The season finished as it started with a hot sunny day at the manor, shame about the 15 weeks in between. Langley won the toss and elected to bat on what looked a good batting track, shame the batsman didn’t know how to use it. We got off to a reasonable start with Cressie and Choc putting on 30 for the 1st wicket before Chocy missed a straight one. Wickets then fell fast and furious with only a typical swashbuckling innings of 40 by Roystone the only score of any note as we were bowled out for 110 with 10 overs to spare.

In reply Locks Heath made it look easy racing to 60-0 after 13 overs when tea was taken. When play resumed Langley at last started to make a fight of it. Cressie came on to bowl and along with the ever improving James Palmer who bowled with great effort and fire in his skinny belly started to make the batsman work for their runs. Wickets started to fall with Kev getting 3 and James 2 however Locks Heath passed the total comfortably to win by 5 wickets.

As a whole the season was a mixture of good and bad performances winning 6 games out of 13 played to finish in 10th place in the league. Due to the restructuring of the leagues this should be enough to get promotion into the newly formed county 4 south league for next season.

On a rare sunny day, and a rare Inzy good toss, the scene was set for the in form Manor to continue their winning run.

With the many Colts who started the season, already moving up the senior teams, yet another batch from the successful junior section were pressed into action for today’s game.

Batting first, things were not easy. Up against an accurate bowling attack, belying their lowly table position, and with a variable wicket and unseasonably slow outfield, following the recent monsoonal weather, we struggled manfully to a disappointing 88 all out. Only Dan (Tesco Express) Morrison really knuckled down, and batted well, to take the score as high as it got.

Taking tea al – fresco for the first time this season, we went out with the intention of early wickets, and at 2 "fer", we thought we were up for it.

Sadly, their 3 and 4 batters, safe in the knowledge that 2 an over would suffice, did exactly that. Try as he could, Skipper Inzy tried allsorts to dismantle them – he even phoned up the "Roy of the Rovers" Comic, and ordered "Billy’s Boots" for the day. However, Billy’s Boots didn’t work their magic this time.

So, with 2 to win with 8 wickets in hand, in the final overs, the radical thinking Inzy (perhaps the boots did do something then?) heeded to the Cries of "Put Locke On" (By the way, that’s the title of the Biography of the great 60’s spin bowler Tony Lock – he took the only wicket not taken by Laker when he took 19. (Remember that for the local Pub Quiz chaps, it may come in handy?)

1 over, 1 maiden, 1 fer nought. Not a bad season average with the ball TOCCY!

So, with Baddesley on their knees, the 10th bowler came on – young Matt “Trouser Press” (Allpress). Another wicket, and panic was setting in. However, a streaky boundary (Actually it was a perfect On drive, but hey, I need some licence here) sealed our fate.

A Disappointing loss – YES.

However, yet more youngsters being blooded, some hard grafting with the bat in difficult circumstances, and a desire by all to make it as tough as possible for the opposition – right to the end. And to top it all off, an eagerness to Score, Umpire, and generally chip in with help……..Guys, that’s what being a good club is all about. Many other clubs would give their right arms for that sort of spirit.

Last game next week – all spectators welcome at the farm. Free tea and cake (availability permitting).

Hopes were high for this match playing a team in a run of poor form, and having beaten them last year. Ellingham went out to bat on a scorcher of a day with Jammer and 1st debutant Andy "Spy" Rye claiming the new ball. It turned out to be a long first 20 overs with the visitors reaching over 100 with no loss of wicket. This was down to some excellent batting by the opening pair, who never gave any real chances, despite the tight bowling of Spy and Jammer, as well as the first change bowlers (Ammy and Rizla, both looking very effective and deserving of more than they got). Nobby eventually struck with the breakthrough (a mistimed shot to long off as opposed to good bowling). This brought a slow but inevitable collapse of the batting with Nobby ending up with 6-41 off 12. Jim and Spy also got their rewards and Ellingham finished on 249 - 9.

Chasing 249 on a Langley batting track-of-old brought some needed optimism to the Manor with their strong batting line-up. The openers provided us with a good start running at 4/5 an over to keep us firmly in the game. Coach eventually went for 26 but Hollo continued his steady innings alongside Naz, eventually reaching his 50. Sadly, as has been the case so often this year, the middle order failed to contribute anything of significance, and we were eventually removed for 193 with a few overs to spare by the grenade attack of Ellingham.

