Format: 35 overs
Mogs batted for 34 overs.
Editor's note: Before this weekend the last time William Parker took a wicket was almost 20 years ago at Ockham (8-1-37-3 on 19 Aug 2004).
After a 16 year gap, The Mogador Wanderers returned to the Balearics for their 4th tour to Menorca. We had recruited an elite touring party of 13 players as well as five supporters including Mog legends, Bob & Valerie Adam as well as Tim Johnson plus daughter and son in law. The squad consisted of Alex Hewitt, William Parker, Jamie Freeland, Neil Coles, Stuart Jackson, Harry Hewitt, Steve Pullen, Alfie Hewitt, Charlie Lee, Tom Jackson, Richard Turner, Jasper Rickard and Rob Brown.
After an early flight from Gatwick, we checked in at Catalonia Mirador Hotel and by midday, in time honoured fashion for The English, we had taken over one side of the swimming pool area, and by 4pm had drunk the hotel out of beer, were playing "Sharkie" in the pool and then recruited our 1st and 2nd slips for the weekend via an alcohol-fuelled slip catching competition that crowned Harry Hewitt & Rob Brown as champions. An enjoyable evening was had by all and miraculously all Mogs were safely tucked up in bed by 1am. Ready for our first game.
We arrived at Menorca's beautiful ground, which was even more picturesque than the last time we visited. Captain Hewitt won the toss and we elected to bat first. Alfie and Charlie opened the batting and we were soon one down when Alfie (1) chose to leave a perfectly straight ball that smashed into off stump. Lee (9) followed but our engine room of Pullen (35), Turner (18) and Tom Jackson (29) steadied the ship. Tom Jackson looks like he will be a super batsman in the years ahead mingling classic cover drives with whiplash pull shots that thudded into the dry stone wall with increasing regularity. Having been inexplicably reprieved to a huge first ball shout, Freeland was immediately adjudged LBW on the front foot and the Mogs held their collective breath to see if a diplomatic incident was about to take place. Miraculously Jamie removed himself from the pitch without so much as a shake of the head, as Mog funding for 35 years of weekly meetings with a psychological support team finally paid dividends.
The outfield was the most perfect carpet of lush grass and any "proper" shots that went along the ground were unable to reach the boundary and with our score looking a touch below par, a more aerial route was required. Fortunately The Mogs had airborne assistance available all the way down the order with pro tourist Rob Brown (39) and the increasingly violent Neil Coles (41*) providing a cascade of late runs with balls disappearing ever more often as we approached the end of our innings. Coles was especially savage on anything short with planes from nearby Mahon airport wisely choosing a circuitous route to the runway as towering sixes repeatedly invaded their airspace. Alex Hewitt (18), Harry Hewitt (1) and Jasper Rickard (4*) kept Colesy company and a ripple of applause went round the ground after Alex had got off the mark, scoring his 12,000th run for the Club in the process. The Mogs reached 204-9 off their 40 overs.
After a magnificent tea with the highlight being warm, home made Scotch eggs and some extraordinary cheese and pickle sandwiches, The Mogs took to the field with William Parker & Stuart Jackson replacing Freeland & Turner who thought it important that The Mogs got the bar tab going.
