The Match
Both sides were short on numbers however the 'Saturday Combination' team boasted some legendary names such as Vagg, Beasant, Aldous and Benson to name but a few. It was a strong line up and would test the metal of the younger Sunday players. 

The Sunday team won the toss and elected to field first. Ryan Polley was given the new ball along with last years Bowler of the Year Joe 'Polish' Januszewski. Polley (8o 1m 25r 1w) looked sharp but the experience of Benson milked a few runs from the first over. The second over began in a hostile fashion with ' Polish' (5o 0m 28r 0w) bowling a beamer at Keith Roger, however both bowlers settled into a rhythm as did both batsmen. Numerous gaps in the field were exploited by the batsmen, who soon rattled up an opening partnership of 80 runs. In desperate need of a break through, the luck came when Mark Lander pounced on a dab down shot and threw to the bowler's end where Tom Meadowcroft (6o 0m 30r 0w) removed the bails to run Keith Roger (31) out.

The wicket brought Chris Vagg to the crease but before long Benson (59) was dismissed trying to take liberties with the bowling of Kevin Miller (7o 1m 34r 1w). An outside edge to the ever safe hands of Ron Titchenor. The score was 100 for 2. 

Greg Crawley joined Vagg at the crease but was undone by the turn of Griffin (8o 0m 31r 3w) and the glove work of Lander to be stumped for 2. Credit must be given to Crawley for walking since the umpire, one Michael Pratt, was found to be looking in the wrong direction talking about tables!!

Not 2 balls later and Vagg (13) was also back in the pavilion driving a ball off Griffin straight to Tom Meadowcroft who took a good catch. The score was now 117 for 4.

Anymore joy for the Sunday XI was a long time coming as Beasant and Hiscox (25) compiled a valuable stand of 72 before Beasant (51) was bowled by a full pitched delivery from Polley. The only other notable event in the innings was by Januszewski who having made an overly theatrical dive for a ball he couldn't reach, proceeded to run in to catch a skied ball from Aldous (4) only to find he had come too far and had to turn and run back. Alas too late, if only he had stayed where he was it would have gone down his throat. 

The total stood at 209 for 6 of 40 overs, a challenging total considering the opposition bowling line up. Having failed to find a volunteer opening batsmen to accompany Trevor Meadowcroft to the crease the captain had to take on the roll. Whilst Meadowcroft carved and paddled his way to 22, Griffin (4) seemed content to leave most balls alone. With the total on 24 he did however attempt to pull Beasant over square leg but only succeeded in top edging to backward square leg for a regulation catch. This bought Kevin Miller to the crease who began stroking Aldous around for fun. The score got to 39 before Meadowcroft (22) was caught by Benson. In strode Ryan Polley, famous Kingstonian Reserve Team Footballer. He immediately set about punishing the bowling and rattled up a quick fire 62 off only 33 balls, including 6 sixes, one of which went into the road. 

Lander (6) came and went as did Tom Meadowcroft (8), each with modest contributions. Januszewski joined Polley at the crease and the runs continued to come. Polley fell to a simple catch by Benson but Polish continued to cream the bowling ably assisted by Ron 'Lord' Titchenor (26). The score rattled along to 190 and victory loomed on the horizon until Hiscox bowled Polish for 33. George Miller made his way to the crease nursing a bad back and with only 20 runs needed to win off 11 overs.

A quick 3 and George was back in the hutch, his wicket grabbed by Vagg in the gloomy conditions. The match was lost, the Saturday team had triumphed by 16 runs.
Dropped catches: 2 from Lander and 1 from Miller K 
NG

Man of the match (newly introduced this year): Ryan Polley
Champagne Moment: Ryan Polley's huge six into the road 
ShamPOOH Moment (newly introduced this year): Joe Januszewski poor misjudgement of the Aldous catch.

The Match 
Sunday's game was played on a beautiful sunny day and was a keenly contested affair, with the advantage swinging back and forth throughout the game. 

Guildford won the toss and elected to bowl first on a pitch that looked to be difficult to bat on. Benson and Meadowcroft opened the batting, but Benson fell early on to an LBW decision. Benson (3) claimed he'd been fired, Umpire Geldard claimed he was plum?? . Greg Crawley (6) was next at the crease but was soon on his way back, having walked for a caught behind appeal. Next up was Griffin (0) and an over later he was back, a victim of a disgraceful decision (even if I do say so myself). 

Woods were now 38 for 3 and in a spot of bother. Kevin Miller failed to get going, caught for 2 and the score was 50 for 4. Ian Miller joined Meadowcroft senior at the crease and a fine stand of 63 gave Woods a hope of a decent target Meadowcroft fell on 48 and shortly after Miller was bowled on 52. The highlight of his innings being two monstrous sixes. 

At 131 for 6, Geldard wielding his small railway sleeper bludgeoned his way to 33, and if it wasn't for his lack of fitness this could easily have been 40. Polish Januszewski added a meagre 3 before Titchenor came to join Geldard. They helped Woods up to a sizeable total of 190 with some fine lower order hitting. Ron Titchenor finished on 17 not out and Tom Meadowcroft 3 not out 

The innings was in my opinion slightly marred by the constant appealing on the majority of Asian lads playing for the opposition. I have no problem with genuine appeals however some of these were bordering on the ridiculous and this does not have a place in any standard of cricket let alone a Sunday friendly. 

The Guilford innings began at an awesome pace with 12 coming of Ben Anderson's first over, although 8 were off the outside/top edge. Worries that they would race to their target were soon alleviated by the removal of their best batsmen, caught behind off Anderson and then his opening partner falling in a similar fashion to Januszewski in the next over. Both opening bowlers deserved credit for the excellent line they bowled and for not really bowling any bad balls. Anderson finishing with 1-32 off 6 overs and Januszewski 1-19 off 6 overs. It should be noted that Januszewski's figures would have been even better if Ron Titchenor hadn't managed to dive over a ball. Describing it in words is hard and the best description would be shooting a bull elephant running at full speed. He crashed to the ground and the ball was through him. A sight to behold. 

Kevin Miller (5o 0m 20r 1w) joined the attack and his first over was a comedy off errors. Tom Meadowcroft ran in too far and failed to hold a catch at throat height, next ball was skied to the bowler who looked to be taking the catch until it hit the ground with him the wrong side of the stumps and unable to reach it and finally a caught behind chance was missed by Ian Miller. At this stage the game was very much alive and Woods were left hoping that they wouldn't , rue these missed chances later. 

With the scoreboard moving at 5 runs per over, Guildford were in a decent position, until a poor judgement call and a good piece of fielding allowed Woods to get a run out. Next over produced more drama. Having bowled a poor first over, Tom Meadowcroft managed to bowl one batsman, then claim another the next ball. The plan was simple, bowl a rank full toss and let his dad catch it on the boundary . Success. If we thought that was bad enough, there was more to come. His first ball of the next over beat the batsmen for bounce, the second bounce of the ball that is. What a shameful dismissal. Miller finished with 1-20 off 5 and Meadowcroft 3-31 off 3 

The match ended with Griffin removing the excellent lower order batsmen who could have taken the game away from Woods. Guildford were bowled out for 105. Titchenor had figures of 0-0 off 2 and Griffin 3-1 off 3. 
Dropped catches Tom x 2. Non attempted catch (NAC - back this year) K Miller
NG. 

Man of the Match: Ian Miller 
Champagne Moment: Ian Miller's huge sixes 
ShamPOOH Moment: Joe Januszewski - for the second week in a row for poor fielding. Having fielded a ball a 3rd man, he tried to bowl it in, to save his injured arm, only to have it fly backwards out of his hand and allow more runs to be taken.

Lovely teas were kindly provided by Lesley - many thanks.

