2005 Season Review
2005 saw the 20th anniversary of the re-founding of the Liverpool Bar Cricket Club, initially as the Cryptics, until it was discovered that this was causing the Club to be mistaken for a rather better cricket team. Although we failed to bowl a single side out even once last summer, by hook or by crook we remained unbeaten, in our 21st season. This prompted some veterans to recall the halcyon days of David Dennis and Edward Bartley Jones opening the batting. However, the season did not get off to an auspicious start, with a European friendly away at Conwy C.C. On a difficult batting wicket Conwy were restricted to 177 for 7 declared. With 3 wickets for 37 runs off his 10 overs, Nick Ryan was the pick of the bowlers. At tea, Ryan was revelling in his new found status as an all rounder, only to be the first of two batsmen clean bowled in the first over of our reply. With the score 6 runs (5 of them extras) for 4 wickets, our debutant Oliver Cook returned to the pavilion actually bragging about his innings of 1, as at No. 5 he was the first batsman to score a run off the bat. I thought that things could get no worse, only to look up to see Gwynn Price Rowlands striding to the wicket, having arrived in good time for the second innings, with much the same air as General Blűcher pitching up at Waterloo. It was a struggle to recall any fielding by which GPR had injured himself so as to justify the runner he was taking to the wicket with him. With their national sense of fair play to the fore, the Conwy team sportingly declined to object to GPR stretching the laws beyond their limit, and GPR even persuaded his compatriots to remove their hostile fast bowlers from the attack on the basis that he had not prepared for such a searching cross-examination. This enabled Mark Chester, who top-scored with 43, and Michael Armstrong with 25, to take the score in the direction of respectability, until a golden duck from Ivan Woolfenden left the last two batsmen clinging on for the final 10 overs for an honourable draw. It was hoped that this would be suitable preparation for the upcoming test series of Twenty 20 games against the CPS. Sadly, the first game was rained off, and the CPS failed to raise a side for the second game, despite having prematurely booked the Gulshan restaurant for their anticipated celebratory dinner. Instead, we had a net on the hallowed main square at Liverpool Cricket Club, and Michael Armstrong managed to hospitalise himself trying to hook a Charles Prior half volley. And so to Northern Cricket Club where Northern’s young bucks contemptuously called a halt after 33 overs with 233-4 on the board, and Will Rankin’s thumb broken along the way. Kenward had dutifully opened the bowling with 0 for 49 off 5 overs, before generously allowing the Northern batsman to inflict any further carnage upon the bowling of Prior, which they did. However, Damian Nolan then proceeded to treat the Northern bowling in much the same way with a barnstorming, Flintoffesque innings of 88, only interrupted by regular calls for a change of bat as he sought to hit each ball further than he had hit the last one. Nolan’s dismissal, in sight of a century, brought no relief to Northern as Michael Armstrong hurried us to our target with a flurry of boundaries in his 28 not out. Sadly our inaugural fixture with the Liverpool Law Society at Liverpool Cricket Club was to fall victim to the weather, although not before we had reached 74 for 4 with Michael Armstrong (33) the best of the batsman. Ivan Woolfenden also entertained us with a cameo knock having been sent in as a rainwatchman so as to protect Charles Prior from having his early tea marred by the disappointment of already being out. As the rain fell, we reflected on how the other half of the profession live, as we enviously watched the senior partner of Brian Jackson and Co. wash the contents of his hamper down with a bottle of Chardonnay. Our preparations for our crunch game with the Chester Bar were thrown into disarray in a similar fashion to Glenn McGrath injuring ankle ligaments by stepping on a cricket ball, when our talismanic and temperamental veteran, Nick Ryan, ‘phoned up at 11 am on the Sunday of the game to withdraw, with the excuse proffered that Miriam was insistent that he spend the afternoon looking after the boys as he had spent too much of the previous day lazing around watching the Test match. This was followed hard on the heels by a text message from our form player, Damian Nolan, to the effect that he could not read airline timetables, and had only just discovered that his flight back was 6.00 o’clock in the evening, and not in the morning. I struggled to imagine the Australian coach having to explain such problems to the media, and pinned my hopes on the Chester Bar turning up with 2 extra players in their usual way of seeking to secure a numerical advantage. We knew that delectable culinary delights awaited us at Christleton Cricket Club where a tea prepared by Mrs. Julian Shaw is always one of the highlights of our traditional annual fixture with the Chester Bar. A big score by the Chester captain, Julian Shaw, is usually another of the highlights, so that an early and extended tea interval seemed on the cards when he was caught Prior bowled Prior for a duck. However, his opening partner, whose name I have yet to find on the Bar List, made a century, before the higher priority of tea necessitated a declaration at 193 for 5. A big opening partnership between Simon Gorton (55) and Michael Armstrong (43) and an unbeaten fifty from the bearded wonder, James Hawks, meant that victory was never in doubt. We even had the luxury of allowing Ivan Woolfenden to end the season as he had begun it, with another golden duck, as well as brief innings from Liam Grundy, which exposed to our Chester colleagues the partiality of Charles Prior’s umpiring, although no one could deny that the entertainment was worth prolonging. We took to the field for our final game, against the Wirral Police at Wallasey Cricket Club, with five of our players having missed the start, even without GPR in the side. Having managed to restrict the Police to 105 for 3 wickets off their 20 overs, Damian Nolan smashed a quick 36 before Michael Armstrong scored 25 not out and finished the game and the season with a straight 6. My choice for player of the season would be Damian Nolan who had a batting average of 62. The S. W. G. Edis award for the most improved player would be Michael Armstrong, whose consistency was demonstrated by scores of 25, 28 not out, 33, 43 and 25 not out in consecutive innings. Although once thought to have been claimed by Nick Ryan in perpetuity, there could only be one candidate for the Tonker Tankard (awarded for the triumph of fortitude over ineptitude), namely Ivan Woolfenden, who sought to make sure of his Primary Club application by qualifying twice, and who is not the player to let a golden duck detract from his enjoyment of an afternoon’s cricket, or the unexpectedly early cigarette break which such a dismissal brings. Be warned, 2005 saw the institution of a new award for the lamest excuse for a late cry off, and went, predictably, to Nick Ryan. At least GPR turns up eventually. Roll on the 2006 season, already being looked forward to as the comeback season of Andrew Edis QC. Tim Kenward
2006 Season Review
Our first Sunday game was an inaugural fixture against the Ormskirk Occasionals CC (under the captaincy of Malcolm Gregg of Quinn Melville). A 3rd wicket partnership of 65 between former chambers colleagues, Nigel Power (28) and Damian Nolan (45), seemed to have laid the foundation for a big score, before a middle order collapse reduced the Bar to 110 for 7. The damage was repaired in a partnership of 101 between Will Rankin jnr. (47) and Tim Kenward (54 not out) before a declaration at 215 for 8 (off 47 overs). This left Ormskirk Occasionals a minimum of 47 overs to score the runs, which never seemed likely once Andrew Edis, in his comeback game, reduced them to 19 for 4, on his way to match figures of 11-2-24-6. Bowling support was provided by Ian Harris (9-2-23-3) and Charles Prior (6-3-6-1). With the game lost, Malcolm Gregg came into bat at number 12 (taking a leaf out of the Chester Bar manual of cricket strategy) and milked LBCC’s occasional bowlers for 19 not out whilst announcing to his Ormskirk team mates that the runs would count for the Ormskirk end of season averages.
There was inordinate demand for selection for the team to play the CPS. This may have been linked to the flourishing CPS practice of Brian Cummings which has apparently taken off exponentially since allowing the first two balls which he bowled in the final over of the 2004 game to be hit for the match-winning sixes which had enabled the CPS to conjure an unlikely one wicket victory in that game. However, after a two year hiatus, even civil lawyers like Damian Nolan had nothing but revenge in mind. A tactical error was made in electing to bat first as this allowed for premature exposure to the generous and alcoholic refreshments brought along by Andrew Edis. The innings started well with an opening partnership of 53 between Michael Armstrong (61) and Simon Gorton (14). Armstrong’s innings came to an end when he tried to claim the credit for “walking” even though the sound of the edge carried to the Portacabin pavilion. Late runs from Damian Nolan (25) and Jonathan Clarke (two sixes in his 18 not out) resulted in a decent twenty20 score of 139 for 5. Unfortunately, slowed down by white wine of the highest quality, our bowlers were unable to stop the CPS getting off to a flying start, and although this was halted by James Hawks (2 wickets for 24 runs) and Charles Lander (1 for 15), the Bar slumped to its first defeat since the 1st August 2004 loss to the Chester Bar.
Winning habits were resumed against Northern CC at Crosby, notwithstanding the opposition being reinforced by the presence of former LBCC legend, Kev Reade, and his son. They contributed only 7 runs between them as Kev had failed to explain the LBW rule to his son, and a stunning catch from Simon Gorton ended the innings of Kev himself at a point when he was threatening to cut loose although not yet off the mark. We were left to chase 136 to win, and at 72 for 5 the game was in balance, before an unbroken partnership of 64 between Mark Chester (43 not out) and Will Rankin jnr. (34 not out) took us to victory.
A passing reference should be made to the Circuit game against the Western Circuit, so as to record a marathon bowling spell by Andrew Edis which yielded four more wickets, and almost brought victory with the Western Circuit eight wickets down, although the Western Circuit had every confidence in their number 11 bat who fancied hitting the winning runs off Simon Gorton.
Against the Liverpool Law Society on Liverpool CC’s top ground (once graced by Bradman), it would have been easy to have been intimidated by the slick turn out of the opposition wearing their special heatwave team outfit of Bermuda shorts and equivalent beach wear. Mark Chester and Andrew Sinker (32 runs each) put on 80 for the first wicket. Unfortunately Ashley Barnes (back to his best with a hard hitting 22) and Damian Nolan (15) seemed more concerned with building up their Brian Jackson & Co practice by falling victims to the senior partner in his bowling spell of 3 for 50 off 10 overs. Peter McCaughley of Brian Jackson & Co. also seemed to be engaged in the process of inviting tenders for work in the course of returning bowling figures of 10-2-38-3. In the end, it was Jonathan Clarke, with more interest in developing a practice in Carlisle, who fired a quick 56 not out, and Mark Stewart (20), already well established in Preston, who lifted us to 221 for 7 declared. After tea, Damian Nolan seemed strangely inhibited about taking wickets in an opening spell of 7 wicketless overs, but Jonathan Clark (6-4-6-2) made the early inroads, including the prized wicket of Brian Jackson (caught by Andrew Sinker) whose surprise at holding onto the ball prompted a football style celebration. However, it was to be Ian Harris, with an Edis-like spell of 10-20-36-4, who was to reduce the Law Society to 80 for 9 before James Hawks (who as a Solicitor turned Barrister had already batted for his former colleagues) ended a last wicket partnership of 68 to bring victory by 73 runs.
