Reports & Scorecards 2016
Frogs vs Ashtead CC
Venue: Ashstead
Date: 11 September 2016
Result: Frogs win by 7 wickets.
Ashtead 163 ao (37.4 overs) - T Marshall 3-37.
Frogs 164-3 (33.3 overs) - Epstein 67*, Walden-Jones 43.
Reporting: Matthew Hughes
A glorious September day welcomed the Frogs to Woodfield Lane for the final fixture on the 2016 Summer. Upon winning the toss, the skipper invited Ashtead to bat first, a brave decision considering two of his bowlers were stuck on the M25 with an ever lengthening ETA!
So the Frogs took the field with 9, and some tight bowling from debutant Forbes and Croom-Johnson meant that by the time Frogs got to full strength (7th over) the home team had only been going at 4's. As such, following his two hour sit-in on the M25, A Marshall (1-44) came on to bowl and following a long hop smashed for four first ball (also the way his spell ended), picked up the first break through 3 balls later, which was soon followed by a deserved wicket for Croom-Johnson (1-19) who bowled his allocation of 8 overs down the hill.
T Marshall came on to replace Croom-Johnson, and at only a slightly quicker pace, preceded to pick up 3 wickets, working his way through the home sides middle order , finishing with 3-37 from his 8 overs, with the off stump cartwheeling backwards for each wicket. At the end of the 24th over Ashtead were 108 for 5, and by the end of the 25th they were 108 for 8. Skipper Hughes (2-14) brought himself on to bowl, picked up a caught and bowled 2nd ball, scared the new bat with his first ball so that he took a suicidal run next ball up leaving his partners well short, and then bowled the new bat first ball when, as much to the bowler's surprise as anyone else, he managed to extract some turn which made the batsman's leave look somewhat foolish!
Ashtead decided to hit out and managed to eek out a further 55 runs for the last two wickets, with Waldon-Jones (1-14) and the returning Forbes (1-34) finishing the job, leaving Frogs 164 to win in 40 overs.
Waldon-Jones and Showell opened up and showed respect to the Ashtead bowlers, with the score rattling along at just very slightly over 1 an over for the first 7 overs. The departure of Showell (4) seemed to loosen the shackles somewhat, with Waldon-Jones scoring all round the ground, including Chinese chops much to 'Stoomtroopers' annoyance. The departure of Mason (11) brought Australian Epstein to the crease, who formed a solid partnership with Waldon-Jones, so that after 20 overs Frogs were on track at 73 for 2. Waldon-Jones fell shortly after the drinks break for 43 when he smashed one back at 'Stormtrooper' who stuck out a hand and snagged the return catch, bringing Chalk to the middle. These two batted sensibly as Frogs crept towards the required total, and once Epstein had got accustomed to the low, slow English wickets, he began to hit out, brining up his fifty with a boundary and then finishing off the game with a flurry of hits to the rope. Epstein ended up with 67* and Chalk 11*.
A comprehensive victory on a glorious late summer day for the Frogs; the perfect way to mark the Presidents 45th Wedding Anniversary and end the 2016 season!
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Frogs vs Amersham CC
Venue: Shardeloes
Date: 4 September 2016
Result: Match drawn.
Amersham 159 ao - C Gibbons 5-38.
Frogs 156-8
Reporting: Adam Sergeant
The Frogs enjoyed another splendid early autumn day at the wonderfully picturesque
After heavy rain the day before (and in the skipper's and Ross' cases, heavy drinking too), the wicket was damp, but playable, and Frogs should have taken a much deserved victory, after inserting the opposition and dismissing them efficiently for a meagre 159. However, after a middle-order collapse, and two rather splendid meals provided by our generous hosts, we fell a sorry 3 runs short, after failing too often to connect bat with ball in the latter overs. A draw snatched from the jaws of victory it was.
