Great Missendens Pelicans 2023

YearPlayedWonDrawnTiedLostCancelled/
Abandoned
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Sunday 1st October vs Kensington

Kensington 163 all out (Hasan Arif 3-27, Nic Vanderpeet 3-36)   Great Missenden Pelicans 141-9 (Sumit 37, Hasan 36)

Match DRAWN

Man of the Match: Hasan

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

No Match Report

Sunday 24th September vs Bovingdon

Bovingdon 152 all out   :Great Missenden Pelicans 106 all out

LOST by 46 runs

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

No Match Report

Sunday 17th September vs Hyde Heath

CANCELLED

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

No Match Report

Sunday 10th September vs Ley Hill

Great Missenden Pelicans 253-2 (Yusuf Khan 82*, Asad Rehman 78*)   Ley Hill 218 (Hasan Arif 8-30, including a hat trick)

WON by 35 runs

Man of the Match: Hasan

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

No Match Report

Sunday 3rd September vs Top Knockers

Top Knockers 182-9 (Will Richardson 3-26)   Great Missenden Pelicans 183-0 (Asad Rehman 130*, Raheel Khan 43*)

WON by 10 wickets

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

No Match Report

Sunday 27th August vs Widmer End

Widmer End 178-7 (Wasiq Chaudhary 3-25)   Great Missenden Pelicans 156-9 (Alex Hill 54*)

Match DRAWN

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

No Match Report

Sunday 20th August vs Ballinger

CANCELLED

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

No Match Report

Sunday 13th August vs Middleton Stoney

Great Missenden Pelicans 138 all out (David Bailey 56)   Middleton Stoney 139-5

LOST by 5 wickets

Man of the Match: David Bailey

The day itself, despite a rather sunless start, proved to be not a bad one if all things weather interest you (which to be fair if you follow cricket means the lot of us).

A visit to Middleton Stoney is always a pleasure, particularly for Messrs Greenwood and Fairweather given it’s the one fixture a year with travel time sub 45 minutes, but also because of their beautiful ground and the good folk Middleton Stoney 1st XI are excellent hosts.

Winning a tight game of “which hand is the stone in” was the skip du jour’s only real contribution and gave us the honour of the decision. He then followed his strategy of “What would Toobes not do?” so the Pelis strode out for a bat. Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam would have be proud too, as father and son were our 1&2 with James and Dave looking to open our account. A brief affair sadly with James looking to leave the USO* which pitched on a length on middle-stump which proved fatal, so out came Ajmal to get us motoring. He made a start and got to 12, before being called for a suicidal single by “Pappa Doc” Bailey, and being run out. The opposition sportingly suggested this was a tight call but in such circumstances I am always reminded the view of our clumpire NVDP that the two outcomes are “in” or “out” there is no “nearly out” or “nearly in.” Finger raised and be off with you!

A tight period followed with wickets and a steady dribble of runs, the ground and Middleton Stoney is gorgeous but a lush recently rained on outfield, and pitch size on the generous was always going to result in a reduced run volume. Dr B continued to move on steadily, with one appeal for caught behind declined by the umpire despite some protestations (I’ve checked and the book says not out) partners coming and going, with Josh and JG adding some valuable additions towards the end. Waz ended the innings facing one ball too many, which as it happens was ONLY one ball, so tea was taken.

During this period something of a drama unfolded. Mr Arif failed to notice the wasp taking up temporary residence in his drinks can, and was promptly stung on the top lip. During the break fair to say Ajmal’s lip reached epic proportion and far great than anything a Kardashian might consider. He therefore departed early – for the second time in a day! Thankfully the oppo kindly sported us a fielder however, so our thanks.

Conversation was then had about the fact that 138 may be enough (it wasn’t) and that we had plenty of bowling to give us a chance (we did). Opening was Waz and Nixon who both bowled well, and in Nixon’s case darn quickly if Dr Bailey’s face when he collected the first few into his gloves were to be observed. Dr B had his work cut out for him and manly dove both sides of the stumps for a number of the bowlers. Replacing our openers was Josh and Juelz who both bowled really well with a couple of overs from Josh delivering some absolute seeds. An echoing trickle of runs and wickets to our own effort but sadly runs were achieved whilst wickets remained, which is often the case with three dropped catches. Never mind. Game over.

A bbq and beer after the game with some thoroughly lovely opposition. Onwards.

*Unexpected Straight One

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

Sunday 6th August vs Holmer Green

Great Missenden Pelicans 180-8 (Josh Bailey 60*, Hasan Arif 50)   Holmer Green 164 all out (Felix Harris 3-25)

WON by 16 runs

Man of the Match: Felix

A new era was born this week. An era of Harrison and Felix. An era of James catching the ball. An era of an excellent Ali tea… that was cooked for just 11 people.

After rain fell throughout the week leaving the pitch looking, and acting, like brown playdoh, a fresh new Pelican skipper walked out to do the toss… and promptly lost. Guess the era isn’t all that different from the last. With Holmer Green looking confidently at the weather they proclaimed they would bowl first, much to the Pelicans disgust, although that disgust turned to gratitude as the clouds opened for the first hour but play continued.

