*Stolen Ducks Gear Update!

A big thanks so far to cricketing luminaries such as Jonathan Agnew, Mark Butcher, Shaun Udal and Paul Nixon amongst others who have been retweeting our #clippedducks message in an attempt to spread the word. Also, a big thanks to Wimbledon Corinthians who have been the first to step in and offer some help!

After a gruelling season in almost every way possible, it's nice to know that there's some humanity left in the (cricketing) world...

#duckswillrise

*BREAKING NEWS* - Ducks Cricket Gear Stolen

We thought the season couldn't get any worse, but it just has. The Golden Ducks cricket bag, containing pads, gloves, bats, boxes, balls etc has been stolen from the car boot of paceman Charles Allison. In a desperate charity plea, PR guru Jon Yarker has begun a twitter campaign to get second hand gear donated. Can you help?!

The Golden Ducks vs The Entertainers, 06/07/2014

Clouds gathered over Clapham Common Oval

The Entertainers 207/2

Arblaster 2/31

Cansick 0/34

The Golden Ducks 171/6

Cooper 64* (30)

Stoate 31* (13)

“Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose.”

On a balmy summer evening, the new look Ducks reported for duty with a justified optimism. Despite this positivity, it must be mentioned that the team was lucky to have not sustained any serious pre-match injuries, after a particularly feisty nets session in which an embittered Allison, who had been left out of the lineup for reasons unknown, made it his mission to injure a number of players. Rodwell and Jon 'iron thighs' Yarker were both victims, and Allison was heard aggressively muttering "where's the new ball? I'm gonna chuck down a few bouncers to him" when bowling at debutant Stoate.

With fresh injuries avoided, the team news for the landmark 10th game was thus; Allison and Einsmann were out of the team, being replaced by Roe and Stoate. On paper this did make the bowling lineup look considerably weaker, but the flipside was that the batting lineup appeared stronger. Tit for tat. Kind of. With Cansick more than aware of this, the skipper chose to insert The Entertainers after winning the toss, a not unreasonable decision.

Shorn of his partner in crime, Arblaster would have to shoulder the burden of the bowling responsibility, and luckily enough for The Ducks, the Yorkshireman looked in fine fettle from the off. Rodwell had boldly forecasted Arblaster to take two wickets pre-match, eventually being proven right.

With Arblaster taking care of his business, the big question mark was how The Ducks would fill the remaining 16 overs of bowling. Cooper, Stoate, Rodwell and Cansick are all capable of moments of brilliance on their day, but would it all come together? Whilst the game isn’t played on paper, pre-match predictions of a slightly shaky bowling performance were not wide of the mark, unlike a lot of the team’s bowling. Indeed, Rodwell and Cansick deserve special mentions (or, naming and shaming) for some regrettably comical wides.

The onslaught began almost from the off: After a solid first over from Arblaster, the opening batsmen of The Entertainers, including the wonderfully named Wohanka (I could be wrong, but I think the ‘o’ is silent), sensed an opportunity to open their arms and play a few shots. The first man to be targeted was Arblaster’s opening partner for the day, poor old Cooper, who did bowl far better than his figures (0-54) suggested. Indeed, it has been noted recently that Cooper is now bringing some of that famous venom – once reserved for the nets – into his match bowling.

As the run rate hovered at around 10 an over through the opening overs, it was then time for Stoate, Rodwell, and eventually Cansick, to try their luck. While there were some uncharacteristic misfields from The Ducks off all the bowlers throughout the innings, the bowlers couldn’t just blame this and the runs kept flowing, mostly on the leg side. In spite of this, Cansick (0-34) and Stoate (0-36) did produce somewhat respectable figures from their 4 overs; Stoate giving his growing fanbase glimpses of what’s to come in the future.

Despite being wicketless approaching the end of the innings, the boys in yellow kept their heads and, with The Entertainers looking to really dominate, The Ducks surprisingly asserted the tiniest semblance of control; helped in part by finally taking the powerplay. It was a rare relief to temporarily stem the flow of boundaries for those 3 overs, and for Rodwell (0-45), whose first 3 overs went for 39, it was a nice respite to at least finish positively, only conceding 6 in his final over.

As rarely happens with The Ducks, the best was actually saved ‘til last. Not too hard when the previous 19 overs had proved completely fruitless. Arblaster steamed in and picked up not one, but two well-deserved wickets; the first was a glorious yorker on leg stump that would’ve dismissed far better players than their number 5, and the second was an impressive catch by Cooper in the deep, who held on despite heckling from Allison. I don’t think it would’ve been overstating things too much to suggest that going wicketless through 20 overs would’ve represented close to a new low, but Arblaster (2-31) made sure we didn’t have to go down that road, and in the process, joined Allison as joint-leading wicket taker.