Langley got off to a reasonable start putting on 57 for the 1st wicket before Choccy suffered the embarrassment of being outscored by Cressie for the 1st time since they were at school together 25 years ago when he was out for 22.Another decent partnership followed with Luke and then after Cressie was out for 49 old man Rhodesy (41) and Abe Newell (26) put on another partnership of over 50 to take the score to 151-4. Thanks to Geoff the score eventually got up to 200-7 off 42 overs on what was a difficult pitch to score runs.

Eastleigh's reply started very slowly thanks to one of the tidiest spell that Richy Stephenson will ever bowl with his 12 overs going 2-12, more surprisingly he actually held on to a catch off his own bowling. After Richy’s spell was over Eastleigh got a bit of a move on to take the score up to 99-2 before James Palmer got in on the act. With a fine spell of bowling James ran through the batting line up taking 5-46 off 12 overs to leave Eastleigh well short at 152-9 off their 42 overs with Simon Peters and Cressie taking a wicket apiece.

On a hot and cloudless day, skipper Paul Jerram led a very inexperienced third team with three debutantes (James Dellamura aged 15, Sam Hillman aged 14 and Angus Knight aged 13) into battle against Highfield seconds. Somewhat amazingly, Inzie won the toss and after some deliberation we were fielding. We had a couple of early wickets, Dan Morrison clean bowling the opener with an in-swinger and Inzie clinging on to a sharp ( well, sharpish!) chance off S-J, but the rest of their innings was very frustrating with a few dropped catches and many mis-hits just falling short of expectant fielders. Despite the heat, the team stuck at the fielding task well and there were particularly encouraging debut spells from Sam ("Monty") Hillman and James (Deli) Dellamura. Notwithstanding this, Highfield amassed an imposing 227 for 2 as we trudged off for tea.

Despite losing an early wicket, Bombhead and Ken (The Grocer) Morrison made a fluent start until the Bomb edged one to the keeper, leaving us 46 for 2.

This brought (Aberdeen) Angus Knights to the crease and he announced his arrival by crashing a full toss over mid-off for four, what a start! Showing great maturity and assurance for a 13 year-old, Aberdeen beefed up the scoring rate and stroked the ball all over the ground, sharing in a partnership of 123 off 20 overs with the Grocer. Eventually Aberdeen was bowled shortly after reaching his 50. What an achievement, scoring 50 on debut aged 13 and not only this he helped put the team into a match winning position. Well done Angus and thanks for the jug!

This brought Matt Allpress to the crease and thanks to some quick running, a partnership of well over 50 in no time at all left the team tantalisingly 8 runs short when our skipper, Inzie al Jerram marched to the wicket on Matt's dismissal. In his customary calm style, a two followed by three wides and a three (all run and all within four balls) and Inzie had led us to a famous win, by six wickets. The Grocer finished unbeaten on 112, as the Manor thirds recorded their fourth win in succession and as importantly more colts played a significant part in the team's success.

The 1st team returned after a long "winter break" hoping to turn their luck around with a much needed win. New Milton won the toss and elected to bat first. Early signs were promising with Jammer consistently beating the bat (with his usual amount of luck). Ammy proved he hadn't lost his touch with a fine display of spin. Wickets were hard to come by on the day though, mainly due to a unusually poor fielding display from the Manor, including several dropped catches and a couple of mis-fields. At the end the innings, New Milton had set us 238 to chase while only losing 5 wickets.

Hollo (42) and Coach strapped on their pads and made their way out to the middle. They gave us a nice steady start on which we had the chance to build a decent chase. However, Coach eventually fell and brought in what was to be a rather unsettling collapse of the middle order. Pistol being the only one to contribute anything significant with a quick 33 as only Pistol knows how. Perhaps the highlight of the day was a tough and highly entertaining last man stand comprising Brutes and Bombhead. A last wicket partnership exceeding 70 runs, with Bombhead holding his end up with grit while Brutes flowed his way to 59, restored some pride in the days performance.

