Well it wasn’t quite blazing June, but the sun came out and the wind dropped .. and this brought out some of the Ivanhoe walking wounded (good to see Andy and his carer Adrian.. or is it the other way round).
Congratulations to Andy H for managing to get a fixture with all the changes mid week.. and what a lovely venue it is , with the best tea of the year so far, and friendly opponents who play the game in exactly the right spirit. This included lending us young Ben Drane to ensure we have had 11 players for all 11 aside games this year!
And so to the cricket.. following a narrow loss here last year, we again took on the 40 over format, and after winning the toss, conservatively put Hawridge in to bat.
Early success came with Ciaran knocking the stumps over to remove one opener. The next pair consolidated and whilst they did not get away they had a healthy 4+ an over after 10 overs. Ciaran bowled his 8 overs straight though, and bowling just short of a length, on a slow uneven track, proved to be an excellent tactic. Certainly Drane senior played too early and lofted a catch to no one, but it also prompted an unwise run and the chance for Drane Jr to calmly run his father out! Something for the Drane family to discuss for years to come. Bass and then Den at the other end also had the batsmen thinking. Along with the economical Den , Richard and Andy H (both 8 overs, 2 for 22), then strangled the middle order and run rate fell. After they completed their spells Earle bowled a maiden and Bass bowled 2 balls to finish their innings, a few overs short of 40 with 139 all out posted. Some excellent fielding supported the bowlers.. not least from Ben Drane and Joe with Earle, Chris P and Bass defending the boundaries effectively.
Tea could have been responsible for a slower paced game after the break.. best of the season so far.. next Ives tea person take note!
Ben opened with 3 hard hit boundaries but then perished at 16-1. Earle stayed a little while but also fell to swing bowling leaving Bob to join Den and consolidate and try to accumulate. Initially the accumulation was left to Den! After 20 overs Ives reached 72-2 , over half way and firmly on top. Unfortunately Den departed immediately afterwards – which could have been a crucial breakthrough for Hawridge. Luckily the in form Malcolm arrived determined to maintain momentum. He did this effectively and ensured that the gradually mounting run rate was reduced, so that when he was run out little more than 3 an over was required. Finally Bob was scoring more freely and with Ciaran they saw the game home with a few overs to spare.. a classic jug avoidance with the winning run taking Bob to exactly 49 (are you sure the scorers triple checked?????).
So a 6wkt win with everyone contributing in a friendly enjoyable match. All looks good for the skipper to take over in 2 weeks time!