As usual, we turned up for our final game against the Chester Bar wondering what sort of side the Chester captain, Julian Shaw, would have assembled to play us – whether it would be a side of old faces, or new faces plucked Wenger-like, from the obscurity of junior representative cricket. As usual, Julian did not disappoint us, and his side bore testimony to the Chester Bar’s abandonment of OLPAS in favour of recruitment from the cricketing academies of Cheshire and beyond. Our skipper, Charles Prior, delegated the task of winning the toss to Michael Armstrong, so as to allow himself a little extra time for preparation for such a big game. Chester were duly inserted, and before long the old faces were back in the pavilion with the score 4 for 4. This included the run out of Shaw for 1 on what was to be a day of run outs. Andrew Ford made a spectacular debut with fielding which made him appear suspiciously like a ringer, and which brought three run outs, to which he added a wicket and a catch. Despite the best efforts of Jonathan Clarke (17.2-1-58-3) and Will Rankin Jnr (9-1-24-2), Chester recovered to 149 all out. Inspired by memories of his fifty in last year’s fixture, Simon Gorton set us on our way to victory with a brace of boundaries, before Shaw was able to avenge his earlier run out. Gorton was seeking to steal a cheeky run by attempting to deceive the Chester fielders into believing that the ball was dead. However, the Chester players were not to be taken in by such a stratagem, and a stunning piece of fielding saw Shaw claim the run out by which Gorton got his just desserts for such gamesmanship. Despite being clearly out of his ground, Gorton appeared to show dissent, although afterwards, in the course of putting his disappointment aside and staying for drinks with the opposition, Gorton explained that his delay in leaving the crease had been caused by his open-mouthed admiration and disbelief at the wonderful cricket which had claimed his wicket. Gorton’s dismissal turned the victory procession into a procession of wickets, only briefly interrupted by an entertaining partnership between David Tinkler and Michael Armstrong (2 sixes in his 32). 42 runs were still needed for victory when Prior joined Kenward for a 9th wicket partnership. By this time, Kenward was struggling to play the teenaged leg-spinners who were bowling at both ends, and had gone into his shell in the knowledge that his dismissal would leave only Liam Grundy, rather than a number 11 in whom one could place confidence like Anne Whyte, standing between the Chester Bar and victory. This did not prevent Prior from playing some shots, but with two overs left we appeared to be struggling to cling on for an inglorious draw, still 23 runs short of the target. Shaw brought back his opening bowler to administer the coup de grace, only for Prior to hit him around the park. 9 runs were needed off the last over, and 8 runs off 4 balls, when Kenward finally came out of his shell and hit a straight 6 which he will hopefully be forgiven for recording here. However, only a single off the next two balls brought about a last ball finish, with one run needed for victory, which was fittingly hit by Prior.
Good news on the subject of the Club’s silverware. In the course of packing up his Cressington Park villa, for another fling of the dice on the property market, Ivan Woolfenden tells me that he came across the Club’s trophies amongst the trinkets and other assorted debris left behind by his former lodger. These have now been restored to the guardianship of Club co-founder, benefactor and trustee, Andrew “Roman” Edis, for whom the S.W.G.E. silver cigarette box doubtless stands as a poignant reminder of his days as a junior with a taste for Senior Service. Sadly, now that the extent of the Club’s dining ambitions is limited to impromptu curries at the Gulshan (other then attempting to gatecrash the Winchester Cathedral Close garden party of Pump Court Chambers), it must fall to this end of season report to put on record who the season’s winners would be. The Captain’s Cup would go to Jonathan Clarke, whose dismissal in the Chester Bar game allowed him to have a batting average of 130 for the season together with a bowling average of 16.28. The S.W.G. Edis trophy for the most improved player would go to Will Rankin jnr, with a batting average of 43 and a bowling average of 17.33. Finally, the Tonker tankard would go to David Tinkler, not so much for any displays of fortitude triumphing over ineptitude, but more for poetic reasons.
2007 Season Review
The Liverpool Bar Twenty20 season began with a game against the Wyncote Ramblers on the top ground at Liverpool Cricket Club. Nick Ryan slogged four boundaries before being stumped. Cameos from Michael Armstrong and Ivan Woolfenden followed, with Will Rankin providing the late acceleration. All rounder Nick Ryan then took 3 wickets for 31, so that victory seemed assured. However, as usual, Ryan cost us the game, in that his selfishness in taking wickets brought the opposition’s star batsman to the crease, who duly won the game for his team in a flurry of boundaries.
In a new Sunday fixture against Old Parkonians, things started very well, with James Hawks hitting 28 before the team collapsed to 103 for 9. This brought our number 11, Anne Whyte, to the wicket, to join her brother, Will Whyte, who was spending his summer holidays employed as Simon Gorton’s PA. Their last wicket partnership brought the Bar near to the bottom end of the range of respectability, with an all out score of 119. Opening the bowling, Will Whyte then accounted for three of the five wickets to fall before Old Parkonians reached their target.
This year we entered the Trustram Cup for the first time. This is a 20 over knock-out cricket competition for “professional firms” in Merseyside. However, our first game was against favourites Hill Dickinson. Jonathan Clarke got us off to a flying start, before Charles Prior (31 not out), duly rallied the troops, in partnership with Mark Chester, and then David Tinkler (22 not out). We felt that 105 would give our bowlers something to defend. However, the breakthrough did not come and we were duly consigned to a 10 wicket defeat in the ninth over. The anoraks amongst us believe that this defeat may only have equaled our biggest margin of defeat (in terms of wickets), but there can be little doubt that this was our quickest thrashing.
The incorporation of the Chester Bar into the Northern Circuit brings with it a healthy cross-pollination of ideas, and who can deny that the Chester Bar concept of the weekend pupillage might serve us well if we are drawn against Hill Dickinson in next year’s cup competition. Despite being given a flowing start by their various weekend pupils, the Chester Bar score was pegged back by some fine Liverpool Bar bowling and fielding. Andrew Edis claimed the top order batsman in a marathon 12 over spell of 3 wickets for 47 runs, whilst Nick Orr (or “Awe” as he appeared in the Chester Bar scorebook) mopped up the late resistance with three wickets for 32 runs. And so to the Liverpool Bar innings. Charming cameos from Simon Gorton, Will Rankin and Nick “Six and out” Orr, still left us perilously perched at 77 for 6 needing another 75 for victory. This was the cue for David Tinkler to take control, smashing the Liverpool Bar to victory with an exquisite 56 not out before the match was won in the grand manner so as to secure a victory by four wickets.
And so to the traditional highlight of the Liverpool Bar cricket season, as 2007 saw the revival of our Inn at Whitewell weekend. Where previously we had played against the Richard Bowman XI, our opponents were now the Charles Bowman XI, as Charles has now taken over as landlord of the Inn from his late father. We got to 50 for 1, mainly thanks to David Tinkler (26), before the wheels came off in the usual fashion. Only the David Steel-like efforts of Mark Stuart, who was last out for 20, enabled the score to be dragged up to 111. Kenward, as captain, foolishly opened the bowling, and his 5 overs disappeared for 51 runs. Charles Prior cunningly managed to prolong the game by getting the other opening batsman stuck at his end. There was barely time for the bowling to be changed to allow Gosling and Kennedy to usher our opponents to victory in 15 overs. For posterity it should be recorded that David Tinkler and Mark Chester sought to salvage some pride from the occasion by tombstoning into the River Hodder at 5.00 am in the morning from the rear terrace of the Inn at Whitewell.
It left the Chester Bar game as our only victory of the season, and four defeats spread amongst the various cancellations and rain ruined games. In such a truncated season there was little opportunity for anyone to better the claims of David Tinkler to the S. W. G. Edis trophy for the most improved player of the season and the Captain’s Cup for the player of the season (140 runs at an average of 70 plus some outstanding catches). With an absence of any real contenders, the Tonker Tankard (awarded for the most conspicuous display demonstrating the triumph of fortitude over ineptitude) must surely go to Michael Armstrong for his attempts at explaining the LBW decision given against Tom Gosling at Stonyhurst, and the coffee pouring attempts the following day at breakfast at the Inn at Whitewell by way of burning the offending hand which had given the decision in question, allied with his displays of a pain threshold which Thomas Cranmer would have been proud to call his own.
2008 Season Review
We began with a new fixture at Kingsley, a village side south of Frodsham, with a picturesque ground. On his first appearance since promotion, Brian Cummings duly kept the juniors waiting. However, after Charles Prior (1 for 7 off 6 overs) and Tom Gosling (2 for 29) had made early inroads, Cummings took the opportunity to display his silky skills with 4 wickets for 11 runs off 6 overs so as to bowl out Kingsley for 129. It is often said that the sign of a good wicket-keeper is that you barely notice he is there until he snaffles another victim. Peter Harthan, in making an accomplished debut, was just such an example, standing in for the absent Nigel Power. Opinion was divided as to who was the better wicket-keeper, although one wag suggested that, whilst we might lose more fixtures with Peter’s batting (3 runs off 30 balls), we might keep more fixtures without Nigel’s banter. In agreeing to open the batting the debutant had assured his skipper that he had previously been an opener, until he had developed into more of a slogger! Our innings had its usual sort of start, with an entertaining duck from Ashley Barnes, who then entertained us with a discussion as to the number of runs he would tell his wife he had scored (the truth was not an option). 23 was eventually the figure upon which he decided. Simon Gorton did marginally better, scoring 1, but blamed this on the captain for having put him at number 3 in the batting order. Brian Cummings perished in Bothamesque style, trying to get his leg over the wicket whilst hooking a short ball. At 57 for 5, the position looked slightly perilous, but we need not have worried, as Will Rankin took control (or rather his new Newbery Uzi did) blasting eleven 4’s in a match winning 61 not out.
2011 Season Review
The Bar team were drawn against Specter Group in the first round. Specter take some pride in never having progressed past the first round and, whilst never threatening to break their run, the game was played in an excellent spirit.