Woodmansterne opened the bowling with Ben and Neil. The ball was by now very wet, heavy and distorted and was quite tricky to bowl with. The pitch was also sodden with very little saw-dust available to soak up the moisture. This was evident when Ben took a tumble on his first ball and demolished the stumps. Despite the poor conditions Ben (8o 3m 20r 0w) and Neil (9o 3m 21r 4w) tied the openers down quite well. The first wicket went to Neil (No. 1 - Miller bowled) in the 4th over, followed by his 2nd and third wickets in the 10th over (LBW and bowled). Kings' score at this stage was an unthreatening 25. A difficult to break partnership between Pipe and Tighe ensued - who accelerated the score onto 96 after 20 overs. A breakthrough was needed from either Tom Meadowcroft (4o 0m 39r 0w) or Kevin Miller, and it came in the 21st over from Kevin (6o 0m 25r 1w) who allowed Ryan to stump Norman and shortly after this Tighe was unexpectedly bowled by Robert Hicks (5o 0m 14r 2w) in his first over. Tighe had looked comfortable and was probably Woods' tagged 'danger man' having notched up 50 quite comfortably in 44 balls, 48mins (6 fours). A minor triumph was achieved around this time with Woods managing to bowl a ball that was finally dispatchable to the adjacent field and an obvious lack of enthusiasm shown to find it . With the arrival of Walker and Smith, the run rate slowed down - aided by Ron's accurate bowling (5o 1m 9r 0w) and time was eventually called after Griffin had bowled No 6 Walker for his 4th wicket and then caught a terrific skyer giving Robert his 2nd wicket. Kings had scored 138 for the loss of 7 wickets in 37 overs.

Woodmansterne's fielding reflected the state of the weather - dismal, with no grounds for forgiveness for Robert, Jerry, Kevin, Andy and Ron for the catches they dropped, as these could easily have contributed to a more favourable outcome.  An SB was awarded disapprovingly to Trevor for having helped turn a single into a 'four'.

Thanks were also given to George Miller and Paul Benson for umpiring for most of the match but through all of the rain !
SE

Woodmansteme C.C. Vs Kings C.C. 
Date 11/05/03 Weather: Rainy Format: Time Game 

The Match 
The weather was dry but overcast at the start of the game. Woodmansterne had been inserted on a slightly damp wicket. Trevor Meadowcroft got off to a flying start before being bowled on 18 as he attempted to mow a ball through the leg side. He was later observed, head in hands, reliving the moment. Steve Edwards (1) never really got going and was soon back in the pavilion. 

The young guns Hicks and Polley were now at the crease. Hicks seemingly more worried by his hair than his batting failed miserably, as he played across a straight one in what can only be described as a cavalier fashion. Bowled for 5 and the score on 30 for 3. 

Polley didn't last much longer and he was dismissed for 12. With the score on 40 for 4, Woods were in trouble. Andy Graves batting for the first time in a year, soon settled in and was assisted by Jerry Geldard. By now the rain was falling steadily and this made bowling more difficult as the ball became slippery. Graves capitalised on this and gradually the score crept upwards. 

Geldard (12) was dismissed with only 20 minutes left. Griffin (5) came in smashed one ball into the trees and then played on. His replacement was Tom Meadowcroft (3) who got a few before being dismissed. Ben Anderson (2*) got a couple of balls, but at the close, the honours were taken by Andy Graves with an unbeaten 81. Woods had posted a challenging 188. 

With only an hour's batting and then 20 overs after tea, Woods needed early wickets if they were to bowl Kings out. Anderson and Griffin opened, both bowling tidy spells, although when Anderson (8o 3m 20r 0w) went down like he had been poleaxed first ball, concerns about his well being were thankfully short-lived. Laughter at the delivery was rather longer-lived. 

Griffin (9o 3m 21r 4w) struck first bowling the opener middle stump in the 4th over. There was movement available off the pitch, although the soggy ball made gripping it difficult. In the 8th over Griffin struck again, twice in one over, the first an LBW shout and the 2nd a Yorker off the toes and onto the stumps. 

With Kings on 25 for 3, a victory was on. The bowling was rotated to tempt the batsmen to open their shoulders. Miller (6o 0m 25r 1w) and Meadowcroft junior (4o 0m 39r 0w), both bowling spin, found spinning the ball difficult in the conditions and the batsmen began to get established. Miller finally struck with a delivery that drew the batsmen down the wicket, beat the bat and a good stumping was effected by Polley. 

With only 16 overs left Kings needed 5 an over and had 6 wickets left. The game could go either way. Hicks and 'Lord' Titchenor (5o 1m 9r 0w) came into the attack and bowled extremely tight spells. Hicks (5o 0m 14r 2w) removed the main threat and the batsmen appeared to shut up shop and bat for the draw. Finally another batsmen had a rush of blood to the head and skied a ball to mid-off. Griffin got under it and held a difficult chance. 

With 3 wicket still required, Griffin and Anderson rejoined the attack. Griffin found the edge in his first over but the chance went to ground in the slips. With only 2 overs to go, Griffin reverted to leg spin and immediately bowled the batsmen. It should be noted thatPolley behind the stumps, was amazed at the turn the delivery produced and only wished he could do likewise. Sadly it was the last wicket and the match ended in a draw. The saying 'catches win matches' never more true than in this match where Woodmansterne missed at least 4 chances. 
Dropped catches: Kevin Miller, Rob Hicks, Jerry Geldard and Andy Graves
NG

Man of the Match : Andy Graves
Champagne Moment: Griffins catch
ShamPOOH Moment : Ben's 1st ball tumble

Kevin Miller (pavilion end) and Ryan Polley were asked to bowl the next 12 overs between them. Ryan (7o 1m 27r 3w) picked up 3 wickets in his spell and his figures were only spoilt by one errant over which conceded 10 runs. Kevin (6o 2m 8r 1w) picked up a single wicket and was let down by a dropped catch by Steve Edwards at mid on. C & L did not really trouble the scorer and were 48 for 5 from 24 overs.

Young William Shearing, playing his first game for the first XI at the tender age of 13 was called up by Skipper Griiffin - and agreed to bowl after some gentle persuasion. This must have been a fairly intimidating task for the young bowler, but he performed admirably in his first over and then in his subsequent two. He was most unlucky to find Ron 'too' awake at slips (in contrast to his early disposition) and put his hands together far too quickly for the arrival of the ball - thus shamefully depriving William (3o 0m 18r 0w) of his first well deserved wicket.

Steve Edwards (2.2o 0m 3r 2w) and Ron Tichenor (1o 0m 1r 2w) cleared up the 'tail' much in the same way that Skipper Griffin might have done had he brought himself back. The batsman were unenthusiastic to continue at one stage when the heavens opened, but the umpires had non of it

Fielding  moments were had by Trevor NAC, Paul (SB), Run out to salvage his pathetic drop SE.

Lovely teas by Leslie again when the visitors were bowled out at 4.15pm.

Trevor & Steve weathered a pretty ferocious storm of short pitched balls from the opening trio of C&L bowlers. Both were lucky to be there 5 times over, but Trevor (11) succumbed in the 18th over to an LBW decision (Ron) - a ball direct to his foot from bowler Basit. Jerry (1) top-edged a single to salvage his short innings at No 3 and was followed by Steve (34) in the next over. The match was left to be won by Ian (19*) and Andy (7*), coming to an end before 20 overs were called. Woods achieved their target of 80 runs for the loss of the 3 wickets.

The bar was remarkably quiet after the game. Woods boys were hoping as any victorious team for a bit of banter with the opposition. But regretfully none of the C&L obliged with their presence.

Thanks to George Miller for umpiring the whole match
SE

Woodmansteme C.C. Vs Chiswick and Latymer
Date 18/05/03 Weather: Rainy Format: Time Game 

The Match
Electing to bowl first, Woods got off to a good start with Griffin getting a wicket in the third over. The wicket was difficult to score on and Griffin (6o 4m 10r 1w) and Benson (6o 1m 9r 0w) pinned the batsmen down well. A couple more chances went down behind the stumps and slips and when the opening bowlers came off, Chiswick were struggling. 

Kevin Miller (6o 2m 8r 1w) joined the attack with Ryan Polley, in a twin pronged spin attack. They continued to bowl well, with Polley (7o 1m 27r 3w) getting (some might say buying) 3 wickets. 

Enter William Shearing, 13 years old and his debut in adult cricket. His first over saw a potential catch land in front of a static Meadowcroft and then go through him, like a hot knife through butter, for 4 runs. His second over was reasonably uneventful. His third over beat the bat 4 times in a row before catching the edge. As the ball looped, very slowly, to Titchenor in the slips, the batsmen began to walk. Surely this ball couldn't go to ground. 'Hold on' thought Ron, 'I am bowling next', oops I just dropped it. The over ended and before Shearing (3o 0m 18r 0w) had put his jumper back on Titchenor (1o 0m 1r 2w) had cleaned up the tail. It was one of the most heinous and disgusting things I have ever had the misfortune to witness in a game of cricket. Whilst Shearing wept at the event, Titchenor was seen eating a large plate of tea laughing. What a disgrace. 

