Reports & Scorecards 2021

Frogs' vs Philanderers CC

Venue: Exning and Burwell CC

Date: 19th September

Result: Match abandoned due to rain.

Reporting: Andrew Marshall

Philanderers 202-8 in 40 overs (Allen 3-36)

Frogs 118-5 in 24.2 overs (Pascal 41)

After our excellent first fixture in Cambridge earlier this year, Philanderers found the Frogs willing gap fillers as their oppo (in fact their last 4 oppos) had failed to raise a side for this September fixture. This time we were invited to Exning near Newmarket and a hastily assembled Frogs team arrived with a weather eye on the weather.

No sooner had we been informed that the Philanderers hadn't lost on a Sunday for 4, 5, or 6 years (depending on who told you), the groundman informed us that we might be lucky and get 10 overs of play before the inevitable deluge.

Undeterred, a 40 over game was negotiated and captain Tom Marshall (who never loses the toss), lost the toss. A reasonably strong Philanderers line-up proceeded to 202-8 in their 40 overs with all bowlers performing creditably, particularly born-again leg-spinner Tom Allen with 3-36, under the close tutelage of Frogs leg-spin coach Joe O’Gorman, and guest Bucks leggie Stephen Croft, who practiced what he preached by bowling the last over and taking 2-4.

The weather was nowhere near as gloomy as the groundman as we took a pre-ordered bagged-up tea, the skipper’s new found vegetarianism bizarrely being catered for with a very tasty sausage roll!

The Frogs’ innings was punctuated by the regular fall of wickets which unfortunately hampered momentum. We were keen to see how a minor counties batsman, complete with the full range of protection both under and over his whites would perform. Everything was textbook as he pushed his first ball into the leg side. Then came the calling, or lack of it. International batsman Thierry Pascal pulled rank with a firm “non” as Crofty continued his run back to the pavilion. Much hilarity ensued, with the fault due to be decided by an independent tribunal sometime in 2022.

Tom Marshall, first with Thierry and then with Joe O’Gorman, proceeded to stabilise the innings and then started to accelerate. Unfortunately weather systems were accelerating as well and after a handful of overs in deep gloom and increasing intensity of rain, a halt was called with Frogs, 5 down, needing another 85 to win in 15.4 overs. It was anyone’s game but the weather won in the end.

Nevertheless, the Philanders have (twice) proved a fine addition to our fixture list producing competitive young sides at very pleasant venues. Thank you to them for inviting us and we look forward to our next attempt to spoil their much-vaunted 5, 6, or 7 year unbeaten Sunday run in 2022.

Frogs: T Pascal, T MacLeod, N Kanabar, S Croft, J Wallace, T Marshall (c), J O’Gorman, S Walsh, A Marshall, D Ellis (wk), T Allen.

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Frogs' vs Sussex Martlets CC

Venue: Horsham CC

Date: 22nd August

Result:  Frogs lose by 3 wickets.

Reporting:Thierry Pascal

Frogs 174 – O’Gorman 60

Martlets 178-7  - Gorton 4-26, Hamilton 3-22

The Frogs arrived in cloudy but dry conditions with a strong looking team on paper. But what became abundantly clear very quickly was that a strong looking team on paper depends on the wellbeing of those individuals. And a handful of those individuals were still suffering the effects of a Saturday night.

The Martlets were keen to play a limited overs match, and after a little negotiation, it was agreed that the Frogs would bat first in a 40 over clash. The Martlets skipper indicated that he had a reasonably good team, with one strong bowler in particular. The wicket looked as though it had had multiple games on it over the previous few days, but in spite of the deep trenches on the popping crease, it looked like a good batting pitch which would take some turn (in spite of Slabbert’s report that “it never turned at Horsham”).

Pascal and Lawton strapped on the pads and strode out confidently. However, after 9 overs, a shocked away dressing room found themselves 5-3 with Pascal (0), Lawton (4) and Kanabar (0) back in the hutch. The “one strong bowler” was withdrawn from the attack as a mercy act with figures of 3-3-0-1. Ogden (24) and Williams (20) started the repair act, but both fell as they looked set, before Chalk (34) was joined by O’Gorman (60) at 48-5 after 19 overs. The two of them batted sensibly, defending the good balls and finding the boundary with the bad balls, putting on 86 crucial runs. Gorton (22) hits a few hefty blows before being caught on the boundary, but Walsh (1) and Hamilton (2) could not see out the remaining overs, as the Frogs were bowled out in the 36th over for 174. It was well below what was deemed a par score, but with the ball turning and bouncing, and with three quality spinners, they felt that they at least had a chance. It should be noted that T.Marshall padded up and walked out at number 11. That he was capable of that was a minor miracle.

One of the main attractions at Horsham is the creperie stand that provides a glorious range of foods. Some of the Frogs team made good use of this attraction.

