2008 SEASON

Date	Opposition	H/A	Result (* denotes batted first Click on 2 for match reports)
Sat 03 May	Fenny Compton	H	L 110 all out / 102 all out 2
Sat 10 May	Byfield	A	L 274-9 / 108 all out 2
Sat 17 May	Warwick University Staff	H
Sat 24 May	Syresham	A
Sat 31 May	Evenley	A
Sat 07 Jun	Willoughby	H
Sat 14 Jun	Woodford Halse	A
Sat 21 Jun*	Marston St Lawrence	H
Sat 28 Jun	Priors	H
Sat 05 Jul	Fenny Compton	A
Sat 12 Jul *	Byfield	H	(venue tbc)
Sat 19 Jul	Warwick University Staff	A
Sat 26 Jul	Syresham	H
Sat 02 Aug	Evenley	H
Sat 09 Aug	Willoughby	A
Sat 16 Aug	Woodford Halse	H
Sat 23 Aug	Marston St Lawrence	A
Sat 30 Aug	Priors	A
Sun 07 Sep	Broughton & NN (1.30pm) Friendly	A

Saturday 10 May

BODICOTE 108 all out (5 pts) lost to BYFIELD 274-9 (20 pts) by 166 runs

OK so after last week’s gentle re-introduction to the Premier Division a trip to SNCL top ground Byfield who beat champions Evenley twice last year only to see title their hopes falter against lower ranked sides – was this a glimmer of hope for Bodicote, sadly not! Bucks won the toss and stuck Byfield in on a not completely dry track. The large (for SNCL standards) crowd (including legends Barry Ellard and Cyril Green) were ready for the early action and it came mainly in the shape of fielders scrabbling in the undergrowth to retrieve the ball. Former Byfield and Preston Capes star Steve Clayton has returned to his alma mater after years with Great Tew and he set about Phil with relish. Phil bowled some good balls, unfortunately he also bowled some no balls and some bad ones all of which were despatched. After he retired from the attack his four overs had gone for 53 and Byfield were in the ascendancy. DC was steaming (literally in the heat) in and kept the batsmen comparatively quiet and Bucks turned to Barlow (there are two words you don’t often see in the same sentence) who despite not having turned his arm (well in his case round) since Thornboro in early-August 2007 reeled off a couple of maidens. The frustrated Grocott slashed hard at one from DC and it was well caught in gully by our new South African (on a Kolpak (look it up) or six-pack?) Jared, 76-1 off 13. DC struck again two overs later when No 3 Franklin was caught by Miller at mid on going for a biggee. Clayton was joined by Carr and they added a further 63 at 6 an over before Carr fell for 31 bowled by Bucks who had replaced DC after an exhausting 8 over spell. Clayton however was proving difficult to stop and reached an excellent ton inside 30 overs. Barlow left the attack with 8 overs 0 for 40 to be replaced by Jared and after getting some early tap he picked up the wicket of Clayton for 104 caught by George in the covers, 181-4. Cronin returned and Matt took another catch to make it 193-5 with 10 overs to go. On a hot day those last 10 overs (which we aren’t of course used to and frankly most of the team too unfit to enjoy) can see the score race on and Lowe and Wills M seemed intent on doing just that. With all catches taken up to this point unfortunately both Inzy and Barlow grassed efforts and although Editorial modesty would prevent saying which was easier suffice to say both should have been caught. Shaun replaced Jared, who was limping after an extraordinary piece of fielding (with his foot) to stop an exocet straight drive, and he saw Lowe well “caught” by Inzy but sadly the big man tumbled over the boundary. The score had zoomed up to 255 off 41 when DC caught Lowe at long on off Miller. Having looked likely to get to 300 Byfield quietened down a bit with Matt bowling three tidy overs for 8 and, with considerable help from Stanno, executing a run out. Stanno stood up to Shaun and pulled off a good stumping and Shaun also took a great c&b to leave Byfield on a daunting 274-9.

