Not our greates hour - S.Parker

This game was not one of Springfields greatest!

I was very excited about this game as we had got our best team out all season and we had just won our previous game on the same ground. However, I lost the toss and they elected to bat; I thought this might be our day as I wanted to field anyway.

We opened the bowling with Mark and RP, as Pat had injured his shoulder during the week and could not bowl. We started very confidently with Mark getting an early breakthrough, bowling Jonny Gough. Off 10 overs they were 31 for 1, but it went down hill from here! It seemed everybody had the wide bug and we started to give them runs, and they started to gather pace. Mark finished his spell with 1 for 28, most of them being wides and no balls! I took RP off and tried Kevan but he struggled to control the swing with the right and left batsmen. I decided to bring myself and Phil on to try and reduce the run rate, and we did succeed for a few overs. I managed to get a wicket and break the partnership, but then I started to give away runs as well. I was also given two warnings for bowling two high full tosses, one more and I would have been taken off which I think is ridiculous for a spin bowler, but anyway. I also took the important wicket off Peter Gough who was batting very well and managed to reach 66 before he was caught behind by Neil. At the other end, Phil was bowling well and restricting the batsmen.

Phil and I had a break so we could both come on later, so I bowled Jason and John - I think the umpires didn't like John as they kept calling wide after wide. Jason started with a ball that was more dangerous to the player standing at cover than the batsmen. (Next time, Jason, get loose a bit more!) I am afraid it went down hill from there for him. A net session might be called for! OVs passed the 200 mark and our heads were dropping more and more. Phil and I came back on as we both had a few overs remaining, the first ball I bowled was hit straight towards Deep Mid On and RP took a great catch, Chris Jones went for 66. In came Tom Minty who I bowled round the legs for 1. Bobby Minty did not fair any better and was bowled for 6.

OVs finished on 268 for 7 off 45 overs, we bowled 47 extras, yes 47 EXTRAS, and… wait for it, 32 of them were wides! We therefore actually bowled 50 overs.

We opened the batting with Peter and Mark. We started off nicely with Mark hitting a few fours, but then Peter tried to do the same and was caught one handed by Tom Minty. In came Pat who was still struggling with his shoulder and looking to get some runs after not being able to bowl. Unfortunately the Quennevais pitch got to him and he played too early on a pull shot and hit it straight to square leg. Then it was John's turn. He looked solid and started to put a partnership together with Mark. However Mark was out shortly after to another good one handed catch by Jonny Gough and was out for 28. In came Jason to make a mends for his bowling. He hit a few fours but decided to go for another big hit but got bowled. Then came the middle order collapse. First, Neil was bowled first bowl, and then I came in on the hat trick ball and was bowled as well. I have not got a clue how the ball managed to get through my defence but it did. Next up was Kevan who had to rush to get ready, after wearing his jeans, a T-shirt and a jumper and still complaining it was too cold. (Kevan, just remind me what you are training for again and what sort of weather should the sport be played in!) After he had warmed up (quite literally), he hit a few good shots which woke John up, and in one ball he doubled his score to 8. John then started to play a few shots and started to rack up the runs. Kevan was out for 12, then in came RP hoping to get a few runs to build another partnership with John but he didn't and was caught out in the deep. This brought Phil to the wicket and he started to scamper between the stumps to get a few more runs for John. Another good partnership looked hopeful until Phil was out caught. Then in came Suthan at number 11 (yes, he did open last week but wanted to bat at 11!) If you have never seen Suthan run between the wickets then you should. You can usually him calling YES about five miles away! He and John started to put a few runs on the board and he was helping John get to his 50 until Suthan tried to go for another quick run to A Brown (well anybody would have done the same), but to all our surprise he picked it up cleanly and had a direct hit. Unlucky, Suthan.

We were all out for 137 with John stranded on 46 not out. He was there for 100 minutes and showed all of us how to do it. Even when wickets were falling all around him, he held his head. This is why Phil nominated him as Man of The Match.

Over all this was not a great game of cricket for Springfield and a game I think we will all want to forget. So far this season we must have bowled about 100 wides and given 150 extras. We are third in the table after five games. If we can bowl better for the next five games I do not see why we will not be in the same position!

