Dodgers v Superstars

Dodgers won the toss and opted to bat (!)

Dodgers 132/9 off 40 overs (McBarron 69 not out)
Superstars 133/2 off 27.4 overs (Benn 2-14)

Superstars won by 7 wickets

Dodgers Man of the Match: Phil McBarron

Spirits were high following our draw against Buckhurst Hill and there was a modicum of optimism in the Dodgers camp that a 2003 season whitewash by the "rats" would be avoided - especially as Master Gundry had made himself unavailable by going on holiday (presumably the only week John Carr would let him take).

Confident that whoever won the toss Dodger's would field first, yours truly wrote Superstars in the scorebook. However Cap'n Carr, obviously unhinged by the sight of some of the Rats sporting either appalling head wounds or awful new red caps, ignored the advice of Benn and Mcbarron and opted to bat first.

Taking advantage McBarron and Westhead opened the batting with their usual panache and against the tight bowling of Taylor and Block smote their way to 15 from the first 7 overs. Then, having played himself in, Westhead opted to unleash the full range of his strokeplay and was promptly bowled by Block for 2 with the score on 16. Priest then joined McBarron and against change bowlers Perrera and Conway, these two pushed the score to 32 before umpire Cooper, obviously conned by the Oscar winning appeal by bowler Conway, controversially gave Priest out lbw. Cue apoplexy from Priest and mirth from assorted "rats". 4th man in Jacobs, not bothering to trouble the scorer, gave Conway an easy c&b for his 2nd. wicket of the over. The prospect of a record mid-order stand between tykes McBarron and Benn raised Dodgers spirits. But sadly this was not to be as Benn, playing all round a ball from the deceptive Marchant, departed the wicket bowled for a meagre 2. With the score on 42 for 4 from 19 overs the prospect of humiliation was in now in sight. Cap'n Carr however had other ideas and together with the pedestrian McBarron took the score to 109 before falling to the wily Block for 27 in the 36th over. Batting up the order Matthews looked set for a big score until, with one over to go, he unwillingly sacrificed his wicket to satisfy McBarron's desire to run him out as many times as possible in the season. Having unwisely taking a single from the first ball of the last over McBarron then had to watch, mesmerised, as Qureshi, Streatfeild and Cooper showed him how to get out without scoring. The innings closed on 132 for 9 with Block taking 5 wickets; all bowled.

Against accurate bowling form Benn and Henry Hilary Superstars openers Meyler and Whitrod got off to a slow start. Indeed Whitrod was so slow that he could nearly have been mistaken for McBarron. Dropped without scoring after some 20 odd balls, he scored 4 from the next and was promptly caught by Qureshi off Benn the ball after (if only we could have kept him in). Lomas didn't stay long before, mistiming an elegant off side prod, he became Benn's 2nd victim - bowled for 4. The ever popular Conway then joined Meyler at the wicket and was promptly dropped twice in the first over he faced. Being dropped twice more and refusing to reply when McBarron asked if he'd been sensible enough to buy a lottery ticket, he went on to make 52 before retiring with the game virtually won. Meyler and Davey remained unbeaten and Superstars strolled to victory; their innings ending on 133 for 2 in the 27th over.

Dodgers were left to consider what could have been (if we'd got Conway out at least we'd have lost smiling) and to look forward to a long winter of catching practice, deep study of the laws relating to lbw and lessons on how to accept dodgy decisions gracefully.

Cat

Scorecard

Dodgers

McBarron      not out                69
Westhead               b Block        2
Priest        lbw      b Conway       9
Jacobs                 c&b Conway     0
Benn                   b Marchant     2
Carr*                  b Block       27
Matthews+     run out                 6
Qureshi                b. Block       0
Streatfeild            b. Block       0
Cooper                 b. Block       0
Hilary H.     not out                 0
Extras                               18
TOTAL (40.0 overs)                  132 for 9 
               

Bowling
          O   M    R   W   
Taylor    8   1   28   0
Block     8   0   19   5
Perrera   4   1   13   0
Conway    7   1   11   2
Marchant  8   1   28   1
Billy     5   0   12   0
Meyler    2   0   12   0


Superstars

Meyler      not out                   49      
Whitrod+    c Qureshi   b Benn         4                 
Lomas                   b Benn         4      
Conway      (retired) not out         52
Davey+      not out                   10
Extras                                13
TOTAL (27.4 overs)                   133 for 2 

DNB: Gigg*, Perrera, Tailor, Marchant, Block, Billy 


Bowling
             O   M    R   W   
Benn         8   5   14   2
Hilary H     5   0   14   0
Streatfeild  3   0   26   0
Cooper       5   0   23   0
Priest       3   0   20   0
Carr         1   0   11   0
Qureshi    2.4   0   17   0

Dodgers grind out traditional end of season Buckhurst Hill draw. Dodgers sealed the traditional end of season draw at Buckhurst Hill as predicted rain came and went and McB blocked for Britain. In an innings that recalled Trevor Bailey's legendary 357 minute half-century back in 1958-59, whilst Dodgers wickets fell around him, "Barnacle" McBarron kept his average in sight and Dodgers in the game, rarely raising his rate above a run an over and seeing Dodgers through some 50 overs to safety. Report to follow soon.

Controversy abounds this morning following our failure to beat Buckhurst Hill yesterday. The selectors have sensationally failed to drop Carr or Matthews (for turning up late), McB (for sensationally slow scoring) or Westhead (for naff weather forecasting) but have axed MoM Crawford, all-rounder Whitrod and top umpire Pope instead (and err... "golden boy" Leach too).

Details: Buckhurst 191-5 dec (49) Dodgers 142-7 (50) match drawn.

"... a right tonking dished out with potential records galore: earliest evening start time; earliest evening finish time; highest number of retirements; most catches in an innings; most games in a season; most wins in a season. To add to that, Tawhid became the fourteenth man-of-the-match this year." Read the full match report of Dodgers versus Treasury & Cabinet Office on 19 August.

Dodgers v HMT / Cabinet Office

Chiswick
20 Overs
Retire at 25

Dodgers won by 90 (ninety) runs

Dodgers went into this game somewhat apprehensively, many good things having been said about our opponents (mainly by our opponents), and emerged having given them a right good stuffing. There were many incidents and potential records, so read on...

At 5.10pm (yes, 5.10pm) Cap'n Priest won the toss and elected to bat, possibly with a view to limiting the damage, and early progress was painfully slow. The self-styled "Yorkshire Slogger" was very much in evidence - not! - as only 26 runs came in the first eight overs for the loss of Chris Jacobs, despite some good aggressive running.

The follow-up bowlers were not of the same standard, however, and Priest began to break the shackles with a couple of bold shots, including a sumptuous cover drive. Retiring at 25, John Hilary entered the fray sporting his new helmet. He quickly racked up 17 including pulled fours from consecutive balls before holing out. Phil McBarron eventually reached the retirement figure bringing together Neil Benn and Guy van der Westhead, both of whom reached 25 in brisk fashion. Guy ran particularly well in this partnership, although was somewhat quicker downhill than uphill. Tawhid sadly managed only a golden duck.

Dodgers' 141 looked very decent, although the outfield was again ultra fast and Treasury had told us how good their batting was. Oh dear lads, let's hope you can show better judgement in running the country's finances. After seven overs, their innings was in tatters at a sensational 10 for 5, thanks to left arm pacemen Benn and Cooper. John's wickets had all come courtesy of catches from Tawhid Qureshi, the last one of which was a beauty running away to his left.

Though Treasury recovered slightly, any hope of a sustained rally was soon snuffed out as John Hilary, Tawhid and David Pope all grabbed wickets to add to their misery. David sensibly kept his infamous Doobler largely concealed for the future, and Tawhid's wicket came from a low caught-and-bowled giving him four catches in the game and man-of-the-match. The only blemishes came from poor drops by Benn off Hilary and Pope off himself.

So, a right tonking dished out with potential records galore: earliest evening start time; earliest evening finish time; highest number of retirements; most catches in an innings; most games in a season; most wins in a season. To add to that, Tawhid became the fourteenth man-of-the-match this year.

And so to the Phil McBarron section of this report. Phil gets a lot of stick, but he was on prime form last night. Let's start with betting, a deplorable activity I would have nothing to do with myself. Treasury had been made clear favourites at 4/9, but even these cramped odds were attractive enough for YS as he risked a "substantial sum".

The Dodgers committee were reported to be suffering from "shock and awe" at his actions, and have asked Lord Justice Hutton to conduct an inquiry when he's free. I understand that two questions will be posed: did McBarron deliberately bat slowly in order to lose and how can anyone be daft enough to take 4/9 on that load of donkeys?

On the first question, McB would appear to be guilty - he only scored a handful of singles in the first eight overs and many shots never left the strip, never mind the square. He is set, however, to ask for 127 similar offences to be taken into account and may therefore escape censure on a technique-ality.

