MOSELEY BOWLED OVER BY KNOWLE & DORRIDGE IN QUICK TIME

MOSELEY 64 ALL OUT V KNOWLE & DORRIDGE 65 FOR 2
BIRMINGHAM & DISTRICT PREMIER CRICKET LEAGUE PRMIER DIVISION
@ STREETSBROOK RD 2 JUNE 2018 --- 12PM
Knowle and Dorridge [KD] made short work of securing victory in this top of the table derby clash first dismissing the home side cheaply before knocking off the required runs with 8 wickets to spare.  The fixture looked encouraging with third v fourth in table position and a north and south of Solihull derby game to boot however by 3.20pm it was all over and strangely it had taken me as long to travel to the ground as I had witnessed play.

MOSELEY CC THE BUSINESS END

With weather watch in play again following some torrential downpours in the week, these were now encircling base, the late decision was made to travel to Birmingham to avoid any loss of fixtures or overs to the wet stuff.  Midnight oil was burning and with two games selected both in the Birmingham Premier League the final decision after the usual train planning plumped for an attractive looking ground on Streetsbrook Rd the home of Moseley Cricket Club, although the ground is just over the border in Solihull.  Formed over 50 years ago the club were one of the founder members of the league and with the club supporting a wide selection of teams cricket appears very much alive and well in this corner of the West Midlands.

RETRO RAIL AT MOOR ST WITH HOUSE OF FRASER AND THE ICONIC ROTUNDA

Journey down was generally summed up by 'late', base station departure behind and then after a quick hour to Birmingham a change to Moor St the retro station in the city which has all its signings and paint work in a bygone era, contrasted by the bubbled exterior of the House of Fraser beyond platform four.  Late departure to Yardley Wood saw us arrive to light drizzle and with murky clouds above there was the ultimate fear of not seeing to much cricket, how ironic that turned out to be.  A sprightly 30 minute walk saw us arrive at our destination and the smart ground of Moseley CC about ten minutes after the start.

THE SCOREBOARD AT STREETSBROOK RD AS KD BATSMAN WILLIAM RIGG IS TRAPPED LBW

As ever a quick ground descriptor and by the time I had completed the circuit it was nearly all over to the right a selection of boundary seats and benches and behind the bowlers arm a further cricket ground plus some bowling for the slower paced but no less competitive!  The pitch slopes away to the far side with the scoreboard of an old large construction offering up all information required and well maintained during the play which is always a help.  The far side again has a small selection of boundary seats with most of the ground offering a driveway around it to gain access to the other facilities.  The star of the ground is a smart whitewashed pavilion with spectator viewing area offering the best place to observe the proceedings here, the changing rooms to the lower side with grounds mans 'office' underneath.

ETHAN BROOKS 1-14 FOR KD

The main bar area is to the rear of the tea and function room area, there was no food visible for spectators today apart from the usual hoppers crisps and chocolate although there was evidence of a snack bar probably in the not too distant past.
To the play then and after a steady start by the home side who were invited to bat by KD in the overcast condition they soon fell away to 23 for 3 in the tenth and from here it the Moseley innings just fell away with little resistance except for top scorer Jugdip Singh Nandra who contributed 15 the only other player to reach double figures was opener Jake Sammons with 14.

DEFENDING REQUIRED FOR MOSELEY

With a low total secured in 30 overs unless this was a terror track it seemed a foregone conclusion.  Quick mention to Ethan Brooks who looked sharp for KD he finished with 1 for 14 in seven overs, the damage was done though by Jack Grundy who took 6 for 18 in thirteen overs.
Sport, but cricket in general, always brings together a social side and it was great to catch up with photographer Manjit Narotra who had a superb bit of kit putting my camera to shame.  Capturing action shots for the Solihull observer and his own website, msn images - take a look there are some superb sports portfolios on there.  We also discussed the may sports he had taken action pictures from and it was a very interesting chat that took place on the boundary edge, thanks for taking the time to chat with the blog.

MOSELEY NOW IN THE FIELD

After a short break for change of innings KD set off with there reply and with the first wicket falling at 5 and the second wicket own at 10 when Yadvinder Singh bowled Alex Phillips it looked like we may have a game on our hands.  Sadly from a neutral point of view this wasn't to be the case as the ship was steadied by Ben Griffin [18] and captain Sam Reddish [32] who safely got the visitors over the line with eight wickets to spare with just short of 14 overs bowled.
Once again the second innings was punctuated with an informal and interesting boundary conversation with Gary and after we had sorted out all sports and decided how the game should be played now a days KD were striking the winning runs, once again a pleasure to meet you.
With the pavilion clock proudly declaring 3.20pm and the bright sunshine bathing the outfield what was to be done now!  Of course a further hospitable beverage, non alcoholic of course, and some eats were taken in the seated enclosure while the players consumed tea.  It was a great shame that on a glorious afternoon we were now sat watching the grounds man water the square when we should have been watching some cricket, although I guess KD would not agree.

THEY THINK ITS ALL OVER......IT IS NOW

Having spotted to the right hand side boundary upon our entry a further cricket ground and the distance a floodlit rugby union ground we decided to take a look as the two teams were out from tea.  Once again here the social side of the game came to the fore with a conversation with a much travelled West Brom fan who like his international based ground hopping much like my travelling partner today Dan.
While watching this game and listening it appeared to be a close finish in prospect in a Warwickshire South League 2 game.  With the home side Old Edwardians, also the name of the rugby union club, posting 119 all out Bronze CC from Great Barr were moving along steadily but losing wickets at regular intervals they arrived into the 80's with eight down.  The last three wickets had fallen to ambitious shots when singles were the order of the day with plenty of overs in the bag and so a tense finish saw Gerald Cunningham [12] and Owen Stephenson [13] take the visitors over the line to 123 for 8 in 40 overs, all set up by some tip top bowling for Bronze from Jamie Palmer 6-25 something I had not witnessed of course while watching the proceedings next door.

OLD EDWARDIANS OFFER UP A GOOD APPEAL IN GAME 2

One and a half cricket matches in a day and still 25 minutes before 7pm with a brisk walk back to the station there was even time for a visit to Highfield fish and chip shop for a portion of the delicacy, very nice they were too backing up their external advertising that declared in top 10 of Birmingham chippy's.
Exiting Yardley Wood on time we experienced a delay of just short of half an hour for the return journey back to base where we arrived at around 9.30pm.
Overall a day were we tried to avoid a short or abandoned game saw our game played to a conclusion before tea but thankfully some more cricket was forthcoming next door and what an excellent finish it provided for a enjoyable sporting day out in the West Midlands.