BBC SCOTLAND CRICKET CUP

 

This year's BBC Scotland staff challenge match has been postponed due to the appalling August weather.

A bid to rearrange the tie in September was also scuppered.

Meanwhile, you can read all about last year's bad-tempered affair...

 

Controversy clouds sunny day at Titwood

 

All the talk in the build up to this game had been about how quickly each team could bowl the other out. As it transpired both teams proved rather more difficult to shift than most pundits had predicted. Jim Mason's widely anticipated inability to secure the services of eleven willing players (William Hill had in fact closed the book on this likely occurance several weeks ago), left him with no option but to beg a spectator, steal an opposition player and borrow a ringer from Clydesdale to make up the numbers.

1ST INNINGS

World XI won the toss and captain, Jack McGill, in an show of hubris, decided to bat first. It seemed like confidence well-placed as David Holmes and Peter Mellis soaked up the pressure from Sport XI's lead attack, heading to a comfortable thirty for no loss.

The breakthrough came in Fergus Hill's first over of competitive cricket: a stealthy slower ball relieving Mellis(9) of his bails. With a ball from Jim Mason that resembled little more than a lobbed hand-grenade, Toby Stevens, so impressive in earlier matches, was trapped in front of the stumps - LBW - in the next over. Holmes, who had batted to a superb twenty-seven, was lost to a wild leg-side ball from Hill, confirming - if any doubt remained - that "shite takes wickets" and so began a middle-order batting collapse of the kind that makes a captain look at the scoreboard, bite his lip and think am I really relying on Phil "Howker" Goodlad to get me out of this? McGill(0), Fraser(2) and Wells(0) made the long walk back to the pavilion in quick succession.

Enter the dragon: the World XI's flame-haired firebrand, Phil Goodlad, who romped to a match-turning 26 off only 20 balls. His eventual demise owed much to the bravery of fielder Colin Wallace, who took Phil's powerful slog square on his chest with all the control of Ronaldinho and held on tightly despite his quickly collapsing lung. Jim Robertson provided one last spark of life in the World XI team with a beautiful drive back down the ground for four before Hines and O'Hara were back in the pavilion before the Sport XI could finish clapping them on.

Bowling highlight:Fergus Hill's 3 for 17. World XI all out for 100.

The Sport XI first innings was characterised by two things - some very tight bowling and some very good batting. Captain and opener, Jim Mason, made an invaluable contribution to the game with a beautifully-judged 38, demonstrating a maturity and responsibility that surprised most. It was a captain's innings in every sense, peppered with graceful fours and held together with stoic defensive shots against the pacy Stevens and the unorthodox, but effective, Hines. Mellis eventually took the catch that ended the performance of the match and brought the Sport XI innings to a juddering halt. With plenty of wickets to spare and a hefty contribution from some poor wicket-keeping they might have expected more but consistent bowling prevented the other batsmen, Graham Fuge, Colin Moffat and Will McLeish, from building any momentum.

Bowling highlight: Phil Wells's 2 for 8 off four overs. Sport XI: 86 - 4.

LUNCH

A tasty barbecue had been cooked up by Emma Peil and Laura Fraser and a hungry line of neanderthals soon formed and impatiently jostled for their grub. Thank you ladies.

 

2ND INNINGS

A decision had been taken before the game was to reverse the batting line-up to allow everyone an opportunity at the crease. Brendan O'Hara, delighted at surviving the entire first over, lasted precisely one ball more. In his defence, the leg-side ball from Jay Duncan that silently shaved one bail (yes, that said bail) was one of the deliveries of the day, turning back wickedly to decieve the batsman. Robertson(5), Hines(3) and Fraser(11) made enough runs to keep the score ticking over but Phil Goodlad(0) - doing his best impression of Maximus Decimus Meridius preparing for battle - spent more time getting to the crease than he spent at it. Colin Moffat, bowling from the Kirkcaldy Road End, was at his most lethal, punching a hole right through the middle of the World XI innings.

With only a couple of overs left in a shortened 2nd innings, the onus was on adding as many runs as quickly possible. Alan Lawson - building on an excellent all-round performance - ran well before being run out and McGill(1) slashing wildly at the ball was well held at slip by Duncan. This left Toby Stevens and Peter Mellis to run up the 2nd innings score to 65.

