Match Reporter: Craig Scott

My first attempt at a match report, I could complete this in two sentences, but for those of you that don’t know the score, I’ll go into a little more detail. For those that do know the score, you can probably stop reading now and get back to the Ashes.

There are few things better than a beautiful sunny evening and the  prospect of a game of cricket at Riding Mill, with the outfield getting quicker by the game and the wicket getting greener, no wait, getting better.

With Sparta winning the toss, and sensibly deciding to bat first, we were quickly underway (I assume we got underway on time as I missed the first 3 overs!).  Our trusty opener Tom Browne started well, with only 3 runs conceded off his first over.  His bowling partner Steve Hunt went one better, going for only 2 runs but picking up the wicket of Hunter, caught by Rob ‘Safehands’ Scutt.  A decent start.  Tom and Steve both continued to bowl well, but with little reward, the usually dependable Gez spilling a catch, not an easy one, but we might be able to forgive seeing as he is usually wearing a pair of gloves, Tom finishing with figures of 4-0-25-0 and Steve with 4-0-21-1, and with Sparta on 46-1 after the opening 8 overs. With Sparta opener Foulds retiring hurt, digging out a Yorker from Browne and getting his feet stuck in the pitch and twisting his knee, the Riding Mill pitch now being compared to the Wimbledon debacle given the amount of injuries of late, the decision to build a cricket pitch on an old Indian burial ground now coming back to haunt us.

With Mallards a little short on bowlers, it was Scott and McCaffrey who took the next spell, Scott going for 9 from his first, and McCaffrey, bowling for the first time in over 25 years, and quickly running out of WD40 to put on his shoulder, going for 6 from his first.  In the 11th over, finally some breakthroughs, with McGuiness coming down the track to Scott, only to nick one onto his stumps playing a big ol’ heave to cow corner (does this count as 2 wickets please?), and then new batsman Pearson perishing first ball, spooning one into the air straight back to the bowler, who kindly bottled the catch, stepped aside, and allowed Gez to atone for his earlier drop, now that is teamwork!  Sadly, these wickets were the last to fall, with McCaffrey, Butcher and Greenwood (who bowled some tidy stuff at times with a couple of LBW shouts) unable to stop the flow of runs, despite numerous field changes to plug the gaps, the Sparta batsman seemed to find new gaps with ease, and finished on 160-3 (ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY FOR THREE) Sorry I went all BBC VIdi-printer there.

8 an over needed then as Greenwood and Howe set out to bat, with Gez cutting the first of some well timed cut shots for four in the first over.  Howe stuck in at the other end, and looked better than the scorebook suggests, being bowled for 1 by Bowman, but played straight and faced some decent bowling. Greenwood also got a good un, and was bowled by Bowman for a spritely 12.  To the crease came Jordan and  Scutt, who still had to face a decent Sparta bowling attack.  The two set about with the admirable mentality of keep wickets in hand, but sadly the runs dried up, with Mallards stuck on 23-2 after 10 overs.  Scutt and Jordan eventually fell, bowled for 4 and 6 respectively, bringing our leader for the day Butcher to the crease.  Hit out or get out were his calls from the boundary whilst waiting to come on, and he didn’t disappoint, retiring for a well made 31, including 5 boundaries.  McCaffrey and McGuiness didn’t have too much luck, McGuiness stumped for 5 and McCaffrey caught for 0.  The ever reliable Beacock showed good intent hitting a quick 11 with a couple of well timed boundaries, but it was never going to be enough as Mallards closed on 93-6.

Still, it was an enjoyable evening, with Yorkshire Puddings making a debut down the welly, delicious, even though we ate them all before the gravy turned up!

Match Reporter: Glenn Steel

As the Mallards stalwarts arrived at the ground, somewhat depleted by injuries (very best wishes for a speedy recovery Leon and Trevor) and the discovery that a waddlingof Mallards had infiltrated the opposition ranks, it felt like a new start. A couple of ringers (thanks Dave and Colin) had made up the numbers and we mused at the notion that under our (literally) new skipper, one Thomas Colum Browne (TCB), a significant challenge was faced by us that evening, a damp pitch, an opposition containing a significant phalanx of Mallardian talent and our dubious [hit and, more often, miss ed.] record this season.

However, massed behind our inspirational skipper, serious confidence and determination grew steadily. The coin was thrown, heads was called and Mallards were presented with the divine option. We’ll have a bowl said TCB. Good decision? Inspired!! Based on Logic? You bet your boots. Inspirational motivational quotations were uttered. We need men who can dream of things that never were (John F. Kennedy). And we did.

