April 17th Upton Away

Upton 220 odd for 5, Irby 69-9 Match Drawn


We won the toss, Upton 4's were relegated last year, so a result from this game would always be a promising start They scored steadily and we bowled well, our fielding being very promising. Ben Fischer was hit just above the eye at slips and went off to jump the queue at Arrowe just further proving it's who you know not what you know, returning in about 40 minutes flat. Whenever I've been in there I've needed a camp bed and a sleeping bag!

Upton batted 45 overs, posted a total which we would struggle to achieve in most circumstances, meaning that by the time I got in at number 6, we were 4 down at the score only 19. Bill was then out to a great leg side catch, leaving James Geen and I to bat 20 overs to steady it up a little, James scored an excellent 27 and me a rather stoic 12. Andy Jones and Paul Ehlan saw out the final 5 overs valiantly to eek out a draw. Only 5 points but we're unbeaten.

Lessons to be learned:

1. Although Kevin Pietersen et al own the ability to get after a score from ball 1, almost all of us do not share that ability. Youngsters, you need to learn to build an innings. Don't wait until you're Bill's and my age to master the forward defensive because you wait a full week between innings if you score a good 4 and then get out charging the spinner.

2. Despite how opposition captain's position it, it is not our obligation to present our wicket to the opposition, it is their obligation after posting a score, to either bowl us out or chase down what we post. We need to learn to value our wickets.

DN200410

April 24th Chester 4's at Home

Irby awarded the game and 25pts, Chester unable to muster a side.
 

DN260410

May 1st Oxton 3's Away 255-5, 100-6 Match Drawn

Oxton also came down from the division above last year and we welcome short trips across the Wirral so were very happy to see them, that is until they hit (and lost) 8 balls in the gardens of the surrounding houses. Bowling short to good batsmen on wet pitches is folly. Parky did excellently from one end though, bowling a tight 12 overs until a muscle tear curtailed his efforts. They posted 255 off 36, with 2 lads scoring big half centuries. To be fair our bowling was stunted by James' injury and losing 3 bowlers to the 3's. Fielding was good again and Connor a stand out performer in the field along with Chris Ehlan who made his debut, this lad will go far - he bowled well and got out to a good ball and was as peeved about his shot selection as Steve Hurworth would be in the same situation.

We responded by batting without brains, I'm sorry fellas but there it is. Bill batted for 53 overs for a solid 27, I batted 30 overs for a slightly disappointing 25 (disappointing because my few 4's came from leg side pulls to the longer boundary). Dave Burrows also stuck around for a good while. Oxton put on poorer bowlers to tempt us but whilst a couple of our younger team mates commented about not being able to shackle themselves for long periods in order to build an innings, as Andy Jones said in reply, do you find it less boring sitting and watching the remainder of the game from the pavilion? We saved the game, yes we didn't score 200 or chase down Oxton's total but they are a genuine 3rd team, we're a genuine 4's, our objective is to give the younger cricketers an introduction to the game, more importantly to the spirit of the game and teach them how to love it. But we need to learn the basics too.


Lessons to be Learned:

1. See 1 above
2. See 2 above
3. Understanding the game and it's current state. If you're in the dressing room between innings and you're looking at a score of 257 to chase and your team didn't score over 130 in all of last season, whilst it's a good mind set to think about winning, working out that we need to score about 5 an over, should give you an idea of how to construct your innings. Going in and chucking your bat around from the off like a cricketing Errol Flynn is unlikely to win you many games, future 1st names on the teamsheet or any runs. You can say what you like about Bill and my circumspect contemplation at the wicket but we got full value for our £7 today. Some of you are very talented cricketers and we can all get out to good balls but a match is not a net and getting out for under 10 is not what you might call an achievement, even at 4th team level.
4. If the pitch is damp or wet, you cannot bowl the same length as you would if it is bone dry. If you pitch it short of a length on a wet track, it sits up and says 'slap me.' We need the think about this the first time the ball disappears over the boundary rope and not at the end of the 7 over spell.
5. Think about the game from the outset, yes get a lead from your Capt or Vice Capt but it's your responsibility to understand where a game is at from a scoring perspective. For example if you have 40 overs to get 120 runs, we can all see that's 3 runs an over so why feel the need to score 10 from each of the overs? If you score a 4 1st ball, think about what you're doing, don't be chasing wide ones, playing against the spin  or hitting across the line in the rest of the over. Bob Woolmer once said he'd rather pick 11 intelligent cricketers than 11 talented ones, let's think about what we're trying to achieve.

