Sixes Invitational, June 13th 2009
Report by Sam Meyer
I woke up on Sunday morning with a vacuum in my life. For months I had been obsessing over the East Meon Cricket Club Sixes Invitational: arranging teams; sponsorship; food; drink; advertising; rules; wet-weather plans; you name it, I thought about it. Then thought about it some more for good measure, before changing my mind and starting again. So to wake up on Sunday and have nothing to think about, well, it almost felt like a bereavement.
We got off to a tremendous start, with East Meon taking on the Pink Maidens in blazing sunshine that lingered for the rest of the day. James Atkinson put down a marker, which no-one was able to match, blasting 60 not out in East Meon’s score of 104-0 off 5 overs. A knock that including five big sixes, one of which is still to return to earth. The Pink Maidens responded gamely, although Chris Moor showed some disgraceful sportsmanship in running out one of their opening batsmen without their facing. Boos resounded around the ground, but he was unapologetic and soaked up the antipathy like a pantomime baddie. East Meon were unable to capitalise on Chris’s disgraceful behaviour as the Pink Maidens batted out their overs, to score 44-3 giving East Meon a winning margin of 60 runs.
Next up were the Devon Ducks against Shedfield. It’s fair to say that the Ducks were definitely out of their comfort zones, perhaps the alpacas had kept them awake all night, but they gamely batted out their overs at better than a run a ball. Shedfield took a while to get going, and James Blackman took a wicket with his second ball of the innings, but Ed Dingley took charge and saw them home in the at the end of the second over. After these two games the focus shifted to the other pool of teams, with West Meon taking on Buriton and the Brigands taking on Rogate. By this time midday was approaching and the beer and wine tents began to do a steady trade as players and spectators girded their loins for the afternoon’s matches. Perhaps it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the swelling crowd applauding the players, but the contest definitely went up a gear at this point as all teams fought for victory. Two big sixes from Buriton skipper Neil Hazell set a good total for his side to defend and West Meon, thanks to some Spartan bowling by W. Mynott who conceded just 6 runs, and a wicket, from his over, where unable to score the required 62. Meanwhile, the Brigands raced home against Rogate, with Mike Jarrett clubbing a six in the final over to win the match. This game was also memorable for Brigands skipper Jake Peach who struck his first ever six, unfortunately for East Meon legend Bash it went straight through the back window of his car!
In the next round we saw the Pink Maidens challenge Shedfield all the way, scoring a highly respectable 57 off their five overs. Paul Jays struck two sixes in his innings for the Pink Maidens, one of which seemed to clear the marquee, a monstrous hit from the far side of the square. However, Shedfield came home in the final over, showing cool heads under pressure, A. Tudge and S. Barker scoring the winning runs with a partnership of 31. Game 6 was between East Meon and the Devon Ducks. Again East Meon batted first and again they scored a massive total, this time of 97, thanks mainly to lusty blows from our overseas player Russell Wright. The Devon Ducks had no answer to a terrifying spell from Rupert Hetherington who took two wickets. However, East Meon again failed to show that killer instinct and the Devon Ducks were able to bat out their overs without alarm in the end. West Meon took on the Brigands next, with Ewan Lovett-Turner scoring an impressive 47 not out. Again West Meon weren’t quite able to chase down the required total, and despite some brave knocks from Elliot Lea and Rory St-Ledger, two wickets for Ewan meant their challenge never got off the ground. Next up Buriton took on Rogate. No wickets fell in the Buriton innings, as D. Francis and S. Findlay struck a six a piece in their total of 75. Despite some lusty blows from skipper Andrew King, his onslaught came too late for Rogate, who fell 19 runs short. Game 9 was between the Pink Maidens and the Devon Ducks. Although neither team could make it to the final, both played with a lot of passion and pride. The Pink Maidens went off well, and J. Wadley struck arguably the longest six runs ever struck, measuring 132 yards, as all six were run thanks to some disastrous overthrows. In fact, the Devon Ducks were their own worst enemy in this game, despite only conceding 20 runs off the bat, they bowled an astonishing 30 extras, giving the Pink Maidens a total of 50 to defend. They were close, finishing on 38, with Roger Burrows holding the innings together with 5 not out and extras again top scoring with 27!
