2017 Season Review

Season Summary - So, just how badly Did we do this year?

Won - 4    Lost - 8  Cancelled due to rain, snow, lack of interest etc - 3

Saturday 13 May 2017               Eastleigh BC                 Riverside Park 

Team - Toby, Other Mike, Simon, AJ, Pete H, Jon, Ethers, Howard, plus four 'special guest stars'. I know it looks like 12 but Howard was originally not going to play but found the lure of the pitch too much so in the end he played a game of 'Who Is More Crocked' with Pete H and ended up fielding for the whole innings.

Having raised a magnificent six and two halves we were pleased that the opposition captain could provide us with a few he had spare.  This included Tshanka and Other Simon.  Best of all though was the welcome return of Simon Morris.

This was Martyn Pegram's final game and he recieved presentations from both captains before opening the bowling for Eastleigh BC.  Toby and Other Mike got us off to a great start, with Simon Morris also in the runs.  Other Simon then continued the good work of the 'Others', with AJ hitting seventeen at the end, including an all run four with skipper Pete H.  We finished on 140 off of 30 overs.

In reply Pete H and Other Mike bowled well with Eastleigh restricted to 46 for 3 off of the first 15 overs.  We even did one of those run out things like proper cricketers do.  Toby and Bassit came in for Eastleigh and got in the runs leaving them needing 36 of the last 6 overs.  

More tight bowling and fielding (this will not last) gave us victory by 6 runs. 

Saturday   27 May 2017              Cavaliers                        Riverside Park 

Team - Jon, Toby, Mark Ath, Simon, AJ, Will, Finley, Milo, Pete Ethers, Dave Perks, Mole

Match two of the season and we have another player coming out of retirement. Dave Perks is back on the pitch having spent the last few years turning up to turn over the numbers on the scoreboard. 

BP lose the toss and are batting.  Fin and Toby open but Toby goes cheaply to a delivery that yorked him on the second bounce.  Easily the worst ball Syd bowled in an otherwise impressive spell.  At fifteen overs we were 70 for 1 and well set.  

A bit of acceleration followed the break, but we also lost wickets.  The Riverside pitch was taking spin and The Cavaliers array of slow bowlers took advantage. Mark fell to a genuine spinning delivery finding the edge.  Throughout this Fin continued to play impressively, and when he fell AJ continued his good form with a well struck 19 n.o.. A score of 148 looked good but not out of the Cavs reach.

In reply Arvind and Syd started very well and got the Cavs to 66 off the first 15 overs. Behind the run rate but with all wickets in hand.  Sure enough The Cavs accelerated.  BP finally Got rid of Arvind, and managed to make further inroads from that end.  Syd was proving tougher to remove, and was unlucky to be dismissed in the end for 49.  

Six overs to go and thirty-six needed.  Our bowlers held their nerve whilst Fin held a catch most of us can't even dream about, diving forward in the covers.  Last over and The Cavs needed twelve to win with Jon to bowl.  BP put nine men on the boundary and hoped. Jon keeps it straight. Nine needed off of three balls.  They get a single and then a two.

Its the last ball and the Cavs need six to win. A swing and a miss and Jon finishes with another wicket. Our second tight victory in a row.

Syd was rightly named the Cavs man of the match for a great all round performance.  For BP Will took the honours, but Fin pushed him close. The Champagne moment went to Fin for 'that catch', as it will forever now be known.

For those interested in statistics this game is a very strong candidate for highest percentage of overs from one family. The Whale clan bowled 24 of the 30 overs from BP, with Jon, Will, Fin and Milo each sending down six overs. That's eighty percent to those not too hot with maths, which judging from our scorebook is most of us.  

AJ was the other bowler on the day but he is refusing to change his name by deed poll just for the sake of improving the scoreboard's symmetry.  Next time we will have to give Toby a bowl as well.

Wednesday 31 May 2017         St Cross House              Sports Centre 

Team    O Mike  Toby  Finley  Will  Daz  Arvind  Milo  Dave P  Ethers  Jon  Pete T

Saturday 10 June 2017           Christ Church Winchester     King George V Playing Fields

Team - Toby, Will, Finley, Milo, Mark Ath, Dave Perks, Pete Ethers, Howard, Adam, Arvind, Martin Tiley

A new venue for BP hidden away in Winchester not far from the Black Boy.  The week prior to the game had seen much rain so the pitch was spongy and the outfield slower than a BP third run.  We won the toss and fielded.

