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14th September 2009 at Verulanium Park, St Albans

Why finish the SFDWP first full season of cricket with just one match when you can have three? So it was off to Verulanium Park for the Save The Children Tournament and the perfect opportunity to show the progress made by the team since those first nervous matches slightly over a year ago.

 

The tournament was structured in two groups, pitting the Saddos against STAGS, Crabtree and FCC (for so long thought to be Fishers, this turned out to be the Final Cricket Club – a fact that brought a relieved smile to a number of faces).

 

Each match would consist of ten overs each, wides counting for two runs (although no extra ball would be bowled) and a neutral umpire to be provided. All the Saddos matches were to be played on the upper pitch until we hopefully reached the final.

 

First match, STAGS who the Saddos had beaten earlier in the season. Openers Peter Cook and David Reed strode out in the cloudy but pleasant conditions and Cook made his intentions clear hitting the first ball for four. He was destined to retire not out after a well-crafted 15 runs including two boundaries.

 

The two quick wickets of Reed and Barton, brought Mark Ellis to the crease and he worked the ball for singles and twos for a nicely built 11 runs before being bowled.

 

Nick Button holed out to a peach of a catch by the fielder but Andrew Robertson offered resistance scoring 10 runs including one boundary before being run out. By now every run was being chased and it was inevitable that another run out would follow. Richard Noden was the second wicket to fall this way whilst Simon Wilson was bowled swinging the bat at a ball that was too straight.

 

Phil Spencer provided the shot of the innings with the first six of the season for the SFDWP over long on. He was to finish 9 not out alongside Ross Wiltshire who did not face a ball.

 

The total of 70 seemed small, particularly compared to the scores posted in the first tournament matches of the day. However, the best was yet to come…

 

The five bowlers selected were Noden, Ellis, Spencer, Button and Wiltshire. Noden opened and by his own high standards the bowling was inconsistent. With the first five balls of the over proving wayward, his sixth was spot on bowling the batsman all ends up.

 

Mark Ellis was proving accurate and dangerous and soon scattered the stumps of the other batsman. The match was beginning to turn the Saddos way.

 

Ross Wiltshire replaced Noden for one over and delivered a fiery spell that restricted the batsman. He was to change to the opposite end for his other over later in the innings capturing a wicket to keep the momentum going.

 

Phil Spencer replaced Mark Ellis and bowled with his usual swift accuracy taking two wickets. The batsmen now appeared panic stricken as the run chase was getting away from them and they couldn’t get hold of the ball. Wicket keeper Phillip Cowen (a welcome addition to the Saddos side from Scratchers) was everywhere while the fielding was tight and restrictive.

 

Finally, Nick Button delivered a coup-de-grace bowling spell taking two wickets and the STAGS innings had finished on 57. A fine win for the Saddos, well led by Captain Richard Noden.

 

Straight off it was into the match with FCC. Phil Spencer and Ross Wiltshire opened. Spencer batted with typical style, pummelling the ball to all points on the field. Yet again he hit a massive six over long on, eventually retiring not out on 16 runs with one six and one boundary in the innings.

 

Wiltshire hit a skyed shot that was caught at long off bringing Phillip “Scratcher” Cowen to the crease alongside Peter Cook. Phillip’s innings was nearly brought to a disastrous close through injury. He had torn a calf muscle playing the Saddos a week before but now appeared fine. However, after running a quick three off the batting of Cook, they looked for a single off the next ball and Cowen fell to the floor clutching his calf. Demonstrating great fortitude, he continued batting with a runner, hitting a superb boundary in the process before eventually being bowled for 8 runs, his movement obviously restricted.

 

Peter Cook was to fall for five runs as the slog continued while Simon Wilson, Andrew Robertson, Nick Button and Roger Barton all fell without moving on the score. It was left to Mark Ellis and Richard Noden to make the score respectable, Ellis scoring a splendid 15 not out including two boundaries whilst Noden added six including four to the mid-wicket boundary.

 

The Saddos had been worried about 70 in the previous match. This time it was 65 meaning just 6.6 per over for FCC to win it.

 

The bowling continued where it had left off though. Mark Ellis delivered two terrific overs with pace and hostility, bowling both openers for only one run between them.

 

At the opposite end Richard Noden’s off spin continued to cause problems and the batsmen were not getting away. The last two deliveries of his spell clean bowled two batters and before realising it Richard was on a hat-trick… but the third ball would have to wait for the next match.

 

After Noden, Ross Wiltshire joined the attack, beating the batsmen with virtually every ball. The only time the batsmen got any significant willow in use was to thick edge the ball high in the air, eventually carrying over the fine leg boundary for the flukiest six of the day.

 

Nick Button bowled another pitched up, pacy couple of overs, accounting for a batsman via a rapid catch by Wiltshire. However, it was run-outs that would now become the story of the innings. The first was a quick single taken by the batsman off a short hit to Wiltshire fielding at silly mid-on. As he was to prove again later in the day, you challenge Wiltshire’s accuracy at your own risk as he underarm threw the stumps down at the batsman’s end to send the non-striker packing.

