Friday, August 15, 2008

Didcot campanologists finally prevail.......

Lots of familiar faces appeared for the annual Yaxley birthday challenge match against Didcot IV, and I must admit I thought we had an unfairly strong team, until it was pointed out that Yaxley had been up on his cherry picker again, and they were all playing for Didcot. One notable exception was "Trini" Bomber, who had been phoning Jonny all week, offering his services, but his calls remained unanswered. Jonny even offered "Susannah" a game, but unfortunately she was busy elswhere.


Batting first, Moreton spent most of the time ducking, or in Kaz's case, not ducking, bouncers. Nigel & Trini took cover behind the stumps, which proved to be a flawed strategy, and only Kaz & Tim managed meaningful contributions in a below par 101.
Didcot opened up with some of their Kolpak players, and quickly reached 77-1, helped by Trini's misfields, and despite good bowling from Kaz, Chris & Chris. With 2 players retiring, a remarkable thing happened; 2 bona-fide Didcot residents appeared at the crease, reminding us fondly of happier pre IPL days, when overseas signings were not allowed. Another lesser spotted Didcotian followed, and at least he had the pleasure of knocking off the last few runs.

An emotional Yaxley finally received the Shield he covets so much from Trevor " the flagpole erector" Denning, but kind words from The President were not matched by Jonny who couldn't find his "acceptance" notes, despite the fact that they had remained, untouched, in his trouser pocket for 4 years. Happy Birthday mate !


In other news, the author has heard, 5th hand, of a serious complaint from an important MCC member, who is objecting to being mentioned in our blog. I would like to apologise unreservedly to the afore(un)mentioned member for any distress this may have caused him & his family. I have agreed that in future he will only be named when he contributes something meaningful to the game, which should ensure no further problems arise.