Match Report

Scrummagers v HRG
Wednesday 4th May 2011

After a delayed start for the Scrummagers last week when the Wrecclesham football team were given pitch priority over the cup game against Anite, the Scrummagers were pleased to get their season underway against HRG at home.

Prior to the start of the game any passing onlooker could not have failed to be impressed by the slick appearance of the HRG team  in their sponsored kit, and as they set about an impressive warm up routine the Scrummagers players present readied themselves for a potentially difficult match. A most gentlemanly toss saw the Scrummagers taking to the field with their 9 players, but excellent bowling from Jegs (1 for 3) and Chris Finney (0 for 9) meant HRG did not get off to the expected flyer. Vincent fell to Jegs’ very straight ball, and whilst Williams plundered a useful 35 retired the combination bowling of the Scrummagers kept the pressure on HRG.

Goodie tossed the ball up (considerably high!), but although going for 15 runs he proved an almost useful foil to Tom Harris at the other end. Harris began his spell with a couple of peachy deliveries before a no-ball call led to the red mist descending. The next few deliveries went anywhere and everywhere, but to Harris’ great credit he pulled it all back together to comprehensively bowl Aldir. Singleton scored a good 35 runs for HRG before retiring, but the combination of Kish and debutant Steve Hopper saw Hopper claim a wicket when he bowled his slower better ball. The next pairing saw young Ben Brown bowl the odd ball at the batsman’s head before returning respectable figures of 2-0-10-0, and this pressure allowed Dicky Davies to think his way to getting an lbw decision against the unfortunate Syzer who had forgotten that the football match was played last week.

Although the Scrummagers had bowled reasonably, HRG could have posted a sizeable score if they had been allowed in the last four overs. Fortunately for the Scrummagers Chris Norris has been working on his bowling and took two wickets thanks to good catches from himself and Dicky Davies, and at the other end Chesty Harding used all of his cunning and guile to tweak the ball sufficiently high for the batsmen to get nervous about really smashing it out of the ground.

HRG 123 for 6 and the Scrummagers felt they had a sniff of victory.

To their great credit the HRG team opted for the Scrummagers bowler rotation policy and bowled 2 overs a-piece. After 5 overs, and with the Scrummagers on 21 for 2 (Finney and Norris having swished and missed a little) the Scrummagers were starting to get a little nervous. When Dicky Davies departed soon after, and with Graeme Goode running between the wickets like a man with a suitcase on his back, the Scrummagers needed a real man to stand up and be counted. Fortunately that man was Kish who spluttered to a retirement, allowing Steve Hopper to also score 35 at a casual rate as darkness descended. With Chesty Harding poised to bat Tom Harris did the decent thing and scored the winning runs so that the Scrummagers had a victory in the season’s opener.

Afterwards both teams departed to the Rugby Club bar although it has to be reported that HRG had by far the stronger showing at the close of play. Well done all on an enjoyable match!

Score:
HRG 123 for 6
Scrummagers 126 for 4

HRG MOM:
Jake Bray (Gallant enough to not play despite putting the team together and oiling the wheels).

Scrummagers MOM:
Chesty Harding (Great final two overs that went for relatively little, and also menacing enough on the boundary as the next batsman in to ensure that the incumbent batsmen scored the needed runs for victory.

The Roving Reporter