LOSCC vs South Loughton.

Report vs South Loughton

Match Report
Date - 05/05/09 
Oppo – South Loughton (a)
Type – 40 Overs
Report by Glenn Evans.

On a cold windy day LOSCC were put into bat after losing the toss. Openers Liam Mulholland and Glenn Evans got off to 
a slow but steady start with the St Loughton openers Smith and Amos getting straight into their rhythm using the match 
conditions to their advantage, putting the ball straight on the spot and swinging both ways.
With 17 overs gone and 65 on the board Mulholland (28) is caught trying to hit one out of the ground and then a poor LBW 
decision in the next over by umpire JAMES WALKER, being intimidated into raising his finger by a bellowing 'howzat' from 
no-one but the 8 year old bowler denied an almost certain century for Evans (22)! This brought together a newcomer to the 
side, youngster Rob Jones (17yo), and old timer Headmaster James (65yo). Headmaster James, taking advantage of a new face, 
promptly set about his mid-over motivational talks by regaling stories of some of his best shots from the 50's and 60's 
showing Rob the exact spots on his bat where he middled them. Quite quickly Rob appeared to decide his best plan of action 
was to just swing at everything sent his way in the hope of making a quick retreat to the pavilion. However, having such 
a good eye for the ball, something rarely seen in a LOSCC batsmen, this only resulted in the ball disappearing to all 
corners of the ground, and a big score was only stiffled by the extremely slow outfield. Bob, obviously spurred on by 
his new found motivational skills, then decided to make the 'internationally renowned' signal to the boundary of holding 
his bat above his head, apparently to inform the captivated crowd of his desire to have his 2nd bat brought out to him. 
However, a not so captivated crowd took no notice of this and the odd few who saw the signal just starred blankly back 
with murmurs from some of "'why is he holding his bat above his head?" and "does he think he's got his 50 or something?". 
A peeved James eventually walked to the changing rooms himself to change his bat, telling everyone he passed on the 
sidelines " I WANT 100 LINES FROM EACH ONE OF YOU  - I SHOULD KNOW THE SIGNAL FOR A NEW BAT REQUIRED". He did cheer up, 
however, once he was back in the middle where he could continue his motivational speeches to Rob by pointing out the ball 
marks on bat number 2 and telling tales of his best shots of the 70's and 80's. 
With just 4 overs to go and Rob now completely losing his mind the only thing for him to do was launch the ball into the 
air apparently in the hope that someone would catch him out, but he kept finding the boundary and with 1 over to go and 
Rob on 81 it seemed a maiden century was not to be. But up popped Bob with one last story he remembered from a game in 
the early 90's (something to do with him dispatching the 83rd ball he'd faced from the opener on his 3rd spell who was 
now bowling off-breaking leg seamers 3-4mph faster than his earlier spells......zzzzzz). 3 sixes and a 4 later saw a 
relieved Rob sprinting off the pitch (and into the distance) having, indeed, made his maiden century (104*) followed 
by a contented looking Bob making a solid 51*, but more importantly having a couple more shots stored in the memory for 
a future up and coming lad to be motivated by. The innings closed on 229-2
And so to a welcome tea only spoilt by Liam pointing out the distinct lack of rabbit food that he so much enjoys in 
between his pizza and pork pie diet.
With LOSCC taking to the field in arctic conditions, our second new youngster Sam Dowsett was asked to open the bowling 
and immediately showed that anything Rob could do with the bat so Sam was equally as adept with the ball. With Adam Parkes 
ably supporting, the pair contained the opening batsmen who needed a good start to reach their target of 230. Sam took 
his first wicket for LOSCC bowling Evans for 7. Opener Henman (62) hung around but with all the bowlers contributing, 
wickets fell steadily and the run rate increased with every over bowled. The selfless skipper Richardson waited patiently 
until anyone who could hold a bat and was over 12 years of age had been dispatched before bringing himself on. However, 
in order to to try and build the confidence of a shattered Hillier from the previous weeks drubbing by letting him bowl 
with the wind he elected to bowl himself into the wind and was barely able to reach the stumps. Watching one of his balls 
being hit back over his head for a 6 from a 7 year old (prompting Hillier to say "i'll get the blame for that") quickly 
meant a change of tactics whereupon Hillier was told to take a rest and the skipper changed ends bagging himself 3 
rabbits oops, wickets. 
The innings lasted the 40 overs with noteworthy mentions to bowlers Richardson (4-1-24-3), newcomer Sam Dowsett 
(8-1-13-2) and James Walker (8-0-25-2) containing the opposition to 145-9 at the close of play giving LOSCC there first 
win by 85 runs.
Man of the Match is jointly shared by the 2 newcomers Rob Jones with an impressive maiden century of 104* and 
Sam Dowsett with excellent figures of 8-1-13-2, and both also showing some of the old timers how to field with a catch 
apiece admidst a number of drops from others throughout the innings. 
A special mention to Glenn Evans who with his 22 became only the second player in the clubs history to surpass 5000 runs.

Return to Main Page

© Dave Revell