The Frogs (arguably) took to the field with 11 men, but a few minutes later, before a ball had been bowled, they were down to 10, as one of the number crawled over the boundary to vomit in front of the girls cricket match. Back on the pitch, the Frogs knew that early wickets would be crucial and decided that an early couple of overs of O’Gorman leg spin might terrify the openers. Unfortunately, the senior Martlets opener was not to be fooled, and decided that attack was the best way forward, even if it was a little agricultural. Hamilton quickly settled into a good line and length and was troubling the batsman with his pace. He cleaned up the junior opener, a little fortuitously, and was keeping the other batsman quiet. Walsh replaced O’Gorman, but struggling with the popping crease trenches and the continued assault from the opening batsman, was unable to slow their progress. At 63-1 after 11 overs, the Frogs were not looking good. But two quick wickets from Hamilton brought the score to 68-3, and the Frogs were back in it. Lawton took a good catch at deep mid-off, but more amazingly, Marshall who was crouched at square leg, got his hands to the correct one of the multiple balls heading his way. Hamilton completed his allocated 8 overs with tidy figures of 8-2-22-3 and was replaced by Gorton. He was quickly into his stride with a wicket in his first over, caught by O’Gorman, and then in his third, a stumping by Pascal. His figures at that point were 3-2-2-2. Unfortunately, runs were flowing too easily at the other end, although Ogden bowled a series of unplayable balls. At 129-5 the game was still in the balance, when Gorton bowled what the umpire described as another “ball of the century”, turning from outside leg to bowl the Martlet’s best batsman around his legs. A thing of beauty! Unfortunately, the next batsman, the Martlet’s skipper, went on the attack and hit a quick fire 31 off 20 balls to extinguish any Frogs hopes. With 9 runs needed Gorton picked up his fourth wicket, Hamilton safely taking a catch in the deep, to leave him with figures of 7.3-3-26-4. A tremendous spell considering the mayhem at the other end. The Martlets reached their target with 4.3 overs to spare and 3 wickets in hand.

Frogs – T.Pascal (c/wk), A.Lawton, N.Kanabar, M.Ogden, M.Williams, R.Chalk, J.O’Gorman, A.Gorton, S.Walsh, J.Hamilton, T.Marshall

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Frogs' vs Knebworth Park CC

Venue: Knebworth Park CC.

Date: 8th August

Result:  Frogs win by 2 wickets.

Reporting:Tom Allen

KPCC 175 - Kanabar 3-16.

Frogs 176-8 - Kanabar 56, O'Gorman 36*.

“Heads” was the call as a 50 pence piece was tossed into the grey skies and drizzle of Knebworth to which the reply was that the toss had been lost and Knebworth Park would be having a bat.

The Frogs took to the field with Kieran Grey taking the first ball and Neal Kanabar the second over in favourable bowling condition with Grey (6-0-36-1) quickly dismissing K.P.C.C. captain and opener, Adam Sargeant.  The second wicket followed in the next over by Kanabar (6-1-16-3) taking his first of three wickets.  

The two opening bowlers kept the hosts to 53-4 before Andy Marshall started his spell in tandem with the first of the three Frogs leg-spinners, Joe O’Gorman.  Chances were created at both ends with Marshall (7-2-13-0) even managing to befuddle the batsman with the one that turns from leg to off.  O’Gorman was able to achieve the breakthroughs with figures of 8-0-41-2.  

Alex Gorton (7-0-22-2) and Tom Allen (5.1-0-27-2) replaced Marshall and O’Gorman respectively and, although risk did bring reward, Knebworth were able to keep the scoreboard ticking as the second Knebworth opener, M Inman, marshalled the lower order.  Gorton’s second wicket ended a handy 8th wicket partnership and a deft stumping from Frogs’ ‘keeper Thierry Pascal - his fourth dismissal of the game - off Allen removed Inman shortly after his 100-ball half-century.  Shortly later, Knebworth were all out for 175.

John De Bahl (10 (6)) and Owen Marshall (22 (23)) opened the batting in frenetic fashion giving the Frogs a handy start, O. Marshall continued taking the figurative charge to the bowlers before taking a literal charge at R. Wheeler meeting the ball a good way down the wicket at waist height and putting it straight in the air for the fielder’s taking.  

From 45-2 in the 10th over, Andy Lawton and Richard Chalk batted together to keep the scoreboard ticking.  Lawton (14 (43)) was dismissed in the 16th over and Chalk (10 (35)) was the first of the middle-order collapse with Pascal (1 (6)), Grey (0 (1)) and Gorton (0 (1)) offering no resistance to the bowling.  Frogs had lost 4 wickets in 15 minutes and were left floundering with 20 overs remaining.  After politely enquiring who was left to bat after him, O’Gorman joined Kanabar with the score at 67-7, leaving behind Allen and A. Marshall to bemoan the fact that they too might have to bat.

The Kanabar/O’Gorman partnership was exactly what was required at the time, watchful but positive with any opportunity that presented itself taken.  The pair kept up with the run-rate and even the dark clouds that had been hovering above A. Marshall appeared to be slowly clearing.  Kanabar took a liking to much of the bowling, hitting 3 fours and 5 sixes in his innings, even managing to be dropped by Sargeant on the boundary who took 3 attempts at catching the ball.  Kanabar (56 (49)) brought up his 50 off 46 balls in less than an hour before taking it one step too far and was stumped by the left-arm spinner, Miles.  The 8th wicket partnership of 93 had brought Frogs back from the brink to 160-8 with 16 runs to win from 5 overs.