In response well it was bit feeble in the face of accurate but not hostile bowling. Matt and Stanno took the score competently on 24 in 6 overs before Stanno was caught behind. Dean followed two balls later for 0, LBW he considered harsh. Shaun also made a blob to bring George in and he swished his way to 16. Inzy fell to a high looking LBW. 81-5 before Matt fell for a good 31. Phil socred3, Jared 0 LBW painfully hitting the same spot that he had stopped the ball with earlier. Barlow hung around long enough for DC to bring up the bonus point before he fell and Dave went for 23. 10 overs unused and a severe stuffing which will test skipper Bucks team talk next week.

Saturday 3 May

BODICOTE 102 all out (6 pts) lost to FENNY COMPTON 110 all out (20 pts) by 8 runs

Bodicote are back in the Premier Division after a considerable wait but some things don't change: its the first game of the season and Fenny Compton are the opposition. This time there are two new members of the team: Shaun Harris, promoted from the seconds for his excellent form in the previous season, and Jared Davies from South Africa via Leamington. Nobody had ever seen Jared play let alone practice but his last game was only 9 years ago and he's from South Africa: nuff said.

The good news for Bodicote traditionalists is that the Premier Division requires a new ball for each innings so there is less compulsion for Skipper Bucks, a bowler don't you know and, yes, yours truly for today, to put the opposition in just to get his hands on a cherry with shine. However, the afternoon promised light showers (never arrived) and the pitch was damp so Bucks was up for bowling first in any case. Des, the Fenny skipper won the toss, proclaimed "Damn, I didn't want to win" and decided to bat. Everyone was happy, even though the Banbury Guardian team photograph put paid to the team huddle. For those wanting to know what was missed, it was the observation that if a clown is thought capable of running England's capital city, there should be no problem for Bucks with Bodicote.

Cronin and Newman opened the bowling with one crucial difference from the last game: Fenny's opening batsman, A. Buckingham (not The Buckingham), in the absence of a knee injury failed to launch a run blitz and was duly bowled by Newman for only 4. Newman continued to run in well and suffered some bad luck: a flying catch dropped by Stanley behind the stumps and a rather more mundane effort by Buckingham, for whom no excuses can or will be made.

In the absence of anyone completing our scorebook properly for Fenny's innings, I am guessing that the score moved sedately on to about 60 for 1 with few dramas, apart from Deano's variations on a bowling theme, until the Skip came on from the top end. For no obvious reason, he steadily took wickets, with the help of some good catches by Stanley and Jared, the latter making full use of his height and juggling prowess. Buckingham ended with 7 for 11 (but has probably bowled better and taken no wickets in the past, such is the game of cricket) and Fenny were all out for 110 with Miller using offspin mode to take two for six. Hmmmm....lucky for El Chair and the quest for team balance, it was right arm over not left arm round (very).

So to tea and a spirit of optimism for Bodicote, which was not particularly dampened by Andrew Stanley's golden duck in the first ball of the innings. But optimism began to dissipate as Fenny and Derek Maries in particular eroded the Bodicote innings to leave it in major discomfort with 6 wickets down and less than 30 on the board. Graft, not optimism, was required, which Polly, Newman, and Jared duly supplied. Well, perhaps graft is not quite the word for Newmans block and heave batting but it was effective nonetheless, ending only with a pull to a ball at shin height that bowled him. Oh dear: Skip comes in, the last man and double figures still to get. Jared continues to bat well, Maries comes back on, his penultimate over is seen off and with just two balls of his final over remaining, Skip is bowled with 9 runs still required. Worse is to come: this wicket gives Maries figures of 7 for 10, thus bettering the Skip's own 7 for 11, courtesy of himself.

This was a game that Fenny surely pulled out of the fire after the first innings collapse, aided by Bodicote failing to work hard enough for runs on a slow and low pitch. It was also a game played in excellent spirits, with Fenny's skipper walking when edging to the wicketkeeper and giving an lbw decision. You guessed it, there were no official umpires, but both teams were a model of judiciousness, with Bodicote even awarding 4 LBWs against themseves. The SNCL will clearly have a bigger pool of umpires when retirement beckons for those Bodicote players whose fingers pointed skywards. Perhaps retirement ought to come sooner rather than later was an uncharitable and fleeting thought that occurred when the fourth LBW was given; there was, of course, no evidence to support it.