In the field, the metronomic Steve Walsh (2-35) and young tyro Callum Gibbons, opened, and immediately had the home batsmen in trouble. Extracting some steep bouncing and just enough movement to avoid the middle of the willow, Amersham tottered to 56-4. Frogs debutant Ross Courtney (1-30), of Knebworth Park CC, then bowled in tandem with Joe O' Gorman, the former taking his first Frogs wicket courtesy of a smart catch by Alfie Fuller at cover. O' Gorman delivered his usual variety of unplayable deliveries, and was unlucky to only take a single wicket, finishing with 1-48. Together, the four-pronged attack dovetailed well and never enabled Amersham to gain any momentum, although the home skipper did assist by running out his rather useful looking colleague batting at seven, enacted by some smart movement and a throw by Courtney to the non-strikers end. The undoubted star of the show however, was young Gibbons, taking a hugely served 5-38, and showing great promise for his future cricketing career.
The Amersham innings could have finished sooner had Walshy grasped a politely lobbed catch from the Amersham skipper, Paul Langley (44 not out) at deep mid-off. Beautifully chipped up like a Phil Mickelson lob wedge, and destined to land softly like an over-ripe peach into the fielder's big mitts, Walshy's looked absolutely certain to casually grasp the chance with the usual aplomb shown by our highly experienced all-rounder. Inexplicably however, at the last moment, the hands tensed, the knees imperceptibly wobbled, the confidence plummeted, and said peach, trickled from fingers to ground. Poor Walshy - we've all been there - but certainly not where he went next! At this point, he wanted nothing more than to collapse to the ground in utter despair and dejection, but as he did so, little did he realise that a rather large bush had been mischieviously placed directly behind him, seemingly less to splendidly adorn the boundary, and more to complete his ritual humiliation. As Walsh's body sagged, the bush saw its opportunity and grasped him in its thorny boughs. So, the catch was dropped, the ball had trickled over the boundary, and poor Steve had ended up falling in stages through the bush, to the turf below. The only thing that remained vertical was small remnants of Steve's jumper, that had snagged on the branches, during his descent into Frogs cricketing folklore. I assure those of you that were not in attendance, Steve was afforded maximum sympathy at all times for the rest of the day.
In reply, Frogs got off to a cracking start, adding 61 for the opening wicket, with Ian 'Nugget' Rolland (33), cutting and pulling with panache, alongside new recruit, Paul Fuller (45), who looked a splendid acquisition, displaying great defence mixed with several silky cover drives. One swears that you could here Paul whisper under his breath more than once, 'you see Alfie boy, that's how you do it'. Unfortunately thereafter, the middle order could not provide the support needed to push us home, with Sergeant (12), Epstein (7), Archie Fuller (4), Courtney (9) and Callum 'mind the windows' Gibbons (5), all falling short. With 10 overs left, we were still in the hunt, but despite his best efforts and many, many noble and meaty swishes with Facebook's favourite inanimate object, Richard Chalk was unable to find the middle of the willow, or its edges, or even the back of it, frequently enough to get us over the line. Jogs chipped in with a classy and intelligent 20 and Richard finished not out with 16, but it wasn't quite enough.
From the last ball it could still have been won. With Walshy on strike and four required, he was eyeing up some joyful vengeance and dreaming of a sweetly-struck lofted drive to wide mid-off, to puncture the leafed-heart of his earlier, evergreen tormentor. But it was not be, a single was scored, the bush survived to snare future unsuspecting cricketers, and a fair draw was the end result.
And there ended a wonderful day, when we all encountered 'Walsh's Bush', spent time in the company of a hugely sociable and fun Frogs team, and enjoyed more than enough incident and good humour to keep us warm through the coming cold winter.
My thanks to all the players for turning out, it is greatly appreciated, and especially to Alison for scoring, and I hope you enjoyed the day as much as I.
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Frogs vs Devon Dumplings
Venue: Queen's College, Oxford
Date: 10 August 2016
Result: Frogs win by 12 runs.
Frogs 230-7 - Fairnarine 103*
Dumplings 218 ao. - T Marshall 4-41
Reporting: Mike Chetwode
After turning up with nine men due to late call offs, things didn't bode well for the Frogs. The Dumplings had chased over 300 on the previous day however, the groan emitted by the Dumplings Captain on being asked to field first spoke of a very late night and several large hangovers in the opposition ranks. Frogs started well with Owen Marshall (30) and Alex Sykes (22) taking a liking to the opening bowlers. Unfortunately, the good start wasn't to last; an opening stand of 47 in quick time was followed by the loss of four quick wickets and a marked slowdown in the scoring rate. The loss of Chalky just before lunch left us precariously placed at 99-5 at lunch. Enter Neil Fairbairne (103*) who took a liking to all things Dumpling and, along with solid contributions from Tom Marshall (15) and Steve Walsh (27), shepherded us to a defendable if slightly below par 230.
