Saturday 22nd June 2024
Wick welcomed Clent CC a touring team from Worcestershire to the village green for a rare Saturday game.
This match is sponsored by Bestie : Bestie himself was due to play but got detained in Paddington leaving Russ no option but to put out the bat signal. Unbelievably the signal was answered by no other than Westie, with all the pre match wicket keeper cat analogies no one thought of Garfield! A welcome season debut for Tubsy and a Wick welcome to Ian Wakefield for his club debut. More/less of a welcome for Iestyn’s reveal, yes the Wick CC branded budgie smugglers have arrived.
No doubt, six months ago in the Clent local boozer there were 16 lads well and truly up for a tour to South Wales. By Saturday 7 broken men headed to Wick from Barrybados where they’d “found a Wetherspoons” the night before and looked like they had seen things they could not unsee. Two others were en route from the wrong side of Offa’s Dyke.
The wicket looked bloody marvellous thanks to the KFG grounds crew. 35 over game and Wick batted first.
Wick CC - 211 for 5 (35.0): Russ Milne 100*, Rob Dixon 42, Andy Ellis 25
Clent CC - 184 all out (33.1): Alex Mcgrory 147, Simon Stratton 3-32, Matthew Williams 2-24
Dicky opened with Steve, he and then Math got the dreaded lbw trigger leaving Wick at 49-2 after 9 overs. The Clent fielders asked Tubs and Iestyn, who were fielding for them, if we had any decent batting to come- “Russ is a good hockey player” was the cryptic clue.
Dicky got to 42 before snicking one behind and Andy (25 runs) joined Russ for what turned out to be the partnership of the innings. The hockey player done good and went from 90 to 100 in two balls, a great way to bring up a magnificent century, and where he retired not out to give the village cricketing mortals a chance.
Wick 211-5 off 35 overs.
Tubsy shook off the cricketing cobwebs to open the bowling and combined with elder Dixon to get a Clent wicket in the first over.
The rest of the innings was about one man – the Clent clubber. Wick didn’t know it at the time but the rest of the afternoon would be a fielding Hokey Cokey – in,out,in,out. More out because he was farming the strike, counting balls like a Brummy rain man. The Wick brains trust realised it was a case of getting the other batsman out and it started to work. Math picked up two wickets and Russ, seeing Iestyn in the corner of his eye unleashed the seagull -mine,mine,mine and took a caught and bowled.
Ian, who was pleased to hear Wick set expectations at zero, had a baptism of fire not helped by having his car keys in his pocket but softened up the Clent middle order for his bowling partner Simon. If you’ve ever wondered what the LA shuffle is, it’s three wickets and a run out, an epic performance. The game was on a knife edge until clubber holed out to the safest pair of hands in the village, Andy, who took another catch to finish Clent who were all out for 184. 147 of those runs coming from one batsman, quite an impressive individual performance.
Wick victory!!
Don’t tell Kenny but Steve has overtaken him in the wicket taking category. I’m sure watching Wick without Kenny is like watching Inter Miami without Messi, nevertheless a great crowd were there supporting including Wick CC alumni (Jock,Great man,Moggy) and the American faction of the Williams clan. Thanks to them and to Holly for putting on food at halftime.
To the Lamb for a well earned beer and where those who wondered why Tubsy is called Tubsy saw the photo and wondered no more.
Thanks to Clent CC for making the trip and hopefully they enjoyed the tour.
-Rob Dixon
