Concorde v Temple Sheen

Match Report

Following a dreary and wet morning, it seemed unlikely that this game would be played but come the appointed hour, the rain had ceased and thanks to the Chairman’s diligent efforts as groundsman, the pitch had been covered and was entirely dry and fit for a prompt start. The players, however, were not all present, some having been outwitted by the earlier start and when play did eventually get under way, it was about 15 minutes late which was duly added on to the end of the days playing time.

Having lost the toss and been inserted, the Concorde innings was opened by Chris Patterson and James Aston of Harpesden, making his debut for the club. The bowling they faced was of no great pace but was accurate and both found the going hard. James, looked very solid and played some pleasant straight drives, so it was a surprise when he lost his off stump although it took a very good ball which pitched on middle and took out the off stump. He left for 10.

Chris was joined by Ash who also looked in good order until aiming a drive, it sliced off the side of his bat and was caught at a deepish gulley for 9. Nick Wright nursing a painful back, joined Chris and these two, in a virtual replay of last week, began the job of stabilising the innings. It was laborious work against bowling that got slower and slower which neither batsman found to their liking but a partnership was put together which took the score beyond 50 before Chris was very well caught for 13 at midwicket, Nick adjudged LBW to a shooter for 26, Richard Ingham caught for 7 and a very unlucky Tom Barton playing his second game for the club was nonchalantly caught at cover off a full blooded cut which looked a definite 4 from the moment it left the bat.

Nick Freeman, who had much to say about the slow scoring rate, then set about the bowling in company with Matt Hallam and these two took the innings into 4th gear. Pugnaciously attacking the bowling these two put pressure on the bowlers and breathed life back into a dying team innings to the extent that both raced to 50, Nick in especially quick time striking 9 4’s before he was caught for a fine 53. Jerry Wright stayed with Matt Hallam for 20 minutes while Matt continued to hit out and when Jerry was caught off a leading edge, Nigel helped Matt to his 50 which was completed with 7 4’s and Jerry had the unexpected privilege of declaring the innings closed on a healthy looking 192 for 8.

The Concorde bowling was opened by Tom Barton and Matt Hallam. Tom, standing some 6’5″ is not a welcome sight to any opening batsman and with a classical high action , he generated good pace and uncomfortable bounce and it was no surprise when, in his second over, he uprooted the stumps and then induced a fine edge from the new batsman which was taken by Nick Freeman behind the stumps, though, admittedly, his technique of catching it between the back of his hands rather than the more orthodox palms of his hands might be questioned by old school theorists!

Matt Hallam also bowled well with good pace but without any luck at all and after 5 overs succumbed to a leg injury which necessitated his removal from the attack in the middle of an over, to be replaced by Jerry Wright and after7 overs (2 -23), Tom too went down with a similar issue to be replaced by Cudders. Jerry had some fairly immediate success getting a positive LBW decision from a full ball and then Nick Freeman taking a catch off the new batsman while standing up, his second such catch in successive weeks off the same bowler.

Whilst the Temple Sheen innings was beginning to disintegrate, their opening batsman was keeping them alive, hitting almost everything to leg with power and being almost solely responsible for their runs. With the commencement of the last 20 overs, it looked odds on a Concorde victory with Jerry taking two more wickets, one an excellent catch off his ankles by a hobbling Tom Barton who then excelled that by taking another fine diving effort off Cudders bowling to dismiss the opening bat who had every right to think that his low exocet of a shot was destined for another boundary.

Ashley now replaced Ian and settled in nicely, inducing a popped catch to Richard Ingham. However, at this point, two gentlemen of a certain age came to the wicket and had about them the demeanour of those who are not going to give their wicket away unnecessarily nor take any quick singles. The shutters were down and these two played out the remaining 10 overs or so with a dead bat and dogged defence. That is not to say that chances were not created with two rock solid (in the bowlers opinion) LBW appeals turned down and a sharp catching chance to James at silly mid off off Jerry’s bowling and a spliced drive to mid off which hung in the air for what seemed an eternity before falling short of substitute fields man, Jerry Stockbridge, off Ash’s bowling. The innings closed with Temple Sheen on 112 -8.

Undoubtedly, circumstances worked against Concorde in not being able to call up the firepower of the quicker bowlers to clear up the tail in time honoured fashion but teams must work with what they have and this was a creditable performance by Concorde in what might be termed a winning draw. Certainly, the game remained interesting to the end and highlighted the reasons why we play timed cricket rather than 40 over cricket which would otherwise have made for a dull end to the game.