Allen (10* (11)) joined O’Gorman (36* (50)) at the wicket and the pair took 17 balls to chase the remaining 16 runs and achieve a remarkable victory that Kanabar and O’Gorman had grasped from the hands of the opposition.

With the curse of Knebworth lifted, the sun started to shine in time for the offering of libation to the cricketing Gods and the Frogs to give praise for the victory that had been bestowed upon them.

Frogs  – T. Allen *, T. Pascal +, R. Chalk, J. De Bahl, A. Gorton, K. Grey, N. Kanabar, A. Lawton, A. Marshall, O. Marshall. J. O’Gorman.

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Frogs' vs Devon Dumplings CC

Venue: Queens College, Oxford.

Date: 4th August

Result: Frogs lose by 41 runs.

Reporting: Jono Wright

Dumplings 189 all out. - Gorton 5-30.

Frogs 148 all out. - Gorton 56.

The sun was shining brightly on Oxford as the Frogs convened at Queens College sports ground (all bar Ridders, who thanks to some shoddy diary management would be joining us later).

The toss was duly lost and murmurings of mutiny were in the air as the cartel leader sheepishly made his way back from the middle. Whites were donned and ends were chosen (by T Marshall naturally). What follows is one of the most satisfying events to ever take place on a cricket field.

Tom Marshall, leader of the newly formed “Medo-phile ring” (careful of any Freudian slips) marked out his run up and the first ball was delivered. The non-striking batsman, upon seeing this turned and questioned, loudly enough for most nearby fielders to hear, whether this was our fastest bowler. Not one prone to lying, nor full of illusions of grandeur, the cartel leader confessed that yes, this is the fastest our bowling gets. The next sentence shocked and stunned all those who heard it, and set off Gt’s cricket karma senses. “Good, I’ll get my cap then”. “THE CHEEK!!!” I hear you all shout from your sofas. The following maiden was a positive sign of things to come from Marshall who was to bowl a terrific spell of 8 overs 1 for 16. But there was still the matter of this cap to deal with. The helmet was exchanged for a cap, and the Cartel leader marked out his run up, muttering about being a bit sore and a lack of a slope to run up. A guard. Of middle and off was requested (someone’s been watching England…) and Gt was bubbling with excitement at what he anticipated may be about to happen. In trundled yours truly, a hint of movement and the ball holding its line off the pitch and BAM. Top of off pegged back, first ball. THANKS. FOR. COMING. The real icing on the cake came when it was pointed out that our cap wearing friend was in his full Cardiff Uni cricket whites.

Unfortunately the Frogs were unable to capitalise on the early pressure, despite tight opening spells from Wright and Marshall. Kandampully and Horler rebuilt with patience, putting away the bad balls and surviving the good ones. Marshall proved a particular handful, getting good movement and extracting awkward bounce from a pitch that was looking lively. Mabbett replaced Wright in the hope that a change would bring about a wicket. Unfortunately, James struggled to find his length and was aggressively hit out of the attack. A well-earned wicket came for Tom through a superb one-handed diving catch taken low and to his left at second slip by Dan Molloy. Poshy had come on in replace of Mabbett and the leg spin of Gt had replaced Marshall. Gt claimed the scalp of the remaining opener through the combination of prodigious turn and sharp glovework from Kieran. Poshy claimed two wickets through smart catches from Kieran and Mabbett. The Frogs had done a good job of reigning in the Dumplngs who had started to score freely with some aggressive stroke-play. More leg-spin was called upon, with Alex Gorton replacing Gt, taking a wicket on the stroke of lunch to end the first session with the Dumplings 146-6.

A fantastic lunch, during which most bowlers over-indulged in the hope of not having to bowl after the break and the Frogs came out with Chalky’s secret ringing in their ears… “Don’t let them get over 200” (or words to that effect).

It was to be spin after lunch, with Gorton continuing and Owen taking up the other end. Owen bowled tightly (predominantly) without reward, the real shock being that the Yorker that went into the atmosphere didn’t take a wicket (it may have done had there been a set of stumps about 2 tracks over). It was leg-spin though that was proving the mantra that amateur cricketers can’t play spin. Gorton’s spell 7.3 overs 5 for 30 (including two wickets in two balls) was the key to the Dumplngs being bowled out for 189.

