M R's Cont 3
Game 9 12th Aug v Merton. They are called Merton CC from now on, having swallowed up North Croydon.
We won toss and batted first. Started well with Lailey and Winn, scoring 52 before Winn was caught at point (25), attempting a fierce square drive off the back foot...unlucky. Talpe came to the crease, and we were 140 before Talpe lifted one to mid-off and found himself on the way back to the hutch, but not before scoring 61. Lailey was out in the same over (33), lifting the same ball to the same fielder and the famous Chadwick collapse looked a real possibility. But wait a minute, Jerricho came to the crease after Dougall was dismissed for one, and scored an unheard of 19 off 18 balls, before being given LBW..unlucky again. So with a quick 13 from Griffith before he ran himself out backing up, and an "heroic" 20 run partnership off the last 3 overs by the Smith brothers Edward and Hadley, Chadwick went on to score a respectable 211 for 8. Our first win seemed a 'maybe', and they were soon two down for 18, unable to deal with Griffith's searing pace and movement , wizardry and guile. However, the next wicket went down at 182, Griffith again, and before they reached their target to send Chadwick to another defeat with four overs left, their number 4 had scored a hundred, and their number 5, also the skipper, had struck Griffith for a six with the last hit of the game. 212 for 3 ..A good game, a nice crowd, a good true wicket, and we'll do it all again next year. PJ
Game 10 26th Aug v Surrey Ovalites. We lost the toss and Surrey O's decided to bat in a Time Game. Chadwick then produced one of the tightest all round bowling displays that we've seen for a long time with 7 bowlers being used and no-one going for more than 28 runs. Cox was the pick of the bowlers with 3/28, and potential new member Lawrence Hill took 2/23, and Perera 2/24. Dougall and Cutler took one each as Surrey O's batted on and on (3hrs) and finally declared on 155/9. And with Ballantine looking very sharp behind the sticks, Chadwick had kept the pressure on, but the ball was difficult to get away. So after tea, with the prospect of no more than two hours batting, Chadwick soon found the ball not coming on and were quickly two down for 17 with the early loss of Talpe (9) and Lailey (7). Cutler remained at the crease with Perera who went cheaply (5) bringing Jerricho to the crease to top score with 17, before being bowled leaving one outside the off stump, or so he thought. Culter had been bowled for 16 by a ball from Bob, which bounced twice before hitting the base of off stump with Cutler's bat ending up somewhere over his right shoulder (he's a lefty). So with Dougall and Fordham now at the wicket, it was clear that it was time to bat it out, which they did, and Chadwick finished on 104/6, having faced 7 overs fewer. Bob later apologized for his late declaration, and we all agreed to do it all again next year. The most memorable part of the day remained our bowling display..they just kept at it. Fab! PJ
Game 11 2nd Sept v CXKMS...Lovely ground, proper pavilion and sightscreens. Jerricho skippered for the first time this season, won the toss and decided to bat with 10 players..(holiday time I guess). A low bounce, with the ball not coming on, we lost our first wicket on 16, and our second on 59 off 13 overs, so not a bad start in a 40 over game. In all they used 9 bowlers, and as Chadwick were checked and wickets began to fall, Lailey (23) Perera (24) and Jerricho (20) were the main contributers as Chadwick were bowled out in 35 overs for a disappointing 164. Tea! Splendid! Very traditional! Long table, proper tea pots, milk jugs, crockery etc..excellent choice of sarnies and cakes etc, in dining hall echoing with chatter. You get the picture!
The start of their innings was eventful, as we struck early, with the no4 bat being bowled by Ed Smith while still taking guard (almost)..well he wasn't ready anyway, and was called back, only to be given LBW with the next ball. More hilarity was to follow as no3 bat was given caught down the leg by Ballantine who was the only one who appealed, when the ball had clearly come off the pad. Again, the batsman was recalled to the crease (I mean let's be fair about this), and the game continued..quite normally, and suddenly it seemed they were getting away, and they were, until Jerricho took a splendid catch at square leg off Perera, (and if he hadn't managed to get his hands to it, the ball might have passed straight through him) and Lailey to dismiss their strong middle order. And the tide turned, as Chadwick again turned in what was to be another very tight match winning bowling performance, together with excellent catching from Samarakkody in the deep, and Perera off his own bowling, and keen fielding support all round. But we had to sweat, as with 3 wickets remaining, they needed just 12 off 5 overs. Very exciting at the end then as the last 3 wickets fell for just 5 in a game we eventually won by 7 runs, thanks to the great bowling display by Talpe (3/26) E Smith (3/36) and Perera (3/40). Well done Chadwick!,.. and the Conference for finally getting us an equally matched opposition. PJ .