Salaries pays dividends - R Parker

On arriving at FB the first thought was where was the wicket? You couldn't see if a strip had been cut. The only clue was a lawn mower in the area.

As you walked out towards the square and kept going towards FB2, there it was, a vision in green, lush green glass with a slope that Kevin could have used for his Bob Sleigh training!! Maybe a bit of an exaggeration but not much!!

I wouldn't say it was a long walk to the crease but I had a taxi on stand by if I was needed to bat.

As the stand in Captain I would like to have said what a good toss to win - however we didn't but Mr Clarke kindly decided to bat first - I had to stop myself from saying are you sure!

Mark and PK opened the bowling and were firing on all cylinders with the ball moving off the pitch and both sending down some jaffa balls that were un-playable - Mark bowled his 9 overs straight through and finished with superb figures of 3 for 24. PK completed his 9 in two spells with great figures of 1 for 26.

Scott and Phil supported the opening attack with Pace, spin and guile together With yours truly adding some sheer "hostile" bowling that put fear into the eyes of the batsmen or was it the umpires in case they pulled something while signalling a wide or two!!!

Phil bowled his spell straight through with a great effort of 1 for 24 and while Scot was a little more expensive the sight of the off stump spinning out of ground as he bowled Karl Moyse was truly spectacular.

All the bowlers were well supported in the field, however a special mention
Must be made of Jason's 7 catches in the match a fantastic effort - The lads who picked Jason in there Fantasy team could not contain themselves !!

Only Paul Horton managed to put up some resistance to the intense pressure
of our bowling and fielding with a good knock of 52. There only other runs coming from a new player, E-xtras with 45 runs - Spanish I believe!

On a serious note this is something we need to work on to try and reduce the runs we give away through wides and no balls. However this should not take away the effort and great team performance

And so to tea - where we were supplied with some excellent sandwiches
And a good supply from Mr Kipling - do recommend his Lemon slices - all washed down to the groans from poor old Phil who timely advised of us he had been suffering all game with the Tommy Tits - Fair play Phil for getting through the match.

Our Target to win was 171 - to do this we knew would be a challenge even if with the wicket drying out a little. While we were fielding our target was to try and keep them to below 150 which if you take out the extras we conceded would have been - however if we batted like we did against Romerils last week then we would have a good chance.

Peter C and Mark opened the batting facing Paul Horton and Barry Middleton never an easy attack - but both looked pretty solid until PC got one from Horton that didn't get up and ended up being Yorker.

PK entered at three and together with Mark set about building a partnership
Until they were comfortable to start attacking - Mark sending a couple of straight drives back over Paul Horton's Head and PK pulling Barry Middleton exquisitely to the boundary on several occasions - and to the longest boundary - It was good to see both players batting sensibly and to be honest neither really looked in trouble until Pat when on 42 was given a dubious LBW
Not a happy chappy!! Still a very good knock and put us in a good position.

With Evansie still on his Throne, John Fearon went in at 4, and when on 4 also got an LBW decision against him. Mark had now gone onto an excellent 50 and was joined by Jason who had made a half century last week.

St Ouens had brought Horton back to try and get into us, however Two superb pull shots from Jason put paid to that idea, and a quick fire 23 from Jason and Mark playing some fine shots to Finish on 74 not out brought us home to win by 7 wickets.

This was a great win and everybody played their part - and would like to thank everybody for making it a joy to captain in sparky's absence but welcome Simon back for the next match.

The Man of the Match award goes to Mark for his excellent all round performance with bat and ball.

We are currently second in the league - and if we continue the way we are
Playing well who Knows!!!

Our first game in what is going to be an exciting season for Springfield. Arriving at the ground with the smell of freshly cut grass and the sun on my back brought a smile to my face, until I saw what Jason had lined up for us for a gentle warm up! Just kidding, it was good to shake off a few cob webs and get into the swing of things.

I managed to break away from the warm up to have a look at the pitch with my right hand man, Richard Parker (no, he is not my dad if any of you had thought so!) The pitch looked a bit green and soft on top, so me and RP agreed that fielding first was a good option.

