SCORECARD

They say catches win matches, but Midweek The Fitmen have pioneered Spaz ball a philosophy—dropping five catches in the field and still walking away with a hard fought 19-run victory against our old sparing partners The Village.

Batting first, Old Mo posted a competitive 156-5. The pitch was difficult to time from the off, playing slow and seaming around. Waz played the hits, 1 six and bowled. Fingers got a good one. We were 44 for 3 off 9 over. Tough going. However, a light drizzle after that proved to be a blessing, quickening up the track and killing off the swing of the pink ball. Captain Chris Jones (65 off 50) and Adrian Martin (48 off 49) adapted after some coaching and calming from the veteran, working out that this wicket and bowling required ‘quickish’ singles. The left/right pairing clicked beautifully, bringing up a rare Midweek 100 partnership.

After Ade finally fell for a fine run-a-ball 48, the innings saw some classic chaos from Timmsy managed to run himself out in spectacular fashion, collapsing over on a very, very close not-out LBW call. Further down the order, Matt Palmer had a milestone day, getting off the mark to score his very first runs for the FitMen.

Defending 156, Old Mo’s bowling attack and fielding effort was a mix of the sublime and the ridiculous. Rana tore through the opposition to claim 3 for 18, but the real theater came from the rest of the attack.
All match report deserve The Nokia speed gun update, well lets just say, he bowled a ball that genuinely hit the wicket, only to not dislodge the bail.

Meanwhile, Nutter started his first over with three consecutive off the cut wides. This prompted a quiet word in his ear from Captain Jonesy. Looking like a scene from the end of Lost in Translation, whatever was whispered worked magic—Nutt took a wicket with his very next delivery. What was said... we will never tell.

In the field, it was a tale of two extremes. Matt Palmer backed up his first runs with a fine display of fielding, executing his first run-out for the club following Dee’s fielding aliked to crowd green bowls.

On the other end of the athletic spectrum was the captain.who shelled two easy drops, moving with the grace of an ironing board and diving into the covers like a human sandbag.

The officiating also deserves a special mention. The Village's square leg umpire introduced a fascinating new hand signal to the sport, waving a single finger to indicate "not out" to a close stumping appeal. And a massive thanks to Bal, who valiantly umpired 20 overs before taking up a vantage point inside the sight screen for the best view on the ground—looking for all the world like a Pontipine or a Wottinger, take your pick.