Category: 2. The Originals

Thrilling game, Swifts looked certain winners with Marsh at 88-7 until unbeaten stand between Jules and Timmo brought Marsh home.

Marsh pleased to have opportunity to send off Andy Fisher with a minutes applause and contribute to his memorial fund. Hope other OCA Clubs are able to help too.

Wantage Vs Marsh Gibbon Originals

Marsh Gibbon   177-6

Wantage             170-9

Marsh Pilgrims! Welcome to the start of the 2015 Cricket season for the originals. After creating more build up and excitement than the Mayweather-Pacquiao match up, and that’s just for the fantasy league point allocations (Unlucky Stu!), the opening day had finally arrived. All the hours in the nets, all the off season training led to this moment… Sat arriving early! (OMG! – Ed.)

New captain, new era, new division and Carlos still had his camera ready to take pictures and videos of the dressing room! First up on the spunky new fixtures roster (check your e-mails peoples!) was fellow promotees, Wantage. So it was nicely set up, the weather was mild if a little bit chilly, the Wantage ground looked picturesque and the pitch looked absolutely stonking considering it was the first game of the season. Kudos to the Wantage grounds man. As the two captains met in the middle to toss under the watchful eye of the two umpires (I’ll leave the innuendos to the readers!), everyone wondered whether we would bat or bowl. Carlos wondered what sort of worms were used by Wantage! We lost the toss and were asked to bat first. Game…On.

The first depositors to open the Marsh Gibbon batting account were Messrs Joe Leonard and Matt Mead. Make no mistake Wantage are a very good side, they bowl well and bat even better so a good solid start by the new opening pair was essential. The plan was simple: bat positively, keep wickets in hand till the last 10-12 overs then allow the 20/20 specialists (Callow and Turner) to get us up to the 200+ mark. Full batting points and a sizeable total to defend. Joe Leonard, famed for his forward defensive being quicker than his running between the wickets, looked in immediate form defending purposefully and hitting the bad balls hard to the boundary. Matt Mead promoted to opener looked completely at ease and kept the scoreboard ticking with a flurry of chanceless fours. Both complemented each other and the score ticked along steadily towards 50. It was lovely to watch and I look forward to seeing this pair bat together for the rest of the season. It allowed Sat to play around with his new array of coloured pens whilst making the score book a true work of art! The pitch offered no usual early season gremlins, if anything the ball tended to come off the pitch a bit slower. This led to Meady curtailing a fluent 29 by playing too early to a short ball and holing out to point. Sat joined Joe and these two progressed the board to past the 100 mark setting up a good base for 200. With about 12 overs to go Joe (39) fell to a good catch at fine leg. Sat (44) soon fell, fat bugger got run out again, and Messrs Honour (16), Callow (9), Turner (5) made rapid contributions. Messrs Carlos (15*) and Cross (6*) remained undefeated at the end of the 45 overs with Carlos eking the total over the 175 mark (getting us 4 out of 5 batting points). So Marsh ended on 177-6 knowing we had to bowl and field well in order to defend this on what was evidently a batting pitch.

It’s an early shout but the intermission was complemented by what was the best away tea of the season so far. Warm Chicken and sweet corn soup with a fine array of sandwiches and savoury delicacies. After the inspiring fire and brimstone team talks from Stu our new skipper stamped his mark with his soothing team talk of “We’ll open with Nath and Stevie and then see what happens.” Different styles but equally effective.

So we took to the field and had a perfect start with Stevie bowling one of the openers in the first over. On such a placid pitch, a tight accurate opening spell was needed from our openers and boy did they deliver. Backed up superbly in the field Stevie struck again removing danger man Barry Martin cheaply. With Wantage two wickets down Mercer (97) and the number 4 looked to consolidate and they settled in to developing a partnership collating the runs steadily. Timmo changed it up by resting the openers and introducing Carlos and Sat to the attack the cricket equivalent of a UKIP/Plaed Cymru coalition! Both applied the pressure by bowling tight lines, squeezing the runs and playing on the batsmen’s’ concentration and patience. Their collective hard work was rewarded when the Wantage No 4 was well caught by Stevie in the slips off Sat. So a new batsman came in to face Carlos in the over before the drinks break.

What followed was an extraordinary over which I can only describe as a homage to the Avengers. Clearly told the equivalent of “Hulk….Smash” the batsmen proceeded to do just that. He smashed Carlos for 4 from his first ball, then a biff, a bang, a whack, a woompf and then a dolly catch to Matt Mead in the covers! After drinks the wickets fell at a steady rate but then so did the runs. Enter Grant Cross, freshly returned to the team after his two year stint as a consultant on Geordie Shore. The art of the spin bowler is to create guile, confusion and mystery in the batsman’s psyche through whatever way he can. Granty accomplishes this through a wonderful, skilful whirling of arms and hands (lucky debs!). Suffice to say his was a welcome return to the bowling attack he successfully engineered a control of Wantage’s scoring rate to set up a last over with 11 runs needed to win. The opener Mercer was still in having been given two lives during his wonderful innings. Would March live to rue this? Mercer smashed the first ball out of site for a maximum leaving Wantage needing 6 off 5 balls. Squeaky bum time. Then…a mix up between the batsmen and a calm throw by Matt Mead caused Mercer to be run out. Granty then bowled two magnificent balls to bowl the next two batsmen with the number 11 needing to hit 8 off the last ball. Bowled with unerring accuracy the no 11 could only block it back.

