Nav & James come together in a partnership that is dominated by the fast running and aggressive instincts of Tom. However as the winning draw is achieved comfortably James starts to dominate and reaches his fifty quicker than his partner and the outside possibility of an outright win looks to be possible. With 46 required off the final 3 overs the chase stutters and dies but not before the visitors are given one hell of a fright. If only the fielding had not given so many away runs this would have been a comfortable stroll to victory, schizoid indeed!
2nd Team
Travelling to far flung Coventry the twos manage less than seven overs before returning to Costa Del Castle to give raucous support to Duffy’s men.
3rd Team
With most of his team in the twos Muneer performed a minor miracle in getting a semblance of a team to the outer reaches of Smethwick and came across a very good team possessing a very quick bowler. Majid and Shaheed batted valiantly to get the score above the hundred mark before three wickets in one over to a young leggie finished the innings quickly. Shaheed followed his good batting display with some useful bowling with Taff taking a brilliant diving catch behind the stumps.
The home side cruised to a simple victory but Muneer and his men were not downhearted as they know how far they have come this season and with some reinforcements due next week there is still reason to expect to finish the season brightly.
July 31st
First Team
Back in May there was a runfest at Castle with our boys triumphant when the visitors came in search of Ken so now we are on the reverse fixtures what delights could be expected? Perhaps the flattest batting track since the Antigua Recreation Ground with a score of 500 to chase down comfortably? Apologies if that is what you expected because it appeared to the visitors that the fabled Ken had prepared the wicket using all the tools of a cosmetic expert but without any foundation; but that is getting ahead of the narrative.
Surveying his team Duffy must have felt like Napoleon on the long retreat from Moscow and who was missing was more a case of who is here? Losing the toss was not unexpected but Duffy found a new and rare method of getting out in contrast to the calm and cultured style of Tripod as he held the early part of the innings together. This calmness was not repeated as the top order was sliced and dissected on a pea-green surface that was developing craters as readily as the moon’s surface ( Please do not worry as there are many more mixed metaphors to mangle before we are finished) Delboy drafted in as RSM did what he does like no one else can but found some unexpected support from Matt in an obdurate late partnership that gave some ballast to this sinking ship (I told you there were more to come!) However, as much as these foot soldiers fought, the missing cavalry was gravely missed and a score of 147 might win some snooker matches but not too many cricket matches (still they come)
Defending as best they could our visiting bowlers found some rhythm and wickets were taken. Things were looking promising as the reserves fought gallantly but the heavy artillery was clearly missing (time to stop counting!) especially as the sure footed Shire horse known as Sedge started performing like a circus acrobat. Until today few had known of Sedge’s ability to do the forward roll and full cartwheel whilst bowling at pace but something must have been in the distant air, or perhaps something underfoot was missing like maybe firm footing? No it must have been an illusion. So even though Duffy and his boys fought with some success the home team finally crawled over the finishing line and left Sedge to count the bruises and to thank his gods that his ankles were still intact.
Second Team
Debuts for 3rd team regulars David & Luke as Captain Scott had loaned Duffy so many players that the cupboard was almost bare. Batting first Don & Sam got things moving with a robust start but then wickets tumbled quickly to leave much hard work needed to recover. Bill showed all his experience to dispatch the bowling to all points of the compass but 2nd world Waugh only needed cow-corner for his shot to be utilised fully in making a robust 49. Fred strode to the wicket and elegantly repeated the previous 49 with an ever so slightly wider trajectory to again reach 49! Bill is made of sterner stuff and reached an excellent hundred to take the total past 300 and the declaration in the 42 over.
Having 58 overs had the effect of relaxing the bowlers but the introduction of David had an immediate effect with his first four overs being maidens as the visitors could not work out his flight and guile. The key wicket was due reward for his first efforts but it could and should have been more, we will hear more from this lad. The regular bowlers were shown the way by Don in two spells of flighted filth and despite the best efforts in the field Fred finished things off by bowling Billy Elliot, in his pink ballet pumps, in the gathering gloom. A comfortable victory with the newcomers showing much promise.