The Dumplings nevertheless had their usual smattering of overseas players and looked confident of chasing the total. Tom Marshall (4-41) had others ideas and reduced the Dumplings to 39-3 at tea which became 47-4 shortly after. Not for the first time, the game then turned on it's head with a sprightly partnership of 69 between Nichols (84) and Ewen (44). Frogs continued to change the bowling and the breakthrough came thanks to a smart stumping by Alex Sykes off promising 14 year old legspinner Freddie Creer (kindly loaned to us by the Dumplings). Two wickets in two balls by Owen Marshall then left the Dumplings at 147-7 and Frogs looked odds on to complete a comfortable victory however Nichols continued to cause problems and Stirling (29) helped take the score to 199 before Neil Fairbairne came to the rescue with his left arm medium pace with two quick wickets. Eventually, with 13 required off three overs, Nichols sent one high and was caught at mid off.
An excellent Frogs victory with most contributing either runs or wickets (except the captain...)
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Frogs vs Knebworth Park CC
Venue: Knebworth Park
Date: 8 August 2016
Result: Frogs loss by 8 wickets.
Frogs 193-8 (40 overs) - Fairbairne 46, A Marshall 38.
KPCC 194-2 (31.2 overs)
Reporting: Thomas Marshall
The Frogs arrived at KPCC on a beautiful sunny day in August and won the toss shortly after. The skipper chose to bat on a flat deck and a decent side out. A poor start folllowed as O. Marshall knicked off early for a globe. However Josh Drage got the ship sailing for the frogs with a sucession of boundaries. Unfortunately he followed shortly after these for 23. The frogs' top order failed to add any significant scores with Gorton (18), T. Marshall (22) and Wilding (16) not being able to capitalise on starts to their innings. However, Ealing CC recruit Neil Fairbairn went on and got himself a decent debut 46 before being caught in the ring. The senior Marshall was the only other batsman who really got on the scoresheet with a strong and quick 38 (his second top score ever for the Frogs). At the end of our 40 overs the Frogs finished on 193-8 - an excellent recovery from 103-6.
The Frogs then started poorly with the ball with a sucession of boundaries being hit down the slope off Neerav Trevedi and Jono Wright. However, the skipper T.Marshall steadied the ship for the Frogs and slowed the run flow bowling 5 overs for 20 runs. A. Marshall and Alex Gorton bowled 2 excellent spells. Gorton in particular holding down and end and turning the ball square. His figures 6 overs 2-39 don't do justice to how well he bowled. KPCC edged close to the target and with 2 new batsmen at the crease after A.Marshall and Alex Gorton's spells but one of the two decided to smash the ball to all parts; at times clearing the boundary by a good 50 yards or so. This batsman, Hutchinson proved to be just too good for the Frogs attack as he raced to 46 not out to win the game for KPCC inside 32 overs. A disappointing way for a great day out at Knebworth to end.
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Frogs vs Old Cranleighans
Venue: Cranleigh School
Date: 24 July 2016
Result: Frogs loss by 7 wickets.
Frogs 220-5 (45 overs) - Gorton 50
OCCC 221-3 (34.2 overs)
Reporting: Joe O'Gorman
Not an easy one to write this.
A strong, well-balanced Frogs line-up arrived at a sun-drenched Cranleigh School in high spirits. We made our way past the Cricketer Cup semi-final to the beautifully manicured adjacent pitch - which we were later informed was usually for the U14s (alright for some!). Changing in the shade of the old oak tree -- with the toss won and the Frogs set to bat -- all looked well. Slabbert and Rolland started solidly, putting on a sizeable opening partnership at four runs an over. The Frogs' dugout oozed confidence and serenity. Despite the loss of Rolland with the score at 80 Slabbert moved on to an effective, if less than stylish, half-century. On his dismissal the lack of his usual elan would be blamed on the "weird" wicket, which seemed fine to the rest of us. With a solid base laid, enter Frogs debutant Alex Gorton at four. Now serenity gave way pure cricketing violence, as his clean hitting (a Frogs rarity) and sharp running (a Frogs even-rarity-er) saw him race past 50 and the Frogs post a very competitive score of 220 from their 45 overs - despite good fielding and blameless bowling from the OCs.
