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Aletasters Defeat

Well done to the lads last night on what was a thrilling game that unfortunately ended in defeat and the end of our 100% record this season.

With only 7 men it was always going to be an uphill struggle but we gave Aletasters* a real game of it. I won the toss and elected to bat having agreed to only play 12 overs. Alan and I took to the crease and like in the recent cup victory against Belmonte we knew a solid start was key and that’s exactly what we got. It was a slow burning first 5 overs but by the 7th we had 50 odd on the board and had picked up the rate. Alan’s well-crafted innings came to an abrupt end when for 20 odd I called him through for what looked to be a quick single but a sharp pickup from the bowler resulted in an easy run-out (sorry mate). Nicco was next to the crease and after a measured start was out caught off an expansive drive he didn’t quite get hold of. That left Ru and I to bat out the remaining overs and some quick running between the wickets and a few hefty blows got us up to a very respectable 99, giving the bowlers something to work with.

Ru and Nicco opened the bowling and Aletasters looked to have two good openers both making a brisk start propelling them to 20 off the first 2 overs. Their skipper kindly offered us a fielder and temporarily their wicket keeper, until he was required to bat! Ru made the breakthrough when one opener scooped an on drive upward only to be caught by the retreating fielder. Nicco made inroads at the other end clean bowling their number 3 and dismissing their number 4 in a really tight spell. However it was nagging away that their other, clean hitting, opener was making himself busy at the other end steadily racking up the runs. Matty exacted a fantastic run out with only 1 stump to aim at that brought their wicket keeper to the crease meaning Nicco donned the gloves for only the second time ever. Nicco managed to be involved from behind the stumps too taking a stumping off Alan’s bowling. With only a few overs remaining and their opener knowing the responsibility to get his team over the line lay with him the turning point in the match came. A rare loose shot off Dan’s bowling led to a catching opportunity that sadly fell to our substitute fielder….do I need to tell you the rest? The catch was duly spilt and it was game on. Ru was left the responsibility of bowling the final, nerve wracking, over and I think they only required 8 to win. Unfortunately their wicket keeper managed to squirm off strike and their opener managed to play a few shots. In the end with two balls remaining they made the total despite there almost being more drama with a run out that umpire in fairness simply couldn’t give.

Another great all round effort by those involved in what was another well spirited game against a friendly bunch. Thanks to Phil, Matty’s boss, for stepping in at late notice.

Cap – Me (first ever) 50

Duck – Matty combination of poor maths and the (non) missing trousers

*ironically named as their clubhouse boasts the worst selection beers you are ever likely to come across!

Cramlington Cup Defeat

Unfortunately CCC bowed out of the League Cup in the second round last night to Cramlington CC.

On what turned out to be a somewhat cloudy evening in the end I agreed on 14 overs with my opposite number, duly lost the toss and Cramlington decided to have a bat.

Ru and Nicco opened the bowling from either end and Ru was extremely unlucky not to have an early breakthrough when what appeared to be a clear LBW decision was turned down by their belligerent umpire. A slightly ugly exchange ensued that rather set the tone for what was I'm sad to say, a somewhat fractious game.

Nicco was first to take a wicket in his third over when a short delivery was hit very firmly to mid-wicket however Alan was on hand to take a good low catch. Alan himself then got in on the act when he replaced Nicco bowling their other opener for around 30.

Despite Cramlington’s batting being relatively strong an appalling outfield made hitting boundaries quite difficult and the rate never really became too big. Ru got his reward when he duly bowled their floundering no. 4 and Alan produced an excellent run out which in fact was a carbon copy of one that was, somewhat cynically, turned down earlier in the game. Guy bowled quite tidily and Roger even chipped in with an excellent single over that only went for a miserly 5 runs when both batsmen were well set.

After 14 overs Cramlington finished on 112 which given the state of the outfield was a good score. Despite tweaking a hamstring whilst trying to stop a wild overthrow from Guy during their innings Alan opened the batting with me.

