League Match vs Coach & Horses, 9th September 2006, London Fields

Coach Overturned On London Fields
London Fields beat Coach and Horses by eight wickets

On a fine early September afternoon, London Fields gathered in the Pub On The Park ready to avenge the thrashing dished out by the Coach & Horses on Springfield Park barely a month previously.

Bowling first, London Fields kept the lid on Coach & Horses' dangerous batsmen - a combination of tight bowling and excellent fielding giving the Coach few chances to swing the bat with any conviction.

Matt Thoms made the breakthrough, although he would be the first to admit that the balls with which he accounted for three top flight Coach batsmen were not he best he'd ever bowled. However, it is an old adage in this league that bad balls take wickets, and he must be happy with the end result, if not the manner of his wickets. I probably owe him a beer for that...

Anyway, Alec McCrindle and Steve Donelan kept up the pressure, with Alec bowlng one of his best spells for several years - no leg-side wides or chest-high full tosses today, as he made the batsmen play and miss on many occasions. Steve produced his usual excellent spell of relentlessly accurate left arm slow-medium pace to further frustrate the batsmen.

So the mid-innnings water and cigarette break arrived with the Coach on 90 odd for 8, and London Fields anticipating a quick end to the game and an early start to the beer in the Pub On The Park. However, it was not to be, as number nine batsman Dave steered the Coach to a total of 137 before finally succumbing to an excellent catch at mid off by Alec.

All Fields bowlers bowled superbly, with Alec the pick of the crop with figures of 5 overs, 2 maidens 2 for 11, ably backed up by Steve D who returned 1 for 12 from the same spell.

The fielding also played a big part in keeping the score down, with much confusion by the Coach batsmen as yet another sure-fire boundary was stopped in the in-field, with both batsmen unsure whether to run.

In reply, London Fields started strongly and continued in the same vein. Vice-captain Andy Wyatt played some glorious one-day shots through the slips and over the keeper's head, aided by some pointlessly short bowling, before departing for 19 runs. Captain Jason Lord then replaced him at the crease to contribute 28 runs, but it was the man at the other end, Richard "RJ" Johnson who took the plaudits with a magnificent 72. In fact, RJ was caught at square leg with the scores level, a fantastic sacrifice of his batting average which will not be forgotten. A "paint-drying" over remained to be endured before Jason Lord finally decided to stop milking the moment and hit the winning runs off Coach bowler Ian.

This win makes it all but certain (99.99%... recurring) that London Fields have won the league this year for the first time in a fair while. Although the league has fewer members this year than ever before, it is still a fantastic achievement given the general improvement in standards over the last few years, and all associated with the club can be very proud.

Then it was back into Pub On The Park for a well deserved "couple" of beers as London Fields celebrated wildly into the early hours. Er, the early evening hours - we're all getting a bit tired...

Coach & Horses Batting:
137 all out in 29 overs

London Fields Bowling:

Name Overs Maidens Runs Wickets Average
Richard 5 0 21 1 21
Rick 4 1 14 0 -
Matt T 5 1 42 3 14
Alec 5 1 11 2 5.5
Steve D 5 1 12 1 12
Will 4.3 0 31 3 10.3

London Fields Batting:

Batsman Scoring How Out Bowler Total
Richard - caught Greg 72
Andy - lbw Ian 19
Jason L - not out 28
Steve D - not out 0
Alec did not bat -
Will did not bat -
Matt T did not bat -
Colin did not bat -
Rob did not bat -
Davin did not bat -
Rick did not bat -
      Extras ??
Total: 141 for 2
in 19 overs

Coach & Horses Bowling:

Name Overs Maidens Runs Wickets Average
Dennis 3 0 26 0 -
Ibrahim 3 2 2 0 -
Ian 3 0 15 1 15
Mohammed 2 0 18 0 -
Olly 2 0 15 0 -
Jon 2 0 19 0 -
Vires 2 0 14 0 -
Greg 2 0 17 1 17
Ian 1 0 4 0 -