Holmbury St.Mary 249 for 5 (Pienaar 88 n.o) beat HOF's
107 all out.
Headley Old Freemen's went down to a sobering defeat on Saturday,
with a severely weakened team going down by a margin of 150 runs.
Playing the far from mighty Holmbury St.Mary, a village populated by South
Africans somewhere near Dorking, HOF's were lethargic in the field, and
allowed their opponents to reach 250 in 45 overs. Whilst this observer
didn't see all the first innings, it was agreed afterwards that by
dropping somewhere in the region of 8 catches, HOF's had allowed Holmbury
St.Mary to keep wickets in hand to launch a brutal assault in the last 15
overs, with several balls disappearing out of the park at the hands of the
Holmbury No.7 bat.
Headley's hopes of chasing rested with a decent start from star batsmen
Simon Camp and Mark Hopper, but both found the going tough against some
accurate and sharp bowling. Camp, who was hampered by a bicep
injury steered one straight to cover to continue a low run of scores, and
whilst Hopper looked in better touch he eventually played round a straight
one to leave HOF's on the edge. When No.3 Ian Mitchell departed cheaply
soon after, the game was up. HOF's succumbed meekly and the only bright
spot was a belligerent knock from young Mitch Pickering, who smashed the
Holmbury change bowling around with ease to make 36, before he too was out
just before the close. Apparently after the game Conan after seeing
somewhere in the region of 5 catches dropped off his bowling not only
threw all the toys out of the pram but also had the pram itself on the
floor with two wheels spinning furiously in the wind.
But it might be worth dwelling on the positives, of which there were,
surprisingly, a few.
1. The Hobbs forward defence. The surname is clearly no coincidence,
because the last man on the HOF batting line-up displayed a defensive
technique safer than... well, whatever the new safe thing is these days.
2. The pre-shot routine of Hodgkiss. Quite something this. It usually
starts with a left-arm only forward defensive: left elbow nice and high,
bat nice and straight; it then morphs into a laconic stroll to the crease,
and at all times maintains an air of 1950's opening batsmanship. It should
also be said that, more often than not, the end product is not far short
of the routine.
3. The bowling of Hodgkiss. Quite an improvement this week. 2 wickets and
it may have been more; a return to form would be a massive bonus for club
and village.
4. Mitch Pickering. Drafted in, one felt reluctantly, Pickering junior x 3
did not sulk, but top-scored with a very impressive 30-odd against a more
than useful bowling attack. Highlights being several classy cover drives
and a dismissal that was not induced by a wild mow.
5. The batting of Bridges. After bowling manfully for no reward (which was
a bitter pill given the chances on offer) the all-rounder donned the pads
and yet again produced an innings when his team needed it - at about 30
for 5 a truly
horrible result was looming. However, the Headley man's trademark wristy
drives, flicks and hits helped ensure HOF get over 100.
Almost feels like we won now...the return of several regular players
should see Headley more competitive in the coming weeks.
