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| 1981 |
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Played 15: Won 5, Lost 3, Drawn 5, Abandoned 2.
Saturday May 2 v Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester - Drawn
The RAC had completed their victory in 1980 with an undefeated partnership of 61 for the last wicket and continued in 1981 with an opening partnership of 104. The openers, Gadsby and Carwood, took some time to adjust but then began to dominate. Garrett eventually bowled Carwood the unplayable delivery and ultimately Dudley's canny length and deceptive run up paid dividends. Rowe was clearly concerned that his talents as a left arm slow bowler were still not fully appreciated and when he eventually came on he was determined to set the record straight. As his arm got lower and lower, so he tossed the ball higher and higher, and the batsman became more and more confused by its trajectory. The last seven wickets fell for only 27 runs. Our early batting was as inept as you could wish to see with several batsmen, who had better remain nameless, playing early season shots which have only been matched since by England in the second innings at Calcutta. Only battling Gay (28) played with any resolution at all. However, the match drifted to a draw as our efforts were devoted solely to saving the game. Saturday May 9 v Oxford University Authentics at Oxford - Drawn Garrett and Andrew Wilson opened the bowling and Wilson, particularly, with his contorted run up and delivery soon had the 'Tics batsmen wondering whether he was bowling from behind his head. They had clearly not faced such a strong attack before and their fragile confidence was shattered by the appearance of Rowe as first change. Obviously bowling from memory, Rowe managed 19 overs and did not concede many runs. The 'Tics struggled to their total in 52 overs. Our first five batsmen played as ineptly as the week before and five wickets were down for 39 before Donald joined Garrett. Playing with gusto and yet grace, and above all consummate power and timing in a desperate and all consuming passion to see the team through to the victory so dearly sought, they smote the ball over the field in a manner reminiscent of the great last wicket partnership between Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson in the World Cup against the West Indies. Boundary followed boundary until Donald was bowled by the unstoppable one and then Garrett saw us through to a well earned draw. Sunday May 31 - Cricketer Cup first round v Old Wellingtonians at Wellington - Lost by 2 wickets Another exit in the first round and we have only ourselves to blame. It seems extraordinary that we should enter a match of such importance with a lack of proper organisation, with at least three people selected on the very eve of the match because first choice players were not available to play. Let us hope that in future people are given proper notice of their selection and ensure that they are free on the dates of the Cricketer Cup rounds. Despite our self inflicted troubles we came very close to beating the 1980 losing finalists. The start was delayed because of overnight rain and the match reduced to 47 overs. We won the toss and Garforth-Bles and Lough made a steady start before Lough was caught. Donald was bowled without scoring and thereafter only Rob Symondson (14) showed any application. When Garforth-Bles was out at 62 the innings folded in a flurry of ineptitude. By the time Wellington batted the wicket was drying and was ideal for the seamers who should have been playing. As it was, Knight, Blackburn and Andrew Wingfield Digby bowled admirably and with splendid catching all round Wellington were reduced to 35-7. Then Wilson came in and struck a quick 26, but when he was out at 66 we should still have won if we had had a full complement of bowlers. But Edwards showed just the concentration and judgement which our batsmen had lacked and saw Wellington through to victory. What a wasted opportunity. Sunday June 21 v Radley Rangers at Radley - Won by 4 wickets A perfect day's cricket was enhanced by the return from faraway places of that prodigal son of the soil Richard Gould who soon reverted to his former ways chatting loudly to anyone within earshot. His presence in the team lent solidity, experience and above all class to our performance to see us through to a great victory. It was a good batting wicket and Knight did exceptionally well to remove their two openers for only 39. Thereafter Croft and Reed put on 128 for the third wicket and showed just what a good pitch it was. But we never flagged and our bowling remained tight and persistent, our fielding sharp and athletic as we battled away with typical grit and application. Eventually Gould removed both Croft and Reed and when they declared Radley had been restricted to only four runs an over. A rather challenging