I tossed up with the opposition captain, Tony Carlyon. As the coin spun with the sun glistening off it, I called 'heads' and to my dismay 'tails' came down. I was gutted… until Tony said proudly 'we will have a bat'. I thought 'this is going to be Springfield's day!'

We took to the field and had a quick huddle so that I could welcome the three players making their first team debut, Pat Kelly, Neil Hall and John Fearson.

I opened up with Mark who bowled very tightly and claimed an early first wicket from fantastic catch from Jason, as he dived straight in front of first slip. At the other end was Scott who, fired up and bowling at a very good pace, also claimed an early wicket. We had SCF on the back foot when Scott got another wicket. We were definitely on top at this point.

Both Mark and Scott started to tire but they both finished with excellent figures, Mark having 9 overs, 1 for 32 and Scott 7 overs, 2 for 41. I replaced them both with Pat and RP as SCF started to get a few runs and create a good partnership. They were both bowling very economically, not giving much away and then we were gifted a wicket by the umpire. RP bowled and hit the batmen's pads, a yelp went out as he landed badly on his foot, and, mistakenly, up went the finger of the umpire. We were very lucky as the two batsmen were getting set.

Both Pat and RP bowled well, restricting the batsmen in the middle of the innings. They both finished with good figures, Pat having 9 overs, 0 for 33 and RP 7 overs, 1 for 32. Then on came the spin twins… well me and Phil… more like little and large! As the previous bowlers had bowled so well and restricted SCF they had no option but to go after our bowling which me and Phil relished. We bowled out SCF for 191 with me having 8 overs, 3 for 27 and Phil 5 overs, 3 for 20.

We bowled and fielded especially well and I have to give a special mention to Julian and John who both fielded very well for the whole of the innings.

Tea

Peter made some lovely sandwiches, Phil provided the drinks, and Cakes were all eaten by RP. My darling wife to be slaved away in the kitchen to satisfy Jambo!

We were set 192, a very gettable score, or so I thought. We started off well with Peter and Mark getting into the stride, Peter managing to get it off the square in his first game… looks promising for the season! Mark was out first for 6 and then in came Pat who took a liking to Steve Carlyon, hitting it straight over his head a few times. It started to get a bit heated out in the middle, so Peter pulled up his trousers even more and dug in! Pat tried to go for one more big shot off Steve which was not quite there and skied it in the air. A few unsightly events took place as Steve gave him a send off and waved goodbye! Pat was out for a very explosive 38 then in came Jason.

Jason hit a few lusty blows but then was out, caught for 9. Up next was Neil who felt good, relaxed and looking forward to batting. He played a few shots before the umpire, with the trigger finger at the ready, and ending up spoiling his debut with an LBW for 0! In came John who also got triggered by the same umpire and was out for 0. While all this was happening, Peter was at the other end thinking about the time he hit his first ever 6!

In came Jambo who smacked a huge six into the car park, leaving Peter green eyed with jealousy and trying to match that, ending up being caught for 16. In came Phil to steady the ship until Jambo was caught for 7. Then it was my turn, I thought we were still in for a slight chance as we had 2 wickets left and plenty of overs to get about 100. Phil was going nicely hitting a few good shots, I hit a short ball for 2 and on the next bowl I was not expecting a slower bowl and was caught behind for 2. I walked off very annoyed with myself and I felt I had let the team down. Scott was up next and was then given out, LBW for 0. That left Phil and Julian to bat out the overs, but Phil had other ideas and decided to try and smack the ball to St Ouen but got caught in the slips for 13. Julian was left stranded not out on 0.

We were all out for 99!!

The positives that we can take from this game were our bowling and fielding, somebody after the game said that they could not remember the last time they bowled out SCF. Our bowling was spot on and we only dropped a few catches.
The one thing that let us down was our batting as we had already done the hard work in the field. It was only the first game and it shows what we need to work on.

Man of the match was Pat for his all round performance with bat and bowl. Well done Pat. You have the task of awarding the man of the match on Saturday against Grainville.