190 the target, and the Frogs were under no illusions about the struggle it was going to be, having seen the pitch take spin well, and with some inconsistent bounce. It was slow going as Kieran and Richard set about negotiating the new ball, with Kieran unlucky to fall LBW as the impact looked rather high (what is it about opening batsmen being given LBW in Oxford…). An excellent tea was enjoyed as the Frogs slumped to 46-6, with none of the top 4 making it in to double figures and LBW’s being given left right and centre. Owen’s counter-punch to the collapse (not sanctioned by the captain) was unsuccessful. It was looking bleak as Mabbett strode out to join Gorton. However, the pair rebuilt intelligently and batted with patience, picking off bad balls when they came and striking some lusty blows, with some monstrous 6s. A partnership of 74 had belief growing in the ranks. Gorton fell, bowled after one big heave too many. Poshy joined Mabbett and batted intelligengitly, building slowly before unleashing some huge strikes of his own as well. Unfortunately, the skipper was unable to help, gloving one behind when trying to leave (for the second time in as many matches) and it looked like it would take a minor miracle to get over the finish line at 144-9. 12 overs to bat out for the draw, proved too much as Poshy was out caught and bowled.

A fine BBQ was enjoyed in the sun after and despite the result, a thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all. Many thanks to all those who played. Particular congratulations to Alex Gorton for excellent contributions of 5-30 and 56 with the bat, Tom Marshall for a wonderful spell at the top and of course thanks as always to Carol for scoring. Until next time. 

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Frogs' vs Old Cranleighans CC

Venue: Cranleigh School

Date: 18th July

Result: Frogs' win by 116 runs.

Reporting: Tom Marshall

Frogs 270-7 – McLeod 92, Marshall T 70*

OC’s 154 ao. – Marshall O 5-34, Allen 2-54, Walsh 2-6.

The Frogs descended onto Cranleigh School to soak in more of the scorching hot weather. Skipper Marshall T won the toss and sensibly elected to bat, allowing himself some extra time to sober up. Pascal and De Bhal opened the batting, with Thierry keeping up his recent trend of scoring 0 or 100, on this occasion falling for the former. De Bhal batted well with McLeod, putting on 96 for the second wicket before some comical running left JDB run out for a well-compiled 27 on his Frogs debut. After his 96 at Hampstead, Donaldson joined McLeod at the crease, who went swiftly past 50. Matt, however, couldn’t replicate his clean hitting and departed for 7. Marshall O then added 46 for the 4^th wicket, with McLeod entering the 90s. However, two quick wickets saw both Owen and TMac depart LBW, Owen for 26, TMac for 92. Tom’s LBW decision in particular summed up a dire performance from the umpire, whose view we believe was obstructed by the bails…Jonathon Croft and Marshall T batted until lunch, and for a short while afterwards to add 29 for the 6^th wicket. Croft departed for 14, and Posh smashed a quick 13 to take the Frogs past 200. T Marshall went past his 50 and finished with 70* after hitting 19 off the final over of the innings to take Frogs to 270. Walshy was 4* at the other end.

The Frogs couldn’t have wished for a better start, with Walshy using the new duke expertly, dismissing the OC’s opening batsman and number 3 for 0. From his 4 overs, bowling through some extreme British heat, he finished with figures of 2-6 with 2 maidens. Poshie supported him well from the other end, playing the Jono Wright role and charging up the hill for 5 overs. Similar to Jono, he bowled without luck before the spinners came on to hoover up the majority of the OCs wickets. GT, who bowled 12 overs on the spin, bowled with skill and accuracy as he picked up 2-54 on an incredibly flat wicket. Owen bowled from the other end, grunting his way to 5-34 from 8 overs as the OCs were eventually bowled out for 154. This was an excellent performance from the Frogs in the field, bar the odd misfield from tadpole and overseas player De Bhal (he will go far in the Frogs). We thank the OCs for their hospitality and look forward to visiting again next summer.

Frogs - De Bhal, Pascal, McLeod, Donaldson, Marshall O, Marshall T ©, Croft J, Lawton C, Walsh, Chalk. Allen, Marshall A.

Frogs' vs Hampstead CC

Venue: Lymington Road

Date: 11th July

Result: Frogs' win by 167 runs.

Reporting: Neerav Trivedi

Frogs 259-3d - Pascal 100*, Donaldson 96 

Hampstead 92 - Allen 4-30, Trivedi 3-13.

The Frogs descended upon Hampstead Cricket Club still in search for their first win of the season. In truly unusual circumstances, match manager Neerav Trivedi had virtually no problems in organising a side for the game.

With Italy v England looming in the evening, all the players were eager to get the cricket done so they could settle in for the final. An original 1pm start was brought forward to 11am as both sides agreed to a timed game with 20 overs from 4pm. With the game being live streamed, the Frogs won the toss and batted first with Richard Chalk and Thierry Pascal opening the batting. The first few overs were problem free until Chalky got one that thundered into the pad to which Andy Carson, watching from this bed, decided to also give it out. Neal Kanabar walked out at three and in classic Neal fashion, looked good for 20-odd before chipping one to mid-off at 51-2. Hit it on the ground Neal.

