The pitch at Combe Dingle - the inferior one out at the back, which we
are allowed to use - looked to Kevin like a long jump pit. It was
chlorine green from the stumps to just
in front of the popping creases, and brown with
patchy grass on it in between. James felt he didn't want to bat
on it, or not yet anyway, and put the opposition in. Unfortunately we
did not immediately test the pitch thoroughly: we bowled several wides
and full tosses, and their openers got off to something of a
flyer. Kartik was uncharacteristically wayward and Paul Snow also
below his usual standard. Rhodri, too, struggled at first, but he
settled and he, Gregory and James Dutton slowed the scoring. James
bowled quite well. Gregory didn't, but somehow got away with it. There
was turn, but the pitch did not really misbehave. It was a long time
before anybody got a wicket. Eventually James bowled the more
dangerous-looking of the openers, but by that time the score was
80. Mike and Kevin kept up the good work, but the bowler who caused
greatest confusion was James Coughlan. The surviving opener, who had
passed fifty, had never seemed comfortable against the spinners, and
simply lacked the patience to wait for James's first ball. Paul
stumped him gleefully. Paul also got a good catch off Mike, and one of
many miscues finally found its way into Kartik's hands; but an
effective final slog brought the total to 180. At the very end they
lost a fieldsman: the captain top-edged a ball from Kevin into his own
bridgework. He seemed not to be in much pain, considering, but he was
clearly unable to continue. The injury is expensive, apparently, but
not serious.
Our batting likewise hit itself firmly in its own teeth. Competition
was stiff, but the most ridiculous dismissal was probably Kartik's: he
forgot to take guard, drifted across until the umpire could see only
his leg stump and then got a ball outside leg, jumped back to leg and
was bowled off his pads. Survival should not have been difficult, but
(apart from Tom, who got a bad decision) only Paul Martin and Mike
seriously attempted it. Scoring was always going to be harder. The
outfield was very slow. It was also uneven, so that many fieldsmen
were beaten by a bad bounce and then turned round to find the ball in
a hole a few yards behind then. Paul's effort, and a couple of shots
from Kevin and James Coughlan at the end, just about saved us from
total embarrassment; but only Paul Martin and James Coughlan can look
back on this one with any feeling of satisfaction.
Back to the 2004 Fixtures List