So, we meet again my old nemesis.
Its been a busy old weekend at HQ and judging by the redness of my eyes this morning – one I appear to have enjoyed.
All of Saturday’s action to come, but first a huge thank-you to all those who came along on Sunday for a memorable afternoon’s stroll down Memory Lane as we celebrated 70 years of colt’s cricket at Normandy with some great cricket and the welcome return of plenty of blasts from the past. The weather was kind, the atmosphere jovial and a fantastic afternoon was enjoyed by many members past and present. Too many thank yous to list here but to all who contributed to a great day I and the club appreciate all you did and it was brilliant to see so many ex-colts return to the club they have all enriched in the past. Special mention to our unsung hero of the week Richard Spink for stepping in as photographer at the very last minute to capture some commemorative photos - thanks Richard it was very much appreciated.
Right, back to Saturday now and straight to the headline game which this week features our 4th XI. Sent out on the road to take on Weybridge Vandals, captain Medlock would have been delighted to see his batters post 175 for 6 in their 40 overs with MJ Scott in the runs again with 77 of the Queen’s runs while the oldest swinger in town, Keith Ford rolled back the years to crack 56 and in doing so became the oldest player to score a half century for Normandy. Rarely has news of a fifty been received back at HQ with such delight – all the more remarkable coming as it did just 2 weeks after Keith announced his unofficial retirement.
If all of this was not enough to make the day memorable what happened after tea ensured it was a game unlikely to be forgotten in a hurry. Incredibly our bowlers then bundled out the Vandals for just 8, the home side falling agonisingly 168 runs short of their target. Destroyer in chief was the Rev George who finished with the remarkable figures of 7 overs, 7 maidens, 0 runs conceded and 5 wickets taken. I’m prepared to go out on a limb and say these are figures unlikely to be matched anytime soon. The 4s are now 5th and the Vandals drop in to the relegation zone.
The 1st team also enjoyed a win, but with a much more workmanlike performance, chasing down Malden Wanderers’s 147 all out for the loss of just 3 wickets. The game at Malden started spectacularly with Will Pereira striking with his first 2 balls of the game, both LBW. Any hopes Malden had of recovering to post a big score were ended by Little Viggy who once again twirled his magic to finish with 5 for 40 (taking his league tally to 17 in just 4 games) while Pereira had a nice 4-fer of his own to admire.
In reply Stuart Meaker’s breezy boundary filled 20 got us going well and contributions from Fabulous Freddy Austin (37), Tennyson Prowse (26), CJ (33*) and Charlie (29*) ensured the points were safely harvested. The dark spot on this horizon was the knee injury sustained by Tennyson while running himself out – the full extent of which is yet to be quantified. The 1s remain top.
At HQ the 2s almost pulled off a famous win over table topping Dulwich, being unable to winkle out the final wicket which would have garnered the full quota of points and instead had to settle for a winning draw. Batting first Normandy posted 205 all out with a solid string of contributions from such luminaries as Sam Holland (37), Hemers (26), Callum J (29), Leroy Robinson (30), Arya (18) and Aaron Teeny (20).
Not to be outdone by the 1st team opening bowler, AK found himself on a hat-trick in his first over, missing out with one of the worst hat-trick balls of all time before resuming back to the line and length that had already proven fruitful. They say things come in 3s, and we’d had a Fordy 50, a team bowled out for 8 and then…. then…. Ben Heane got wickets for the second week in a row! A bemused Dulwich were suddenly 20 for 4 with some terrific slip catching the key to the NCC success. Further wickets from the skipper, Heane Dog and a third for AK meant there was time to try and prize apart the final pair, but all credit to them they stuck to their task surviving 65 balls between them to save the draw. A really heartening performance from the 2s the highlight of which was the slip catching throughout but in particular 4 grabs by Leroy stand out. 2s are 7th with a visit from Richard Phillips and Farnham to look forward to this week.
Lastly the 3s sadly went down again on the top pitch as Old Whits overtook our 148 for 9 just 4 down. Only Torquil (23) and Fitzy (22) made telling contributions with the bat but the lower order girded their loins to add 46 runs for the last 4 wickets – a big improvement on recent weeks. Sadly, it was insufficient and despite a brace of wickets for Hodgy and Lee Teeny, Old Whits leapfrog us into 9th and the 3s are currently in the basement.
Fantasy League
Chris Hampton is top of the league just 12 points ahead of Julie Robinson’s second team and wily old Jonny Nolan third after topping the weekly chart with a splendid 706. At t’other end of the spectrum Scrappy Wellfare was in retreat this week with a mere 215 for his Half Trackers.
Reminders
Please pay your outstanding match fees on Slate should you have any and please use MyClubhouse to indicate your availability. Maybe this will be the week when we pick the sides and they have not changed by the time I get home. I may be sad old man with a curious udder fixation but I can dream.
Sunday sees the National Knockout game at Havant and also the first of the Academy games on the main ground, so please make yourselves available fort these important games.
Golf day
And lastly funny old Naitch would like me to point you all in the direction of the sign-up sheet for the annual golf day. The sheet is on the noticeboard in the entrance hall of the club, details of the day are on the sheet and there is a pen behind the bar, there is ink in the pen which will transfer to the paper when contact is made between the two in the appropriate manner and we MUST find the jade monkey before the next full moon. Golf Day is again at Hurtmore on Sunday 1 September.
Right, I’m off to Tony Cordle’s house to scratch up his Vivaldi LPs.
Time for bed
Zebedee
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