So a win to start of the Originals 2015 campaign, 28 points and a successful start to the Timmo era. As for the rest of the season…..Well, let’s see what happens!

Till the next time Pilgrims!

Ten times Marsh have faced Westcott and are still to taste defeat at their hands.  The record stretching back to 1996 was never in jeopardy,  but Mother Nature threatened to close in before the Last Rights could be read.

It started in the standard fashion with Skipper losing his 7th consecutive Toss and Mr Raynor electing to bowl.  A strategy he might want to reconsider for the teams’ next meeting as he has followed the same course each time, only to spend the proceeding couple hours chasing the ball around the park courtesy of the Marsh batsmen!

Though on the plus side for Westcott, Joe and Matt didn’t match the partnership of 150 between Stu and Matt on our last meeting, as they could only manage an opening stand of 131!   Joe was in a world of form and was coming forward to crisply despatch cover drives under the cars and into the field time after time (much better than poncing about trying to steer through Third Man Joseph!)   Fifteen 4’s and 85 runs later he was the first to fall.  Matt was playing an anchor role and I think he dropped at least 3 of them, reaching double figures in the 18th over!  Gregory came and went without creasing his Man at C&A Suit (white socks, really?) and then Skipper went to the wicket armed with bat and calculator!

When Matt departed for a battling 26, The Tamil Tubby walked out into the middle…and was clearly not happy with what he found there and marched back in again, but not before giving the keeper a bit of catching practice.

The 200 figure was an important target as this would bring maximum batting points and with a slim chance of promotion still dangling Skipper wanted all options to remain open.  Steady batting and calm heads were needed and first Crouch, then Jules and finally the scampering Guns controlled the final few overs to the rightful conclusion.  Indeed, when Jules pulled a classic maximum over deep square leg young Jacob calmly expressed his opinion on the shot and the innings in general “That’s Sick!”

Clouds had been amassing and during a magnificent Tea interval, the rain came down.  I am not sure what the collective noun for numerous umpires is?  But with Mr Summers, Frederico, Barry, Mr Standish and his partner all in attendance, not to mention The Greyhound Club Secretary, (who had decided the Gatepost could now stand up without assistance) there was no shortage of official opinions on the proceedings and after a spot of bailing out and about 30 minutes delay the match resumed.

Marsh set about the task in organised fashion and soon began to take wickets; first Crouch struck the timbers and then the Chairman got an edge to Skipper, before Skipper demonstrated the unconventional approach to stumping by kneeing the ball onto the stumps!  Another catch behind and Westcott were 39-4 off 13 overs and all was proceeding to plan.  Apart from the dark sky, that is, which was beginning to be a concern.  The game would not go the full course as Mr Standish had advised that proceedings would end at around 7.45pm. This would not be enough time for all 45 overs to be bowled.  Marsh must bowl out Westcott to win and get the necessary full 30 points.

A first ball of the ‘highest leg-side quality’ from Matthew took wicket number 5 and bowling in tandem with ‘do-I-get-extra-fantasy-points-if-I-catch-it-off-my-own-bowling-Pidge’, the two got through overs quickly and the required rate started to slowly rise….but this was not of concern – wickets were the order of the day.   Three wickets for Matt and two for Pidge in a steady flow just kept Marsh ahead of the weather!

With darkness continuing to descend Captain Raynor entered at number 11 to lead his team from the rear – an interesting concept in leadership which is still awaiting publication.  Game-fully he was looking to survive until play would have to be stopped, but Skipper brought back Crouch with no more than 20 minutes left and one swipe across the line later, and the deed was done!   Thirty Points Bagged!

The Pig was so well fed it appeared completely shattered by the occasion!

Later confirmation that Wantage and Swifts had both lost that same afternoon confirmed the importance of the victory.  And Marsh will start the final day requiring 5 points for promotion (at the first attempt).

The last game on 13th September carries the usual health warning to the liver!  Only this year it has double jeopardy because after the Pavilion antics we shall continue at the Beer Festival!  Then who knows where we shall end up?

There promises to be a considerable crowd after it was rumoured the fairy liquid will be making a return appearance……Please note all those under 18 will not be allowed alcohol and a supply of ice creams has been arranged for you…..