The next round, however, brought a much greater challenge with another contest against old foes Hill Dickinson. In recent years Hill Dickinson have dominated the competition in much the same way that England now steam roller opponents in Test Cricket (best make use of this analogy whilst we can). Hill Dickinson had accounted for the Bar’s exit in 2 of the previous 3 years, and would have been odds on favourites to do so once more had there been a betting market. As if facing Hill Dicks wasn’t daunting enough, the Bar were below strength with “star man” Kenward unfit and starting to show his age with numerous injuries, opening bowler Clarke was part heard on a trial in Carlisle and Power was on holiday. However that night at Northern Cricket Club in Crosby will live long in the memory of those who played. Brooker and Armstrong both took sword to the Hill Dicks bowling. Prior and Rishton bowled with control and accuracy and the match was on a knife edge right to the end. With 1 ball left Hill Dicks needed 5 for victory. With hitting a six looking improbable, Armstrong decided that the game needed a little more excitement and bowled a wide, leaving a more attainable target of 4 from the final ball. Fortunately however Armstrong kept his nerve and bowled a dot ball to see the Bar through to the Semi Final.
With the bandwagon now gathering momentum, and the sniff of silverware in the air, Kenward suddenly made a miraculous recovery from a supposedly season ending groin strain. RBS now stood between the Bar and their first appearance in the Final. In an ill-tempered affair, an ugly night ended with the Bar progressing. [Following representations made to the webmaster the following section of the report is redacted - notwithstanding I am confident that a defence of justification and/or fair comment would succeed]
RBS’s mood did not lighten as Kenward proceeded to pile on the runs with Brooker. RBS, however, were to have a revenge of sorts. Their opening batsman decided to take on Dudley’s bowling, waltzing down the wicket before missing the ball and being stumped by Harthan. It wasn’t even close, yards down the wicket the only question was whether he’d crossed with the non-striking batsman. The batsman however remained where he was, his team mate who was umpiring then claimed he’d not seen anything, though was unable to answer Power’s pertinent question as to what had obstructed his view (you don’t get Silk for nothing). However RBS never looked like coming close to chasing down their target and, without any cricketing equivalent of a taxpayer bailout to get them out of trouble, they lost the game as well as any moral high ground.
Weightmans were the opposition for the Final. Coming in late August, the Bar team was hit hard by absentees with Brooker and Clarke away on holiday. Prior was on international duty with the England and Wales Bar team’s tour to the West Indies, whilst Orr was sailing around the Hebrides. Kenward had again managed to injure himself, this time trying to get in a kayak on holiday, but played through the pain. Things got even worse when Harthan was delayed by a closure of the M1 and only arrived at the ground after completion of the Bar’s Innings. The Bar’s total of 119 never looked like enough although the game went down to the final over before Weightman’s hit the winning runs. Unlike the semi final the game was played in an excellent spirit, save for Kenward’s intemperate reaction when denied an LBW decision.
At the end of season awards ceremony Brooker was awarded player of the year for his excellent batting displays and Andrew Sinker was awarded most improved player for his fielding.
2012 Season Review
The season began in what we hope will become a traditional curtain raiser at Cholmondeley Castle. This year we managed to avoid clashing with a vintage car festival and enjoyed a pleasant afternoon in the early May sunshine. An impressive innings from Kenward helped the Bar post a competitive target. However it looked like Cholmondeley were heading for victory until inspired bowling changes and a generous LBW decision led to a flurry of wickets. The Bar emerged with a hard fought victory to start the season.
Showing questionable dedication to the cause, I then left to go on holiday for the first friendly and competitive evening fixtures of the season, Tom Gosling deputising as captain. A close fought game against Wyncote Ramblers ended with a narrow defeat for the Bar at Northern. The next week a glorious Summer’s evening should have seen the Bar face Jackson Canters in the first round of the Trustram Cup. Unfortunately however Jackson Canters couldn’t raise a team that evening and, being a bit of a soft touch and also not wanting to bite the hand that feeds, I agreed to re-arrange the game rather than claim a walkover. It was a decision that I would live to regret as solid rain throughout June led to several postponements.
The annual game against Liverpool Cricket Club doesn’t really merit much of a mention in this review. I say this because, given the quality of the Liverpool side, several guest players were brought in to play for the Bar and at least put us in a position whereby we weren’t embarrassed. As a result the bona fide Bar players were like village yokels plunged into first class cricket. We watched on in awe as the real players showed us how it should be done.
In an unusual twist of fate the game against Ormskirk Occasionals, a victim of rain for the previous 3 Summers, managed to survive the wettest June on record. An unbeaten 50 from Bill Rankin and a useful knock from David Tinkler saw the Bar looking well placed, however a late collapse left them looking a little short. The turning point of the game however was a stunning diving catch from Armstrong which dispatched the Occasionals’ main batsman. The Occasionals stubbornly blocked the final ten overs to force a draw.
The evening game against the Occasionals should also be glossed over. Stand in captain Charles Prior took a generous view of the spirit in which the game should be played, bowling anybody except the players who actually could bowl, and keeping himself fresh for the following evening’s tennis. This allowed an ageing Occasionals team to claim victory in a game that was unremarkable save for another impressive innings from the in form David Tinkler.
A friendly against Spectre was an unexpected highlight of the season. Spectre had looked in poor shape when we played them in the first round of the 2011 Trustram Cup however a number of new additions meant that they gave us a good competitive game on a pleasant Summer’s evening at New Brighton. The most memorable feature of the game was when Tinkler, again batting in fine form, hit a huge six which disappear over the legside fence followed by the sound of leather crashing against metal. On investigation it was worryingly discovered that not only was the owner of the vehicle present but she was somewhat upset that as she’d been putting her young child into the car seat a cricket ball had come within inches of causing them serious personal injury. The unfortunate lady’s ire was not placated as the assembled players showed more concern for the whereabouts of the ball whilst Tinkler, being the consummate lawyer and mediator he is, quickly gave her a refresher on Lord Denning’s judgment in Miller v Jackson.
After several postponements early July saw us finally play a competitive fixture in the much delayed first round Trustram Cup tie against Jackson Canter. Jackson Canter won the toss and inexplicably, given what followed, elected to bat. Jackson Canter’s play was like that of the Chinese Badminton players in the Olympics, albeit without the incentive that losing would provide easier opponents in the next round. That however is to do a disservice to the efforts of Tom Gosling who, perhaps incensed that I had chosen to open the bowling with Clarke, seized his chance when John Clarke retired hurt after dropping a chance on the first ball, and ended up with figures of 4-3-4-2. Jackson Canter were bowled out for a total of 12. Some of the more flamboyant members of the team wanted to try to attempt to knock off the runs in one over. Shannon Eastwood however was taking no chances. Unlike batting partner Nigel Power, who got himself out cheaply in his rush to go and fawn over Mr Justice Blair at Bar Mess, Eastwood built a patient and ultimately match winning innings of 4 not out from 6 overs. There then followed a 10 over game in which Michael Armstrong played for Jackson Canter in an attempt to balance the teams. Whilst lending them Armstrong was clearly in the spirit of the game, Armstrong himself took things a step further by loudly pointing out the technical failings and weaknesses of each Bar batsman at the crease and giving thorough explanations of how each one could be dismissed. Fortunately, knowing Armstrong’s own weaknesses, the positioning of Mark ‘safe hands’ Chester at long off led to Armstrong’s dismissal in the Jackson Canter innings and saved the Bar from defeat at the hands of one of their own.
The annual ‘Zoe’s Place’ competition at Maghull was again an enjoyable day out for those who played. The Bar’s first game ended in a nail biting climax. With young Michael Power and myself the final batsmen at the crease and needing 14 to win off the last over it didn’t look good. 12 runs were scored leaving the Bar falling just short.
The second round of the Trustram Cup against RSA was one of the best displays of cricket ever produced by the Bar. Kenward and Booker’s display of aggressive opening batting took the game away from an impressive RSA bowling attack. Kenward’s century silenced those who had thought he might be showing his age. RSA took the unusual and unilateral decision that when they batted the game wouldn’t involve LBWs and every ball down the leg side would be called a wide. Even with this assistance, however, they never looked likely to come close to the Bar’s impressive total of 196, especially given the steady opening bowling of Charles Prior and Nick Orr, and Andrew Sinker’s cat like reflexes in the outfield. Whilst Nigel Power generously attempted to make a game of it in his bowling spell, in the end it was a comfortable victory for the Bar.
The semi-final of the cup saw us drawn against old foes Hill Dickinson. Unfortunately, August being Holiday Season, most of the Bar’s star players were away for the proposed date of 22nd August. Power and Dudley were also unavailable. With only 9 men and the sun shining things looked ominous for the Bar. However a sudden and dramatic cloud burst at 5.30pm in the South Liverpool area led to the game’s postponement. Despite the return of key players for the re-arranged fixture, the Bar were knocked out of the competition in the gloom of a September evening by a strong Hill Dicks team.
Unfortunately the traditional closing fixture of the season against the Inn at Whitewell fell victim to the August Bank Holiday downpour however the Inn’s usual hospitality was very enjoyable. Having been handed the responsibility of ordering from the wine menu, this publication’s wine correspondent candidly confessed that he knew nothing about white wine (to be fair, I know very little about cricket). Tom Gosling was awarded ‘most improved player’ for his bowling. David Tinkler was awarded ‘player of the season’ for numerous outstanding batting displays. Andrew Tinkler was named ‘fielder of the season’ whilst Michael Armstrong’s match winning catch against Ormskirk Occasionals was awarded the champagne moment. The coveted award for fortitude over ineptitude went to Jackson Canter, especially the guy who was clean bowled by my erratic bowling.
Wirral Nomads
By the time the first ball was bowled, the Bar were up to 7 strong with promise that Vice Captain Gosling was on route. With Captain Harthan stuck in London and Gorton on his sick bed the Bar were starting the season 3 men short.
Stand in Captain, Prior saw the opportunity to blend youth and experience at the top of the batting order and sent in Orr and Rishton who promptly started to put the Wirral batting to the sword. An array of powerful and well-timed shots took the Bar past 40 before Orr (16) fell to a full length ball that he was trying to heave over mid-on.
Tinkler joined Rishton at the crease and the two moved the score on quickly and skilfully. Rishton, in probably his best innings for the Bar so far, hooked 3 impressive sixes as well as unleashing an array of cover drives. Tinkler too, clearly buoyed by last seasons ‘best player’ award and recent fatherhood, played a steady innings with a wonderful display of wristy shots to the boundary.
The scorekeeping was the only thing letting the Bar down at this point as Rishton’s 50 came and went without acknowledgement. When his score was realised and promptly applauded from the boundary, Rishton was forced to retire by stand in captain Prior having made a splendid 53.
