Tourno Groundhog

You don't need to be clairvoyant to be confident in the prediction that the Beamers have played their last for the Waterhall Shield. There was but a handful of us in the Nelson to witness the last rights, John Smith taking the trophy on behalf of the Trafalgar, and for them, as for years before, the talk was not on the cricket but the drudge of spending an afternoon with a team as dysfunctional as the London Unity.
But it was not just the Spooners’ behaviour that left a sour taste. The die was cast in the first game against the eventual winners. The Beamers were making heavy weather of chasing down 150 odd in 30 overs when Gordy did his best to make his ground at the bowlers end off a long throw in from the boundary. He was judged in by Marlon who was then subjected to a barrage of abuse from a number of Trafalgar players, including the 'keeper, who clearly were in no position to see. The venerable John Smith, laid low by a hamstring injury early in the match, did what he could to control things from the boundary, but Marlon had had enough and duly walked off.
So the first game was lost and the depressing news from the other game was that the Unity had been defeated by the Hornblowers.
Cave, skippering this one, put them in to face 20 overs of a fine Beamers pace attack. He opened with himself and with energy preserved from missing the first game pitched it up as quick as he could to the obvious displeasure of the young Driver. But the enjoyment of finding line and rhythm so soon was quickly curtailed when 2 balls just missing the edge and no more than a couple of inches outside off stump were called wides. So far, so predictable. But the interpretation of the wide rules was given a new twist when Marlon was bowling. He pitched it at the young Driver’s legs, the boy jumped leg side to see the ball whistle off side of his pads and 1/2 an inch outside leg stump. Wide went the call. Bollocks went the Beamers. Groundhog day it sure was.
Midway through the affair there was controversy over the overs count. We’d thought we’d bowled 2 more than the board was showing when the scorer first started putting them up, so Cave thought he’d better check the book to see who he’d miscounted for fear of bowling them short. Needless to say the book wasn’t illuminating, nor the reception from the Unity scorer nor Mrs Driver whose drunken chants were, well, as they have been for year on year.
Amid this mess there was something of a game of cricket. But for the pup, the Unity batters failed to prosper, limping to 120 odd nearly all out.
As for the reply, it’s good to report that we made easy work of the total, getting home with a good 3 or so overs to go, Marlon opening and making a very creditable PB of 48, the Beast also distilling his frustration into a quick 30 odd, Pete featuring well too. It was good too to see Renshaw back in fold, Stevie too, and nota bene skippers, Tom Bassam’s no longer a little tyke but looks a fine batsmen not averse to following us from the Nelson to the Battle for some compensatory jugs for afters.
Having said that, this wasn’t a cricket match. The drunken wailing on the boundary from the Spooners support was as it always has been and was all the more depressing for to see little Phoebe and Lillian having to witness it. Last year Musso said he wouldn’t play another Tournament not so much because of the incident with Jerry but that he didn’t want his boys to have to see such scenes on and off the field of play. A number of us, myself included, said bugger that, let’s beat the bastards and stop whingeing. We’ve done that this time. But there was no pleasure in it. Now we’ve done it, we can’t go back. What we need is a big day of summer cricket in Brighton. But not following this tired unpleasant formula.