My short flirtation with good form came to an end when I was bowled without troubling the scorers. Alan looked good until missing a straight one which left Nicco and Ru to steady the ship. This they did for time with Ru guiding the ball around with seeming ease and Nicco pulling and driving for 4. Ru was undone however by a full one that brought Guy then Greg to the crease both of whom added a quick few before departing. Dave who kindly filed in at late notice joined Nicco and had been described to me as a near to scratch golfer. This was plain to see as his stance resembled that of one Mr Woods at the crease! Despite much sledging though he proceeded to hit the sweetest of straight drives back over the bowlers head onto the fairway for 4. One swing of the 7 iron too many saw the end of Dave and Nicco followed shortly after, holing out to a retreating mid-wicket. The elder gentry did us proud in the guise of Roger and Gerry adding vital runs towards the end but the rate steadily increased and the wickets continued to fall. Despite a healthy helping of wides we were about twenty short when were eventually bowled out, Nicco top scoring with 29.

Thanks to both Kevin and Matty for batting, the former making a rod for his own back with social services and the latter a recent amputee.

As the old adage goes “at least we can now concentrate on the league!”

Duck – Matty busy casting spells when he should have been catching.

Cap – (Post re-vote after tie with Nicco) Dave’s golf drive for 4!

Patched Up CCC Win Through!

Congratulations to the unfamiliar line-up that pulled off a remarkable win against Belmonte in the cup last night that also maintained our 100% start to the season!

With only hours before wickets were pitched CCC were staring down the barrel of either having to concede or fielding a team of only 6. Many thanks to those stepped up to play, especially at such short notice.

I won the toss and elected to bat on what was a challenging wicket. Alan and I opened and with only 10 men and an unfamiliar batting line-up we knew a strong platform was required. After a tentative start to the first over or two we got going and managed to see off both openers and in fact it wasn’t until about the tenth over that I was removed out stumped on 39 with about 80 on the board. Ru then joined his father at the crease and not long after Alan’s fine innings of 38 came to end when out caught. Enter the ‘roadrunner’ Guy Finkill. He and Ru added a few before Ru got out and then Guy proceeded to score about as many runs as people he ran out. Andy was his first victim turning an easy single into an impossible three. After a 13 year absence from CCC Duncan was greeted back being caught 11 yards short of his crease after being called through by Guy. Kev was next to endure the physical punishment of the Guy Finkill bootcamp. Fortunately with only one delivery left Kev smartly pulled it away for 2 leaving CCC on 106.

With a potential lack of bowling options in the side and a reluctance from the tall Parisian to turn his arm over a lot was resting on the shoulders of openers Guy and Ru. However, as it proved in our innings, it was when the pace was taken off the ball it proved more difficult to score. The breakthrough came with the introduction of Cliff and Alan both bowling spin. Guy took a stunning catch to give Cliff his first wicket and Alan taking a wicket with his very first delivery, a leading edge that saw Duncan take a super caught-behind, the highlight of a great stint behind the stumps. Alan and Cliff proceeded to bowl their respective spells through with Alan ploughing through the Belmote XI eventually finishing with 5-for which brought out a remarkable pelvic thrust from the Scotsman! Their remaining opener carried his bat but ran out of partners and the rate began to elude them finishing some 15 or so runs short when Guy returned to bowl the final over.

A brilliant all round team performance. Tireless fielding from Andy as the ball seemed to follow him round like a magnet, Duncan’s body-on-the-line keeping, great sweeping on the boundaries from Guy and Adam, Roger not complaining a jot trekking from fine leg to fine leg…….too much to mention but a great win played in good humour with a great team spirit.

Cap – Alan, great knock, 5-for and dancing (jig?!)

Duck – Guy for his running and a very humorous appeal.

CCC Continue Winning Start

Congratulations last night lads on yet another win to maintain our 100% start to the season!

