Colonel Mustard reports from the Prince of Wales Cricket Stadium after specialised holistic treatment for sesquipedalian verbosity.
Wyman’s Brook is not a mighty water course, nor is the Hatherley Brook, nor indeed the river Chelt, but what these conduits have in common is that they all push their way inexorably towards greater and more substantial bodies of water. Rivers are not a synonym or indeed metaphor for cricket naturally, but they do parallel the game of cricket in at least one clear and obvious way. I’m sure you dear reader, have already spotted the link, but please indulge me, whilst I explain for the less (shall we say) erudite* amongst you.
Club cricket, league cricket, county cricket, Test cricket… Yes indeed, just like water courses, they flow one into the other and just like rivers they can occasionally flow the other way. Just think of an aspiring player moving up this ladder to play at the highest level and then snake-like, sadly sinking back down again – Severn Bore like if you will.
Now, Wyman’s Brook traces it way past the cricket hall (in 2007 it decided to half fill it) and on Wednesday evening Bayshill CC were playing there. Are the Bays at the ‘level’ of this Brook or are they a Avon, Severn, Thames or Amazon? I’ll let you decide.
Chris Horner the Captain of Bayshill (indoor) team, span the groat and having won, decided to bat. Within a couple of overs things began to go awry, when the aforesaid capuchinno on 8 off 7, allowed a ball firing down leg to in-swing and clip leg stump. Ajit Singh, back from the cricketing indoor wilderness didn’t allow this setback to affect his game as he assembled his innings. Tom Liley suffering from a cold, made eight off 8 before being caught, his innings including a bludgeoned six worthy of a berserker. Alex Van Dyke then joined Ajit and made six off 6 before departing run out. At this point, the projected score looked singularly unpleasant. Things didn’t improve when Adi Rai went for five off 6, stumped going for a big one (shot that is) and finally Steve Liley was probably the unluckiest man on planet Earth, to be caught off the back wall. The writer respectfully suggests a rule change is made to prevent such a gross event happening again.
Ajit was at this point on just 11 and the score a wimpish 48! What could possibly be done to extricate the Bays from a predicament entirely of their own construction? Well thankfully Ajit knew what was required. He pushed his score onwards to 44 and pulled the total upwards to an 88 that felt as lofty as a Himalayan peak compared, with the Cotswold hill of 48 when the last wicket stand started. Three glorious fours punctuated an innings with a metre and balance worthy of Shakespearian prose. There were quick run threes and single runs as the ball thudded into the side wall. Ajit and Steve ran between the wickets like a couple of amphetamine fuelled Usain Bolts.
Cheltenham Civil Service in reply got off to a reasonable start, until Tom Liley brilliantly caught and bowled Henry Buckland when the score was 16. This was as finely stropped razor sharp as was possible. Sharp as a Kitchen Devil clean out of Steve Pritchard’s kitchen – and that is sharp!
Madyembwa was next to go, run out, by that man again, Tom Liley! The score now only 23. Had the tide turned? Sugar A was then run out by Chris Horner for one, with the score up to 34. CCSCC then rebuilt a little as they moved the score passed 50 and within 40 of their target. Bradford was next to go, run out by Ajit, who threw in hard to hit the single stump on offer. 30 were now needed!
Maxwell was out for 15, having pushed the score to within 16 of Bays’ offering, before also being run out by Ajit. Chris Horner (Pith helmet wearer and didgeridoo player) used his bowlers well to push for a victory that seemed at times unlikely. Indeed, shy and retiring Chris bowled the last over himself for just 5.
The Rotunda was closing as the Bays arrived for post-match celebrations, meaning that it was off to The Lansdown Inn. Well what can I say about that? I can say Abbot Ale – Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!