2015
Scouse Sloggers 2015
23/09/20 12:55
Your correspondent was only present briefly for this fixture, just long enough to see a Scouse Slogger doing just that to Mark Chester’s bowling. On the face of it Prior’s 8 runs off 19 deliveries at the end is suggestive of a player cautious about preserving his average rather than risking a late flourish to press for victory, but I’m sure someone who saw the innings will be able to reveal that that was not the case.
Yodel 2015
23/09/20 12:54
Unfortunately the LMS Match Official went to Mossley Hill in error. Without an LMS Umpire we agreed with the opposition to have a friendly played with a mix of LMS Rules and MCC Laws that was never quite clear. Nevertheless, the game’s most controversial incident, when a Yodel Warriors player vigorously contested his dismissal after he played on yields the same result in all forms of the game.
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.
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
23/09/20 12:54
Once again the Bar made hard work of it from a position of strength. Things started badly, particularly for Prior who went for 16 off his first over. Prior then went into a sulk and wanted to be taken off having taken a bit of tap but was persuaded to stay on. Having bowled the opposition out cheaply and chasing just 66 for victory things were going to plan with 40+ on the board and just one wicket down. A middle order collapse losing 4 wickets for a couple of runs then set nerves on edge before Prior and Farukh saw the Bar home in relative ease. A special mention to Andrew Sinker who arrived too late to field having been delayed by Mold Crown Court and then, at No.8 in the Order, got padded up but was not required to bat. Despite his peripheral involvement Andrew nobly insisted on payment of his match subs.
Action CC 2015
23/09/20 12:53
With the sun still high in the sky and an artificial wicket that would not deteriorate, on winning the toss Harthan would have elected to have the benefit of knowing rather than setting a target. However, given that just 3 Bar players had made it to Aigburth for 6.30, and given that only 2 of those had changed into LMS kit, the decision to bat was very much forced on the skipper. Chester and Harthan got the innings off to a brisk start, the former hitting some big boundaries in impressive style. Chester retired on his unbeaten 50 with the Bar well placed. Harthan looked set for another entry on the bat shoulder, however he was caught on the boundary on 40. There then followed a bit of a stutter in the innings, Tinkler fell to a stunning caught and bowled, Orr was still all at sea for his brief time at the wicket. Armstrong shone brightly, particularly with a towering 6 which cleared not just the fence but the trees beyond, but sadly he did not last long afterwards. Prior and, perhaps more surprisingly, Eastwood, then piled on the runs in the closing overs of the innings. Prior played some powerful shots which zipped to the boundary, Eastwood’s boundaries at least looked the same in the scorebook. The Bar set a target of 154.
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.
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.