Matt Donaldson walked out at number four to his first Frogs outing of the season. Together, Thierry and Matt put on 193 runs for the 5^th wicket. Thierry batted on in his usual manner whilst Matt hit some huge blows into the road, clubhouse and tennis courts. A bystander, who I believe was he Hampstead CC chairman, said “don’t worry about it, it’s over the house” or something to that avail as Matt Launched one over long-off. Kevin Pietersen would have given it a twelve for sure. With Thierry and Matt batting so well (and quickly), Trev was able to be in a luxurious positon to declare with a high score. Both batters were in the nineties with the score being around 240ish and the chat amongst was team was whether two batters had scored a hundred in the same game before. Nobody could be sure, so there was potentially some history to be made today! Unfortunately, Matt missed a straight one and was bowled for 96. Boo. Poshy walked out to help Thierry reach his 100 as the Frogs declared on 259-3 in under 40 overs.

The first Frogs tea of the season was in store for us to an array of pizza, sandwiches, sausage rolls and fruit. With squash for drinks break too, it certainly felt like a match of the ages. With approximately 45-50 overs to bowl at Hampstead, Big Trev and James Hamilton opened the bowling and started tightly. Trev made the breakthrough as a thick leaning up spooned up in the air. Now this ball was swirling in the win to Chalky at square leg to which Thierry and Malc in the slips held the breath, but Chalky grabbed on. Never in doubt. Trev then got number 3 and 4 out to leave Hampstead 23-3. James got in on the act at the other end with a Yorker to dismiss the number 5. 28-4 after 12 overs. Trev, who was hunting five wickets, unselfishly took himself off for GT who began his spell slowly, but with Posh at the other end building pressure, Hampstead were still going nowhere. A 42 run partnership was ended by Posh before the GT show took over. He was getting the ball to drift, grip and turn – you name it! GT was up and running with a caught behind and after getting hit for a couple of fours, Trev decided to move himself 5 yards back and round. The next ball, the batter swung for the rooftops only to find the safe hands of Trev at mid-on running backward. Captaincy at its best. In his last 5 overs, GT grabbed 4-13 as he was turning the ball down the slope, which included bowling a batsman around his legs. He was bowling so well that JOG was excited not to bowl in the game. Malc grabbed the final wicket as Hampstead were bowled out for 92, resulting in a 167 run win for the Frogs.

A delightful day out for the Frogs who finally managed to grab their first win of the season! Thank you to all who played in the game.

Frogs: T Pascal, R Chalk, N Kanabar, M Donaldson, C Lawton, J O’Gorman, J Hamilton, N Trivedi, D Ellis, A Marshall, T Allen

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Frogs' Oxford Tour

Frogs' vs Oxford Downs CC

Venue: Standlake

Date: 13th June

Result: Frogs' lose by 3 wickets

Reporting: Tom Marshall

Frogs 211-6 from 48 overs – Gray 60

ODCC 214-7 from 41.2

The Frogs were greeted to scorching heat and a belter of a wicket on arrival at Oxford Downs CC. Skipper and tour manager Tom Marshall sensibly won the toss and batted, with England’s European Championships campaign starting at 2pm, out strode Pascal and Grey. Thierry was the first to be dismissed for 30, before being bowled when ‘not ready’ by ODCC’s opening bowler. However, Thierry, despite being angered by the nature of his dismissal was comforted by the fact that the national anthems had just finished, the bar had just opened, and the football was about to begin. Kieran batted well and went to his half century before falling for 60 with the score 95-2. Kanabar and Slabbert added 25 each as the Frogs worked towards 150, but two quick wickets including Slabs being run out by half a pitch’s length and Kanabar falling into the age-old trap of the off spinner, being caught at long on, the Frogs found themselves in a bit of strife. Skipper Marshall played his shots to add a quick 35 to the total, with Chalk batting around him for 17* saw the Frogs pass 180 and edge (quite literally) closer to 200. The innings closed following Big Trev launching a straight drive back over the sight screen for 6, and the Frogs limping to 211-7 from 48 overs, a score we suspected to be 20 or 30 light.

Young Jack Ellis and Big Trev opening the bowling for the Frogs, who both bowled respectable spells with the odd boundary being chipped over the in-field and for 4. Jack showed resilience by taking the first wicket of the innings after being hit for 3 consecutive boundaries, which was swiftly followed by a second wicket, bowling the new batsman 4 overs later. Oxford Downs then put close to 100 on the board for the next wicket, with some big shots played off the spin twins O’Gorman and Allen, who both bowled very well throughout the innings on a flat wicket. Both batsmen passed 50, with skipper Marshall bringing himself into the attack to try and break the partnership. Marshall did break the partnership, but not in the desired fashion after a bouncer hit opening batsman Russell, who was not wearing a helmet, in the jaw. Russell subsequently retired hurt and spent the rest of the match with an ice pack on his face. Thankfully he was left only with a large bump on his face, and no further problems. The Frogs wish him all the best and hope he is recovering well. Neerav replaced Marshall at the far end and in tandem with Allen built some pressure, leading to balls being caught at mid-on and mid-off off both bowlers before O’Gorman got in on the act, taking 2 wickets of his own at the death. However, the Frogs, as suspected were 20 or 30 runs short, as ODCC chased down the target in 41 overs, winning by 3 wickets. Wickets were shared two apiece for Ellis, O’Gorman, Allen and one for Big Trev. Elgar was presented to Thierry Pascal for claiming not to be ready for the ball that bowled him, and continuing to be furious after being dismissed. From experience, we all know that Thierry is never out, however you can’t have much defence when you’re clean bowled! We once again thank Oxford Downs for their hospitality throughout the day and we look forward to visiting again next season.