It must be understood that for the first 12 overs, to say the pitch was slow was the understatement of the century, and all the credit must be given to Asad and Ali as they moved the run rate along at a sedate pace, but ultimately setting a VITAL 36 run platform for the first wicket. Ali, unfortunately the titan to fall, walked virtually straight up to the skipper and stated that with the stumping off a wide he had just fallen victim to, he had now completed the full set of stupid dismissals.

With that VITAL… I say again, VITAL 36-run platform set, the Pelis set about proving they were Pelis, and lost four more wickets over the next five overs for a grand total of nine runs. 36-1 had suddenly become 45-5 and the skipper had a very good idea of what Joe Root must have felt for 17 tests. In the middle of the aforementioned collapse, it should be noted that Tony was given out LBW. Before the bowler had even turned around, Niron’s finger was already raised to sky and Tony’s disbelief was complete, especially given the ball was probably closer to hitting his head than the stumps, it was so high. Ah well, we move on.

Jalil and Niron took on the task of rebuilding, with Jalil displaying some of his swashbuckling best and Niron standing vigil, Pelicans began to settle down a bit. Finally, Jalil fell, when he decided to play the exact shot he had been telling everyone else not to. Then Niron, who on his 25th ball got off the mark, was caught on his 26th. Shame that.

This brought to the crease Hasan and Josh with the score 74-7. They proceeded to take the attack back to bowlers and in the 11 overs they were in the middle together put on 85 runs before Has launched a ball into orbit. He called Josh through with a swagger, “he has no chance” he said, having already been put down by the same man that day. But that man clung on and Has trudged off for a very well made 50.

Felix came out to join Josh for the final 2.1 overs and ran his heart out as Pelis finished on a very respectable 180 – 8.

Tea was a delicious chicken curry with plenty of extras made by Ali, spectacular does not come close to describing how good it was. Shame the Oppo turned it down before they even arrived.

Marching out to bowl, in the absence of Waz, Josh tossed the ball to Harrison, a man known only to Ali…. And maybe his daughter. He apparently hadn’t played cricket since school, not that it showed. A beautiful spell of swing bowling and after the openers walked away from the first 11 overs they had kept Holmer Green to a miserly 33 – 2. Solid start.

Replacing Josh at the bottom was Has, who did as Has does and spun webs for the batters, but this time to little reward. His partner in crime, however, was the young 16-year-old Felix Harris, this was the man who really stole the show. Fearing where the ball would go, Josh packed the leg side and Felix dutifully put 7 overs of metronomic bowling on middle and leg. Our very own Chris Woakes took 3 wickets in a brilliant of spell of control either side of drinks, never letting the Oppo get away from him. Now, to say that Pelis fielding can sometimes be hopeless would be putting it kindly. Catch after catch after catch went down, but still the bowlers soldiered on and finally the ball found, incredibly, James, who when he held on, lifted his arms to the sky and ran around screaming.

Drinks came and the Holmer were sat on 75, Pelis were on top, but skip knew that things could get away from them at any moment. Time for Niron. Four overs of tantalizing medium pace left Holmer wondering how they were ever going to get another run. These fears only increased when Ajmal and Asad came on to really apply the pressure. 12 overs and a sensational bit of Felix fielding later (honestly this guy had a day to be proud of) and the Oppo were dragging themselves into the last over 160 – 9, needing 20 to tie. Cometh the hour, Cometh the Harrison. Our opening bowler of magical hair came on and cleaned up the opposing skipper and victory was complete. An all-round wonderful day.

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

Sunday 30th July vs Winchmore Hill

Abandoned

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

No Match Report

Sunday 23rd July vs Wendover

Great Missenden Pelicans 222-5 (Yusuf Khan 112, Asad Rehman 44)   Wendover 208-6 (Hasan Arif 3-41)

WON by 14 runs

Man of the Match: Yusuf

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

No Match Report

Sunday 16th July vs Chesham Bois

Great Missenden Pelicans 207-2 dec (Asad Rehman 137*, Yusuf Khan 60)   Chesham Bois 128-7

Match DRAWN

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

No Match Report

Wednesday 12th July vs Stowe Templars

Stowe Templars 280-6 dec   Great Missenden Pelicans 210 (J Gandy 62)

LOST by 70 runs

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

No Match Report

Monday 10th July vs Northwood

Great Missenden Pelicans 274 (Goswami Meet 184)   Northwood 278-4 (Vishal Patel 3-57)

LOST by 6 wickets

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

No Match Report

Sunday 9th July vs The Lee

Great Missenden Pelicans 284-5 (40 overs, Asad Rehman 144*, Yusuf Khan 66)   The Lee 225-9 (40 overs, Adam Fairweather 3-36)

WON by 59 runs

Man of the Match: Adam

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

No Match Report

Sunday 2nd July vs Roving Reporters

Great Missenden Pelicans 177-8 (40 overs, Raheel Khan 101)   Roving Reporters 178-4

LOST by 6 wickets

Man of the Match: Raheel

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

No Match Report

Sunday 25th June vs Iffley Village

Iffley Village 258-5 (35 overs)   Great Missenden Pelicans 259-4 (Asad Rehman 122, Amit Singh 88*)

WON by 6 wickets

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

No Match Report

Sunday 18th June vs Fiddlers

Fiddlers 196-6   Great Missenden Pelicans 198-1 (Raheel Khan 80*, Asad Rehman 70)

WON by 9 wickets

“I’ve got the lucky coin, I will elect to bat”.