On a rare hot sunny day at the Manor, Spenny won the toss and elected to bat. From the start runs came at a swift rate with Cressie and Naz exploiting the quick outfield. The 50 partnership came up in the 10th over followed by the 100 in the 17th. Both batsman passed their 50’s and hundreds before taking 105 runs off the final 10 overs to take the final score to 322-0. Naz finished unbeaten on 157 with Cressie on 146. The one disappointment of the innings being Naz dead batting the final ball of the innings to preserve his average. After the innings Naz was told they only had 10 men to which he replied “I thought there were big gaps in the field”.

In reply Waterlooville were quickly in trouble with the smiling assassin Rizzla taking 4-18 off his 12 overs. Wickets fell at regular intervals with all bowlers getting at least 1 wicket apart from Rocky. Simon Peters making his 2nd team debut bowled well waddling in like his old man to take 2-14 off 5 overs. Young Dan Morrison then got in on the act taking 1-17 off 4 overs before it was left to Spenny coming off a shortened run up of almost nothing to take the last wicket clean bowling the batsman with his quicker ball that had just enough on it to take the bails off. Waterlooville eventually all out for 119 to give a winning margin of 223 runs.

At last, the sun shone as a very young third team ventured east to pastures new at Fareham and Crofton. Having successfully dealt with the not inconsiderable challenge of finding somewhere to park, Inzie lost the toss again (nine out of eleven is an impressively bad record!) and we were batting. The afternoon revolved around a magnificent innings of 162 not out from Mike "Saffa" Strickland. He was in total control throughout and there were boundaries galore all around the park. There were a number of good partnerships with The Grocer, Josh Harvey ( as now known by the skipper as Lippy), the captain himself and in particular Andy Rye, showing a welcome return to batting form with a swashbuckling 36. We ended up with 284, our best score of the season.

The bowling attack, spearheaded by the elder statesman Andy Rye (well, things are all relative!) and supported by excellent fielding ensured that the opponents were never going to get close. Four wickets for Andy led the way and there were very promising spells on debut from Matt Caplin and Lewis Lloyd-Price both of whom took a wicket. Ethan Harvey also bowled an excellent spell to pick up two wickets later on and eventually Fareham and Crofton were dismissed for 98.

So, all in all another a very encouraging performance by the team, a fantastic innings by Saffa and another good day for the Manor's conveyor belt of talent.

Bombhead, Circumspect, Thoughtful……..Three words!

The challenge given to me at the start of the season was to fit all of them into one sentence. This seemed, at the time, a more daunting task than Harry Potter defeating Voldemort. So while Harry was searching for his Horcruxes, I made these three words My own personal three Deathly Hallows.

So, on a day dominated by Dark Overhead conditions, and a seemingly ominous presence of the Dark Lord Himself, The Thirds took on the Mantle of “Dumbledore’s Army”, and braved the dangers that lay before them, in a first for cricket – The only time our fair game has been allowed to play on the Hallowed Quidditch field at Hogwarts.

So, after the first piece of Wizardry, Inzy (Percy Weazley – Head Boy) winning the toss with the help of a magical two –headed coin and a “conficium” charm on the Hamble skipper (I can’t take this theme to the point of calling the opposition “Death Eaters”, as they were a nice bunch of Lads….and I’d probably be censored anyway?),

Openers Luke (Ron Weazley) and Grocer, donned their broomsticks and went in search. Whilst the Grocer showed restraint and kept his eyes firmly on the Snitch, Ron only had eyes for the Bludger, and didn’t he give it a whack?

The grocer lost sight of the snitch for only a moment…enough for Hamble’s Malfoy to strike. This merely brought the famous South African Wizard - Saffer to the Air, and after surveying the situation, his “Whomping Willow” went straight into action for a “Marvelo” 44.

Wickets tumbled, and eventually Bombhead arrived. (Or was it Hagrid in a not very good disguise?) In a total transmogrification, which must only have occurred after the great Wizard, Rendies put a difficult calming charm in him, and with the aid of a borrowed wand from TOC ( Sirius Black) he stroked a fine and valuable 27, and t must be said, this thoughtful new Bombhead showed a circumspect side to his wizardry.

So, with the Horcruxes now in the inside pocket of my robes, along with the wand I lent to Hagrid, I can continue the tale. Amarith (We’ll call you Jim to save confusion), Surrendra also returning to the quest, and Jack (Perky little Colin Creavey) Budd, aided by Percy, MiniMart and Simmy “The Badger”, all helped the conjure up an extra bonus point in attaining 150 on the Hogwarts field, providing a few spells of its own.