The Frogs checked into the Buttery Hotel on Broad Street in Oxford city centre. GT and Kieran roomed together peacefully but plenty was made out of the pairing of Chalky and Duncan, to which we can only speculate what went on behind the closed hotel doors….

Frogs' vs Oxford University Authentics 

Venue: University Parks

Date: 14/15th June

Result: Frogs' lose by 5 wickets

Reporting: Tom Marshall

Frogs' 211-7 (60 overs) – Grey 54.

OU Authentics 190-5 dec. (44.5 overs) – T Marshall 2-25.

Frogs' 116 (44.2 overs) – T Marshall 39.

OU Authentics 141-5 (29.3 overs) - O Marshall 2-21.

The Frogs, after a breakfast in Oxford, walked over to the University Parks the next morning for a 2 dayer vs Oxford Uni Authentics. Malc, Jono, Shenk, Ridders, Owen, Walshy, AC and CC joined the touring party, many of whom were also there early to inspect a used and cracked wicket. The toss was crucial, with 60 overs to be batted in the first innings, the Frogs were not too keen to spend 5 hours in the beating sun. Thankfully skipper Marshall delivered on all his chat and won the toss. Thierry and AC were sent out to bat, however very shortly afterwards Thierry was run out by a sharp piece of fielding in the ring on the offside, followed by a dubious LBW decision against AC. Rich was then nicked off which left the Frogs 15-3 off 8.2 overs. Skipper Marshall joined Grey at the crease who battled until lunch. Grey provided the power, Marshall the grit, which helped the Frogs make it to lunch. They continued after lunch, with the wicket starting to turn and spit. Grey went to his second 50 in as many days, followed by the 100 partnership. However, Kieran was then dismissed for 54, and the skipper shortly afterwards much thanks to a one-handed diving catch at slip. Thankfully for the Frogs Marshall O and Shenkman were able to add 25 each in a partnership which had the fluency that the pre-lunch partnership lacked. Owen was then dismissed LBW sweeping for 26, which brought JOG, on his spiritual home ground to the crease. JOG also batted with fluency, swatting long hops to the boundary which helped the Frogs bat to their 60 over restriction for 211-7. The skipper felt as if we well were in the game on a wicket that looked tailor made for a spin attack of JOG, Owen and Malc. However, there was some disappointment that none of the batters could go on and post a big score.  

The Frogs managed to bowl 43 overs before close on day 1, with the spin attack bowling the majority. Skipper Marshall took the new ball with Cartel president Jono Wright, who got his off cutter to lift and bite on more than one occasion. At the other end T Marshall got the odd ball to rise, with a worm burner hitting the ‘Tics opening batsman on the ankle, reducing the ‘Tics to 3-1. The Frogs were however made to toil for their next wicket, but bowled relatively tightly. Walshy bowled well without reward in tandem with O Marshall, who managed to bowl one of his uni mates into form ahead of their varsity match at the end of the week. Owen managed to break the partnership of 74 with a caught and bowled, which was no less than he deserved. JOG also bowled some rip-snorters, but lacked consistency and struggled to build pressure at the other end. Evergreen Malc then replaced him at the far end, and after a series of play and misses finally got his man, who dragged onto the stumps. One more wicket fell before the end of day one, as the Oxford Blues skipper was snared by another worm burner from T Marshall. The day closed with the score 178-4 from 43 overs.

The Frogs quickly showered, changed, and headed over to the Cherwell Boathouse for a beautiful dinner by the river. Jono provided 3 litre bottle of shiraz, in addition to bottles of port provided by himself and Walshy which kept the Frogs suitably refreshed after a long day at the Parks. Elgar was awarded to Thierry for a second day in a row as he had managed to neglect Elgar for a long day in the heat, which concluded with him abandoning him at the Parks after the days play. The tour manager made his feelings known about this sort of behaviour and placed Elgar back onto Thierry’s head for another day. The night concluded with the Frogs walking back to the Buttery Hotel, and JOG looking after the (almost) empty 3L bottle of wine. Unfortunately for JOG his night was not over yet as he realised, on entry to the Buttery that he had left his room key in the locked changing rooms at the Parks, meaning that the receptionist at the Buttery had to go through every single key on the key chain in order to let him into the room…An early Elgar nomination indeed.