As Chairman Allison was sidelined, he was at least at least able to offer a ‘view from the sidelines’: “We were nervous with our bowling – [the lads] just need to loosen up and worry less when bowling to show our true potential, as the likes of Coops and Gav have been [doing] with the bat in recent weeks.” The skipper acknowledged what we knew pre-match, “Obviously we were limited in terms of bowling options,” but was positive in pointing out that, “we still kept them to a respectable total compared to our previous games.”

With 208 to chase, it was always going to be a tricky challenge for The Ducks, but fans and pundits alike had been licking their lips at the prospect of Roe opening up (with Rodwell at the other end). However, it must be said, the pressure – whilst jovial – that was heaped on the young man’s shoulders was perhaps slightly unfair, and was never going to end well. Indeed, ‘mockers’ were confirmed when, two balls after hitting a stunning straight drive, Roe (6 off 6) perished; getting the faintest of edges on what was a very good delivery from their young opening bowler.

Both opening bowlers, contrasting in their styles – the languid, tall and classical medium-fast bowler, coupled with the young tearaway who steamed in like a madman – were providing challenges, but Cansick and Rodwell kept to task, scoring relatively quickly. Cansick had looked in good touch, even pulling out ‘The Cansick’ on occasion much to the delight of the partisan crowd, but his aggression proved to be his downfall. Having reached 12 off just 6 balls, the skipper went for his favoured cover drive, but the ball was a tad too straight, meaning Cansick succeeded only in edging behind to a handily placed ‘deep slip’.

A relaxed Cooper strolled to the crease next; him and Rodwell had been here many times before and set about their job in a becalmed manner. With the opening bowlers seen off, Cooper began to enjoy himself, smashing the white rock to all parts of the ground. Even Rodwell was getting in on the act, hitting the odd boundary; the highlight being a lofted straight drive that came straight out of the sweet spot of ‘The Beast’.

With Richards, who is undoubtedly in the form of his life, waiting in the wings, and Cooper and Rodwell keeping the required rate at around 12 an over – no mean feat considering the starting target – things were going remarkably well. Too well perhaps. Sure enough, Rodwell (31 off 18), who had been struggling slightly with the pull shot, and was finding it difficult against the new bowler (well let’s be honest, he was a chucker) came through too early on another attempted pull, and was soon taking that lonely walk back to the sidelines. As Richie Benaud would say, "He's usually a good puller - but he couldn't get it up that time."

Cooper acknowledging the crowd

Not to worry, Richards was in and sensibly chose to get Cooper on strike as often as was possible, whilst hitting a couple of lovely boundaries of his own, keeping the crowd on the sidelines excited. The way Cooper had been striking the ball suggested a first 50 of the season was on the way, and sure enough, the big man was soon striding back towards the boys on the side, bat raised, beaming from ear to ear. The Ducks naturally afforded him a well-deserved standing ovation.

We were now entering a tricky period; whilst the batsmen so far had done some sterling work, the required rate was still high and only getting higher. Yarker walked in and hit a lovely shot to get off the mark, but the pressure was undoubtedly on, and despite some big swings, he was soon back on the boundary enjoying a warm kronenbourg, having been caught.

What followed was all a bit of a blur. Every shot was big one, but more often than not they weren’t connecting. Richards (20) was eventually out after a battling innings. Arblaster (6) rocked up, smashed a glorious 4 over cow corner, and then was soon on his way back. I think everyone wanted to get out so they could enjoy the show that was about to unfold in the middle.

Stoate in disbelief after his 31*

Stoate was getting warm; there had been a few plays and misses, but he had practiced his full repertoire of strokes. At the other end, Cooper was quickly back in the action, chasing the team’s highest individual score. What happened next was simply astonishing; almost every ball that was bowled down was smacked for 4 or 6. The chuckers were used. The opening bowlers were brought back. Nothing could stem the flow of runs!

Two stunning performances – Cooper finished unbeaten on 64, off of just 30 balls, while Stoate contributed a barely believable 31 not out, off just 13 balls, on his debut no less. The exciting end to the match, coupled with the team’s highest score, meant the team could retire to the pub a satisfied bunch.