To truly top off a great atmosphere, that great man Trevor “Dumbledore” Longman arrived in a special Magical Works Van in time to see the young underage wizards, all of whom he taught in “Care of Magical Creatures” (Their Parents) at Hogwarts CC Under 11’s in times past!

In a magical tea, provided by J-Lo (Professor McGonegall herself, superbly polyjuiced up in disguise), the eager participants combined to conjure the most amazing magic yet ………The food disappeared in a flick of Percy’s wand. The teabreak provided the opportunity for that great eastern wizard Victor Klum, disguised as Ming, to appear from nowhere in the Floo network (where was the fireplace?). Gracing us with his presence, was indeed the fillip we needed to complete the quest……Voldemort’s defeat.

So, off we went to bowl. Given the responsibility of the first over, the great Wizard Simmy, with the the help of his badger Patronus, almost took a wicket in his first over….If Only Ron had “Leviatumned” at the right time, the snitch would have stuck.

With Mary (Mrs Weazley) Jerram watching with the calm of a true Pure Blood over the whole occasion, from within her new scorers tent, there was always a feeling that success would be ours! With Keith (Mr Weazley) parading the boundary curses, the result would never be in doubt! If Only Paul “Ginny Weazley” Ebbs were there, and not off fighting Albanian Dragons, the whole Dumbledore Army would have been complete?

After this, Andy (SPY) Rye, summoned all his magical powers, and with the aid of that great spy device, the Marauders Map, Hamble were reduced to mere “Muggles” before long. With The Badger Patronus creating confusion at the other end, along with keeping the Dementors ominous darkness at bay above, 8 wickets were taken.

The young wizard Danny (Son of Grocer…..and smaller version of the shop) Morrison came on to stab the final dagger into the heart of the Serpent who rose out of the sea at Hamble.

Pakistan have their Rawalpindi Express…we however have our “Tesco Express”.

And so, it came to pass that the Wizarding world was back in its true order once again. After the early season disappointments of losing narrowly in Battles against The Dark Lord, We overcame the odds to now move forward to our ultimate quest – to ensure that Spy wins the fantasy player tables this season.

Great win – well bowled all especially Andy with 7 wickets, and thanks to the true magic of groundsman Ian (No relation) Jerram producing a great track considering the conditions.

On a final note, and to coin the phrase of the famous Muggle, Rocket – I’ve probably done a great Dementor Impersonation here, and Sucked the life completely out of you all?

Or is this the final piece of magic for this chapter………….?

No………….an owl arrived at the Knellers HQ later that night, with the most extraordinary news of all. From Afar (well – Hayling Island). That Underestimated Welsh Wizard, Taff Bevan had created the most magic of all, and no doubt caused by the loosening of the Hanpshire Curse surrounding him……for with Sussex in clear view, where the “Curse of Zero Fantasy Points” no longer holds power over him, he caressed a four to break that Horcrux of his own”.

THE END………For Now

Next two weeks……I,m off slaying Cornish Dragons, and It is hoped that Another will continue the tale.

The 1st team were looking forward to their first potentially dry day in a while, hoping to record another win in only their fifth match of the season.

Jammer lost the toss and we were sent in to bat on a damp pitch that looked to dry out as the day progressed. Hollo (of the Manor) and Coach opened up and provided a welcomed steady start looking untroubled after 15 overs. Coach eventually fell bringing Pollock to the crease, who looked solid too, until a surprise yorker from the "loopy" opener got the better of him. Nobby entered the fray looking to push the score along while Hollo continued his fine job of holding up an end while simultaneously ticking the score over. Not one to hang about, Nobby soon opened his shoulders and let "The Blade" do the work, until rather stupidly attempting a quick single to a fielder Hollo warned him about, only to run out Hollo on 43 (sorry dude !!!). Nobby continued not listening to his batting partners when he skied one to cover after subconciously ignoring some words of wisdom from Buddy. Buddy looked solid once again, and some unfortunate batting from Brutes and Jammer brought Pistol in. Pistol exploded straight away, showing his usual nonchalant level of respect to the bowlers, blasting a fine 41 in a matter of overs. The manor eventntually finished on 187-9, a score that appeared very respectable considering the conditions.

