Boxing Day Cricket 2010 - The rest of the World vs England

On a cold morning at Ardencaple the players met and the teams were decided, the English would take on the Rest of the World (RoW) (well Scotland plus one Irishman!)

The two Captains met in the Middle and surveyed the pitch.  The toss was made and the English Captain (Wardle) called correctly and decided to field first.  When asked about the decision Wardle claimed that the pitch looked 'Green with a top covering of ice (?!?) that should assist the bowlers but would clear up as the match wore on'.  It is almost as if he has experience of playing in the snow? 

The RoW innings proceeded along at a serene pace with no wickets falling (at the expence of any form of attacking cricket) and the score board ticking over slooooooooowly.

With the rest of the world on about 20 without loss (nobody thought to keep score so an actual score is not available (doh!)) the last over began with the skipper bowling himself at the senior RoW batsman, Burton.  The final ball of the innings seemed to justify the caution shown by the RoW team as Burton went for the first shot of any intent and lofted Wardle back over his head.  Unfortunately for Burton the English had a long off posted and the first chance offered up was gladly taken.

In reply to the RoW score (which is still not known!) the English sent out their 2 big guns first, Sterry and the club coach Davis (looking remarkably like Santa!).  In reply the RoW immediately tossed the ball to their main strike bowler, Curtis.  The first over saw Sterry set off at a scoring rate that the RoW never quiet achieved, however at a price with wickets tumbling regularly.

The second over of the innings provided the moment of the day when the RoW caprtain (Todd) put himself on to bowl in order to keep up the pressure on the English.  The 4th ball of this over saw a typical line and length 'wobbler' sent down by Todd and Davis set himself for a big drive through the covers.  However, having never quiet reached the pitch of the ball, his 'swoosh' hit nothing but thin air and he was bowled through the gate.

Get to the pitch of the ball Coach!

The rest of the English innings was more of the same with lots of big shots, balls getting plugged in the snow and a steady fall of wickets.

After the final ball was bowled the general feeling was that the English had scored many more runs, however at the cost of many more wickets and the game was called an honourable draw.  The big winner on the day was the occasion with all who turned up having a good time and running of a few of those mince pies from Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas to all and a big thanks to Paul Davis and Chris Wardle for organising this fun event.