Then something happened.
The Frogs opening bowlers started well enough, with Blease and Marshall mixing a few loose deliveries with others that challenged the edge of the bat. Marshall struck early with one that nipped back and had the batsman bowled shouldering arms. However, runs were coming a little too quickly for comfort as the remaining opener quickly found his stride. Favouring - strongly favouring - the leg side, the boundaries were flowing at the rate of at least one an over, and the OCs seemed to be making light work of a good Frogs total. With Jackson and captain O'Gorman failing to stem the tide (perhaps a couple of fielders at midwicket would have helped...), the skipper again turned to debutant Gorton who, after a shaky start, began to wrest back control with some accurate leg spin. At the other end, however, a different story. Showing admirable faith in his wicket taking ability Selfishly over bowling himself in pursuit of the crucial wicket O'Gorman continued to leak 4s and 6s to midwicket and the OCs opener rapidly approached a match-winning hundred. Only after a rethink at drinks, with the game slipping away, did the introduction of young Owen Marshall and a very grumpy Tom Marshall restore proceedings to something resembing a contest. By then, however, it was far too late. After the young opener reached a well-derserved hundred, the OCs finished in style with a flurry of boundaries to complete a comfortable win with over 10 overs to spare, a result that looked very unlikely at half-time.
A game played in good spirit finished well, with beers with the oppostion on the main square. The Frogs hiding their disappointment, and giving their captain remarkably little abuse, perhaps accepting that on this occasion we were undone by a superb, if unconventional, one-man batting display.
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Frogs vs Stowe Templars
Venue: Stowe School
Date: 17 July 2016
Result: Match drawn
Stowe Templars 299 for 7 dec. - T Marshall 2-40
Frogs' 171 for 7 - R Lawrence 41, O'Gorman 35.
Reporting: Dylan Jones
More of the cricket anon, but it is essential to note that wonderful weather and great fellowship - along with kind hosts, top catering and numerous camp followers, made this a notably enjoyable summer's day. All chipped in and even my tiddler grandson, Grayson, grasped a miniature cricket ball in front of the pavilion in a manner reminiscent of the late and occasionally lamented FS Trueman - "Tha'll not get this ball off me 'til I'm ready". It was also extremely kind of Duncan to extend his weekend revels for his coming of age by plying one and all with ice cold Champagne, and rich chocolate cake. Huzzah!
Indeed, at several points of the sunlit afternoon, Omar Khayyam hummed into my ear,
"Ah, Fill the cup: - what boots it to repeat
How time is slipping underneath our feet:
Unborn TO-MORROW, and dead YESTERDAY,
Why fret about them if TO-DAY be sweet"
The game itself, however, put me rather in mind of a couple of more somber lines from TS Eliot's "The Hollow Men",
"This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but with a whimper"
The Templars were invited to bat on a sort of compacted Victoria sponge peppered with tufts of forlorn grass...I don't recall more than 6 balls all day that got above bail high, half of them full-bungers, and many kept pretty low. No blame to the "curator" though - this summer has been a damp nightmare for all groundies.
We toiled away for 52 overs, never getting ragged - nor dropping catches - but conceding runs at a steady 6 per over. Tom was the most effective taking 2 wickets for just 40 from 13 overs, Jogger got a couple, and Owen and Mark (in his first spell for 17 years!) one each, but all at Somme-like attrition rates. Joe kept until lunch, and Duncan thereafter, and both very tidily, thankyou. The oppo number 4 played a superb innings for his 123 not out, and several others chipped in 20s and a 40, but the game would probably have been more competitive had a declaration come when the century was made, and the Templars had around 255 runs.
It is quite true that we received some 58 overs, but this was not, alas, a Frogs' side with quite the oomph to chase 300, but certainly the heart to have had a bash at 250. With a regular but never panic-inducing clatter of wickets we fizzled along to 171 at the close, and although Croomers vented some annoyance that we were not chasing the demanding total, in the end we were happy to prevent a loss. Yet, even that satisfactory outcome would have been denied us had the Templars, skipper included, held onto their catches as we had done.