Armstrong came to the crease in high spirits but quickly found his timing was all out despite snatching the bat that Tinkler had been using at the far end. He was bowled by a straight one having made what would be charitably be described as a scratchy 14.
Murphy arrived and hit a couple of quick fire boundaries before Tinkler completed the innings with a glorious drive through the covers. The Bar finished on a very respectable 155 off 18 overs with Tinker (40) and Murphy (14) both not out at the end.
Wirral very charitably loaned the Bar a couple of fielders and the Bar charitably allowed Armstrong to keep wicket in the absence of Harthan. Prior (3-1-7-1) and Gosling (3-1-8-0) opened the bowling for the Bar in very economic fashion, immediately finding their natural line and length. Prior uprooted the off stump in his second over with Wirral well behind the run rate while Gosling had a nick dropped behind the stumps.
Orr (4-1-12-0) and Murphy (3-0-8-2) came on at first change and kept up the pressure on the Bar with Murphy showing particularly impressive pace given his time away from the game. Orr took a splendid catch off Murphy’s bowling while he himself was virtually unplayable with a series of slower and dipping deliveries.
Wirral were progressing slowly and looked well short of runs but Prior, being the keen sportsman he is, was determined to get the game over quickly to get to the bar. He summonsed the Bar’s answer to Ambrose and Walsh in the form of Tinker (3-0-0-24) and Eastwood (3-0-2-15) in an attempt to polish off the Wirral.
In what was a complete surprise to all present, the pair bowled with guile and accuracy, Eastwood picking up two wickets through great pouches by the stand in Captain Prior, who was so used to making excuses in the field, he was even making them when taking catches.
Rishton (1-0-0-5) got an over at the end meaning 7 of the 8 Bar players got a bowl with everyone contributing something to a good victory.
A couple of run outs left Wirral 7 down after their 18 overs having amassed somewhere in the region of about 80 runs (the exact score is a mystery due to Eastwood cutting it off when taking a photograph of the score book). The fact that Wirral had left what appeared to be a couple of very handy cricketers back in the hutch perhaps illustrated the way the game was played.
It was a good first game for the bar, particularly given they were down on numbers. Several players threw their hat in the ring for man of the match with Tinker in particular going close with a lovely display of batting and bowling. It was however Rishton’s impressive start to the season that saw him nick it in the end.
Result; Liverpool Bar won by about 75 runs MOM: G Rishton
Cholmondeley
The pick of our bowlers was a “ringer” – Peter Barnett of Mossley Hill – whom Tim Kenward had persuaded to play the night before by binding and gagging him and driving him down to Cheshire in the boot of a car. Ben Murphy and Charles Prior had to open the bowling with much effort and little reward, until the ringer became accustomed to the light. Between wides - and off an inexplicably-long run-up - Barnett produced wicket-taking deliveries which thumped into the hands and chests of Tim Kenward, Michael Armstrong and Simon Gorton. Behind the stumps Peter Harthan got the fourth Barnett dismissal as a surprise leg side delivery dollied up into the iron gloves. All was going well with Orr bowling a tight line, and Kenward bowling around the wicket without waiting for the batsman to be ready. Then Cholmondeley’s equality and diversity officer got going, and somewhat ruined everyone’s bowling figures. Kenward bowled him with a full toss, and declared it a no-ball, before going back to full length somewhere short of a yorker. The one controversy was Barnett’s unlikely catch, which the batsman, in a state of utter confusion from Orr’s change of pace through the over, thought a bump-ball. 199 was the score, after 40 overs (with 8 down).
Harthan took the game to Cholmondeley, indeed presented it to Cholmondeley by playing straight but straight around a straight one in the first over. Enter Kenward, flustered from having had his two-hour pre-batting preparation compressed into two minutes. A series of run-outs nearly occurred when it was far from clear how Cholmondeley’s jockey opening bowler was actually bowling. Kenward, dropped a couple of times (one perhaps being a favour from Cholmondeley’s multi-cultural officer, whom Kenward had given not out when he was the bowler), went breezily on to 92. Around him Andrew Sinker came, hit a cover driver, and went; Ben Murphy came, tried to run two while Tim tried not to run at all, and went; and Pete Barnett came, shaped up and got out to easily the best ball of the day, if not the best ball ever bowled at the ground. And it also kept low. Simon Gorton however was the mainstay with TK, though later claiming that the scorers had numerically understated his endeavours in the book, and demanding a recount/ accountancy balancing exercise. Prior managed to hit the ball, but, with the score on about 170 and with three overs to reach 200, Liverpool’s hopes faded with Kenward being run-out by an off-stump yorker. Orr fussed about having a runner. This distracted him from giving the runner anything to do, because he too ran himself out immediately to an off-stump yorker. An injured Michael Armstrong was the last man, and he overcame injury to whack a four. He had his revenge on Prior’s birthday celebrations of two or three years ago (when Prior extravagantly called both Armstrong and Chester through, having hit the ball first to silly point and second to leg gully) by calling a hesitant Prior back for a second run in the covers. He, despite being fleet of foot, was turning to start this second run as the game ended on another run-out. The strategy, let along the tactic, behind this second run was questionable: the Bar needed about 18 off five balls, and Armstrong, true to name, tended to score a boundary a ball, whereas Prior tended to make a boundary a season.
Team: Peter Harthan (cpt)(wkt); Andrew Sinker, Tim Kenward, Ben Murphy, Simon Gorton, Peter Barnett, Charles Prior, Nick Orr, Michael Armstrong.
St Hilda's Staff
Anne Whyte took the field for St Hilda’s innings, in case Harthan turned up. Harthan did turn up to see Gorton – desperate to get out of bowling – doing a creditable impersonation of a wicket-keeper, and putting further distance between the captain’s pretensions and the slot of first-choice wicketkeeper. Murphy bowled a keen off-side line, but it took the greater variation of Sinker and Tinkler to get the St Hilda’s innings going. Chester began calmly before his early release method was deemed too dangerous for him to continue. Armstrong handed his box to Gorton, and threw up a few leg-spinners. He also threw himself down like a German guard in war film, when the ball came whistling through the air towards him on the boundary next to a moving tree. St Hilda’s got rid of Prior’s leg-stump half-volleys, ending on 130 for 6. LBCC – Murphy, Whyte, Prior - sportingly dropped a few catches in order to engineer this close result. Most of the paying spectators marvelled that the fielders even got near to taking these catches. Those who keenly follow LBCC did not even rate them as chances but as opportunities for athleticism.
Man of the match: Mark Chester
Ormskirk 2013
Most observers felt the Bar had plenty of runs on the Board and the question was whether they could bowl Ormskirk out in 39 overs. The Bar’s bowling attack had other ideas and with a healthy run rate and few wickets down Ormskirk looked well placed at the mid-point of their innings. Armstrong sustained a ball in the face having failed to take a catch at square leg off Power’s bowling. However, the introduction of Prior to the bowling attack changed the course of the game. A stumping and catch from interim wicketkeeper Gregg led to favourable comparisons with the Bar’s usual custodian of the gloves, whilst the hobbling Harthan took a catch at Point. With 5 overs remaining all 4 results were still possible. Prior and Reade (T) bowled tightly to ensure that the Bar did not lose the game. In a close finale, the runs scored in the final over of the Bar’s innings ensured that Ormskirk came in just short with 6 wickets down. Thus an entertaining and enjoyable match ended in a draw. The day was then completed by watching a tight finish in the marginally higher standard Lancashire Cup match between Ormskirk and Heywood on the main pitch.
Man of the match; Charles Prior, with Tom Reade a close 2nd
Fletchers 2013
It was the Bar’s turn to bat on this occasion with Sinker and Tinkler opening the batting. Both were dropped early on their innings, before Sinker skied the ball to mid on, which this time was duly taken. Tinkler, Chester and Gorton all contributed with some runs. Cameron guesting for us was unfortunately run out for four. Our Captain back from injury stepped in to bat and was the pick of the batsmen holding the innings together. Going into the last over he was on 46,but for the sake of the team took a single off the fifth ball of the over leaving him stranded on 49 at the non striker’s end.There were some useful runs from Charlie Gray at the end. The Bar’s final score was 114-7, which was considered reasonable, but there was a feeling it might not be quite enough.
Fletchers Solicitors stepped into bat and the Bar quickly got amongst the wickets with two batsmen dismissed early on. Cameron guesting for us bowled well and took wickets. The innings continued with the Bar restricting the run rate and not allowing the opposition to get any control of the game. The high point of the innings came during Rishton’s bowling spell with the opposition requiring 50 to win off the last seven overs .Shortly into his spell he bowled one of their batsmen and the in-coming batsman was sent back first ball in the same way. Fletcher’s Captain came in for the hat-trick ball –all crowded around the bat-a good ball was delivered,but it was sadly not to be. At this stage the game could have gone either way, but the Bar kept the bowling and fielding tight not allowing the opposition to keep up with the run rate. Eastwood came on to bowl towards the end and was incensed, when a clear l.b.w. appeal was turned down. Towards the end the opposition’s Captain was run out by Pete guesting for us-we subsequently learnt he was a friend of their Captain-this was to be a talking point for them. The opposition were some 20 runs short at the end making it a comfortable victory for the Bar.
It was a good all round performance by the Bar with everyone contributing with either bat, ball or in the field.
Man of the Match Peter Harthan
Bibby 2013
Brooker – sardonically down as “Blocker” in the “book” (two scraps of paper from a notebook) – came out with a bat rescued from his attic, and, despite scratching around with a couple of boundaries flicks and nudges on the deck, hit a few on the full. At twenty overs the score was 181, and Power still a run short of his 50. But lo! By the Duckworth-Lewis system for stretching a game out due to sun, the match became Twenty-Two22, and Power glided another single to make his 50 and long-awaited retirement. Enter Eastwood, wearing a cap to protect his scalp from the beating sun. By knocking a single, he managed to get the score to 209 for two at the end, since Brooker despatched the rest of the bowling without troubling to run.