Prepared to defend our score, Jammer and CBeebies opened the bowling, hitting the mark consitently to tie the batsmen down early. They both displayed their ability to swing the ball, frequently getting the batsmen to play and miss or get a streaky edge over/under/around the slips (something that was to become a recurring theme for the innings). Saqqy, Buddy and Abe also contributed finely with the ball, only to be under-rewarded for their efforts. Wickets eventually started to fall, but alas, it was probably a bit too late and the home clinched victory with only a couple of overs to spare.

It was a loss that many felt was undeserved, and if the luck had gone our way instead of theirs, it would have been a totally different game

Oh well, bring on OTs !!!!

Coming soon ........ >_<

On this rare sunny Saturday afternoon, we arrived en-masse at the picturesque Twyford Cricket Ground, full of hope after the disappointments of recent weeks, for this fixture against the high riding Eastleigh team who beat us handsomely at “The Farm” earlier in the season. It was immensely lucky that we were there at all, as the lead vehicle consisting of TOC and “Chirpy Jack”, as driver and navigator took us straight past a crucial turning…..wait for it, coz Chirpy had us looking for the “Bungle Inn”, which we later realized was actually “The Bugle”. Well Done “Bungle” (How many nicknames can one person accumulate?

Inzy promptly reasserted his reputation for being the worst tosser in the club, and we were inserted on a soft green top. Saffer and Grocer got us going, before Saffer was smartly stumped for 43, with the score at 63 in only the 13th over.

This brought to the crease, young debutant Connor Brown (who, it was pleasing to see, pushed Chirpy all the way in the field for the title of “Chirpier than Chirpy”). With a good solid defense, Chirpier played some fine shots in a cameo which once again reaffirmed the immense promise we have in our junior section. He departed after a stand of 41 with Grocer, who was beginning to find his touch.

At this stage, thoughts turned to the loss of several key batting stars, and worries of a collapse were in many a manor mind……..but we needn’t fear, because Taff and Bombhead, both promoted to the stratosphere of the 2nds, were not missed.

Note – Have a look at the fantasy player tables this week – Taff now has the distinction of having played half a dozer or so games and has Zero player points. That’s no runs, catches etc all season so far. Shall we run a book on when he’ll get his first player point?

So, back to the game. It was pleasing to see, from here on in, The Manor controlled this game…..not through the old stalwarts who normally nurdle and durdle things, but through all the amazing under 15 & under 13 players in the side. After the departure of Grocer for a well merchandised 55, and Inzy with his usual Swashbuckling 20, Rolf marshalled the troops superbly with a fine 20n.o, ably supported by Chirpy Jack, who played the Shot of the Day, cover driving their star bowler in immaculate style.

Finishing up at 180 / 5, afternoon tea tasted sweet.

So, how did we defend this total? Did we bowl the wise old heads? No we didn’t. The only wise old head who bowled was Hat Trick Razor (4 / 19), ably supported by Simmo, (10 superb overs, finishing with 2 / 25 plus 2 good catches), Mini-mart (5 tight overs 2 / 14), Lady Victoria ( 5 overs 1 / 10) and Rolfy (6 overs 1/19).

Chirpy Jack finished the game with more Fantasy points than his dad on the Day… Sorry to mention that one Ming.

So, 2nd top team all out for 90, and all done by the future stars…..can’t be bad?

Roll on next week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another welly boot day sadly, no play......again, grrr!!

After the mid season monsoon Langley were put in to bat on a soft damp pitch. They got of to a flier with some lusty blows from Choc (29) before he got a half tracker that bounced then rolled along the floor to hit middle wicket. Pakey soon followed after the advice from Choccy to get forward because of the low bounce, got one that bounced chest high which he managed to edge behind. Another wicket quickly followed before a partnership of 30 between Cressie (43) & Geoff (17) took the score to 68 before Judgie nicked one to the keeper. Another decent partnership of 39 followed when Jammer (25) came in and hit a few boundaries before a mix up saw him run out with Cressie sat on his backside in the middle of the wicket after slipping. Wickets then fell regularly including that of Kev’s to leave Langley all out for 135, a reasonable score given the conditions.