 

The next run out was special. The batsman hit the ball towards the long-on boundary where Andrew Robertson was fielding. Robertson ran in, picked up the ball and threw at the stumps from 25 yards. The groan from the incoming batsman as he saw his stumps fly while he was still four yards from the crease told it all – only a direct hit would do and Robertson had provided it.

 

Finally, Phil Spencer capped the innings with another tight spell of bowling. Just when the batsmen were looking to slog to try and get close to the total he stopped them completely – they needed 18 off the last over and got two, losing a wicket in the process off a catch to Cook at mid-wicket.

 

FCC had scored 50 for 6 off their 10 overs and the bowlers and fielding had again made a poor batting total look good.

 

It then came down to a long wait to play the decisive match against Crabtree. With two matches in between there was a three hour gap in what were now cold and windy conditions. Lunch and coffee helped but the momentum was being lost as limbs stiffened up.

 

Captain Peter Cook (no 'e') elected to field first and Crabtree came into bat. Noden opened the bowling with his hat-trick ball – wide! Unfortunately, this was to be the first part of a increasing sense of deflation as the match unfolded.

 

Jonathan Hook bowled the opposite end replacing Mark Ellis who left after the morning session. As we have come to expect, Hook bowled a solid pacy spell but the batters were proving more durable than we had seen in previous matches.

 

It was to be runouts again that would offer a glimmer of hope. The first was a carbon copy of the dismissal by Wiltshire in the previous match whilst the second was an underarm shy at the stumps by keeper Phillip Cowen to see off the non-striker. Finally, after a long gap caused by the batting of the number 2 and 4 batsmen both of whom were to retire not out, there was a third runout. A superb return throw from fine leg for Cowen to back hand the ball onto the stumps saw the Crabtree number 5 dismissed.

 

It was the damage caused by the middle order batsman that was to be the undoing though. The reliable fielding and bowling of the first two matches had become less restrictive as stiff limbs tried one more time to gain wickets.

 

Phil Spencer’s return summed up the innings. He bowled with the same accuracy and speed as previously but the batsmen were swinging out in the desperate attempt to add runs. Off Spencer’s first ball the batsman swung to long on where Jonathan Hook was waiting… and waiting… for the ball to come down. The catch went down. However, Jonathan can hold his head up as he was not alone with drops. Catches went down shortly after via the unlucky Simon Wilson and Nick Button not to mention two more shots towards Hook that fell just short or too long. Phil was eventually to capture a wicket to a catch by Simon Wilson but amazingly out of a twelve delivery spell there had been three drops, two near misses and only one wicket.

 

Crabtree had finished on 94 for 4 off 10 overs, a target that based on the SFDWP batting on the day already looked insurmountable.

 

The first over of the Crabtree innings was strange to say the least. The young bowler, obviously trying for pace mixed full tosses with bouncers contributing two no-balls and two wides. In between, he lost his run up twice leading to two dead ball calls. Opener Phil Spencer, obviously showing his frustration, backed off during one run up leading to another dead ball. Arguably this was a nine ball over, with only one scored off the bat but with seven runs scored in total. It would have been funny except the erratic nature of it was not helping the run chase cause.

 

Phillip Cowen, batting with a runner, fell quickly to the bowler from the opposite end as did Spencer for 7 including one boundary.

 

With Noden and Wilson falling cheaply it came done to Nick Button and Peter Cook to push the score along. They both batted solidly but well hit balls were going for singles or twos and not the boundaries needed. When Cook fell for 11 off a well taken catch it was left to Button and Jonathan Hook to bring things home. Button was to end up not out for 10 runs while Hook scored 7 including one sweetly hit boundary through mid-wicket.

 

In the end it was 59 for 6 off 10 overs and the SFDWP had exited the competition on runs scored with three sides in our pool all having won two matches.

 

Disappointment was tinged with relief. It was now unpleasantly cold and the prospect of playing a final against the winning side on the lower pitch (who looked extremely useful) did not seem as attractive as it had done earlier. That said, everyone felt more than happy with the account the SFDWP had given on the day. Two wins was better than we could have expected for only our first full season and the performance of the bowling in particular was a match for any side.

 

It seems churlish to highlight individuals on a day when everyone contributed. However, man-of-the-tournament for the Saddos has to be Phil Spencer for both his bowling and batting. The whole bowling attack was superb but in the field Ross Wiltshire and Phillip Cowen deserve special mention – the latter for playing on despite an obviously difficult injury. The champagne moment has to be Andrew Robertson’s throw for a runout, whilst the captaincy of both Richard Noden and Peter Cook was decisive and strong throughout. Finally thanks to Richard for getting the SFDWP into the competition and then getting everything organised so that we had a team once entered.

 

It’s now back to the nets on October 7th. Bring on 2010 !!