Sunshine, Pizza (!) and cricketing drama….

Following the theatre of the 2017 fixture when it came down to the last ball with Romany needing 6 to win and President Hockin on strike, could this year’s game possibly be as tense……?

The Romany ‘caravan’ headed over to Yapham a couple of players short despite the daily pleas from the match manager and the assurance of a fine tea and glorious weather awaiting us. President Hockin made his seasonal debut alongside the sprightly John Walford and Richard Reynolds for whom it was a local encounter. Yapham very kindly lent us a player (Andy) so at least we could take the field with 10, well 9.5 really, as Matt Knight seemed to be still on the dance floor at the 21^st he had attended the night before….

It was the hottest day of the year and as we rocked up, listening to the England football starting, it was slightly dispiriting to see that the opposition had half a dozen 18 yr olds from Pocklington school warming up! No matter, we took the field and two of their young bucks strode out to open their innings.

George opened the bowling from the top end with a tight 5 overs including the dismissal of one opener, clean bowled. After the scorer had asked the name of our other opening bowler, response: ‘Walford’, his response: ‘what as in EastEnders?’, a slightly bemused John opened up with an equally tight spell removing the other opener with only 20 or so on the board. Number 3 and 4 bats weren’t of the same athletic build as the openers and their run rate quickly slowed. Tight slow bowling from Walford, Hockin and C.Read (with over 150 years’ experience between them – and Charlie is 12, so you do the maths…) meant that their scoreboard progress was thankfully limited. Richard Reynolds also bowled a very economical spell and it was only when we picked up another wicket courtesy of C.Read and a retirement did their score board accelerate with a couple of youngsters at the crease at the end. Fielding was tight with John Surtees and Sam Smith sharing the gloves for a tidy display of keeping.

Tea was as good as promised by the match manager (phew,….!), hummus, carrot sticks, pizza, wedges, ciabatta sandwiches, strawberries and meringues, and soon it was time for us to chase down their posted 148 in 35 overs.

D.Read and Sam opened the batting and got off to a brisk start with Sam hitting the first 6 of the match in to the adjoining corn field. Other boundaries followed but then a top edge from Sam saw him back in hut, quickly followed by Read.  Read was slightly unsure how/why he was given out by the overzealous Yapham loan player, however he followed the rule imposed on his children and didn’t question the decision but walked back with dignity – only to then moan a bucketful for the rest of the afternoon!! Knighty was now at the crease, sweating the beer out from the night before and complaining of having to run 2s never mind 3s. Yapham bowled tightly with their Pock lads fast and straight and once George was caught at slip (at the second attempt) we needed to steady the Romany ship. Richard decided the best form was attack and he slapped several boundaries and a huge 6 in a display of power hitting before being unlucky to be out to a great catch at mid-on. Knighty contributed a very important 26 before being bowled off his pads but soon we were heading towards 100 up with still a few wickets in hand. C.Read chipped in a valuable few, as did Andy the loan player, but a couple of wickets fell and things started to look tense…..

What you need in these circumstances is experience – our 8^th, 9^th, 10^th batsman all certainly had that and John Surtees sensibly picked off the singles and kept the fast bowlers at bay. John Walford hit a lovely straight drive for 4 and suddenly the scores were tied. Their opening bowler returned, John got one that jumped on him a bit and now it was down to the President again, our last batsman, to find that winning run. The field came in tight, the Pocklington 18 yr old extended his run and the ground fell silent in anticipation…. Peter showed him the makers name with a text book defensive shot straight out of the first edition of the MCC coaching manual. The fielders came closer, the run up got longer, and the next ball slightly faster. Unfortunately, Peter Hockin is just far too good a batsman to get the streaky edge or a Chinese cut which would have done it for us, and instead he hit it too well and the bowler managed to pluck it out the air to secure a tie!

Who would have believed it – two years in a row tension down to the last ball. It makes you think about that extra run we could have perhaps pinched, the generosity of not giving wides when umpiring, but no matter – this was Romany cricket and whilst the win would certainly have been nice, it was as always, an enjoyable way to spend a Sunday. Who doesn’t like being in the sunshine, playing a close game, with great teas and good company? So why not get your name down for the next few fixtures…….

As usual we were warmly welcomed by Mark Cunliffe-Lister at the magnificent Swinton Park, but as he had lost a couple of players that morning he suggested that Romany had a bat whilst he tried to bolster his side. Whilst we offered substitute fielders, the home team were happy to make do with what they had including Mrs Cunliffe-Lister and a couple of youngsters.

Nick Palmer and Harwood, batting together for the first time since the 1994 Sussex tour, opened our account with both of them striking the ball sweetly and quickly getting the scoreboard moving – Nick was the first to go however when he cleanly struck a half volley in to covers, only to pick out their best fielder, Mrs Cunliffe-Lister who took a blinding catch. When asked if it was the first time he had been caught by a woman in jeans, Palmer was heard to reply ‘well yes, but only on a cricket pitch….’

Keon batting at 3 was unlucky to be out cheaply, and D.Read and Harwood put on a few before the traditional retirement at 25. C.Read kept the middle order together with 18 not out especially when Rob ‘brave’ Smith decided to jump out of the way of the ball rather than use his bat! A flurry of runs from George (batting at 11 for turning up late!) brought us to a total of 126 from our 25 overs, which perhaps looked a bit short.

 Tea in the snooker room was as good as ever, with the fruitcake and wensleydale cheese proving a good seller…..

 Keon opening the bowling with some fast and straight deliveries, with his dad giving encouragement from behind the stumps. However it was Rob Bielby who got the first breakthrough as the opener aired one to D.Read who closed his eyes and hung on. Mark Cunliffe-Lister retired at 25 along with their big hitting number 4, which allowed us to run through their middle order. The bowling was rotated with a limit of 3 per bowler and Matt was particularly unlucky not to take a wicket during his tight spell, conceding only 4 runs from his 3 overs. Mrs Cunliffe-Lister had elected to weed her vegetable patch rather than bat, and so the imposing B.Read (9yrs old) made his senior debut, for the opposition – he managed a couple of runs, before the big nasty bully George Holden bowled him! Tight fielding and good catching by Rob, Charlie and Keon meant that we soon had our sights on their number 10, a certain M.Knight who had just come up to watch but had also brought his whites and so offered his services to Swinton.

Grinning nervously, he took his guard, before producing the shot of the day, and steering the ball down a rabbit hole under the tree within the boundary. Romany fielders were bemused as to where the ball had gone, and they managed to run four before it was retrieved from thumpers lair! Knighty then had the temerity to clip Keon for a boundary off his legs, and so the next ball came a bit fuller and faster and removed Knighty’s off peg – it was a slow walk back to the ‘pavilion’ for him!

Swinton had always been up with the required rate and now they had their two retired batsman back in, needing 20 from the last 4 overs. A few boundaries later and Romany were looking down the barrel of defeat, until an inspired bit of captaincy that saw Harwood take his pads off and take the ball. We needed 1 wicket, they needed 4 runs. A couple of tight deliveries built pressure and then their batsman lobbed one up to D.Read who managed to pouch it. A great game and a Romany victory by 3 runs.

A good fun day, with plenty of families spectating and even a confused bunch of Japanese tourists from the hotel taking a moment to shake their heads at the finer points of the game! Perhaps this wasn’t one that entirely stuck to the MCC rules……but a fixture that always produces a great game and plenty of enjoyment nonetheless

 – Duncan Read, Match Manager