Welcome to Marsh Gibbon Cricket Club

Despite battling hard, an understrength Originals were well beaten by Letcombe on Saturday. Firstly, thanks to Joe for reporting on the Oxford Caribbean game (good work lurchio) and secondly, apologies if the scores in the following report are a little vague as the OCA site is not available to refer too.

With six regular players out, Marsh were indepted to the very able replacements who came into the team and despite the absentees, we were hopeful of victory to ensure we had a relatively risk-free end to the season. With only two regular bowlers, Marsh decided to bat first and were soon on the back foot with some short-sharp bowling, combined with spin at the other end. Joey went first and Stu soon followed, out to a turning delivery as some of Marsh’s batsmen struggled to get momentum. Ollie on the other hand was in fine form again and stroked his way to a second successive half-century to give Marsh some hope. Nick Kiam continued to prove his worth with the bat, with a handy knock along with Carlos (aka Tyson), who had quite a funny little episode with their opening bowler, who offered to “see him after”. All very amusing and the culprit felt suitably embarrassed enough to apologise to our skipper, probably due to the fearsome reputation of the Gibbon leader! Apparantly, it was over something that was said after a delivery, but it has been suggested in the press it was instigated by comments made regarding Needhams dress-sense! Gibbon were all out for 140 and still felt in with a chance.

The best part of the day for most of us was Celia’s tea, one of the players favourite refreshment providers. Of particular note was the dazzling vctoria sponge which was granted the ‘cake of the season’ award so far, marked highly for the wonderful light and fluffiness of the sponge and the splendid sweetness of the icing. The benchmark has been set for all you ladies out there!!

Despite our best efforts, Letcombe knocked off the runs with relative ease as the lack of Gibbon fire power took its toll. The lads kept going and fought hard to make it difficult, but in truth we were fairly comfortably beaten.

With some results going against us, the Originals are now in clear and present danger of entering the relegation zone. That said, it appears still within our hands as we approach what is arguably one of the biggest games the club has had in recent years this Saturday away Watlington. The consequences for the loser of this tie don’t appear great at all!!

If ever there was a time for us to all pull together and put in a match-winning performance, it’s this coming Saturday. We can’t afford any excuses, we have got ourselves into the position and we can get ourselves out of it, but the proof will lie in what happens on the pitch! I know for certain all of us don’t want to be playing Div 3 cricket next year, so lets make sure we win Saturday and enjoy the remainder of the season.

Get yourself up for Saturday boys as you could be the matchwinner!!

Stu

Apologies for not getting around to reporting last weeks game against Broughton. Sadly, we came second!!

Marsh travelled (and got lost…..many times) to Hook Norton on Saturday, looking to get back on the winning ways. Hooky won the toss in bowler friendly conditions and were soon on the front foot, removing Ollie for the first of six ducks in the Gibbon innings!! Joe settled in and gave the inning some stability, batting patiently and punishing anything loose, which wasn’t much early on as the bowlers used the conditions well. Marsh were left reeling as the strong looking top order were was taken out, leaving Mathers and Joe to get us out of a hole…..and they did in majestic style! Matty survived a huge caught behind appeal, which he is adament he didn’t knick, which sadly resulted in some predictably childish behaviour from Hook Nortons wannabee captain, who continues to embarrass both himself and his teammates in our fixtures with them. Sadly for him, even his own team sportingly apologised for his continual playtime behaviour…..which from memory they’ve had to do each time we’ve played them….all very sad really! And so the game went on……Mathers stood firm to hit a wonderful 59 and Joe continued his march to beating Jamies club run record with a stylish 69.

After tea (and some lovely chicken tikka sandwiches), Marsh took to the field with both Wayne and Stevie fired up to do some damage to the top order. Wayne produced a great spell of pace and aggression to return figures of 3-22. Taking out the dangerous Riley after a running mix-up, was a big boost for Gibbon as the top order was despatched in fine style, with one particularly pleasing LBW decision from our newly adopted Yorkshireman!