Third Team
Knowle Village could not raise a team; sorry I just heard that the pitch was waterlogged, so no game for Muneers men in what we believe was the only abandoned game in the Midlands but what can you do about localised storms?
July 24th
1st Team
Now that the holiday season is in full flow there are gaps appearing where before there was solidity and reserves are being summoned from the nether regions of the club and quite often they are not as good as they could be. This is a problem for Duffy but one that he tackles face on and with grim determination as the joy of stuffing the division leaders last week was replaced by the performance against the struggling visitors. With the new ball in hand Matt gave a great display of control and well directed swing bowling that had the early batsmen seeking solutions where there were none with two early wickets and nothing off the bat. There is always a twist in every tale this season and with Wendy restored to fighting fitness over the past few weeks things were going well; that is up until a pulled fetlock had him screaming for the vet to apply some soothing balm. Pity but that is life especially this rather odd season. Whereas last week there was a crispness and control in the middle overs this week there was a certain lethargy apparent with there being an unusual amount of luck in the early part of the visitors young batsman but give him credit as rode his luck to play an ever more important innings.
Less than 250 to chase was not too difficult but with Quinny missing and Wendy being vetted it was perhaps 20-30 more than we would have wanted even with the return of Dan from his seemingly never ending round of birthday days off! A moderate start was followed by a poor middle and when Matt lurched to the crease to join James with 15 overs left an extremely bad end was in sight. With a couple of hefty blows, which did include a dropped catch, Matt settled to his task of seeing off the quickie and leaving the intricacies of leg spin to James who could have taken us much further towards the target with greater assistance from the specialists. A draw was achieved with Matt & James looking ever more like a future England pairing in the second row.
2nds
More positive batting from soon to be league player Sam with assistance from the returning Pottsie promised a much better score but with most of the second team batting in the first team this was never achieved and a moderate performance gave a moderate score. Even so it was a score that might prove enough with Captain Scotts experienced seamers always likely to achieve a telling spell but sadly this was not the case.
Despite the best efforts of the bowlers there was an air of inevitability as the home side scored briskly and without challenge to race to victory. The next few weeks will determine how the season pans out but a good performance next week is essential.
3rd Team
For most of the 3rd team it was a new experience playing on Brean Sands with the odd strand of seaweed giving a little bit of colour to the mud flats of Solihull. Maybe it is where they test the armoured cars ? David & Mick opened with 30 runs and more importantly no loss of teeth before they both departed to the pitch vagaries. Majid worked hard to keep the score going and Jack promised to do well but the random nature of the sand dunes meant that 141 was all that could be made.
Majid made all the batsmen work hard as he tied them down with good control but as is normal Lesley got one of the openers early but then resorted to long hops as his method of attack, something that Jack also repeated. David using a cricketing brain of a veteran bowled beautifully with the flight and guile of Wilfred Rhodes as he immediately took a wicket and could and should have taken more but was not helped by the fielders. The home team ran out comfortable winners but some promising signs of improvement were to be seen with Luke having a storming game behind the stumps to highlight his steady improvement with the gloves.
July 17th
1st Team
The closing line of last week’s report: - The second half of the season looks to be ever more interesting and the promise of even better things to come...now looks almost prophetic or just plain old lucky? Whilst looking back May 8th was firmly based upon the outstanding desire of the day’s 1st team visitors not to play any cricket if they could help it because there was a damp outfield and our lads found the same scenario repeated in the outer reaches of Walsall. Oddly enough it was the same side but at their home ground but the umpires on this occasion stood for no nonsense and insisted upon play commencing promptly. Great stuff Duffy and well done I hear you cry but there is a sting in the tail as the wicket is wet at one end and rock hard and bouncy at the other and Duffy loses the toss! Gritting his teeth Duffy takes guard and second ball promptly lobs the ball to second slip!
