first game in a month due to childcare, not intentionally against my former side where i was for 15 years, but was hoping for it to be as friendly as it has been previously.
this is a 2nd 11 div 5 surrey champ game, so not the highest standard
they are second and we are bottom of the league so was expecting it to be tough but was shocked as how worried they were about us when they arrived. We werent hugely strong but competitive on paper so was optimistic, until i was asked to keep wicket.
skip won the toss and stuck them in, was fairly green considering but looked decent whatever decision he made. Amazingly, for a side who have struggled to take wickets against big scorers i was amazed that we reduced them to 8-4 in 4 overs, happy days. they dug in and batted well for a while but we never let them get away, at 107-7 their skipper elected to give their 50 not out batter not out stumped even though he was walking off. i asked our team before the game to keep the peace and accept decisions without proper umpires so was pleased when we moved on straight away. eventually we bowled them out for 164 with the number six given stumped (grudgingly) for 89.
probably well below par on a rapid outfield and decent deck so well pleased with our work, although a few moans about the extra 40 their batter was given by their skipper. personally delighted with 2 catches, a stumping, and most importantly zero byes. one of my best days behind the stumps.
at tea everything was very harmonious between the sides, lots of friendly chat and no animosity at all. that didnt last long.....
at 40-1 our number 3 had an appeal for caught behind given not out off their spinner. no idea from where we were sitting but our umpire said he didnt hear anything so didnt give it, the reaction from them couldnt have been more opposite from ours in the field. accusations of cheating within minutes and their skipper squaring up to the batters. to make it worse they then dropped him in the next over. tensions stayed high for the remainder of our entire innings, every appeal was huge and reacted with attitude with each not out. when the number 3 was eventually bowled a huge send off followed which was very close to the line, and not well received but us in the pavilion when we were informed of the verbals being handed out every ball buy the other batters at drinks.
we eventually got over the line after a few late wickets but was never really in doubt. then came the hand shakes, a few of our guys were fuming with their behavior but were told no agro and again keep the peace. only for their skipper to lose his rag completely and accuse everyone of us of cheating and ruining the spirit of the game? all bar three of them got their kit and left instantly, the remaining players stayed for a beer laughing at their skippers tantrum - one of them the batter who was given not out stumped, admitting he was miles out and doesnt know why it was given not. once he had calmed down (slightly) their skipper was adamant he had done nothing wrong and we were in the wrong, even when reminded about his umpiring he announced he wasnt a cheat and our decisions changed the game. i am not so sure but if that how he needs to justify losing to bottom of the league its up to him.
devils advocate, he cheated and so did ours - this is not my opinion. his 'error' gave them at least 40-50 runs, our umpires only gave us 30. so if hes right it didnt really change the game at all.
my actual opinion, he overreacted under pressure because they were being beaten badly by bottom of the league. and didnt know how to get back down from it, unfortunately he set the example for a very young side who then followed suit and went way over the top. i am certain our umpire didnt cheat but if our batsmen did glove it he should have walked as instructed before the game - he's saying it was pad btw but hes hardly going to admit it now.
i have reached out to him to clear the air as nobody needs this repeating when we play them again, hopefully someones explained what 'spirit of the game' actually means.
Wish it hadnt ended the way it did but not a lot we can do about it
https://ripley.play-cricket.com/website/results/5037021
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Topic: Your 2022 Season (Read 19664 times)