Chaos here,

Today was the first instalment of the “Scholes double header” where we entertained them in the league and we would travel to Chapelgate tomorrow for the Sykes Cup. They’ve always provided a tough test, the same core players every year and they play the game hard. A few of theirs let us know last season that we were near the bottom so I was keen to see a few of them over the white line for a catch-up.

It was a beautiful sunny day at the Memorial ground and we had a fresh pitch to look forward to. We all know at Moorlands that a new pitch can be hard work for the first 10/15 overs but once you get passed that you can really enjoy yourself as a batting side. Scholes won the toss and elected to bat; we knew the first hour would be crucial in determining what kind of day we were going to have. Rudgey took the new rock from the Road End as is customary for 2023 and I settled into my mid-on fielding position. Rudgey didn’t allow the Scholes dressing room to even find a seat before he blasted the batters front pad off first ball. Not to be outdone by his opening partner, third ball M1 swung one late back into the Scholes overseas, which he decided to leave and consequently lost his off stump.

There was no rest-bite for Scholes as our opening pair smelt blood and were in no mood to let them off the hook. M1 quickly removed Benji Birkhead with a leading edge to Nads at cover, before Rudgey removed Brad Birkhead trapped in front of all three shortly after. Scholes number three had his stumps dismantled by M1 with a fine piece of swing bowling, leaving Scholes 17-5 and in all honesty buried. Eventually the ball stopped swinging and the pitch proved hard work for the bowlers. The Scholes 6th wicket put on 91 runs before Nads removed their number 7, a good catch in the deep by Liam Collins (LC). The next 4 wickets fell for just 32 runs and we completed our work in the field, bowling them out for 140. Once again, the opening pair did all the damage with a scintillating spell of swing bowling from both ends, proving far too good for an order bereft of confidence. Rudgey finishing with 3/36 and M1 with 4/29, also a mention for Nads who bowled in the middle overs on a wicket offering very little for bowlers, he got the breakthrough which started the end.

At half time the dressing room was confident of getting the score, however it would depend on how well we navigated the new ball in the first 10 overs or so. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to do that, losing M1 to a questionable caught behind in the first over and Shoki playing on to a short ball in the following over, leaving us 4-2. Scholes, who looked down and out at the start of the innings were now chirpy and fancying pulling off a shock win. However, the ever-dependable JR took the initial sting out of it by occupying the crease with overseas man, Moggy. JR was then caught at slip by a smart catch for a 33 ball 14, which left us 27-3 and wobbling a little bit. This brought back painful memories of last season where we would lose wickets in bunches and struggle to knock off mediocre totals.

However, this is an altogether different side and the next hour or so Moggy and in-form-man Sirj put on a batting clinic. They didn’t give them a sniff and the scoreboard was constantly ticking over, picking up regular singles and the odd boundary. Both men are class batsmen who are very easy on the eye, providing the home support with plenty to cheer in the sun. Moggy reached his 50 in just 66 balls, a chance-less knock with some exquisite shots and lesson in finding gaps. The pair put on 99 runs in an impressive 4th wicket stand which ended when Mogs mistimed a low full toss and was caught. This brought new man Liam Collins to the crease for his home debut. With just 15 to win, the pair saw it home with no more mishaps, Sirj finished on 50* and Collins 6*. We knocked it off 4 down in just 28.2 overs, an altogether impressive performance against a side widely tipped to finish top 3.

Yet again, a fairly faultless performance from the lads and a good showing for the home crowd on a sunny day. At 5-2 we could have had a slight wobble but this team is a stark contrast to last season. We have serious firepower and grit when it’s needed in the batting order which makes batting 2nd not so daunting for me. We once again finish the day top of the league on 28pts and take confidence into tomorrow’s Sykes cup tie against the same opposition.

Til next time,