Debut: Jack Bellars (changed from Roger Inger at No 3) & No 5 bat changed from Bob Brown to Rob Brown (named in the match report).
Peter Furner, 2 May 2021
A Headley ground radiant with sunshine greeted the gathering Mogador Wanderers, ready to host another duel between these two long-standing rivals. The Mogs were keen to end both a losing streak of three matches and a worrying trend of losing to Headley stretching back to 2009.
Having lost the toss, the Mogs were sent out to field in a declaration game. The Headley openers were a bi-polar partnership, with the No.1 offering an orthodox approach while the No.2 swiped unpredictably. The Mogs opening pair of Joe and Pilau bowled steadily without providing a real examination for either batsman, while the No.2's erraticism failed to translate into hari-kiri. Both Mogs openers were left frustrated as the latter miscued over gully and extra-cover.
The ball continued to meet the boundary rope on a regular basis, with Headley progressing at between 5 and 6 per over. The guile of Tharp induced three Chinese cuts from the No.2, but still no genuine chances. Meanwhile, the No.1 progressed with some comfort past the half-century mark. With the score at 115, hari-kiri finally arrived in the form of a run-out, with some efficient work from South Nutfield moonlighter Rob Brown removing the No.2. The no.3 was always playing a bit upp-ishly and holed out to Charlie, who got his revenge after his own brief, boundary-punctuated bowling spell.
Unfortunately the No.4, Barny, spurred on by some Flintstone-themed chants from the Headley support, continued in the same vein. He belied his agricultural reputation with some reasonably orthodox boundaries before falling victim to a straight one from Brown. Pilau returned, and, after the no.1 dispatched two slower balls into the woods, Lee took another solid catch out in the deep to remove him for a fine 110. Headley declared after 40 overs on 236-4.
Tea was excellent, with an array of savoury sandwiches and mini pork pies complemented by some excellent sweets. Small details such as the fresh spring onion in the egg sandwiches and the addition of the rocky road mini-bites left the Mogs nodding in approval.
As with their batsmen, the Headley opening bowlers were similarly opposite, one bowling whippy in-swingers, while the other bowled that nagging medium-pace line-and-length that frustrates many-a batsman. Furner and Fairclough started positively, playing some delightful straight drives, before Peter popped a straightforward catch to short extra cover with 23 on the board. Furns was to observe later, "I took a shower, got changed, and found that seven wickets had gone."
The collapse in fact happened in two phases, not spaced very far apart. First, Fairclough fell for 17, and was swiftly re-joined in the pavilion by Hewitt and Brown. Jack Bellars (another South Nutfield moonlighter) and Burton started to build a partnership, but Bellars - following a swaggering lofted drive on the walk for four - was caught at backward point, also for 17. Burton (12), Lee (0) and Tharp (4) fell just as Peter's final chorus of "It's Raining Men" was echoing through the showers, leaving the Mogs requiring a rear-guard action at 60-8 with Parker and Rice at the crease.
A series of scrambled leg-byes and edges through the slips kept the scoreboard ticking over as the start of the final 20 overs was declared at 5:35pm. After a defiant defence, Parker edged a good one to the wicketkeeper, bringing a determined Lewis to the middle declaring his intention to "make them wait". Ball bowled, bat swished, bail toppled. We retired to the pavilion to enjoy the beer, hot dogs and the remainder of the summer evening, vowing to get revenge come September.
Pilau Rice (no. 108)
MWCC Stats