Cricketer Cup over early for another year

OCCC 134 (Crump T 50) lost to St Edwards Martyrs 138 for 6 by four wickets
Click here for match photos

Henry Watkinson strikes to reduce the Martyrs to 88 for 6

For the second successive year our Cricketer Cup campaign fell at the first hurdle, and with only one win in the four seasons since we reached the final, our form in the competition is now becoming a worry. On paper the draw away to St Edwards Martyrs was a favourable one as they had managed only three wins in the previous seven years.  But in the end we were always struggling after our frontline batsmen – with the exception of the obdurate Tom Crump – failed to fire and although our bowlers did well to bring us back into contention, we were always 30 or so runs light.

We arrived in Oxford to find we were using a pitch played on the day before as the one intended was not fit.  The result was a slow track which allied to the stodgy outfield meant runs were always going to be at a premium.

We lost the toss and were stuck in.  Had we won it, we would probably have batted anyway, the thinking being the pitch showed every sign it would deteriorate as the day went rather than improve. As it was it remained obdurately consistent.

For the first half hour all seemed well as Tom Crump and Seren Waters put on 31. The conditions required graft but both appeared quite up to the challenge.  But Waters’ dismissal was followed by that of Alan Cope for 3, Matt Crump first ball and Rob Jones for 7.   Of them all, only Crump could claim the bowlers got him out.  From then on we were always struggling.

Tom Crump on his way to his fifty

Tom Crump needed someone to provide a spark while he held down his end, but only Max Barson’s breezy 23 not out looked the part.  Once Abeed Janmohamed would have relished the challenge but he doesn’t play enough cricket these days and he came and went.  Ollie Davis showed enough in his stay to suggest he is a good future prospect.

Crump fell straight after bringing up his fifty – the one poor decision of the day, leg-before when stuck high on the thigh and well enough forward – and we eventually were bowled out for 134 in the final over.

We knew overs were incidental and we had to bowl St Edwards out to win, so a split catch at short extra cover in the first over was a blow.   But Barson, in his most impressive spell for the club, and Paddy Harman struck early to leave them 8 for 2.

What followed was an absorbing two hours where neither side was quite on top, and the balance of the game swayed with each five or ten runs.   Graham Webb had a very rare off day; Seren Waters was a tight as ever but did not really look like taking a wicket; Matt Crump took two wickets but struggled to put successive balls in the same place and benefitted more than most from the umpires’ extraordinarily generous interpretation of the wide regulations; while Henry Watkinson bowled well but was strangely underused.

At 88 for 6 the game was ours for the taking  but in the end our fielding was not quite as sharp at St Edwards had been and our bowling was not as tight.  In our innings it was hard to recall a bad ball or even a slight misfield; the same could not be said for us.  The seventh wicket added 50 – by some way the highest stand of the day – to finally settle the match and after such a tight battle the end came quickly.

We have a generally young side and the potential of bolstering it from those currently performing so well at Cranleigh in the next few years is heartening.  But more than anything we need our more than able batsmen to start producing the goods when it matters.

A lofted drive just evades Matt Crump as the game slips away