Judge my captaincy on the Merton game.
Merton’s the match that will decide whether I’m a success or failure this year.
I’m staking everything on the match against Merton. BRING IT ON!
So it was that Nick Foord led out the Badgers for their 2014 fixture against Merton CC. With Dollimore jetting off to a wedding in the US, it was left to Foord to pack up his grill, deposit his steaks in the fridge and mastermind the Badger challenge against these long-time opponents.
Choosing to bat first, Merton began cautiously, nudging and nurdling to no great effect. It wasn’t until the arrival of a red-capped aggressor that the scoreboard gained any real momentum. Four followed six followed six followed four but it was Hirst who had the last laugh, decimating the stumps with the batsmen stranded three runs short of his half-century. Further boundaries from the lower pushed the score along to a competitive 178 but they couldn’t prevent Cole and Foord from claiming three scalps apiece. Cole also claimed that he could down a pint quicker than anyone in the history of the universe but it wasn’t really the time or the place.
The Badgers had a chance. They’d come up short against Merton in their six previous games. Now it was Dollimore’s Foord’s opportunity to write his name in the black and white history books.
The Badgers needed a solid partnership and who better to provide it than Lee (solid on-field tweeting) and Jinks (solid Panini sticker collection). Both batsmen reached their half century and, by the time they had returned to the hutch, the black and white Badger collective needed just 43 more runs to wrap up the win. A couple of scares were provided when Merton brought on a bowler who could spin the ball a ridiculously long way but the remaining runs were knocked off by the safe hands of Warman and Walker.
As Dollimore chatted with his American hosts and charged his glass with more champagne, he sat back, safe in the knowledge that he had delivered on his promises. His Badger captaincy was a total success.