Hookys middle order ensured this would go to the wire and Grant and Mathers continued the good work, backed up by a great catch by our specialist fielder, young Ryan Callow. With some good death bowling to take the game to the last over, with Hooky needing 10 from Mattys seamers. Sadly, the number 10 hit one towards the long on boundary to the usual safe hands of Wayne who didn’t manage to hold onto it and Hooky scrambled home with a ball to spare.

Three defeats on the bounce and with the teams below us winning this weekend, we’re being pulled into the relegation dogfight. But with the league as tight as it is, with a run of wins, we can get back up there again. Next weeks game at home to Oxford Caribbean is massive if we’re to get ourselves back up the table and each and every one of us needs to be up for it and ready to give our all for the team!

Heads up, lets get back on track next week……….and gentlemen remember this, it could be worse……at least your own team aren’t calling you a k**b!!

The cricketing musings of Stuart Leonard esq!

The Originals were left gutted after snatching defeat from the jaws of victory on Saturday against Faringdon. Marsh were full of hope after the Charlbury victory and were even happier having won the toss and bowling first on a very green wicket, which soon started to misbehave dramatically when the ball hit the right areas.

Stevie T (12-6-21-0) produced an excellent spell, with no reward for his control and skill, whilst Crouchy bowled well in patches to keep the score down after Faringdon got off to a reasonable start. Tim Thurston played the conditions well for Faringdon to anchor the innings before they looked to push on having kept wickets in hand. Crossy got four wickets from his 10 overs, but Marsh didn’t ever quite gain that control over the opposition with too many four balls for their batsmen to have a go at, as has been the case recently. Despite the pitch conditions, Marsh were delighted to keep Faringdon down to 188 off their 45 overs and looked forward to chasing them down, which we had done in all our victories so far this campaign.

After tea in the sun, Ollie and Joe got us off to a nice steady start, taking the sting out of Faringdons opening attack and setting their usual good platform for the innings. Ollie went for 15, whilst Joe maintained his excellent form this term with a solid 30, whilst supporting the destructive Wilbur. As the players each took turns to try out the now famous “fishing chair” (although I don’t think it will be long before Crouch brings one!), Marsh’s powerhouse smashed the bowling attack around on the way to an impressive 54, giving Marsh an excellent chance of victory. With 20 overs left, the required rate was around 4rpo, so it was well within reach with men in the hutch. With last weeks lower order collapse in mind, Stu, Shippo and Mathers played very carefully to not give their wickets away to see the team home. Marsh failed at this point to get to grips with the Faringdon slow bowlers and the scoring rate notched up a little but it was well within distance, however, in hindsight, we/I needed to push the ball around more and not let them settle into a rhythm, but with the thought that one big over would come as per the previous week, it still felt very much in control! This left us needing about 15 from the last two overs and when this only went for one run as Stu swiped and missed spectacularly!, this left Mathers with the difficult task in the last over and Marsh fell 7 runs short, leaving the batsmen dejected and the awaiting team not looking too impressed!!

A bad defeat, which we know we should have won, but we have to move on from this and get ourselves back up the league as its still wide open and we have shown we can the best teams if we apply ourselves! Although more of us (myself mainly!) take the blame more than others for this defeat, we should remember that we win as a team, but we also lose as a team….there are any number of incidents during a game which could have tipped it our way and saved those all important seven runs….a few less four balls, some better fielding….better running…..getting to the stumps for a run-out. This is in no way dismissing the error of judgement made in the middle overs by our batsmen or excusing it, but we need to remember that if you bowl on the stumps consistently, then its a lot harder for batsmen to score, regardless on the potency of the bowling! Its done in the middle, not on the sidelines or in the bar!

Anyway, after the disappointment we did have some fun with fines after Kim was very loose about some of Stu’s bedtime routines, Carlos was found guilty of simulation of an explicit act with a cuddly rabbit in front of young children and Wilbur was harshly judged on his Val Doonican jumper!

Onwards and upwards next Sat at home to Broughton.

Stu

Marsh scraped to a deserved win against high-fliers Charlbury on a splendid day in a lovely setting. Marsh were looking forward to playing in front of a few people with the beer and food festival next door and having won the toss, we got off to a flier with Carlos and Wayne bowling with great skill and control to keep the home sides batsmen firmly under pressure. At 32-5 marsh were very happy with there work and with the music going, it was a carnival atmosphere!!