With confidence Skip marched to the wicket to engage with some pre match chat with the opposition Skipper. Up went the coin down it came the Pelicans were fielding. With rain expected a shortened game was agreed of 30 overs each.

Opening for the Pelicans was the usual suspects of Toobes from the Railway End and Josh from the Nags End. The first over from Toobes saw the opener plunder 10 runs, albeit with pretty decent shots. The first over from Josh saw two runs and the wicket of the other opener, clean bowled.

There then followed what was a further 9 overs which saw The Fiddlers reach 60 runs with no further loss of wickets. There were a few catching chances but to be honest the openers were decent batsmen and played some rather lovely shots.

With Toobes running out of steam The Chesham Prince himself came into the attack to twirl some magic. Meanwhile following Josh who finished with a very good 1 for 25 off 6 overs there was the debutant, Joel. Now to be fair his opening over was a very mixed bag, indeed first of all it consisted of 9 balls and a couple of the wides were so wide as to stretch the meaning of the word wide. But this random approach seemed to bamboozle the opening bat who it must be said looked comfortable and gloved it into Yusuf’s welcome hands. Sportingly he walked which caught everybody out as nobody had heard anything nor appealed.

With Joel’s spell coming to an end Asad too got into the act and enticed the number 4 bat to tickle one to Yusuf’s welcoming hands again, this was followed in the next over by another wicket.

19 overs 4 for 104 time for Wazball.

Waz with his customary enthusiasm threw himself into the attack and as with Joel there was an eclectic mix of balls hurled down to the Fiddlers batsmen, but their number three bat seemed pretty set in as he went past 50 runs.

With Asad’s spell coming to an end with excellent figures of 2 for 29 Waz to came into his final over of his spell and managed to clean bowl the Fiddlers number 3 for 54 runs off his final ball……..amazing.

The scene was now set for the game to be brought home by Nico and Adam.

Nico in particularly miserly form forced the Fiddlers to take a few running risks which resulted in the number 6 bat being run out, this was a surprising run out as Asad who picked up the ball under armed it to Yusuf.

With overs running out the Fiddlers finally finished their innings on a very respectable 197, a pretty good score.

Tea this week courtesy of James and Waz was a fine affair of veggie and meat chilli and some cake fancies, but unlike normal matches it was decided to eat after the game in order to avert the rain.

Opening for the Pelicans was Asad and Raheel.

As Skip sat back to survey the field the first 4 cracked off Asad’s bat, followed by the second and third, Raheel similarly entered the spirit of things with 4 following 4.

It must be said that some of Asad’s and Raheel’s shots were of the highest calibre as the clubhouse sat back to watch a batting master class.

Now as everybody knows when the Pelican’s are looking this good it can only mean one thing and that is a collapse but no. This batting display continued and indeed improved if that were possible. The partnership only came to an end when Asad was given out for 70 after a great batting display. Even Asad was happy.

With the scene now set for a collapse and the Pelicans on 146 for 1 with 52 required off 14 overs Yusuf joined his dad Raheel at the crease on what was Father’s Day, how lovely.

What was even better was that Yusuf carried on where Asad left off and the two Khans brought the game home with Raheel on an undefeated 80 and Yusuf 27, another brilliant display from the older Khan and all with 7 overs to spare.

Tea was now taken and what a fine offering it was to round off a pretty good days cricket.

Saddle up Pelicans for Iffley

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

Sunday 11th June vs Ley Hill

Great Missenden Pelicans 270 (Asad Rehman 52, Yusuf Khan 50, Greg Bailey 30)   Ley Hill 260-5 (35 overs)

WON by 10 runs

Twas Sunday and the PelicansDid drive and wander to the HillAll keen were 11 playersAnd the weather looked agreed Beware the slighted South African my sonThe ball he bowls, the bat he wieldsBeware the short boundaryAnd the catchers lurking there Greg and Asad vorpal willow in handOpening with a productive standAt a rate we were […]

Twas Sunday and the Pelicans
Did drive and wander to the Hill
All keen were 11 players
And the weather looked agreed

Beware the slighted South African my son
The ball he bowls, the bat he wields
Beware the short boundary
And the catchers lurking there

Greg and Asad vorpal willow in hand
Opening with a productive stand
At a rate we were on for 400 or more
The final total alas much a lesser score

Contributions down the card
Swinging, missing and hitting hard
Near enough 300, that will suffice
Off for lunch, sarnies and cake
A tough total for the oppo awaits

Out we went to join the fray
Snicker snack went the Ley Hill vorpal blade
Until brother Badr a wicket made

Greg he bowled, Alex too and Waz
A catch he took but alas
The road it claimed its due
Waz bereft we all too

Yusuf thou let through byes
The skipper quick to realise
In hunting down the ball shaped quarry
Tripped over his own appendages

In front of the opposition and fellow Pelis
The skipper went down like a man speared
The players laughed, the spectators cheered
Acclaiming O frabjous day! Callooh callay!
They chortled in their joy!

Twas drizzling and Sharrington to the crease appear
Did bat and belt all round the hill
Not enough and with thirty left
With much energy and heft and bowling deft
Coming up 10 short

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

Sunday 4th June vs Lord Gnomes

Great Missenden Pelicans 171 (Yusuf Khan 69)   Lord Gnomes 172-8 (Josh Bailey 3-17, Raheel Khan 3-38)

LOST by 2 wickets

‘Listen mate, the only time you walk is when you miss the bus’.

