London Erratics Cricket Club

Founded 1974 for recreation and refreshment

Saturday 10 September 2005
London Erratics v Kilndown & Lamberhurst
at Kilndown

Champagne cricket
LONDON ERRATICS — batting 4s  6s 
Head caught 3    
Rivington bowled 36 4   
Prasad caught 46 7  1 
Berrigan NOT OUT  52 4   
† Coetzer caught 26 5   
Long bowled 6    
* Andrews NOT OUT  1    
Hook    
Holder    
Langley    
Heller    
193 for 5 dec
Fall of wickets:  1–20, 2–80, 3–116, 4–158, 5–183
Our special correspondent writes:
This game was also the annual challenge between the villages’ cricket club and their President, Lord (Patrick) Mayhew, the former MP for this part of the Kentish Weald and lord of the manor: a rather feudal concept. Robert Waller therefore tries to raise the XI from a variety of different sources, including this year the Bank of England, Magdalen CC whose home ground is near Hampton Court, and Wallington Tudor from Surrey. However, London Erratics did prove to be the most enthusiastic and reliable recruits, and with five representatives from Balliol (Lord M’s old college) and seven who have already played for the Erratics this season, the team had a familiar air. Richard Heller and Mike Long were nobly flexible in their availability, and Brian Berrigan cancelled a business meeting; we should also remember and thank Chris Dunabin and Michael Evans, who kindly expressed a generous willingness to be reserves.
What is more, for the first time all of the eleven arrived in time for the excellent lunch (with a Chinese theme) created by the upwardly mobile Globe & Rainbow and sponsored, as were comestibles throughout, by Patrick. It became apparent that the villagers were weaker than in previous years, for example having only nine players. Although they had four Hammonds in the team, it is fair to say that none of them was a Wally. Our captain Peter Andrews therefore agreed that we should bat first. The batsmen did their job. Jim Head will be sorry that he did not contribute more than three runs to his aim of breaking the Erratics season’s record of 500 held by Nasir Khawaja, and that his average dipped below 100; but James Rivington’s fine 36 ensured that this year there will be no doubt that the match will be included in Erratics records. He was bowled after a very sound start had been established (80 for 2), but this allowed others to the crease, which was just right for the overall balance of the game; the same applied to Parag Prasad, who just missed a stylish fifty but maintained the progress (116 for 3).
This brought Ed Coetzer (Wallington Tudor and Magdalen CC, and wearing a Greenacre Girls School cricket shirt) to the crease, as he had cried off bowling due to a microscopic bruise on a very large arm. Ed told Brian, at the other end, that he would knock singles for Brian to have the strike, then proceeded to whack 24 of the next 26 runs. When Ed was caught off a skier, Mike and Brian raised the score to almost the level Peter had in mind as a target. When Brian hit a four that simultaneously brought up his fifty and again lost the ball in the undergrowth, Peter declared six minutes early. Lemma: a decision which was to prove superbly judged.
KILNDOWN — batting
1   c Coetzer b Hook 2
2   b Holder 21
3   b Langley 7
4   run out 18
5   c Long b Berrigan 42
6   b Head 21
7   lbw b Head 8
8   c Holder b Langley 3
9   not out
133 all out
Fall of wickets: 1–3, 2–20, 3–43, 4–84, 5–120, 6–120, 7–128

LONDON ERRATICS — bowling
Hook 6 2 13 1
Langley 9.1 3 13 2
Holder 5 1 10 1
Heller 5 0 28 0
Head 10 0 49 2
Berrigan 4 1 17 1
After a splendid tea (with a Mexican theme) at the pub, it was the turn of those who had not batted to fulfil their role. It was important that we smartly delivered twenty overs in the first hour, meaning that each side would have forty. Jon Hook (Magdalen CC) came with high recommendation, and he did not disappoint. Bowling left arm at a fair pace with lift, his stock delivery curved in through the air and nipped away off the pitch — unplayable for all but the first Hammond, who got an edge to the keeper. This was Ed C, who was chosen for three reasons: (a) although unable to bowl he can’t be kept out of a game; (b) so that, on the instructions of the scorer, he could intimidate the village by yelling in guttural and incomprehensible Afrikaans; and (c) to release Peter’s secret weapon from stumping duties.
With Richard Langley (Bank) bowling his deceptive late in-duckers and Eddie Holder (Magdalen CC) following with hostile right arm pace, Kilndown wickets fell regularly. Jon effected a run out with a direct hit. Peter kept the game alive and opposition interested by introducing the aforementioned secret weapon, Jim H, who provided the seven runs an over needed. The main resistance was offered by the Kilndown captain, but he was eventually caught by Mike off Brian, and Jim took two wickets to bring us within one of victory. Jon was brought back to finish the job, but had to be taken off after just one over because it was now too dark for this to be safe. Richard L replaced him at the pond end, and off the first ball of the very last over the last Kilndown bat skied him to Eddie H, who took the winning catch for the sixth Erratics victory of the season. If Peter had not declared those few minutes early, we would have run out of time.
If done properly, it is far harder to captain an Erratics-style match than a league game, where the sole end is to win. Things have to be managed so the time invested by all eleven players is justified. Ideally perhaps Jon and Eddie might have bowled a few more overs, but everybody contributed to the game, including vitally Peter with his captaincy, and he deserved to be presented afterwards with the champagne prize given to Robert the previous evening at Essex University for predicting the 2005 election result more accurately than any other psephologist.
After perfectly fine weather throughout at Kilndown, we returned to negotiate a London beset by flash floods. [RW]
Erratics won by 60 runs
2005 Season
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