Sunday, 12th June 2016
Halverstown 124 for 9 off 35 overs
Nassau Greene 68 * (Not Out) Michael Coyle 18
Stott 5 -1- 9- 2 M. O'Regan 3- 0- 3-1 McDonagh 3- 0- 7 -1
R.Swift 5 -1-13-1 Ralley 5- 0-18- 1 M'Guinness 2- 0-21-1
Cavaliers 125 for 5 off 21.2 overs
M. Ford 36* (Not Out) Delaney 36 M.O'Regan 12
TPlewman 3- 0- 21- 3 B.Earley 1.2- 0- 5- 1 J.Brown 6 -0-38- 1
D. Drumm 6- 1-16- 0 H.Perry 2- 0-16- 0 S. Conroy 3 -0-26-0
With thanks to Willie Shakespeare, on the 400th anniversary of his death, for writing “Hamlet”, from which I have borrowed liberally to fill out a Halverstown performance that would otherwise merit little enough description.
“The play, I remember, pleased not the million”, but it did at least please the Theatrical Cavaliers on a surprisingly fine and sunny day that confounded the weather man and “for this relief much thanks”. We were more in danger of being “too much i' the sun” than getting wet oddly enough.
Winning the toss, Cavaliers guessed at our batting deficiencies and put us in and indeed we were “stale, flat and unprofitable”. The story of our batting : “I could a tale unfold whose lightest word would harrow up thy soul” . After 3 overs we were 9 for 3, most of those wides. Bill Early, opening on his debut for the club departed, well, early for a duck. Welcome to Halverstown, Bill! Stuart Conroy and his son Sean, also on their debuts for the Social team managed one apiece before Michael Coyle steadied the rapidly sinking ship with 18. Nassau it was who gave the performance of the day with a wonderful 68 before he gallantly retired. These were the only players to get to double figures, though no doubt our leading run scorer John Brown would have had he got a chance to bat, but at no. 11 he was protecting his averages.
Cavaliers, quite extraordinarily, used 10 (yes, ten!) bowlers and I could have included all their stats above: all their figures were pretty good at least and in the cases of Stott, O'Regan, McDonagh, Ralley and Swift most impressive. “Use every man after his desert, and who should 'scape whipping”- certainly not Halverstown. However it was probably a factor in the extraordinary number of extras, 25- second only to Nassau in our scorebook.
Nassau's wife Jackie was another star for her excellent tea but the only bowler who really worried Cavaliers was TP, whose 3 for 21 off 3 overs was excellent. We fielded quite well with Graham Barnes claiming a good catch and young Hugh Perry, another debutant, also taking a difficult catch. Cecil claimed a victim behind the stumps but Cavaliers did not give their wickets away easily with Michael Ford and Delaney scoring well and rapidly. John Brown and Bill Early claimed wickets but there was no denying “the best actors in the world, either for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral or cricket” (Ok, I made the cricket bit up) whilst we “suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune “ . But,“the play's the thing” and it was a good, sporting day's cricket for “'tis the sport” that counts.
Sorry for posting late “The time is out of joint” indeed.
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