But most important of all…….DON’T FORGET YOUR SHIRTS!

 

 

 

 

Following the outstanding exploits of the previous weekend, the Originals slipped to defeat at Chesterton in the league on Saturday. With players still unavailable, notably Gregory, who had to go and get his name sown into his school uniform ;-), as per recent weeks Marsh lost the toss and were asked to bat first on a gloomy day.

The boys found the going tough and wickets came regularly, with the only small highlight a cameo of 15 from Jules, including a 6, as Gibbon were dismissed for 65. Struggling to write a lot more on it……sorry boys……other than the fact the Needham now has a broom fetish!

Despite the scoreline, Gibbon’s customary spirit remained high despite the hosts knocking off the runs with relative ease, with one wicket down as Matt had the opener caught behind. Stevie T bowled well off his 8 overs, going for only 7 runs. As ever, the work ethic for the team remained strong throughout the day, as Gibbon battled all the way.

A fantastic run of 7 wins prior to this has seen the boys lifted high up the table and the Telegraph Cup in the bag, so it’s been a fabulous effort by all so far as Gibbon look forward to two home games to wrap up a very successful league campaign with the usual end of season celebrations to come.

Look forward to Saturdays home game chaps, where we have a team photo for the entire squad prior to the game.

Stu

As the hangovers begin to fade, it’s time to reflect on a record breaking and history making weekend for the Originals, with a big win over local neighbours Fringford in the league to take the club up to second on Saturday and then securing the Telegraph Cup for the first time in the clubs history against Wantage on Sunday.

With many players away, Stu called for back up in the form of Nick ‘Tacky’ Tyler, who returned to the team for Saturdays game as Gibbons resources were stretched to the max……”still got that young blond Tyler?!”…..

Fringford were also struggling for numbers, having 9 players, as Stu again lost the toss and Gibbon were asked to bat first, with Matty and Joe opening up. The visitors struck first as Matty went for a duck in the second over, bringing Leonard’s Joe and Stu together for what proved to be a record breaking partnership. With more gaps in the field to exploit, the pair pushed the ball into them as the runs started to come freely, both reaching half-centuries as the visitors found it difficult to plug the vacant areas. Some strong hitting and despite their dislike for running, many many singles pushed the score on as the pair went past the 150 partnership. As Joe worked towards his century, overcoming the nervous 90’s and Stu tried to catch up with him the runs continued to flow until Joey reached a much deserved maiden century,followed in turn but Stu, surpassing the previous ‘Originals’ record wicket partnership of 197 between Jamie Leonard and Derek Jeacock. With both their eyes on the highest individual score for the club of 131, the partnership was finally broken at a hefty 240, bringing Cam (13no) to the wicket who batted superbly, along with Pidge who hit a nice little cameo to take the score up to a daunting 285. Youngsters George Williams bowled excellent and Tom Bacon kept really well for the visitors who kept going hard.

A splendid tea was taken, the chicken and stuffing baps a highlight as Gibbon took confidently to the field. Things couldn’t have started better as Stevie got the opener leg before. Gibbon bowled and fielded well, able to attack with the field as Timmo took a lovely little 3 for and Tommy finished the job just before the Tackman was due to turn the old arm over, as Gibbon eased to victory by 184 runs.

With an early night and a nice hot bath for Joey, the big day we’d been waiting for had arrived. Again, with many players away on holiday, Gibbon were missing all rounders Shipperley and Needham along with batsmen Spud and some of the talented young guns. Despite this, a strong and confident Marsh team met early at the Plough looking resplendent in their club kit to make the trip over to Chipping Norton to face Wantage in their first OCA cup final since 2000.

With overnight rain, the plan was to bowl first, but that proved yet again immaterial as Stu yet again lost the toss! Still very confident Marsh were asked to bat first, but as Joe went early and Briefo, who was just starting to hit the ball nicely went, things were looking very nervy. Having assessed the pitch early on the plan was for 150 minimum to give our bowlers a chance, knowing our plans for Wantage dangermen…..but with the knowledge they had chased down a big score the day before, Gibbon were well aware of their batting threats.

Stu (35), Matt (20) and Satty (29), who had been sent to the naughty step by the skipper the day previous, steadied the ship, but with Wantage bowling well in spells it was difficult to get away. Knowing the prowess of the late hitters, a ploy which has worked well for Gibbon this term, the plan was to keep wickets in hand and go hard in the last 5……and then entered Crouchy! An excellent cameo by the back in-form Jules (17) and some power hitting from Croucher saw the score creep on, as Crouchy despatched the returning opener for three consecutive boundaries. With Tommys young legs scampering away at the other end, Marsh reached a very decent total of 184. Chippy had laid on a fantastic tea, but the boys were focused on the job and ready to bring it home.