Moving on, second slip decides that he will not take the dolly, this gives Duffy & Wendy a great deal of heart as they put together a hard fought and determined opening partnership of 61 that paves the way for Evo to produce a controlled and classy innings of 81 without the normal crash, bang, wallop of more recent efforts; this knock was worth 150+ on a dry deck and was the rock that all the others could build upon. Shaun gave good support and the normal Chappo enormous six into the cornfield was followed by missing a straight one! 207 was worth 350 on a normal track and was a considerable total to chase.
Chase was probably not the right term as Vaughn reveled in the conditions at the swimming pool end and with great support in the field took a decisive 5-27. Good support at the other end meant that the home team were never in the hunt and reached a modest score of 87 on the anniversary of Napoleon surrendering, yet again, in 1815 to put an end to the famous “100 hundred days”. Our lads are now only 19 points away from top position with a lot of cricket still to be played.
2nd Team
On the face of it a losing draw was not a great result but when you consider that the last pair added over 80 to almost snatch victory from the visitors when all seemed lost the perspective changes somewhat. With more green than normal early wickets to Fred & Jock put the visitors on the back foot and what seemed control of an important game. However the rustic, if not bucolic, efforts of the middle and tail took the score to a challenging 205.
Chasing Don dabbled to the keeper leaving DJ & SS to establish a promising base against short & wayward bowling. 61-1 looked good but 62-5 did not. Del Boy got stuck in but despite the efforts of Fred (The Apprentice) and Steve (Tough up North) all looked gloomy when the Mad Jock strode to the wicket. If they could hang around and get to 125 at least there would be a batting point. This was achieved in dramatic style as Jock flashed and Del nudged to take us past 175 and 3 batting points. A famous victory was on the cards before the ever pragmatic Del took 23 of the last 24 balls to get a well deserved 50* but also to rake all the steam out of the voluble visitors. Job done!
3rd Team
With many of his regulars on 2nd team duty Muneer was delighted to repeat his feat of the previous week with victory over near neighbors and another 24 points. Batting first early wickets fell before Luke & Imtiaz came together in a sound partnership of 70 to give the base for an entertaining score of 151 which would be a challenge for the understrength visitors. This score did prove too much as all the bowlers gained reward for steady bowling with the exception of the unlucky Lesley but with three tricky away games to follow there are still mighty challenges for Muneer’s men. The opening line of this report could be repeated in the weeks to come?
July 10th
1st Team
For those of you lucky enough to be in a pub earlier this week when Sky Sports showed the amazing 3D screening of the ODI between England and Bangladesh you will know the fever that gripped us all as Castle Bromwich continued the experiment by playing a league game completely in 3D and totally live with no replays or big screens to confuse. This really was warts and all cricket! The prospect of seeing larger than life characters ( Matt,Dan,etc) in glorious 100% real life meant that spectators were in place hours before the umpires call “Play”
Probably the heaviest new ball pairing in the league Matt & Vaughn (Strong Manders does have an end of the pier ring to it?) very quickly ensured that the visitors established no platform whatsoever as wickets tumbled merrily with outstanding slip catching from Duffy & Evo (ventriloquist & dummy perhaps?) assisting the bowlers. With 5 wickets gone and only 40 runs on the board there was a need for a recovery of Biblical proportions but even though the later order produced a rearguard action and a solitary batting point was achieved there was an air of inevitability about the innings. The change bowling of Sedge & Wendy kept the pressure on and inevitably Quinny only needed one ball to finish off the innings in style. The fielding in the main supported the bowlers and the only blight on a good display was the harlequin headgear that looked like a tour charity shop exhibition.
With six overs before tea it looked like a steady start was what was needed but with ERN1 not being used recently the Duffy/Windy partnership blazed away in somewhat conventional style (are you kidding?) The partnership continued after tea until Duffy managed to get himself out and was followed a little later by Windy (Jug avoidance 48) This was only a ripple in an otherwise calm sea as Radish & Evo made mayhem and rushed us to victory in only 17 overs. Radish showed his appreciation of 80s style icon Madonna - Strike a pose! - as the game was won in a remarkably quick time to give us our first league double of the season.