The Bar had all turned out in its gilt-edged strip, with Prior even wearing the club kit rather than some curious clothing from a spurious club. Harthan chose to wear a non-conforming sun hat, which made him look like Bez, and made him keep wicket like Bez [Charles, I’m astonished that you know who Bez is - Ed]. Gosling stormed down the hillock to take three wickets, although due to an overly-attacking field and overly-generous, rank half-volleys he and Eastwood, the opening bowlers, put Bibby Distribution ahead of the run-rate (35). Chester had to tolerate fielding on the boundary next to the camp squeals of Crosby’s drunken youth [I thought they were remarkably well behaved, if they sue for libel you’re on your own - Ed]. Eastwood heroically bowled up the hill, sometimes overtaking his own deliveries on his follow-through. Gosling trapped Bibby Distribution’s keeper-batsman LBW with a high one, but the umpire clearly thought that the ball was “on its way down” and gave the lone appellant his appeal, amidst much embarrassment and soul-searching. He movingly dedicated the wicket to his new-born son, oblivious to the life of a parent ahead, as by this time Crosby’s youths came close to breaching their ASBOs [I do hope you’ve properly investigated this and sought their views before publishing so as to satisfy the Reynolds Defence - Ed]. At times the Bar’s fielding owed a lot to spot-betting arrangements, with boundaries conceded regularly through the legs. Prior huffed and puffed for four overs, the high point of which was Eastwood’s confident clutch at deep mid-off to take Bibby Distribution’s best (only?) batsman. Armstrong dangled some leg-spinners in front of the batsmen. His subtle signals to Harthan behind the stumps, such as scratching his Lego head, were lost on the batsmen, and the ‘keeper too. Yet “two-steps” Harthan took a sharp stumping, as the batsman failed to put his bat over the crease within the allocated minute, and the crowd could hold its breath no longer. Rishton turned his arm to spin, and had both Gorton and Chester flailing athletically at balls looping over their heads, so decided to bowl the batsman instead. This led to the first missed bowled opportunity in cricketing history, because Harthan yelped and threw off his glove when the ball passed or hit it, and the batsman denied that the ball had bowled him. Rishton had to appeal in a novel way for a “bowled”. Another cricketing first was made when the first-ever appeal for “bowled” was given Not Out, the umpire clearly inclining to disbelieve the Bar’s skipper on oath. It took a resurgent Sinker – down in the book as “Stinker” – and a re-called Eastwood to bowl out the overs, to give victory to the Bar, with Bibby Distribution making 117 for seven. Man of the Match: Power the Power Catch of the Match: Eastwood Moment of the Match: Cricket’s three firsts – the missed bowl-out, the first appeal for bowled, the first not out for an appeal of bowled.
Revenues 2013
Nevertheless the early signs were good for the Bar. Ed Brown and Alex Rankin opened the bowling and skittled through the Revenues top order leaving their innings close to collapse at around 20ish for 5. Revenues strength however clearly lay in their middle order as a partnership developed which restored some pride to their innings. Steady bowling from Patrick Reade and Matty maintained pressure on the Revenues. The game having been extended to 22 overs, and with only Power and Armstrong left to bowl against in form batsmen, there was a fear that the end of the innings might prove painful. Such fears were misplaced however as Armstrong and Power bowled steadily and Revenues were bowled out for 113 in the final over, a total which looked very gettable. As the Revenues batsmen threw the bat in the closing stages there was the unusual feature of 3 ‘father and son’ stumpings with Power snr bowling and Power jnr keeping wicket. Whilst the trio of stumpings led some to call for Power jnr to be instated as 1st choice keeper, the captain, remembering a dropped catch earlier in the innings, remained guarded on the subject. Power snr (twice) and Harthan took catches and Armstrong took a blistering catch one handed off his own bowling, restoring some pride for the Atlantic contingent with Chester and Gorton having earlier put chances down.
Sinker and Chester opened for the Bar. A young bowler with genuine pace bowled the second over and pitched the ball short leading Sinker to take evasive action. Unfortunately on the third ball Sinker was not so lucky, and got a taste of leather, leaving the field with blood pouring from his facial wounds. A desperate search for protective helmets found just one in an adult size which Chester took off the incoming batsman Armstrong. The next over Chester was dismissed, I think bowled, but as this correspondent was in the dressing room with the injured Sinker at the time that may not be correct. Harthan and Armstrong then set about restoring the Bar innings. Harthan played the steady anchor man role with Armstrong playing in his more flamboyant style. The fast bowler started pitching the ball up but could find no way through, whilst runs came freely from the lesser bowling at the other end. With the score at 50odd for 1 (plus Sinker retired hurt and gone home), and the decent bowler seen off, after 10 overs the Bar appeared to be cruising for victory. Unfortunately however Armstrong top edged and was caught. Still Gorton and Harthan appeared in little trouble until what spectator Kevin Reade was later to call the turning point of the innings. Gorton cut the ball and immediately set off running calling Harthan through. Second slip however made a good stop making the run suicidal. In a decision he would later regret, rather than send Gorton back to face jeopardy, Harthan took the brave decision to chance the fielder’s arm and run to the danger end. Unfortunately the throw was good and Harthan was dismissed in disappointing style. Still the Bar looked well placed and for a while Patrick Reade and Gorton kept up a steady run rate. However both were dismissed at a crucial stage with around 30 runs required leaving the youngsters and Nigel Power to chase down the final runs. Despite some good batting from the tail end, particularly from Alex Rankin, the Bar fell just short.
MoM; Alex Rankin, produced with both bat and ball, closely followed by Michael Power for his 3 stumpings
Carpenters 2013
The Bar’s 130 for 5 looked above par on quite a big ground, and had not even required Orr, Gorton (S), Sinker and Power (N) to add finesse if not runs to the score. Orr stepped up to open the bowling with Reade, and scooped both the openers. Carpenters’ danger man was a big hitter, whom the Bar’s fielders dropped three times. (I shall not name them). Reade took 3 wickets, one being possibly the best batsman for a golden duck. Orr’s loud LBW appeal removed the danger man, and Rishton breathed a sigh of relief. Power breathed two sighs of relief. Orr ended on 4 for 19. Then Prior and Rishton had a go, and there was run-out. Carpenters made 60 or 64 all out. The final beckons, when most of the team will be on holiday.
Man of the Match: Orr
All-rounder of the Evening: Reade
Fielding Point: Harthan (during LBCC’s innings)
Chester Bar 2013
But now there is a new dawn, Chester is part of the Northern Circuit and we are all friends. Which is just as well, as the Liverpool team was made up of 5 barristers, a son, a brother-in-law and 4 ringers sportingly accumulated by Chester captain Julian Shaw in the pub the night before. Although the accumulation of ringers was sporting, as things turned out their allocation amongst the teams was more than sporting.
The five barristers from Liverpool had put arrangements in place; a combination of bridging loans, remortgages and pay-day loans meant that all were ready for whatever match fee came their way. Bitter experience told them that the sumptuous banquet between innings normally came with a financial sting at the end of the match.
Worse was to come, as Harthan announced on arrival that he required the full name, date of birth, career statistics and inside leg measurements of each player for his new iPad scoring App. After new-pads-raised-match-fee-gate earlier in the season, there was considerable trepidation amongst his troops as he unfurled his new bat, as yet unadorned with his top scores over the ages.
So to the game itself; Liverpool won the toss and batted. Gosling, obviously flummoxed by Barrow CCs’ new sightscreens, missed his first ball and meandered back to the pavilion to complete his Primary Club application form. In came Ringer number 1, Bart Beswick. “I don’t play much, but let’s see how it goes” he confided to his batting partner. Twenty-five balls or so later he was back in the pavilion having made a quick fifty and retired. The revenge of the ringers then took place, as Chester’s Dave McClements spun his way through a string of Liverpool batsmen, his dismissal of Gorton the most memorable; first ball he fumbled at a leg-break outside off-stump, next ball he left a googly which demolished his stumps. Not liking what he saw from the non-striker’s end, Power then cynically manufactured a period of ten overs or so when he barely faced a ball to save his precious (only to him) wicket.
Liverpool needed a rethink, and it came with the stunning addition of Bill Prior to the pantheon of great umpiring performances in this fixture. Standing about 18” wide of the return crease at he bowler’s end, his view made it nigh-on impossible to give any batsmen out and he was true to that cause.
Will White swatted a few, the Skipper’s new bat added a quick 35 and Power meandered to 50, bringing back the Tavaré taunts that have haunted his career. Liverpool, with another ringered 37 from Andy, had made it to a post-war record of 230 in 35 overs.
That left them 40 overs to bowl Chester out. Julian Shaw failed, scoring only 44 at the top of the order. Gosling gained his revenge, skittling out Williams at the other end, but back came McClements. There then followed a passage of thrilling cricket which did not require the intervention of any barrister. Beswick and Metcalf bowled full-paced at McClements and he rose to the challenge, swatting them all around the ground until on 49 he was caught by a stunning catch from Churchill, another triumph of the ringer. This was hugely important as it mean that the batsman was denied the chance to retire at 50 and come in at the end to win the game. Prior took a quick three wickets (without the help of his Dad’s umpiring), Jebb came in and smote a few, mostly from the 14-year-old son, but his Dad came on to bowl to take revenge and Gorton caught him out to gain his and secure the win for Liverpool.
And so to the match fee. Given the fine spread of sandwiches at tea, the plentiful supply of beer and the excellent barbeque at the end, it turned out to be very modest indeed. Luckily there was no technology supplement as Harthan hadn’t done his homework and couldn’t work the App. That will come next match.
Sony Sixers 2014
The evening started well for the Bar with Chester finding the secret to a great innings. Bat with some else’s bat and pretend you are on the first tee at Hoylake. His fifty came in quick time with a variety of hooks and slashes and wafts before he was required to retire in the 8th over. Morrisey (2), got bowled by what started off being described as ‘one that seamed a bit’ but the end of the night had become ‘the ball of the century’. Rogers (15) and Eastwood (6) kept the scoreboard ticking before ‘two sixes’ Harthan (2) made his way to the crease. The captain, must have felt the pressure of Kenward’s on looking eyes as he succumbed to the full straight one which left Orr to mount somewhat of a recovery. Having abandoned the plank of 1960’s timber that was the ‘ACE’ bat, Orr found that his own particular brand of heaves to the leg side was rather suited to the opposition bowling, ratting along to 40 with a combination of perfectly executed pulls and the odd ‘swing and miss’.
With 6 wickets down, Chester (59no) was forced back from early retirement to join Armstrong (6) at the crease. Chester found that using his own bat was somewhat more difficult, failing to bat with the same panache that had come earlier in the innings. He did however become the Bar’s first ever ‘last man standing’ with Armstrong somewhat controversially run out despite obviously making his ground .The Bar posted 153-7 in 20 overs.