A great start in the field saw Langley restrict Brockenhurst to 10-1 off 10 overs and then 17-3 off 14 overs thanks to some accurate bowling from Rocky (1 for 11) and Jammer (3 for 35). During this period we lost Major as he attempted to sprint 5 yards to cut off a single and quickly grimaced in pain as something in his groin snapped. Despite all the sympathy from his team mates he was unable to continue, but help was at hand from Hollow who travels with his whites in the car at all times just to try and get a game somewhere. Brockenhurst then got a decent partnership going to take the score on to 60 before James Palmer got the batsman to nick one behind. With his height and lack of bounce James turned out to be the match winner today with a fine spell of bowling finishing with figures of 4 for 19 off 8 overs. Brockenhurst were eventually bowled out for 99 despite Rocky dropping a catch that Jammers baby daughter would have caught. One of the highlights of the day was seeing Cressie diving fall length for a ball and actually stopping it after 20 years of trying.

Following an early morning ground inspection by Inzy and TOC, it was decided to play this vital fixture. Fair Oak arrived for the first of the return fixtures of this division, with a virtually unrecognisable eleven from those whom we narrowly lost to in the season’s opener. However, our eclectic mix of old, new, borrowed & blue went into the field, full of hope, and at 45/0 at the drinks break, we felt that we had restricted the correct looking openers well. However, with wickets in hand, and aided once again by an abundance of wides in the extras total of 40, their 42 over total of 169/3 was a little more than we’d hoped to chase.
Well done to “Simmy” on bowling 5 overs for 5 runs, and “Rolf” Harris 12 tidy overs, much of which were at “the death”.

Contemplating the run chase during a tea featuring grapes and bananas, it was felt that this was not unreasonable, given our record of having the highest batting points total in the league to date! The early loss of the Grocer, for a “Poultry” score, The pairing of TOC, along with the long awaited return of Simon “Frodo” Brice, set about the chase. Runs were at a premium, on a slow, low, drying track. This coupled with a bowling attack, undoubtedly the best Regional 4 one we’d face this season (or probably last and next too?), ensured a tough time. After Frodo went for a well constructed 32, to a sharp catch in the gully, and TOC was forced to retire hurt after trying to hook a rib tickling high full toss for 28, the fast, accurate visitors’ bowling attack met with little further resistance, and with wickets tumbling, a score of 95 was achieved.

Well beaten, undoubtedly on the day! But considering the quality of the opposition playing strength on the day, we should not be distraught. Again, it was encouraging to see our young players performing so well, and the level of humour in the field was still apparent at it’s usual high standard.

Roll on next week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With the 1sts keen to get their momentum up and running after a largely washed out start to the season (only 3 out of 6 games played prior) at 1.50pm the covers were dragged off ready for what turned out to be a superb afternoon weatherwise.
After a brief inspection of the track by Skip, he won the toss and decided to field first on what would be a fast drying pitch. With Craig no longer available, Nobby was thrown the new ball to open up with Jammer. After a shakey first couple of overs ("Christ, I forgot how slippery the new ball is", retorted Nobby as he sent a no ball flying into the stratosphere), the Manor soon managed to bring back some consistency to truly batton down the hatches. Nobby opened his account in the 4th over, taking a second later on before the 9 over stint finally revealed his true fitness levels! Chris "CBeebies" Bruton was the brought into the attack with Ian "Harry Hill" Green. Brutes bowled some excellent line and length along with teasing swing to record a very economic spell, and was incredibly unlucky not to pick up a few well-deserved wickets. He may have softened them up for Greener though, who went on to take a "five-for" with a display of bowling well below his years. New kid on the block Abe, and Buddy, Saq and Jammer all provided some fine spells of bowling, tied to some fine glovework by Coach, to finish the guests for 167 all out in the last over.

Hollo and Coach were sent in to open the batting and face the fiery pace of the South African opener. The start was good, with Hollo truly "taking one for the team" (sorry Len, no grandkids anytime soon) and retiring hurt. Brutes went in to replace him and showed maturity and a calm head to see out the opener's spell with little fluster. Unfortunately he succumbed to a climbing ball and was "caught" behind. This brought in Nobby......anyway, on to Saqqy. Saq showed more Manoresque "grit" firing a key 35 runs who along with Mr Tickle kept the middle session score ticking over. Eventually Hythe managed to remove Saq, bringing the return of Ming, who was merciless against the pace on the fast track. Making it look easier than a game of boundary bowls with Pistol, Buddy and JP finally knocked off the winning runs, 6 down, with 4 overs to spare. Another important win for the Manor.

