Against All Odds by Golden/Heather/Rolf/Spongebob/Convict Graham
Aptly the game between The Mogador Wanderers and Ditchling Cricket Club will go down in folklore as a win against all odds. Defying a low turnout (8 Mogs), a 2 hour rain delay, difficult pitch conditions and bellies gorged full of cream and an assortment of ever so British delicacies the Mogador Wanderers proudly walked off as well deserved winners.
As aforementioned the day began with an extended rain delay so in true Mog's fashion the beers were flowing and the banter afoot. Plans for an adventure to Twickenham to satisfy Golden's boyhood dreams were formed along with flashbacks of Coops' standup career led to many a laugh as always but as the laughs subsided the sunshine returned and the Mog's would turn their attention to the game at hand.
Batting first on a difficult wicket Coop's and the skipper Andy Tharp made easy work of the Ditchling attack. The skipper courageously batted through a shattered jaw, smashed by a vicious delivery and still managed to lead the Mog's from the front! Both brought up half centuries with a lovely array of shots and after a further flutter of strokes from the middle order the Mog's finished at 149 for 4 at the end of the allotted 20 overs.
A short aside to explain the details of the tea break is now required. The Ditchling scale (popularised by Will Cooper) assigns a magnitude number to quantify the deliciousness of the afternoon tea provided and incorporates several factors such as cream to jam ratio for scones, variety of offerings and the ambience of the setting.
It is safe to say that the tea at Ditchling was well off the Ditchling scale with several members of the Mogador Wanderers eyes opening widely at the assortment of offerings, none more impressive than the four-tiered wedding cake, it was much like Aladdin entering the forbidden cave for the first time.
After registering a blood to cream ratio of 0.5 the Mog's returned to the field. An interesting choice led to Ali Brew opening the bowling much to his delight his exuberance and surprise highlighted but a lack of understanding as to what bowlers do especially when taking a wicket.
Another fine bowling display was from our recruited Mog aka Daniel Vettori. It was on this day that the Mogador Wanderers became official Make-a-Wish Foundation sponsors as Vettori dreamed of bowling to his teammate and of course knocking him over. And with a fine display of left arm orthodox bowling he did just that taking his friends wicket with his very first ball.
Other highlights of the fielding performance included Joe steaming in as ever with 3 excellent wickets some spirited fielding from JB, Charlie and Golden and some excellent banter to tease the Australian member of the Mogador Wanderers.
A solid win for the Mog's was the end result and it was good to see that despite adversity the spirit of the Mogador Wanderers is very much alive and well so for those who haven't played in a while it is definitely worthwhile having a game as even if the cricket's ordinary their will be some high rating teas on the Ditchling Scale!
Patrick Graham
MWCC Stats