4th XI vs Horndon On The Hill CC, 4th XI

After the 1st Innings, I was sat on the terrace looking out onto the pitch while sheltering from the heavy winds. I was thinking about what I was going to write in this match report and how negative I could be about our abject performance. The wind probably wasn’t on our side as batsmen after batsmen were caught in the in field but frankly we were throwing away wickets we couldn’t afford to lose against 2nd in the table.

We lost the toss, a key moment in the match in hindsight, and were put into bat by the Horndon Captain. We were discussing how early we were going to declare ….. In the end an early declaration was not required as the opposition bowled us out after 41 overs, 4 short of our allotted total. We had got off to a steady, albeit slow, start with Max Toolan finding his groove in the 11th over despatching the final 2 balls for 4. Unfortunately for Shenfield his good start was undone in the very next ball when, in an attempt to drive the ball past mid-on, he chipped up to the same fielder giving him some catching practice. The Mystery Spinner was next in but lasted just 2 balls, trying to slog sweep his second ball, rather than the ball finding itself in the trees over cow corner, it found itself through the stumps. At 39-2 Shenfield were now looking for a good partnership to steady the ship, sadly we had to wait for this with, the Sweeper, Jnr Sapsford and Spinny McNeil falling for 3, 6 and 4 respectively. In the meantime Clubman Dave, was ticking away adding valuable runs to the scoresheet. He was joined at the crease by the Roo (Joey), who both looked comfortable at the crease. This was our best partnership since our opening partnership and looked like they could both put on a decent score until in true Shenfield fashion some miscommunication left the Clubman stranded halfway down the wicket and run out for 45 runs from 84 balls. The Roo was the pick of the batsmen receiving plenty of compliments from players and spectators alike. His classy stroke play saw him get to 26 from 31 before being caught. Swingy McNeil was the only other performance of note scoring 23 runs before trying to nurdle a straight ball down the leg side leaving the umpire no choice but to give him LBW, as plum as they come. El Capitano scored just 9 before running out of partners with both Nilbert and Pocket Rocket out for less than 3. Extras outscoring 7 of our batsmen left the 4s bitterly disappointed at the end of the 1st innings and hopes of continuing the winning run seemed over.

This all changed quickly into the 2nd innings. The Pocket Rocket in his very first over secured the wicket of the very dangerous Ali Shah who was averaging over 50 before Saturdays game. Shah had tried to chip Jamie over the leg side in-fielders, instead chipping the ball straight to mid-wicket. This didn’t stop the Rocket from charging the ball down, wiping out Dunleavy in the process and some how managing to cling on to the ball. This reinvigorated the 4s, a sudden belief that not only were we back in the game but we could actually win it! We had to wait until the 16th over for the 2nd wicket with Nilbert dismissing the very dangerous no3 who had been scoring freely until he was trapped dead in front trying to sweep Neal into the leg-side. This started the real demise of the Horndon Batsmen who were slowed down by the bowling partnership of Nilbert and El Capitano. The home side scoring just 7 runs between overs 18 and 26 with 6/8 of these overs being maidens. This build up of pressure led to the next few wickets with frustration growing amongst the Horndon contingent. El Capitano took 2 and Nilbert also took his Second.  After 29 Overs this left Horndon on 80-5 needing 77 to win from the remaining 15 overs. At 5 an over Horndon were still very much in the game but their lower order seemed to have decided to shut up shop and take themselves through to the draw. The McNeil brother did both manage to take a wicket each with El Capitano also running out a stranded batsmen. At this stage the oppo were now 109-8 with 9 balls of the game remaining. Unfortunately it just wasn’t to be with the Horndon side surviving the final hour.

What looked to be a walkover turned into being the complete opposite with our side desperate for the win with 10 fielders all in the batsmen face looking for those final wickets. A good lesson for the team and myself never to give up until the final ball is bowled. We remain top of the table and host Billericay next week in a must win game and a must win toss for El Capitano.