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.