Chiswick were dismissed for 79. Edwards and Meadowcroft got the Woods response under way although Lady Luck was smiling on them as they saw six catches go down during their innings. Meadowcroft (11) fell for not many bringing in Geldard (1). Having been promoted up the order and with the 'duck' hat waiting, he edged his first ball over the slips for a single and then popped one up for the short leg. 

Edwards (34) ducked and weaved on a tricky surface against a hostile attack before falling. With the score around 50. Ian Miller (19*) and Andy Graves (7*) came together at the wicket and saw Woods home. 

A good win although if Chiswick had got an extra 50 runs and held their catches it could have been a tough target. 
Dropped catches: Ron Titchenor, Steve Edwards
NG

Man of the Match: William Shearing
Champagne Moment: Andy's catch
ShamPOOH Moment: Rons drop in the slips off William's bowling

This was a TBA in the fixture card, and old favourites, the Old Dorkinians kindly obliged (scheduled for Aug 3 also) 

Woods started well !! When Neil Griffin joined Ian Miller at the crease Woods were 5-3 (Meadowcroft Sen 0, Mark Lander 0, Kevin Miller 0). Ian Miller and Neil put on 111, and when Ian was bowled for 43, Andy Graves helped build another fine partnership of 105 before Neil on 96 was unfortunately bowled and later put it - "what sickener to hear the death rattle at that point".

Woods ended on  231-6 (41 extras) with Andy Graves 50 not out and Tom Meadowcroft not out on 1. The duck hat had it's first wear. Mark Lander was prime candidate, he opened and lasted 4 balls. Kevin Miller promoted to No.3 lasted only 3 balls and took over the hat. Trevor Meadowcroft got a duck but lasted longer, before Jerry went in. Apparently he claims Andy agreed to run whatever to get him off the mark. Jerry hit it straight to a man and ran. Andy didn't and Jerry was stranded for a golden duck (or is this a 'platinum one' ?). There were scenes of jubilation on the decking area. Neil Saunders was jumping up and down on the bench with his arms up in triumph. Jerry wasn't happy - and was made to wear the hat later (see photo1 and photo 2). 
NG

The match was rain affected, so it was agreed to reduced the target to 176 off 30 overs. Old Dorkinians reached 154 in their allotted overs for the loss of 3 wickets [Paul Benson (6o 0m 14r 1w), Ron Titchenor (7o 0m 35r 1w), Tom Meadowcroft (5o 0m 28r 1w)]. There was bowling from Neil Saunders in his seasons debut match, Skipper Griffin and Kevin Miller 

Man of the Match: Neil Griffin
Champagne Moment: Jerry - most nominations either for catch or run out 
ShamPOOH Moment: Jerry's golden duck run out

The toss was lost  - and the usual debate ensued about the losing of, or the winning of it!  The outcome was that Woods were put in to bat - rumour had it that Laleham had admitted that they were a bit short of batting. Steve Edwards and Trevor Meadowcroft were elected to open and took to the field in light rain -which would prove to last until about 7.00pm in varying strengths and Woods would be yet to complete a game on a Sunday in the dry.

Both opening bowlers got some bounce from the ever dampening  pitch, and scoring was slow. Edwards (23) managed a few fours but departed in the 12th over having been intimidated by a bouncer. Trevor (2)  departed shortly after, having batted with Meadowcroft  Junior for 2 overs. Thomas and Ian Miller put on 12 runs before Tom (5) was bowled. Ian (18) departed to a catch with the score 70-4, but not before expertly pulling 2 balls to the ground keepers boundary . Andy Graves and Mark Lander took the score onto 164, with both of them scoring prolifically. Mark 8 fours, Andy 9 fours. Andy was bowled on 52 thus finally giving himself an average after 4 innings of 190 (one run short of Skipper Griffin's 4 match average in 2001 - similarly 3 not outs prior to first dismissal). Mark was bowled shortly after on 48. In the interim Jerry was disappointed to be bowled first ball - and probably didn't notice the crowd roaring desrisorily after watching his 2nd week with a Golden Duck and eagerly awaiting the 'Duck Cap' on his head. There was little joy for Skipper Griffin (7), Kevin Miller (run out for 0 on his 2nd ball), Neil Saunders (Golden Duck  contender for the cap. Ron Titchenor (7) was left partner less with 2 balls remaining.

This was a good place to end the innings as the rain was now incessant - one notch off abandonment. Intermittennt thunder and lightning also kept the players looking skyward. Tea was taken - most gratefully from provider Lesley. Tea lasted a little longer than usual - the pitch had been covered during the interval but the outfield was sodden. Skipper Griffin and Tom Meadowcroft opened the bowling. Tom was rewarded with a terrific catch from Griffin and ended his first  4 over spell 1-27. Griffin did not make a breakthrough and made a double change to Neil Saunders (pavilion) and Kevin Miller. Both bowled their 8 overs through and Kevin (8o 0m 20r 2w) picked up 2 wickets (both bowled) for the loss of 20 runs. More importantly, in the 22nd over, he took the wicket of No. 3 Webster (49), who was beginning to look threatening. This was a breakthrough for Woods and the scoring rate stayed at about 4.2 (a fraction short of the required). More wickets fell, to Tom (8o 0m 54r 3w) and then to Ron (8o 0m 40r 2w). Skipper finished his final 4 overs and ended 7.5o 1m 32r 1w. Laleham needed 6 an over with 10 overs to go, but with wickets falling and tight bowling the 'ask' went up until it was 20 from 2 overs. And the last 3 wickets fell leaving Laleham 10 short of the total with 1 ball left. There were 2 run outs (Ian Miller and jerry Geldard). A few drops (Neil G, Tom) and SBs (Kevin and Ron).  There was a vote in the bar to see who would wear the 'Duck Cap' - Jerry won the vote convincingly and set the precedent for the 'Senior' batsman winning the coveted award (photo 3). However Neil Saunders also kindly agreed to wearing the bonnet and allowed a photo moment as well (photo 4). Woods also felt quite lucky to win in view of the number of dropped catches they saw the opposition make (SE 2,  Meadowcrofts 2 and a number of others)

Ron's hilarious running was a narrowly lost contending moment for the ShamPOOH award, and saw Ron stuck to the boundary line as if in a 'scalectrix groove' whilst running to field the ball. An anonymous fielder was heard to ask if 'Ron was stuck on his treadmill'. 

Man of the Match: Kevin Miller - bowling under pressure - cool and economical (8-0-20-2)
Champagne Moment: Skipper Griffins skyer, backward running catch (Tom's bowling)
ShamPOOH Moment: Skipper Griffin's drop of No 3 Webster early in innings (Neil Saunders' bowling)

It was unanimously agreed that this had been a very poor day for Woods in the field with dropped catches from Andy Graves x 2, Mark Lander, Trevor Meadowcroft and Ron Titchenor and a non attempted catch from Rob Hicks. SB's were awarded to Neil Griffin, Rob Hicks, Steve Edwards x2, Trevor Meadowcroft and Ron Titchenor. On the plus side there were two fine c&b's by Ron and a good catch behind by Mark Lander (with very few byes (5).

Trevor Meadowcroft and Steve Edwards opened the batting and faced quite tight but friendly paced bowling from TSE. Edwards (8) was lulled into a false sense of security by the general lethargy of the fielding side and fell short of his anticipated easy single to a direct hit from fine leg- giving Neil Saunders at square leg no option but to exercise his finger.

Robert Hicks (25) formed a good partnership (53) with Trevor but then found himself hypnotised by the same lethargic aura, finding himself stranded a few feet short of returning to his crease whilst backing up. The opposition skipper was more than wide awake and hit the stumps directly, surprising young Hicks completely as well as the rest of the onlookers.

Ryan Polley and Trev formed another productive partnership (73), but soon after, on the eve of his seasons first 50, Trev (49) was c&b to bowler Lester. Andy Graves (12*) and Ryan (52*) saw Woods home within the next 3 overs giving Woods a 6 wicket victory (DNB Neil S, Neil G, Mark, Ron, Kevin). By adding 12 runs to his seasons total Andy ended the day on an average of  202 - quite possibly a Woodmansterne Sunday, 5th innings record ?