To say that the fielding performance was the stuff of legend was an understatement. Under the wise hand of TCB, firm and logical manipulation of a prodigious bowling attack brought consistent and  regular reward using the sporting wicket to great effect. Significant movement both off the pitch and through the air resulted in miserly bowling (Dunhill 4-1-3-2, Mitcheson 4-1-11-1, Haylock 2-0-4-2) and inspired field placing resulted in a steady flow of wickets. Supported by the constant banter from the field (lead by master psychobabble consultant McCaffery) the precocious Mallardian middle  order of Riding Mill were consistent in their scoring (Dickinson, Nitsch and Bennett scoring a single each) only Heslop with a gallant, aggressive and ultimately futile 15 bucking the trend.

Only Howe with a patient 15 not out and a regular contributor for the opposition, Wide with 14, swelled the score to 77 for 9 off 20 overs (something of a recovery from 36 for 6). However, catching was unbelievably sound and secure. Four catches, NONE DROPPED. Pride of place must go to Dave Lee (more later) with a stunning catch at mid-wicket to get rid of the dangerous Bennett from a full blooded pull.

The nature of the pitch warranted a cautious approach (a run rate of less than 4 being required). However, Steel had other ideas as he ran out Gardner in the second over, thus further developing his developing reputation as a Boycott-esque run out merchant. However, the strategy adopted by Lee and Steel to defend resolutely and take toll of bad balls worked well. Tight spells by Reed and Page were repelled.

Lee, in particular, despatched the bad ball with great certainty and the partnership developed (56 for the 2nd wicket) to the extent that when Steel was dismissed leg before by Bennett, the game was all but won.

Lee retired with an excellent 36 soon afterwards and it was left to a belligerent McCaffery, supported by Haylock, to carry Mallards to victory by 8 wickets with 6 overs to spare.

Overall a splendid, all-round, performance. Good toss to win embellished by inspirational banter and leadership. The experienced lags in the Mallards ranks advised TCB to retire from captaincy while he was ahead – it’s all downhill from here!!! “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it.” (W.C. Fields).

Match Reporter: Trevor Wood

A rather belated match report but a rare convincing victory that shouldn’t go unreported.

Mallards faced Ovingham still rather shell-shocked by the horrible injury to Mexter in the previous home game but with a good recent record against the visitors confidence was high. With Ovingham short-handed and Mallards over-manned, home regulars Scutt and Wilson kindly volunteered to play for the opposition.

Wood won the toss and as usual chose to bat second and for once his decision was rewarded with some excellent early bowling from the home side.

The regular opening pair of Dunhill and Browne bowled very tightly right from the start, backed up by some surprisingly sharp fielding, an approach that was finally rewarded when Wood pouched a simple chance in the covers in the fourth over with Ovingham at 17-1.

Whilst there were no more early wickets both bowlers continued to prove difficult to get away with Dunhill in particularly tight form and after eight overs the visitors had strugged to a mere 27-1 with Dunhill ending his spell on a terrific 1-8 and Browne returning 0-15 from his four.

The returning Stone and the equally venerable Haylock took over and kept a real brake on the scoring and after 13 overs the visitors were still struggling to get the ball away on 42-1. Haylock finally got his due reward in the next over, Beacock sharply stumping the opener Wallbank for a slow 25. With the bowlers well on top the score continued to creep along slowly and after 16 overs only 67 runs had been conceded with Stone and Haylock finishing with the admirable figures of 0-15 and 1-11 from their four overs.

Scott and Wood took over to complete the innings and after an expensive over from Scott saw 13 runs added to the score Mallards injury jinx struck again in the next over when Wood dived to prevent a single and dislocated and fractured a finger. With one ball of his first over left and his bowling hand and two-pace run up unhindered he completed the over with a wicket, Dickinson taking a comfortable catch at mid-off. Scott finished his spell with 0-15 from his two and after his successful last ball Wood decided to bowl the final over and it proved an inspired decision. His fourth ball was scooped direct to Mussett at mid-off and his fifth similarly taken by Nitsch at mid-on leaving him to finish his spell with a hat-trick ball to the new batsman, fellow Mallard Wilson, who bizarrely chose to block the ball rather than present his usual captain with a rare bowling achievement perhaps knowing that Wood was unlikely to play again this season and would have to wait a while to play him at number 11 every week (though revenge is of course a dish best served cold Mr Wilson!).

Mallards reply was brief and remarkably efficient. A new opening partnership of Mussett and Nitsch set their stall out immediately with Mussett picking off the bowling at will and Nitsch ensuring he improved his average at the other end as the pair steadily climbed comfortably towards the target. After six overs they had reached 30-0 and after 10 a very comfortable 47-0. Mussett retired on a well-made 31 and the in-form Butcher came to the crease to help steer the team to victory, a target they achieved with great comfort, finishing on 76-0 in the 15^th over to win by 10 wickets with Nitsch unbeaten on a chanceless 19 and Butcher not out 10.

