Another grey day at Otford, but this was brightened by the sight of pink balloons decked over the clubhouse. I assumed that the girls had inflated these in recognition of Keith not being on tea-duty, but no, to most of those present's surprise, they were to celebrate the wedding of Colin and Tina Robinson which had taken place the previous day. Congratulations to the both of you, and I wish you the equal bliss of all the other Beechwood couples! It was a warm welcome to Horsmonden CC for this fixture and ten Beechwoodians were present when Tony lost the toss and was invited to bat first. There were still only ten of us present when Tony and Dean were preparing to face the first ball of the match. With eight on the board, Dean, who'd just started to look like he was back in the routine, snuck one to keeper Jessop, a young man whose glovework impressed all afternoon, and Beechwood were already one down. Adrian was next in, looking to continue where he'd left off a fortnight ago and this looked to be the case as he and Tony started to build a base, spanking a few boundaries on the way, but on 49 Adrian also nicked one having scored 23.
Now there have been a few swashbuckling Beechwood number 4's in my short time: Rogers, Valentine, Proctor, T.J., Hill (much missed today) etc, so all that was a hard act for today's number 4 Woody to follow this afternoon. Woody decided not to try and emulate any of the aforementioned and set about an innings of "crease occupation" as he called it. Meanwhile, Bradley and Glenn had arrived, neither of these being on the team-sheet to bring us up to full strength however, then finally, at 3:40pm one KHM reported for duty. Having slept through numerous phone calls, it needed the DoC to drive to the penthouse and physically bang on his door to stir him! After a late breakfast of porridge (which probably started life as mayonnaise) which delayed him further, here he finally was. All these were welcome deviations from watching the cricket though, which was moving at a snail's pace although Tony ground out a fifty for himself which along with a few wides at least edged the score along a little. With 15 or so minutes left Beechwood only had 116 runs on the board when Woody was finally stumped for 11. Those who hadn't gone inside to shave politely applauded their hero back in who immediately showered after his exploits; those seven scoring shots having obviously taken their toll on the big man. Just time for Bobby and Ian Mac to throw the bat for the last few overs, with both of these running well with Tony, who with no real big-hitters to play off, had to start clearing the ring himself. This, with Otford's large outfield, inevitably meant having to run a fair few threes in the process, and it was a very knackered looking skipper who trudged off having made a valuable undefeated 71, and although obviously not elated himself, (barely shrugging an acknowledgement for his fifty) some of us could still appreciate his effort.
Obviously the late arrivals would not have aided Tony's thinking regarding the batting order, but it would be an understatement to say that 145 was a modest total for Otford, especially being only four down, and if one were to be really picky I'd also point out that Beechwood's calling was poor for a lot of the afternoon and sometimes non-existent... But I won't...
The DoC's tea predictably hit the spot, as indeed did the wedding-cake, and a bloated Beechwood set about trying to defend their total. Myself and Larry were entrusted to open the bowling, and Larry, who hasn't had a lot of things go his way of late, was dealt a cruel blow when the normally bucket-like hands of Adrian dropped one that he'd normally pouch with his eyes shut... everybody hopes Larry's fortunes will change soon. Yours truly managed to send back the dropped opener and the next batsman but the runs were being accumulated steadily and that was all that Horsmonden needed. The steady accumulation of runs meant the introduction of Woody into the attack, and while I joked that his innings was a little - let's be Christian... laboured - there was nothing laboured about his bowling... it was quick for sure, but more importantly it wasn't in the slightest bit wasteful, with practically every ball having to be played by the batsmen. He soon uprooted the third wicket pair's stumps which included the dangerous opener Billis, soon followed by left-hander Jessop's. 78-5 and Beechwood were getting a sniff of a win, especially when Ade atoned for his earlier mishap, safely pouching to leave Horsmonden reeling at 83-6. A good rearguard action by Clements and Carey steadied their ship a little, seeing off the latterly introduced DoC and Stu before Clements undid his hard work by running himself out. 93-7 then, and Larry and Ashley were re-introduced for the last handful of overs (which finally saw the sun appear) to try and blast out the tail, but despite a great effort from both of them, Ashley only accounted for Blackhall with the penultimate ball of the match. This meant number 10 bat May had but one ball to face and amused us all by walking McCullum-like halfway down the track and swatting Woody through mid-wicket. (Especially amusing for some as I was the only fielder on the on-side) Horsmonden finished up 109-8 from 38 overs in an entertaining match in spite of its low scores with Horsmonden's colts in particular not disgracing themselves through the afternoon, and all their team playing the game in the best of spirits. Tony skippered well again and will be relieved to have a fit again Woody for the next few games and beyond, today returning the figures of four for next to nothing. KHM, despite his late stirring from hibernation, kept tidily as well, much to our surprise...one hopes this proves to be a one-off blemish from our founder-member.
Thanks to the Woodside folk for turning up to support their (very) old mucker, and congratulations again to the Robinsons, particularly for giving a rare celebratory opportunity for Carole to neck a cask or two... until next week anyway!
Beechwood:
Boss, Cooksley, Culhane, Freeman (c), Kelly, Makin (wk), McCrea, Robinson, Savory, Warner, Woodward
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