High Lane 111
Hazel Grove 116-5
A game that started in varying degrees of freezing drizzle, to the backdrop of ominous battleship-grey clouds, eventually finished at 6:56 amidst the deceptive bright sunny spells that had been forecast for at least three hours earlier
Ian Halford won the toss and (not for the first time) Simon Lomas invited High Lane to bat first before the Grove Captain had picked the coin up, or even moved his lips.
It was indeed a good toss to win as James McCarthy fought defiantly against the Noon brothers and the new ball combined,whilst Tyler Eislett struggled with the raindrops steaming his Mr Magoo glasses underneath a heavy protective batting helmet
My fellow Umpire was Brian Beswick, but at times I felt like Brian Blessed booming "No Ball" from Square Leg as our opinions appeared to differ over the exact definition of an illegal waist- high delivery
Tyler counter attacked, but perished to a late inswinging LBW, and after Dom Noon had despatched Josh Noel with the ball-of-the-day it was Kyle Eislett who gave the innings some momentum with a fine display of wristy drives to all corners of the ground before the inevitable rain delay and an early tea, to save us from losing too much time
Lewis "Buck" Rogers had began with a spray gun barrage of unintended long hops, but soon deceived Kyle with the oldest trick in the book: an unexpected good.ball, that resulted in a caught and bowled for a majestic 31
The Good Ship High Lane began to drift in murky waters, and at 87-7 the innings was floundering. However McCarthy was still at the crease and ultimately carried his bat, with the innings eventually closing on 111-9
The Grove reply started assertively with Barnard full of confidence after his recent century at Buxworth. However, Tyler and Josh Noel were both bowling tightly and High Lane were still in the game as the self-confident brothers Knott and Lomas took centre stage
At this point I have to confess that with God's Football Team in the Champions League Final my desire for ticket information had negated my desire to be professional and with Tyler Eislett approaching his delivery stride, my mobile suddenly vibrated to the sound of the Blue Nile checking whether I'd ordered a Chicken Tikka Samba or a Chicken Tikka Jalfrezi.
Back to the game, and after Lomas had amused the crowd with two mistimed drives to deep mid off,(both of which were spilled) and a beached whale impression after attempting a quick single, there was a general sense, that by avoiding stupidity.and unnecessary risks Hazel Grove would limp over the line.
Unfortunately, the self-confident brothers saw this as the perfect opportunity for stupidity and unnecessary risks, and with 20 runs still required, the game wasn't quite settled
Coram put the game beyond reach, but not before young Toby Street had taken his first wicket (Dom Nunn) in First Team Cricket.
The celebratory mood of his team mates proves that village cricket is alive and kicking
On the surface, an easy victory for the Grove, but High Lane are only one player away from being in serious contention for the promotion places.