Thanks were given to George Miller for umpiring and to Margaret Pratt for providing the teas.

Man of the Match: Ryan Polley (unbeaten 53 runs)
Champagne Moment: Ryan Polley's big six 
ShamPOOH Moment: Steve Edwards' atrocious SB (Michael Flattley)

Team photo and supporters

With Skipper Griffin - absent sunning himself in the Balearics!, young Hicks Jnr was left in charge for the first time. In charge of a team with little confidence of beating Roffey after their trouncings away and at home in  the previous year (and others see below for summary). However hopes rose when Skipper Hicks' mum's ear hovered close to the ground and gleaned that Woods' nemesis from both those occasions - Ivor Lawrence had packed his bags for Antigua. In addition, the good news was that, Roffeys new overseas Kiwi was thankfully resting after his "9-for" in Roffeys first team Saturday game.

Skipper Hicks won the toss and managed to convince Roffey to play 40 overs although they were keen to play a time game on this gloriously sunny day. Roffey were put in to bat with a crowd of shorts and bikini clad supporters onlooking. The opening partnership hardly troubled Woods' bowlers Glen Thomson and Ryan Polley - both of whom put in very economical stints . The first wicket fell to Ryan - batsman No 2 Searle unfortunately playing on. Glen bowled his 5 overs (2 maidens) through conceding only 11 runs, Ryan bowled through and finished 8o-2m-29r-1w. Ross Jacobs on his debut was brought on to bowl from the far end and in his second over had to put up with Shivnarain in full flow (10 from the over) but then recovered well to put in good figures (8o-1m-38r-0w). Shivnarain (98) was handful for everyone (as he had been in the previous year 100+), notching up 16 4's and 3 6's (an impressive boundary contribution) until coming a cropper to a fine catch from Rob Hicks from Rons bowling (7o-0m-58r-1w). Hicks on the long on boundary - fumbled the ball and knocked it up out of his hands and miraculously caught it on the second attempt. Opener Punnet was fairly quiet through out this (23 dot balls before scoring) and stuck around until the 35th over before being run out by Ryan Polley on 46. Woods had made a tactic of trying to keep him on strike whilst he was partnering Shivnarain and this probably saved quite a few runs. With the young Punnet gone a succession of Roffey batsmen were brought to book Banner No 4 stumped sharpishly by Mark Lander from a Hicks wide ball, Punnet K was c&b Hicks, Jeal run out by Andy Graves to the bowlers end (RT), Harris caught Tom Meadowcroft bowled Hicks, Wood caught Polley bowled Hicks, Punnet D caught Polley bowled Hicks, Plaister run out Ron to Mark. There was good bowling under pressure also from Kevin Miller who again faced one bad over from Shivnarain and then put in 5o-1m-31r-0w.  The star bowling effort of the day came from Hicks 7o-0m-35r-5w and the 'low' total was also aided by Mark Lander behind the stumps who continued to improve, allowing no byes past him.

There were dropped catches from Trevor M, Steve Edwards (Hicks), Ron T . 
SB's to Ron on the pavilion boundary, Glen ('on' drive through guard) and Kevin (lack of 'suppleness'). Skipper narrowly missed being awarded one in due reverence to his new office.

Teas were again superb, with little in our eyes to fault the wonderful melon slices, buns (tuna and custom shaped cucumber, egg and cress, ham and tomato, cheese and tomato), quiche, chicken drumsticks, salad. Cakes - scones and cream, home made coffee cakke and chocolate cake. It was slightly bewildering to have the opposition skipper come up to us and apologise for the lower standard of the teas. His excuse was that mum was just starting her apprenticeship and hence the tea wasn't quite up to usual high level !

Steve Edwards and Trevor Meadowcroft opened the batting. Edwards was soon back in the changing room after the 'death rattle' and thankful for the absence of the 'hat' (hat caught up with him following week photo 5). Meadowcroft Junior joined Senior and put on 7 runs runs for the family name before, he to, heard the 'rattle'. It may not have been the skippers plan but fate would show that this was was the way it was meant to be. At 7 for 2, Ross took up the challenge of Plaister and Jeal and handled them with ease. Meanwhile Trevor was doing the same at the other end. Both players moved the score on fairly proportionally, and the same boundaries Woods had endured were found by both batsmen - especially the short downhill pavilion boundary. Trevor impressed the spectators with some wonderful cover drives, Ross did likewise and cut the ball to the boundary on countless occasions. The partnership accrued 178 runs before Trevor (77) was caught behind to the faintest of edges. This was however not before Ross was congratulated for reaching his first century for the club with an equally impressive high boundary ratio of 18 4's contributing to his ton - again demonstrating the skilful hitting and the speed of the outfield. With Trevor gone, Mark Lander went to the crease and helped put on 26 additional runs however leaving himself unselfishly not out and with no runs to add to his personal tally. Others who did not bat - Andy Graves (TFC) and the bowlers.

Woodmansterne stayed for a social drink and then went back to the club to celebrate Ross achievement and a very rare win against a proven good Sunday side.

There were nomination for ShamPOOH moment (Rons and Glens SB), Champagne moment (Ross' century +, Rob Hicks' catch of Shivnarain, Mark Landers wide ball stumping), Man of the Match ( Rob Hicks debut and rarely winning captain against Roffey, Ross century +) 

Previous year's performances
2002 (Roffey  Away: 227-7/Woods XI  108-10 - Lost, Home: Roffey  214-8/Woods XI  160-10 - Lost)
2001 (Roffey  Home; 189-5/Woods Sun XI  96-10 - Lost) 
2000 (Roffey  Home; 216-5/Woods Sun XI  163-5- Draw)
1999 (not played)
1998 and earlier no records

Awards for the day
Man of the Match: Ross Jacobs 116 not out (7/11)
Champagne Moment: Mark Lander's wide ball stumping off Rob Hicks' bowling (3/11 incl casting vote)
ShamPOOH Moment - Glens SB (7/11)
Duck hat (in absentia) - Steve Edwards 

Griffin and Ryan Polley set about the bowling - Polley in particular punishing Dixon and to a lesser extent Vagg. However, within 41 balls and a similar number of minutes Polley skied one to long on and ended his innings on 54, departing with a few choice words and some unconventional bat 'knocking-in'. Mark Lander (1) batted for an over. Griffin (15) succumbed soon after. Andy Graves (23) batted steadfastly for 43 minutes and eventually brought his string of 'not-outs' to an end. In the process giving himself a slightly more down-to-earth 6 innings average of 112. Ross Jacobs and Robert Hicks then put on a stand of 79 and individual tallies of 51 and 45 respectively. Young Will Shearing was asked to bat with an over left, facing only one ball and Kevin Miller faced 3 balls to get his 5 runs. Those that DNB Neil Saunders, Glen Thompson, R.Titchenor. Woods XI ended with 210-7, with Toms P. having done most of the damage with his variable spin 8o 2m 25r 4w.

Tea was taken between the innings - Lesley providing mini-pasties and cherries to add to her ever-appreciated Sunday selection.

Woods were amongst the wickets early with Glen (6o 3m 11r 1w) claiming the wicket of No 2 Fletcher in the 4th over. No.3 Moynehan lasted 4 balls before being caught by Rob Hicks off Neil Saunders (6o 0m 12r 1w). Chris Vagg came to the crease and helped put on 40 runs with No 1 Jones. However Kevin was rewarded after some patient bowling when Vagg miscued a cut straight to Ron at point - who surprisingly to all, decided to break the habit of the season and make a catch off someone else's bowling. This set off a cascade of wickets for Kevin (6o 0m 41r 3w), next wicket caught Edwards at long-on (not without some juggling), then caught again Titchenor. After some economical bowling from Rob (4o 0m 11r 0w) and Skipper Griffin (2o 0m 9r 0w), Ron (6o 1m 11r 3w) then disposed of the next 3 batsmen, No 1 'long-stumped' Lander, No 8 & 9 bowled. Young Shearing (3o 0m 18r 2w) aged 13 then claimed the next 2 wickets, No 7 caught Edwards one handed, running backwards at long on, and No 10 caught Griffin at mid off. No 11&12,  Toms P. and D. proved a little difficult to remove. Edwards was clouted for 12 in his first over by No 12 Toms D, Ron also struggled to finish the match off. Eventually the batsmen crossed and Edwards (2.2o 0m 15r 1w) was handed a dolly to make a jugs-worth of catches and end the match leaving Murray 75 runs short of the total required.