Crouchy, who was fired up to the max got the boys off to a great start as he had the opener caught nicking off to the evergreen Granty to take an nice catch and then the unbelievable moment of the day happened……as Crouchy again got the number three nicking off to slip, the ball looked all the world to be going through second to the boundary, until Crossy with all his agility and dexterity managed to somehow clutch the ball one handed to his right to spark a sea of joy. The barmy army who packed out the corner of the field with Debs banner on display were in raptures as the travelling band cheered the boys all the way.

Briefo, who was warned for two beamers took another wicket of the opener as Gibbon really started to put the squeeze on, throwing themselves at everything, straining every sinew to get the win. It’s a bit of a blur, so apologies if I’ve left bits out……a couple of bad overs put Wantage right back in the game however, as their middle order batted well through a difficult period, the game looking in the balance, going to and fro. Satty took the crucial wicket bowling their man well set and when Timmo’s rocket arm well oiled, threw one in to Stu to leave another man stranded run out to spark more celebrations as pidge was mobbed once more. Matty brought Gibbon great control from the top end bowling 9 overs for just 7 runs and when Crouchy took a storming catch off Satty, Gibbon could sniff victory! As eventual man of the match Crouch returned to bowl the number 10, the boys needed one more wicket….one more and the trophy was ours! With 30 odd to get off 3 overs it was always going to be tough, so Marsh just had to create one more chance and then it came…..the best feeling ever…..as the two batsmen were stranded in the middle of the pitch as Toms looping throw went to Stu who whipped off the bails to secure the first cup trophy for the ‘Originals’ in their history.

Such a proud moment was shared between us all out that we’ll never forget, as Stu (not quite hoisted) lifted (the heaviest trophy ever made) to applause and cheers from all in attendance. So fantastic to see faces from Marsh who we haven’t seen for a while there supporting us, along with all the Wags, supporters and our team mascot Alfie! As Crouch went to get his much deserved man of the match award, I don’t mind admitting a tear was definitely in the eye (and some others I’m sure) as we celebrated together and posed for the photoshoot! It was then back to the pub as the boys and several interested spectators joined our celebration and fines meeting as the trophy took pride of place on the bar at the Dog.

So proud to be part of MGCC this weekend and I speak on behalf of all the players who helped make it happen, our supporters, the tea ladies, the hardworking ground staff, our umpires and not to mention our better halves who put up with us (or enjoy in some cases I’m sure ;-)) being out all day on a Saturday.

Special mention must go to Carl Needham who I know would have been there if he could, even trying to get flights back from Antigua to play in the game. That’s for you Mr Chairman and all the lads who couldn’t be there too.

As I said to the boys before we went out, when you win something you’ll never ever forget who was in your team that day and those 12 men who took to the field on Sunday to represent our great club at cricket will forever have their names etched in the history of Marsh Gibbon Cricket Club and on the Telegraph Cup.

Apologies if I missed anything, but it’s all still a bit of a blur as I say…….off for one more celebratory pint of hen!

Proud of you boys!
Stu

You have a new scribe for the match reports this week, with the skipper busy sorting plans for a busy weekend ahead……….

Cairns Fudge – 9th August

The Gibbon kept the ball rolling on a very positive 2014 season so far with two more victories.

On a typically damp British summers day the Originals played host to Cairns Fudge for the first time last Saturday. Winning the toss 9-man Fudge inserted Gibbon and looked to make first use of the green wicket due to the overnight storms. Opening pair Joe and Matt started hesitantly with the ball wobbling around, having got their eyes in both openers begun to play more freely until Joe was the first to go for 38 bringing Shippo to crease. Runs started to come more easily for the Gibbon with contributions from Matt (30), Shippo (35) and Stevie (13), with the Skipper continuing his good form with a ‘cultured’ 32 including one colossal six which put the herd of cows in the farmyard in grave danger! Spud (17*) and Crouchy (27) finished off the innings with some impressive ball striking and positive running between the wickets leaving Gibbon happy with their performance going into tea 214 – 7 off their 45 overs.

After another splendid tea as per usual at the Gibbon…………..the homemade chocolate cake a personal favourite! The Originals took to the field knowing that early wickets would put them in the driving seat and with some cloud cover overhead to aid openers Stevie and Crouch that’s exactly what happened. Stevie T taking a wicket in his first over supported by Crouchy and Needy with some excellent fielding all around the park Gibbon piled on the pressure to contain Fudge, taking wickets at regular intervals to stem the flow of runs. Stevie T continuing his impressive form with 2-24 off 9 overs, and with Tommy L, 3-10 & Timmo, 1-5 polishing up the tail to confirm a comprehensive victory for MGCC by 104 runs.