There were some decent shots played, and nice cameos from Richard (41), Joe O'G (35) and Owen and Tom - 17 and 18 respectively, and Andy guided us home with a measured 15. Chalky confounded the cricketing gods, when, although "Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful" he fell for 10 - his first score of the season to be neither a duck...nor fifty-plus! Altogether, then, 470 runs scored for 14 wickets on a puddingy deck - not a bad outcome for a Sunday friendly...but not a great cricketing contest either.
That said, With typical Frogs' and Templars' good nature, we had much fun, and I don't doubt that all XXII pondered as they drove home those ringing words of Lord Tennyson's Ulysses:
"It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles , whom we knew.
Though much is taken, much abides"
And so indeed it does...
Frogs: Richard Lawrence, Tom Marshall, Owen Marshall, Richard Chalk, Joe O'Gorman, Joe McCarthy, Duncan Ellis, Max Merttens, Dylan Jones
Guests: Mark Blundell, Andy Heath
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Frogs vs Hurlingham
Venue: Hurlingham Club
Date: 3 July 2016
Result: Frogs loss.
Reporting: James Mason
...report to follow.
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Frogs vs John Lyon School 1st XI
Venue: Sudbury, Harrow
Date: 28 June 2016
Result: Match drawn.
Frogs 143 ao - T Marshall 39, Walsh 24.
JLS 126-6. - Sen 4-48
Reporting: Thomas Marshall
A good game of cricket would be the perfect way to describe this seasons match vs JLS. The Frogs wont he toss and elected to bat on a tough wicket. However, after a shaky start Walsh and T. Marshall steadied the ship and got the Frogs going. Cameos from Aaryan Sen and the senior Marshall helped see the Frogs to a very competative 143 all out. Highlights of this innings were Tom Marshall's 39 and Walshy's 24. The school put up a fight against our opening bowlers (Jono Wright and Neerav Trevedi), who both bowled outstanding opening spells. The skipper then elected to take the pace off the ball and bowled 14 year old Indian Slow left armer Aaryan Sen. Sen made the breakthrough and also took a handy 4-48 off 12. Other wickets came from Tom Marshall as the rain came down heavier and heavier in the last 20 overs. The school ended up on 126-6 with the Frogs really only 1 wicket from a potential batting collapse. All in all, a great day out for the lads, thoroughly enjoyed by all, with a couple of beers dealt with after the match. A huge thank you to all that played and I hope that you'll all be as keen to play this fixture again next season.
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Frogs vs Cryptics
Venue: St Edwards School, Oxford
Date: 26 June 2016
Result: Match drawn.
Cryptics 233-8 dec.
Frogs 80-5.
Reporting: Stephen Walsh
The drive round the school grounds to the First XI pitch wasn't propitious. There were puddles all over the other cricket pitches and a flooded road just before the bend that turned up towards the pavilion. Happily, our pitch was higher than the others and had been well covered so that we were able to start more or less on time.
The pitch was hard and true and rewarded good attacking bowling. The Cryptics batsmen were several notches higher in standard than those we have seen in recent years - several were apparently St. Edwards Cricketer Cup players. The top order all attacked from the word go and there could easily have been carnage. However, Oliver Croom-Johnson bowled a probing spell at one end and Joe O'Gorman, when he was quickly brought on, was always a threat. The first wicket fell at 48, an excellent diving catch by Christopher Prain off O'Gorman to remove the threatening Baggs, and this was quickly followed by 4 more (2 each to O'Gorman and Croom-Johnson) to put the Cryptics on 70 for 5. They rallied as Tibble and Swainson put on 69, though not without a few alarms due to O'Gorman's turn and bounce. Swainson fell, stumped by James Mason and the Cryptics stuttered to 149 for 8. At that stage, a quick mopping up exercise could have put the Frogs in the driving seat. However, not for the first time, Trapani looked fragile but hung around obdurately and, while he did so, Tibble made hay. He moved to 105 with some excellent controlled hitting to enable the Cryptics to declare on 233 for 8.
It looked a very challenging total, especially when Slabbers showed us the rain approaching on his pilot's weather radar app. Simon started scoring quickly but Ian Rolland was caught off the shoulder of the bat from a decent delivery and Simon quickly followed him back to the hutch, also caught. Josh Drage looked comfortable against the good Cryptics seamers but unfortunately James Mason and Will Blease came and went in quick succession. Josh was caught driving just before the rain arrived and Chris Lawton and Christopher Prain were the not out batsmen when the umpires finally gave up the game for the day.