Morrissey looked like he had played before as he opened the bowling finishing with figures of 4-1-9-1 to ensure that there was no sort of challenge to the Bar’s total. In support Rogers (4-0-1-20) and Armstrong (4-0-19-2) also prevented Sony from ever really getting on top although the Sony number 5 with 36 runs off 33 balls caused some problems. To cap a fine evening personally, Chester (3-0-17-1) took a wicket with his first ball, Harthan taking an athletic catch over his head. This was particularly impressive given Hathan couldn’t walk as recently as last Wednesday. Orr (4-0-23-1) saw a less impressive return than his previous match but still saw figures which took him to the top of the Liverpool Corporate League Bowling rankings.
With a lighting storm gathering all around and Sony huddling close to the metal box on the boundary edge, it was left to Eastwood to finish the evening with a single over. There were those who suggested this was somewhat risky for the Bar, given that there had to be 5 legitimate balls in the over and Sony only required 67 more runs to win. Eastwood however stuck manfully to the task at hand with the concession of only 7 to see the bar home by 59 runs.
The game finished with the first drops of what will go down as ‘the great storm of 2014’. It also finished with Chester as the clear man of the match, going to the top of the league batting rankings. Special mention to the debutants Rogers and Morrissey, both of whom looked a little too athletic to be playing for the bar. This match is somewhat of a red letter day for the Bar as it is likely to be the only time in their history that they will be top of the league and have the top ranked players in Bowling and Batting
Liverpool Bar beat Sony Sixers by 59 runs.
Team United 2014
The Bar were concerned that the oppo looked quite useful in their warm up. Having lost the toss the Bar were put into bat. Chester and Armstrong opened against a bowler who, in breach of Rule G (perhaps the Bar skipper should’ve spotted it at the time), wandered all the way back to Otterspool to begin his run up. Playing with a pink ball which seemed to do a bit more in the air than the more traditional dull red corky, the openers built a steady platform off the first few overs before Chester fell. Harthan then came to the crease. Despite an early disagreement arising from Armstrong’s failure to properly understand Rule B (the “Double Play Rule") the Harthan/Armstrong partnership frustrated the opposition. In an unusual twist of roles, Harthan, who has a steady average of 1 six per season throughout his cricket career, hoiked a couple of balls deep onto the bowling green whilst Armstrong struggled to find his usual big hitting form. Even when Armstrong did find the middle of the bat, and in scenes reminiscent of Carpenters last year, he found Harthan at the non-strikers end a capable fielder. In something of an indignity for the 2010 player of the season, at one point the oppo’s skipper was setting a deep field for Harthan and closing the field for Armstrong. In the last 5 or so overs the Bar began to attack the bowling in a more flamboyant style. Unfortunately, rather than the hoped for acceleration to a par score, the wickets began to tumble. Armstrong and Tinkler departed in quick succession, Harthan was then caught at deep mid on, Orr and Eastwood went in the final couple of overs leaving Sinker to successfully fend off the final few deliveries and avoid the eponymous last man standing scenario.
Notwithstanding the suspicion that the oppo’s batting line up might have given priority to their weaker players, the Bar got off to a good start in defending their total. Chester bowled in a manner that suggests he has been woefully underused in the last few seasons, whilst Orr with his deceptively slow paced deliveries caused difficulty for the batsmen. At around 40 for 4 off 8 overs the match looked evenly balanced. However finding 5 bowlers from the Bar line up was always going to be a challenge, and things got worse when, stretching to stop a leg side wide, Harthan’s lower back went into spasm and he had to crawl off the pitch. With fewer fielders and Orr & Chester gone from the attack, the oppo found the going a little easier. “Team United” reached their target without further loss and with a few overs to spare.
All in all a satisfactory start to the Bar’s LMS campaign, though seasoned observers of the game have already highlighted the need to have 5 bowlers as one of the main obstacles on the Bar’s road to Barbados.
Scouse Sloggers 2015
Yodel 2015
Yodel posted a competitive total of 126. The Bar’s innings got off to a cautious start with and after 10 overs and for the loss of just Tinkler the required run rate was very much in Yodel’s favour. Harthan and Saeed seemed to be turning things round until the loss of Saeed’s wicket with around 5 overs left. Chester however continued where Saeed had left off. With only 5 required off the last over victory was looking inevitable for the Bar. However a fair summary of Harthan’s innings would be that after plucking a likely victory from the jaws of defeat, defeat was then plucked from the jaws of a seemingly inevitable victory. The Bar scored just 3 in the last over to fall just 1 run short in a nail biter which entertained the gentry of Aigburth several of whom made their way out of the bar to watch. With a more competitive approach in the re-arranged LMS league fixture I have little doubt we will have too much for the Yodel Warriors.
Lakeland CC 2015
Action CC 2015
So confident was skipper Harthan that enough runs had been scored that he felt it necessary to remind the Bar that every run counts in LMS and that there were bonus points available for a convincing win, although he was unable to recall the precise details of the bonus point system. However it was soon clear that Action CC were going to make a game of it. Their opening batsmen scored freely off Chester and kept out the consistent bowling of Saad. Prior was brought into the attack but was unable to stem the flow of runs, albeit the Bar was somewhat unlucky (or arguably it was poor field placing) in that several mis-controlled shots in the air landed safely for the batsmen. Orr and Armstrong were brought on and Harthan called for the Bar’s first ever use of the “Power play” rule, which, frankly, was a bit of a disaster. Action were looking likely to get home with comfort however in the penultimate over Orr struck with a well held caught and bowled. This brought a nervous looking Action batsman to the crease who prodded and poked at the next few balls with little effect. With 7 required off the last 6 balls it was looking finely balanced, however consecutive 4s saw Action home with 4 balls to spare.
The two spectators were once again given excellent entertainment with over 300 runs scored on the evening and a relatively close game, albeit the result ultimately a disappointing one for the Bar.
Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf 2017
Much like the Merseyside derby in recent years, this was a crucial mid-table fixture with both teams having ambitions to join the big boys with qualification for the LMS play-offs. Outgoing captain Harthan had erred in failing to be able to count to 8 and a last minute appeal was sent out to Charlie Austin to complete the Bar’s team. Adnan and Shaban opened. Adnan looked a bit out of sorts and, having already been dropped, fell on his 5th ball for 1. Shaban and Clarke then continued steady progress against a decent JRAG attack. The real drama, however, was happening off-field. Word had got back to the dressing room that the umpire, who happened to be South African, was going to restrict Shaban and Adnan to 2 overs each rather than the usual 4 on the basis that they were “Ringers”. Shaban and Adnan have been 2 of our more regular players this season and we were somewhat taken aback to hear them described as ringers. Whilst the fact that they converse in Punjabi with limited English might make it obvious they are not practising Barristers, the Bar team has had numerous other guest players not in possession of a Practising Certificate over the years without incident. The irresistible conclusion was that this was blatant racial and / or religious discrimination and we would not stand for it. It would also have had the effect of significantly weakening an already thin bowling attack.
Meanwhile the Bar’s innings continued with runs being steadily accumulated. Shaban 47/39, Clarke 43/41 and Sinker 16/16 all contributed, with Harthan 6/4*, Armstrong 1 / 2 and Jones A 2/1* playing cameos at the end. The Bar’s total of 118 looked a little under-par.
At the Interval Harthan strode over to confront the Umpire. Harthan had already composed a speech in which he would inform said Umpire that Aigburth 2017 was not 1930s Germany, 1960s Alabama or 1980s Johannesberg and that the Bar were prepared not to take to the field in solidarity with our teammates. It transpired however that this was simply an application of LMS Rules. Shaban and Adnan are also registered with an ‘A’ Grade team (the Scouse Sloggers) and ‘A’ Grade players were limited to 2 overs when playing ‘B’ Grade cricket. Something of a compromise was reached permitting Shaban to bowl 4 overs on the basis that he was an ever-present in our squad and an occasional with the Sloggers, however the restriction on Adnan remained in place.
The Bar opened with their strongest bowlers. Shaban (4-13-2) Adnan (2-6-0) and Clarke (4-17-1) were all at their impressive best. On many occasions a lack of supporting bowlers has cost the Bar however on this occasion the change bowlers were, just about, up to the task. The Bar’s fielding left something to be desired with dropped catches, misfields and overthrows. At one point Armstrong wailed at his teammates in frustration only for him to then drop one and put off the better positioned Adnan on another catching opportunity. Harthan took a stumping off Armstrong’s bowling to maintain his position at the top of the keeping stats, Austin took 2 wickets on his bowling debut which perhaps look better in the book than they did in real life.
Going into the final few overs the game was still in the balance. Clarke had had the good sense to save himself and Shaban for the final 2 overs and both held their nerve. A slogger with a decent eye had come in but it was too little too late for JRAG. On the penultimate ball quick reactions from Harthan stopped a skidding ball from going for 4 byes. It was then conveyed to the field that a 6 off the last ball would win the match for JRAG. In the event 2 runs were scored and the Bar celebrated victory, many thought by 4 runs. Harthan was delighted to be roundly congratulated on his “match winning” stop of the 4 on the penultimate ball, however felt obliged to point out that at that stage 11 runs had been required and that JRAG’s only chance of victory arose only under the LMS “Home Run” Rule whereby a 6 off the final ball scores 12 (ask Aid Rogers). Therefore, in the absence of a piece of fielding equipment left on field which the ball might hit whilst the batsmen ran 2, Harthan’s stop had made no material difference whatsoever.
This victory sets the Bar up for a run to qualification for the play offs, which I expect will clash with Whitewell or the Circuit Match in any event.
MoM: Tom Clarke
MCS 2017
New captain Clarke went for experience with his opening pair in Harthan and Prior. However, a somewhat pedestrian pace to the innings saw the required run rate creeping up and the game drifting away from the Bar. Prior scored 13 at SR of 65%, Harthan ended with 51 at SR 121.43%. Alex Jones was the pick of the batsmen with 36 at SR 150%. King struck an impressive 6 towards the end. There was an unseemly incident when Prior did not move when called through for an easy single by Harthan resulting in Harthan yelling “f#*#*n-well run” at Prior as he scrambled to get back to the bowler’s end. What Harthan had failed to appreciate was that Prior had failed to offer a shot (for the second time in his Innings) and that the appropriate shout would have been to “f#*#*n-well offer a shot”, particularly in view of the LMS format and match situation. Harthan apologised afterwards, not for the insult, but for the fact it was on the wrong grounds.
On the positive side this was good practice for the Bar’s important impending play-off game(s).