The fines pig was fed as normal for misdemeanours on and off the field………….notably a massive fine for the Skipper, unable to control his temper following a questionable LBW decision where the bin in the changing room brought the brunt of his upset of being given out…………..we have been reliably informed that a new bin has be purchased of the highest quality as a replacement. Celebrations continued at MoorHEN Close for ‘drinks and nibbles’ which turned into a Chinese order of great quantity being delivered at 10.45pm and a competition to see how many prawn crackers Shippo could manage to fit into Needy mouth all at one time…………lets say there was considerable mess to clear up in the morning!

All in all in a good day for the Gibbon with another 30 points on the board!

WANTAGE – 16TH AUGUST

Gibbon continued their winning run on Saturday as they made the journey to promotion challengers Wantage.

Having lost his second toss in consecutive weeks, Gibbon we asked to bowl first slightly lacking in the bowling department with 4 regular seamers out and a total of 8 players unavailable. The Leonard siblings, Tom and Joe were selected to be the makeshift opening attack, with younger brother Tommy L taking the senior role and having the choice of ends, much to the displeasure of his elder brother! Gibbon struck early with a run out in the first over after confusion between the Wantage opening pair, the Inbetweeners, Tommy L and Shippo pounced and whipped off the bails sharply to get Marsh off to a good start. Some tight bowling from the Leonard duo accompanied by excellent efforts in the field, especially from youngster Callum Millard in the covers who was throwing himself all over the square kept the home side under pressure. With the introduction of Briefo to the proceedings, who was busy in Brewers Fayre having an all-day breakfast until 1pm, Joe took care of the Wantage top order including two wickets in two balls, are you talking about yourself again………!?! The scoreboard looked good for the Gibbon at 35-4, however with the opposition punishing anything loose, the standard still needed to be high. With the skipper opting to take the pace off of the ball, on came Satty to keep the board ticking in Marsh’s favour. The Crab proceeded to only manage to bowl a solitary maiden over before injuring himself chasing down a ball in the outfield………..have a blow Granty! Back came Joe to finish his spell , finishing with 5-38 off his 12 overs much to everyone’s surprise and solid bowling by Breifo 2-41 and Satty 2-21 took Gibbon into tea with confidence high having bowled out Wantage for 151.

With Neil doing his reporting for Sky Sports News with a direct line to a pool bar in Antigua to keep the chairman informed of events as they unfold, it was up to Joe and Shippo to try to get off to a solid start. With the score ticking along Joe was the first to go for 13, Briefo came and went at number three without troubling the scorers bringing captain Stu to the crease whose shoulders are thankfully getting less sore over the past couple of weeks. With the Skipper and Shippo at the crease everything looked rosy from the boundary and runs were flowing with the pair never looking in trouble. Nevertheless in trademark Marsh style, never making things easy, Stu went for 23, Spud followed shortly afterwards and with Sat departing for 9, Gibbon took a slight at stumble at 115-5. The ever unfazed Shippo soldiered on dealing with anything loose that came his way steering Marsh towards their target, but after he was gone LBW for 64 in a superb innings of great maturity for the young man it was down to Callum and JC to see the boys home. Jules showed his quality as the highest run scorer ever to play for the Originals nudging it into gaps and caressing the ball through the covers when required. Callum hit the winning runs as he muscled one over mid on for four to the applause from the pavilion and also a discrete fist pump from the Skipper.

Another great 30 points in the circumstances as MGCC look to climb up the division 3 table.

Onto a massive weekend where the Gibbon will host Fringford on Saturday in the league, then onto the big one…………………..the Telegraph Cup Final at Chipping Norton on Sunday!

With a big crowd expected, let’s make this a great day for all!

Joe (aka new opening bowler)

Marsh continued their very positive 2014 campaign with a couple of excellent OCA league victories, with a midweek cup final and a big Wednesday night win mixed in to cap off the midweek season in a hectic few weeks for the boys.

Despite a battling defeat to Great Horwood in the BMWL League Shield final on the Friday, with plenty of good performances, but a little light on batting, the Originals defeated Westcott in the league by 97 runs thanks to a 150 run stand between Matt and Stu. Matty, blasting the ball to all parts in his best ever knock for the club took Gibbon to 228-6 off their allocation, which was backed up by an excellent bowling and fielding performance, epitomised by Michael ‘Pidge’ Timms who with one stump to aim at ran out the opener from a difficult angle. Some excellent spells saw Gibbon bowl out the hosts for 131, despite having to call one batsmen back after he middled the ball to the fine leg boundary and was surprisingly given out LBW……the most notable fines for the evening being for one player (who shall remain nameless) who decided to wreck the furniture!! Less said the better……. a really pleasing victory.

Sandwiched in was a midweeker against Fringford in the climax to what has been an excellent season in the BMWL, under the guidance of new skipper Timmo. A Will ‘Hammo’ Hammond ton in 7 overs was the highlight as Gibbon breezed to victory, backed up by an excellent bowling spell by young Luke Fox, who surely scooped the midweek bowling award in his first full season. Well done Foxy! Victory saw the midweek crew finish in 2nd place in an enjoyable and banter-filled campaign. Good stuff chaps.

