League Match vs The Lamb, 11th June 2005, Low Hall Farm
The "Wide" Open Wastes of Low Hall Farm
Another unseasonally chilly Saturday in June saw London Fields take on The Lamb at Low Hall Farm. Ian 'Charlie' Charlton once mentioned to the opposition that the reason Low Hall Farm is so cold and wind-swept in summer is because there's nothing between it and the Urals, except for Holland and Norfolk. Patent nonsense, but at least he had the satisfaction years later of hearing a member of another opposition team saying to another player "You know the reason it's so cold here? Wind straight off The Urals, nothing in-between"...
Personally, I hate Low Hall Farm because:
a) there is no one on the boundary watching you play. No one in their right mind would trek half a mile across Hackney Marshes to get to the cricket pitch between the waste dump, the railway and the bread factory
b) the clouds of midges that swarm above your head (see "Marshes", above) whenever you stand still in the outfield. This may be the reason for my hyper-activity at gully.
Anyway, London Fields bowled first and performed creditably, keeping The Lamb down to about 170, including 50 wides. The number of wides upset our bowlers somewhat, with Nick B feeling pretty aggrieved when his late outswingers were called wide, even though they went past the bat reasonably closely. Carl had most reason to feel aggrieved, when his first ball nicked the batsman's glove as it eluded stand-in keeper Andy Wyatt down the leg side. "That's your one wide down leg for the over", he was told. You should have seen his face as he explained to the umpire that it can't be a wide if it's hit the batsman...
On with the report!
Openers Paul Turley and Nick Beech bowled economically with figures of 5-0-14-1 and 5-0-15-0 respectively, and first change bowlers Carl Death and Tony Tedore carried on the parsimony to leave The Lamb at 36 off 12 overs.
Glossing diplomatically over the issue of the wides off Carl and Tony's overs, I shall continue. The Lamb then accelerated somehow to reach a total of 170ish. Pick of the bowlers for London Fields was Divan Vermeulen with 5-1-12-3. Jason Lord (at slip) and Dave Hickey (ranging around the mid-off/mid-on area) took one and two catches respectively.
In reply, London Fields started typically nervously, with Dave Hickey run out from a no-ball for 4 (he claimed not to have heard the call, saw he had been caught and walked, only for The Lamb fielder to throw the ball in and run him out off the bowler's legs - who compounded Dave's misery because he wasn't even looking). However, vice captain Andy Wyatt steadied the ship with a steady 22, and captain Jason Lord pitched in with 21 and Will Isaac with 26 to leave us looking good for victory. Combined with Divan's 12, Rick "Ricksta" Derons' dashing 35 not out and Tony Tedore's sensible 11 not out, we reached the required total with about four overs to spare.
Then it was back to the Pub On The Park for a quiet evening's reflection on the game... And the wides... And the appealing...
Editor's note, personal opinion as always: Frankly, the amount of appealing going on by the opposition was wrong and should be sorted out. It puts unfair pressure on the umpires (who are always from the batting side in our league, as that's the side with the spare players off the pitch). You feel bad about not giving decisions to people who plainly don't understand the law about the ball pitching on the leg side. You have to explain the laws every time they appeal (which is every time it hits the pads) - a bad situation to be in. In addition, opposition, having three people appeal for LBW from the covers, and one appealing from point does not enhance your chances of succeeding with the appeal. It's quality of appeal, not quantity we're interested in. Question to the point fielder - was it maybe the right height for an LBW? Was that your appeal? AND, having one of your fielders pick the ball up one yard over the boundary right in front of the opposition and throw it back in without signalling four, as if nothing happened, really does not help your case. Sort it out. Rant over, slightly squiffy from celebrating England's win against Australia in the inaugural 20-20 game tonight, but really we can do without this sort of nonsense in what is basically a very friendly league...
Anyway, here's the scorecard:
Lamb Batting:
170ish, but really, I don't care
London Fields Bowling:
| Name | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Average |
| Paul | 5 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 14 |
| Nick B | 5 | 0 | 15 | 0 | - |
| Carl | 5 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 24 |
| Tony | 5 | 0 | 37 | 1 | 37 |
| Divan | 5 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 4 |
| Will | 5 | 0 | 29 | 2 | 14.5 |
| Rick | 5 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 23 |
London Fields Batting:
| Batsman | Scoring | How Out | Bowler | Total |
| Dave H | - | run | out | 4 |
| Andy W | - | caught | Asim | 22 |
| Jason L | - | caught | Chaz | 21 |
| Will | - | caught & bowled | Mezak | 26 |
| Divan | - | caught | Asim | 12 |
| Rick | - | not | out | 35 |
| Rob | - | bowled | Asim | 2 |
| Tony | - | not | out | 11 |
| Nick B | did | not | bat | - |
| Paul T | did | not | bat | - |
| Carl | did | not | bat | - |
| Extras | ? | |||
| Total: more than 170ish for 6 wickets |
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Lamb Bowling:
Frankly, Mister Shankly...