SB's rained supreme Kevin Miller, Rob Hicks, Neil Saunder x 2, Ron Titchenor x3.
Dropped catches Glen Thompson, Mark Lander

A few more pints of Exmoor Gold were gratefully extracted from the barrel, a lot of bulls**t was detected by Stevie Hicks' new gadget. Only Ian Miller avoided detection with his extremely modest description of his 104 against Deando Ruxley with the 2's. There were 'shocking' moments in the bar later for those who decided to get their fingers out - and must only bode well for those players in the side who may eventually show some enthusiasm for learning how to do it on the square (AG, RJ) 

Thank you to Trisha and Chris for manning the bar.

Awards for the day
Man of the Match: Will Shearing (first wickets for senior side 3o 0m 18r 2w)
Champagne Moment: Steve Edwards (One handed catch Will Shearing 1st wicket)
ShamPOOH Moment(s) - Ron Titchenor (3rd SB !!)

Woods were asked to bat by WP on a gloriously sunny afternoon and the pitch looked firm and full of runs. Trevor Meadowcroft and Steve Edwards opened. Edwards scored his first runs, though airy and streaky off a full toss and broke his run of successive ducks. However 2 runs later he was back with the spectators. 

Meadowcroft 3
Graves A 0 (photo 6)
Miller M 4
Lander M 0 (photo 7)
Titchenor 6
Janus J 0 GD (photo 8)  (photo 9)
...did not fair much better and did not impress the selectors.

Jerry Geldard was the only one along with Ryan Polley (36) and Rob Hicks (20) who helped put any runs on the board. After Jerry's streaky start he battled through and was disappointed to learn after his stumping that he was 20 runs ahead of what he thought retiring on 41.

Woods were all out when Joe Janus placed the ball in point's hands. Skipper Griffin batting at No.10 was left without scoring, an the team on 118 all out.

Tea wasn't quite ready so Skipper Griffin elected to take to the field immediately. Tea was agreed with both WP umpires at 4.45pm which allowed 30mins of play. However the WP skipper seemed unaware of this agreement and with the fall of the first wicket in the 6th over, came on to the pitch and made a 'T' sign. Griffin went for a con flab and the decision was declared to take tea at the end of the over. So at 4.30 pm tea was taken with some 'argee bargee' in the club house over how the decision was made. 

Following a lovely tea provided by Lesley, play resumed, and WP needed about 3 an over. No 3 Wilkinson  kept the momentum going. Wickets came for Woods (R.Hicks 6o 1m 31r 3w, R.Polley 5o 0m 27r 2w), but a bit late in the day and WP ran out winners by 5 wickets in the 36th over. Additional bowlers were Griffin, Titchenor, Miller and Janus - all of which bowled very economically.

Catches Edwards x 2, Lander, Polley
DC - Polley, Lander
SBs - Edwards x 2, Hicks

Awards for the day
Man of the Match: Jerry Geldard (for his runs)
Champagne Moment: Steve Edwards (Overhead catch)
ShamPOOH Moment(s) - Steve Edwards (2 x  SB's)

Wibbandune 124-9 (all out)

There were runs for Trevor Meadowcroft (22) and Neil Griffin (12) who opened the batting. Skipper Griffin skied one with the score on about 30 odd, but was dropped, then a few overs later edged one off the opening bowler's last over to slips. Trevor's demise came unfortunately when he drove a ball into mid off's hands, having ironically executed exactly the same shot, albeit a bit softer, on the 'no ball' called by umpire G. Miller on the previous delivery.

There were batting contributions from Ian Miller (41 not out), Ryan Polley (20 inclusive of a huge six) and Andy Graves (16 not out).

Woods were home with 128 for the loss of 3 wickets in 22 overs

DNB Jerry Geldard, Tom Meadowcroft, Rob Hicks, Ron Titchenor, Joe Janus, Kevin Miller, 
 

Awards for the day (to follow)
Man of the Match: 
Champagne Moment: 
ShamPOOH Moment: 

Southern Rail & Kenley arrived one short, and with a self admitted weak side, so the skippers agreed a time game. It transpired that due to the recent amalgamation of the two clubs, SRK had mistakenly fixtured their 2nd team to play us, it was agreed between the skippers that Woods would bat first and play a time game.

Trevor Meadowcroft and eldest son Tom, opened the batting on a gloriously sunny and hot day. With bowling from youngsters Nasim and Ashmore, there was little to trouble the two batsmen - scoring freely and averaging around eight an over for the first 8 or 9 overs. 

Tom (29) was going well, but disappointingly sent a catch to skipper Banks in the 10th over (highest opening partnership of the season so far 77). Trevor (39) was caught by surprise a few overs later with the score on 79, when 2nd change bowler Searle created the chance for the keeper to stump him. Umpire Edwards had no choice but to raise the finger as the bat was not grounded fast enough.

Rob Hicks (12) and Ron Titchenor elevated to No 4 put on 26 runs before Rob was bowled and became Searle's 3rd victim. Joshua made up the Meadowcroft trio and on arriving at the crease, made it the first time that father and two sons had played together in a senior match. Joshua (7) put in a fine performance but unfortunately became Searle's 4th victim, followed shortly by Andy Graves (5) - surprisingly bowled behind hid legs. Jerry Geldard lasted two balls to stake claim to the 'duck-hat' (for the third time) which Joe had been wearing for 2 weeks. Skipper Griffin was next in at No 8. Whilst all the wickets were tumbling, Ron was slowly accruing some runs (26) and looked quite comfortable until he skied one from slow bowler Coram. This ominous slow bowling seemed like it would again be the nemesis of the Woods side, after successive losses at Kenley in previous years - firstly at the hands of regular skipper Doug and then last year to equally devastating slow bowler 'Chalky' and Saines (each taking 4 wickets). 

Griffin (28) helped put on a few runs, including a six, but eventually ran out of partners (Ross Jacobs 13, Ryan Polley 13) before eventually leaving Kevin Miller not out and partnerless with Woods on 204-10 .

Woods were fairly confident of a win after tea. Play started at 4.50pm which meant approx 3 hours to bowl at the opposition. Skipper Banks opened and looked quietly confident. However the run rate did not appear to threaten the Woods boys initially. With 20 overs gone, SRK were 50-3, Kevin (10o 3m 21r 1w) having despatched No. 2 with a fine high catch taken by Andy at deep square, and Ryan (6o 1m 22r 2w) despatching No. 3 and 4 to a caught behind (Tom) and a bowled respectively. Neil Griffin as the other opening bowler had also helped to restrict the runs (10o 4m 16r 0w). 

No. 5 batsman was a bit stubborn to remove, and at this stage in the match, a certain tension could be seen in the Woods players. However with his successful dismissal by Ross, wicket keeper Sheldrake came to the crease and after a few overs looked like an even trickier customer to remove. With Banks and Sheldrake at the crease SRK needed a 100 off the last 20 overs - Banks having upped the score rate in the last 8 overs. With Banks' form looking quite good, tension was even higher amongst the Woods boys. Skipper Griffin kept cool and told his boys that he was confident Banks could not continue to score at this rate and urged his boys to bowl straight. This advice rewarded Ross (6o 2m 21r 2w) with the openers wicket shortly after and the game was doomed to a deathly draw. SRK batted out the last 18 or so overs of the 48 bowled with only the loss of No 7 to Trevor Meadowcroft. Batsman Sheldrake held down his end playing 11 scoring shots in the 70 balls he received. and helped make a draw of the game by 3 wickets. There was bowling also from Rob Hicks (5o 1m 12r 0w), Ron (5o 2m 20r 0w), Andy (3o 0m 11r 0w), Jerry Geldard in his first full competitive stint for the club (1o 0m 6r 0w) and Trevor perhaps taking over skipper Griffins and Edwards' mantle of picking off the tail (2o 2m 0r 1w). 

