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A reasonably normal Saturday presented itself once again, however this time there were a few less hungover lads rising to the sunshine. Another reason for a few of boys waking early was that the Ozzies were taking on the Poms in rugby. In what turned out to be quite an uneventful game England claimed a win, which I havent stopped hearing about since Saturday morning. I suppose now they finally have something to gloat about and had better take advantage of this whilst they can. (Dont bite boys).
After the rugby we were required to meet the rest of the lads at one of the pubs close by before our quite lengthy journey to Stavely. Mr Short who was accompanied by Mr Scattergood was not one hundred percent sure of the way, so in turn he asked the more wise and knowledgeable Landlord Hadfield if he could follow him to the ground. The Landlord’s response 'yeah sure I know the way'. So off we went. Myself and the Landlord took off in the classy and quite powerful BMW convertible, whilst Mr Short tried to keep up in his small Ford Fiesta. I must add that being accompanied by the rather large frame of Mr Scattergood he didnt have much hope. Anyway we came up to the pub where we were supposed to meet and I asked if we were going to stop and meet the boys. The response, no its pointless we may as well get to the ground. So leaving earlier than anyone else we took off down the motorway. Travelling at reasonably high speeds which I wont mention, we weaved in and out of traffic like Schumacher in the British Grand Prix. Reaching our required exit point off the M1 the Landlord - now referred to as Schuey, wasnt sure whether to turn left or right. Now for someone who knows the way this was quite a big issue. So left it was. Travelling a couple of miles down the road we passed one sign saying to turn left for Stavely. So after we passed it we made the first of many u-turns. Cruising down the road I felt Schuey was becoming a little nervous. The radio was switched off and there was an uneasy silence. This was finally broken by the comment 'I cant remember this road'. Coming to a T-Junction again we didnt know whether to turn left or right. Heading left we again did another u-turn as we ended up in the middle of nowhere once more. Time was slowly becoming an issue which led to the BMW taking some high revs. After a few minutes Schuey came out with it 'I have no ******* idea where we are'. This was followed by 'We are lost' a little later. So after travelling miles and miles we finally found Stavely. Now was the issue of finding the ground. Schuey was very confident that the ground was on the outskirts of town, however which road out of town he was not. So after trying three different roads, we finally saw the ground on our last attempt as we cruised out of Stavely. So leaving before everyone else, in the fastest car, travelling at high speeds, with a man that knew the way I was sure we would get there before anyone else. But no we arrived last, with less than half an hour to spare, with little fuel, twice as many miles as we should have and enough u-turns to make me dizzy. Accompanied by many swear words and a lot of abuse about there being no road signs I felt I was in for a good day.
After a bit of messing about and a rather poor attempt at a warmup, on went the batting attire as Simsy won another toss and elected to bat on what he insisted was an absolute belter - but how much does Simsy really know about wickets?? Schuey and the Skip opened up and after a few balls went rearing past the bat, Simsys opinion of the wicket may have changed. Going along very cautiously for the first few overs the Skip couldnt handle the pressure and fed one to slip. So out I came to join my landlord and now newly acquired Formula 1 driver. We too went along slowly as the bowling was of a good standard and with the assistance of the wicket sometimes quite hard to handle. Schuey then departed edging one to the keeper, although he did hang around and make the umpire earn his pennies as he insists he didnt touch it. For someone who says that Ozzies only walk when they run out of fuel this was quite a contradictory statement. Sparky came in at number four. On the way to the crease he must have caught The Landlords disease as he also stood his ground on one which the keeper took in front of first slip (dont worry Sparky I know you were only following the example set by your elders). At 3 for 30 we were definitely on the back foot. Arch ventured to the crease to try and help the Oz build some stability to the Duffield innings, but after a couple of nice shots to the fielders and a few fend offs from the tip of his nose he too was taking the lonesome walk back to the pavilion. In came the father of the year, Jonesy. After being absent with family commitments for the last few weeks we werent too sure of his capabilities. He started off swinging like a rusty gate, and played and missed at a few. A couple of nervous overs went by but then things started to settle down for the pair. Nudging some here and there things looked on the up for Duffield, and then once we both had spent a bit of time at the crease the boundaries started to flow. As the run rate picked up Staveley became very quiet in the field and some abuse was being thrown at there own team mates as Jonesy and myself eased our way through the middle session. Enjoying his time at the crease Jonesy started to dispatch a few big hits. The Oz then departed for 75 in the 42nd over trying to dispatch one well into the cow fields, ending a solid partnership of around 95. Robin then came out trying to continue his good batting form this year but only managed to scratch up a couple on the scoreboard. Jones still batting well was dismissed for a very well made and timely fifty. Enter Mr Scattergood who with his rather large frame was hoping to lift the run rate a little as the overs were quickly running out. It appeared the only good thing his size was for on Saturday was the devouring of the superb afternoon tea, as he too came back with a single figure total. Shorty followed the trend of single figure scores and it was left to Dong and Hughy to finish the innings for Duffield.