The last game from the Cavaliers pool was effectively a semi-final. East Meon again decided to bat first, and set a respectable, but modest, total of 66, thanks in part to a battling knock by skipper Paul Gillespie. Shedfield clearly fancied their chances, but another awesome opening over from Rupert Hetherington saw them out of the game as he again took wickets with his first and third balls. Skipper Paul Gilmore did his best and struck his side’s only boundary, but all around him capitulated and they were all out for 19. The penultimate game of the Roundheads pool was between West Meon and Rogate. Again, these teams were yet to record a victory, so couldn’t make it to the final, but both had a point to prove. Mark Rattigan for Rogate scored 30 not out as they set West Meon a total of 68 to win. Some tight bowling from Rogate seemed to have the game in the bag for them, but a disastrous final over from Ben Jackson, which cost 22, gave West Meon’s Elliot Lea the chance to hit the last ball for four to win the game. This meant that Buriton vs Brigands also became a semi-final. Ewan Lovett-Turner again took control of proceedings and scored 29 before being run out. Graham Peach then fell to the bowling of D. Francis in the final over as the Brigands set Buriton 69 to win. M. Boyes and S. Atkins almost got Buriton close, with a partnership of 25, but two more wickets for Ewan Lovett-Turner spelled the end of their challenge.
With the crowd swelling, the hog roast roasting, the beer tent creaking to capacity, and music coming from the marquee as the bands tuned up for the evening, the final match between hosts East Meon and challengers the Brigands was played in front of more people than have ever watched cricket in East Meon before. Sadly for the hosts, the candle which had been burning at both ends finally proved unsustainable and despite another battling knock from the skipper the home side were only able to muster 43 runs from their overs, with Joe May, guest starring for the Brigands kept things tight conceding only 8 from his over. Rupert, the man of the day so far, couldn’t lift himself for his final over and repeat his double wicket trick and the Brigands, thanks to Ewan Lovett-Turner and Graham Peach made it home with 9 balls to spare. As the dust settled on the wicket, the evening morphed seamlessly in to the beer and music festival. Brigands left clutching the cup and their winners medals, with the Big Six award given to Paul Jays for clearing the marquee. M. Edwards and J. Wadley jointly won the sparkling English rosé moment award for their all run six, and Ewan Lovett-Turner won both the Most Wickets and Most Runs award with 6 wickets and 106 runs respectively.
I’d like to thank all our sponsors for their generosity and support in making the day so memorable:
• Harriotts of West Meon
• Langrish House Hotel
• The Olde George
• The Izaak Walton
• The Real Jam Co
• Upper Parsonage Barn
• Hill Farm Juice
• M&S Trophies; and
• Wickham Vineyards.
All gave what they could, most gave more than asked, and they really helped make the day as memorable as it was. Thanks also needs to be extended to Vicky Symes, who flawlessly kept on track of the scoring despite the speed of the cricket and my constant interruptions, to Lynn and Jane for providing the teams with their match-day teas, and to absolutely anyone who lent a hand or time over the course of the day. I think it fair to say that the Sixes Invitational was a rip-roaring success and set to become almost a central cog of our summer fixtures.
Results:
- East Meon (104-0, James Atkinson 60 not out) beat the Pink Maidens (44-3) by 60 runs
- Shedfield (32-1, Ed Dingley 11 not out) beat the Devon Ducks (30-2) by 4 wickets
- Buriton (61-2, Neil Hazell 19 not out) beat West Meon (45-3, W. Mynott 17 not out) by 16 runs
- Brigands (60-1, Jake Peach 26 not out) beat Rogate (56-1, Guy Pinfold 47 not out) by 4 wickets
- Shedfield (60-1, A. Tudge 23 not out) beat the Pink Maidens (57-2, Paul Jays 26 not out) by 4 wickets
- East Meon (97-2, Russell Wright 29 not out) beat the Devon Ducks (25-4, Rupert Hetherington 2-1) by 72 runs
- Brigands (73-3, Ewan Lovett-Turner 47 not out) beat West Meon (51-2, Ewan Lovett-Turner 2-12) by 22 runs
- Buriton (75-0, S. Findlay 29 not out) beat Rogate (57-3, Andrew King 26) by 18 runs
- The Pink Maidens (50-3, J. Wadley 11 not out) beat the Devon Ducks (38-1) by 12 runs
- East Meon (66-3, Paul Gillespie 34) beat Shedfield (19 all out, Rupert Hetherington 2-7) by 47 runs
- West Meon (69-2, Elliott Lea 26 not out) beat Rogate (67-2, Mark Rattingan 30 not out) by 3 wickets
- Brigands (68-2, Ewan Lovett-Turner 29) beat Buriton (35 all out, Ewan Lovett-Turner 2-6) by 33 runs
- Brigands (46-0, Ewan Lovett-Turner 30 not out) beat East Meon (43-4, Paul Gillespie 18 not out) by 5 wickets
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