Umpire Edwards did not have to make many difficult decisions apart from when to abandon his team mates Neil Griffin and Neil Saunders from the injury bench. There was some debate during the match that perhaps the lacklustre performance of the Woodmansterne team could in part be attributable to some late night revelry partaken by Messieurs Graves, Polley and Jacobs. Some evidence of this was discussed and was reflected by Polley's new nickname revealed only to those on the field by onlooker Saunders!!

Awards for the day (to follow)
Man of the Match: 
Champagne Moment: 
ShamPOOH Moment: 

Bowling:
Joe Janus 8o 1m 25r 0w
Ryan Polley 8o 1m 24r 0w
Kevin Miller 5o 0m 22r 0w
Graves 5o 0m 13r 1w
Rob Hicks 7o 0m 39r 2w
Ross Jacobs 7o 1m 48r 2w

Woodmansterne opened with the same partnership as the previous week - Meadowcroft Snr and Junior. Senior (7)) was first to fall victim to Edwards' finger, LBW to bowler Gates with the score on 18. Within a run Tom (6) was out in the same fashion to the same bowler having missed the ball attempting to pull it and was hit on the foot - later claiming, against all popular opinion, it was his thigh !! Edwards found himself defending a futile family opinion that they had both been hit a bit 'high' and trying to explain the dangers of a bowler capable of bowling wicket to wicket ! The pressure was on for Chris Munday and Andy Graves. Chris (1) playing his first senior match of the season didn't really settle and found himself back in the pavilion in the 10th over the score on 26-3. Jerry (1) was next in and handled the bowling quite well until he was lured by change spin bowler Daws into a swing and was bowled as the ball fell onto the top of his bails. Kevin Miller was next, fresh from his 73 not out the previous day. Kevin (15) was keen to impose himself on the Sunday averages but having helped put on 18 with Andy was caught and bowled Mustoe. No 7 Lander partnered Andy for a further 5 runs until Andy (14) was also unfortunately sent back, following a magnificent catch from mid on - who had dropped the previous attempt as he would the subsequent one.

Ryan Polley joined Mark with the score on 61-6. The partnership flourished and looked comfortable, the pair picking off singles, 2 & 3's by clever placement. This strategy looked like it might bring Woods home - MA were by now a man down from a retirement, 3 under 11's on the field and the best of the bowling gone. 

Trouble struck for Ryan (28) when he misjudged a yorker  - hitting the ground with his bat before being able to block the ball that wrecked his stumps. Forty two valuable runs had been added and there were still 4 good batsmen around. Skipper Hicks was in next, hoping to carry on with Mark where Ryan had left off, but Mark (21) was lured by bowler Daws and was caught on the square leg boundary a few runs later. Ross joined Hicks and again the partnership looked comfortable adding 20 to the score before Ross (6) was surprised by the speed of the ball and sent an easy catch to mid-wicket. Woods were now looking for a remarkable comeback from the last wicket Joe with the score on 129 in the 30th over. But gradually and patiently the score ticked along. Some lovely drives from Rob demoralised the opposition and quick running between the wicket helped the score on. Joe survived a c&b in the 36th over and Woods thought their luck was in. With 4 overs to go and 19 required MA looked rattled. However MA bowler Dark bowled a double bouncer, tempting Joe into the big hit with the inevitable consequence of Joe's (13) dismissal shot straight to cover point.  Umpire Meadowcroft though that the ball had bounced 3 times but was refuted by the keeper and bowler. The game was over, 7 runs short and 3 overs to spare. Rob was left partnerless on 29.

The locker-room analysis probably went along the lines that MA scavenged a lot of runs that should not have been available to them and that in reply they also took a gamble and bowled their best 4 bowlers through most of their 8 over stint. Woods were probably not patient enough at the beginning of their innings against very tight bowling and were then short of wickets when runs were easier to get. 

Awards for the day (to follow)
Man of the Match: 
Champagne Moment: 
ShamPOOH Moment: 

Skipper Griffin put Morden into bat on a damp strip. The weather had improved from the previous day's very rainy afternoon - with only the 3's bringing home a victory before tea, aided no doubt by Howie Clarke's ''on tour, no-losing streak''.

Rob Anderson and Ryan Polley opened the bowling and kept the run rate low. Ryan bowling his 6 overs through very economically (6o 0m 16r 1w) and Rob rewarded with a wicket in his first 6 over spell to the safe hands of Ian Miller - a very tidy piece of bowling in his first 10 over spell for the senior side (10o 2m 21r 1w).

Neil Griffin and Andy Graves were the first change bowlers. Griffin (7o 1m 15r 1w) taking opener Patel - caught keeper Mark Lander in his first spell. Andy bagging 3 wickets - No3 bowled, No 6 c&b, No 8 bowled (8o 1m 24r 3w). Ross Jacobs was brought on from the pavilion end and completed the Morden demise claiming 3 wickets for himself (ct Lander, bowled, ct Edwards). There was also a good run out by Polley half way through the innings from a direct hit from 10 yards.

Teas were generously provided by Sandra Edwards

Edwards and Clarke opened the batting. Slow and accurate bowling from Skipper Newton and Bukhori followed by Ahmed meant heavy going for Woods. Edwards was caught to a weak lob to long on. Howie continued on from the previous day, where he scored the winning runs against Rutlishians (at Morden 45-all out, won by 8 wickets), in a steady fashion (On-tour photos). Edwards was replaced by Ian Miller who gave the ball a few lusty blows to the boundary, but also succumbed to a catch to long-on after a change of bowling action. Chris Munday was keen to improve on his previous week's score and forged a good partnership with Howie. The pair staking the lion's share of the runs. Howie (34) was disappointingly caught to change bowler Khan and Chris (29) fell to Khan in his next over. Jerry Geldard (4*) and Mark Lander (5*) were left to bring home the bacon  - a lusty blow from Mark to finish off tthe 6 wicket win. 

DNBs for Ross, Ryan, Neil, Andy and Rob.
Some debate about Skippers Griffin 'apparent' refusal to attempt to clasp his hand around a head height shot to square leg from Ahmed, resulted (after some persuasion) in the NAC being converted to an SB. SB's also to Ross (x2) and Howie ('honourary SB'). Kevin Miller missed his first game of the season, resting after his successful Duke of Edinburgh walk in Snowdonia.

Awards for the day (to follow)
Man of the Match: 
Champagne Moment: 
ShamPOOH Moment: 

Skipper Griffin won the toss and elected, much to the chagrin of his men, to field on this by far the hottest day of the year.

Neil and Ryan Polley opened the bowling,  No. 2 Woods was first to fall to a full toss by Polley - caught at (his favourite) point by Jerry. No. 1 Hodgson fell shortly after to Neil - caught in slips by 'bucket hands (Ian) Miller'. Old D's progress was very slow in this opening 8 overs and continued to be slow when Kevin Miller and Howie Clarke came into the attack. Bradford and Brown were contained quite nicely, but things changed when Bradford was run out by Ross Jacobs at square leg and mighty Leopold came to the crease.

Woods new him from old, and posted two men to cow corner (Steve Edwards and Ross). Unfortunately on Howie's 2nd delivery to him, Steve was resigned to watch the ball fly over his head, bounce once and disappear over the line. Some chastisement ensued from Howie about 'being on the line' - of course, not without due cause as this was his first bowling spell of the year, and potentially his first wicket.  Edwards could also only justifiably invoke the defence that neither the bowler nor the captain had been especially bothered to check his position and so he asserted that neither had actually made the order of 'on the line' - but rather the instruction had originally been 'near the line' !.

Leopld then sent another of Howie's deliveries over Jerry's head at long off - Jerry was also chastised for flying in and then finding himself  unable to back-up the extra pace needed to let him attempt the catch.

Leopold gave Howie (8o 0m 46r 1w) a bit of a pasting and to a lesser extent Kevin (8o 0m 33r 0w) - scoring his 47 runs mostly in boundaries. He was eventually dismissed when Ryan (8o 1m 29r 2w) came back for his second spell and bowled, we presume, a deliberately short ball to him which he hooked straight down Ross' throat at backward square.

With Leopold gone the innings began to crumble .There was a run out by Mark Lander (direct hit to bowlers end). Two more catches to Ross (one c&b). A total of 2 wickets for Ross (7.2o 0m 23r 2w) and 3 for Griffin (8o 2m 12r 3w). One of Griff's in particular will live in memories of all concerned when he decided that after being generous on his first delivery to youngster Longhurst (about 12 and stump high), decided that no prisoners should be taken and expelled him. His brother fared little better and was c&b by Ross.

