Neyland Match Report

Hook vs Neyland. League, Monday 25th May 2009.
After the debacle against Llangwm, the Neyland Jackals turned up at the sports ground in Hook knowing that nothing less than a win would be suffice if they were to keep their title aspirations alive. After much soul searching as to what went wrong it was decided that should they win the toss Neyland would bat and put the pressure on the struggling Hook team.
The toss was duly won and it was up to the opening duo of Scott John and Paul Murray to walk to the crease and face up to the opposition attack. Murray duly got stuck into the bowling with some sumptuous pulls and drives and was looking like a man possessed before inexplicably dolling a half volley into the waiting paws of Ross Martin. This initial breakthrough gave great hope to the Hook team who then went onto snare skipper Andrew Miller first ball when one of his trademark cover drives could only find the bucket hands of Jamie Phelps in the slip cordon. It was noted by the travelling contingent that Miller was surprised to see the opposition take the first chance given to him after being dropped at least 57 times during the past two games.
This double breakthrough really put the bowling side in the ascendancy and this was further reinforced when Matthew Holder was able to bowl Gregg Miller (albeit aided by a inside edge) that left Neyland perilously placed on 45-3. However in times of crisis the best teams knuckle down and graft their way back and this applied to Neyland as firstly Ashley Sutton joined John at the crease to advance the score to the mid 70’s before the former was dismissed by a sharp caught behind chance.
Literary fans were however eased by this tragic dismissal by the walking to the crease of Harper Lee’s favourite creation Nicolas ‘Boo Radley’ Kooman who took to dismantling the Hook attack in much the same way that [... the following line has been removed to uphold standards, either in the name of common decency, or because the webmaster is a guttless fool, talk to the author and you decide!]. Kooman showed his array of strokes in a quick fire 17 that gave the innings some much needed impetus, this was backed up at the other end by John who was beginning to realise that there are more places on the cricket pitch where runs can be scored other than third man and edged Neyland closer to the stated 150 target. Kooman was dismissed trying to up the tempo before John was dismissed for a limpet like 58 (although the maximum hit over long off was eerily similar to his hoicking in Narberth last year and led Jeremy Charles to marvel at such powerful hitting….). The Hannon twins advanced the score to the mid 140’s before the innings ended with Neyland an agonising 2 runs short of maximum bowling points.
At the tea interval, the large crowd were not only discussing the merits of MP expenses but also wondering whether the Hook batsmen would be able to chase down the total that would give them their first victory of the campaign. It had all the hallmarks of a tense finish…. And it certainly didn’t disappoint.
Neyland gained an early breakthrough from the dismissal of opener Rees by the effervescent Patrick Hannon. However this was to be the only success for the next 90 minutes as captain Martin was joined by opener Phelps in tearing into the Neyland attack with some glorious strokes and succeeding in taking the game away from the Jackals. However if there is one thing that this Neyland side possess in abundance, it is spirit and the introduction into the attack of skipper Miller was the catalyst for a gung ho comeback of epic proportions. As has been his wont this season, Miller dismissed the two danger batsmen in consecutive overs to give his side a sniff of victory. And like wild animals on the savannah this scent was not one that was let go. Miller followed up his dismissals by making the most monumental decision since Sir Francis Drake decided to unleash the fire ships onto the Spanish Armada in 1588 by unleashing the golden arm of Scott John. It would appear that his three year arm waving in the field has finally worn down the resolve of Miller and he was rewarded with a devastating spell of 4-21 that ripped the heart out of the Hook line up in a manner similar to the way the great Pakistani bowler Waqar Younis did to international teams in the 1990’s. Whilst all this melodrama was going on at one end, Miller continued to snare his victims at the other and succeeded in leaving Hook on the brink of defeat when half an hour earlier victory had look as assured as Patrick Bellerby wining and dining the local ladies on Broad Haven beach.
With one over to go, the large crowd realised they were on the brink of a dramatic ending, the only dilemma for Miller was who to bowl – and in a hunch that would have made the great Napoleon Bonaparte proud he gambled that the gods of luck and fate would be on his side by throwing the 44 over ball to wicketkeeper Shaun Hannon. This destroyer in the indoor league was as yet untested in the outdoor version of the game, but using all his guile and panache he knocked over the Hook number eleven with a ball that swung like the proverbial boomerang. This dismantling of the stumps provided the Neyland jackals with their first win of the season and the scenes of jubilation at the end was evidence enough of what it meant to this young and hungry side.