Bedouins v Austin’s Army at Enville, June 21st
Bedouins won by 1 run
A reminder to all regular Bedouins – your beloved chairman and long-time resident of the Enville scorebox, had open heart surgery no more than a few years ago. Yet here you are subjecting him to three of the tightest finishes imaginable during the first five games of this season. It started in match 1 with a defeat by Beacon on the last ball of the final over; then in match 3, a five-run win over Belbroughton Strollers; and finally in match 5, victory by just 1 run over Austin’s Army. The dicky ticker can’t take it.
As usual, Beds favourite Austin Gregory brought a team based on Amblecote CC personnel to Enville to take on a fairly strong Bedouins team. What was different, though, was the weather conditions – 30-degree-plus heat throughout the evening on the longest day of the year. Worth recording too that the Beds had the benefit of a shiny new set of stumps, kindly donated by a Bedouins favourite, who felt it was high time we actually had stumps that the bails would stay on until knocked off by the ball.
Bedouins batted first and returning skipper, John Branch, back after a bit of treatment at the vet’s to his damaged fetlock, promptly dispatched the first ball to the boundary. He continued in his customary fashion, with the occasional four punctuating a series of hobbled singles, before falling lbw for 13. Jon Stanier came and went in a flurry of boundaries for 12, leaving the red-meat innings to be played this time by Neill Smith, who had five boundaries in his 23.
With Lee Bywater hitting 19 not out and Mejdi Mabrouk 16 not out, the Bedouins finished their innings on 116 for 6, which looked as if it might be a bit thin on a fast-scoring outfield.
Spratters was back from his hols, all sun-tanned and lovely (well, sun-tanned, anyway), and was straight back in the groove, completing his first two overs for just one run. With the heat finally getting to him, he finished four overs with 20 runs against his name. Also returning, but this time after a longer absence due to unspecified treatment to an unspecified – and quite unexpected – muscle, was the silver fox, AKA Mike George. An analysis of 1 for 13 in four overs reflected a pretty successful return!
The final over arrived with Austin’s Army needing 9 to win – no pressure, then, on the bowler, Lee Bywater. Some frantic running left the visitors wanting two off the last ball to tie. Amid mounting confusion, they managed just one bye, leaving the Bedouins winners by 1 run, and the scorer almost becoming the first recipient of the benefits of the defibrillator now residing on the pavilion wall.
Bedouins 116 for 6 (Smith 23, Bywater 19 not out, Mabrouk 16 not out, Branch 13, Stanier 12)
Austin’s Army 115 for 5 (George 1 for 13, Stanier 1 for 13, Branch 1 for 19, Dawson 1 for 24)