October blessed us with another Sunny October day and 15 degrees proved warm enough to play a game of cricket and the Peckers gathered once more at Barnes Common, for their traditional end of season fixture. Familiar faces emerged from near and far. New friends and old rubbed shoulders and set the tone for a day that was really more about camaraderie than competition. Teams were pre-decided under the banners of the Mangy Rodents and the Greasy Chefs and come the day, the competition for the toss, was as ever decided by a boat race which the Greasy Chefs won by a whisker. The cricket was played in a reverse 90 format, but as ever, the real action was as much on the boundary as it was in the middle with a keg of Perridge Pale Ale tapped and ready to keep us well oiled, kindly brought by Greasy.
Introductions and the traditional Boat Race Start
The cricket itself had a bit of everything, some sharp spells of attacking bowling, a few dollops of dross, boundaries flowing, wickets tumbling, and fielding that ranged from the heroic to the haphazard. Everyone was there with one thing in mind, to have fun and get stuck in! The Greasy Chefs who batted first, enjoyed some Mangy bowling from the Rodents and put up a strong score of 177 -The Pan-sexual Princess retired for 33 with 4 maximums , Moley 32 and Captain Greasy 34 and Novichok accelerated at the end.…… The Mangy Rodents lost early wickets to a lively GK Smeagol, but then rallied with Danke 26, Mamma 33 , Jaffa Cake 26, Traash 30 and Breadsticks 35. It was great to have Fingers back from the US and hilarious sidekick Tolga, we also welcomed Choinis and Gash-more. Those rodents fell 6 runs short and all to play for in the second half.
Brianna of Tarth wields her sword bravely
Cardinal Chefrey presides
As the first match was cracking on, Sore Arse was on paella duty, under the watchful eye of Greasy and the wafts of spiced chicken, chorizo and prawns had all the Peckers tummies grumbling. Everyone tucked into a truly sensational paella, and if you're ever near Alresford, a detour to The Townhouse comes very highly recommended.
Most Hungry were Biscuits(10 beers deep) and Brianna (lots of waving her mighty sword)
The feeding of the masses, Cat does it standing up
Greasy watches his protege Sore-Arse with pride
The Paella was so good, chat was paused
The significant Beer and Wine supplies were drained by tea and POB ’n’ Biscuits had to repair to Sainsbury’s for replenishment . Tiddles and Scuba Steve made late cameos and we had some wonderful support including Dixie, Dolly, Popo, Henners, Twinkle and several of Tripod’s friends come to celebrate his big 6…OHHHH! The second innings saw plenty of enthusiasm, but the vision/quality of the batting seemed to have deteriorated badly as we reduced to 10 6-ball overs. Gashmore dropped anchor and ran out his Pecker Daddy. Deggsy and Jaffa Cake were very thrifty and only some late hitting by Otto got the Greasy Chefs up to 98. The Mangy Rodents also were struggling to focus, particularly Traash who was in a tranquil state. A late substitution as Deggsy/Tripod allowed his son Feliz/Gimble to take his place. He and Jaffa Cake got the scoreboard going and prevailed with 3 balls to spare, a great finish, but the result felt almost incidental on this particular day. As ever, the true victory was the company. With play done, The team decamped to the Coach and Horses, Where stories flowed as easily as ever. And it was a lovely way to round off a record equalling season, full of good cricket, but really, great people.
The Winning Partnership made for proud fathers -Tripod and Gimble -Biscuits and Jaffa Cake
A special thanks goes to Greasy for bringing the ale and for his culinary brilliance, but a particular thank you must go to Pobs, for not only for organising the match but for his tireless work throughout the season. For all the work that goes on behind the scenes, much of which we probably don't even realise, that keeps the whole thing rolling. For making it all happen so that everyone gets a game. It's easy to turn up and play, but making sure there's a game for us all to turn up to, and an opposition willing to have us, is no small feat and shouldn't go unnoticed. Ultimately, there is no club without someone willing to put in that time and effort, and we're incredibly lucky to have someone who does. So a huge thank you from all of us. And with that, here's to another wonderful season. Winter well Peckers, and see you next year. X