Bowling highlight: Colin Moffat's 3 for 1 off 3 overs. World XI: 65 for 9.

Target: 80 to win.

This innings was a story less of what was played between the stumps and more of what was said and it would provoke an afternoon and early evening of the sort of childish behaviour more commonly seen in the playground than the cricket ground.

Events took an unfortunate turn in the first few overs of the Sport XI innings when Mike Stanger, suffering under the heat and the exhaustion of running the cricketing world, collapsed. A doctor - albeit a half-cut one - was on hand and the paramedics arrived shortly after. We we are happy to report that Mike is feeling fine and is getting some much need R&R; we wish him well. We're also grateful to Laura Fraser's early assistance and what I am assured by Mike was an excellent bedside manner!

The break, however, seemed to cloud people's better judgement. Two balls after play resumed, McGill stumped Fergus Hill who had taken an ill-advised dander out his crease - in his own view to allow the wicketkeeper the space to pick up the ball but in McGill's view simply because he was. Cue mayhem in the stands and on the pitch with most of the Sport XI crying foul and Toby Stevens in a futile exchange with the umpire about whether Hill had been run out or been stumped.

A succession of Sport XI batsmen got in their tuppence-worth as they came to the crease, although, despite obvious ill-feeling none seemed in agreement as to whether it was bad sportsmanship because Fergus was doing the wicketkeeper a favour or because he didn't know what he was doing at all. It was a story that grew arms and legs over the course of a hostile afternoon.

Amid all the bickering someone on the sidelines lost track of how many overs had been bowled, what the score was and how many wickets were down, whilst on the field McGill illegally put Wells in to bowl an extra over and under another barrage of sledging from Mason and McLeish (this time all the way from the pavilion), threatened to take his ba' in and gang awa' hame.

So how did the Sport XI actually bat?

Well, karma had her way with McLeish, who was on his way in only two balls. Ravi Sagoo got his bat in the way of a few fast balls which torpedoed their way to the boundary and was delighted with his innings of 13. His eventual wicket was a plum LBW and don’t let him tell you differently! Fergus Hill, batting twice to make up Sport XI's dwindling numbers, repeated his trick of the first innings, this time claiming he saw a fiver half way down the wicket and, awandering, found himself stumped for the second time. No excuses were offered this time.

And so, Ravi "Special Delivery" Sagoo made his way back to the crease for the final time. There was one over to play. There were 14 runs needed to win. Jon Fraser's gammy shoulder had given up, Brendan O'Hara had flown the coop, and it was down to Peter Mellis to bowl a tight over to secure victory for the World XI.

Two from Mason.

A single.

A wide.

Ravi swung giddily at the next two and missed. Sport needed 10 of the last two balls; surely not possible.

Two runs made.

8 needed off the last ball. A victory for the World XI. But then…

 

"THERE'S ONE OVER LEFT!" All eyes turn to the scoreboard, which showed the innings in the 15th and final over.

"THERE'S ONE OVER LEFT!" balled the Sport XI from the pavilion. And you know, there was.

Jim Mason, breathing his last at the non-strikers end, looked angrier at the running he'd been forced to do than the thought that his team might get diddled out of victory. He had put in another match-saving innings and, imploring Ravi to stand his ground for the last bowl of the over, he rested wearily on his bat.

"One to come," shouted the umpire. Sport had an over to secure eight runs, World XI didn't have anyone to bowl it short of giving the ball to David Holmes (never a wise plan) but it would all be immaterial if Mellis could take the last wicket.

He bowled straight and true; Ravi marauded forward, seemingly deaf to his captain's pleas and with an almighty swing…missed the ball completely. He was comfortably stumped. Jim Mason covered his eyes with one hand and slumped to his haunches. A victory for the World XI by eight runs.

But it didn't end there. Claims that there should have been another batsman surfaced before the players had even left the field, but have since been rebuffed on the basis that the injured Colin Wallace couldn't take the field. There was, however, contention in Phil Wells' fourth and illegally taken over of bowling and the manner in which sport were chasing in what they thought was the last over of the game.

The result - to all but Phil Goodlad's liking - was an entirely dishonourable draw, but it just wasn't want cricket.

The Man of the Match: Jim Mason

 

Thank you everyone for an entertaining afternoon - Jack McGill