target but we were equal to it and after a steady opening partnership of 49 between Rowe and Leakey, Donald and Lyons began stroking the ball all round the ground with consummate ease and grace. Both scored at a run a minute and when they were out Gent and his former protégé Lough continued this rate of progress and we beat Radley yet again. Saturday July 11 v The School at Sherborne - Won by 4 wickets The School made a good and steady start and neither of our typically hostile pace attack of Wilson and Blackburn could make any headway on the usually placid Upper wicket. It took a monster ball from our occasional all rounder Donald to break the partnership at 92 just before lunch. Though lunch was taken at 105-1 the School failed to capitalise on this score afterwards and dawdled about in the afternoon until they were really obliged to declare because of the lateness of the hour, we having bowled 61 overs. Gent and Leakey put on 93 for the first wicket and from this excellent platform we were able to launch our bid for victory. One must marvel at the continuingly spritely Gent whose dedication and wonderful stroke play lit up the evening. Donald struck a brisk 47 and, despite losing three quick wickets in the 160's, the target was always within our reach and we used only 44 overs in attaining it. Sunday July 12 v Marlborough Blues at Marlborough - Won by 141 runs If ever there was a beating this was it and manager Lough must have regretted that his duty to Queen and country had closeted him in camp on Dartmoor. To defeat the 1980 winners of the Cricketer Cup by such a margin was magical indeed. Some cricket correspondents have said that Gooch's century at Lord's was the finest since the War. Few, having seen Donald's majestic effort, would agree. In truth it was not his finest innings with several unforced errors but it was a delight to watch the Marlburians chasing down the hill to recover yet another boundary. Blackburn lent valuable support in a fourth wicket partnership of 133 and we needed only 45 overs to reach our total. Mere words cannot convey the full extent of the rout which followed; the terror caused by Stebbings' pace was tangible. Some statistics may help: Stebbings bowled five consecutive maidens, the first three wicket maidens. Marlborough batsmen two to five all scored ducks, all bowled or caught behind the wicket off Stebbings. With Donald removing Frome who had sensibly stayed at the other end Marlborough descended to 14-5 and then 23-6. Then Stebbings tired and relaxed a fraction and Hall and Hawksfield put on 73 for the seventh wicket. Marlborough at last showed a little fight and were within ten minutes of salvaging a draw before we finally managed to wrap up the tail. Saturday July 18 v Honourable Artillery Company at Sherborne - Drawn Once again we had the better of the HAC, although this time we just failed to clinch victory. Our dynamic opening pair Bulford and Leakey put on 52 for the first wicket and encountered little difficulty until Leakey was bowled and Nick Isaac, making a welcome return to Pilgrims cricket, similarly failed to spot the straight one. Thereafter Rowe took command and stroked his way imperiously to a big score, but he was toppled by renegade Dudley, yet again playing for the opposition, before he could reach his century. Dudley caused considerable embarrassment to the other Pilgrims batsmen. The HAC were soon in trouble against our tenacious attack and quickly descended to 68-6. But then Evelegh and Fletcher realised that survival on the Upper wicket was not so much a problem as their colleagues had thought and put on 59 for the seventh wicket. Although they made very heavy weather of saving the game - they took 51 overs to amass 128 - save it they did. Sunday July 19 v Sherborne Town at Sherborne - Won by 5 wickets How sweet a victory over the Town and we owed it all to the marvellously subtle tactics of Dudley who had been vilified only the day before. The Town opened steadily as usual and put on 59 for the first wicket and then after the second wicket fell at 89, five wickets fell for only 34 and the middle order was ripped apart by Lyons. Spiller was out to an astonishingly brilliant catch by Rory Powe which was worth the entrance fee on its own, and after he went the Town's energies were devoted to survival. The target was fair, although not generous, but Leakey and Isaac immediately put us firmly in the hunt with an opening partnership of 87, just the right mixture of caution and aggression. Then Powe and Saunders (22) carried on the good work. Powe dominated proceedings but Saunders with that lazy grace which sometimes supplants the hangover was equal to him, stepping back, on one memorable occasion, to drive Reg Hayward over extra cover in a manner reminiscent of the great Viv Richards. For all their experience and discipline the Town could not stem the flow and we won a