Finley and Milo gave nothing away with tight opening spells. Arvind then came on and picked up three wickets.  There was a great catch by Howard. Will, acting skipper, continued to rotate the bowlers and we picked up three more wickets.    

Our opponents for the day were also new to us. They impressed with their good humour (particularly when Adam 'runs out' the non striker backing up as a warning, before being let off). We also appreciated their very BP style of batting. Being run out following a dropped catch is something we have specialised in over the years so it's nice when we see someone else do it for a change.

We hoped to bowl Chirst Church out but once they were six wickets down they dug in and finished on 129. On this wicket that would take some getting.

Toby and Mark Ath opened for BP but neither were able to make much headway with Christ Church pushing the field in to prevent the singles.  Arvind and guest star Martin Tiley then replaced Toby and Mark but scoring was still proving difficult.  Finley was out caught behind sweeping and Milo was equally unlucky to get out to the only ball of the day that really kept low.  

Adam and Will promised some acceleration but both also fell cheaply and in the end we needed 50 of the last over with nine wickets down.  Needless to say, we didn't get them.

Still, a nice place to play cricket, and a very friendly team to play against, so overall a good day. 

Thursday 15 June 2017            Mark Tong XI                  Sports Centre

Team - O'Mike, Will, Finley, Milo, Toby, Jon, Simon, U.Ethers, Pete T, Arvind, Mark, Dave (looks like 12)

Saturday 24 June 2017            Cavaliers                         Riverside Park

Team - Toby, Will, Finley, Simon, Howard, Daz, Jono,Mark, Ethers, Milo, Dave P, O'Simon.

The Cavaliers were asked to bat in a 30 over game on a bowler-friendly Riverside pitch. Mr. Extras, that old faithful, had a really good game, contributing 43 (an amazing 34% of the total) to the Cavs and 25 to BP. 

Those wielding the bat and making double figures were Arvind (23), Dennis (this week's guest from Eastleigh Baptists, 15), Adam (13) and Tim (13). Finley & Milo got 2 wickets each, and Howard 3 for 12.
There was even a not-bungled run out between Jon & Dave. The Cavs total of 127 seemed manageable, the nature of the pitch notwithstanding.  

When BP batted Tim, Matthew and Sid bowled economical spells for the Cavs with some alarming uneven bounce (and not-bounce-at-all) putting paid to some of our batsmen. The star Cav bowler was Bharath with 5 for 26 including four in one over which rather dented our chances.

When the slow bowlers came on it was interesting to note (from the safetyof the physio's couch) that the low bounce which the seamers had extracted had changed to some occasional quite high bounce, which was
equally difficult to hit.

However a good partnership developed between Simon (40) who had been in since the first wicket fell and Will (22). The unlikely 'death bowling' combination of James and Richard somehow managed to remove Will, and leave BP needing an unlikely 20 off the last over. Simon attempting to attack the first ball thereof was duly stumped by Dennis. 

The 'Test Series' is now delicately poised at one all and to be resolved on 22 July.

Thursday 6th July 2017           The Vine                         Bursledon Rec

Team - Mark Ath, Finley, Milo, Will, Other Simon, Original Simon, Daz, Howard, AJ, Jon

Working on the principle that the sign of any great team is consistently...we consistently lose to the Vine!

This was a close game, played on a warm and sunny evening at Bursledon Rec, which is a notable break with tradition as usually it's cold and windy.

The Vine won the toss and chose to bat. They made a fast start and were 36 after only 4 overs. Finley bowled well, and AJ did a great job behind the stumps. Milo came on, slowed the scoring rate and took the first wicket. After 10 overs, the score was 85-1.

Will rotated the bowlers skillfully, and wickets from O'Simon and Jono helped slow the score a little plus a good final over from Howard. 

BPCC started their innings chasing 130 off 18 overs. Mark hit the second ball for 4, and he and Finley took us to 20 off 3 overs. Mark was caught hitting out, and Will came in at number 3. Finley played one of his best innings including a final six which was caught beyond the boundary(Ed. Do we offer a prize for a catch in the crowd? Answer – No) to take him to 30 no.

Will and a selection of Simons moved the score on and at half way, we were on target at 65. Will retired on 27 no but the Vine then held 3 great catches, and the game turned their way.

BPCC kept going and ended on 115 - 8.

It was a great effort and we then were off to the pub for the Vine's kind hospitality.