2nd Team
With last week’s defeat still fresh in their collective thoughts the seconds got back to winning ways in a comfortable performance at Rugby. The bowling was steady with all the pace-men doing their bit but the star performer was the recently discovered PK Havana with a fifer. Stand-in beanbag, Shaun, showed his appreciation of line & length but was less pleased with the legside delivery of which there were far too many. Even so a target of 210 looked comfortable and so it proved as Don & Sam both produced their very own range of shots as they sailed past the hundred mark for the first wicket before they were parted. With another red-inker Shaun steered the ship home and 20 welcome points.
3rd Team
Another good win for Muneer and our home-grown talent over local rivals (Birmingham League Club Coleshill no less) Lesley again showed his ability to produce wicket taking deliveries on a more and more regular basis and he was supported by the increasingly accurate Jack. Muneer put in a good spell with Intiaz again showing his guile but perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the attack was the return of Chesney after his knee injury which had threatened his sporting career before it had really started. Chesney bowled a very steady line and although he only took one wicket he always challenged the batsmen by his accuracy.
Luke is starting to show some maturity in his batting and the awareness of batting in partnerships is becoming ever more apparent. David Yates is slowly growing into a batsman of quality and he is definitely one for the future as he played some well controlled shots. With a solid start we were indebted to Rock Star Reece for a stylish and ever more dominant score of 75 to race us to victory. Much has been achieved by Muneer and his men this season and the future looks ever more promising.
So perhaps the excitement of 3D was overtaken by the achievement of 3W that is all three league teams winning comfortably. The second half of the season looks to be ever more interesting and the promise of even better things to come.
July 3rd
1st Team
With not a win from our three league teams you might expect some harsh words or criticism in this report but no. Much of what took place was positive and potentially exciting on this anniversary of the final battle of Gettysburg which was followed by the infamous Gettysburg address which has had such a profound effect upon the USA’s foreign policy that it still reverberates to this day. Returning to the historical Victorian splendour of Bournville where the ones had the dubious honour of playing cricket whilst English Heritage did their best to discourage there being any enjoyment at all but in the Victorian splendour of this time warp perhaps that was not unexpected. Batting first there was a different feel to the side that was emphasised by the early dominance of skipper Duffy before yet again slowing down to stutter out his last few runs. A big one is promised and it could be soon. The early batting followed the same pattern with some pretty strokes but no major inning and the late middle order in the shape of Sat Nav & James were required to take us past 200, a good total on this ground. Chappo continued his quest to hit at least one enormous six per innings and this one was spectacular in the extreme, Sedge decided that playing six & out would leave him fresh for his bowling duties!
To the bowling then! Steady as she goes seemed to be the theme with no overall dominance from anyone. There were good balls bowled and attacking overs produced but it was all intermittent with no sustained likelihood of a match winning spell. Oddly enough Evo came closest to producing something memorable in a spell that recalled his father’s guile & mystery. The big plus point from this display was a spirited Team performance of good and at times excellent fielding with Sat Nav continuing to grow into his new role. A winning draw but more important a Team display of togetherness, I wonder what was the catalyst for that?
2nd Team
At last a second team who could perform to the standards required at this level! No it was not our lads but the visitors from the Walsall suburbs who produced all the answers in a quietly impressive display of all round cricket. Having gorged themselves on the substandard offerings for the last two months the early order failed to rise to the challenge of a good attack, pace, swing, containment and aggression were served up by the visitors and it was then followed by good quality spin. With all the top order failing it was left to Quiz King Freddie, Lagerlegs and the recently returned Doddie Weir to get the score past a hundred and even the heights of a batting point!
The bowlers looked steady both sides of tea but taking ten wickets looked very unlikely and it was only a salmon-like leap by Del Boy on the boundary off Sam that gave us a bowling point. If lessons are learned from this display about the minimum requirements at this level then today will have been worthwhile. One point worth noting is that the away team were away in a flash with no semblance of the old time courtesies, do you remember the times when a chat at the bar with the opposition was the norm? Sad.