Phil returned to the Dodgers dressing room to make a stunning announcement - "that is the last time I open for Dodgers in a 20 over match - I want to be an all-rounder". About an hour later, when the cheering had subsided, clarification was sought. In one of the most blatant examples of "sexing down" yet seen, McB first retreated to "unless John Carr asks me to" then "I may not be the best person to open in 20 over games". Watch this space for further developments...

Neil Benn

Dodgers Innings

McBarron     retired                  26
Jacobs                   b Owen        5
Priest (c)   retired                  26
Hilary J     c Horwill                17
Westhead     retired                  26
Benn         retired                  25
Qureshi      c Evans                   0
Cooper       not out                   3
Matthews (w) not out                    1
Extras (b6, lb3, w2, nb2)              12
Total (20 overs)                      141 for 3

dnb: Pope


Bowling

          O  M  R   W
Maramoto  4  0  10  0
Owen      4  1  12  1
Horwill   4  0  35  1
Krishnan  2  0  22  0
Elsey     2  0  19  0
Evans     2  0  21  1
Hogarth   2  0  19  0


Treasury & Cabinet Office Innings

Horwill      c Qureshi   b Cooper      1
McGrath      c Qureshi   b Cooper      3
Evans        not out                  29
Maramoto     c Qureshi   b Cooper      1
Elsey                    c&b Benn      1
Burton                   b Benn        0
Murphy                   b Hilary      0
Long                     b Hilary      1
Krishnan     c Hilary    b Pope        6
Owen                     c&b Qureshi   5
Extras (w4 nb1)                        5
Total (16.2 overs)                     51 all out

Wickets 1-1, 2-4, 3-9, 4-10, 5-10, 6-22, 7-37


Bowling
          O  M  R   W
Benn      4  1   8  2
Cooper    4  1  14  3
Qureshi 2.2  0   5  1
Hilary    4  0  14  2
Pope      2  0   9  1

Shock injury drama as Dodgers break losing streak. A stronger Dodgers side easily overwhelmed an 8-man Parliamentary Ombudsman team last night in a match filled with drama and excitement. Halfway through his opening over, and already one wicket up (to one of three miraculous catches from occasional fielder Guy Westhead), John Cooper was floored by a returned ball which jumped up off a ridge on a shockingly unprepared Chiswick wicket. Bravely staying to cheer his team to victory, Cooper's attempt to emulate last week's injury hero John Hilary resulted in only partial disfigurement. Hopefully his other half will allow him to continue to bowl without a helmet...read the full report here soon"

Dodgers vs. Parliamentary Ombudsman

Chiswick
20 Overs

DODGERS WON BY 40 RUNS

Dodgers won the toss and opted to bat.

Dodgers: 159/8 off 20 overs (Crawford Ret'd 32, McBarron Ret'd 30)
Ombudsman: 119/6 off 20 overs (McBarron 1-7, Cavanagh 1-17)

Would Neil Priest's winning streak as Captain continue? An auspicious start as he wins the toss and elects to bat. Neil, you need to give JC that doubled-headed coin With a very poor wicket, dry and covered in bumps and pot holes that could only get worse, this looked to be the right decision.

McBarron and Westhead stepped out to the crease. Sending the first ball to the boundary, had McBarron really undertaken to slog and could he do it again? Three boundaries in his first five scoring shots seemed to suggest he could, but then Lamprecht was taken out of the attack and normal service resumed until he reached 30 and retired. Next to the crease was Priest, who moved the score on quickly despite bowler King sending everything to him down leg side. McBarron, worried about the time, proved very generous not giving too many wides. At the other end Westhead made steady progress with the singles, clearly worried about the light as he kept on stressing that sunset was at 20.26. He was first to be out - in the 9th over - swinging wildly at a straight one.

Crawford came in next, promoted up the order due to injury that prevented him from bowling. Undecided about the bat to use, having demolished the decent Gray Nicholls during a recent knock, he chose the lighter plank of wood. A mistake - off to a quick start, he was lucky to get into double figures, dollying up a catch - dropped - to mid-off that didn't go as far as expected. He reached 32 with a couple of solid boundaries, before retiring to watch the rest of the innings. This not before Priest was caught just short of his 30.

At this stage 180 looked on, but an England style collapse followed. With Cav joining Streatfeild at the crease, he started with a boundary before being taken by surprise by a lifting ball which he returned comfortably to the bowler at shoulder height. A newly invigoured Benn slunk out purposefully to join Streatfeild, who in turn did not last long - run out to a direct hit following some confused calling. Blame unattributed. Qureshi was next. You'd think people would learn? Oh, no - he quickly repeated Cav's error sending a simple catch back to Lamprecht. Cooper put up some resistance but he also fell to the now accurate Lamprecht in the last over. With two balls left, Leach decided to give the Cat a bat and allowed himself to be clean bowled. Not to be outdone, the innings closed with Cat plumb LBW. Dodgers closed at 159, a respectable but not unbeatable total.

With the innings closing at 7.26pm - yes it took Ombudsman 1 hour 45 minutes to bowl 20 overs - Dodgers were given an hour of daylight to bowl their 20 overs.

Dodgers' turn to bowl. Opening with Cav from the "north" end, Ombudsman made a quick start sending his short deliveries to the boundary. Benn fared little better and it looked as if the 30 and retire policy might be all that saved us. But much better subsequent overs saw Benn take the important wicket of Johnson - caught at midwicket by an astonished Westhead and the rest of the team. But read on.... Johnson scored 10, but he batted at no.11 for them earlier in the season! Cav then took Jeffrey for 0, with another excellent catch from Cat behind the stumps.

Resistance from Sanders saw him move on to 30, and Ombudsman almost keeping up with the run-rate, before retiring. Lamprecht also made an impressive 31 before retiring, but the rest of the team made little headway against some very good bowling. Our sympathies (and best wishes) must go to Cooper, who took a wicket second ball before being felled by a throw from Cav, which bounced viciously and hit him in the face. Fortunately no blood, but a nasty shiner on the way. Occasional bowler McBarron took over, completing an excellent spell taking 1-7, including another wicket caught by Westhead. What is he on? After a tight over against Warwick Castle, Phil could win best bowler this year if he bowls enough overs to qualify. The only further resistance was put up by King and wickets proceeded to fall regularly. Both Sanders and Lamprecht returned to the crease but in the failed light made little further headway. Wickets were spread evenly with one apiece, including from Leach who has disappointed in recent matches. Ombudsman finished well short in the end, Dodgers winning by 40 runs - 15 minutes after sunset.

Westhead also took a third catch, something of a record, and no-one ran a single to him presumably on the back of his catching performance. Statisticians amongst us, well Mr Benn in fact, have modelled his success rate by a Poisson distribution - sounds fishy. He advises that the chance of someone with 3 catches in 57 games taking 3 in one game is 0.0000231 or 1 in 43,378. As a man who likes a bet, Neil missed an opportunity there.

Our thanks to JC for coming along to umpire - at least that gave us a chance of winning the toss.

Man of the Match Guy van Westhead. See stats section for Neil Benn's ruminations on the probability of it all...

Reporter: Andrew Crawford

Quote of the Match

Opposition batsman, turning the ball behind square on leg side straight to Streatfeild who is 10 yards from the bat, sets off for a run with a big shout of "TWO". Will missfields and they comfortably complete two runs.

Dodgers Innings

Phil McBarron       Retired                   30
Guy Westhead                   b Sanders      12
Neil Priest                    b MacCartney   26
Andrew Crawford     Retired                   32
Will Streatfeild    Run Out                    7
Mark Cavanagh                  c&b King        4
Neil Benn           Not Out                   14
Tawhid Qureshi                 c&b Lamprecht   1
John Cooper                    b  Lamprecht    9
Matt Leach                     b Lamprecht     0
Kim Matthews        LBW        b Lamprecht     0
Extras (B9, Lb5, W9, Nb0)                     23
Total: (for 8 wkts, 20  overs)               159   


Bowling
            O   M   R    W
Lamprecht   4   0   21   4
Johnson     4   0   32   0
Sanders     4   0   22   1
King        4   0   30   1
Maccartney  2   0   12   1
Monk        2   0   17   0


Parliamentary Ombudsman Innings

Johnson       c Westhead    b Benn         10
Sanders                     b Leach        34
Jeffrey       c Matthews    b Cavanagh      0
Lamprecht     Not Out                      35
MacCartney    c Westhead    b Cooper       10
Monk G        c Westhead    b McBarron      1
Stuckey                       b.  Qureshi   7
King          Not Out                      11
Extras (B2, Lb1, W6, Nb2)                  11
Total (for 6 wkts, 20 overs)              119


Bowling
            O   M   R    W
Cavanagh    4   0   17   1
Benn        4   0   33   1
Cooper    0.2   0    3   1
McBarron  3.4   1    7   1
Qureshi     4   0   19   1
Leach       4   0   37   1

Dodgers v Superstars

Chiswick
20 overs

Superstars (167-3, 20 overs) bt Dodgers (66 all out, 17.3 overs) by 101 runs

Dodgers were on the receiving end of a thrashing on Thursday as Superstars put behind them the humiliating losses to Dodgers of last season and set themselves up for a series whitewash come the final game of the season later this summer.

