<p>EDITORS NOTE: THIS REPORT IS WRITTEN BY PETER FURNER. HIS LAWYERS' CONTACT DETAILS ARE AVAILABLE ON REQUEST. MIGHT WE ALSO RECOMMEND A FULL FACIAL DISGUISE FOR ROTTINGDEAN (SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO DISGUISE HIS FIELDING MUCH APPRECIATED)</p>
<p>The match against Tadworth started with a note of sadness; John Ruffle, our president, had died peacefully a few days earlier and we held a minute's silence. It was also customary Tadworth weather; threatening clouds with very little chance of uninterrupted play.</p>
<p>Alex Hewitt took an early caught and bowled, but whether it was his 4th, 5th or 6th ball we do not know, the scorebook showing 3 dots! A superb run out by Stuart Jackson (dive and throw from half-prone position) caused a mid-innings stutter and new boy Dave Stevens accounted for Tadworth's best bat. There had been an increasingly persistent drizzle which now became rain and we went off for an early tea with the score at 124-4. Tadworth's tea is one of the best including fresh melon slices and pineapple chunks. Unfortunately for the tea (we couldn't do it full justice), the rain stopped and there was talk of some declaration bowling.</p>
<p>So spin twins Ben Fairclough and Peter Furner set about their task with relish. Furns was heard to mutter something about the wet ball being like a bar of soap as he ran in to bowl but it made no difference; he had immediate success with his first ball and another in his 2nd over pinning Tadworth's top scorer on the back foot in front of middle stump. Wickets in his 3rd and 4th overs would have followed if only the catches had been taken Now that would have been mouth-watering: to go level and then overtake Darrell Abbott in the number of wickets taken this season from just 4 overs! Not only did we have declaration bowlers but there was also some declaration ground fielding. No names but the guilty know who they are (though he made amends later with a fine run out)!</p>
<p>Ben chipped in with a wicket, there was an excellent run out by Jimmie Honeyfield and Alex bowled the number 10. Tadworth declared on 189-9. Readers may be surprised that Furns had the best bowling figures! Declaration bowling? Some call it the start of a new era...</p>
<p>"Action" Jackson and Furns opened the Mogs reply. "Action" was far from action and as sometimes happens seemed to be batting on a different planet against different bowlers. Furns was at his sublime best putting away the bad ball effortlessly and leaving/blocking everything else. There were 9 fours in his first 40 and the big one beckoned but at 43 he played too early at a ball which stopped and mid-on took an excellent catch diving forward.</p>
<p>"Action" scratched around a little while longer before being put out of his misery on 22. Alex wanted to get the game over early and uncharacteristically tried to slog a ball pitching 6 inches outside off stump over mid-wicket (out). This brought David Martin to the crease who played some fine shots in his 53 and almost guided Mogs to victory. The ease with which David hits the slower bowler straight and over the top was once again to the fore. I've always put this aspect of his play down to his golf where he is used to hitting the stationary ball. One of the other new faces, Kevin Strutt chipped in with 19.</p>
<p>There was confusion with the scoreboard. It showed 159, David Martin hit a four and the score went back to 158. 32 runs were needed with 5 overs remaining. Tight stuff: the scorebook needs to be accurate and the total should be updated regularly. Unfortunately neither happened. 30 runs required off 4 overs, 22 off 3, 19 off 2. 17 from 11 balls, then David was out, and in strode Matt Lewis, 17 from 10 required. Two dot balls made it 17 from 8. To great cheers Matt hit a four and nicked the strike with a single. 12 required from 6 balls. He repeats the feat: a four and a single. 7 from 4 balls. I'm breathless writing this report! Two more dot balls now make the task harder. Dave Stevens hits a boundary. Three to win off the last ball. Can Dave repeat the last shot? Two are run and Matt refuses the third (to preserve his average!?) with the ball about 10-15 yards away and on its way back. So the result of this exhilarating pulsating finale was a scores-level draw (not a tie as was suggested by some).</p>
<p>Careful analysis of the scorebook reveals there may have been 3 runs in the 5th from last over. Only 2, as recorded, leads to an impossibility. Perhaps we won after all!</p>
<p>There are some other points worthy of mention. I lent my pads to Ben Fairclough. He was batting for 4 overs. The pads came back with red marks all over them, so out came the cream cleaner (with bleach) and scouring pad. I learnt later than when he played at Merstham Ben's nickname was "Plumb". This was because he used his pads most of the time and was frequently out lbw. When Ben complained about the injustice of the decisions his teammates would say "Ben that was plumb"! Take a tip from an experienced campaigner Ben, use the bat.</p>
<p>Commiserations are also due to Jamie Freeland, who had a job as calling and running-between-the-wickets coach to Nasser Hussain. Now that Nasser has retired from all forms of cricket Jamie has lost his job. Please note there were no run outs in the Mogs innings but then Jamie was taking a rest and keeps his unenviable 100% record of being involved in every single run out this season (all 6 of them)!</p>
<p>P.S. After the game Peter Martin was of the opinion that Furns gives the ball more air than he did!</p>
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