Ivanhoe v Woodford Green – 22 September 2012

Charge of Ivanhoe brigade
Cannon to right of them,Cannon to left of them,Cannon in front of them ,Volley’d and thunder’d; Storm’d at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well,Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell , Rode the eleven .
OTT maybe, but it seems to sum this season up for me .
Not for the first time this season, we turn up to find the Oppo has a ” COUPLE OF FIRST TEAMERS ” playing .Straight away we know its going to be another tough match, and so it proved to be !!!
Bob ( captain standing Marvel) has done so well to get another team out….11 bodies, injured , aching and battered men…..Where is are young superstar teenager !!!!
So into battle we go, Oppo bat first…off to a flier, but lose wickets regular…at 110 for 5 , game in the balance, but big hitting batsmen keep coming no’s 6 , 7 ,8 , 9 ..big bats and big shots. With only 5 bowlers, all bowled well CW 2 FOR 28 (my bowler off the season ) AH 3 for 48 , DE 1 for 35 , AC 2 for 38 ….and poor old PP 1 for 70, in his first spell of the season and suffering a big chest infection ( A GREAT TEAM PLAYER) Oppo close on 221 for 9…..you know its a tough game, when you think you have done well to keep down to 220 !!!!!!
So chasing 221 , Ives get off to a bad start losing Den ( run machine) early, then lose regular wickets to the very good bowling attack . Only a good knock from MP, some super off drives, PK 23  and some big hits AH 20 N.O ….Ives 110 all out
No disgrace considering the Oppo.
So another tough match, in a very tough season……In my opinion , somehow we need to arrange matches more on our standard. WE are an weak to med over 40’s team ( with a couple of stroppy teenagers) Then , hopefully , we can enjoy closer and more entertaining cricket !!