A day to forget for the 2nds. Trojans got off to brisk start adding 46 before the 1st wicket fell. This was as good as the day got as the next wicket fell with the score on 230. With feelings running a bit high in the field Trojans finished the innings on 242-2 with the only reasonable figures coming from Rocky Stephenson with 1 for 39 off 12.

In reply Choc managed to reach a wide ball only to sky it straight to point and wickets fell at regular intervals until Cressie did exactly the same to leave us 53-5. Two more wickets fell to put the score at 68-7 when at last Langley started to put up a fight. Led by our magnificent skipper Spenny who clubbed 39 n.o. mainly over mid wicket, and some valuable runs from Sam Wallace and Rocky(19). This all led to the highlight of the day, a last wicket unbroken partnership of 24 involving the biggest rabbit the game of cricket has ever produced in Rich Major Hawking who with 2 impressive straight drives, a cut down to 3rd man and another 4 somewhere else took his personal score to 17 n.o., Langley finshed on 170-9 picking up some valuable batting points in the process .

After being greeted by the visiting captain at the Hunt’s Farm Stadium, with his wishes to call the game off due to waterlogging? (Him, not the pitch I think!), the game went ahead in good, drying conditions.
And what a game it was. Despite being on the losing end of the game, the Manor again showed true grit to make this a superb match.
Again, the lack of a Manor Umpire for the Nth week running, during the opposition’s batting, was probably the difference in winning and losing! Anyone out there fancy it?
Enough said on that subject.
The match started, following the Party to celebrate Inzy’s first correct call, and the (temporary) reprieve he has, of being reputedly the worst tosser in the club.
Having no hesitation in putting Trojans into bat, Andy Rye soon took 2 early wickets, including a fine catch to a firmly hit ball at point by “Chirpy Jack” Budd.

It could have been even better, had TOCCY Locke held a sharp chance at slip, to a batsman who went on to make 85 runs.
TOCCY did catch him out later, in a classic comedy moment. The batsman slashed at a high full toss and the ball swirled about high in the air. TOCCY, determined to put right his earlier mistake called loudly that it was his 20 pointer, and all went quiet. He took a good juggling catch and went bananas (more about the new introductions to the tea menu later) in celebration. He looked around at his quietly tittering teammates, only to discover what everyone else had been aware of for the 30 seconds the ball was in the air – it was a bloomin’ High No Ball. Nice One “The Old Chap!”
As it was, it was “Chirpy Jack” who later took yet another solid catch to send their run scorer back.
At 3 for 110, Inzy made an inspired bowling Change. On came the Accurate, Beguiling In-Swing, of Sarah “Razor” Wilkinson. After pinning the batters down in her first 4 overs, Her 5th over is one that will remain forever in the memory of all who were there, and will become part of the Manor Folklore. The first 3 balls brought a couple of dots and an edgy single. Ball 4 – Caught at Mid-On, Ball 5 – Caught at Mid-On, Ball 6 Clean Ripped – All 3 stumps Splayed, bails down by the sightscreen……HAT-TRICK. You little bewdy!
This changed the course of the innings, and the tail was quicky mopped up for 150 all out. Best of the rest was Andy Rye’s 4 / 37.

Setting out, after a hearty and healthy tea, in pursuit, Ben Craig fell early, and the two TOCs hurried the score before both being out with the score in the 50’s.
Wickets fell, but “Rolf” Harris & Inzy steadied the ship, before “Rolf” was adjudged LBW. Inzy was joined by “Catcher-in-the” Rye, and they edged towards the target with scores of 27 & 26 respectively.
At 6/133 “Chirpy Jack” came to the crease, and batting with a maturity and confidence belying his age, he rallied the tail superbly, remaining stranded on 8 not out, after running out of partners. Sadly, The Manor fell just One run shy in a great team effort.
Special mention this week, must go to “Chirpy Jack” Budd, for his brilliant catching, and great composure with the bat…………..and a really special congratulation to “Razor” Wilkinson for a well deserved Hat-Trick.
Guys, don’t lose heart. We will start winning all these close matches. Best of all, we’re enjoying the teamship and cameradarie developing in the 3rds. For sure, the future of the Manor is grooming nicely here!