Nearly There
By Ian Clark
WEEK 5
JUNE 7th 2008
3rd TEAM v ROWNER (H)
1st TEAM v LOCKS HEATH (A)
Four games, four defeats.
And today we are at home to Rowner, one of the best teams in the division. Rowner is a remarkable club. Its ground is next to one of the worst estates in the Portsmouth area, where you can buy a one-bedroomed flat for £20k. A few seasons ago they were 0.01 of a point from County 1 although their ground (but not their wicket which is excellent) would probably have been inadequate. That, I think, highlights the unfairness and elitism of accreditation. Clubs like Rowner face problems like vandalism, lack of money, player retention and recruitment that some of the smart Southern League clubs do not, and if you have an evangelical view of cricket then Rowner should be supported not penalised.
It's my first home game today and the Green is a picture. The village church peers over trees at one end and the whiteboard pavilion reflects the sun. Jo is with me all afternoon and it's my birthday.
The club photographer Ray is here and as we line up the age of the team is apparent. This season we appointed a Chairman of Selectors to oversee selection policy and to bring some logic and planning to the back-street bazaar that is player selection. The Chairman of Selectors is Paul Goodman, who has physicality on his side and the unequivocal views of a former bailiff. And Gooders has a youth policy. He believes that there should be a quota of young players who should be promoted to higher teams whenever possible. I support this ethos and there was some remarkable silliness last year when Tom was kept out of the Seconds by Robbo; but like many lawyers I'm not keen on laws. I see what they do to people. Club members who say they hate what lawyers do are soon debating the definition of "young". Suddenly everyone's a lawyer. And this at a club with a first team, pre-youth policy, with an average age of 22.
Youth policies, stealthy, covert, subtle ones are necessary for clubs to flourish but the danger of a quota looks back from the team photo. We started the season an ageing team; now we just look too old (or too young). Jake, Reevsy and Sammy Floyd are in the Seconds now; Craig and Flower would probably be there too if late adolescence wasn't luring them away from cricket. We've now got 8 players over 35 and 3 players under 18. The best league sides are full of players between 18-35 and we don't have a single player in that band. And we're in a decent division. We've turned into the Home Guard.
We have our pre-match huddle and Greg emphasises that today is about getting points. We probably have to win 6 games to stay up and today is not one of the games he has identified as a must win game. This is not Churchillian enough for Robbo who mutters about being positive and promotion.
Rowner's good players left to play a higher standard and a team that was almost in our first's division now faces our thirds after three relegations. But players often return to where they started and Rowner now have their powerful batting of Kemp, Collins and Bowman again. They also have a Sri Lankan, who pinch hits, but today falls for a duck trying to smear Landers over the pavilion. Collins and Kemp then chug along to 40 when something wonderful happens. I bowl one of the best spells of my life. I just keep hitting a length and swinging the ball away and their good batsmen can't score any runs. Kemp hits a short of a length ball to be caught at point but otherwise everything is pitched up and straight. It's tempting to bluster that it used to be like this every week; but although I was quicker when I was young I'm a more accurate and better bowler now. Robbo is having a similar day at the other end and we work through the top order and don't concede a boundary for 18 overs. The game has changed, both teams sense it, and we watch the Rowner innings expire like a wasp under a beer glass. Robbo and I lead the team off, it's my birthday and Jo is smiling.
We have 140o chase. There are some ugly moments but Tosders and Mark Hansford, up from the fourths, take us to 104 - 1 and we fall over the line. The dressing room is noisy and convivial. Nothing beats an unexpected win, especially when you are bottom. Is team spirit is an illusion glimpsed in victory? The atmosphere in our dressing room isn't false but it is manic and released. The glow soon fades but for 15 minutes it's why we play team sports.
Jo and I get back to the Hollow to watch the Seconds lose to Highfield and the news from the firsts is bad.
The firsts are away to Locks Heath, the next village along the Portsmouth-Southampton corridor. What is it about local derbies? I watched our firsts lost to Locks Heath last year and it was a defeat that highlighted their under-achieving. They needed 7 an over for the last 10 overs with 7 wickets left but they did not have the will to nudge their way to a last over showdown. A succession of run outs, stumpings and boundary catches suggested a team that did not fancy the hard yards. Fred's firsts this year are probably less talented but have already shown some desire in the Mudeford win but we all fear a return to the old ways.
Tom is late back. The firsts conceded 291 runs and lost by 101 runs. Same shit, different year.