Having again lost the toss - "why dont you ever call tails" shouted another senior pro to the Captain, as he again failed to deliver - Dodgers took to the field in searing late afternoon heat. Superstars intentions were clear from the first ball from Crawford, stroked to the boundary by Gigg, with eleven further runs taken off a poor opening over from Crawford.

After 4 overs and on 41 runs, Superstars looked well set for a big total when Benn bowled Gigg with a nasty swinging delivery. The joy was evident on the face of Benn, lured out of retirement by the promise of another go at the old enemy.

The departure of Gigg brought in Matt Conway, still on a roll after his unbeaten retirement against Dodgers two days earlier whilst guesting for BSI. But he could do nothing to prevent comeback kid Benn from snatching a second wicket, bowling Perera with the score on 64.

This brought in Stevie Carter. Needing only 2 runs for his 100 in a season, he swiftly claimed his 20 from Simon Gundry. But with Carter hogging the strike, Dodgers realised they were in with a chance of stalling the Superstars advance, with Cooper and Qureshi sneaking several overs through for very few runs.

But then the hammerblow fell. Ignoring advice from team mates to bowl well outside Carters off-stump, Qureshi showed an uncharacteristic McBarron-esque commitment to average over team. Firing through a nasty seeming off-cutter that knocked Carters stumps out of the ground, the wicket also took with it any chance of Dodgers staying in the match. Carters dismissal brought in Rai whose quickfire 40 not out, alongside an undefeated retirement on 53 for flat-pitch bully Conway and a surprisingly tentative 14 from Gundry, left Superstars with 167 a total Dodgers would have to bat well to achieve.

Unfortunately none of the Dodgers frontline batsmen stayed long enough at the crease to demonstrate whether they were capable of batting well. Priest was quickly dismissed by Gundry for 2; Crawford, in as pinch hitter struggled to 22 with only two boundaries before falling to Taylor in the sixth over. All bar one of the rest of the Dodgers batting failed to make double figures. The exception was McBarron, who faced with a required run rate of some ten an over managed to accelerate his score to 18 off 15 overs whilst running out two batting partners (one of them Carr, who showed his rage by throwing his cap to the ground and kicking it off the square, three feet at a time).

All of which leaves Dodgers on a five game losing streak, with little prospect of getting back to winning ways unless they can turn out rather more penetrative bowling and a batting performance better suited to 20 overs a side cricket. Quite how they will manage this is unclear at the moment. A few easy wins seem vital to rebuilding confidence if they are to stand a chance in the final game of the Dodgers/Superstars series later in the summer.

In the meantime, suggestions that the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit were intending to launch an investigation into McBarrons contact with Indian bookies or that Singaporean handicap betters had made a mint on Dodgers losing by exactly one run more than the ton may or may not be unfounded.

Superstars innings
 
Gigg                 b Benn      21
Perera               b Benn      20
Conway                 retd      53
Carter            b Qureshi       5
Rai                 not out      40
Gundry              not out      14
Extras (3b, 10w, 1nb)            14
Total (for 3 wickets, 20 overs) 167

          o   m   r    w
Crawford  4   0   27   0          
Benn      4   0   35   2
Qureshi   4   1   38   1
Cooper    4   0   19   0
Leach     3   0   36   0
McBarron  1   0    6   0


Dodgers innings

Priest                        b Gundry      2
Crawford          ct Gigg     b Taylor     22
McBarron          not out                  18
Jacobs            ct Suggit   b Taylor      2
Carr              run out                   7
Cooper            ct Conway   b Marchant    0
Benn              ct Gigg     b Suggit      3
Qureshi           ct Taylor   b Suggit      0
Leach             ct Gundry   b Suggit      1
Matthews          run out                   3
Extras (1lb, 5w, 1nb)                       8
Total (all out 17.3 overs)                 66
 

          o   m   r    w
Gundry    2   0    8   1
Taylor    4   0   18   2
Raven     4   0   15   0
Marchant  4   1   13   1
Suggit    3   0    8   3
Carter  0.3   0    3   0

Man of the Match: Benn

BSI v Dodgers

Chiswick
20 overs

BSI (129-2, 17.1 overs) bt Dodgers (126-3 20 overs) by 8 wickets

Dodgers dismal run of form continued on Tuesday at Chiswick with a defeat to a BSI side augmented by Superstars Conway and Patten.

Winning the toss and opting to bat on a flat slow pitch and hard fast outfield, Dodgers failed to take advantage of the conditions, posting 126 on a pitch that was probably worth at least 20 more. Having started brightly, racing to 48 off 7 overs, Dodgers took another 11 overs to reach the century mark, despite good efforts from Priest (40, retd) and Carr (29). Outstanding amongst the bowling were four overs bowled by Patten for only 11 runs. Less outstanding were two overs of donkey drops from BSIer Jay which went for only 9 runs – at least 20 less than they should have done.

Taking the field late in the evening (largely due to BSI’s (and in particular their keeper’s) ability to reset a field every other ball), Dodgers never looked likely to defend the total, particularly after makeshift opening bowler Cooper went for 34 runs, including 16 in his second over, with Conway punishing a lacklustre Dodgers attack. With the game in the bag, BSI cruised to the necessary total in only 17 overs.

This wasn’t an abject performance by Dodgers. Fielding was generally good, with only a few of the usual dreadful lapses and bowling and batting were competent if uninspiring. But taken as a whole, the batsmen lacked fire and the bowlers lacked penetration. Until these are dealt with it is hard to see Dodgers chalking up many more victories this season.

Dodgers innings

McBarron           c Shelley   b Harrison          16  
Jacobs                         b Hollingsworth      8  
Priest             retd                            40  
Carr                           b Ward              29  
Whitrod                        not out             17  
Barber                         not out              0  
Extras (2lb, 8w, 6nb)                              16  
Total (20 overs)                                  126
(did not bat:  Streatfield, Cooper, Pope, Matthews, Leach)    

                 o   m   r    w  
Hollingsworth    4   0   24   1  
Harrison         4   0   25   1  
Patten           4   1   11   0  
Jay              2   0    9   0  
Ward             4   0   40   1  
Steadman         2   0   15   0    

 
BSI innings    
 
Conway              retd                        35  
Brewer                         b Cooper         13  
Shelley             retd                        35  
Ward                           Barber           12  
Harrison                       not out          16  
Wright                         not out           4  
Extras (2b, 11w, 1nb)                           14  
Total (all out, 17.1 overs)                    129

                 o   m   r    w
Cooper           4   0   34   1
Streatfield      4   0   20   0
Barber           4   0   27   1
Leach            3   0   21   0
Pope            2.1  0   25   0

Man of the Match: Priest

Dodgers v Warwick Castle

Eltham CSSG
Sunday 3 August 2003

Warwick Castle won the toss and elected to bat

Warwick Castle 168 all out off 35.0 overs (Cavanagh M 49, Qureshi T 32, Whitrod 3-13, Crawford 1-18)
Dodgers 162/7 off 35.0 overs (Crawford 70*, McBarron 39, Syed 3-9, Cavanagh M 1-29)

WARWICK CASTLE WON BY 6 RUNS

A sweltering day in South East London produced a game packed with incident containing blood, sweat, and possibly the odd tear. Prior to the start of the game it appeared that the Dodgers would be happier sitting in the clubhouse all afternoon rather than run around in the unrelenting heat, so it was no surprise that whoever won the toss would elect to bat first, even though the wicket showed the promise of some variable bounce.

Fredricks, sporting his usual warm weather attire of a fleece-like jumper, called correctly and promptly consigned the Dodgers to the field. More than at least one eyebrow was raised (and a few chuckles heard!) from the fielders as Qureshi T strolled to the wicket to face Crawford's first ball. However the makeshift opener managed to compile a decent 32 before being undone by a typically nagging length and line by Cooper. Qureshi M at the other end was unlucky to fall to a Hilary delivery that shot along the ground off a good length. Syed again played an all too familiar brief innings, which threatened to be destructive, but a lack of concentration led to Hilary bowling him through the gate. One feels that more application at the crease is bound to produce results for this promising yet at times infuriating young player. It was once again put upon Cavanagh M's shoulders to hold the Warwick Castle middle order together, and in recognition of the lack of batting to come after him, he played a diligent innings even though it lacked some fluency. In partnership with Cavanagh D (Mark's nephew) Warwick Castle threatened to post a total in excess of 200. The acceleration never really came and despite a couple of good hits from Fredricks batting down the order, the end total was perhaps a good 30 runs short of reasonable expectation. This was due to some accurate bowling from the Dodgers in the final third of the innings, Whitrod managing to pick up three useful wickets, backed up by good catching from Hilary in particular. However this does not excuse some of the poor shot selection and general unwillingness to graft for runs, which has undermined the Warwick Castle's efforts in recent seasons.