With players away, a youthful Gibbon then enjoyed another victory against Ben ‘Banger’ Proctor’s Wolvercote side who travelled to Gibbon in the league on Saturday last. With rain on the morning of the game and delaying the start, ex-Original Proctor, who looked a little worse for wear (nothing changes Bang!) had no hesitation in inserting Marsh in the reduced 25 over match. With many of the top order missing, Carlos was promoted to open the batting with Joe and they got off to a steady start, before Needham fell……….that hamstring is definitely in need of some TLC Mrs N ;-). Joe (22) Steve (14) supported Stu, but it was a stand between ‘new-bloke’ Cross, who managed to take some time off from pruning his bushes and Stu (63) and then Crouchy who took Gibbon to a very respectable 137-4 from their 25.

A splendid tea as ever from Sally was enjoyed, with the homemade cakes a particular delight…..Mrs C never failing to disappoint on that front! Despite the decent total, the home side knew a tight display was going to be needed, but and Stevie took an early wicket to get the ball rolling. With some wayward bowling and decent hitting from the opener, Wolvercote were well in the game with 10 overs to go, but with Marsh taking wickets consistently it was going to be a tight finish. Joe managed to take some time off from money laundering (well that’s the rumour…..) to produce an excellent display of 4-24, notably with Proctor caught in the deep by Crouchy, to leave the match poised with the visitors needing 11 from the last over to be bowled by Needham………..despite his poorly leg. The old-timer ‘thatch’ bowled 2 excellent balls to remove the remaining two batsmen to make it two in two for the Originals, leaving them exactly mid-table in Division 3. Special mention must go to all the young guns, Rooney, Luke and Spud who fielded excellently on the day to keep the runs down. As always a few beers were had and a splendid evening of celebration by all.

In other news, Joe and Charlotte have moved to a new abode in MG, which is already being lined up for the teams next Saturday night party…..good luck Charlotte!  We are looking forward to a new addition to the Gibbon tribe with Crouchy and Amy expecting…..congratulations guys. And Stevie T has been given a police caution and formal warning by the MGCC committee for being seen loitering around the laybys of Marsh Gibbon!!

With important league games and the Telegraph Cup final to come, it’s going to be an exciting end to the season for the Originals and despite talk being rife of bribery and corruption in the MGCC Fantasy League, the competition is hotting up……..resident geek Von Needham is still open to the odd back-hander however, so get in early!

Look forward to Saturday when we welcome Cairns Fudge to the Gibbon in the league.

Stu

Marsh Gibbon Originals progressed to their first cup final in 14 years, as they defeated Witney Swifts on Sunday to book a place in the Telegraph Cup showpiece event against Division 3 outfit Wantage on August 24th.

A fantastic day for the club, came off the back of a disappointing days work at Eynsham the previous day, losing to the bottom side to hand them their first victory of the season. Having lost a crucial toss, Gibbon were inserted and got off well as both Satty and Joe punished wayward bowling, but after Joe holed out Gibbon faltered throughout the middle order and tail to muster 145 from the rain reduced 35 overs. Satty batted well for his first half century of the season.

Despite the collapse, Gibbon were still confident in their bowlers doing the job, but despite some early appeals and wayward bowling at times, didn’t really threaten the home side who got home after a rain delay to deserve their victory. The only highlights were excellent spells from Stevie and Carl who yet again put in the hard yards for the team. A day to forget, but lessons to learn!

What better way to put it right however, with a big ‘semi’ at a sun-drenched Gibbon with plenty of support on the sidelines, as the Originals took to the field with renewed vigour following a rousing team talk.

A vast storm on Saturday made the pitch wet under the sheet and Stu duly won the toss and inserted Swifts, who have been flying this season up the top end of the league. Having lost twice to them so far this term, this was always going to be a tough game, with the boys well aware of Swifts batting threats.

Stevie and Crouchy started up, as Carlos rested his weary bones from the day previous and the opening pair bowled superbly, with three quick wickets early on to put Gibbon in a great position. The boys dived, sprinted and sweated in the heat with a fantastic fielding display, which was epitomised by a wonderful direct hit run-out by Matt ‘Flintoff’ Mead, who through down the pegs with one stump to aim at……what an effort! With Crouchy, going for nearly as many in 10 overs as he did in one on Saturday (haha) and Stevie returning fantastic figures of 2-14 off his twelve, this set up the platform for Satty to contain at one end, whilst the old stager Needham, returned fantastic figures of 5-5, much to the delight of the Gibbon faithful, especially Grant Cross in the crowd who was fresh from aggravating the bush in Suffolk court that morning!

Swifts were dismissed for 58 to leave Gibbon within touching distance of the final, but experience tells us that its never over until the last hit of the game! As the boys tucked into Mrs V’s fiery chicken wings and Von Needham busily tapped away on his calculator, nerves were jangling a little as although this was only a small total, they still needed to be knocked off.

