Sunday 10th July 2011: Buckhorn Weston CC v Shanklin CC (away on the Isle of Wight)

“Skipper’s maiden five-fer sees Buckhorn win international fixture”

Buckhorn set off from the pub at 9(ish)am to travel to Lymington ferry port to catch their 10:45 ferry to the island.  Everyone arrived at the port in time, however the need for bacon rolls almost resulted in the Dodds missing the ferry!  Once on the island Buckhorn made the pleasant drive across to Shanklin for their first international game of the summer.  The ground was quaint and a decent-looking pitch had been prepared.  

Adam won the toss and elected to bat, sending Simon B and Will Ellwood out to face the new ball.  The start was riddled with wides, byes and no balls; as a result Buckhorn got off to a flyer.  The dismissal of Will Ellwood in the first over (to a ball that swung back in and then straightened) was a setback, but the introduction of Harvey Chinnock at 3 saw a steady partnership build.  Simon B continued to play nicely, as Harvey played straight and steadily accumulated.  Shanklin’s White was a thorn in Buckhorn’s side for his 7 overs, as he conceded only 8 runs.  Harvey was impressing with the bat, but unfortunately fell for 12, caught at mid-on, trying to go over the infield.  George Ellwood came in at 4 and was very luckily dropped first ball.  After drinks, Simon and George started to push the score on, running (very) hard between the wickets and putting away the bad balls.  Simon went past 50 and continued on, looking to get Buckhorn to a competitive total on a deteriorating wicket.  George and Simon B were playing more attacking shots as the innings progressed, sending the bowling to all parts, scoring 4s and 6s for fun.  After the 2^nd lot of drinks Simon and George started playing shots at every ball; unfortunately for Simon, he tried one shot too many and was bowled for 99.  George carried on his onslaught, as Adam B arrived at 4.  These two kept going, but Adam was next out, LBW, attempting to work the bowling to leg – Chopper certainly though it was ‘plum’!  George was next out for an attacking 64 – having been dropped first ball, but did an excellent job in getting the score past 200 and taking the game to the Shanklin bowlers.  Daffy came in and blocked a few, whilst debutant James Cockerell (4) and George Ovenden (6) gave Buckhorn momentum at the back end of their innings.  Buckhorn closed at 233/6 from their 35 overs; which would prove to be a challenging total on a wicket that was slow and only getting slower and lower.

Buckhorn’s regular opening attack of Daffy and George Ovenden took the new ball, and got it to move around through the air and off the wicket.  Neither were particularly lucky, with the ball beating the edge and passing fielders through the air regularly; as Shanklin made a good start.  The first breakthrough came with the introduction of Simon B and a little extra pace and bounce.  Shanklin’s next pair made a good partnership last some time, putting lots of pressure on Buckhorn’s bowlers and playing big shots at the right time.  Adam B bowled an excellent spell from the bottom end that put Shanklin out of the game.  He varied his pace well and used the natural variations in the wicket well.  Adam bowled in tandem with Max Chinnock (in good form after last week’s performance) and both tied the batsmen down, causing the rate to increase.  Adam picked up wickets regularly, with good catches in the deep and a smart stumping from Will Ellwood.  He finished with match figures of 5/25 from his 7 overs.  The fielding throughout was pretty good, with the Buckhorn team having a shy at any opportunity; but standouts in the field were Mark ‘Chopper’ Chinnock and Rory Dodd.  Debutant James Cockerell got to bowl the last over and picked up 2 consecutive wickets, courtesy of a fine catch in the deep by Chopper and a sharp one at point by George Ovenden.  If not for a bit of luck, on the batsman’s part, James would have had his hat-trick!  The Shanklin innings closed on 200 from their 35 overs, with the only real resistance coming from their Number 3, who made 50 and some hitting from White at the end.

Overall it was a good day out on the island in the sun, and a decent game of cricket was enjoyed by all the players; and the supporting members of the Buckhorn touring party – Helen and Fergus Dodd and Karen Chinnock – enjoyed seeing Buckhorn win their first ODI of the summer.