Under a blue sky the Pelicans welcomed Lord Gnomes to The Meadow, with the toss duly taken Skip unbelievably decided to bat.

Opening for the Pelicans we had the welcoming site of Asad and Raheel, it didn’t take long for both to get into their stride and pepper the boundary, Skip leaned back in his chair and relaxed into the afternoon. Obviously as everyone knows this is a dangerous attitude to take and proved again as in the fifth over Raheel was pinged LBW for 8. Still no need to worry as Yusuf took to the field and eased himself into the batting with two fours. Asad meanwhile continued to hit the boundary until a straight drive almost had him caught, Skip was twitching slightly in his seat as Asad then slapped the ball towards mid-wicket only to see a very good one-handed catch taken by the Gnomes skipper, 59 for 2.

Yusuf, having started with all the purpose of a German Panzer division continued in the same vein with 4 following 4 following 6 following 4, you get the picture. Anyway, Yusuf had now been joined by Ali, who was welcomed to his first game of the season following a toe injury. As ever always a pleasure seeing Ali’s smiling face. It is also fair to say Ali can bring a degree of randomness which can be fun. Today though was a little bit off the random scale even by Ali’s standards.

With Yusuf knocking the Gnomes bowlers all over the place Ali settled back and watched the carnage backing up well and watching the score fly along. With the game ticking over nicely and Ali at the crease the Gnomes went up for an LBW appeal which was expertly ignored by Umpire Adam, Ali meanwhile overruled Umpire Adam and walked having decided it must have been LBW. This caused some confusion in the clubhouse as obviously something must have happened which we had all missed, as it turned out this wasn’t the case, and this had been the first instance anybody had seen a batsman walk on an LBW appeal. If only Ali had listened to the wise words of our Australian player only 7 days earlier.

With Pelicans wobbling on 89 for 3 Niron entered the attack and with Yusuf took the score to 110 a nice partnership unfortunately finished too soon as first Yusuf was bowled after scoring an excellent 69 and then Niron soon followed, this was followed by a quick cameo from Sush who we welcomed back the Meadow following a many year layoff, hopefully he will be back again shortly.

Josh too having last year scored 103 this year went one better in the unit’s column but ignored the 10s and hundreds column.

A steady hand was required and thankfully this came from JG who hit the bad ones defended the good ones and stickled the score along with singles……easy.

Unfortunately, Toobes who had now joined him didn’t last long and was soon removed bringing Adam to the middle. We then witnessed a partnership of Adam taking the odd single and JG scoring the runs. With the score ticking along into the 170s JG was finally bowled for an excellent 23.

Now cometh the hour cometh the man, and that man was Waz. This gladiator fully pumped up to unleash his own form of hell with steel in his eyes and adventure in his heart strode like a lion to the wicket, he then ran back to the clubhouse realising he had forgotten one important item, his bat.

When he finally did get out to the wicket, he was bowled leaving Adam left like a jilted bride and the score on 171 All out.

Tea was provided by Niron and what a superb spread it was, absolutely fantastic. Washed down by beers provided from the Nags, what more could you ask for.

With 171 to defend the Pelicans opened with Toobes and Josh. The bowling was tight and the run rate low as the Peli bowlers took to their task. It wasn’t until the 10th over that Josh finally made the breakthrough an excellent ball that bowled the opener, the Gnomes were 18 for 1 after 10 overs.

With little success on the wickets front Toobes was removed from the attack to bring the Chesham Prince into the game, meanwhile at the Nags End Josh continued his spell which then saw him remove the other opener. This time it was an excellent catch from Yusuf behind the stumps that came off the underside of the bat. This was then followed by another excellent ball in Josh’s final over to take his third wicket and finish with figures of 8 overs 3 for 17.

With the Gnomes wobbling JG was brought into the attack from the Nags End meanwhile Asad continued plugging away from the Railway End but found little success, meanwhile after two overs JG was removed from the attack in order to take the Railway End later in the game and Raheel took over from the Nags End.

This brought an immediate result as the number 4 batsman decided to take on Asad’s arm, a foolish decision as a rocket was duly delivered to Yusuf and the bails removed. With the score on 123 for 4 Raheel and Asad took the attack to the Gnomes.

Raheel then took his next wicket a quick piece of work from Yusuf who stumped the number 5 bat followed by another Yusuf catch to dismiss the number 6 batsman and sportingly walked after not been given out.

With Asad’s spell finished Toobes came in and finished his spell but with no success to allow JG into the attack, meanwhile Raheel got his third victim LBW and JG took his first scalp as he removed the number 8 bat.

The game was now extremely tight but unfortunately the Gnomes stood firm and took the victory.

Special shout out to Waz who patrolled the boundaries and stopped more runs than most of our batsmen scored with some excellent cover fielding.

Yusuf whose display behind the wicket was as ever superb.

Niron for the tea and jerk chicken salad in particular.