Saturday 8 July 2017               Eastleigh BC                  Riverside Park

Team - Jon, Simon (original of that ilk), Howard, Matt S, Arvind, James, Adam, Mole, Ray (guest)

With many of our regulars unavailable we were grateful that the Cavaliers didn't have a fixture this weekend, and we promptly borrowed three from their squad. We were also very pleased to see Matt S turn out for us.

Eastleigh seemed to have the opposite problem to us, giving us their guest player and still fielding 11 themselves.

Eastleigh won the toss and put us in.  Adam and Simon went early, but Arvind played an innings full of text book drives and built a platform with our 'Eastleigh' guest player, Ray, who happens to be a Christchurch player. (Is there a special word for a double ringer?)  When Arvind went James and then Matt S and Jon added valuable runs. As ever Mr Extras also contributed (not for the first time) as top scorer.

We finished on 118. A bit short on a pitch with a fast outfield but something to bowl at.

Jon decided to make a game of it with an early caught and bowled followed by a clean bowled. Matt took one more and at 6-3 we started think maybe it was our day.

Following the first drinks break (after 10 overs) Eastleigh came back into it scoring freely. James was unlucky bowling a ball that was slowed down by bat and pad to the extent it nestled up to the stumps without removing a bail.  

Howard picked up a wicket lbw but sadly by this stage Eastleigh were well in excess of the run rate and finished things off with nine overs to spare.

Both teams retired to the Hop Inn for a well earned pint.

Wednesday 12 July 2017        Museums                       Sports Centre

Match Rained Off

Saturday 22 July 2017            Cavaliers                         Riverside Park

Rained off (well, what did we expect in England in July)

Wednesday 26 July 2017        OMCC                            Sports Centre

Rained off (Hoo Hum)

Saturday 5 August 2017        Christ Church Winchester       Riverside Park

Team - Mark Ath, Jon, Will, Finley, Milo, Dave Perks, Ethers, Adam, Matt S, Phil Mills, Mole

After three rained off fixtures we finally took to the field again. As it's holiday season both teams have called on their 'reserves', with Christ Church fielding three from Eastleigh BC including captain Toby. BP have Adam (a BP regular these days but Cavalier at heart), Matt S, and the lesser spotted Phil Mills. We lost the toss and were invited to bat.

It was rather a dull day, with some cloud about, and a decent breeze. The outfield was also slow following an earlier heavy shower, making it difficult to get the ball to the boundary.  Despite this Mark Ath and Finley got us off to a good start before Mark fell for 21. 

A change in the bowling to occasional spin saw BPs eyes light up, and we duly lost four wickets to the slow bowler. The pitch's tendancy to low bounce and some sideways movement off the pitch didn't help with this. Through all this Finley stayed resolute at the other end. Once Matt S joined him we had a period of stability as we approached the end of the innings. 

Matt S also fell, but Finley was still there, and reached his fifty with half a dozen overs to go. He offered to retire, we took one look at who we have left to go out to bat, and quickly usher Finley back to the crease. He and Jon see out the 30 overs and post 160. This is an imposing score on a pitch that has proved hard to hit boundaries on.

In reply we opened with Milo and Matt S, and make early inroads.  Christ Church were fifty for four when Finley came on to bowl the last over before 'drinks'. Just to prove it really was his day his first two balls resulted in two wickets, both bowled. The hatrick ball was survived but at drinks Christ Church needed over 107 from 15 overs with only four wickets in hand. Surely nothing could go wrong?

From this seemingly unassailable position BP found a way to make a game of it. In truth this was due to an excellent partnership by Christ Church, on a pitch that had dried out, making hitting fours more than the distant hope it was earlier in the match.  

The game swung back BPs way when Milo took a crucial wicket, and one that his bowling had well deserved.  Adam also contributed well with a wicket and a catch he had more time than anyone would like to think about.  

With the the tail in the scoring rate slowed and Will, Milo, and Adam bowled out the overs with Christ Church 35 runs short. A bigger margin on paper than it seemed out on the pitch.

Victory secured it was off to The Hop Inn to refuel. We are looking forward to playing Christ Church next year, with talk of us making it a three test series.

Wednesday 16 August 2017  St Cross House               Sports Centre

Team - O'Mike, Toby, Mark Ath, Daz B, Jon, Martin Tilley, AJ, Dave Perks.

It was always going to be a tough task for the eight men of BPCC against St Cross at the Sports Centre on a cloudy evening. We were on pitch four, and having won the toss, we decided to bat.

O'Mike and Toby faced an accurate opening attack and runs were hard to come by in the first few overs. Toby was caught in the covers, and then Mark was unluckily run out with a direct throw from deep gully.