Day 2 began with the Frogs regrouping at the Parks for their 11am start back in the field. Skipper Marshall had discussed with the ‘Tics captain the arrangements for the day ahead. The ‘Tics batted for the first 20 minutes of the day and declared with them 21 runs behind with the score 190-5 from 44.5 overs. The skippers felt that there were between 90 and 100 overs left in the day, and the Frogs planned to bat for 50 of them. Unfortunately the Frogs found themselves 0-1 after the first ball, after Thierry fended one to the slips. Grey strode to the wicket, only to chip a full toss to midwicket 4 overs later. The skipper, who hadn’t planned to be batting in the top 5 in the second innings abandoned that plan, strapped them on and proceeded to block out the following few overs to ensure there wasn’t a similar collapse to the first innings. AC began to get himself in before being bowled a chest high beamer by the ‘Tics left-arm around opening bowler, which was followed up by a rearing bumper which was top edged to midwicket to be dismissed for 20. Walshy then joined T-Mars at the crease. Speaking modestly about his batting, we frequently remind Walshy of his 150 at Bradfield all those years ago, and we were reminded of some of the shots he played during that innings as he firstly smashed the ball on the up through the covers for 4, and followed that up with an imperious on-drive for 4 back past the bowler. However, with only two balls to go before lunch, Walshy was bowled by a viciously turning delivery from Musa, who went onto take 5-15 in the second innings. After lunch, Marshall fell to a debatable catch at short leg for 39, with Shenkman following him shortly after. Chalky was run out, Owen caught in the deep, and JOG falling too in quick succession as the Frogs went from 90-4 to 109-9. Rich batted for a short time for 7 before GT was trapped in front scooping for the final wicket. The Frogs had been bowled out in 44.2 overs, with a lead of just 137.

The Frogs’ seamers ran in hard on an increasingly abrasive wicket, with Shenkman bowling without much luck, and T-Mars with even less. Spin was brought into the attack after just 6 overs in JOG and Owen, who both bowled well. Throughout the game it was a case of the highs and lows of spin bowling, as many balls turned and bounced too much to take the edge, and inconsistency proving the be the Frogs’ downfall. JOG produced some wonderballs, but only ended up with 1 fer. Owen bowled with more consistency, but his university peers had faced him many times before. Despite this he still managed to pick up two wickets before being replaced with the experienced Malc, who managed to snare one victim. The highlight of the second innings saw GT rip one past a charging batsman only for Duncan to whip the bails off the ball before tea. GT made it very clear that he was celebrating not only his wicket, but that it was teatime. Unfortunately for the Frogs, shortly after tea the ‘Tics chased down their below par target of 137 in just 29 overs.

After the Frogs quickly showered up and vacated the changing rooms at the Parks, Elgar was awarded to JOG for the aforementioned key-related mishap. We hope he’ll learn from his mistakes ahead of the Western Tour in August.

The inaugural Frogs Oxford Tour can, despite the results, be seen as a success. We spent 3 days of excellent weather in excellent company, at two excellent venues, and we are very grateful to both Oxford Downs CC and OUCC for hosting us. We look forward to this week next year and hope for better on pitch performances!

Frogs Touring Party - T Marshall, A Marshall, O Marshall, R Chalk, D Ellis, J Ellis, S Slabbert, N Trivedi, J O'Gorman, R Lawrence, R Shenkman, S Walsh, T Allen, K Grey, T Pascal, A Carson, J Wright.

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In a new fixture for the Frogs, the Philanderers hosted the match at Fitzwilliam College Cricket Ground in Cambridge. The weather forecast had threatened rain, but the clouds cleared as the captains walked out to toss up. The Frogs won the toss, and the captain had no hesitation in deciding to have a bat.

Pascal and Lawrence opened up, unfortunately Richard never really got going and fell early, leaving the Frogs 14-1. Thierry was joined by Tom Marshall and the two of them put on 60 for the second wicket, before Thierry fell either caught, or LBW, the crowd on the boundary weren’t exactly sure which, for 30. Matt Ogden walked out to bat number 4, and the Harefield connection worked for the Frogs, with Tom and Matt batting very well together on a slow wicket. Both Tom and Matt notched up very well made 50s, before both fell trying to accelerate the scoring rate in anticipation of setting a challenging declaration target around 250. Unfortunately the new batsmen Chalk and pinch-hitter Trivedi were unable to continue with the acceleration, both struggling to get bat on ball as the Philanderer bowlers bowled clever lines, and the Frogs stuttered to 210-5 before the captain felt obligated to declare.

Walsh and Trivedi took the new ball for the Frogs, but loose balls were ruthlessly pounced on by the powerful opening batsman, and some poor ground fielding from the Frogs allowed the Philanderers off to a great start. As so many Frogs captains before had done, he soon had to turn to Tom Marshall and Andy Marshall to stem the flow, and sure enough Tom Marshall got the Frogs back into the game, having the opener caught by Thierry for 38, and clean bowling the number 3 batsman with a beautiful delivery. At the other end, Andy was bowling well but getting no reward, with Frogs dropping four chances of his bowling, a fact that was not lost on an apoplectic Malc who looked on the verge of storming off the pitch as the fourth catch went down. As the last hour was called, Philanderers were 105-2 and only needed 106 runs off the remaining 20 overs. Finally, Andy’s luck turned as a sweep shot was smashed at Chalk at square leg who held on to a very good catch, and shortly after Duncan Ellis took a catch behind, and it looked like the Frogs might be giving themselves a chance to at least save the game. Tom Allen replaced Tom Marshall, with his new leg spin deliveries being debuted to the Frogs, and showing that he was a natural leg spinner as he took his first wicket from a long hop that was held on the mid-wicket boundary by TMars. With 2 overs to go the Philanders were 200-7, with all three results possible, unfortunately the Philanders had too much strength in depth with their batting, and the last ball of the penultimate over was hit for an almighty 6 to bring about the victory for the Philanders.