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

Sunday 28th May vs Prince of Wales Marsh

Prince of Wales Marsh 108 (Hasan Arif 4-33)   Great Missenden Pelicans 109-1 (Asad Rehman 52)

WON by 9 wickets

Great Missendens XI vs Prince of Wales Marsh 28 May 2023

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

Sunday 21st May vs Hyde Heath

Great Missenden Pelicans 244-5 (Ajmal Arif 73, Raheel Kham 66)   Hyde Heath 139 (Hasan Arif 4-31)

WON by 105 runs

‘To the sound of resounding boo’s Adam walked towards the clubhouse’

With Hyde Heath hosting the Pelicans an eager team assembled on the Heath and awaited the opposition, and waited, and waited, with a pitch inspection undertaken and the fact that there were no white lines to be seen it became obvious there was a problem, on returning to the Meadow and finding the opposition, it was obvious.

A quick mow and clubhouse opening then ensued we were ready to go and batting first. In the meantime, some quick thinking from Has ensured tea was sorted, a plethora of chicken shawarma wraps, samosa’s and chips to be delivered by Mother Has was inspirational and above and beyond the call of duty from Mother Has.

Great Missendens XI vs Hyde Heath 21 May 2023

Opening for the Pelicans as ever Raheel but this time alongside debutant Greg Bailey, another Bailey yes but not ‘another’ Bailey.

This new opening partnership started off steadily with a few singles and two’s no doubt playing themselves in, and then in true Bailey fashion Greg went for the fours, three in a row followed by being bowled for 18, maybe he is a Bailey after all. It was a nice knock and no doubt more runs will come as Greg understands if that is possible the variability of the wicket.

Raheel meanwhile did what Raheel does, kept on hitting the ball in a somewhat lugubrious style, although now he was joined by mini Khan himself Yusuf.

Now it is fair to say that in batting the apple indeed fell a long way from the tree, possibly up in Hyde Heath as Yusuf opened with a four and then a six, he carried on in this vein until on 21 he was bowled an absolute peach, no complaints.

Raheel now joined by Mini Better Has Ajmal continued with his shots which comprised of a single or a four, basically little running and in no time earnt the applause of the vast crowd as he passed his 50.

Ajmal too dispensing with running also soon got into his stride and hit four’s, sixes or singles and similarly was soon raising his bat in a somewhat half-mast manner to the appreciative crowd.

This pair in what seemed like no time had put on a partnership of 123 to take the score onto 196 when Raheel was finally out LBW pinged with fingers faster than a Mamba by Greg.

With Raheel out for a magnificent 66, another Bailey went out to the wicket, went for a mighty six and was bowled, frankly it could have been one of many Baileys but it was non other than James, he was replaced by another Bailey, this time Josh.

Unfortunately, the partnership with Ajmal was not long lasting as Better Has was replaced by Not so good Has, though now before scoring a brilliant 73. Again, another great innings.

With Josh and Has at the wicket the action was as expected fours and the odd single but these two cavaliers by the end of the innings had taken the score onto 244 of 35 overs with Josh not out 20 and Has 13.

And so, to tea……. As mentioned, the order had been put in and Mother Has very kindly delivered a truly magnificent feast, notwithstanding the short notice there were 22 very happy players. A very big thank you.

With 244 to defend the usual pairing of Toobes and Josh started the attack, with the usual quota of leg side balls from Toobes it was due to a massive amount of surprise that the Heath opener missed the straight one and was bowled, two further overs followed and Toobes was removed from the attack with figures of 5 overs 1 for 14. Josh meanwhile bowling very nicely indeed had soon gone through his six overs and recorded figures of 2 for 19, the Heath were wobbling on 3 for 30 after 10 overs.

With Josh and Toobes out of the attack the new force to be reckoned with was JG and Has, a fine and miserly four overs from JG giving away only 15 runs was cut short as the chicken shawarma sat a bit too heavily, Has meanwhile carried on.

It is fair to say that Has’s first couple of overs were variable again possibly something to do with the amount of tea eaten but after that he got into a rhythm and after his third over took his first wicket, removing the opener who was on 25 with a great ball that removed his bails. This seemed to bring back some muscle memory as Has now stopped bowling like Toobes and the wickets started to fall. The Heath number 5 batsman was next who on 30 went for a big hit and skied it up, very high. Running towards the hedge Greg Bailey took the catch over his shoulders, a brilliant hold.

During all this excitement Shane Nico had commenced his spell from the Railway End, basking in his leathering from the debutant 6 hitting cricketer Nico was out for blood and come the fourth over he got it the number 9 batsman bowled by an off cutting, low skimming, googly or something like that. Unfortunately, this ended up being the high point of Nico’s spell as a few other batsmen seemed to also like Nico’s bowling.

Meanwhile Has with two wickets to his name and starting what had been told would be his final over then pulled two wickets out of the bag in his 6th over. Adam who had been on standby to finish the innings off with Nico was stood down for one last Has over to get a 5 for.

Now in-between all this excitement the Heath had sent out their secret weapon, a batsman barely big enough to see over the wickets and barely 10 years old.

Has meanwhile going for the 5 unfortunately failed but 7 overs 4 for 31 were pretty decent figures.

With Adam and Nico now taking it to the Heath tail end things did not look pretty, Nico finished his 7 over spell with 1 for 35 but Adam who had been held back now had the small child to aim at, surely, he wouldn’t crush the hopes and dreams of a small child, possibly inflicting some mental scarring that would resurface in years to come.

Let’s just say he did. So to a chorus of boos from his own team mates Adam left the field for the sanctuary of the clubhouse and further mockery…..unbelievable.

Anyway a great game, very funny and great oppo.