DN020510

May 8 Birkenhead Park 4's Home Park 233 for 7, Irby 112-5 Match Drawn

Park are much improved - the last few years they put out sides we should regularly beat but this year only 2 or 3 remain, good young bowlers and some good young and experienced batsmen too. They posted 233, we fielded magnificently though and Chris Davidson was a stand out performer with the ball. Ryan and Connor found their own pace their downfall as clever experienced batsmen opened the face of the bat and steered the ball away.

This was one of the stronger sides we've put out in recent seasons, Mahi opened, Chris Davidson was down at 10 and Andy Leigh at 7 as well as Ryan in there too. We only had 4 bowlers and for the 3rd time this season, no slower bowler, so everyone had to work hard

We opened well enough but Bill was deceived leaving a ball that came back in 6 inches and removed the off bail, a very good ball all in all. Ryan struggled and we were 15-2. Dave Burrows did well with Mahi to take the score onto 50 before we lost Dave, Ben and then Mahi in relatively quick succession. Andy Leigh and I put on 60 for the 7th wicket and saved the game. Andy scored an excellent 38 no and I scraped a mind numbing 7 no from 29 overs. Even I'm embarrassed about how slow it was. The thing is that's the 3rd time I gone in at 6 this season and in each instance, we've been fighting a rear guard action.

So what do we learn:

1. I'm not a very good cricketer, I wish I was better, I wish I'd have played the 20 years from 15 to 35 and not taken up the world renowned sport of Olympic Drinking, but I do know how to judge the state of the game, I do know how important keeping my wicket intact is (cos Andy Hurworth drums it into me every time I see him). 7no isn't great but I enjoyed every minute and every ball. They didn't put rubbish bowlers on like Oxton, so I got to bat against some of their best youngsters. When you have someone like Andy Leigh batting and scoring at the other end, you don't need to score a lot, you need to support him.
2. Cricket is a thinking man's game. If you get to the ground and you're a bowler, have a look at the pitch. If it's bone dry, the batsman might not enjoy it whizzing past his nose. But if it's wet, he'll love it. Equally if it's wet, he's going to have to generate his own power to drive it, so don't give him any width.
3. On the plus side, our fielding was magnificent, as good as anything I've seen as 4th team skipper, strong catching, excellent full length stops in the field.
4. You get one innings a week as a batsman and believe me the years fly by, soon you have more innings behind you than you do in front, it happens to every single one of us. I know this sounds like the ravings of an old man but it'll happen to you unless global warming turns Irby into a desert first.

When you go into bat, have a look at the bowlers, bide your time, playing yourself in, build your innings. Don't give your wicket away. If you don't know how to build an innings, ask Steve or Andy Hurworth, the Newmans or Gareth Lea. Don't see the old fella bowling big dollies above your eyeline as cannon fodder, that's the reason you're in the 4's, you're either learning your trade on the way up or like some of us, never picked up the technique in the first place. If you try and hit a straight one across the line, he will bowl you eventually!
5. Still unbeaten 4 games in, the only team in the club to be so, be proud of it. Warrington next.

DN100510
 

15th May vs Warrington 4's at Home - Lost

Warrington 155ao
Irby 113ao

Warrington win by 42 runs.

If you read a match report which said as it's headline, 4 LBW's, 3 of which were given with the batsman playing across the line, 2 caught behinds playing across the line early in their innings and a premeditated defence that waited for the ball before nicking off, what would you say, would you chuckle in disbelief perhaps?

Warrington were 125-3 at drinks and laughing about how easy it was as we'd put down 6 catches. The big C in Cricket came and bit them on the bum as they struggled to 155ao. Chris Davidson and Andy Leigh bowled long and well, the latter taking 4 wickets. Ben took 2 good catches and Chris Ehlan proved his worth as a fielder.

We responded badly, losing Bill and Chris D in swift succession. Andy Leigh dug in again, scoring a resolute 29. Chris Ehlan tried to sweep a straight one, Ben nicked off to the spinner, Mahi was lbw too. Andy and I put on a reasonable partnership for 20 overs before I too fell lbw.

Very frustrating and still making the same collective mistakes as in games 1, 2 & 3.

3 new players for the 22nd, lets see if we can't get that elusive win!