Little Bardfield Village CC vs. Sudbury CC 2nd XI
Date: 20th April 2024
Venue: The Fortress - Little Bardfield
Toss: Little Bardfield lost the toss and were put in to bat
Little Bardfield Innings:
In what can only be described as "incredibly chilly" conditions Little Bardfield took to the field with Matt Graham and Rory Hitchcock (wearing 17 layers) opening. Rory scored 17 off 25 on his debut as captain before being caught by a tidy bit of fielding. Matt followed after being bowled by Thomas for 29 runs. Joe Owen came to join Callum Hymas in the middle, but he too was dismissed by the safe hands of a Sudbury fielder, having posted 11 runs.
Rory sent out Stuart Noble-Conner next to add to Bardfields total, the only thing Stu loves more than hitting boundaries is his trusty factor 50 suncream. He started strongly picking up a single then hitting a confident 4, but the bowler got the best of him the next ball and he made the long trudge back to the home changing room.
Nerves were starting to set in for LBVCC and Daryl Hymas came out to join Callum. Callum was eventually stumped trying to hit big, he picked up the 3rd highest runs of the day with 19. Will Slemmings strode out to try and build a middle-order run fest with Daryl but after an early confidence boosting 4, he was caught out.
Tom Graham headed out to the cold, blustery middle with Daryl, who was starting to notch quite a few runs. Sadly this didn't last as Daryl was bowled by Amos for 36 runs but he would later exact his revenge...
Debutant Jack Davies and Sam Goodfellow both got ducks at the hands of Amos and consoled one another before Tom gave him his 4th wicket of the day. This left Jordan Sheehan finishing the innings not out on his debut for the Oxslips.
LBVCC finished on 159 all out from 42.1 overs.
Tea:
The teas were met with much excitement, with the Bardfield family having really pulled the stops out on their first attempt since Covid. The players' and umpires' eyes lit up as they stacked their plates high with a variety of sandwiches, pasta, pizza, dips, and sweets that were much needed after a cold and eventful first innings.
A huge thank you to the players for their efforts and an even bigger thank you to Ethel Noble-Conner, her mother, and Beryl Davies for their amazing sandwiches, sausage rolls, and scones - you're welcome back anytime!
Sudbury Innings:
Sudbury came out to bat with full stomachs and dreaming of a win but lost their openers early, with Keelan Waldock being caught by Daryl for 4 runs. He was quickly followed by Bobby East, who was caught by Stuart Noble. One of our 2 debutants, Jack Davies, then sent Melville-Ross back to the clubhouse with a run-out from a miscommunication in the middle. Jonty Le Compte tried to steady the ship, making it to 44 before Rory bowled him clean.
Sudbury then faced their second mishap in the middle, being run out from a direct hit from our other debutant Jordan Sheehan. You could tell at this point the nerves were starting to build on the Sudbury side, whilst an unfamiliar feeling was creeping over the Oxslips...hope.
Hitchcock whipped out his spinners with the hope of wrapping up his first game as skipper with a big win and they did not disappoint him. Daryl striking first, taking vengeance on Sudbury Skipper Amos with a tidy bowl. Tom Graham joined in and sent Park to the changing rooms with 3 runs in his pocket before Hymas Sr. enlisted the help of Hymas Jr. (with an exceptional catch) to dismiss Cunningham for 11. Getting envious of Hymas/Graham's antics, Joe Owen muscled his way into the bowling attack and after luring the batter into a false sense of security with a couple of questionable balls, caught and bowled Thomas for 6.
The Oxslip field and fans were equal parts excited and nervous, needing only 1 more wicket to secure an opening day win. Hitchcock wasted little time, firing a rocket down the wicket to Khaira, who sent the watching Oxslips fans into a frenzy by edging the ball to the warm hands of Daryl to end Sudbury's innings with 137 all out from 36.4 overs.
Captain's Comments:
"It's been my dream to captain this great side for years now, and it was an honour to lead the boys out today. There's definitely a lot we can build on in our performance, but I am proud of how we dug in and got the job done. Winning my opening game as skipper is probably the proudest moment of my Oxslips career, and I won't lie when a few tears of joy rolled down my cheeks when we secured the win."
A big 20 points to start Bardfield's season - well done lads.