Chasing close to 5 runs an over, the Dodgers must have been fairly confident of reaching their target, as long as a couple of their frontline batsmen could build a partnership. Despite being one genuine bowler short, the Warwick Castle attack always looked capable of taking wickets and apart from Crawford none of the Dodgers batsmen looked entirely comfortable. McBarron played yet another trademark McBarron knock, painstakingly accumulating runs, before being victim to a stunning caught and bowled by Fredricks late on in the innings. Good spells from Cavanagh M and Cavanagh D, who finally seems to be running into some late season form, kept the Dodgers batsmen in check early on. But the outstanding bowling of the day came from Syed who pitched the ball well up to the bat and with good pace, and fully deserved his figures of 3-9. The second of Syed's victims, Priest, certainly seemed slightly miffed at being given leg before, which in most first class games would have invoked the full wrath of the match referee! Carr was unfortunate to be out with Syed's next ball as he played on. Next man in Crawford came close to winning the game for the Dodgers, with some powerful hitting all around the ground, particularly taking a liking to the occasional off spin of Fredricks. Indeed the Warwick Castle skipper may well have allowed himself to bowl at least one over too many after being buoyed by his earlier caught and bowled. An unfortunate incident took place towards the end of Spud's spell when an unintentional beamer hit Hilary just above the eye via an edge, extraordinarily the ball travelled a fair distance to square leg where it was reliably dropped by O'Donnell, fortunately for O'Donnell it was called a no-ball anyway. Although Hilary's face and whites were covered in blood, I understand he was well enough to drive himself home. The very next ball from Spud was also a beamer, which led Whitrod at the non-strikers end and Spud to politely exchange a difference of views. The game reached a tense climax as Warwick Castle appeared to be haemorrhaging runs, and to the almost audible relief of the Dodgers, Qureshi T was left to bowl the last over. With 16 runs required Qureshi T managed to restrict danger man Crawford to just the one boundary, as the Dodgers fell short of the target.

All in all it was a thoroughly entertaining game played in good spirit, and hopefully the first of many fixtures between the two teams.

Warwick Castle

Qureshi T                  b. Cooper      32
Qureshi M+                 b. Hilary      10
Syed                       b. Hilary       8
Cavanagh     c. Hilary     b. Whitrod     49
Beech (1)                  b. Crawford     0
Cavanagh D   c. Hilary     b. Priest      27
Fredricks*                 b.Whitrod      14
O'Donnell    c. McBarron   b. Whitrod      4
Spud         Run      Out                  5
Beech (2)    Not      Out                  1
Extras                                    18
TOTAL (35 overs)                         168 all out

Bowling:
          O   M    R   W   
Crawford  7   1   18   1
Hilary    7   2   24   2
Hall      4   0   29   0
Cooper    7   0   32   1
Dave      4   0   27   0
Whitrod   3   0   13   3
Priest    3   0   19   1

Dodgers

McBarron                    c.&b. Fredricks       39
Jacobs                      b. Syed               13
Priest      lbw             b. Syed                8
Carr*                       b. Syed                0
Crawford    Not      Out                          70
Dave        c. Cavanagh M   b. Spud                0
Hilary      Retired      Hurt                      0
Whitrod     c. Qureshi M    b. Cavanagh M         11
Hall        Run      Out                           1
Extras                                            20
TOTAL (35.3 overs)                               162 for 7
DNB:  Cooper, Matthews+

Bowling
             O   M    R   W
Cavanagh M   7   0   29   1
Cavanagh D   7   0   27   0
Syed         7   1    9   3
Spud         7   0   38   1
Fredricks    5   0   35   1
Qureshi T    2   0   14   0

Science Museum v Dodgers

Parsons Green

Dodgers (177-1, 20 overs) bt Science Museum (142-6, 20 overs) by 35 runs

After the excitement of the previous week’s thriller at Chiswick, the return match against Science Museum was always in danger of anti-climax. Missing some key players Science Museum never stood a chance against some brutally effective batting from Neil Priest, who narrowly missed his second 20-over century within a week.

Winning the toss, captain Carr elected to bat on a Parsons Green pitch that never looked likely to deliver the run-fest of the week before – the conclusion of the senior batsmen was that 80 would be a good score.

For the first eight overs, this looked a reasonable prediction as Science Museum made McBarron and Priest work for their runs. But, having seen the opening attack replaced by what can best be described as utter dobbers, both Dodgers batsmen cut free, accelerating from 27 runs at the end of the seventh over to 133 at the end of the seventeenth. It would be a mistake to represent this as remotely watchable or exciting. Rank deliveries hoiked towards the boundary, often helped on their way by a staggering series of crass fielding errors. That is not to criticise the Dodgers batting, which did the job required of it and more. But turkey shoots are rarely much fun if you are not one of those waving the gun.

Retiring at a fine unbeaten 53, McBarron made way for Leach, who failed to repeat recent batting heroics, falling cheaply out to an easy catch in the covers from a mistimed and rather over eager drive. But all the action was at the other end of the wicket as Priest (to significant (and inexplicable) hissing from a number of unidentifiable Dodgers) chose to bat on in an attempt to reach his second century in successive matches. He seemed on track, as Science Museum’s dreadful fielding conceded boundary after boundary. However, with three figures in sight (if he was able to score a boundary a ball of the last three deliveries) Priest was frustrated in his ambition as finally a fielder stopped a ball before it reached the rope. The innings ended with an inordinate eight wides on the trot from joke bowler Seary, Priest carrying his bat on 97 and Carr on 1 not out.

Coming in to bat missing the fire-power of new boy Ryatt, Science Museum never looked like reaching a target of 178. Openers Pickworth and Butler made a decent start, each scoring 24 before going down to Cavanagh and Gundry respectively. But lack of penetration by Dodgers bowlers (a recurring problem this year) meant that the game dragged on for the full twenty overs, finishing in semi-darkness at the abysmally late time of 9:30pm. Of the bowlers, the pick were probably Qureshi, with a tight and aggressive 3-over spell; Gundry, who takes his Dodgers figures this season to 5-2-6-4; and Westhead, who charged in, dropping dangerous lobs from out of the night sky onto unsuspecting batsmen’s heads, despite being drunker than Henry Hilary let loose in an unguarded brewery. Dodgers swiftly changed from whites to civvies and piled off down the Duke of Cumberland for the traditional Parsons Green sausage and chips supper.

Dodgers

McBarron                   rtd            53
Priest                     not out        97
Leach        ct Butler     b Seary         1
Carr                not out                1
Extras (3b, 1lb, 19w, 2nb)                25
Total (for 1 wkt, 20 ovrs)               177

dnb Kavanagh, Gundry, Qureshi, Westhead, Cooper, Matthews, Crawford

            o   m   r   w
Woodhouse   4   1   11  0
Pickworth   4   0   23  0
Rye         4   0   41  0
Smallwood   4   0   48  0
Butler      2   0   16  0
Seary       2   0   34  1


Science Museum

Pickworth                   b Cavanagh     24        
Butler        ct Matthews   b Gundry       24
Robinson      ct Gundry     b Cooper        5
Kerry                       b Gundry        1
Smallwood                   not out        35
Rye                         b Qureshi      13
Woodhouse     ct Matthews   b Qureshi       4          
Seary                       not out         6
Extras (no details)                        30
Total    (for 6 wkts, 20 overs)           142

           o   m   r   w
Crawford   4   0   26  0
Cavanagh   4   0   31  0
Gundry     2   1    4  2
Cooper     4   0   15  1
Qureshi    3   0   31  2
Westhead   2   0   21  0
Leach      1   0   13  0

Dodgers v The Stage Door

Sunday 20 July
Chiswick
Result - Dodgers won by 28 runs

Innings of Dodgers

McBarron   Ct Sub (Hilary J)   b Paul      36
Doyle                          c&b Amanda   0
Carr       retired                         51
Abigail                        b Dave      40
Whitrod    retired                         19
Crawford   not out                         21
Hilary J                       b Dave       0
Cooper     not out                          0
Sub-total                                 167
Extras                                     19
Total                                     186
Did not bat: Adey

Bowling

Bowler   O   M   R    W   Avg
Amanda   8   0   36   1   36
Dave     7   1   31   2   15.5
Tony     6   0   38   0   --
Damian   6   0   21   0   --
Mick     3   0   22   0   --
Paul     5   0   30   1   30

 
Innings of The Stage Door

David                  b Hilary J   19
Damo     c. McBarron   b Adey   8
Tony                   b Hilary J   35
Mick                   b Doyle      48
Amanda   run out (McBarron)          0
Paul     St. Abigail   b Doyle       2
Sean                   b Doyle       0
Alice                  b Doyle       6
Kim      c. Carr       b Doyle      14
A.N. Other (Amanda)    not out      16
Sub-total                          148
Extras                              10
Total                              158

Bowling

Bowler     O   M   R    W   Avg
Crawford   5   1   17   0   --
Adey       3   1   12   1   12
Hilary J   6   0   32   2   16
Cooper     6   1   17   0   --
Carr       1   0   4    0   --
Doyle    6.3   0   23   5   4.6
McBarron   3   0   17   0   --

Dodgers v ORR

CSSG Chiswick
Tuesday 8th July 2003
ORR won by 6 wickets

Dodgers 105 - 5, 20 overs (McBarron - 40 not out, Leach - 24)
ORR 106 - 4, 17.4 overs (McBarron 2-23, Streatfeild 1-22)

Weather - Humid

On a very muggy July evening Dodgers won the toss and elected to bat. Carr decided that 40 would be the retirement age for the evening, a decision that would come to haunt the captain, who in hindsight might have preferred to raise it to 50. Dodgers were reduced to nine men and without Hilary and Roper.

