Match Report

After a day of ‘will we, won’t we’ due to the weather the game was on! The Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (NOC) team all seemed to know how to tell the time and were there and largely ready to go.  But as the clock ticked towards the allotted 6pm start time, Middleton Stoney could amass just 6 players.  DO PLEASE try and get to the ground in good time!

As it was, the toss was won by the stand-in skipper and MSCC elected to bat……not that he had much choice!  The opening pair of Shaan and, making his seasonal debut, David Coles took to the field and we were underway.  Shaan made a quick 5 before walking across his stumps to a straight one from Martin and was out LBW.  Ali Meier brought stability as he and David took MSCC along at a steady 5 an over.  Ali eventually falling LBW to Lloyd for 15.  That brought out the junior of the Bazeley triumvirate playing in this match.  Josh played tidily within ‘the V’ but suffered the most annoying of dismissals for 5, as a straight drive from David Cole was deflected back onto the non-striker’s stumps by a diving Lloyd.  This brought Ahmad to the wicket.  Struggling with timing and shot selection, he made several attempts to run past the ball and thereby surrender his wicket, but the bowlers kept missing! Eventually he found his timing and range – and the ball was despatched around the ground as he rapidly amassed runs.  With the score nearing 100 we then had the first, but thankfully short, rain interruption.  On resumption, David and Ahmad both got to 30 and retired, allowing James Bazeley and Arthur Floyd to take up the run chase for the final 3 overs.  Sadly, that was curtailed by a second rain break and it was agreed that MSCC would bat for just one more over (the 18^th of the innings) before NOC took their turn.  In that final over Arthur hit a splendid 2.  James and Arthur both remaining Not Out.

At the turn around NOC required 112 from 18 overs.  Hamidullah, in traditional form, opened, from the ‘top end’ with NOC scoring just 2 off his first over.  James Bazeley took the second over from the ‘bottom end’ to rather devastating effect, removing both Ritter and Bage (both bowled, middle stump out of the ground) and running out the unfortunate Dave who was trying to take a quick single.  NOC – 3 wickets for 4 runs in 2 overs.  The skipper had seen enough and took James off as he was ruining a good game of cricket! He was replaced by MSCC debutant Khalid, bowling a decent medium pace.  Things remained tight with Paul Wordsworth replacing Hamidullah.  In a contest of the medical professionals, Paul produced 4 overs of typical clinical precision against his medical colleagues.  Khalid was to get his first MSCC wicket (Kendrick (Jr) Bowled for 5), Shaan bowled Hennesey for 3.  There was then a spell where James Bazeley again sought to ruin a perfectly good game of cricket by removing Kendrick (Snr) with a very accurate quick throw from mid-off, which was gathered at the stumps by Arthur, keeping wicket, to complete the run-out, for 15.  He bowled the 15^th over, removing Woods (13) and Sykes (0) who also both lost their middle stump, before then catching Fellows at mid-off for 3, off the bowling of Wordsworth.  And with just 2 overs left, Craig attempted to drive one through the covers off Shaan, only to caught by a diving James who was having ‘one of those games’! NOC all out for 64. 

Well done all and thank you to Paul for ground prep in some testing weather conditions and for Tim for umpiring. 

“Time Gentlemen please……..”