After an initial scare over the weather, I lost the toss, Stocksfield decided to bat and we took to the field.

Ru opened from the top end and Nicco at the other. Stocksfield looked to have two strong openers with the frustrating combination of left and right hander. Ru had them play and miss a couple of times but it was Nicco who made the breakthrough when a loose shot to a short ball removed the right hander. All the bowlers contributed Matty with well a deserved lbw; Dan had Simon to thank for one of his after a spectacular one handed snare that the cynics amongst us thought may have eluded him. Simon was also involved in a comedic juggling performance that was all simply a rouse to exact a cunning run out that removed one time six-a-side player Stephen Knight! There were some great stops in the field, notably from Zach and James and we protected the short boundary well. Stocksfield failed to score at any great rate until their skipper and wicket keeper got motoring in the last three overs or so pushing them up to a fine but chase-able 116.

An unfortunate slip from Phil saw him go over on his ankle and have to withdraw only for on looking Guy Finkill to join in - all the best for a swift recovery Phil.

Nicco and I opened and after a slow but steady start it was young Ru Fletcher who realised that if you don’t want to be asked to do something again, do it badly. No I'm not referring to the dishes but umpiring. Firing Nicco lbw to the meekest of appeals from the (female*) bowler to a delivery that looked very high and very much leg sided. After much confusion this brought Alan to the crease who
steadied the ship and once in he injected fresh impetus into the chase by hitting big and running hard. He eventually insisted on running himself out forgetting the bowler is entitled to field his own delivery! Like with the bowling everyone contributed with the bat with Jared, Ru and latterly Dan, who had the nerve wracking job of getting us over the line, batting and running extremely well. With the final over already underway Ru was run out pushing for the vital remaining runs leaving Dan needing 7 off 4. After two hard run 2’s it was heart in the mouth material as Dan launched the penultimate delivery high over extra cover only to find the fully stretched arms of Stocksfield’ s tallest team member………a stagger by the big man saw his right boot plant on the boundary rope only for me to gleefully signal a 6! Special mention to one J. Bairstow for the use of a bat!!

Cap – Alan for his commanding knock of 40

Duck – Landslide in favour of James after fleeing the scene when prompted to pay his subs. Never returning after supposedly visiting a nearby cashpoint! That and claiming his own mother is a MILF?!

P.s. – Think I forgot to mention Ru winning the cap against West End for a fine bowling display (including having a hat-trick of lb’s turned down in 1 over!)

*churlish I realise to point this out Nicco mate!

Pete

Freakily Normal Weather Puts Paid to CCC Cup Pay Day

Tonight's cup clash between CCC and Belmonte has fallen victim to what have been described as "completely normal" weather conditions.

The game was pulled after some isobars got a bit close together causing "low pressure" over the Bank Foot/ Kingston Park area of Newcastle. The resulting weather conditions, called "light drizzle", were too much for many residents and businesses in the area who were forced to batten down the hatches and retreat to cellars or other heavily reinforced places.

"I've got a brand new Wolfskin fleece and waterproof combo, which I don't want to get damaged," said one local resident. An employee at the local sports complex went further: "it's just typical for the time of year. And frankly it's got to stop. My roller just won't work when the grass is slightly greasy".

Experts are calling the weather event "totally expected" but "unlikely to cause lasting damage". As the media decended on the Newcastle suburb, documentary makers could be seen drafting a script for an extreme weather show on Really: "it's times like this when a prolonged 10 minutes of light precipitation on top of three weeks dry, sunny conditions, can spell real trouble, and untold disruption, and that makes good TV," explained the producer of 'When Seasonal Weather Strikes'.

Another local resident went further "It's this sort of crappy weather makes me ashamed to be British. Of course it all comes from Europe, at certain times of the year, except summer, when it doesn't. That's why I'll be voting UKIP in the next election, and then emigrating to Malaga."