McBarron and Carr took to the field, with McBarron hitting a four off the first delivery, but then faced a good opening spell by the opening ORR bowlers. The score ticked along well, until Carr fell to a good delivery (Warrens last ball of his spell). Benn came to the crease hoping to build a partnership with the ever - steady McBarron, but fell to an unfortunate decision caught behind. Cooper (who had a very nasty ball to his chest) and Birch failed to get going, and Streatfeild came in at number six, after 10 overs with 46 on the board. Worried that Dodgers might not face all 20 overs, he batted himself in, giving support to McBarron who was nearing his retirement score of 40. ORR had some tight bowling and McBarron retired on 40. Doyle out first ball and Leach came to the crease to make an impressive 24 in the last four overs. ORR could have had the final pair run out on a number of occasions, due to some terrible running between the wickets. Dodgers finished on 105 for 5.

With only nine men Dodgers had to borrow two fielders from ORR, and after a lengthy half time changeover the ORR batsmen finally arrived at the crease. Benn and Streatfeild opened the bowling, with the ORR openers making a quick start. Streatfeild had opener Warren caught for 5, caught by McBarron. Cooper and Leach continued with Cooper having a great spell, with a maiden (the only one of the match) and a run out, which was quite impressive considering his earlier injury. Mason, the other ORR opener had a good innings, running well between the wickets and was retired for 40. McBarron joined the attack taking two wickets, but it seemed the ORR batting attack was too strong. ORR were helped by quick running between the wickets and the absence of Hilary and Roper, who were both missed. ORR won by 6 wickets with three over to spare.

Match Report by Will Streatfeild

Dodgers batting

McBarron       Retired         40
Carr           Bowled           8
Benn           Caught behind    0
Cooper         Bowled           3
Birch          Bowled           3
Streatfeild    Not out         11
Doyle          Bowled           0
Leach          Not out         24
Extras                         15
Total                         105


ORR bowling

Bowler    o   m   r   w
Tam       4   0  14   1
Kris      4   0  19   1
Jas       4   0  19   1
Dave      1   0  11   1
Vince     4   0  18   1
Rupert    2   0  12   0
Baden     1   0  5    0


ORR batting

Warren      Caught       B Streatfeild     5
Mason                    Retired          40
Jas Gill    Caught       B McBarron       18
V Furey     Run out                       16
J Evans     Run out                        0
J Thomas    Caught       B McBarron        0
McArdle                  Not out          16
Andy                     Not out           1
Extras                                    11
Total                                    106


Dodgers bowling

Bowler       o   m   r   w
Benn         4   0  15   0
Streatfeild  4   0  22   1
Leach        2   0  20   0
Cooper       4   1  22   0
McBarron     3   0  23   2
JC         0.4   0   2   0

Dodgers v BSI

BSI won by 7 wickets

Having lost the toss, and been put in, Dodgers never recovered from the shock of having to open their innings without the delayed McBarron. The BSI attack was not fearsome, but very accurate, backed up by some athletic fielding. Carr was first to go, well caught in the gully for a duck, and after eleven overs, Dodgers found themselves 30-5. Hilary hit the only boundary of the innings, a crashing backfoot drive, but was promptly bowled by an unplayable yorker. Hilary was also involved in the fourth wicket to fall, as umpire, showing a theatrical touch to send Crawford on his way LBW for a duck, much to the batsman’s dismay. With only nine players, Dodgers were forced to try and bat out their overs. The latecomer McBarron was the man for the job, and well supported by the tail, Dodgers managed to survive. However, runs hardly flowed, McBarron’s 27 being made entirely of singles and twos. 61 was never going to challenge BSI.

On a rare appearance this year, Crawford made up for his disappointment with the bat, by bowling a full length at good pace to take two early wickets, including the opener, who was clearly a good batsman. And when Matthews did well to gather a throw from Hilary to effect a run out, BSI were 21-3, and the door was ajar. Unfortunately the other bowlers could not back Crawford up (one or two looked like they fancied an early drink for once), and BSI cruised to their target without further loss, and with more than 9 overs to spare.

Dodgers Innings
 
Benn      caught  b Terry       5
Carr(*)   caught  b Elliot      0
Hilary            b Elliot      6
McBarron          Hopkinson    27
Crawford  lbw     b Hopkinson   0
Cooper    caught  b Hopkinson   0
Qureshi           b Terry       6
Cousins           Not Out       2
Matthews(+)       Not Out       0
EXTRAS                         15
TOTAL                          61-7
 
Riaz        4-0-9-0
Elliot      4-0-18-2
Hopkinson   4-1-5-3
Terry       4-0-9-1
Ward        3-1-8-1
Charleston  1-0-3-0


BSI Innings

62-3 off 10.4 overs

Bowling figures
Cousins  4-0-28-0
Crawford 4-0-10-2
Benn     1.4-0-11-0
Hilary   1-0-10-0

Dodgers v Ombudsman

Chiswick

Result: Dodgers won by five or six runs

A fluctuating match that Dodgers looked to be winning comfortably for a while but in the end was decided only in the last over. There is a discrepancy in the scores, hence the uncertainty over the winning margin.

Dodgers batted first and our opening pair of McBarron and Priest started comfortably but slowly. Phil in particular struggled to get going and took 16 overs to amass his 22 runs. After Neil was out in the 11th over we suffered a mid-innings collapse and sixteen runs were added in four overs while three wickets were lost. Batsmen 3, 4 and 5 were all out for single figures and it took a brisk, hard-hitting innings by guest Simon Gundry to give our score an air of respectability. His knock of 35 included four fours and a six.

We weren't sure whether a score of 109 was going to be enough but we had plenty of bowling. Gundry followed his innings by taking his frustration at being dropped by Superstars out on the Ombudsperson's batsmen. His two wickets in three overs, backed up by one for Will Streatfeild and some tidy overs from Henry Hilary and Matt Leach had the opposition rocking at 24 for 4. However, Parsons and Robson added 36 for the fifth wicket and gave their team a chance. After I accounted for both of them, Copeland and Armstrong kept the score ticking over. Both Matt and I had bowled tidily but our last overs cost us nine and eleven runs respectively. There was now a chance that we might lose but two accurate overs by John Cooper sealed the win. The opposition claimed they wanted five to win off the last two balls (I make it seven) but a dot and a wicket for John shut the door.

Dodgers innings 
 
McBarron           ct        b Patel     22
Priest             ct        b King      21
Westhead           ct        b King       7
Carr               lbw       b Patel      3
Cooper             ct        b Copeland   7
Gundry             retired               35
S. Birch                     run out      2
H. Hilary                    not out      2
Streatfeild                  not out      0
Extras (b1, lb3, w6, nb1)                11
Total                                   109*                                
Did not bat: Leach, Pope
(*I know it adds up to 110 but it was 109 at the time
and that is the score the opposition chased.)

 
Bowling
              o-m-r-w
Armstrong     4-0-16-0
Johnson       4-0-10-0
King          4-0-24-2
Copeland      4-0-31-1
Patel         4-2-26-2                

 
Ombdusman innings
 
Carberry         ct Priest     b Gundry        8
Parsons          st Priest     b Pope         21
Lillywhite                     b Gundry        1
Tattersall                     b Streatfeild   2
Hodson           ct Carr       b Leach         0
Robson           ct McBarron   b Pope         23
Troost           ct Carr       b Leach         3
Copeland         ct Priest     b Pope         10
Johnson                        not out        18
Armstrong        ct Priest     b Cooper        3
Extras (b1, lb1, w9)                          11
Total                                        103*
Did not bat: King
(*the opposition said it was 104 but I can only find 103)

 
Bowling
              o-m-r-w
Gundry        3-1-2-2
Streatfeild   4-0-20-1
H. Hilary     3-1-9-0
Leach         4-0-28-2
Pope          4-0-32-3
Cooper        2-0-10-1

Man of the match: Simon Gundry

SUPERSTARS v DODGERS

Superstars won the toss and elected to bat

Superstars 185/3 off 20.0 overs (Perera 72, Gigg 54, Cooper 2-42, Cavanagh 1-19) Dodgers 143/4 off 20.0 overs (Cavanagh 71, Taylor 2-22, Perera 1-12, Patten 1-14)

SUPERSTARS WON BY 42 RUNS

Dodgers Man of the Match: Mark Cavanagh

328/7 off 40 overs - now that's entertainment. Unless of course you are a bowler.

This second match in this year's series against Superstars saw us fall to two down with two to play, although this was a much better showing than the first game.

