Batsmen dominate record-breaking cricket week

The cricket week was blessed by almost constant sunshine and we took great heart from the number of young players who took part, especially the batch of this year's leavers who all blended in straight away.  Catering was wonderful, thanks to the Louise/Daisy dream team, and the groundsman were helpful throughout.  But it was not a happy time for bowlers who suffered on pitches which became easier as the week progressed.  That the last three days on Jubilee was all six innings pass 300 and a run-rate of close to seven an over says it all.

The five days of the week kicked off with a game against Old Millfieldians which we lost by 77 runs. On a hard track we made early inroads but lacked the depth of bowling to capitalise, and from 119 for 5, OMs scored briskly to reach 176 for 5 by lunch. They continued in the same way in the afternoon, smashing the ball to all parts but at 214 for 8 with only ten men we seemed to have the match in control. But we allowed the last pair to add 63, Jenkins reaching a good hundred. Credit due to Tom Cooper, who on announcing he did not bowl much was rewarded with 16 overs in the heat. To his credit, he finished with 3 for 61. Our chase of 278 tottered as the top order failed before Brad Scriven (64), back after a broken finger, got us on track. All the middle order got starts but none went on to play the necessary supporting innings, and only a few late lusty blows when the game was already lost got us to 200. The Merry BBQ and MNG followed and the casualties were, as usual, bad. The club captain crashed and burned as only he can.

Historically the Old Georgians game has proved a hard one for us as it falls the day after the infamous Monday night antics. This year proved no different as we had three players there at the official start time, while another who shall remain nameless (Jock Vickers) called off shortly beforehand claiming he had to go to hospital after consuming silly amounts of vodka at even sillier prices. . Eds Copleston won the toss and elected to bat as the other seven arrived (again playing with 10 men which seems to be the norm in the Will Howard era). Cross looked aggressive early on , despite admitting he could not see the ball, but Charlie Gilbert fell early, shortly followed by Callum Kent and when Cross was caught behind we were in trouble at 51 for 3. Ollie Davies and Eds Copleston began to open up and the scoreboard was ticking along at a healthy rate into lunch. After the break they opened up, scoring 120 in nine overs as Copleston reached his hundred off 75 balls and fell an over later for 123, including 20 4s and 4 6s and ending a partnership of 198 for the fourth wicket. Davies continued the onslaught, assisted by Tom Cooper, the victim of some horrible MNG fines, but fell for 96 which prompted a declaration on 305 off 45 overs. Dan Chitty and Foster took the new ball and looked dangerous early on but OGs managed to see off the new ball and then began to attack … 305 looked a very small total and with five dropped catches we never had the chance to even test the OGs lower middle order. Spin pair Cooper and Copleston both proved expensive as OGs won by seven wickets at a canter. However 600 runs and excellent day out for the 10 men that made it, one of whom was the 69-year-old Dick Kennedy-Hawkes, summoned into action from the comfort of his deck chair. He thought Howard realised he was joking when he said he could play at OGs. Howard, never the sharpest tool, did not.

The Wednesday match was one of the most remarkable seen on Jubilee. The bare facts are that we beat the Grasshoppers by seven wickets with almost 18 overs to spare. But the devil is in the detail. Grasshoppers batted on a pitch which became flatter and easier as the week went on, and allied to a fast outfield, runs flowed. Against weak bowling, the batsmen scored almost at will and Grasshoppers called off the slaughter after 47 overs by which time they had made 336 for 3. The most sensible OC was Peter Hobbs who tactically pulled a muscle and retired from the attack with figures of 5.4-0-62-0. The target of 337 needed a record-breaking effort and it got just that. Brad Scriven (105) and Michael Burgess (131) opened the innings and put on 199 for the first wicket in 17 overs. Burgess was first out after 70 minutes. His fifty had come off 21 balls, his hundred off 44 in 54 minutes and he hit 19 fours and five sixes. Unsurprisingly, it was the fastest OC hundred by 17 minutes and it was not slogging, but calculated hitting. At the other end Scriven’s innings would have been breath-taking on any other day. His hundred took a pedestrian 90 minutes, and even when he fell, Cross picked up the mantle with 61 off 43 balls. Ed Tristam, fresh from the Upper Vth and persuaded to play after a hockey practice, finished the game off with 34 off 22 deliveries. It was the highest score we had ever chased down, beating the 301 we scored in the Cricketer Cup at Tonbridge the previous month.

On the Thursday we batted first against Free Foresters but failed to capitalise on the conditions and it took another Brad Scriven hundred – he made 102* batting at No.8 – to haul us to a defendable 310 for 9 declared. He added 57 for the tenth wicket with Horsey, whose share was 3. Our bowling was as lacklustre as our batting and our visitors rattled along at seven an over without looking troubled. Cross gave some respectability to the scorebook with late wickets but we were well beaten by four wickets with nine overs spare.

The nadir for bowlers came against Old Tonbridgians on Friday when records tumbled but the flattest of tracks rendered the game little more than an exercise in hitting boundaries. Tonbridge batted first and reached lunch on 203 for 1 from 37 overs. We dropped a couple of chances but that aside most of the morning was spent fetching balls from the furthest parts. The assault continued after lunch and only two late wickets provided any solace as OTs declared on 369 for 4. Credit is due to 52-year-old Michael Chetwode who bowled 17 overs on the trot in searing heat; he was replaced in the attack by 57-year-old David Bugge. So easy was batting that the only question seemed to be whether we would have the time to chase down 370 in a likely 54 overs. After a tough opening few overs, the batsmen cut loose. Sutha Thanabalasingam, borrowed from the Village, led the way with 104 and evenyone else chipped in as we reached the target with a little over five overs in hand. Despite the score, it was an unsatisfying victory. For the records, it was out highest score, the highest score against us, the highest score we have chased down, and the 739 runs in the day was the highest by almost 50.