Things started badly as Satty went early caught behind and when Charlie was run-out for the second time in two days, the crowd was silent. Stu and Joe looked to steady the ship before Joe went LBW and Stevie went for his second quacker of the weekend! 10 runs in two balls by Stu reduced the deficit but Swifts bowled tightly and were still very much giving everything. Victory was secured when Flintoff came in and duly hit two lovely boundaries to send the watching masses into raptures!

A wonderful victory for the boys and tremendous sportsmanship shown by the swifts boys as always, as we all shared a beer, burger and a chat over all things cricket. A credit to their club on the day and we wish them all the very best with their title push.

As Satty distributed fines and the bubbly flowed for the WAGS, Joe was fined for allowing a fellow player to touch him ever so lovingly in the shower, Timmo was hauled before the committee for aggressively accosting the skipper whilst trying o get his drink mid-innings and a very smiley Stevie T was suitably fined for…………..better not say it on here…….the tree surgeon would be proud though!

Well done to all on a fantastic effort and a great day in the clubs history, making it three cup finals this season already!

Dave’s already ordered the ink boys…………bzzzzzzzzzzz!

Stu

The Originals enjoyed a double winning weekend with victory over league leaders Chesterton on Saturday, backed up by a Telegraph cup quarter-final win on Sunday at Westcott.

With rain predicted, the newly purchased cover sheet (JEWSONS!) for the occasion did it’s job in order for the Saturdays home game to take place, with the match reduced to 30 overs. Stu won the toss and inserted the opposition. Carlos and Stevie continued their recent excellent work up front with the ball, with the silver fox taking the first wicket to get the ball rolling, well taken by Jules who continues to rack up the fantasy points with his catching exploits this term……another big 50 points! With tight bowling throughout, including ‘spin & sing’ twins Joe & Satty and some good catching (and some unfortunate drops……….GRANT CROSS!), Marsh restricted Chesterton to 86-9.

Despite the mammoth quantity of team sweets on offer, rolled over from the last few weeks, the boys tucked into Mrs V’s delightful tea, with the samosas and spicy chicken a particular favourite…….whilst tales of Tommy Leonard’s exploits from the previous weekend were still lingering around with talk of possible disciplinary proceedings from the Marsh Gibbon Cricket Board (aka the chairman’s better half!).

Satty and Joe took to going about knocking them off, with the opposition clearly pumped up…..it was tough going for a while as the boys showed the great mental strength up top, and in Satty’s case a nasty hand injury to boot! Joe went for a battling 9 (sadly Tim wasn’t there to watch), before Sammy, with a really mature 11no and man of the match Satty (40) set up victory by 8 wickets with 3 overs to spare.

The pig was fed considerably with double fines carried over….Tommy obviously heavily fined for generally being an angry lightweight……nibble, along with Jules and new bloke Grantie for their afternoon juggling exploits……which Stevie carried on into the evening!

With a few hangovers from the village wedding and Needy refreshed from his Saturday evening of stimulating bath salts and candles, the boys were still reeling from Neil’s unreasonable request the previous evening……..clearly associating with Needham is no longer a viable option in such surroundings! Chips anyone?! Gibbon made the short trip down the A41 to Westcott for a big cup game……with 4 regulars unavailable, a youthful Gibbon side, with some exceptions of course looked to secure the clubs first semi-on for a good few years!

Having lost the toss, Marsh were inserted to bat, as the returning ‘captain of vice’ Matty joined Joe to open up, but when Joe went for a quacker to the first ball of the second over, it wasn’t the greatest of starts. With Matt watchful and looking to hit when the bad one came long, Sammy again showed a some good shot selection at the other end, before Matt was out for a battling 10 bringing Stu to the wicket. Sammy and Stu looked to rebuild, fresh with new willow, looking to bore the opposition to death, as much like the Fringford game, Gibbon backed their ability and give themselves a chance in the last 10 overs with wickets in hand. Stu went on to get 60, Stevie again produced a hard-hitting 33 and a valuable partnership between Crouchy and Tommy, which included some quick running, with the youngsters cardiovascular capacity returning following his recent disease! Gibbon were happy with their total of 176 against some tight and consistent bowling, before retiring for a nice tea in pleasant surroundings.

With the boys looking lively and a nice professional warm-up in the bag, Carlos and Stevie again toiled hard up top, running in hard, despite a great effort the previous day. Ex-Gibbon player Lewis Jeacock was first to go as Tommy took a good catch off Stevie to get the boys going. With a fast outfield and good batting wicket, things weren’t straightforward early on, especially with the fielding restrictions. Carlos picked up one and Steve three as Gibbon took control with some good ground fielding, especially from the ever impressive youngsters Will, Cameron and Luke who continue to do great things for the team, with their enthusiasm and skill in the field and with the bat when the chance arises. These guys really are the future of the club and it’s great to see this developing week on week, as well as their contribution to the clubs fantastic team spirit which continues to thrive.