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

Sunday 14th May vs Ibstone

Ibstone 138 (Alex Hill 3-12, Hasan Arif 3-36)   Great Missenden Pelicans 128 (Ajmal Arif 65)

LOST by 10 runs

‘We are known for our collapses’.

With blue skies and warm winds to greet them Ibstone came down from their windswept tundra to bask in the Meadows blue skies. With the toss duly lost The Pelicans were sent out to field first.

Opening from the Railway End once again we found Toobes, this time attempting to bowl beyond four overs, it was touch and go if an ambulance would be needed. Taking up the call from the Nags End was Josh ready to strike fear into the Ibstone batsmen on what was a slow and lush green wicket.

Continuing on from last week Toobes was soon into his dynamic rhythm, a slow trundle before unleashing an even slower hell. This approach was again miserly in the run count and even managed to yield a wicket with the 5 over spell going for 13 runs.

Josh all arms and legs similarly as generous as a cross between a Scotsman and a Yorkshireman bowled a great spell of 7 overs for only 17 runs, very unfortunate not to get a wicket or two.

With the opening bowlers taken off it was time for Raheel (Railway End) and Hasan (Nags End) to try and take out the numbers 1 and 3 batsmen respectively who were let’s be honest hanging around for too long and tickling the score along nicely. Raheel did what Raheel always does, lands the ball on the spot, consequently his 7 overs only yielded 19 runs.

Hasan meanwhile attempting to claw back a modicum of sibling respect in his first over, took his first wicket of the day, a nice lob up to Raheel, we were back in the game. Unfortunately, this was followed by a bit of a wicket desert as the runs trickled along but the batsmen remained in place. Thankfully it took ‘almost as good Arif’ a few more overs until he dismissed the number 3 batsman who had been going along very nicely and amassed 43 runs. It must be said that 4 of those runs came off Nico’s boundary fielding where with all the grace of a dying walrus having overdosed on sleepeaze he fell over the ball his head hitting the wire fencing and his hand placed firmly on the ball.

Hasan not content with his two wickets then took out the number 5 batsman clean bowled, he finally left the bowling arena 7 overs 3 for 36. A nice return and some very good wickets.

Before the final pairing of Nico and Alex there was the unbelievable sight of Toobes coming back for a second spell. Unbelievable in that it had not been seen before and unbelievable in that he wasn’t carted off to Stoke Mandeville, anyway after a further two overs he retired gracefully with 7 overs 1 for 20.

With Nico taking over from Toobes and after a first over sighter he soon got into his groove and come the second over removed the number 6 batsmen, Alex meanwhile immediately found his groove and his first over yielded his first wicket, Now I am not exaggerating here but with the ball smacked over to mid-wicket Hasan like a cobra made up the ground and with the dexterity of something both quick and dexterous flung himself to his right and with the ball millimetres off the ground managed to get his fingers under the ball and hold onto it as well. A brilliant catch.

Alex not happy with one wicket followed up with a second wicket in his second over, a nice lob up to Josh.

Meanwhile Nico having tasted blood decided to go for the young number 7. Unfortunately, nobody bothered to tell young Alfie this, who took a bit of a liking to Nico’s bowling and indeed managed to dispense everywhere including a lovely shot over the railway line into Little Kingshill.

Nico Van de Beek as it says in the book did manage to bowl out the number 9 batsman in his last over leaving two batsmen standing, the final wicket being taken by Alex and another Arif, but this time Handsome Arif, who having watched the ball soar into the air and then slowly return to earth finally decided to go forth and catch it in a similar vein to Has, millimetres from the ground.

End of the innings 139 to win, a tricky total on the wicket.

Tea this week came from the fair hand of Niron and a fine offering it was to which had the opposition reflecting on their own tea position.

With tea taken Raheel and Alex ventured to the square to show the Ibstone upstarts what a Pelican run chase looks like. Unfortunately, Raheel hadn’t quite picked up that message and to be fair unusually for him he was out in the second over, bowled for 1.

Not to worry we still had plenty of batting and Alex was ready to take up the challenge and attack the run rate, now to be fair an Alex run chase tends to look rather familiar, some lovely straight bat shots followed by a swish and then out, followed by a large amount of swearing and kit being thrown around in the clubhouse. BUT not today, no today there were no lovely straight bat shots.

With the Pelicans 2 down Yusuf was joined by Handsome Arif, unfortunately Yusuf visualised the ball disappearing over the railway line for 6, the spectators actually saw it hit his stumps, the Pelicans were rocking on 13 for 3.

Thankfully Ajmal was joined by Amit. Now I say thankfully but that is said through half opened fingers as Amit does have a tendency once settled in to then swipe at the ball and be bowled. Thankfully today we witnessed careful Amit, until we didn’t and after 14 runs on the board a mighty swish saw Amit bowled.

Meanwhile Ajmal having carefully played himself in started piling up the runs as he was now joined by Niron. It was a cameo performance as he was soon bowled for three leaving Ajmal with a new partner Tony who similarly fell for three.

The Pelicans were in deep Doo Doo but not to worry the Skipper had held his ace back, Josh Bailey who had been itching for a higher placing. Now was his moment to show the Skipper where he could stick his number 8 batting position.

Out he went and back he came bowled for 0, next week he will be at 10.

