We’ve been blessed with some fine weather this season, so to leave the house on Saturday in the pouring rain was something of a shock to the system. Sure as eggs is eggs, the match was eventually called off (just as I’d stepped off the train at Herne Hill!), along with the other two planned in Dulwich. Still, not to worry, I was double-heading and Sunday’s forecast looked a little more reasonable.

However, lifting my head off the pillow, Sunday morning started with two more worrisome notifications, that the matches at Morden and DSG had been cancelled. Yikes! But what of the last of the six scheduled fixtures against The Journeymen CC? Skipper Jullienne reported to the team that the wicket was covered and the oppo were keen, and with the supposition that the sun might finally poke its beautiful life-giving head through the thick grey clouds, eleven plucky Plough made their way up to Highgate (a damn sight easier to get to from West London than Dulwich!).

Ploughmans had played at this ground before I recalled. Approximately 20+ years ago when Harry Davies was still shitting in his nappies and his father led the team. I remembered it being in far better condition than what first greeted me, but there was indeed a cover on the wicket. A pretty useless tarpaulin cover it turned out, as the oppo rolled it back to reveal some horrifying wet patches on a length at both ends. The clouds were definitely higher by now though, and there was blue sky coming our way, so the game was reduced to 30 overs with a start time around 2pm. Ahead of that, towels were used to soak up as much surface water on the strip as possible, but it was still a DEFINITE bowl first situation.

So… Cake lost the toss, and we were batting.

Suri and Ean opened and both did their thing… The latter biding his time, trying to get himself in, the former looking to attack anything even remotely loose. Suri whacked three lovely fours but then fell soon after as the indifferent bounce off the wet patches caused him to top edge one to the keeper. Nigel Stephenson, promoted to three, played straight but having been wrongly adjudged LBW and (very kindly) called back by the opposition’s Captain, was then dismissed three balls later, as he nicked another one of those rising deliveries into the keeper’s gloves.

I came in at four, something of a staple in recent weeks as this nagging back injury still prevents me from bowling. The first ball I faced was at a reasonable pace, line and length and it shot up off the wicket and hit the handle of my bat. Oh great, I thought. Yet another pernicious wicket to play on. Lucky me! The truth is though; I enjoy the challenge. Learning to play the conditions you face are key to being successful at our level and, in my opinion (based on years of experience) there are still plenty of players in our ranks who need to work on this.

What followed was far from pretty. The first five bowlers were all very steady club bowlers, hitting good lines and lengths consistently. They did bowl a fair amount of ‘Sunday Channel’ too and that was annoying, as when that's of a fullish length, I find it much harder to play than anything straight or outside my off stump. Cake joined me briefly after Ean got run out (I will always maintain there was two there) and was looking fluid from the off, but was dismissed courtesy of a blinding catch down the leg side as he glanced one off the full face of his bat, only to see the keeper dive and pouch it magnificently. We were behind the eight ball, but the wicket was starting to calm down, so I farmed the strike as best I could, without ever really receiving the support required from the remaining batters. Despite a more charitable sixth bowler, we’d got to 113 all out with four balls of the innings unbowled.

Meal deals were consumed. Cake – you owe me half a BLT.

We took to the field knowing we had to bowl straight and hope any remaining demons in the now much drier surface would lead to chances. Unfortunately, we simply didn’t do that, and Journeymen’s Openers literally made hay while the sun shined. The particularly aggressive Number 1, was savage on anything loose, belting nine fours on his way to retiring on 53*, graciously allowing his team mates the opportunity to bat, having put his side into a very commanding position. Much like the condition of the wicket itself, we did improve as the innings progressed, however, and the fielding cannot be faulted – Lewys Evans, belying his sore back, was kept particularly busy in the outfield. Another Plough noob, Sam Howes, has more than a little bit about him and impressed with his accurate off spin. Nigel bowled frugally as ever and Niraj Tailor, continued his reinvention as a seam up bowler, to return with two wickets for just six runs off three overs – John Ryves taking a comfortable catch at cover for one of those scalps. The simple fact, however, is we didn’t put enough runs on the board or bowl tidily enough up top to create any real pressure and, although Giordy took a wicket to reward a much-improved second spell, the reality is we were comprehensively outplayed in both innings.

I don’t want that all too sound too negative because 45 Plough missed out on cricket altogether last weekend, and I do feel very blessed to have been one of the 11 lucky ones who didn’t! Perhaps with another strike bowler and League-standard batter in the side, it might’ve been different. Let’s hope we get the chance to find out next season, as these guys were amicable, well-spirited, and played Friendly cricket the way it’s supposed to be played. It would be good to keep them on the fixture list and aim for a better result next time.

One more final positive note: it only took me 25mins to drive home. Allowing plenty of time to expend my frustration as a damp and frustrating weekend drew to its close, by kicking the dog, ignoring the children and shouting at some twat on the telly who thought his six year old child had disappeared up into the stratosphere in a home-made air balloon.

Plough on!

TL