famous victory. Monday July 20 v Somerset Stragglers at Sherborne - Drawn Another excellent game and a close one. The Stragglers started shakily against Redfern and Garrett and lost two wickets for 32. But they fought back strongly, lunching at 150-2. However, the ever wily Gent destroyed their middle order and, in the process, dismissed Hugh Walker who was unsportingly playing for the opposition. This continued poaching of our finest talent must stop. The Stragglers lost their last five wickets for only 25 so the target was certainly attainable. We did not start very well losing our openers for 21 and our first four wickets for 89, but what an innings there was from Powe. Singlehanded he pushed us back into the reckoning, keeping the score going, smashing the odd imperious boundary. Admirably assisted by Mason, Gent and Wilson, he pushed us onto the path to victory, but we fell a little short. Tuesday July 21 v Dorset Rangers at Sherborne - Won by 16 runs After a late start Rowe bustled into action with a brisk 46 out of 66 for the first wicket. Lyons took his place and with that immaculate straight bat but inimitable timing he soon worked the Rangers bowlers over. Though our middle order did not perform very well, Powe continued his form from the Stragglers game to help us reach a reasonable total for declaration. The Rangers made a good start putting on 69 for the first wicket. But soon Saunders, doctor, gourmet and occasional spinner, began to weave his magic spell over their batsmen. Such was his mastery of flight and length that they found themselves thrashing at air. They came down the wicket to hit the juicy half volley and found the ball in Powe's gloves with the bails off. They were mystified, stumped in all senses of the word - three stumpings in all were the measure of Saunders' craft and of Powe's sleight of hand. Yet they came close and deserved to be beaten by only a narrow margin. Wednesday July 22 v Old Cliftonians at Sherborne - Abandoned Sunday July 26 v Old Tonbridgians at Tonbridge - Lost by 98 runs Another disappointing performance against the Old Tonbridgians which was especially sad after we had bowled and fielded very well to restrict them to only 200. The persistently excellent medium pace bowling of Garrett, Rory Powe and Dudley prevented any of the OT batsmen from settling, and brilliant catching all round the wicket ensured that the pressure remained on them constantly. They took nearly 59 overs to amass 200. Our batting was a disaster with Ellison smashing any pretensions we may have had to reach this modest target. Only Saunders revealed any of the characteristics normally associated with batsmanship as he struggled to restrain his natural aggression to build an innings from which to launch a bid for victory. But partners came and went and none stayed with him. Eventually Saunders was overcome and with him our hopes of respectability. Saturday August 1 v Hampshire Hogs at Warnford - Drawn A remarkable game in several ways. The start was delayed because of rain. When we eventually began it appeared the Hogs had invented a local rule whereby they were allowed to hit the ball on to the wet part of the square but we weren't allowed to field it. Hence the Hogs amassed a large number of singles and our whole approach to fielding became inevitably lackadaisical. When we came to bat we adopted different reasoning and declined to run singles where the fielders could not field. In truth we were half asleep for most of the match and three of our first four wickets to fall were run outs resulting from the batsmen believing they could reach safety by jogging down the pitch at quarter pace. Only Brearley and Proctor showed any gumption at all and Brearley, particularly, took the whole responsibility of making it a game upon himself. While he was still in there was a chance of victory, but once he had gone our only purpose was to avoid defeat. Saturday August 8 v Bluemantles at Tunbridge Wells - Lost by 5 wickets After the openers had both gone cheaply, Proctor and Saunders slowly began to dominate the excellent Bluemantles seam attack. The robust Proctor at one end and the elegant Saunders at the other set about themselves marvellously to the delight of those watching. We particularly remember Saunders hitting the ball out of the ground over mid wicket, being hit on the head by the next ball and, showing the grit of all true Pilgrims, hitting the third ball out of the ground again! What a joy it was and what a pity when the last five batsmen managed only 21 between them and we failed to score enough. Alas, our attack lacked its usual penetration and bite and we were run ragged by some fine stroke play from Fiducia. Not even John Kennedy, who had made his comeback against the Hogs, could make any impression on the Bluemantles and they eventually ran out easy winners. Sunday August 23 v Cobham at Cobham - Abandoned |