Crouch again bowled well to take two wickets, along with Tom who produced a lovely two wicket spell which include a great catch from Luke who plucked a ‘worldy’ out the skies at mid-off. Joe, with his tweed suit on order finished the job by taking the last wicket to seal a semi-final date with Witney Swifts on Sunday 20th July. We must dig out those blazers for the occasion Satty??

A great effort by everyone this weekend to make it four wins in four and especially pleasing to see all the supporters there from the village backing the boys at home and on the road as we look to continue the excellent things happening in the club this term.

Away to Witney Swifts in the league this weekend on Saturday with 13 to pick from and competition for places hotting up…….let’s make sure we keep that shirt when given the opportunity boys!

Keep it going.
Stu

Marsh Gibbon Originals travelled to Fringford on Saturday looking for their second win in as many games. With the weather set fair and a strong team on the park, Stu won the toss and decided to make first use with the bat on what turned out to be a very good batting surface. Welcoming back Tom Leonard from his recent disease and youngster Cameron Wakelin into the team, the average age of the line-up decreased considerably, as Gibbon started watchfully with the opening pair of Sat and Joe making steady progress. When Joe went, Gibbon succombed to the recent trend of losing a wicket in quick succession to leave things looking a little shaky at 40-odd for 2. When Sam went for 4, it was down to Stu and Will to steady the ship, mindful of the fact that a good score was needed. The ‘quiet asassin’ Will batted superbly, nudging the ball around to manipulate the field, whilst hitting some lovely boundaries to show further his potential, while Stu looked to consolidate and hit at the right time, looking to give the hitters something to go at towards the last 10 overs of the innings. With plenty of encouragement from the travelling band, Will (35) batted with style to reach his top score for Marsh, which brought Steve to the wicket for a perfect cameo of power hitting with a quickfire 29, including one lovely maximum. Stu reached his 50, by no means his most fluid, as the consensus was that the old piece of willow was finally giving up the ghost…….Crouchy……get that bat for me boy! Gibbon punished the bad balls and scampered hard in the last 10 overs to reach a decent score of 198-8, much to the delight of the Gibboners who took full advantage of the convenient positioning of the pub!

After a nice tea, the cream horn a particular favourite, Gibbon smothered on the lotion and took to the field, knowing they had a decent total, but wary of the quality of the batting surface and of the oppositions top order. Fringford were well in control in the first 15 overs as anything off line was punished and chances were shelled! After the opener Reid reached 60 Gibbon finally got on the board as Joe took a superb catch off Crouchy, who came on and gave the innings some control. This really got the ball rolling as with 100 on the board with ten wickets remaining it looked ominous, however, Gibbon knew if they could break the top order and apply pressure, rewards might well come along…….and that they did! Satty was whirling away at one end, keeping it tight to build pressure and both Steve and Carl came on for second spells which turned the match back in their favour. With the ground fielding much improved and lines more in keeping with the captains field places, Gibbon regularly took wickets, but the second highlight (after Willo’s knock) of the day was yet to come. Cameron Wakelin produced a fantastic catch on the boundary off Steve to all but seal victory, sparking joyous scenes of celebration, as the team enjoyed the youngsters stunning effort…..another promising youngster from the youth development scheme! Sam dropped one and then took one in consecutive balls that sealed the victory for the Originals, with Fringford dismissed for 171. A great effort by the boys given the first 15 overs of the innings where the game looked to be slipping away anybodies.

With the supporters taking advantage of the refreshments, the boys had some catching up to do as they enjoyed a welcome pint at the Butchers Arms. No fines were administered sadly, as Sat had to leave, but there will be double next week for sure!! As the evening progressed and as Needham proceeded to sweat and attempt to devour 5 main courses at the Dog, the boys and wags steadily waded through a few well-deserved beers, before retiring to the chairmans for more fun and frolics! When it was suggested that table football and greygoose vodka would be a good combination for a drinking game, it was always going to be downhill from there……….as Tommy was last seen faceplanted on the bathroom floor as poor Mrs N was awoken by the sound of the youngster redecorating her lounge and sofa! Not hen! Perhaps it was a hangover from his recent condition or just the fact that he’s a massive lightweight, but it certainly didn’t work out too well for the boy who will be paying for that for the rest of the season!

A good win, against a good bunch of lads and a decent day for cricket, with the pub within stumbling distance!! What more can you ask more………..two wins this weekend would be nice!

Home on Saturday in the league against Chesterton and a big quarterfinal on Sunday in the Telegraph cup against Westcott…….rumour has it ‘the Oakapplers’ are already warming up their vocals for a comeback gig!

Well done boys!

Stu