3rd Team
Reasons to be cheerful in defeat were plentiful for Muneer with a much ravaged side coming close to a win over the pleasant and good spirited team from Knowle Village. Bowling first with the home-grown talent of Jack & Lesley taking the new ball and a steady fall of wickets was their reward. David stepped into the breach left by Luke and gave an assured display behind the stumps that was well supported by the livewire Majid and the laidback talents of DJ Laney! KV number 10 was the difference as he propelled the score above 150 which would be challenging for this much understrength team.
An odd combination of DJ & DY gave the opposition a fright with some excellent stroke play from David and the bandit tendencies of Laney putting 40 on the board in rapid style. Wickets started to fall in a steady fashion as no-one could build on this hectic start until Jack started to clear the infield with some hefty & effective batting strokes as he reached his maiden adult fifty. A draw was clearly within reach but the final wicket fell with 2 balls to go to give a sad end (for us!) to a fascinating game. Some of these very talented and more important home-produced players are surely set for much bigger stages over the next few years. Pottsie & his team of coaches must be congratulated for assisting the development of some highly talented players.
Reasons to be cheerful? Too many to number on this day of progression that overshadows the short term need for achievement!
June 26th
1st Team
Interesting this game, on the anniversary of the Pied Piper (1284) enticing 130 children away from their parents with his mystical use of advanced hypnotherapy, skipper Duffy repeated this feat with quite some aplomb. Firstly we have to highlight the impact of the umpires, in an enthralling and monumental afternoon, who jointly had an excellent game with very few mistakes and certainly very much fewer than the players. Winning the toss yet again Duffy reintroduced last season’s unproven experiment of ERN1 (Electronic Random Number 1s) and this time the rabbit out of the hat was Windy! Windy, I hear you cry, where did he get this from? However, and it is a big However, there was almost instant justification with an opening partnership of 153 with Duffy leading the way with early dominance while Wendy found his feet. As the partnership developed the roles quickly reversed with an increasingly aggressive score of 83 by the all-rounder and a more steadfast 60 from Duffy. This was the highpoint of an innings that promised so much more but did not deliver the promise as the attacking instincts of Ward senior & Chappo were nullified by a total lack of timing. Fiftypence for some unknown reason decided that solid defense was required to hammer home the advantage, odd thought process that showed a lack of knowledge of Budgie’s greatest hits! Strange that the fastest scoring batsman only got to the crease with less than seven overs left in the innings.
An unnamed elder statesman had constantly reassured the visitors that 280 was only a par score and that they would waltz home, spectators have a role to play but I am sure that boosting the confidence of the away team is probably not what our lads require. Matt & Vaughn bowled well with the new ball and were rewarded with two early wickets but the third wicket partnership became ever more comfortable and the visitors looked likely winners with Dan & Quinny bowling well in partnership as Wendy showed signs of rustiness. The score was keeping pace with the requirements of 5.6 an over with the refusal of our lads to take the eight chances put on offer, these chances were all of differing difficulty but the majority should have been taken. Something mystical & magical was required and finally came the Wizard of Oz, denied anything meaningfull with bat and now ball he recalled his distant youth by a one stump run out to place all the pressure back onto the new batsman. This was worthy of a fairy tale and somehow the mob became a team and remembered how to perform the not only the basics but also the mystic! As we entered the final few overs wickets started to fall and the pendulum started to swing back to a home victory as Wendy bowled some telling overs but when he was smacked into the carpark all the smart money was on the visitors. Matt’s return to bowl had been good but only four off the last over with wickets in hand and a smacker at the crease was asking an awful lot of the recently shorn Yeti but blow me he did us proud by only conceding three runs and also picked up the danger man, there was also a Tom Tom runout somewhere along the way (what a catch by Sedge)! A tie was definitely a get out jail free card that Duffy managed to play when most needed. Attention to detail is needed along with a willingness to play as a team if this promising season is bear fruit and selection again looks to be interesting!