Even though Captain Carr was delayed it was business as usual as we lost the toss and had to field on what looked like nothing more than an average batting track. Superstars promptly racked up the biggest score we have conceded in a twenty over game, just passing the FSA's 181 of the week before. Messrs Crawford and Roper will no doubt be pleased to have missed both encounters, a fact pointed out at least 83 times by Neil Benn.

Although some of the bowling was wayward to say the least and our fielding was down to its usual standard this huge total came largely due to some excellent batting from Superstars. Gigg (54) batted better than we have seen for several seasons and although Perera (72) started slowly he too was soon dispatching the ball to all parts. You know you are in trouble when Lomas (15*) comes in and smashes his first ball through the covers for four and by the time Whitrod appeared to face only the last ball of the innings few would have bet against the resulting six over mid-wicket. For Dodgers Cavanagh (1-19) was the pick of the bowlers bowling at a lively pace and nearly taking Perera's head off with a great bouncer. Cooper picked up a couple of wickets at the end and Henry Hilary bowled well once he found his range.

Facing the daunting prospect of 9 an over and with Gundry promising to bend his back McBarron graciously offered to drop down the order to give others a chance for a bat. Facing the daunting prospect of chasing 9 an over and with Gundry promising to bend his back it seemed likely plenty of others would get a chance anyway, so this kind offer was equally graciously declined by the Skipper.

So it was that Priest and McBarron re-formed their now familiar opening combination. Gundry was true to his word and bowled four quick and hostile overs, although Phil got us off to the best possible start by snicking the first ball through slip for four. This set the tone as almost all of the 18 that Gundry conceded were to the third man area. However, with the required rate soon well into double figures we clearly had them worried as for Gundry's third over Superstars had five men on the boundary.

The entertainment of Gundry's spell (more entertaining from the boundary than from 22 yards I suspect) hid the fact that Patten also bowled very well from the other end and it was Patten who made the breakthrough in the eighth over to bowl McBarron for 6. This only served to set the stage for the entry of Mark Cavanagh who proceeded to play one of the best ever Dodgers' innings that I for one have ever seen. Mark smashed eight fours and three sixes on his way to 71, leaving Priest in the somewhat unaccustomed support role. In the middle of the innings four overs from Andrews and Goram went for an incredible 72, only 15 of them to Priest. By now Superstars were seriously worried and at one point had nobody saving one on the leg side. We were starting to believe that we (ie. Mark) could pull it off. Of course, it wasn’t to be and as so often it was Taylor (2-22) who did the damage, Priest going to a top edged pull and Cavanagh caught not long after by Perera.

In the end we finished on 143/4 which would have been easily enough on almost any other night - it would have been interesting to see what would have happened if we’d scored them batting first. There was of course no doubt about man of the match and Kav looks a bloody good player to me. Let’s hope he keeps turning out.

Quote of the week:

I can't remember anything really funny (although Superstars' Paul Andrews mistaking Phil McBarron for Phil Patten raised a smile), so hear are some other sports related quotes that seem to fit in with the Dodgers ethos...

Bill Shankley on Martin Chivers: "The big lad is deceptive. He's slower than he looks."

Trevor Bailey on Compton: "His calls while running are merely a basis for negotiation."

George Foreman on fighting for the world heavyweight crown aged 42: "Holyfield has never fought a true heavyweight. When he fights me he is taking on every burger franchise in America."

Neil Armstrong after his own gut was compared to other physically perfect astronaut specimens: "I believe we are born with a finite number of heartbeats and I'm damned if I am going to waste mine exercising."

Superstars
 
Gigg*          c. Matthews    b. Cavanagh    54
Perera         c. McBarron    b. Cooper      72
Conway+        c. Hilary H    b. Cooper      29
Lomas                         Not Out        15
Whitrod                       Not Out         6
Extras                                       10
TOTAL (for 3 wickets off 20.0 overs)        185


Bowling
               O   M   R   W
Benn           2   0  16   0
Streatfield    3   0  25   0
Cavanagh       4   0  19   1
Qureshi        2   0  30   0
Hilary H       3   0  21   0
Cooper         4   0  42   2
Hawton         2   0  26   0


Dodgers

McBarron                   b. Patten       4
Priest         c. Conway   b. Taylor      39
Cavanagh       c. Perera   b. Taylor      71
Carr*                      Not Out         7
Cooper                     b. Perera       3
Benn                       Not Out         0
Extras                                    17
TOTAL (for 4 wickets off 20.0 overs)     143
DNB:  Hawton, Matthews+, Qureshi, Streatfield, Hilary H

Bowling
           O   M   R   W
Gundry     4   0   18  0
Patten     4   0   14  1
Andrews    2   0   36  0
Goram      2   0   33  0
Taylor     4   0   22  2
Perera     4   1   12  1

St Andrews v Dodgers

Addington Park

Dodgers (226-1, 40 overs) bt St Andrews (179 all out, 36.1 overs) by 47 runs

An easy victory for Dodgers against outclassed opponents, played at a new venue (for Dodgers) on the rural fringe of Croydon. Marred only by an inability to finish the game quickly once it was clear it was won.

Winning the toss, Dodgers opted to bat and, thanks to solid innings from McBarron and Hilary , who retired unbeaten on 69 and 68 respectively, and Benn (28) quickly established a solid platform for the Dodgers innings, helped by dismal St Andrews fielding which contributed some 18 byes to the Dodgers total. Following the retirements, which coincided with a short break in play for rain, Kavanagh slogged a quick 36, ably supported by Matthews at the non-strikers end, taking Dodgers to a total of 226-1 - a good score for a team missing the batting of Carr, Priest and Roper.

Following the usual fine St Andrews tea of ham sandwiches and Mr Kiplings cakes, washed down with orange squash, the home side never looked likely to approach the Dodgers’ target. Crawford (0-16) and Qureshi (1-23), opening the bowling, were economical but lacked penetration, sharing just one wicket between them. However a change of bowling quickly paid off as Kavanagh (2-9) took two wickets and quality Dodgers fielding (a rarity this season) delivered two run outs. Having secured the first seven wickets for only 84 runs, Dodgers made heavy weather of finishing off the innings. However, eventually the tail was wrapped up by Cooper (1-39) grabbing a fine caught and bowled, three wickets from Leach (3-42) and one from Pope (1-41), who captured the valuable wicket of Clark, the only St Andrews player who looked capable of bringing the Croydon team back into the match.

Dodgers innings
 
McBarron (c)   retd                         68
Benn           ct Hockborn     b Seagal     28
Hilary         retd                         68
Matthews (w)                   not out       1
Cavanagh                       not out      36
Extras (18b, 1lb, 1w, 4nb)                  24
Total (40 overs)                           226

(did not bat:  Crawford, Cooper, Qureshi, Leach)

Bowling
             o   m   r   w
Ashish       8   0  29   0
Mummery      8   1  41   0
Seagal       8   0  45   1
Hockborn     8   2  30   0
Clark J      5   0  38   0
Whitton      3   0  29   0

 
St Andrews innings
 
Salesh                         run out (Hilary)      10
Pawarod                        b Cavanagh            10
Hockborn                       b Cavanagh            22
Pay            ct Benn         b Qureshi              2
Clark M        ct Matthews     b Pope                61
Munnery        ct Matthews     b Leach                7
Whittam                      c&b Cooper               0
Clarke S                       run out (Matthews)     0
Burbridge      ct Benn         b Leach               17
Clark J                        not out               13
Seagal         ct Matthews     b Leach               23
Extras (5b, 4lb, 4w, 1nb)                            14
Total (all out, 36.1 overs)                         179

Bowling
            o   m   r   w
Crawford    6   1  16   0 
Qureshi     7   0  23   1
Leach      7.1  0  42   3
Kavanagh    5   1   9   2
Cooper      5   0  39   1
Pope        6   0  41   1

Man of the Match: Cavanagh

FSA v DODGERS

(Author Phil McBarron)
20 OVERS MATCH, CHISWICK, 3 JUNE 2003
Result: FSA won by lots.
Dodgers Man of the Match: Mark Kavanagh

HAMMERED (TWICE)

The second occasion was last night at Kempton Park races where Capt Carr and I failed to find a single winner and suffered combined losses of £255. The first occasion was at Chiswick 24 hours earlier where a plucky Dodgers side was annihilated by a very classy FSA XI.

We had never played FSA before but word of their strength had emerged before the toss and Capt Carr very sensibly allowed them to bat first by agreement. The FSA captain had already stated his intention to retire his batsman "when" they reached 50 (he didn't say "if" such was his confidence on observing the riff-raff ranged against his boys). Play commenced under fairly overcast skies and Dodgers took the field with only 10 players having been unable to raise a full side. Being one light in the field clearly didn't help but such was the quality of the batting it would have made little difference if we had 15 fielders. FSA opener Stigent (who has played for the full South African U-19 side) was particularly impressive and reached his 50 in 10 overs. It wasn't a chanceless innings but such was the timing and power of his shots that we were not able to cling onto the two half chances he offered. Sillet and Friend (two first XI club batsmen) were only marginally less impressive and destructive in scoring 51 and 46 respectively.

