A SUMMER FOR THE RECORD BOOKS?

FORGET IT!
he nights are drawing in and the SCC Cricket bag has taken up its somnolent winter quarters until next spring. The season is over and a pretty poor one its been. A tale of cancelled fixtures, disappointments and underachievement, as regular readers of this column will be aware. We did have a mini flurry of cricketing action in early September. On the 2nd of the month, Stansfield CC welcomed back the team from Suffolk CAMRA to compete for the Compasses Cup. Since its inception in 2009 the Cup, put up by Ron and Jacque at the pub, has been won exclusively by the home side. With the loss of several key players, could this be the year for CAMRA to strike back and snatch the trophy? For a change, the day was bright and rain-free. Unfortunately, but typically this season, of 25 players on the books invited to play, only 9 responded in the affirmative. Captain Simon Stone won the

Swashbuckler Sean
toss and decided to bat first, in a 32 over per-side game once the CAMRA boys had arrived from the pub! Stansfields opening was rather ponderous, with Chris Hopkins and Allan Brunning hitting just 15 runs in the first 7 overs, with Hopkins trapped leg before wicket off the last ball of the over. Worse, new batsman Nigel Proctor was out caught for no score in the next over: 17-2 (with only 9 to bat) and a quarter of the overs gone. Sean Spearman came to the crease and his swash-buckling, no-nonsense style brought some relief. Brunning was dismissed for 18 in the 13th over with the score on 33-3 and Tony Sheppard joined Spearman ~ just like old times! Sheppard made a bright 16 and at 76-4, out came skipper Simon Stone to lead from the front. Over the next 10 overs the momentum built up. Spearman sportingly retired undefeated on 71, to allow the lower order to have a bat. Meanwhile, Stone thwacked a very useful 35, including two 6s and four 4s, before being caught going for another boundary in the

Len Burrough Outstanding Bowling

penultimate over. The innings ended on 161-7 which, after the poor start, was a decent total but was it enough? Sarah Blows final cricket tea of the season was as sumptuous as ever, filling the visitors stomachs, with the cunning plan of slowing their running between the wickets. However, those visiting midriffs are used to coping with quantities of fine ales and so the delectable goodies did not seem to have the desired effect! Chris Hopkins bowling was economical but, unluckily, his labours were unrewarded 8 overs, 2 maidens, 0 wickets for 24 runs. Simon Stones opening overs were a little wayward, with his first 3 costing 28 runs, but he finished with 5 overs, 1 maiden, 1 wicket for 33 runs. Proctor, Savill and Sharp went for 32, 31 and 19 respectively, without capturing a single CAMRA scalp, but Len Burrough was the outstanding Stansfield bowler of the day 4 overs, 2 maidens, 2 wickets for 11 runs. CAMRAs batting star was undoubtedly Shaw. He punished the Stansfield attack, ending on 83 not out, though he must consider himself fortunate having been dropped no fewer than 6 times and surviving a very, very confident LBW appeal. But catches win matches and as they were not taken, the match was not won by Stansfield. CAMRA finished on 163-3, a win by 7 wickets with 10 balls to spare (though a closer match than the result would have us believe!). The victorious CAMRA captain was presented with the Compasses Cup for the first time by Stu Spearman, on behalf of the pub. Not a good day for Stansfield CC, but the silver lining was the enthusiasm and fine performance of three watching youngsters who came on to make up for the fielding

shortfall: Tony Sheppards son and daughter and another youthful Spearman. Wed like to see these three back at the Meadow next season to breathe new life into a flagging Club! The following week saw Stansfields final game of 2012, with a first-ever trip to Nacton on a warm and sunny day. Same old story though: 23 invited to play, 10 answered the call. Simon Stone won the toss and put Nacton in to bat, who hit 184 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 40 overs. Steady bowling by Chris Hopkins (10 overs, 1 wicket for 40), Simon Stone (10 overs, 1 wicket for 31), Max Merttens (10 overs, 3 wickets for 46) and Sam Blows (10 overs, 1 maiden, 2 wickets for 45). In reply, Stansfield made another fairly slow start 33 runs for the loss of Allan Brunnings wicket after 10 overs. It was apparent that Stansfields light batting line -up was not going to keep up with the run-rate, so sportingly the home side gave 8 of their side a chance to bowl and also loaned a player to bat for us. In the end, most Stansfield batters contributed to the total, with Max Merttens completing a good allround performance with SCCs top score of 26. And despite Sharps highest knock of the season (and several others too) 17, Stansfield were all out for 142 in the 39th over, a Nacton win by 42 runs. And so ends a flooded, frustrating, forgettable season. Played 6, Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 4, Cancelled 10 (plus defeat in an extra scratch fixture at Chippenham, for which SCC provided 5 players). Now its time to hibernate and to forget the past season, apart from a few brighter spots, and hope that interest and vigour returns for 2013. If not, it could be parlous times for Stansfield Cricket Club Robin Sharp

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