Notching up a score of 183 for 9 we went into the tea break quite happy considering the start we had, and on a dodgy wicket felt we had a good chance to knock off Stavely who have not lost this year. Now comes the second major story of the day - the Teas. I heard a lot of good reports about the teas at Stavely but nothing could prepare me for what presented itself on the Stavely pool table when I entered the bar. There were hot dogs, cobs, fruit, salads, pickled onions, chips, cakes and crisps. It was a feast fit for a king. As the lads tucked in our eyes nearly popped out of our heads when out came jelly, ice cream and vienetta. So what could we do but stuff our faces before we headed out to the field. No wonder Stavely have done so well, their opposition cant move after the tea interval.
The opening bowling attack which has served us well in recent weeks was again brought into use. Hugo started up the hill but was bowling with the aid of a nice ridge which was on a good length. Dong was given the privilege of bowling down hill and with the wind hoping to aid his extreme pace. Some good overs after the tea break built a little pressure which finally resulted in a wicket for Dong as Schuey whipped the bails off quick as a flash. Dongs spell however wasnt without controversy as one of the Stavely batsmen was quite adamant that Dong actually threw the ball - this took us all by surprise as the thought had never entered any of our heads. A little bit of banter was had with the batsmen and could only result in one outcome, a wicket for Duffield. Dong now has two wickets but then Hugo claimed a third, the batsmen caught at midoff.
At 3 for not many Duffield were building the pressure and feeling confident, but the Stavely batsmen started to dig in. The Skip finally thought it adequate for a change and brought himself on from one end and me from the other. Although I thought my first over was quite good, four of the six balls disappeared at an alarming speed through midwicket for four resulting in none for 16 off 1 over - things not looking too good and obviously one of their players / supporters agreed as they gave the advice 'have a blow Oz'. But from the other end Sims was bowling out of his skin turning them a mile with bounce and fizz. This built some enormous pressure but the Stavely lads kept the runs coming from the other end. The Skip obviously thought Stavely needed a little assistance during the middle period as he dropped what can only be described as a Sitter (head up Chap - maybe a little catching practice is required). Cruising at 3 for about 130 I finally claimed a wicket, Short catching one of his four at long off. Peter Camm departing for a well made 50. Giving a spark to Duffield we started to take back control and with Simsy keeping the runs down and now also taking a couple of wickets we looked in a good position. In the last few overs the wickets fell steadily as the run rate grew and off the last over they required about ten runs to win. Loosing one more wicket they were nine down with 2 balls left and 6 runs to win. The number eleven stood firm and the result a winning draw for Duffield. Credit must go to the fielding of the Duffield team as it was superb (especially one Mr Short who waa=s exceptional and took four superb catches) and also all those who bowled. But Simsy taking 3 for 20 off 14 overs was the key for Duffield on this occasion.
So all in all a good days cricket for Duffield and an absolute superb tea for the lads. In terms of the tottie meter, well it registered before the game started with one of the Stavely lads misses coming to watch and she was quite nice. Despite this there wasnt much action on the meter even though it was a nice sunny day. Thanks again to Schuey for showing me some more of the country side but I would really have liked to just get to the ground. Now what followed after the game can only be described as a super session of drinking at the White Hart with the tottie meter going off the scale once more, and then the lads saw the sun rise as we got boozed watching the Lewis/Klitchko fight (Cmon Klitchko).
Related Links:
Duffield 1st XI - 2003
Duffield 1st XI Fixtures
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