Brightwell 154 AO, Mandarins 158-6. Mandarins won by 4 wickets.
The game against Brightwell-cum-Sotwell has always been one of my favourite games of the season. The location is deep in a lovely south Oxfordshire village, the ground is bucolic and beautiful, the oppo are a friendly bunch, and there is in the nearby Red Lion an excellent village pub.
The weather was glorious: warm and sunny. The Mandarins welcomed our nearest recruit, 8-year-old Aadi Kulkarni, of whom more anon. Inevitably, the Mandarin living closest to the ground was late (that's you Professor Heather), but we got the game started at 2.15pm, with Cap’n Hawkins deciding that Brightwell would bat. The pitch, frankly, looked damp, unsurprisingly after the ghastly spring. Following a tight first Eastaway over, The Demon Heard was brought on from the other end. First ball, a high beamer. Welcome to friendly cricket. Second ball (or 1st legit ball) smacked for 4. Third ball another full toss. No run. Fourth ball, yet another full toss, which batter Smith unaccountably hit straight to a fielder. New batter Webber defended ball five. Ball six swung in, pitched on leg stump and then seamed away horribly, hitting the top of off stump. A jaffa. Webber trudged away bemused, Brightwell 6-2 after two. Following a rescue stand of 29 between Hadland and Chandler, wickets again began to fall, despite a number of catches being “missed” by fielders standing 10 yards too close, three wickets falling with the score on 47. The Demon took three, Rob (who bowled beautifully) and Dan took two each. 8-year-old debutant Aadi was brought on. He bowled straight and with real conviction. His figures of 1-7 (clean bowled) were well deserved and could have been even better if we'd not dropped Moore (J). As the 9th wicket fell, Brightwell were perilously poised at 91-9, the ninth wicket falling to Jim of the Mystics. New change bowlers were brought on. Moore (J), making the most of his life and well supported by Windsor, led an attacking recovery, which was rather larger than we'd hoped. When Nikhil finally got a straight one thudding into Windsor’s pads, the 10th wicket partnership had put on 63, which is apparently the highest ever in the club. Not bad after 156 years of history. 154 all out looked like a decent score on a pitch which had offered help, especially to the seamers. Special mention should be made of Bob T, who kept wicket beautifully in difficult, variable bounce, conditions. That excellence was capped by a quick reflex stumping.
The Red Lion-provided tea was delicious, Jim of the Mystics being particularly appreciative of the vegetarian options – although much of his tea was wolfed by one of the local dogs (your own fault, Jim). Cap’n Hawkins, who gave a fine leadership display, asked Chris H and Dan to open, with some of us wondering whether this was going to be a difficult chase. After Dan perished with the score on 11, Kulkarni (N) joined Chris. There followed a top-quality stand of 99, with Nikhil playing beautifully off his legs, and Chris batting as only Chris can. When Nikhil perished for a fine 46, with the score on 110, much of the work had been done. Chris retired shortly afterwards, having reached (yet another) well-made 50. Despite some minor alarums as Hawkhead and Tivey perished cheaply, for 1 and 0, Rob and Aadi (who batted very straight and retired on 1 not out) held the line and, after Aadi’s retirement, Professor Peter arrived to join Rob for an entertaining stand. Although Rob fell shortly before the end, Cap’n Hawkins supported Peter as he continued his aggression, finishing the match with a 4 and huge 6. Special mention must also be made of Jim of the Mystics, umpiring in a remarkable singlet that showed off his impressive 25th wedding anniversary tat.
Another memorable and enjoyable Brightwell match, well worth my 150-mile round trip. I for one will be back in 2025.
Sirtone
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