Anyway we still had Hasan who with his brother Ajmal looked like the ship was starting to stabilise, this is always a bad moment and so it proved to be again as Ajmal was unfortunately bowled but not before making a fantastic 65.

With the Pelicans on 127 firstly Nico went out, was bowled and promptly fell over for 0, this was followed by Toobes going out and being bowled for nought but remaining standing. Hasan was left stranded, the Pelicans all out for 128.

All in all a great day to play cricket, a thoroughly nice opposition just a rubbish scoreline.

Let’s take it to The Heath

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

Sunday 7th May vs Misfits

Great Missenden Pelicans 171 (Ajmal Arif 43, Raheel Khan 40)   Misfits 45 (Nic Vanderpeet 3-4)

WON by 126 runs

‘I think we will give it a go’.

Following days of heavy rain Supremo and the Skipper surveyed the wicket at 10am, looking damp and soggy but with a positive forecast the decision to play was made.

Following what has been too long it was a pleasure to finally welcome Little Missenden back to the Meadow, with the sun drying the wicket both Skippers surveyed the greenery before them and tossed the coin. The lucky coin supplied by Nico continued to bring luck and this time it too was of the good form as Toobes lost the toss and informed his players we were batting.

Great Missendens XI vs Misfits 7 May 2023

Opening for the Pelicans we had the two Khans Raheel and Yusuf and it didn’t take long for the Khans to get a move on surprisingly Raheel taking the singles and not surprisingly Yusuf smacking the 4’s and 6’s. With 36 in the board the first Pelican wicket fell, the mighty Yusuf going for another 6 and as the ball stuck in the wicket, he lobbed it up to mid-wicket.

With Yusuf departing the Pelicans welcomed back Baby Has, who was actually not much of a baby any more being twice the width of Big Has and taller, some even said better looking but that is entirely subjective.

Anyway, Baby Has in no time at all reacquainted himself with his bat and went at the LM bowlers, Raheel continued his run total in singles punctuated with the odd 4’s and 6 before falling back into singles. With his score on 40 Raheel managed to be deceived by the speed and planted his leg directly in front of the wicket, NVDP not wanting to miss a chance to show his umpiring skills hesitated then with a chin like Mussolini raised his finger.

Baby Has was now joined by Nixon who with Caribbean panache swished a single followed by another single followed by a 4 followed by an out. Nixon was replaced by Big Has and the watching Pelicans settled back in their chairs to witness a Has magic.

Unfortunately, Big Has contributed 4 runs and was then bowled by a straight one that bounced at bat height travelling at a speed of less than 5mph which left Baby Has to continue with JG.

JG sauntered to the wicket and Gandalf-like kept all balls away from his wicket, Baby Has meanwhile continued with his personal run chase got to 43 and was then caught by the wicket keeper, a fine innings and a great way to start his Pelicans season.

JG continued with his defensive attack and was joined by another debutant Mark who with South African aplomb immediately went for the bowlers. A very quick 11 then followed until he was bowled quickly followed by JG who finally went for 10 having smashed his first 4.

There then followed a batting masterclass of Adam followed by Nico followed by Toobes who between them contributed 4 runs, I will say no more.

An excellent tea was provided by Adam who offered Chilli two options vegie and meatie, Nico still smarting after the soup option the week before was refused commented on the similarity of the two foods ie soup and chilli and then left that comment hanging……. Me neither.

With a score of 171 posted the Pelicans commenced their bowling attack.

Opening from the Railway End was Toobes, looking crinkly and old but bowling with new meanness as his first over was a maiden.

Opening from The Nags End was the debutant Mark equally showed great meanness in his bowling.

It didn’t take long for this bowling to yield fruit and Toobes soon had the opener out following a fine catch from Baby Has, just to note Big Has was nowhere to be seen. This wicket was soon followed by a second and after his lengthy spell and averages looking good Toobes was retired after 4 overs.

Mark meanwhile continued his spell which comprised some rather unplayable balls which had the LM batsmen swishing all over the place and like a true pro and knowing the quality of the Pelicans fielding took two wickets, both bowled for 11 runs off 6 overs, a great display.

Following the openers, we then watched two even meaner bowlers bowl, Julian who bowled 7 overs for only 6 runs which I must say some were unplayable and Big Has who unbelievably bowled 7 overs for 5 runs and 1 wicket again bowled.

The first 5 wickets had fallen for 31 runs and confidence was high but what we were about to witness would change all the above to a side show.

Taking over at the Railway End was the man himself Nico, he was joined by Adam at the Nags End.

First over from Nico wicket maiden the catch taken by Baby or should we say Better Has. Nico’s second over was disappointing in that it was only a maiden, his third over then found him back into the groove with another wicket maiden and LBW. The fourth over was yet another wicket maiden a fine catch at square leg taken by Nixon, and his final over which finished the innings was another wicket a fine catch taken by Adam. Figures for NVDP 4.4 overs 4 wickets and 3 runs.

As for Adam he had delivered from his end having only allowed 9 runs from his spell.

Victory.

Notable mentions,
Nixon who was not allowed to bowl as he was simply too fast on the wicket.
Yusuf who stood up to Julian and kept wicket fantastically.
Mark who in true Pelican fashion was concentrating on a cigarette as he almost missed the ball coming to him.
After the game we had a turnout of 10 players at the Nags which was just great.
Finally it was a pleasure to welcome Little Missenden to the Meadow, a fixture that has been neglected for too long.

