Gardeners Cricket Club
Gardeners Cricket Club

Tom's tour diary part 2

An evening in Talgarth



To tell the full tale of Saturday evening's of entertainment in Talgarth is beyond the scope of this diary and I am not sure my literary powers could do full justice the events that unfolded. Nevertheless I will allow certain details into the public sphere.

 

Showered and changed the Gardeners agreed to rendezvous at the Castle Inn, where the bright lights had drawn in revellers from literally miles around! Celebratory drink followed celebratory drink as the Gs took a leaf out of the local book and attempted to drink the bar dry.

 

First to succumb to Bacchus was Spirling aka Ferris Bueller- a tumble down the bank outside the pub in full view of the local talent necessitated an early bath. The rest of the team returned up the hill to the Tower Hotel, our place of rest, for a beer festival fuelled lock-in. One of the evening's many incidents involved a drunk who had been comatose, head in hands, for nigh on an hour, suddenly sitting bolt upright before using the adjacent hat stand as a urinal. The American Bar at the Savoy it was not!

 

Sunday 25th August



Suffice to say there were sore heads and croaky voices round the breakfast table on Sunday morning. Moreover, the drink-addled Gardeners also had a pair of mysteries to solve that could have foxed Sherlock himself (not me, the real one). Why did the Metronome wake up to find his kit soaking wet and why did Megan Fox wake up, in separate room, to find the same thing? After a brief debate the Gardeners settled on the most likely explanation, a poltergeist, and turned attentions to battling the hangover with the Tower's excellent fry-up.

 

Talgarth's attractions that weekend were not limited to boozing though and with a town festival on, the majority of the team ventured out onto the streets. Only the Metronome remained in bed trying to deal with the hangover and dry out his kit.

 

In a twist of fate, it emerged that the Gardeners counted a number of keen ornithologists among the ranks that weekend. What joy then to find a festival stall where you could have a picture taken with an owl of your choice. Scops, tawny, barn, they had them all. Unfortunately, though, the queue for the owls was around the block and we had a game to get to...

 

GCC vs. Old Moseley Arms CC aka "The Fitmen"

 

En route to Kington CC in Herefordshire (NB: not Wales) for the day's game it turned out that the Metronome's extra hour in bed had done little good. The white van was forced to take an unscheduled stop in a country layby, as Rob bade farewell to his breakfast. This made Tom feel much better as his hangover, although debilitating, seemed less severe than Rob's. Or so he thought until the seventh ball of the day.

Winning the toss, skipper Mike chose to bat and called on yesterday's heroes for a repeat performance. Evidently Tom's celebrations had taken their toll and after Andy had batted out the first over, he decided to leave his first ball from paceman Ralph, only to find his off stump cartwheeling into the slips. 0-1.

 

Fortunately, the Poker Face was made of sterner stuff and set about building an innings. Both Cunners and Ferris Bueller fell cheaply to Ralph, so it was up to Andy and local lad Dan Smith (standing in for the ten man Gardeners) to stem the tide, putting on 69 for the fourth wicket.

 

With the score on 134, Andy once again decided to run himself out as the oppo seemed unable to get rid of him via the usual means. He finished with another impressive half century on 66. Fortunately skipper Richards (26), Megan Fox (10) and the Chancellor (11) managed to keep the scoreboard moving and the Gardeners reached 177 of the 40. Competitive? Yes. Gettable? Possibly.

 

A brief word here on the tea, which was worthy of its own separate entry on my food blog. Proper roast beef sandwiches, roast potatoes, homemade lemon drizzle cake and scones with jam and cream. Gatting couldn't have asked for more.

 

Returning to the field it was uncertain as to whether the Metronome, opening the bowling, would make the end of his run up as the hangover hung on. A good first over did wonders though and at the other end Megan Fox continued on from Saturday's miserly spell with some good seam bowling. Tellis was the first to break through after trapping Caesar plum in front. A decision that was later corroborated by the television match official.Et tu Megan?

 

However, fifty was put on for the next wicket as opener Frost and Evans made steady progress. The partnership was only broken on 83 when Evans hit the ball straight back to Tom, who took a sharp return catch.

 

The Fitmen continued to erode the Gardeners lead and it seemed the game might be slipping out of reach. But two quick wickets, Frost bowled by Tom for 51 and Tucker dismissed by Tellis for 0, gave hope to the fielding Gardeners.

 

Alas, Harris, who cut a dashing figure in his 1970s headband, designer stubble and Brummy accent, had not read the script. He hit a brisk 41 to close the game out for Old Moseley, who finished with a 6 wicket victory in 38.3 overs. As always, an extra 20 runs and some sharper fielding could have made all the difference in what was a very winnable game.

 

Notwithstanding the result, this was another excellent day's cricket and Kington CC couldn't have been more welcoming. A return next year? TL

   Want to get        involved?

We play most of our games in Dulwich and net during the winter at The Oval.  Send us an email at gardenerscc@ymail.com

 

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Caveat lector

All our match reports and player profiles are written by third parties,

and may involve some poetic licence. GCC cannot be held liable for any misrepresentation in these articles.

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