As Abba powered out from the beer tent, Marsh entered into the spirit as Satty busted some killer moves in the slips and Frankie had a little sing-a-long down at fine leg!! Runs were difficult to come by, as Marsh learn’t some of the lessons of last week by throwing themselves around and making Charlbury work for every run. With some decent hitting Charlbury got up to 168-8, which despite our excellent start, we would have been very happy with at the start of the day on a good wicket with a very fast outfield. Wayne (12-7-13-2) and Carlos (12-5-30-3) were the pick of the bowlers and really destroyed the top order to put Marsh in charge.

Marsh settled in for spot of nosh as the beer continued to flow, with Tacky longily looking on dreaming of that first pint! Olly and Joe got us off to a great start, working to ball around well and punished anything loose. This gave us a platform on which to build and with batting to come, Marsh felt very much in control as the players took a rather “windy” stroll around the field, stopping off along the way to admire the “scenery” and a very curious incident in the cornfield, behind what has now been christened “Crossys hedge”!!

With Olly (39) and Joe (38) it was now down to the rest of the strong batting line-up to see us home, but in true Marsh fashion, we didn’t make it an easy ride!! After a couple of quick wickets and some good spin bowling, Marsh played carefully knowing that one big over would come along at some point….and that it did! Stu (40) hit 18 from one over and Crossy a mighty maximum to leave Marsh only eight from victory, but three quick wickets sent Marsh reeling and it was down to the experienced Tacky and Carlos to see us home, which the skipper did with a couple of much needed boundaries. We breathed a huge sigh of relief as we finally gained victory as silence descended on the home crowd!

We did our best to blow it, but we managed to get home for a pleasing victory against one of the top teams. With the business now done, we were now looking to enjoy the festivities next door and having dispensed some massive fines with what can only be described as “graphic” scenes against a fence going on behind us, it was time to get involved! All we now needed was John Nettles and Sergeant Jones to appear and the day would have been like a scene from Midsomer Murders!! (Always been a big fan of Jones, i’ve always felt he added an extra dimension to the role, much to Tackys disbelief, having always been an admirer of Sergeant Troy….this could be a big talking point over the coming weeks!).

Having failed in their hunt for scoff, Marsh didn’t let that worry them too much as the lads stoved into the beer and enjoyed the very “free” entertainment (I think you all know what I mean boys!). Luckily, Will came prepared with his line-dancing outfit, so he fitted in perfectly! It was then back to the Dog to enjoy our victory and the party advanced into the early hours, resulting in Freddie and Tacky laying on a Yoga masterclass in the bar…….top lunges Tack! Having woken up Mrs Flonners (sorry Vics), the boys went off into the night having had a great day! Great setting, beer festival, splendid facilities, two good sets of players, some fine fillies and most importantly……a win for the Gibbon.

Well done lads. Come on, lets get a run going!!

Stu

The Originals got back into their stride following a lacklustre display at Letcombe with a fine win on Saturday against Watlington.

After a very forthright (and warranted) address from the skipper, who announced his intentions to either bat or………..bowl if he won the toss (!!), Marsh were asked to bowl first in glorious (yet boiling) cricket conditions. Despite the weather and the excellent track produced by our fine team of groundsmen, there was still something in it for the seamers with the ball swinging around from ball one! Stevie and Carlos (with a very economical 1-19 off 9) got us off to a good start removing the opening pair, before Chris Allen (84) started to punish anything loose, making a high total a distinct possibility. Marsh’s bowlers did an excellent job in pegging Watlington back, with Stevie (3-64) and Olly (4-37) the main contributors to the wicket column as Marsh dismissed the visitors for 205, which Marsh were confident of chasing down given the quality of the batting line-up and the deck.

A wonderful tea was devoured courtesy of my dearly beloved (“lovely melons” S.Turner, 2010), with another fine selection of savouries, which in my opinion has been a strength of the ladies performances so far this season!! ” Are the teas always like this?”, asked the umpire, whilst the other complained “the plates aren’t big enough!”, which really is a indictment of the quality of refreshments our valued ladies provide. We have a lot to live up to in the cricketing stakes as we are surely nearing the upper echelons of the official ICC tea rankings!!