A very enjoyable day at a lovely ground with strong opposition, hopefully this will become a regular fixture for the Frogs, and one that should be a bit more competitive in the future if the Frogs can hold onto their catches!  

Frogs' vs Amersham CC

Venue: Shardeloes 

Date: 16th May

Result: Match Abandoned

Reporting: Steve Walsh

Frogs 193-6 from 36 overs - Lawton A 64, Pascal 60

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How many Frogs captains can claim to have had a good side inked in a month before the game without having to approach a single player and ask them to play?  How many have had three high-class batsmen offer to be on standby in addition to the first XI on the teamsheet?  And how many of those, having called in one of those high-class batsmen can have had him drop out due to a medical emergency on the morning of the game with the other two already committed to other activities and now unavailable?  Such was the lot of today's Frogs skipper.  And such was his charmed life that he had a volunteer to replace the stricken Andy Carson within 4 minutes of him putting out a cry for help on Whatsapp.

Unfortunately, the game itself didn’t live up to the pre-match promise.  Amersham’s home game had been called off the day before due to the weather and it was very good of them even to start.  Parts of the square, including a few patches on the edges of our pitch, were distinctly wet and the forecast suggested that we were bound to have some rain before long.  Their skipper was disappointed to have his request to play 2 T20 games turned down and he was still shaking a rueful head about that when we agreed to abandon the game between the innings.

We won the toss and batted first.  Thierry Pascal responded to his skipper’s request for positive batting by cutting hard at the first ball of the game and scored briskly throughout his knock.  Joe Taylor looked like a class player but played a little early on a flick to leg and was caught.  Andy Lawton didn’t look like a man who hadn’t held a bat since last season and gave Thierry good support in keeping the score moving with good shots and good running between the wickets.  When Thierry went for an excellent, aggressive 60, Andy pushed on – though the quality of the running between the wickets declined a little – when brother Chris joined him.  When Chris fell for a handy 24 in good time, Alex Gorton replaced him and had clearly taken to heart his skipper’s warning that there were only half a dozen overs to bat.  He had a good look at the first ball he faced (from his former head of 6th form) and then launched the next one miles back over the bowler’s head.  The book doesn’t record how many balls he faced for his entertaining 24 but it can only have been a single figure.  And so, when Andy Lawton fell shortly after and the drizzle started to fall it was time to declare the Frogs’ innings closed on 193 for 6 after 37.2 overs.  It had been an excellent innings in the conditions and we’d shown Amersham we were keen to make the game a good contest if at all possible.

The highlight of tea was Chalky’s generous production of 11 Krispy Kreme doughnuts for his team-mates.  We all hope that this proves to be the beginning of a new Frogs tradition.  Sadly, while we munched our doughnuts, the rain came on harder and, after sitting around for a while, we gave in to the inevitable and abandoned the match without having to do any damage to our match ball. 

Thank you to everyone who turned out, especially to Neerav, Jono, Duncan and Andy Marshall who didn’t get any play at all.  Extra thanks to Andy for volunteering to play on such short notice.  Thanks also to Tom Marshall for coming along for a chat and paying his dad’s match fee.

Get well soon to Andy Carson.  

See you all soon, I hope.

Steve Walsh

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Frogs' vs Hurlingham

Venue: Hurlingham Club

Date: 25th April

Result: Frogs lose by 43 runs.

Reporting: James Mason

Hurlingham 248-4.

Frogs 206. - C Carson 101.

On a glorious fresh Spring day, a keen Frog's squad assembled at the Hurlingham Club for the first fixture of 2021

The Frog's won the toss and decided to field. Frogs bowled with control and early season vigour and took regular wickets to stall Hurlingham's progress. James Hamilton and Neerav Trivedi both bowled well with little reward having opened the bowling. Joe O'Gorman and Andrew (Malc) Marshall continued the squeeze with the 10 to the 20th overs only yielding 37 runs. With the run rate rising and wickets difficult to come by, Joe O’Gorman belied the early season conditions ending with 3 wickets to his name  With only one Hurlingham batsman getting away, A. Kidwell scoring 86 and the Frogs restricting them to 248 for 4 off their 40 overs.

Following what is always a good tea, The Frogs batting reply began to look promising as the two Carson brothers shared an 86 run 2^nd wicket partnership. That said, after Andrew Carson was LBW for a well-crafted 42, the chase stuttered with regular wickets falling. Callum Carson ended up with brilliant early season century, falling for 101 but whilst there were contributions from R.Chalk 14, James Hamilton 13 and James Mason 16. Three ducks meant the Frogs fell short in their chase managing 206 and being bowled out in the 40^th over.

As ever, a really enjoyable day with some excellent early season cricket and notable contributions from the Carson brothers with the bat.