Full Fixture Information

Result Descriptiom

EMCC win by 6 wickets

Man of the Match

Oli Atkinson for a sparkling century

Champagne Moment

Tim Lawrence for a steepling catch on the boundary

Teddy Bear Moment

Oli Atkinson for ridiculous overthrows

Full Match Report

It?s back to school week, and anyone looking for a little pe-reading homework might like to refresh their memory of the nail-biting first game of the inaugural two-match test series between EMCC and CYPOS ? known henceforth as the ?Casualty Cup?.

Back in May, Matt Stickland?s heroics had ultimately not been enough to avert a 1-run defeat. It had been a great, closely-fought game ? as games against CYPOS often are ? and we arrived at the ground with a strong side, ready to exact revenge and tie the series.

The pitch was a little soft and sticky on top, but firm underneath. With the warm sun promising to dry it out, and EMCC having developed a fearsome (two-match) reputation for clinical chases, bowling first seemed a good ploy. The recent rain had turned the outfield miraculously green. The accumulated energy in the grass was, George solemnly informed me, enough to kill a horse. The energy in the dressing room as I changed into my whites five minutes before play was a little less intense. Perhaps enough to give a horse mild discomfort. Some people tossed the ball about casually, I completed approximately 45 seconds of stretching and we were ready for play.

The second ball of the innings absolutely died, Mooro assuming the elegant ?smother? position as it grubbered through to him. But thereafter the pitch played pretty well; not much carry, but a fairly true bounce and some lateral seam movement. After a brief conversation with the slip cordon, Mooro decided to keep standing up to the wicket. I?ll admit that when I first saw this, the troubling thought of a burgeoning byes column crossed my mind, but in fact he kept brilliantly.

Wayne (recorded in the book as ?A. Garfield?) bowled a very good spell from the bottom end, forcing the batsmen to play but not allowing them to score. He was unlucky to go without reward, ending with 16-0 off 5 (his first four overs went for just 7). I had more luck from my end, picking up two wickets. There has been some talk of whether the club should invest in a Frogbox system so that we can record and livestream our games. I?ll admit that had we done so, I would likely have watched back my first wicket quite a few times, the ball pitching on middle and clipping top of off. I might even have got Tamar to watch it. Several times. The second wicket was thanks to a great diving catch by Mooro after the ball ballooned up off bat and pad. CYPOS were 13-2 at the eight over mark.

There then followed an intriguing passage of play ? which is a phrase that cricket commentators use when not much happened. David Blackburn bowled fast up the hill, but would no doubt have liked more zip and carry off the pitch. Tim Lawrence bowled a probing line and length, regularly asking questions of the batsman (another similar phrase), but the wickets column stayed stubbornly unchanged. The relative calm was punctured twice by two enormous sixes, one off each of David and Tim, which appeared ominously like the opening salvos of a barrage to come.

Josh came on to replace David and set about trying to break the stubborn partnership with his spin and flight. He did so in his second over, but it had less to do with spin and flight, and more to do with their powerful left hander spanking a rank short ball straight to Oli at square leg, who took a sharp catch. By now Sticko was bowling from the top end and the score had advanced to 90 off 25 overs. The young CYPOS all-rounder Lee, joined at the crease by Roshan, was looking to accelerate.

And accelerate they did, putting on 70 over the next 10 overs. We needed to regain some control, and so when Andrew decided to make a change and bring Josh off, it didn?t come as a surprise. What did come as a bit of a surprise was that he brought Josh off simply in order to bring him on again from the other end. And when his first ball was clouted to the boundary for four, the momentary appearance of doubt flashed across the Captain?s face.

But it didn?t last long, as Josh picked up two wickets that over, including a never-in-doubt catch by Tim L, running in off the long on boundary to dismiss Roshan, and a good caught and bowled. Captaincy vindicated. From the other end Dave Rees was bowling well, taking the prized wicket of Lee, LBW attempting an ambitious Joe Root scoop, and picking up another, bowled. CYPOS ended their innings with 175 on the board and 6 wickets down.

These days, in a high profile test series such as the Casualty Cup, the scrutiny of the players is heightened and their every movement watched and pored over by the public. Media intrusion is an uncomfortable fact of life for the modern cricketer. As we tucked into tea, news rippled around the pavilion of a photograph that was circulating on the internet. A paparazzi had take their long lens up to the top of Park Hill, and then posted the result on the East Meon facebook page. Luckily all they had captured was Will rearranging his tackle between overs, but it was a salutary lesson to all of us about perils of life as top cricketers in the public eye.

176 seemed likely to be a testing target, particularly when Andrew got a good ball first up, from the rapid Lee. That united Oli and Will at the crease, and both played excellent innings, watchful but nonetheless free-scoring. Oli in particular hit some huge sixes into the road, exploiting what seemed to be a slightly counter-intuitive bowling order. In his own words Will got bored, and holed out to the long on boundary for 40. Josh nicked one to the keeper for 6. Meanwhile Oli continued his serene progress towards a match-winning century. I say serene, he did survive a loud and insistent appeal for LBW which Sticko faced down, and one of the sixes was almost a catch on the boundary, but the ball was instead palmed into the hedge. He retired on 100, with EMCC about 20 runs short of the target. Of course, we should perhaps deduct four runs for his Exocet missile of an overthrow in the first innings. So yes, on reflection 96 not out, well played Oli.

It fell to Tim L and Dave Rees to see us home. They would have done so, but for Sticko deciding to throw a sop to the CYPOS bowlers, adjudging that Dave was caught behind to one which had in fact left a bruise on his upper arm. So in the end it was Tim and David B who had the pleasure of being there at the end and soaking up the adulation of the crowd.

The series was tied, and nobody got to take home the Casualty Cup, which is just as well as it doesn?t exist. Thank you to CYPOS for a great game, and it was good to see Lynn return, happily out of plaster.