07-08-2010 - Home - TVL - Finch vs Odiham & Greywell

10-man Finch overpower Odiham

Odiham and Greywell clearly relished the chance to do the double over a Finch team at home with only 10 men. Some were so keen to get the covers removed after the  80-minute rain delay that they circled the covers until tractor-boy Simmonite towed them off and the now 78-over game could commence. With Cap’n Bob again tosser supreme, the decision to bat still looked valid for a bowler-challenged team a shadow of past weeks due to player churn in the upper ranks.

The reason for O&G’s enthusiasm soon became clear – a 6 ft 5inch (that’s 1.98 metres for the younger members of the team) opener at the top end, a whippy lefy-arm over from the scorebox end. Run-machine Lay characteristically drove forcefully, uncharacteristically at fielders, then fell for 1 to an acrobatic, leading-edge gully catch by one of the more unlikely O&G fielders (a, er, low centre of gravity type). Number 3 on merit,  Billy Beswick then took up where he left off the previous week with confidence and no little panache.  With only a maximum of 41 overs to bat both Billy and his Skipper were, however, tied down by bowling accuracy and competent fielding – reaching only 32 from 19. The need to accelerate coupled with lateral movement forced the full-batface glance from Cap’n Bob into the slips and brief cameos from Jones and Blogg brought together Beswick and Ramskir (average age ~30) for the second successive week. Suddenly, the bowlers looked less threatening, the now-pressured fielders less competent and a run-rate now moving toward 4 an over. A sudden blood-rush afflicted the left-hander, departing for 21, however young Beswick was unfazed and provided a profusion of drives whilst Nick Davey came and went. Tom Hopkins, dragged from spectating the Prems game, spent enough time to support Billie in reaching a classy 76 not out  in a clearly too-low total of 132 for 5 off the allotted 41.

A superb Mrs Cap’n Bob tea, with excellent assistance from Mrs Blogg (terrific sandwiches, marvellous strawberry’n’cream scones and the always-favoured chocolate krispies) clearly buoyed the confident O&G team, who could already taste those 20 points – just the mere formality of 3 an over at Finch.  With only one strike bowler (unbelievable at this time of the season), the ever-dependable Simmo partnered Torpedo Tommy Hopkins. Some indication of the carnage to come was seen in Tom’s first over when our opening friend’s bat and, unfortunately, his wicket were twice beaten for pace. With Simmo tightening the noose at the scorebox end, TT Hopkins amazingly ramped up the pace even more – eventually bowling their top batter an almost perfect delivery – a very quick, good-length off-cutter that ripped through his defence and took the top of off - the bail flying a satisfying 20 yards. What followed was an exciting example of intimidatory fast (yes, genuinely fast) bowlng on a good Finch wicket. 5 clean-bowled (mostly backing off) and one LBW that their player/umpire just had to give ! Top-class fielding from the 10-men meant no easy runs and great support to the bowlers. Simmo kept it tight until the tiredness started to creep in, but took the vital wickets of the gulley-acrobat, a plumb LB, and a standing-up, keeper-deflected sharp one to the suddenly in-form veteran slipper – probably his best slip catch of the last 3 seasons and the one which effectively finished off a troublesome 9^th wicket partnership that threatened to yet recover the O&A position. It was left to alleged leg-spinner Joe Bloomfield to race in off 12 yards to force the spooned catch to into the dependable  hands of Alex Jones a total of 74 and only 3 points to the visitors. Finch netted a well-merited if unexpected (the veteran element of the team convinced that this would be where the season ended) 25 points to put Finch into the top 3 for the first time this season, now only 12 behind Eversley and catching an apparently shaken BA (a defeat and only 13 points this week).

The O&G skipper paid Turbo Tom the compliment of him being “too fast for this standard” (somewhat rich considering the speedman he opened with) and his 6-32 of 12 overs of genuine pace would endorse this. I would change “this standard” to “O&G” and further put the case for Tom’s promotion to the higher orders as a genuine all-rounder. This performance underlined Tom’s faith in his own ability and it is hoped that we can retain and develop these abilities next season. As to why Finch fielded only 10 men is for the selectors to debate.....this pseudo-selector vows it will not happen again on his watch.

 

Statistics

Finchampstead won the toss and elected to bat
Result	Win
Umpires	P Metcalf & A Player
Scorers	A Phantom
Score
Finchampstead CC Scored 132 for 5 in 41
Odiham & Greywell Scored 74 for 10 in 24

Player Performance - Batsmen

Player	How out	Runs	Catch	Stump
Bob Osler	Caught	12	0	0
Matt Lay	Caught	1	0	0
Michael Simmonite	Not Out	0	0	0
Kevin Ramskir	Bowled	21	1	0
Malcom Blogg	Bowled	2	0	0
Nick Davey	Bowled	0	0	0
Tom Hopkins	Not Out	11	0	0
Joe Bloomfield	Not Out	0	0	0
Alex Jones	Caught	4	1	0

Player Performance - Bowlers

Player	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Michael Simmonite	11	4	30	3
Tom Hopkins	12	4	32	6
Joe Bloomfield	1	1	0	1