Our bowlers actually stuck to their task very well despite Benn's attempts to feign injury and persuade Carr to "give McBarron an over or two skip". Although we conceded numerous boundaries these were usually the result of good shots rather than bad balls. Although 181 is many more than we have ever conceded in 20 overs, we have never had to cope with sustained batting of this calibre. In the end we were relieved to keep them below 200 and Cooper and Qureshi picked up a wicket apiece. We were playing on the 'A' pitch in the middle of the square and so the side boundaries were extremely long, otherwise 200 plus would have been inevitable. Despite his short and deceptive run up, new boy Mark Kavanagh bowled a particularly brisk and hostile spell and was probably the quickest bowler on view all night. Even Stigent didn't seem to relish a couple of short balls that flew past his nose.

It was also good to see Henry Hilary return to the fold and he bowled perfectly respectably. It was clear that Henry has accelerated his training regime for the forthcoming "World's Most Pissed Bloke Championships", and on Tuesday's evidence he is our best contender since Doylee and Priest in their drinking prime managed a bronze in the pairs event. The champagne (or Kronenburg) moments were Henry falling over and being unable to regain the use of his limbs after attempting a catch, followed a few balls later by running in the opposite direction to the ball when it was hit towards him (some of you will recall another drinking legend Spencer Broadley doing much the same on a Superstars tour to York a few years ago). Henry is a top bloke and a good cricketer so let's hope we see him a few more times this season.

It would be fair to say that we were not much looking forward to our turn to bat. We knew the target was way out of reach, the skies had darkened and it seemed inevitable that FSA would have some seriously quick bowlers who would have noted the short pitched stuff from Kavanagh. Capt Carr was keen to avoid the complete humiliation of being rolled over for something desperate like 30 or less and gave the order that we should "simply bat sensibly". In the absence of any other volunteers he decided to open the batting himself with McB. As expected the FSA seam bowling was accurate and quick enough. Fortunately, it was not seriously quick (more hit the pitch and hit the bat hard kind of stuff). The Dodgers openers were able to survive reasonably comfortably but found the bowling, backed up by some very keen fielding, much harder to get away. After 10 overs only 32 runs had been scored, although Carr was benefiting from much needed time at the crease. With total humiliation avoided Carr gave the order to press on and 31 runs were scored off the next 5 overs. At 63-0 after 15 overs, Carr decided that he and McB should retire. The game was clearly lost and there was no point in carrying on and denying other Dodgers the chance of at least a brief hit. At this point Benn was heard to mutter in reference to McB - "I don't believe it, the bastard is opting for a red-inker". That of course is an incorrect interpretation - this was yet another selfless act by McB, following captain's orders and denying himself a probable 50 in the process. Although Birch and the Cat went cheaply, Cavanagh had enough time to prove that he is a decent act with the bat and managed a quick-fire 31, including 10 runs off the last 2 balls of the innings. Sadly that still left us one short of the 100 mark.

All in all an enjoyable if one sided game. Even with our best XI out it is difficult to see how we could ever be consistently competitive against a side like FSA. Their batting is the strongest I have ever encountered playing for Dodgers (better than Traveaux according to Mr Benn). Their bowling (backed up by excellent fielding) is also above average for our level although not quite as strong as their batting. If we do play them again we should stick with the 20 overs format (one could imagine them scoring 400 in good conditions in 40 overs). However, there is one ray of hope. Superstars managed to bowl them out for 61 last year and won the game by 10 wickets. According to Barry Gigg it was a freakish result - the pitch was poor and the FSA blokes went for their shots and Superstars held onto a series of catches. Siva managed 4 wickets including Stigent! Interestingly, Superstars best and quickest bowler Gundry didn't pick up any wickets.

This led to a brief discussion in the bar about how some of our absent bowlers might have fared. Most thought Crawford would have gone for plenty because he would have come onto the bat at good pace and a nice height. Several thought that Mr Adey's straight and fairly slow stuff in the slot, would have been a candidate for six sixes in an over (the straight boundaries were not very long). By common consent we all thought that David Pope might have fared best - we reckoned that Stigent would never have come across a bowler quite like David in South Africa.

Quote of the week - Mr Benn in Yorkshire twang after his first three balls were smacked for boundaries - "why are Crawford and Roper never playing when the good batsmen are around - me av'rij".

FSA

Sillett      RETIRED     51
Stigent      RETIRED     51
Friend       Not Out     46
Rowlands     b Cooper    16
Lord         b Qureshi    9
Baker        Not Out      0
Extras                   12
TOTAL                   181 for 2, 20 overs


Dodgers Bowling

Cousins    4 overs  0-29
Kavanagh   4 overs  0-25
H Hilary   3 overs  0-30
Benn       3 overs  0-32 (yes and ouch!)
Qureshi    3 overs  1-27
Cooper     3 overs  1-27
Carr       1 over   0-0


DODGERS

McBarron   RETIRED                     38
Carr       RETIRED                     22
Birch      c&b James                    0
Kavanagh   Not Out                     31
Matthews   c ? b Gigg (no relation)     2
Qureshi    Not Out                      1
Extras                                  5
TOTAL                                  99 for 2, 20 overs
Dnb - Benn, Cooper, Cousins, H Hilary


FSA bowling

Baker      3 overs  0-3
Hooper     4 overs  0-14
Bourne     4 overs  0-26
James      4 overs  1-13
Hawthorn   3 overs  0-29
Gigg       2 overs  1-11

DODGERS V AUDIT COMMISSION

CHISWICK
DODGERS won by 44 RUNS
Dodgers: 165 -2 20 Overs (McBarron 33 retd; Jacobs 32 retd; Cooper 32 retd.)
Audit Comm. 103 -5 20 Overs (Benn - 2.0.6.2 Streatfeild - 4.1.10.1)
Match Report: Kim Matthews

Dodgers having won the toss elected to bat. Capt. Priest agreed to batsmen retiring at 30 (some of us have never started!!). The game was played on a warm May evening with no cloud and only the roar of the soon to be departed Concorde to disturb us. The wicket was good if a little unpredictable. Audit Commission promised 9 turned up with 7 and were bolstered by the addition of Qureshi’s mate Kavanagh (desperate for a quality game!!). During Dodgers innings they were offered 2 fielders but would take only 1. Dodgers took full advantage and notched up 165 in their 20 overs. Dodgers ran out easy victors as the Audit batsmen , restricted by some excellent bowling and a full fielding side, were never up with the run rate and could only manage 103 in reply.

Mcbarron and Priest took full advantage of some loose bowling and plundered 64 from 8 overs before Priest was caught and bowled of a slower ball from Emery. Mcbarron retired shortly after having scored an entirely out of character quick fire 33. Jacobs (on his return to Dodgers colours from exile in Bristol) and Lucky Cooper then matched each other run for run pushing the score on to 130 before, within a few balls of each other, both retired on 32. Roper was the only other Dodger out; stumped for 7 attempting a big hit off Irwin.

Tight opening bowling from Cousins and Streatfeild (who had opener Taylor excellently caught by Priest at short extra cover, in his first over) effectively won the game for Dodgers. They restricted Audit to 25 in the first 8 overs and ensured that the remaining Dodger’s bowlers could afford to be a bit more generous without danger of recrimination in the bar afterwards. Qureshi took full advantage of this opportunity and conceded 30 off 4. Whilst Benn spurned it and took 2 for 6 from his 2. The only defiance was offered by Fisher who retired on 31 and Sully bowled Benn for 20.

Man of the match was Chris Jacobs for his well struck 32 (in his first game for 2 years) and his entertaining fielding. His sprint round the boundary, stop with his foot, and throw over his shoulder for 4, was particularly entertaining. (In retrospect I think I should have given my vote to Will Streatfeild!)

We haven’t played Audit before. They were a good bunch and should we have the opportunity I recommend a future fixture at Battersea Park (not least for the chance of sampling a new pub). Dodgers had to fend off some fiery bowling from Qureshi’s mate Kavanagh (who had Cooper dropped 3 times) who also appeared, at least by my standards, to be able to bat; so if we can get him to play for us on occasion I suggest we accept with alacrity.

Man of the Match: Chris Jacobs

Dodgers Innings

McBarron    retired                      33
Priest      c/b Emery                    24
Jacobs      retired                      32
Cooper      retired                      32
Roper       stumped Taylor    b Irwin     7
Benn                          not out    15
Hilary                        not out     4
Extras  (b4, lb5, w6, nb3)               18
Total                                   165 for 2


Audit Bowling

           O   M   R   W
Sully      4   0  49   0
Durham     4   2  21   0
Emery      4   0  29   1
Kavanagh   4   0  30   0
Irwin      4   0  27   1


Audit Innings

Taylor      c Priest        b Streatfeild     5
Fisher      retired                          31
Durham      c Matthews      b Hilary         14
Sully                       b Benn           20
Emery       c McBarron      b Benn            2
Irwin       c/b             Roper             4
Kavanagh                    not out           7
Penny                       not out           4
Extras  (b6, lb5, w5)                        16
Total                                       103 for 5 


Dodgers Bowling

             O   M   R   W
Cousins      4   0  11   0
Streatfeild  4   1  10   1
Hilary       4   1  22   1
Qureshi      4   0  30   0
Benn         2   0   6   2
Roper        2   0  13   1

M.O.D. vs Dodgers

CSSG Chiswick
Wednesday 21 May 2003
18 overs (match length reduced due to poor weather)
Toss won by Dodgers
Dodgers (93-7) beat M.O.D. (81 all out) by 12 runs

Another evening of 'persistent but not quite hard enough to leave the field' rain saw the Dodgers X take on the M.O.D. XI. The match was duly reduced to 18 overs per side. Carr won the toss and elected to bat, which was a shrewd decision given the conditions.