Mexoc 2016
Action CC 2018
Perfect cricketing conditions presented themselves to the Liverpool Bar on Tuesday night in the first game of the 2018 season against Action Cricket Club. Pristine new kit greeted players with comment being passed on the elegance of the body contouring design.. After a freak ‘Foot-Golf’ incident reminiscent of McGrath’s ankle injury prior to the Edgbaston Ashes Test in 2005 incumbent captain T. Clarke was out. In stepped the vastly experienced A. Sinker who wins the toss and wisely elects to bat after seeing the opposition field a scratch team of 7 players. P.J. Harthan and J.E. Brownson open and provide an excellent platform. Brownson’s six over mid off setting the tone of the innings early on. Harthan showed his continued worth in an increasingly youthful team with an excellent unbeaten knock of 52. S. Shahzad vindicated his last minute selection with a bludgeoning 50 that put the Liverpool Bar firmly in control of the match. C. Austin and A. Jones displayed verve and daring with some striking stroke play towards the end of the innings that added to a very respectable total of 164 runs. A team perhaps short of front line bowlers allowed Action Cricket Club to take advantage of a varied if at times quite wayward bowling attack. The effect of the voluminous number of wides more than any stand out performance from the opposition, pushed Action over the top. Snicko in the form of umpire Alex Turner failed to pick up a thin leg side edge but fortunately the Action batsman, in keeping with the tone of the occasion, walked rather than do a Kenward. This was a closely fought encounter but one that the Liverpool Bar will look to be winning as bowlers begin find their stride again after the winter break.
CPRE 2018
T. Clarke, in his first outing as captain, promptly lost the toss and was put into bat. From the outset it seemed this was a tactically sound choice by CBRE when P. Harthan failed to recapture the form of last week and was promptly bowled in the first over for a modest score of after playing across the line. A. Sinker, battling illness as well as some rough stuff from the opposition caught a couple in the ribs before succumbing for Y. Sensing the need for early order stability T.Clarke came in and began to accumulate runs with the impressive S. Shazad. Both batsmen built innings albeit with S.Shazad doing it with a display of destructive batting that deflated CBRE’s bowlers and quietened the chatter in the field. After surviving a couple of early wickets there were further contributions from A.Shazad and D.Riley whilst A. Jones fell victim to a stumping that can only be described as entirely the correct decision by umpire, opposition and fellow batsmen who all saw a bat left carelessly floating above a crease. The Bar managed to piece together a very healthy score of 171 runs with top scores of 62 not out for Clarke and 53 for S.Shazad.
On debut, D. Riley, with the able assistance of S.Shazad, promptly took the new ball and sought to dismantle the opponent’s whole batting lineup in a matter of 8 overs. P. Harthan caught some smart catches with a generally smart field display given little succour to a beleaguered opposition. CPRE were bowled out for 45 runs after 8 overs with D. Riley now maintaining a bowling average of 13.25 and surely deserving of MoM.
Mighty Diamond Ducks 2018
M. Armstrong and A.Sinker kicked off the run chase in double quick time. Sinker adeptly rotating the strike with the big hitting Armstrong who seemed to relish the opportunity presented at the top of the order. His destructive innings of 51 off 20 balls must be one of the Bar’s quickest in this form of the game. His innings was built upon by Clarke who also took advantage of a somewhat toothless ducks bowling attack providing 51 of 23. Firmly in the driving seat C. Austin and Shazad took the Bar to the brink before a sloppy run out saw D. Tinkler pad up to see match to a successful conclusion. Unfortunately, perhaps seeing the winning runs before him, Tinkler rashly got himself out playing an extravagant slog sweep leaving A. Jones and Austin to see the match out in fine fashion with the Bar finishing on 163 for 3 after 17.0 overs. An excellent performance for a team now pushing for league leadership!
Dynamos 2018
The Bar batted first and once again it was skipper Clarke leading from the front with an impressive innings. Several 6s intermingled with fine strokeplay saw the skipper get to 52 off 26 balls, a third consecutive 50+ in red ink. Chester provided solid if unspectacular support and attained his unbeaten half century after 38 balls. In relation to the rest of the innings it was a case of everyone chipping in to varying extent, Tinkler’s 20 off 15 probably the pick of the bunch, whilst Mornington’s soporific 12/16 calmed the crowd after the excitement of Clarke’s innings. Harthan, having failed with the bat on his last appearance, was relegated to the bottom of the order and consequently did not get any time at the crease which, whilst harsh, sent a clear message that failure under the new regime will not be tolerated. Also worthy of mention is the fact that the Bar sportingly lent 2 fielders to the opposition to make their numbers up, albeit Rogers nullified the threat of their opening bowler by colliding with him in the field. As events proved it was to be the last of the sporting gestures of the evening, albeit not the last of Rogers’ slapstick fielding.
The Bar posted 154. Mornington and Chester opened the bowling and the oppo made steady progress without loss. The skip then brought himself and Power into the attack and it would be fair to say that they had contrasting fortunes, you can probably hazard a guess which way. Nonetheless Power had a good shout for a caught behind against the opening batsman but was too shocked at landing one on the wicket to make much of an appeal. The batsman stayed in his crease and having no reason to doubt his good faith your correspondent was, at the time, willing to attribute the snick as the ball passed the bat to an innocent explanation. The most memorable moment, and one which will take some beating when it comes round to awarding this year’s Tonker Tankard / Eastwood Urn, was when Rogers came running in at, for him, great speed in order to catch a skied shot, but missed it completely with his hands resulting in the ball continuing its downward trajectory into Rogers’ tenderest regions. All around collapsed in mirth whilst Rogers collapsed in pain. However, it proved to be the turning point of the game. Rogers and Armstrong bowled some very tidy overs which swung the game in the Bar’s favour. Clearly Rogers just needs a good whack in the testicles before bowling to be at his best. Two stumpings and a fine caught and bowled from the skip meant that the oppo, with just 6 batsmen, were struggling for wickets. However with the opener returning to the crease Dynamos were still very much in the game. There then followed a controversial incident which your correspondent was well placed to comment upon. Armstrong deceived the opener with a looping delivery which clipped, in a relatively thickish way, the batsman’s edge. Despite a vociferous appeal the umpire failed to raise the finger and to the Bar’s dismay the batsman remained in situ for at least his second and most probably his third life. Anyway, on this occasion cheating did not prosper and the Dynamo’s innings limped to an end with a relatively comfortable victory for the Bar. The Bar move on to next week’s top of the table clash with Action in fine spirit.
MoM; T. Clarke
Action 2018
It has been said that there are other sports showcases going on this summer; other draws on the national attention span. In cricketing terms, whilst England’s dismantling of Australia may have proved a minor distraction, from the size of the crowd gathered at Aigburth CC it was evident that Action Cricket Club versus the Bar was the tie on everyone’s lips. A crowd so determined that even M. Armstrong’s attempts to harm as many as possible in a savage attack did little to dampen spirits. The Bar lost the toss and were sent into the field, no doubt with the opposition taking account of the hot-house conditions and the fact that we were one or two counsel short just moments before the start of play. Although hard work in the heat, bowling proved to be a surprising strong suit, with C Prior striking early and J Brownson using the most delicate and intentional of flicks to run out numbers one and three respectively. We pause at this stage to ask: how is it possible for batsmen to have crossed on the wicket and yet still be at their original ends when complaining to the umpire? Unfortunately that was not a question that troubled the umpire. Undeterred by wayward decisions, the Bar’s bowling attack was relentless. Wickets fell quickly without much activity in the scorebook and each new bowler seemed to buy into the ethos of bowling “the Bar way”; every spell starting with a trademark wide. D Tinkler and C Prior polished things off, with M Armstrong deserving of a mention for a spectacular diving catch in front of him at point; made all the more spectacular by his little finger trying a daring break for freedom and being left at right angles to the rest of his digits. 91 all out for top-of-the-league Action. [Ed – slightly disappointed the 3 wicketkeeping catches didn’t get a mention in the original draft, albeit such impressive stats behind the stumps have become the norm these days] The Bar started well in response. T Clarke and J Brownson put on a 50 partnership in 30 balls. Clarke provided the sparkle with a bat made of nothing but middle, whilst Brownson contributed a 6 which may well still be travelling to this day. Once broken however, A Jones took the sporting decision to give Action a chance in the game; falling for a golden duck with a hoik across the line that only just entered the same postcode as the ball. With M Chester adding little thereafter it was left to P Harthan and D Tinkler to guide the team home. This was achieved with aplomb - Harthan barely breaking a sweat and D Tinkler feeling comfortable enough to dance down the wicket with single figures required. C Prior at square leg was asked the question for a stumping by a now irate Action side, who all threw their toys out of the pram at once when the shake of the head came. For the record, Tinkler was in by at least 2 feet. All-in-all a well-deserved upset with 92 runs knocked off in 12 overs to tighten the race for Division A cricket.
CBRE 2018
Losing the toss the Liverpool Bar had to bat first, although this was their preferred option in any event.The outfield was hard and fast and plenty of runs would be required to win the match.Tom Clarke and Peter Harthan opened the batting with Andrew Sinker at square leg thinking he would be there for sometime.Such was the pace of the opening bowling that Peter Harthan summoned for his helmet, but owing to a calling mix up was out before it arrived. Andrew Sinker came to the wicket and tried to give the in form Tom Clarke as much of the strike as possible. They kept the score ticking over with regular boundaries and it was not long before Tom Clarke reached his fifty with another fine innings. Andrew Sinker was by this point about ten runs short of his first fifty and sensed a real opportunity. Fortunately the next 15 runs came quickly and he retired on fifty five.
Michael Armstrong batted well and it looked as though he was about to score another quick fifty until he was caught on 38 after 18 balls - a good innings at a time when runs were required to post a high total. David Tinkler and Charles Austin added some extra runs before the innings closed on 173-2 off 20 overs.
The Liverpool Bar then took to the field confident this was a good score and would take some beating. The confidence quickly waned as the ball seemed to go to the boundary with all too much frequency. A wicket was desperately required to break the partnership and halt the runs. Alas,a trait familiar to those who have played for the Liverpool Bar over many years set in, an inability to catch the ball. Cries of catch it were heard a number of times with the ball then being fumbled and going to ground. By way of mitigation some of the chances were high up in the bright sky and hard to see, but at a time when they needed to be caught this didn’t happen.
