Great Missendens Pelicans 2024

A familiar tale of good Pelicans cricket this week with a few tweaks to the fine details.

The Pelicans arrived at Stowe on a murky drizzly Wednesday morning. The first thing to notice was the verdant outfield. It was emerald green and glistened with dew-like rain. Rather like a green Persian rug strewn with gems. The cricket pitch was huge with no fewer than 22 lanes of nets arrayed like a fan on one side. On the other side, despite the distance, the facade of the school loomed large. It was hard not to be in awe of the place.

It was a warm day with light cloud cover. Perfect weather for cricket. Thoughts of visiting the local art exhibition and wandering around the abbey gardens had to be put aside. The charming Nags Meadow ground looked as pretty as a picture and was a worthy replacement.

A tie. Who can believe it. Second time I’ve been part of a tie in 20 years of Pelicans cricket and the man whose hairline plays off the back foot got bowled both times.

As a still to be determined number of Pelicans descended on the meadow, at various stages in the week we had anywhere from 9 to 12 players, those arriving early were met by unusual weather for the summer we are having… sunshine.

It was a chilly day when the Pelicans gathered at the Misfits ground (after the usual confusion created by following the stated post code to a line of garage lock-ups in a back alley that made one wonder whether the phrase “the strip was like a road” was invented in Little Missenden).

As the Pelis descended upon Ibstone CC to usher in the reign of a new supremo, it was in fact a younger face that took the reins. Step forward Josh Bailey aka god-daddy.