The Cryptics will no doubt think that the rain robbed them of victory and they may have a point but this was a decent Frogs bowling and fielding performance against a good batting side. Our batting might not have started well but we had strength in depth and might have put on a decent show if the rain had stayed away.
Joe O'Gorman richly deserved his 6 wickets. Although no-one other than Oliver C-J took wickets, the later Frogs bowlers did a good job to stop good batsmen from running amok and the fielding was generally good.
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Frogs vs OU Authentics
Venue: Marston
Date: 12 June 2016
Result: Match abandoned due to waterlogged pitch
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Frogs vs Sussex Martlets
Venue: Hurstpierpoint College
Date: 12 June 2016
Result: Match abandoned due to rain
Match report - or - "How honest effort, team-work and optimism are no match for English weather"
After months of preparation, and careful team selection from both Edinburgh and latterly Torquay, it was with great relief that Will B announced eleven good men were standing ready for duty on the morning of our annual fixture with the Martlets. In addition to which was our umpire and a scorer, with the final player selected courtesy of Marshall A at 8pm the night before! Sadly, overnight rain was followed by a morning full of the wet stuff, and a forecast of yet more to come later that day, so the match was abandoned mid-morning. Notwithstanding, the Frogs' stoicism and enthusiasm shone through, with both Joe O'G having already coaxed his ancient [foreign] jalopy out of the comfortable surroundings of Oxford to start his trek to the ground, prior to the cancellation announcement. Similarly, Joe McC was busy thwarting SW Trains incessant weekend engineering mayhem, by catching an earlybird Gatwick Express down to the airport, before looking for a fast car to carry him over the last leg of his journey! All in all, a truly excellent team effort, despite no match, and the match manager will doubtless be breaking open his wallet for some well-earned drinks next week in Oxford!
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Frogs vs Hampstead CC
Venue: Hampstead Cricket Club
Date: 31 May 2016
Result: Frogs win by 26 runs.
Frogs 171 ao - Chalk 59.
Hamstead 145 ao. - O'Gorman 5-28, C Lawton 3-28.
Reporting: Chris Lawton
A youthful Frogs team took on Hampstead on the Bank Holiday weekend, with all but two players being under 30. Veterans Andy Marshall and Richard Chalk added their experience to the side, and ensured that the first and second slip positions would have willing volunteers all afternoon.
It was overcast as the captains tossed up, but despite losing the toss, to our great surprise the Frogs were invited to have a bat, and new Frogs Josh Drage and George Willis strode confidently to the wicket.
Lulled into a false sense of security by the number of wides offered in the opening two overs, George was the first to perish, unluckily caught down the leg side by Hampstead’s vocal wicket keeper. Josh along with Tom ‘Aussie’ Marshall built an untroubled partnership, until both were given out LBW in quick succession. While Tom’s may well have been ‘Umpire’s Call’, Josh can consider himself extremely unfortunate to be the first in what turned out to be many victims caught LBW.
As the early afternoon sun started to emerge, so the Frogs middle order came alive, with Chalky back at his usual number four home having been mysteriously dropped to 9 last week, using his new willow to full effect, sharing a 45 and then 54 partnership with the Lawton brothers.
His eventful innings included several warnings from the umpire for running on the wicket, being dropped three times by the keeper, and running out Frogs debutant Jack Miller. A Frogs tradition that many have had to become used to over the years; running between the wickets with Chalky.
The Frogs seemed well set at 152-5 with seven overs to go, until the umpire decided to resort to extreme measures to protect his pitch by giving Chalky LBW for 59, and the tail perished soon after trying to accelerate the scoring. The Frogs eventually finished on 171 all out, a total that appeared 30 or 40 runs too short.
The Aussie and stand-in opening bowler Chris Lawton started well, and soon reduced Hampstead to 12-2 and 46-3, thanks in part to some sharp glovework from Joe McCarthy behind the stumps to take the first of his 2 stumpings of the afternoon.