Indeed, the general mood amongst The Ducks was fairly positive, and rightly so. The boys had bounced back very well in light of a disappointing victory last week. Cansick acknowledged that, “Whilst a win was a long shot, we were never completely out of the game. It's another positive performance despite the defeat, so it's a case of taking what positives we can.” Aside from the obvious positives found in our batting, Cansick pronounced that, “It was great to add to the pool of players, with Chris adding an air of calm and control to the field and George demonstrating the all-round abilities we knew he possessed.”

"What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first steps to something better." We're ten games in now, and ten defeats later, one can only suppose that we're ten steps towards something better. I'm not sure how many steps it takes until victory, but I think the first part of the journey might so be over...

Golden Ducks Montage!

Ducks social media man, Jon Yarker, has expertly put together a little teaser video of what The Ducks are all about - a 'season so far' if you will. Excellent work Jon. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did! 

Remember to follow us at https://twitter.com/GoldenDucksLMS

Match Reports

Match reports are now up for every fixture that The Golden Ducks have played in, including the recent grudge match against Two Bats!

Despite the blog only just appearing, the reports have been in circulation from the off and hopefully these will paint a picture of The Golden Ducks and our players!

The Golden Ducks vs Two Bats, 29/06/2014

The Golden Ducks 139/7
Rodwell 46 (35)
Richards 32 (14)

Two Bats or Not To Bat 141/3
Cooper 1/21
Arblaster 1/26

"If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain!"

In what was labelled the biggest game in the fledgling career of The Golden Ducks, it was only natural that there were some nerves floating around pre-match. Players live for games like this, and it’s not often they come around. Could we write ourselves into the record books? Was today the day?

What started off as a glorious day full of hope and expectation soon descended into an afternoon of worry and uncertainty. And that was just the weather! With pathetic fallacy in full flow, threatening clouds gathered over Clapham Common Oval, forcing the ducklings under cover. Sure enough, with rain around, Cansick chose to have a bat when he called correctly at the toss. Rain and cloud equal good batting conditions, right? In chasing that elusive first victory, the Ducks knew they would have to do so without their stalwart and all-round good guy Jon Yarker, who magnanimously stepped aside in order to allow a stronger bowling lineup.

In another re-jig (the Ducks have yet to keep the same batting lineup, or opening pair, in any two consecutive matches this season) Rodwell and Cooper opened up. With the Ducks targeting around 150/160, the opening pair set off accordingly. Runs were flowing, with Cooper looking in good form and Rodwell content to rotate the strike. Things were going according to plan for the Ducks with the score reaching 30-odd after just 4 overs. What came next wasn't in the script though, as Cooper chased a slightly wide one and had to depart, having been caught, for a breezy 19 (off 14).

Cansick strode purposefully to the crease, determined to keep up the good start. And he and Rodwell did just that - carrying on at a rate of just over 8 an over. The Skipper was taking advantage of some leg-side bowling - stroking some nice boundaries and collecting wides too - to help accelerate the score. The Ducks were getting close to the halfway mark of their innings and looking good for a big score, but nothing is ever quite plain sailing when the Ducks are concerned…

Off the first ball of the 9th over, Rodwell hit an innocuous enough shot behind square on the off-side for what looked like yet another 2, but something wasn’t quite right. The opener felt a sharp pain in his head, and despite getting through for one, Rodwell had to turn down an easy second as he went down clutching his head. There was a short delay as the flagging batman attempted to recover from what was later diagnosed as a pinched nerve. When play did continue, just two balls later, one ball after hitting a glorious four, Cansick (19 off 12) was gone. Despite modestly admitting that, “I might have gone next ball I faced”, Cansick shouldn’t really have been facing at that point. And to literally add insult to injury, the new batsman, Allison, was caught at cover two balls later, gone for 2. An eventful over to say the least.

Following the completion of that over, a lengthier delay ensued as a Two Bats player received treatment from 9th man-cum-physio Yarker on what turned out to be a broken finger. Richards was now at the crease with Rodwell, but wasn’t to face a ball for all of 3 overs as Rodwell unfortunately struggled to regain any kind of fluency after the restart. Rodwell (46 off 35) was put out of misery soon after, falling agonisingly close to another 50.

Despite seeming well set at one stage, the Ducks were floundering somewhat; with 13 overs gone, 86 runs were on the board for the loss of 4 wickets. The stage was set for Richards, who had fallen to some unlucky dismissals in recent weeks, to steal the show. Helped by some useful lower-order contributions from Einsmann (7 off 14), Arblaster (5* off 3) and Proctor (7 off 5), Richards blasted his way to a glorious 32 off of just 14 balls, finding the boundary with ease, and dragging the Ducks to 139 off their 20 overs, a score that the boys fancied their chances of defending.