Wickets began to tumble in the second half of the innings with Michael Armstrong taking his first five wicket haul, two caught, two stumpings and one bowled. Peter Harthan and David Tinkler held onto catches and it looked as though the Liverpool Bar might be back in the match. Going into the last three overs with the lower order batsmen in 11 runs were required. They were made to battle for remaining runs, but reached the target with 6 balls to spare. The Liverpool Bar were probably 10 to 15 runs short on a fast scoring pitch. This was a good all round team performance with the match being played in hot and tough conditions.
MCS Dynamos 2018
The Liverpool Bar Cricket team are many things but a top flight outfit is not one of them. There is therefore great concern that yet another dominant victory could see promotion loom at the end of the season. Indeed even the return of Eastwood did little to dampen the Bar’s prospects of success.
Clarke won the toss and elected to bat. Somewhat contrary to the impression given during their warm up, the opening bowlers for MCS were straight on their line and length and somewhat difficult to get away. After swiping and missing his way to 21, Armstrong succumbed to the full straight one. Power joined Clarke at the crease and they set about building a somewhat composed innings in the context of LMS cricket. Clarke holed out to deep mid-wicket for 43 off 28 while Power cunningly manipulated the field to reach a maiden LMS 50, his first for the bar since opening in a 20 over match which was extended by two overs to allow him to reach his half century. Harthan, having forgotten his own bat, found significant solace in one of Armstrong’s weighty planks hitting 33 off 18 before being caught on the boundary, his innings included 2 sixes in a row. The views of the rest of the Bar team were somewhat conflicted, wanting the team to pile on the runs but not wanting to have to listen to Harthan waxing lyrical about how to dispatch 30mph long-hops for six. Sinker was run out for 10 nobly attempting to rotate the strike and Austin was so surprised that the opposition held onto a catch that he got run out on a double play. That left Chester and Eastwood to face the last two balls of the innings and they managed to take 3 runs off them despite either laying any willow on pink plastic. 163 was a good score but probably only average for the Bar this season.
There were some concerns during the break that the Bar might be a bowler or 4 light but Austin opened the innings superbly, being very difficult to score off and taking the wicket of the opener. The ultimate Jekyll and Hyde bowler, Chester produced his usual variation of unplayable jaffas and beamers, and managed to be the Bar’s most economic bowler while Austin took a brilliant catch off Clarke. There were two moments of controversy during Armstrong spell. First, one of the MCS batters saw it entirely fit to run an extra run having middled the ball for a second time trying to make his ground. Second, Clarke took a fantastic catch at deep mid-wicket only for the opposition to claim that he had overstepped the boundary. Given that it was Clarke who was claiming the catch and not Harthan, the umpire was prepared to take him at his word. As it was Clarke and Chester closed out the innings comfortably despite Armstrong’s best efforts to make a game of it by bowling four wides in one over. Special mention must go to Eastwood who patrolled the leg side boundary with an enthusiasm usually reserved for a man with much more natural talent. Despite shouts from the pavilion of ‘that’s four’ he consistently found a way to throw something in the way of it and probably saved the Bar 20 runs.
The Bar ended up winning by 32 runs and some other policy will have to be dreamt up to avoid the risk of promotion.
Ormskirk 2018
If the batting performance was a little under par, the bowling performance was one of the most impressive all round performances for some time with all 8 barristers in attendance turning their arm over. Whilst it is difficult to pick a stand out performance, Tinkler, Reilly and Killen (on debut) were particularly tidy. Jones did a rather impressive job of getting his knee in the way of a run out attempt from Armstrong which produced the sound of leather on bone that will live long in the memories of those present. Even the ex-skip Harthan got an over notwithstanding that he now considers himself a ‘specialist’ (LOL) keeper. Prior did get rather animated when Jones failed to pounce on a pull shot that was at least 20 yards from him and a few boundaries were leaked unnecessarily to the opposition in the finest traditions of the bar.
In the end it came down to the last over with 8 needed from Clarke’s six balls for Ormskirk to triumph and 7 for the tie. Ignoring the barrage of abuse following his Golden Duck and dropped catch (all from his own team), Clarke bowled a superb over only conceding 6 runs meaning that the Bar got home by a solitary run.
Ormskirk have a tradition called ‘Quiddich’ where every player puts a pound in and the best catch of the evening takes the pot. Alas, such was the competency of the Bar fielding, that not one solidary catch was taken during the entire Ormskirk innings.
Given that there was no complex electronic online statistical analysis by which to judge Man-of-the- Match, that honour goes to Reilly for his performance with bat and ball and for running Jones out on a suicidal run having turned down several obvious singles previously.
Lizards 2019
Our opponents were a boisterous outfit known as the Lizards ee98dfo9u or something like that. Strangely their entire team had forgotten their cricket whites and were playing in loose fitting shorts much to the dismay of the team’s traditionalist members.
After winning the toss and keen to show renew old partnerships Harthan and Clarke took to the crease and proceeded to put together a sedate partnership characterised by captain Clarke consistently trying to run out Harthan will erroneous run calls and straight drives back into Harthan’s stumps. Unfortunately, Clarke couldn’t take the honours with Harthan leaving the crease after a handy innings of 19 off 21 after a dolly to mid on. Clarke continued to build runs with Shazad, the former trying to provide A. Jones with some much needed catching practice in the stands with a couple of lofty drives. With Clarke continuing form from last season and retiring Austin an Shazad applied further pressure with Austin connecting with the screws to send the Lizard’s fielders scurrying to the boundary before bringing his entertaining innings to an end 17 off 17. Brownson and Baxter added a couple more with Baxter again showing technical promise retiring not out on 1 run with the wet outfield slowing a certain 4 in dryer conditions! A respectable total of 143 was put up for the Lizards to chase.
In a relatively threatening bowling attack Brownson was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets. Brownson had some choice words for the opposition after a clear run out led to complaints that he had interfered with the stumps without the ball..These complaints fell on deaf ears and only seemed to stoke the fires within the Bar’s paceman with subsequent batsmen fearful of more than the odd rib tickler.. As seems to always be the case A.Jones was a magnet for the ball wherever he fielded and rather strangely managed to catch 2 of 3. Remarkable! The match headed into the final over with 13 required of 5 balls. A quick single was taken with some excellent death bowling by Brownson the Lizards required 12 off the last ball. Unfortunately for the Bar the Lizard batsmen picked Brownson’s slow ball and, having eaten all his Weetabix that morning, slogged through the onside over the expectant Jones’ head for 6 and therefore 12 in the LMS rule book. The match was drawn much to the jubilation of the Lizards and dismay of the Bar who deserved the victory.
Action 2019
Old foes Action CC were the opposition on drizzly evening at the Aigburth arena. The Bar batted first largely owing to the fact that only 4 Bar players were present. However, with an impressive looking top order of Armstrong, Chester and Clarke your correspondent sat down on the covered seating outside the pavilion in the expectation of having the opportunity for a lengthy discussion about Jonesy’s forthcoming trip to Mexico before being called upon. Any seasoned observer of Armstrong’s batting knows that he is a terrible starter. In the early part of his innings his footwork is shuffling, his timing awry and his temper frays. However, if Armstrong survives this period of maximum risk he emerges as a powerful stroke player, clubbing the ball to all corners of the ground (albeit mostly cow) like a man reborn. Unfortunately on this occasion he failed to survive the period of maximum risk, departing on 2/8. Chester and Clarke made healthy progress and soon the Bar’s innings was up and running again, Clarke in particularly catching the eye with a couple of big 6s on the leg side. However, just as he was looking destined for a consecutive big score, Clarke got an edge and was snaffled by the Action keeper, 17/9. Soon afterwards Chester was bowled, 23/16, and with 3 senior batsmen gone and fewer than 50 runs on the board the Bar’s innings was in danger of collapse. Batting sensibly and protecting one’s wicket is a skill which comes naturally to your correspondent, Austin however took a wild across the line hoik to his first ball which missed the stumps by the proverbial whisker. Notwithstanding this inauspicious start, Austin went on to play perhaps his finest innings to date in Bar colours. After steadying the ship your correspondent also freed his shoulders, the highlight being a big 6 to the long onside boundary (cow). In attempting to repeat the feat to bring up his 50 your correspondent was caught in the deep and departed for 45/29. Brownson, who had been patiently biding his time at square leg throughout the Harthan/Austin partnership, then missed his first ball which unfortunately happened to be straight and he departed for a golden. But, as we shall come to see, that setback was not to be the end of Brownson’s night. For the second time in the innings Austin’s response to a flurry of wickets was an across the line hoik but this time he was not so fortunate, 25/19. 120-3 with 5 overs remaining had turned to 120-6 with just the rugger buggers Baxter and Reeves to see things out. Fortunately the tail wagged and the egg chasers added crucial runs which took the Bar’s total to a very defendable 148 by the close. Both recorded red ink scores, Reeves 19*/17 and Baxter 12*/8. Much happened in the Action innings but really there is only one story. I shall mention in passing a devastating opening spell from Reeves and Brownson, the skipper’s tactical masterstroke in saving 1 over from Brownson to the death, a sharp catch behind the stumps, and Armstrong’s incredulity that your correspondent should show such disrespect to his “medium pace” as to stand up to the wicket. At the mid point of the innings, and with the Reeves, Brownson and Clarke having shouldered the bulk of the bowling duties to that point, victory for the Bar seemed assured with Action several wickets down and the required run rate creeping up towards double digits. However, 2nd and 3rd bowling changes are rarely to the Bar’s advantage and with 6 balls left Action were very much back in it. Baxter took a fine catch off the final ball of Austin’s spell but in falling backwards, and whilst proudly holding up the ball for all to see, it was readily apparent that his ample rear was over the boundary by a good couple of feet and a 6 was correctly entered in the scorebook. This left Action needing a very get-able 8 off the final over. Failure is not to be knocked down, failure is when you don’t get up again. And notwithstanding the demons which must have been circling given his failure to defend the final over in the previous game, Brownson again stepped up. And what a final over it was, steaming in with such pace and accuracy that a batsman on 45 runs was unable to connect. Each dot ball was met with a celebration from Brownson resembling that of Stuart Pearce when he scored his penalty v Spain in Euro 96. But, with the Home Run rule, jeopardy remained to the final ball. Jones having let slip to the opposition the outcome the last time Brownson bowled in such circumstances there was taunting from the boundary. But Brownson was unshaken and there was to be no repeat. A great victory that will live long in the memory, well done chaps. MoM; LMS awarded the MoM to your correspondent, but perhaps acknowledging that a factor in this decision was the erroneous attachment of Reeves bowling figures to Harthan, and in recognition of the mental and physical resilience it must have taken to bowl that final over, it must go to Brownson