There were dropped catches by Mark Lander and Chris Munday (about 2/3 way through Leopold's innings). Unfortunately Howie had to be awarded a full 'SB' from one of Kevin's leg siders, no chance of this dire error being recorded as 'honorary'.

Teas were again were beautifully presented by Sandra Edwards and gratefully accepted.

Edwards & Munday Junior - playing his first game for the 1st XI opened the batting. Bowling-wise it was fairly friendly. Edwards was out in his usual quick fashion to Wilcockson in the 2nd over. Ian stuck around with Ian Miller for his 11 but looked uncomfortable against change bowler Gange - who bowled him in his 2nd over. With about 12 overs gone, Ian Miller and Chris then forged a partnership of 78 in the 3rd wicket stand and it was all over in a blink of an eye, with 17 overs remaining. Ian was impressive with twelve 4's and five 6's - just 11 runs in 8 non boundary strokes for his 89 not out (initially mistakenly scored as 85) and Chris making a creditable contribution of 22 not out despite his 'crook' shoulder.

DNBs for Jerry, Mark, Kevin, Neil, Ross, Ryan and Howie.

Ross was thanked for sharing his 'three-catch jug'.  Howie bought a tour jug, and celebrated finishing the tour with 3 wins of the 4 he played. Howie bade farewell to everyone and we look forward to seeing him on tour again next year. He and Ann will also be putting in an appearance at the D&D later in the year.
 

Awards for the day (to follow)
Man of the Match: 
Champagne Moment: 
ShamPOOH Moment: 

Woodmansterne journeyed away for their second and last time this season. Arriving in good time for the 1.30pm start, there was not much sign of interest from the opposition even at 1.45pm. The 'key man' eventually arrived at 2.00pm and the match was underway by 2,15pm. Even our fixture sec - Jason was late and we were left thinking what is the point of fixing 1.30pm starts ? 

This was just the first instalment of questioning !! Little did we know what else was in store for us at this remote and picturesque ground. One thing was for sure - the fielding side would not be smelling of daisies at the end, given the predicted hottest day of the year. (Later confirmed with Gravesend reaching 101°F)

Unfortunately for Woods we were the ones who got the short straw. An unofficial ballot had been taken, and by a majority, the skipper was mistakenly urged to called tails (Lander’s T sign).

This would not be the only mistake of the day, for there would be many more – starting when Edwards was found wanting in the kit department. No excuse could be mustered, and blame could not be attributed to the 'misses' as ‘he was in charge of kit in his house’. Desperate calls around the locker room fell on Jason's ears, and, as if by magic, a pair was produced. Thoughts of joy quickly changed to despair as Edwards realised that this was Jason’s Saturday pair. Some light cajoling amongst hilarity from the onlookers found Jason kindly giving up his clean pair to the untrousered Edwards. Although gratefully accepted he anticipated there was more hilarity to come as one leg of Jake's trousers would have been sufficient to furnish his meagre frame. So it was Edwards took to the pitch in danger of being a nuisance to local low flying aircraft and soon found himself responding to the heckling of ‘baggy-trousers’.

Griffin and Jacob's opened the bowling in the blisterring heat, each having 4 over spells. The No.2 was threatening from the start and notched up a few fours. However the first blood went to Tom Meadowcroft in his 1st over then again in his 4th. The first was caught by Kevin Miller in slips to a wide delivery, the second was bowled. Tom bore up well to relentless ribbing relating to ‘saving his bad balls for wicket taking purposes’. Hicks was economical but unsuccessful in his first 4 overs, and it was not until the 21st over that Kevin managed to dismiss the next batsman (caught Griffin at mid off). The then dangerman was run out by bowler Ross. No.5 Van Renan was causing Woods a few problems - slowly building a big score. But he was being deprived of partners – bowled Ross caught Lander, then c&b Griffin to a slow ball. The next two wickets went in Rob Hicks’ last over to make a double wicket maiden. Ian Miller was unfortunate not to take any in his spell.

Woods could not take much credit for their fielding despite two drinks breaks, and couldn’t really blame the heat for 8 drops – Mark Lander x 4, Jason Hiscox  x2, Ian Miller 1, Ross Jacobs 1. SBs to Ian Munday, Kevin and Ross

The innings had taken two and three-quarter hours to complete. Much of this was spent searching for the ball amongst the brambles - later found to be one of Ross’ favourite pastimes, along with eyeing up the male talent in his team !
 

Bowling:
Griffin 8o 4m 15r 1w
Jacobs 8o 1m 39r 1w
Hicks 8o 4m 16r 2w
Meadowcroft Tom 4o 0m 20r 2w
Miller Kevin 8o 0m 31r 1w
Miller Ian 4o 0m 25r 0w

5.00 o’clock: Lovely teas despite being put out on the table at 2.00pm French bread, ham, beef, chicken, cheese, quiche salad doughnuts, sponge cake, bakewells, minirolls – Ron would have loved it !

Start of duck-fest:
Munday 4 balls
Lander 1 ball
Meadowcroft 2 balls
Jacobs 4 balls
Hicks 4 balls

Only 4 Woodmansterne batsmen reached double figures Jason 51 not out, Ian Miller 44 (40min nine 4’s) – unfortunate to be stumped, Neil G 11 and Steve Edwards 12 although recorded as 8 due to umpire negligence - Tom given four of the runs as leg byes.

The batting was dominated by big hitting Miller, and contrasted by patient batting from Jason. Waldren took 5 wickets including three of the ducklings.

Skipper Griffin was not happy at all with his self run-out and had been intending to give the team a rocket for throwing away the match. However he was quick to admit he didn’t see the fly slip fielder right on top of the ball, and Jason, quite rightly, was not at all interested in the single when there was 5 overs left to get it !!

More controversy was in the air when it came to light that Tom had refused to give what the keeper admitted was a 'wide' in the last over. Woods were left wondering ‘if only anyone had got an extra run’ but then we realised that we couldn’t complain as a quarter of our score was made up of extras - none of which were byes !

Salfords were a friendly bunch who gave an almighty cheer when our last wicket fell on a tied score.

Woods were, bar one, fairly happy with the result, the boys resorted to a bit of ball throwing, and then returned to Woods for a bit of sight screen moving and a few drinks in the Woodman to round off a very entertaining day. Talk at the pub returned to Ross' sexual preferences and to whether Kevin gets to play next week ?? and will Jerry get to be the ‘fat controller’ and where did we actually go wrong !! and to debate whether it’s the winning or taking part that really matters ??

Contenders for ShamPOOH moment were 'baggy trousers Edwards', Jason's dropped catch and Griffins run out

Awards for the day (to follow)
Man of the Match: 
Champagne Moment: 
ShamPOOH Moment: 

Wickets came early for Woods and WP were in trouble after 15 overs at approx 45-5. Some solid batting from the keeper brought them back from the abyss and before Woods knew it they had 130 on the board. Edwards then dropped 2 catches (narrowly avoiding the ShamPOOH moment) which allowed the last wicket partnership to gain another 28 runs ending the innings at tea on 158-9. There was one controversial moment when one of the young WP players was warned for stealing on the bowler - and was later mistakenly thought, by most of the team, to have been well out of his ground when the bails were taken off for real for the same offence. 

Teas were genorously provided by Sandra Meadowcroft - the home made bread & butter pudding was very popular

For once Edwards outlasted Trevor Meadowcroft, but not by much! Jerry Geldard went 2nd ball. Mark Lander went in at No 4 and thankfully stuck around - batting very patiently and picking off the runs selectively. Ross Jacobs got off to a good start and then continued - stroking his way to his fifty in quick time. After he was unexpectedly caught behind, neither Ryan (caught at silly mid off) nor Tom Meadowcroft really got going, so skipper Griffin was left to bring 'home the bacon' with Mark. 

Worcester Park had given Woods a scare with their batting and also been in with a chance of scuppering the home side with their early canny spin bowling - as ever the nemesis of the Sunday side. 

