Eltham CC

Match Report

Match report Eltham CC Vs Ash Village CC

The fixture secretary had been monitoring all weather apps for the last couple of days, it was due to rain in patches around East London and Kent for most of the morning and clear for 14:00. First message was from the oppo, it should clear later, we should get a game, maybe shortened version but a game we will get. Our fixture secretary has been monitoring all weather apps and websites the whole week and concurs. first message is sent out early, oppo has checked the field and they say its ok and will be able to take one more down pour and still playable at the moment as we have had a dry few weeks. The message is sent out, basically if you don't here from the fixture secretary, make your way there.

We start to arrive in drips and drabs, no pun intended. from time to time its lashing down, but the home team and the a select few are confident the game will go ahead, we just need this last shower to blow past. Most Eltham players are not that optimistic and there is talk of no game going ahead, shut up and I bet you £50 cricket will be played from the fixture sec. 

Right enough about Eltham's negativity

This a beautiful ground, absolute village stuff. The boundary is wibbly wobbly, a clubhouse/changing room that looks like it been made up by anyone's uncle from 1987. Its cute, its village, its great, its everything you just want it to be, they have rules for the trees that are in the middle of the field, bloody brilliant. You may have come for the cricket (or not in some cases due to the weather) but take in the beauties of this ground, with its own special rules for hundreds of years old trees.

The weather stars to clear and the captains make their way out to the middle and discuss the game and the toss, Georgie boy wins the toss and chooses to bowl first and another shower start as we are getting changed, oh for goodness sake please not now as this is going to give those that think we wont play ammunition. Thankfully within minutes it stops and we can start play.

Eltham Start off well with Daniel and Clinton, but soon changes when the batsmen now find their mojo. the out field is a bit sticky but their batsmen smash one back over the bowler and the ball is lost in the bushes. This requires a new ball as we are taking up valuable looking for the ball (probably 12 minutes) A new ball is supplied that looks a bit weird but none the less its a newish ball. It was rather brown in colour and may have been slightly smaller but it kept its shine on both sides the entirety of the game no need for shine, just get some mud off, if its been hit into the ground.

The first change is made and Charlie boy starts his overs. He gets a few runs to his name before he bowls one that is hot high and flat to mid-on where George has to take a few steps backward while throwing his had over his shoulder to take an absolute blinding one handed catch, oh my word I think you might have made that better than it looks but wow it looked casual for the catch you have just taken. This was a big wicket. Cha rile boy tore through the next wicket and was now on a hattrick, we all strolled into the middle and surrounded the batman, to which Charlie bowled ide of the wicket and was so annoyed with himself, "bowl at the stumps" is all you could hear from Charlie himself.

Georges catch would be the turning point in the game as they were on 6 runs an over,( I would just like to say ,what a catch it was, watching from long off, he was running backward at long on and just thew a hand at it, how that stuck, only George can explain) 

We carried on and Shakir was brilliant, he kept things tight and what a bowler he is, his first shout was he hit the batsmen full toss on his shoe without the batsman playing a shot, surely out, but they ran bye's, which was changed by the umpire as he had not played a shot.  

it was time for tea, which again was a really good tea, thank you to who supplied the tea, there was talk of the coffee cake, considering there were 2 coffee cakes.

We had our tea an now ready to play in this glorious sunshine

Greg and P. Swain take to field, Pete with his new arm band for tennis elbow. the first runs come in byes and its a four, each batsman is takin their time as we have a good amount of overs for a total that is gettable. There is a single here and there and the odd boundary. It is mentioned that Greg has an elegant style about hm and he places one through the covers, thanks Greg that just emphasised what we were saying, It wasn't long before Swainey decided he needed to hit the tree to get his sixes, which he did. Eltham won without losing a wicket, much to the dismay of Elliot