Despite losing five players from the previous week, Gibbon went into bat with the belief they could win, which was immediately evident by the positive strokes Joe played at the top of the innings. Adam went early and we wondered whether a wobble was on the cards, but it was a day for the youngsters to lead the way and show us how it’s done! Joe and Will put on a magical 150-odd partnership for the second wicket, with some fantastic batting, illustrating both the touch and power either side of the wicket. Both Joe and Will played with a maturity belying their years, which was a pleasure to watch, giving a demonstration to all of us on how to construct and execute an innings. Despite losing Joe (71) and Will (77), Marsh moved to victory following a useful knock by Jules (16), Ollie (14no) and Matt (8no).

A good win with the youngsters leading the way, which takes us into an important few weeks with three away fixtures against three of the leading sides, starting with Minster Lovell this Saturday.

The pig was suitably fed with a diverse range of fines dispensed by our stand-in fines master (Joe). Notably, Stu for crying and leaving the field after being hit on the knee, Stevie for his comments on the tea ladies melons and a curious incident involving certain players and an egg sandwich in the changing rooms!!

We look forward to next weeks game at Minster.

Stu

Marsh firsts bowed out of the Airey cup with a battling display in a low-scoring rain affected encounter with Division 1 outfit Horley. As the rain came on the morning of the game, the hallowed turf was covered early enough in order to get the game on, albeit a little later than normal, with the toss crucial in such circumstances.

Marsh were inserted on a good wicket in perfect bowling conditions, in which the visitors took full advantage, as Marsh lost both Joe and Jules without troubling the scorers. Horleys opening attack used the conditions appropriately and they caught well, ripping through Marsh’s top order with only a couple on the board! Stu, Sat and Carl steadied the ship a little, but batsmen came and went as Marsh were tumbled out for 76. Despite the low-score, Marsh were lively and aggressive both in the field as Wayne and Stanners really made life difficult for Horleys openers, as the aroma of Mrs V’s samosas wafted across the field. Wayne took the first wicket early as Marsh sensed they could put some pressure on the visitors before the tea break.

Mrs Vadivale served up a splendid tea. Goes without saying that the samosas were as wonderful as ever, but the chicken tikka rolls were an added bonus, of which I was particularly partial! The cry for more of the same was issued as Marsh looked to make the game interesting, with Stanley and Wayne picking up where they left off. Marsh failed to follow the visitors lead as they spilled four or five catching chances to really blow the game apart, as the rain came down hard resulting in a lengthy rain break.

As the effects of the samosas began to take hold of the slip corden, so did Horleys hold over the game as they began to score with a little more regularity as the winning line approached. Stevie T bowled a nice little spell taking a wicket with a leg-side stumping, as cries of “Lewey, Lewey” were heard from the fielders. Horley reached the target for the loss of three for a deserved victory overall.

Despite the defeat, there are a lot of positives to take from this game, although we perhaps need to cope better when batting in adverse conditions. With a little more killer instinct at certain times, this game could have gone to the wire, despite such a low score on the board. It just goes to show there are such narrow margins in games and we can compete with anybody, regardless of their division. If we play hard every week, we won’t be far off where we want to be, if we get the scores on the board we are capable of.

As the month of May has passed, it’s now time to get the season going and convert our good work to league points. Division 2 is wide open and everybody can beat everybody it seems, so its time to get a good little run together and get ourselves well positioned!

We travel to Oxford Caribbean on Saturday, so get yourselves up for it lads as competition for places is starting to hot-up!

Stu

Not much to report on this as Marsh put on a thoroughly underpar display in all departments on route to a heavy defeat to Broughton.

No performances to write home about i’m afraid and we recieved a well-deserved dressing down from the skipper, so lets put it to bed and move onto the next one and put it right. One positive note on a day I don’t think any of us enjoyed (I choose my words carefully!), was the introduction of a new member (Olly) to the club. Welcome along Olly!

Enjoy the weekend off and lets get back on track next Saturday.

Stuart