O'Mike was joined by Martin Tilley and both started to find the boundary, with O'Mike hitting a classy straight six before retiring on 25. Daz then came in and hit some nice shots and was joined by AJ, who timed the ball well.  At the end of our 16 overs we had worked hard to get to 76.

St Cross kindly lent us a fielder, but it was tough covering the wide open spaces with nine players.

We opened with Jon and O'Mike; St Cross attacked from the start and raced to 30 - 0 off five overs.  O'M then got two wickets and the scoring slowed, but they were ahead on the rate.  AJ took another wicket and Toby bowled well until the winning runs were scored in the tenth over.

Bit of a tough game for BPCC but as ever we celebrated well in the pub.

Saturday 19 August 2017   Cavaliers           Riverside Park

Team - Toby, Jon, Mark Ath, AJ, Ethers, Mole, guest players Jonny and Tom.

So, it's the final decisive test match in the all important Ashes series between BPCC and local rivals The Cavaliers. You would expect that getting players 'up' for such a big game would not be an issue. You would be wrong. The sides struggled to find eleven players between them, with personnel becoming "available" and then suddenly "not available" right up until the start of play. Both teams called on their reserves, and Eastleigh BC and Christchurch were both well represented on the pitch, BP fielding 6 regulars and two guests, The Cavs 5 regulars and 5 guests.

Things started well with BP winning the toss. It had been another rainy week and batting last was always likely to be an advantage. We duly asked the Cavs to have a bat.  

AJ and Jon started well, with guest bowler Jonny also looking rather useful. On a pitch where boundaries were going to be a rare treat The Cavs made use of the spaces offered by BP fielding with nine to accumulate in ones and twos. We were grateful to The Cavs for lending us a fielder, as with only eight the pitch would have seemed even bigger.

AJ made the breakthrough with an excellent caught and bowled. He does that quite a bit. Clever analysis might offer up some technical aspect of his bowling that makes this a likely form of dismissal, but it's probably because he is one of a limited number of BP players who can actually catch. He very nearly snagged a remarkable one handed catch to dismiss Bharat out in the deep, but wasn't quite tall enough, thus depriving the non-playing captain of a nailed on idea for the champagne moment of the season.

The scoring rate for The Cavs improved when Bharat came in. His was a very impressive innings. Getting a fifty is never an easy task, so to do so when the whole Cavs innings only contained two boundaries was a fantastic effort.  This helped The Cavs post a challenging 145 target.

Mark and Toby started our reply. Both playing well but struggling to score on the slow outfield. Toby was run out attempting a second run (a rare BP run out not involving Will), Jonny came in and hit it around well before being dismissed.  There were cameos from Ethers, AJ, Jon, and our other guest player Tom, but the star was Mark Ath with an accomplished forty-two.

Sadly BP were never up with the run rate, and needed a challenging 41 off the last over. We didn't get them. In fact we didn't get any.

With the Ashes trophy handed over to The Cavaliers there was just time to give out awards. The Cavs man of the match went to Bharat for his fifty and a great bowling spell. For BP there was no argument with Mark Ath picking up the award for his innings.  With no stand out moment of note the "champagne moment" award went to Mole for his fielding, on a day when the ball seemed to follow him wherever he was positioned.

With the formalities completed it was off again to The Hop Inn. Same time next year chaps.

Wednesday 23 August            Shirley CC                 Sports Centre

Team - Will, Jon, Finley, Milo, Daz B, Ethers, Pete T, O Mike, AJ, James, Mole

After several rained off fixtures we finally get to meet Shirley CC. They seem a friendly bunch, but we are slightly concerned by their team having matching kit, including sponsor. No one has ever sponsored BPCC to play cricket. 

We we are batting first and the game seesaws in the early overs. The first goes  for one run, the second for eighteen. Things then start to go rather badly. We loose Finley, Milo and Pete T cheaply, with O Mike retiring on twenty-five. Others also fall to some tight Shirley bowling, with Will the only other batsman able to post a substantial score. We end up with eighty-five, which looks a little short.

Finley and Pete T bowl beautifully at the start of the Shirley innings and this is followed up by Milo and AJ.  Suddenly eighty five is looking a long way away for Shirley. They realise they are going to have to push on and duly start to play some big shots. BP field as well as we have all season but are unable to take sufficient wickets to slow the run rate and Shirley get home with overs to spare.

A disappointing end to the season but it was good to finally play Shirley CC, who we look forward to seeing again next season.

Team -