Full details to follow:
Bowlers:
Griffin
Jacobs
Polley
Saunders (3wk)
Meadowcroft
Titchenor

Batting:
Edwards
Meadowcroft
Geldard
Lander
Jacobs
Polley
Meadowcroft
Griffin
Graves DNB
Titchenor DNB
Saunders DNB

Awards for the day
Man of the Match: Mark Lander approx 44 not out for batting patiently and solidly through the innings 
Champagne Moment: Andy Graves - for one of his two magnificemt catches - runing backwards at extra
ShamPOOH Moment: Ron Titchenor - diving at gulley when the ball had already gone 

From verbal accounts Woods needed 9 off the last over. Ross got 6 of them with a huge 'six', three needed off the last ball but only 2 run. Match tied, but Downsiders claimed they had won by virtue of losing less wickets. Sources say that this was contested and that the team did not stay after the match to partake.

Ross Jacobs 69 not out
Neil Saunders 51
Rob Hicks 22
Andy Graves 21
Mark Lander 11
Kevin Miller 6
C/I Munday 5
Trevor Meadowcroft 4
Joe Janus 2
Jerry Geldard 1 not out
Ron Titchenor 0

Awards for the day 
Man of the Match: Neil Saunders (51) 
Champagne Moment: Ross Jacobs (large 'six')
ShamPOOH Moment: Ross Jacobs (dropped catch) 

Australia House arrived with a few short so Skipper Griffin agreed that AH could bat first. 

Some of the usual culprits were on show:
Cowman
Hayden 
Reese
McMuffin
But The Colonel, Mother and Python were absent

AH were off to a quick start against Griffin and Hicks. The scoreing rate was not entirely dwn to the bowling as there were some byes in there as well (RP) ! After first 6 overs double change of bowling and AH 34 on the board. 

Batsmen Bass and Hayden then accelarated and the Woods bowlers were unable to contain the 8 an over run rate from the next 8 overs of Kevin Miller and Neil Saunders.

Joe Janus was brought into the attack in the 15th over with the score on 97 for 0. But Robert Hicks (8o 0m 61r 1w) was the first to make a breakthrough a few overs later claiming the wicket of Hayden from a catch by Edwards at very long on. Bass was by now well past his '50', and got his century shortly after (73 min 75 balls). He was caught by Rob in Joes 5th over (7o 0m 46r 1w). The damage had been done 174 -2 from 23 overs as Bass had scored very quickly. The next 7 wickets then fell for 77 runs. 

4 Wickets for Neil Griffin in his second spell of 5 overs (8o 1m 23r 4w) - and the only maiden of the match. Two wickets for Neil Saunders in his second spell of 3 overs (6.3o 0m 47r 2w). And a wicket for Kevin in his second spell (8o 0m 55r 1w).  There were catches from Hicks, Edwards, Janus x 2, Ryan Polley, Neil Saunders - with just one dropped catch in the match. The SB's were too numerable to mention !

Teas by Lesley - biased opinion - her best this season.

Edwards and Meadowcroft to face Costner and Jonno. Both accurate in their openning spells and Trevor (4) fell victim chasing one of Costner's deliveries in the fisrt over. Edwards and Griffin then dotted the next 3 overs between them which did not encourage the score along much considereing Edwards had dotted an over before that. So 'maidens' (albeit for a few byes) abounded for AH and runs did not for Woods which meant a dismal score of 10-1 off the first 8 overs was posted. Jonno was a tricky customer - oustwing with bounce and Costner, off about 3 paces - cut the ball into the right handers off the seam. This was the way in which Griffin departed trying to square hook the ball but catching the top edge of his cracked bat and caught by keeper.  Polley didn't get a chance to get going - foiled by one of Jonnos 'swingers'. Chhris Munday (6) faired a little better but was undone by Costner in the 13th over. The score had progressed a bit as McMuff had allowed the batsmen to score a few runs. Hicks and Edwards put on 34 before being run out by Edwards. Graves and Edwards put on 32 together before Edwards (49) was stumped off McMuff. Neil Saunders unfortunately lasted only 1 ball from Reese. Kevin was also unlucky skying one off Chop for 2 runs. Andy was going well but came undone aginst Reece which left Jerry and Joe as the last wicket stand. Joe showed what he was capable of by smashing a big six to long off and helpng his score along to 29 not out. Jerry (9) was Jonno's 2nd victim in his second spell but helped Woods put up a last wicket stand of 36 runs. Woods fell short by 82 runs and didn't really have enough batting on the day to score against the openning bowlers and make a game of it. Cowman was unfortunately escorted to hospital with a suspected dislocated finger

Neil awarded 'Howard-Burnt-Pants-In-A-Jar' to AH skipper. JUgs abounded in the bar and Woods were left to wonder if it will now be the fourth year lucky for them ?

Awards for the day 
Man of the Match: Joe Janus
Champagne Moment: Joe Janus (big six)
ShamPOOH Moment: (Rob Hicks non attempted c&b)

Teas provided by Sandra Meadowcrofts with cakes from Pat Moss (walnut, sponge and polish chocolate). Rons cup-o-tea.

Neil Saunders (8o 1m 22r 3w) tight bowling - Tom strayed a little occasionally but tidy in the end for his wicket (8o 0m 41r 1w).
Kevin Miller was very tidy (8o 3m 25r 2w) - Rons amazing figures (5.2o 4m 4r 3w) - claiming little boy Simon! Rob Hicks was also tidy (6o 0m 31r 1w) - wanted a ring - anus fxation diagnosed by his personal shrink.
Assisted catch Chris Munday and Andy Graves
Ryan denied run out from Andy - umpire reckoned not in control of ball
Asleep for catch

Talk with old boys in bar

Sundau Seconds return - George Miller 80 and son Ian 102 (not out) against Norbury and the talk is of Ron & Jeremy ! and Bob's apples.

John Lyne (71) of BOB started playing when he was approx 19 and hasn't missed a season since
Fisrt played at wood in 1948
Remembers the best game of cricket in 1953 - all day sunday match BOB 202 dec, Woods 200-9, 1 ball to go Braz hit it for 4 to square. Bowler Clive Peacock went on to play for Mitcham. Bob Hiller former England rugby fullback.
 

Awards for the day 
Man of the Match: Ryan Polley
Champagne Moment: 
ShamPOOH Moment: Neil Saunders 'Swan Lake' attempt at catch

Bowling from Griffin, Tom Meadowcroft, Kevin Miller, Paddy Carroll, Rob Hicks, James Lander and Michael Van Eden.
The openners were pretty hard to shift, not until 26th over did they both fall with the score on 105. There was chance to Edwards who dropped Wrankmore in James' third over but he made amends with a direct run out in James' next over. The No 3 stayed there throughout the innings but OS' other batsmen only helped to  put on another 70 or so runs - 52 of which came for No 3 Rajeeva - who could hit the ball (8x4s 1x6). There were 2 more runs outs one each to Tom Meadowcroft and Kevin Miller both assissted by Ryan Polley at wicket keeper.

There were a couple of dropped catches (SE, KM) and SBs (Tom Meadowcroft - first in 12 matches and Kevin).

Michael Van Eden (4o 0m 22r 3w) was the pick of the bowlers taking 3 wickets - direct hits and stump removers, and Neil Griffin (7.1o 3m 19r 2w) picking up 2 wickets in his spell. One wicket a piece to Rob Hicks and James Lander.

Lovely teas by Lesley

Edwards and new partner Miller K openned the batting, and the progress was slow in the first 11 overs against accurate bowling from Smith and McDonald. The change bowlers allowed Edwards and Miller to accelarate and by 20 overs the score was 96-0. Edwards (44) was stumped in the 22 over and Kevin reached his 50 shortly after. This was icing on the cake following his fifty the day before for the 2nd team against Croydon Spinners where Ian and George also made fifties. An expensive weekend bar-bill for the Millers !

Ian Munday made a usefull contribution and Ross (30*), replacing Kevin (53) and Ryan (17*) finished off the runs required.

Awards for the day (to follow)

w-nb-o-mdn-r-wk
M VanEden 2-1-7-1-21-2
Th Meadowcroft 6-1-7-1-40-2
R Polley 0-0-6-0-11-2
S Edwards 2-0-5-0-18-0
N Griffin 0-1-5-2-11-1
R Hicks 0-0-4-1-7-1
J Geldard 2-1-1.1-0-12-1
Tr Meadowcroft 0-0-1-0-3-1

Awards for the day (to follow)