Match Reporter: Trevor Wood

Another lovely summer evening saw Mallards coming up against an unfamiliar-looking Durham staff team for the first time this season.

Mallards batted first to enable three of the opposition team to head off early to break their Ramadan fast, perhaps an early indication that the visitors were a bit hungrier than the clearly well-fed home team?

Another new opening partnership of Steele and Hayward began the fight and got things off to a very rapid start off some pretty erratic bowling with 25 coming from the first three overs. The run-rate continued to fly along in the fourth though it also saw the first wicket full, Steele slightly unfortunate to pick out the square leg fielder with a full-blooded pull, the first of several decent catches by the visitors.

Cox joined Hayward at the crease and showed his intentions with a four from his first ball as the rate continued to mount rapidly, with the Kiwi hitting 15 from his first four balls and Mallards reaching an impressive 62-1 from just seven overs. Hayward, who had seen little of the strike after a quick start, perished in the next over, bowled by Metcalf for 15, but the scoring rate continued to rise with Nitsch smashing his first ball for four and the score rising to 71-2 from eight.

The ninth over was equally eventful with a boundary and two wides being followed by two wickets in quick succession, Cox departing on the verge of retirement for a hard-hitting 29 and Nitsch, out to a similar lofted shot but better catch for 4.

The new pair of skipper Butcher and Scott settled things down briefly with the former also getting off the mark with a boundary and after 11 overs the home side were sitting on a very healthy 87-4, a rare incursion into the 150s looking highly possible to even the most pessimistic observer.

Unfortunately, Durham’s bowling stepped up a little at this point and Butcher perished in the next over to the always tricky Metcalfe for a lowly 5 (by his standards this season that is, normally that’s about par!)

Taylor then came and went quickly, bamboozled by the very impressive newcomer Wallace and his left-arm over wizardry to make it 95-6 from 13. Scott continued to chip away at the other end and with his new partner, the ever-steady Beacock, the collapse was halted though the run rate necessarily slowed a little and after 16 overs the home side reached 109-6. Wallace claimed his next victim, Beacock, in the next over, the batsman surprised by the bounce, lofting the ball towards a short square leg to bring Browne to the crease, an event that always sees the spectators flock out of the pavilion to witness and he didn’t disappoint. Several huge swishes saw three boundaries quickly follow and a mighty lofted drive which endangered a passing satellite and caused the only dropped chance of the innings in the deep. Scott was caught and bowled in the final over for a useful 13 and the innings finished with Browne unbeaten on 16, Hunt on 1 and a useful if slightly disappointing 129-8 on the scoreboard.

Durham began their reply facing the new ball pairing of Browne and Hunt and it was the latter who began the brighter, bowling beautifully to cartwheel the stumps of Wrede in his first over. Browne was more expensive but after four overs the pair had restricted Durham to just 15-2. Browne’s next over was shaping up well until a wide seemed to inspire new batsman Arshad and the next two balls disappeared for a six and a four. Hunt, however was bowling a great line, and another tight over left him with figures of 1-6 from three overs and Durham on 32-1 from six.

This is the moment where things began to change as the first sign of the wheels falling off appeared, perhaps the faint aroma fo the poat Ramadan feast awaiting him drifted in on the slight breeze but Arshad suddenly decided he was in a hurry and his formerly leisurely contemporary Sathar also decided to join the party. Browne’s next over went for 14 and even Hunt’s figures suffered as his final over disappeared for 16, with Arshad retiring on 34 and the score rushing on to 62-1 from 8. Browne finished with a hefty 0-37 and hunt a very respectable 1-22. Haylock’s first over managed to put the brakes on slightly but Cox’s opening over then disappeared for 15 with Sathar retiring on 30, leaving Durham suddenly sitting comfortably in the driving seat at 83-1 from 10, having added 51 runs in four overs.

Cox gave the home side a glimmer of hope by removing Whitfield for 4 with Butcher pouching the catch after a slight juggle and Haylock built on this, bowling the newcomer Clarke around his legs for 0. Unfortunately, the third of Durham’s fasting trio, Yasir, was in an even bigger hurry than his compadres as the dinner bell rapidly approached and took another 10 runs from Cox’s next over to take the visitors to a very comfortable 117-3 from 14 overs, needing just 13 to win from six overs. Haylock finishing with 1-21 from three and Cox on 1-35 from four. The introduction of Nitsch slowed the scoring down a little, though Yasir’s early retirement on 27 undoubtedly helped, and Cox’s final over also applied the brakes but the inevitable end came in the 18^th as Taylor’s first over saw Durham skipper, the aptly-named Swift, crash a four to the boundary to apply the coup de grace, the visitors ultimately winning comfortably by seven wickets.

As we have many elderly readers of these reports I thought it best to draw a veil over the Mallards fielding as we can’t afford any more casualties this season.