2nd Team
Nice to see the runs being shared around with Billy Worth holding the innings together with a well made fifty as the rest of the batsmen got in and got out, has Sicknote peaked already? On the strange away wicket 235 was not an unreasonable score and with the devious Mad Jock taking the new ball surely a win was always on the cards? Jock was working off a different script this week but PK Havana and wily captain Scott secured the upper hand but that final wicket just would not be taken even with Lager Legs Stevie Waugh and fiery Freddie doing their upmost. A dominant performance once again but next Saturday looks like being a very interesting & thought provoking contest!
3rd Team
Our youthful opening bowlers, Jack & Lesley, picked up early wickets in front of the Birmingham Lord Mayor who had obviously heard of the tales of Muneers men in their first season of league cricket. The experience of Muneer, Noor & Intiaz clearly showed but DJ Laney picked up three wickets and with beanbag Luke taking three catches the visitors were so overwhelmed that Don helped himself to two wickets! What can one say but “After the Lord Mayor’s Show?”
Don and Luke were soon back in action giving the innings early impetus with Don going on to score 45 runs on his debut. The star of the show was Noor in an excellent score of 79 that showed little rustiness after his long absence from our colours. Jack applied the final flourish with a string of hefty smacks and looks to be reaching good form with bat & ball. A good performance with this being the 4th win of the league season but something must be done about the amount of wides, no balls & byes that are gifted each and every week. A new challenge awaits next week with what promises to be a great opportunity to continue the recent good form.
June19/20th
First Team
On Sunday June 18th the despotic emperor Napoleon with an army of 105,000 had the temerity to attack the Iron Duke, Wellington with a much smaller army of 68,000, at the small town of Waterloo just south of Brussels. The heavy rain over the previous days had left the ground as muddy quagmire; this was not to be the fate that General Duffy encountered thanks to his far-sighted and forward thinking committee who had authorised new state of the art covers to be put into place on the broad acres of Castle Bromwich. This was ironic as the battle was scheduled for the rolling pastures of Corley but their impact upon the campaign will unfold in due course. The similarities of Duffy’s campaign and Wellingtons’ have been remarked on before and again we will examine the effect of logistics upon battle plans. Heavy artillery in the shape of Evo was sadly missing from this particular skirmish but that only made for a much quieter day for all concerned! Also missing in action was Sedge who was going to laughalot!
The battle hardened veterans with the support of unshaven youth duly positioned themselves on Corley Field and listened to the words of wisdom from their leader. Seize and hold the higher ground was the message and possibly our heaviest opening attack of Mad Matt & Vimto Manders soon put this plan into action with typical steadfastness. The opposition ranks soon showed heavy casualties especially when the crafty former beanbag Quinny again showed his liking for the Tyrol-like pastures of Corley. Three for few off 10 overs showed that the Aussie-boy still has few peers when exploiting uncertainty in the opposition ranks. However, just as Gebhard von Blucher Prussian heavyweights pressed home the advantage that Wellington created, our own heavyweight artillery in the form of Wendy (call me engaged) Miller blasted the down hearted and panic-stricken home troops with a welcome fifer amongst the Mole Hills of Corley. 137 all out showed the powerful rhetoric of skipper Duffy had worked.
Consolidation at the start of our innings would have been nice but no we must give the opposition hope by losing three early wickets (yet again! I hear you cry) Duffy made a pleasing 22 before losing his compass, probably due to the 360 degree slopes and undulations over the higher ground. Re-enter the fray the veteran Quinny and in the wink of an eye victory was achieved, much of it in the company of Val Doonican lookalike Fiftypence who fell victim to a bout of lassitude. This only opened the doors to yet more heavyweight artillery from Danny Boy with some howitzer blows the victory was ours!
Second Team
Much can be read into the visitors batting first especially when Mad Jock demolished the stumps first ball when the opening bat decided to leave a straight one, sad misjudgment. The Mad One clearly enjoying his return to fitness by having a lengthy spell rewarded with four top order wickets. Steve Waugh with a hop, skip & jump picked up wickets with movement both ways off the seam but a decisive spell of six balls, three wickets at the cost of five runs by PK Havana (some smoky bowling there surely?) finished off the visitors.