Openers McBarron and Priest took to the field, with Dodgers setting their eyes on anything approaching 100. McBarron made 4 before being bowled by Abbot in the third over. Priest at the other end had started brightly and was looking to consolidate before he was given out lbw to Abbot in the 5th over. Hilary, in the middle with Carr, cracked three fours including 2 off Ball's first over only to be bowled by the last ball of the same over with the score on 32.

Cooper took to the middle to join Carr. The partnership lasted only 3 runs before Carr was bowled by MOD's first change bowler Ball. This brought Benn to the crease with Dodgers looking to consolidate. At this point, the run rate was satisfactory but the wickets were dropping. Cooper and Benn put on 25 runs for the 5th wicket as it continued to rain, making the outfield very slow. Cooper was bowled by the other change bowler Williams having reached 19 which included 2 fours. With the score on 60, Qureshi joined Benn. They put on a further 20 runs leaving Dodgers tantalisingly close to their desired total. Qureshi was out caught and bowled by Ball whilst Benn was given run out for 15. Cousins hit a splendid six in the last over (foretold by Priest's comment "we really need a four and a six now" from the sidelines), the first of his career, to bring up a respectable total of 93 in 18 overs (just over 5 an over).

An optimistic Dodgers team took to the field to defend their total. They got off to a good start. At the end of Cousins's first over, Donnan, having made 2, pushed the ball to extra cover and went for a quick single. However, he did not make his ground and was run out (Cooper/Cousins). Donnan's replacement, Bamber, looked threatening but was very lucky when a massive appeal for caught behind by Matthews off Benn was turned down. Bamber did himself no favours and did not endear himself to the Dodgers when he admitted shortly afterwards that he had, indeed, snicked it. Crawford (no relation, or at least we assume not), batting at the other end was making steady progress. However, he skied one off Hilary who had replaced Benn at the Fullers End and was caught by the safe hands of Matthews.

Qureshi, on for Cousins at the Pavilion End, delivered a remarkable slow-&-low long-hop to completely bamboozle Ball (2). Scribble was run out (???/Matthews) for 16. Bamber got his come-uppance and triggered a rare moment of Dodgers antagonism when he was tightly and maybe unfairly given run out (Benn/???) after a mix-up. A brief spat with Carr ensued as he departed, something along the lines of "you can't have it both ways" in reference to the aforementioned snicking incident. Fleming was then bowled for a duck by a nice Hilary delivery.

Dodgers were at this point carving away at the MOD wickets but the runs were accumulating at a fair old rate. At the beginning of the 13th over, MOD were on 73-7, requiring about 21 runs to win with 3 wickets remaining. Cooper, replacing Qureshi at the Pavilion End had Baldry caught first ball by Cousins at midwicket. Later in the same over, Qureshi caught Butlin (3) at mid-on. b replaced Hilary at the Fullers End but MOD had pushed on to 80-9 by the start of the 15th over. Last man Williams was bowled by Cooper to seal Dodgers' victory with 3 overs to spare.

Dodgers

Dodgers innings

McBarron   b Abbot       4
Priest     lbw Abbot    10
Carr       b Ball        1
Hilary     b Ball       14
Cooper     b Williams   19
Benn       run out      15
Qureshi    c&b Ball      6
Matthews   not out       1
Cousins    not out       4
Extras (b1 lb4 w7 nb4)  16
Total                   93 for 7
Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-16, 3-32, 4-35, 5-60, 6-80, 7-85
Did not bat: Pope

Bowler    O  M  R   W
Abbot     4  1  11  2
Shaw      3  0  18  0
Ball      3  0  22  3
Williams  4  0  11  1
Butlin    4  0  25  0
  

M.O.D.
 
Donnan    run out               2
Crawford  c Matthews b Hilary  23
Bamber    run out              14
Ducket    c&b Cousins           0
Ball      b Qureshi             2
Baldry    c Cousins b Cooper    8
Scribble  run out              16
Fleming   b Hilary              0
Butlin    c Qureshi b Cooper    3
Shaw      not out               7
Williams  b Cooper              1
Extras (lb1 w4)                 5
Total                          81 all out

Bowler   O  M  R   W
Cousins  4  0  11  1
Benn     2  0  18  0
Hilary   4  0  22  2
Qureshi  2  0  16  1
Cooper 1.1  0   1  3
Pope     1  0   7  0

Man-of-the-match: John Cooper

DODGERS V DCMS

CHISWICK

DCMS won by 28 RUNS

DCMS: 230-6, 40 Overs (Crawford 2 – 7; Hilary 1 – 20)
Dodgers: 202-8, 40 Overs (Benn - 45; Roper – 43; Hilary 42)

Match Report: Kim Matthews

Having won the toss Capt. Carr (anticipating Mcbarron arriving in time for a match winning innings) decided to field. After an excellent opening spell by bowlers Crawford and Roper, DCMS, despite losing early wickets, kept the score ticking along and notched up a commendable 230 in 40 overs. Dodgers’ reply was in the same vein but lacking the acceleration displayed by DCMS was never in with a chance. (Mcbarron, manning the barricades against terrorist incursions, never appeared but, as was pointed out, had he done so we would have been lucky to make 150). In the end a comfortable win for DCMS.

Defeating the combined fielding attempts of both Matthews and Benn, Crawford’s first ball went for 4 wides. Thereafter he bowled with some venom and achieved the remarkable figures of 6-4-7-2 (the 7 being all wides). Benn, at first slip, in aside to Matthews said, "I hope nothing comes my way as I’ve got no chance of catching it.", then proceeded to pouch an excellent catch to dismiss opener Cove for 1. Hilary then caught the DCMS no. 3 for 0 and, with DCMS’ score on 2 for 19, Dodgers thought their luck was in. Unfortunately Malik had other ideas and scored a chanceless 63 before being excellently caught by Hilary off Benn. Despite tight bowling spells from Benn and Hilary, the remaining DCMS batsmen never eased up and aided by some lacklustre fielding in the last 10 overs, amassed the somewhat daunting total of 230.

Dodgers’ reply got off to a solid start. Benn and Roper whilst fending off some lively bowling, kept up with the run rate in an opening stand of 68. Roper was first out for 43 after attempting to hit OAP Fitzgerald back over his head and getting yorked for his pains. Benn nurdled on until, realising he was in danger of reaching 50 and having to buy a jug, he was caught on 45. Thereafter despite an excellent 42 from Hilary (before being run out by Adey) and a quickfire 19 from Crawford, Dodgers’ batting fell away and was never up with the run rate.

As was usual DCMS played to win and only gave their weaker bowlers a go when they were confidant the game was won. For the first 30 overs Dodgers’ fielding was excellent (John - I’ve lost 2 stones - Adey was a revelation!) but in the final 10 overs tiredness set in and runs were given away. An enjoyable game. Some excellent contributions from individual Dodgers but DCMS were worthy winners. We’ll have to wait until next season to get our own back.

Man of the Match: Neil Benn

DCMS Innings

Cove              c Benn       b Crawford      1
Malik             c Hilary     b Benn         65
Casselton         c Hilary     b Crawford      0
Lloyd-James                    b Benn         19
Palao                          not out        49
Fitzgerald B      c Crawford   b Hilary        4            
Chamberlain       c Roper      b Adey         43
Findlay                        not out        27
Extras  (lb6, w16)                            22
Total                                        230 for 6 

Bowling
              O   M   R   W
Crawford      6   4   7   2
Roper         8   3  30   0
Qureshi       4   0  33   0
Hilary        5   0  20   1
Benn          6   0  42   2
Hawton        4   0  30   0
Adey          5   0  44   1
Cooper        2   0  18   0

 
Dodgers Innings

Benn              c Cove       b Palau         45
Roper                          b Fitzgerald    43
Carr              c ?          b Fitzgerald     3
Cooper                         b Malik          6
Hilary                         run out         42
Crawford          c Casselton  b Dawes         19
Qureshi                        run out          3
Matthews          lbw          b Marks          1
Adey                           not out          8
Hawton                         not out          0
Extras  (b9, lb3, w21)                         33
Total                                         202 for 8

Bowling
                  O   M   R   W
Chamberlain       5   1  16   0
Lloyd-James       5   0  20   0
Fitzgerald B      8   1  30   2
Findlay           6   0  25   0
Palao             4   0  18   1
Malik             3   0   9   1
Dawes             3   0  34   1
Marks             4   0  29   1
Casselton         2   0  10   0