Nearly There
By Ian Clark
WEEK 2
MAY 17th 2008
2nd TEAM v REDLYNCH & HALE (A), County League 3
1st TEAM v MUDEFORD (H)
Hannah and Tom had finished coaching and I was leaving the ground when Bondy ran up:
"You're in on Saturday."
Bondy is second team captain.
I've never been selected for the second team before. They were promoted last year to Hampshire County League 3. That's good club cricket and I thought those days had gone.
Redlynch's ground is in the New Forest but it's a dreary setting on a dreary day. Redlynch have started to fall through the leagues as sides can do as better players desert and just the young, the old and the diehards are left.
My captain today is McKeever, a seriously talented cricketer who hits the ball as far as anyone I've ever seen outside of the pros. Clinchy is also in the side and he's a proper player; all cover drives and wristy flicks through square leg. Last year he scored a sublime hundred when the first's game was off and the opposition assumed he was our overseas.
Hannah has come to watch today which adds to the unfamiliarity. For the past five seasons it's been me who's watched Hannah play, for various Hampshire girls' teams at Uppingham, Wellington and once, memorably, when she scored 83 at Christ's Hospital. Hannah's with me today because we have to travel to my parents' in Suffolk straight after the game because Hannah is playing against Essex at Takely tomorrow.
I'm usually a change bowler for the thirds and it's a surprise when McKeever asks me to open the bowling. The other opening bowler is Les who's even older than me. Les is 49, but he's a very fit scaffolder and he protects his place in the seconds like a crusty farmer scaring off ramblers. There's just a hint of rivalry as the oldest bowling attack in County 3 gets underway. I bowl tripe; far too short and Redlynch's stocky opener puts me away for three fours. Meanwhile Les is bowling steadily and rather showing me up. Then I finally pitch a ball up and get an LBW and then take a one handed return catch to get the number 3. It goes downhill again after that but 2-30 off 7 overs is enough to avoid the feeling that I've let the side down.
Redlynch cruise along and look likely to score over 200, a barely attainable total on a slow wicket.
Jake replaces Les and bowls beautifully. Each year a youngster or two progresses through the teams and this year it could be Jake. Jake, being Jake, has forgotten his trousers and has to wear Oz's. Oz is 6 inches taller than Jake who looks like MC Hammer.
Jake bowls one of their batsmen with a leg break bowled after a 20 yard run up. This sums up Jake's approach; he bowls the leg break even though he knows it could cost runs and ignores the accepted view that in league cricket 0-20 off 10 overs is better than 3-50.
Keith, our leg spinner, comes on and manages to bowl worse than me; full tosses and long hops. Keith played well for the firsts last year but a new spinner has joined and Keith's limitations with the bat and in the field have led him to being dropped. Keith needs confidence and it's sad to see him struggle; he struggles so openly too with his head down and shoulders hunched.
Redlynch stroll on and then McKeever comes on to bowl. He played all through County Youth age groups as a leg spinner but he had a shoulder injury and so has shifted to seam-up. McKeever, despite feeling unwell, rushes in and picks up 5 wickets by bowling too fast for the Redlynch team.
At tea Hannah tells me that the firsts are struggling to chase down Mudeford's decent score.
We need to win. Starting with back to back defeats means the season is almost over before it's begun.
Its 20 to 8 and I'm at the non-striker's end; Les is facing. 3 to win; 8 balls left. We've all grafted around a languid 40 something from Clinchy. The match has become increasingly tetchy with our opener Phil told to "F Off" when he was out and a dubious LBW against Olly. That's partly our fault because, unusually, we do not have our own umpire today so one of Redlynch's stalwarts is umpiring both ends. Few of us could umpire for 6 hours in a league match without giving a dubious decision so any resentment is unspoken but Olly's LBW sustains the collective paranoia that paces around the boundary at league matches.
Les and I cannot bat well at this level but nudges and risky singles have helped us to get to one shot away from victory. Only Jake and Keith are left to bat.
Les clubs a delivery on his legs to the midwicket boundary and we've won. Les strides off with the calm determination of a man who has stared down demotion again. It's difficult to keep up with him. The rest of the team are around the two benches in front of the pavilion and there is the usual applause for the fielders but with an undercurrent of relief. We all know Redlynch will struggle and we all know that starting with 2 defeats predicts a grind. No-one knows when the season begins how the season will go but victory for us, although narrow, suggests a kinder summer.
Most of the team have changed and just Keith and I are left when Keith makes the call:
"They won! The firsts won!"
Keith opens the window and shouts to no-one in particular. Keith is really excited and I'm with him on this. If the firsts want to get promoted they must (a) chase down decent totals and (b) get good scores after poor starts. Jason and Fred put on nearly 100 for the 6th wicket after we were 60 odd for 5 against Mudeford.
I pay my subs and Hannah and I head north.