Unfortunately this brought Hampstead’s overseas Fernando to the wicket, and he showed his class with an accomplished 57, meaning at drinks with the score at 106-3 the Frogs knew that they would need to get him out quickly to win the game.
The spin twins of ‘Malcolm’ Marshall and Joe O’Gorman were brought on to try to force a wicket and the plan succeeded, Fernando another LBW victim to Andy Marshall, not the first and certainly not the last!
Despite some lusty blows from wicket keeper Gemes batting at number five, Joe ‘Rabbit Hunter’ O’Gorman succeeded in wrapping up the tail with five wickets, and the Frogs won by 26 runs.
An excellent first win of the season for the Frogs especially as it came from a position that looked unfavourable. Thanks to all the new Frogs who played, and hopefully see you again soon.
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Frogs vs Hampshire Hogs
Venue: Warnford
Date: 22 May 2016
Result: Hogs win by 40 runs.
Hogs 228-5 dec
Frogs 188 all out.
Reporting: Richard Chalk
The bald facts of the match reflect a close loss to the Hogs on a dampish and sticky track, under firstly warm sun in the morning, which made way for louring skies in the afternoon.
However, this masks a largely excellent performance by the Frogs which, had we enjoyed one more substantial partnership in the first twenty overs, would probably have seen a reversal of this result.
An excellent opening spell from our recent ‘pseudo-australian import’, along with a nagging length and line from the ever-dependable Mr. G., kept the Hogs pinned down in the first hour. This was matched by an equally impressive ‘strangling’ spell either side of lunch from Poshy, which meant the Hogs went into lunch after 30 overs on 86-3.
This tight, disciplined, bowling in the morning was matched by equally parsimonious fielding. Splendid glove-work from the ‘builder’ was supplemented by excellent all-round ground fielding. The evergreen Rolland directly hitting the wicket to run out the Hogs star third batsman proved a highlight, as did the continually swooping Pink Panther from both mid-off and backward point.
These themes continued after the lunch break with both Walshy and the Andrew sisters [Marshall and Jackson] continuing to make runs hard to come by. The Hogs opening bat eventually ground out a deserved ton, but it was only when their captain opened his shoulders that they accelerated to over 3.5 runs per over. A final declaration at 228 after 58 overs looked, at the time, given the worsening weather conditions, to have been 20-30 more than the Hogs needed.
After the Hogs had done a bit of to-ing and fro-ing with the covers, the Frogs reply commenced with the evergreen Roland, defying his years, alongside a youthful McCarthy. A breezy 30 run opening partnership was brought to a premature end when Mr. Evergreen sought to force the ball through the offside, overbalanced and was castled by their opening bowler.
Sporting what is fast becoming a beard of WG Grace proportions, this brought the Pink Panther to the wicket and, after a bit of prowling around the crease, and wafting outside the off stump, he started to find the middle of his bat with devastating effect. Runs flowed and though wickets fell at the other end, the chase was well and truly on.
Sadly, just as he was moving into top gear, a misjudged chip failed to make it over mid-off and the Panther’s stay was over. Having taken a blow to the head in the field, and ‘worn’ one or two blows to the body when batting, it was time for the Panther to retire to lick his wounds!
By this time, Mr. G was beginning to find his timing, and almost without the opposition noticing, the Frogs run rate accelerated, such that the opposition’s total hove well into view.
With excellent running between the wickets, some silky touches around the crease, allied to some judicial hitting ‘over the top’ Mr. G moved fluently to his half century. Unfortunately the Hogs’ first change bowler, who had taken no wickets in his first spell of six overs, had subsequently feasted on raw meat at the tea interval and returned, down the hill, firing on all cylinders and moving the ball both ways with pace and deception. Taking 5-29 in his latter 7.4 overs, he proved too feisty for the Frogs’ lower order who must return to the trenches this week, to practise ‘digging in’, in support of the upper and middle orders.
With 1.2 overs of the final 20 remaining, and falling short of the target by 40 odd, it was disappointing not to have held out for the draw. But all credit to the Panther and Mr. G for taking us within a whisker of a positive result. Another day, and with a little more of lady luck, who knows - we might even have roasted the Hogs………..……..next year perhaps!
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Frogs vs Grasshoppers
Venue: Horsley & Send CC
Date: 15 May 2016
Result: Match abandoned