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.

Sunday 30th April vs Wendover

Wendover 137 all out (Alex Osborne 4-26)   Great Missenden Pelicans 141-1 (Yusuf Khan 53*Alex Osborne 52*)

WON by 9 wickets

Man of the Match: Alex Osborne

Another season another green soft April wicket but not another same team of athletes, what could go wrong?

After last weeks disappointment Wendover came forward to fill in for Little Marlow and become the Pelicans first game of this season. The weather was fine and the wicket rather soft, to be expected after all the rain we have had.

Making their club debuts we welcomed Alex from Australia, Nixon and Julian from St Vincents, Julian standing in for Niron who was experiencing some lower body problems due to his medication (possibly prune based).

Clutching Nico’s lucky coin, the outcome was never in doubt and the Skip elected to bat, new season same decisions.

Great Missendens Pelicans XI vs Wendover 30 April 2023

Opening then bowling from the Railway End was Tooby whose last outing ended with a trip to Stoke Mandeville Hospital, home of the Para Olympics and Jimmy Savill, the former was very apt and the later thankfully not around any longer.

Running in from the Nags End was the usual suspect Josh, bowling as fast as he could and watching the ball slow to a slow glide after hitting the wicket.

After a lengthy spell of 3 overs Tooby was removed from the attack for fear of another visit to SM Hospital, the batsmen look relieved as he was getting somewhat confused as Tooby was reaching him before the ball. Josh meanwhile soon back into the groove bowled the opening batsman in his opening over. After 8 overs bowled between the two openers Skip decided to mix it up and brought in Nixon from the Railway End and Alex from the Nags End.

It is fair to say that St Vincents and Australia possibly do not produce wickets similar to the Meadow in spring which no doubt accounted for Nixon’s opening 13 run over, his second over though proved far trickier for the Wendover batsmen as length was lengthened and line was lined and soon he took his first wicket caught by his brother no less, being related to Niron it is clear that the apple did indeed fall far from the tree. Nixon finished his spell with 5 overs 1 wicket for 30 runs, an excellent debut.

Alex meanwhile at the Nags End saw a beautiful green wicket that looked like it may take a turn and bowled a spell of leg spin which looked at times rather unplayable, this still didn’t mean that the odd wicket wasn’t captured by a bad un, a proper Peli wicket dare I say, to which Alex duly served up as he captured his first Pelican’s wicket.

With a maximum of 8 overs per bowler Alex continued to make inroads into the Wendover batsmen, unfortunately their opener was still there and Skips orders were finally relayed, get him out within his 8 overs, before the quality bowlers came in and finished them all off.

Alex duly noted his task and after 7.4 overs delivered the Wendover opener, a great bowling effort that yielded in total 4 wickets for only 26 runs.

From the Railway End Julian took over from brother Nixon, more medium pace rather than the fast of both Nixon and obviously Toobes, Julian was immediately on the button and delivered 7 overs for a miserly 10 runs and 1 wicket, a fantastic effort in overs cricket.

With the end of Alex’s spell, the cavalry of Adam came in from the Nags End and Waz steaming in from the Railway End. Waz has now taken to a new form of bowling whereby the run-up length is totally random no doubt a cunning ploy to confuse the batsmen, and if I’m honest the rest of the team. Adam meanwhile did what Adam does best, 5 overs of snow-capped loopers yielding only 21 runs and taking 2 wickets. With the Wendover batters digging in against this ferocity a change of bowling was required, enter the Dragon…..Nico our resident Antipodean slightly put out by our new Australian and with a point to prove. 2 overs for only 18 runs put any questions firmly to bed whilst Josh finished the Wendover innings and returned figures of 6.4 overs for 13 runs and 2 wickets.

Throughout this batting display which culminated on 138 runs Yusuf was in fantastic form behind the stumps and produced a great display of athletic stops and stumpings.

With a tea disaster (Soup) narrowly averted Mr and Mrs Nico served up a sausage smorgasbord followed by cake and another ginger crunch which was so full of sugar it would have kept a hive of bees going for 13 years.

Opening for the Pelis we had Raheel and Aleks. The batting conditions it must be said were taxing but our two openers went about their task with patience and skill, chances were offered but Wendover were unable to capitalise on them, the score consequently ticked over nicely.

With two openers looking comfortable Wendover made the change and brought in Jonathan who we all know will bowl on a length slow and up in the air. Even with this knowledge it didn’t take Raheel long to go for the cross batted slap which duly went up into the air and was pocketed by the Wendover mid-wicket.

Alex meanwhile settling in with Yusuf (the better Khan) continued with his quick singles, well placed 4s and full bloodied 6s, Yusuf duly held his own and contributed with singles less 4s but fuller bloodied 6s. These two made the difficult batting conditions look rather tame and both saw the game out with fine knocks of 52 and 53. A brilliant performance from both.

Special thoughts go out to Amit, batting number 4 who observed the batting display only. Most amusing moment of the day was not cricket orientated, instead it was watching Niron run to the toilet at the Nags Head, I swear he looked like he was holding a pencil in his butt cheeks.

It’s a run of one, lets make it two against Little Missenden

Reports are intended to convey an entertaining picture of the day’s play. No disrespect is meant, but if on occasion we misjudge matters, please take it in the friendly and humorous spirit in which it is intended.