Whilst it may have been a defendable total, the Ducks knew they would have to be on top of their game to stand a chance of winning, and everything certainly started well enough for the boys in yellow. Abandoning the three-prong attack, Allison and Arblaster were given full responsibility for spearheading the Ducks charge. Sure enough, after a tight opening over from Allison, Arblaster struck, clean bowling one of the openers for a duck. Spirits were high, and continued to rise as Two Bats struggled to score with any sense of fluency.

Despite the Two Bats innings opening in glorious sunshine, the storm clouds were gathering once more and the rain soon arrived. Far from aiding the Ducks in their quest, it posed a few problems. The ball was hard to grip, started to deteriorate rather rapidly, and the outfield was now starting to speed up as well as getting dangerously slippy for the fielders.

Whilst the batsmen were not scoring particularly freely, runs were still being accumulated. One could sense that heads were starting to gradually drop; something special was needed. Sure enough, with the opener back on the sidelines (having been retired at 50), and Coops starting to bowl with a venom that is usually reserved for the nets, Two Bats’ well set no. 3 popped one up to the eager Proctor, who took a decent catch at midwicket. Rather than go into exuberant celebration, Proctor and Rodwell instinctively combined to grab a much need Double Play! As Two Bats grumbled about nothing, the exuberant celebrations then began.

Knowing that a chance was there for the taking, Cansick had little choice but to go for the jugular. Allison and Arblaster were recalled, knowing they needed just one breakthrough to grab control of the match. Allison, sure enough, forced a chance, but the luckless Ducks returned to their old ways in the field, managing to let a catchable chance slip through tiring fingers in the wet weather. Heads were beginning to drop once more and, try as they may, there was no way through Two Bats’ no. 6 (who had only played one game for them so far this season) as he smashed his way to an unbeaten 49 off just 21 balls, and won the match for Two Bats.

Although Cansick pulled no punches when admitting that the result was, “extremely disappointing, particularly after the importance we placed on this game,” he did offer some positive, encouraging words: “I think we'll benefit from the experience of having to defend a target, in particular dealing with nerves and making tactical decisions.”

Despite the disappointment, which lasted beyond just the Sunday – Allison was one of the few to admit that he was “still gutted” the day after the match – now that the dust has settled, we must put everything in perspective and accept that progress is still being made. When The Golden Ducks were formed on the morning of Saturday 19th April by three and a half men who were still drunk from the night before, I don’t think anyone could have imagined how far we would come in a short space of time, even if that has not yet translated into victories. We must take pride too that we’re one of the few teams to rely on a settled squad; only 10 players have turned out for The Golden Ducks this season, a close-knit squad that will continue to grow.

Sure, this felt like a watershed moments for the Ducks, and defeat, especially in that manner, is never an easy pill to swallow. Who knows though, we may yet meet Two Bats again this season; Cansick’s suggestion of an end-of-season ‘friendly’ was met with a noncommittal grunt from the opposition captain.

The skipper had some final words to offer: “We've had other close games in the first half of the season, so we just have to focus on the return fixtures. The season certainly isn't over, so it's vital we stay positive.”

“One last thing before you go though / When you feel better tomorrow you’ll be a hero / But never forget today / You could be here / Things can stray…”

The Golden Ducks vs Dicket, 29/06/2014

Cheering on The Ducks from the sideline

Dicket 235/4
Proctor 1/38
Allison 1/38
Arblaster 1/38

The Golden Ducks 86 a/o
Richards 20 (14)
Cooper 19 (8)

“After the Lord Mayor’s show…”

In horrific fielding conditions – at least two injuries were sustained in the outfield – The Golden Ducks surprisingly put in one of their better fielding performances. The team did well to not let their heads drop too much, embrace the spirit of cricket, and have a bit of fun.

Bowling and batting orders were both reserved, and although a full write up of the match is certainly not necessary, it would be remiss of me to not hand out some special mentions.

In the bowling department, kudos goes to Proctor and Allison for managing to clean bowl, not one, but two Dicket batsmen, both of who were unable to deal with mystery spin deliveries.

The batting was always going to be tough going against an excellent fielding unit. Indeed, it was almost a case of death by spin for the most part. But there is still room for special mentions, which go to Richards, who carried on from where he left off against Two Bats, and Cooper, who provided a very entertaining cameo, even managing to rile up Jan Koller by smashing him for consecutive boundaries.

The skipper was unavailable for a post-match comment.