Steve "The Enforcer" Pullen and Harry "Sprinkler" Hewitt opened the bowling and it was Pullen who struck first with the help of a quite magnificent one handed catch by Parker that would have graced any cricket field. Our slip catching practise in the swimming pool reaped a rich reward when Pullen struck again courtesy of a sharp catch by Harry Hewitt at 2nd slip. Steve was stood down after just 3 overs for fear of a finish that Mog kidneys may not have enjoyed. Harry bowled beautifully into a stiff wind and should have had a wicket when Rob Brown dropped a catch at first slip that he would have taken 7/10 times in the swimming pool. Jasper "Jasprit" Rickard enjoyed an extraordinary tour for one so young (15) and picked up more nicknames in 48 hours than many have had in a lifetime. He took two wickets in a highlights package of a spell with Lee taking a great catch at point for his debut wicket. Biffa Coles followed up his excellent innings with three good wickets and Tom Jackson, Alfie Hewitt and Rob Brown all took 1 wicket apiece as The Mogs motored to an excellent 60 run win against Menorca's stronger XI. It had been an outstanding fielding display. Players, supporters, ex pats and holiday makers partied the night away with Menorca CC Chairman Dan and Landlord Hugh hosting us wonderfully. Justice Parker and Justice Turner fined the tourists, speeches were made, gifts exchanged and an excellent BBQ was devoured by all, so good that some of it was summoned back later on in the evening. What followed afterwards is the stuff of Mog legend. With Tom & Jasprit returned safely to their room the older tourists partied like they were all 20 year olds. Parker & Turner got Chairman Hewitt to the comfort of his hotel room by 0130 whilst Stu, Jamie, Neil. Steve, Harry & Alfie headed to the island's best nightclub, The Caves of Xoroi, last visited in 1999. It was light when they got home.
Sunday morning proved tricky for the entire tour party with Biffa Coles in particular displaying life shortening symptoms. Remarkably the bus left on time and we arrived at the ground on another gloriously, hot Summer day where our oppo were the Menorcan Sunday team. Coles declared himself unfit to field and promptly went to sleep on the Long On boundary. Steve Pullen, a better tourist you could not find, thought it prudent to keep him company and the remaining XI hiccupped their way to the middle in a 35 over game. Turner & Freeland are an opening batting partnership if anything, but extraordinarily they found themselves in charge of the new cherry but they replied with a thrilling salvo that married unplayable with very, very playable. Freeland took 2 wickets in a spell that gathered momentum and menace as it wore on and when Alfie Hewitt took 2 wickets also, captain Hewitt sniffed a diplomatic incident and a change of tack was required. Charlie Lee gamely donned the keepers pads and WGC Parker came on to bowl, his first bowl for 13 years. In a 6 over spell that kept the digital scoreboard busier than a one armed bricklayer in Baghdad, The Colonel produced one of the moments of the tour when a gentle away swinger clattered into off stump, resulting in Will first appealing, then raising both arms in the air, with a grin on his face that would have made a Cheshire cat think "he looks happy". Truly wonderful. Oppo Skipper Markus was smashing the ball all over the place in an excellent 84 and Tom Jackson & Harry Hewitt put the brakes on with late wickets as Menorca achieved a more than respectable 188-8.
After another splendid tea, our reply began with Stuart Jackson & Jasper Rickard opening the batting. Whilst Stu only scored 2, it was his 200th innings for the Club and it was unfortunate that an inside edge disturbed the bails. Jasprit Rickard scored a steady 19 before the fireworks really started with Neil "Lazarus" Coles coming in at 3 after just about passing a fitness inspection. If he was aggressive on Saturday, by Sunday he was absolutely brutal. Anything straight was hit with savage power, mostly down the ground with the cricket ball thudding in to the stone wall with such ferocity, a couple of the local builders started to check their diaries for availability for repair work. Neil scored a magnificent 78, his first 50 for the club, receiving good support from Harry Hewitt (14), Rob Brown (21) and less good support from Jamie (0). When Neil was out, Tom Jackson (4) soon followed and suddenly, 7 down requiring 31 to win with just 5.4 overs to go, but Alfie Hewitt (18*) and Steve Pullen (18*) saw us home with 6 balls to spare. It had been a lovely game, again played in fine spirit and we mostly declined to watch the England game as we cherished the glorious evening sunshine and the camaraderie of the opposition. A bus took us back to Mahon, we enjoyed some tapas, some wine and we laughed until we couldn't laugh any more, recounting the huge number of wonderfully funny moments that tour always bring. We are provisionally booked in for October 2026 where we will again take a playing squad of 13 or 14. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
MWCC Stats