Chasing a handful of runs Sicknote was brought straight back down to earth after last week’s record breaking spree by being the only wicket to fall as the powerful hitting of Sam brought the game to a close by 4pm in the company of Del Boy. Powerful performances by the ones and twos will make the selection of those who missed this week very difficult to justify and again Tuesday evening looks to be interesting!
Third Team
Muneer’s men made their way to the far reaches of civilization and encountered nothing resembling the Spirit of Cricket when they arrived at the Paddy Fields of Quinton, the square so green that the Emerald Isle in mid winter came to mind. Batting first on this surface was a challenge but a score over 160 was an excellent performance with Reece (Rock Star) Bruce Dickinson lookalike on his debut scoring an excellent 47, this good form following into Sundays game where he made a quickfire 55 - shows promise!
This score was going to be a challenge to the home team but their sheer hunger drove them to extreme measures with the wide law being interpreted somewhat differently to the accepted norm. The ravenous (do you want the name of a caterer?) home team somehow scored enough extras, as the batsmen certainly couldn’t, to claim victory. The umpiring at this level is certainly variable! The third team grow in strength and confidence week by week and this will only be a small setback.
June 12th
First Team
A perfect day, as New Labour would put it, to reveal bad news and shortcomings and Castle showed great understanding of this basic principle. Strange this one with moments that will stay in the memory bank for some time, 50 Pence’s direct throw with only one stump to aim out to achieve a much needed runout, his later miss from a yard away to give 3 runs for a forward defensive, Sedge’s two runouts showing coolness under pressure as a much needed counterpoint to his tantrums when underperforming with the ball, the rewriting of the laws of geometry by an eccentric former boxer to inflict his own interpretation of one of crickets well know laws. Yes they are all there but the overwhelming memory will be a reluctance to accept and defend what was already in our possession and the abject failure to understand what the team requires is not what the individual wants for themselves.
Starting the game with Mr Mander’s use of the new ball giving instant reward with a smartly taken catch by veteran Evo. At the other end Sedge again bowled with passion and spirit but with little luck, luck tends to reward those who show control and punish petulance mercilessly. Quinny deserved more than his figures suggest and Matt came back with better control but the visitors were flattered by their 245-7 and this was still a target which should have been achieved. Satnav continues to improve with every game and one day might achieve something that is much more than competence.
The top three worked hard to establish a firm base but only Duffy was able to go on to a reasonable score thanks to ex-boxer (see above) and at drinks we were well placed to challenge but this quickly slipped away once Quinny played around a rare straight ball. Admittedly the visitors took some really good catches but were the shots played appropriate to the situation is something only those involved can defend. So to slip from 139-2 to 163 all out showed little relish for a fight and a total lack of players willing to achieve a result by hard graft, perhaps PK could be excluded from this general desire to play a shot a ball. I bet Corley are delighted to be facing us next week!
Second Team
Career best performance by Sicknote with 214 aided by well endowed Banker Shaun gave Castle IIs a reasonable score of 380-5 but one that the home side knew they could not match but, for the benefit of our first team, they achieved a draw which still gives more points than a loss! Interesting that Jim Kerr was top scorer for the home team, a new career after all his years of selling out stadiums with Simple Minds (for more on simple minds please look at the first team report) Cooky is currently batting out of his skin but probably more important to Club not Team achievement was the return to the fray of Steve Waugh and his three wickets after weeks on crutches but even with the support of Mad Jocks four wickets the travelling stars could not force a win. Selection looks to be interesting this week.
June 5th
1st Team
Thirty four years ago to the day in the acknowledged greatest English summer ever of 1976 three inches of snow stopped play at Buxton but for some unknown reason snow did not come to the rescue of Castle and the last pair failed to bat 20 overs and score the 122 needed for victory. This is a result that has been waiting to happen as the early order yet again failed to put any sort of score on the board and for the first time this season the middle & lower order did not come to the rescue.
Bowling first there was assistance for Matt & Sedge through the air with good support from ex-keeper Quinny and score of 213 from the home team was disappointing but 4 bowling
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