Report to follow from William "Colonel" Parker. Terrific game played in an excellent spirit, and as a result we have been invited to play in their Presidents Game next year as they feel we are their best opponents on Sunday's. The plan will be for us to move the fixture to July / August and start early (midday) and finish early for a bbq with them all. Watch out for this fixture next year, you will not want to miss it
EWHURST MATCH REPORT - 16TH SEPTEMBER 2012
Due to imminent road closures in the area occasioned by the Reigate to Guildford stage of the Tour of Britain being raced nearby in the afternoon, leading elements of the MWCC battle group assembled at midday at the Bull's Head rally point for a sharpener before heading over to the ground. Parking was a delicate affair as many of the team remembered the barrage of mortar shells launched by Jimmy Honeyfield into the assembled vehicles four years earlier as he plundered 30 in an over and consequently tried to put themselves out of range of a possible repeat performance. Most notable amongst these was David Stevens who effectively drove his vehicle, which resembled a main battle tank more than urban transport suitable for the badlands of Esher, into the middle of a thicket under a tree to give it shelter.
Captain Andy Tharp, back after his Summer Olympics tour of duty, won the toss and put our hosts in to bat. The Mogs got off to the best possible start in the first over when Pilau Rice, seemingly unaffected by having not having played a single game so far this year, served up an unplayable ball which climbed sharply and cut back in to Ewhurst's Mead, nicking his edge on the way through to the keeper. This was particularly gratifying after last year's start when he had shared in a first wicket partnership of 220 which effectively put the Mogs out of the game. At the other end Joe Lewis was also bowling a very steady line and length such that Ewhurst were restricted to 14-1 after 6 overs. Both bowlers eventually got their just deserts and after 12 overs each had 2 wickets apiece and the score tightly pegged in at 30-4. In the mid phase of the game Ewhurst's batsmen, led by opener Bloomfield who survived the falling wickets around him and then Patel, staged a recovery and took 60 odd runs off Honeyfield and Lee who bowled with energy and enthusiasm but without recompense for their endeavours. Indeed our noble umpire John Moulton was struck on the elbow by a powerful hook in this run fest but fortunately our on pitch Doctor, Joe "Shipman" Bason was on hand and able to successfully minister unto him. The innings entered a terminal phase with the introduction of the bald magician himself, Andy Tharp, who first bowled Bloomfield and then had Patel caught behind, both in the low 40s. Furner, unusually, was involved in some catching action and plucked a sharpish ball from the sky and when Burton triggered seismic detectors in the Pacific Rim diving to take an excellent catch to dismiss the last batsman the Ewhurst innings closed on 120 with Tharp returning excellent figures of 15-4 off 5 overs.
After an excellent tea, doubling really as breakfast for a number of late night Mogs revellers, the Captain decided to make a positive statement about ageism and opened with his oldest players, Furner and Parker. The wily D'Aboe twisted and spun the ball from one end whilst a fiery youth sprayed some quite rapid short stuff around the aged pates of the Mogs openers who swayed like oaks in a great storm to avoid this chin music. The run rate, quite honestly, was not fast nor the stroke play particularly exciting with 14 scored off the first 10 overs but the fielding side kept themselves awake with a constant 100 Gb / second download of cheery banter. The waiting batsmen were rudely awoken from their torpor in the 19th over with the score on 49 when Furner, not unusually, was involved in a run out sending his opening partner back to the hutch for 16 after calling for a third which the Jamaican 4 x 100m relay team would all have declined. Following the drinks interval a Mogs mini collapse, such as is sometimes written in the heavens, occurred and Furner himself (26) followed by Burton, Stevens and Brown all fell in fairly rapid succession such that after 23 overs the score stood at 56-5 and the banter levels from Ewhurst's players reached a level that would have brought the internet down in the entire northern hemisphere had their deliberations been transmitted online. However, Tharp had an ace in the hole, which was that he had a number of heavy hitters in reserve and consequently Bason and Lee steadied the ship with 10 and 12 respectively after which the elegant, free hitting power of Honeyfield came into play. His 37 not out, assisted by the Captain with 8 not out brought the innings to a close and the Mogs to a victory by 3 wickets. At this point we retired to the bar in the pleasant autumn dusk and consumed a goodly amount of hop based products with our amiable hosts.
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