Back to earth with a bump... but Steve's off the mark

North West Water's winning start to the season came to an abrupt halt at the hands of Cae Glas Ladies last night.

After the elation of last week's shock victory over The Orthopaedic, it was perhaps inevitable that we would struggle. However, despite posting a modest total of 84, we were still favourites to win with around six overs to go; Cae Glas needed 40-odd with three wickets remaining.

Unfortunately, our killer instinct deserted us at the crucial moment and Cae Glas inched home with four balls to spare. We were gutted.

Things stated promisingly. We won the toss and batted first, with Brian Cole and Rory Jones opening on our adopted home ground of Whittington. We got off to a decent start too. Brian, a classy left hander, unleashed a glorious drive through extra cover in the first over, while Rory's good form continued after his heroics against the Orthopaedic last week.

However, Brian was bowled and his father Gareth failed to hang around. Things got worse when Rory, who had raced to 17 with a succession of boundaries, was run out when our skipper Justin Evans called him through for a sharp single.

Justin - sporting very posh new pads - looked in good form before missing a straight one. Mike Stokes, making his first appearance of the season, joined Steve Daulby at the crease - with Steve opening his account for the season after last week's duck in Gobowen.

His departure brought me to the crease with the score at 40-odd for five, and when Mike was caught in the next over, we were struggling at 48-6 off 10 overs.

I was joined by Geraint Jones, and we managed to survive, taking the score to 82 in the final over before I managed to run Geraint out.

Until that point, we'd been making decent progress, even if it was a bit slower than it should have been. I even hit three boundaries in my 26no - more than I scored in total last season. Geraint batted really well for his 14 and really deserved more.

Jamahl Penrose hit two off the final ball and we ended on 84 - probably about 15 short of a decent score.

Our reply started well. I opened the bowling with Steve and we kept things tight (I conceded three off my two overs), before Mike struck and a run out courtesy of Rory Jones put us in the driving seat.

When Justin took two wickets in his spell - one courtesy of a sharp catch in the gully by Greg Stokes - we looked favourites. Huw Jones' produced an impressive spell, taking 2-7 including a smart stumping courtesy of Brian, our stand-in wicket keeper in the absence of Pete Danby.

But the last six overs of the innings cost us dearly. Cae Glas's ninth wicket stand was resolute and, despite one or two chances, in truth we never looked like breaking the partnership.

Cae Glas secured victory with four balls remaining, to leave us licking our wounds and hoping for a better performance against a new side, JT Hughes, next week.

The wonderful British summer

Well, we're meant to be playing Cae Glas Ladies tonight but, judging by the rain beating against the window at the moment, it may not happen.

I'm gutted. I'm going to miss next week's match so I was really hoping to get a game tonight. Oh well, maybe the weather with suddenly improve and our first fixture at our new home, Whittington, will go ahead after all. Somehow I doubt it, though.

What a night...

Well, what a way to kick off the new season - victory over our bogey team for the first time in a good few years.

How did we do it? I'm not sure to be honest. When I arrived (late) at the ground, our team looked a bit thin - we were missing our regular captain Justin Evans, while some of our more consistent performers, including Brian Cole, Mike Stokes and Dave Ryder, weren't able to make it.

Did I honestly think we had a chance? Not really, no, especially when our stand in skipper Carl Dulson told me to get my pads on and open with him after we had won the toss.

We started well, Carl hitting the ball with his usual power; me blocking. Unfortunately for me, a miss-timed swipe against a slow bowler ended my stay at the crease for six. I was disappointed because I felt good, particularly against the quicker bowlers.

We then stuttered mid-innings - with Steve Daulby and son Matt both making ducks - but we were resuced by Carl's 24 and impressive performances from two of our younger players, Rory Jones (16) and Paddy Richards (13).

And thanks to a late flourish from veteran member Gareth Cole, we ended the innings on 77. The pitch was playing ok, but the long grass in the outfield meant boundaries were at a premium. It still looked 20 runs short as a defendable total, but at least we knew we had something to bowl at.

From the off, we bowled well and fielded impressively. Ian struck in his second over after opening the bowling with Steve (who made up for his duck with a miserly spell) and the Orthopaedic were under pressure.

Although we didn't take many wickets, we kept the bowling tight and even got away with a couple of missed chances. With eight overs to go, the Orhtopaedic had reached 39 and we knew we had an opportunity. As the pressure increased, we grabbed a couple more wickets as our opposition went for their shots.

Even I chipped in with my fielding, holding on to a catch off Rory that seemed to hang in the air for an eternity, and managing to stop a boundary by sticking a hand out more in hope than expectation. Paddy also produced one stunning stop, throwing himself full length to prevent anything other than a single, while Ian's throwing was perfect all night.

But everybody bowled and fielded well and, with one over to go, the Orthopaedic required five to win. Carl - taking his captain's responsibility seriously - bowled it beautifully and they ended up a run short, sparking scenes of celebrations in Gobowen. Forget the Champions League final, this was the result that mattered.

Next up, we face Cae Glas Ladies at our new 'home' Whittington. Hopefully our winning run will continue...

Breaking news... North West Water win opening fixture

Just a quick post to say that we won our opening game of the season against the Orthopaedic by one run last night.
It was a close match and an even closer finish as our skipper for the night, Carl Dulson, held his nerve to bowl a tremendous last over to see us over the finishing line.
A full report will follow when I've got a spare five minutes. In the meantime, world domination now surely beckons from North West Water.

The season's under way... and I've missed it

I can't believe it. The first match of the season and I missed it.

Ok, so it was a warm-up game, but I was still gutted to miss out. I did have a good excuse, I suppose - I was on my way back after a stag trip to Prague and our flight was delayed. And if I'm being brutally honest, after a night on the ale, I doubt I would have been any good.

Still, it does mean I've now dropped down the pecking order for the first game proper next week. We're up against the Orthopaedic so it's going to be a tough start to the season.

On the plus side, I have it on good authority that our pacy left armer, Steve Daulby, has been visiting a gym and dieting during the winter months. Hopefully this will turn him into the lean, mean wicket-taking machine we need.

As for me, I've not picked up a cricket ball since last September so, if I do make the squad, the first ball is going to be interesting. And then there's the obligatory pulled muscles and bad back to look forward to...