UWMCC BUCS INDOOR 2016
On the 6th of November UWMCC made their way back to Edgbaston for their second round of group stage fixtures, knowing that they needed 4 wins out of 4 to give themselves the best chance to qualify for the next stage. Ben Stephenson joined the squad as Rhino had to leave after the first game and Turner was sacked for his dull tweets from the first round.
Captain Bozza – steps up to the mark
Captain Bozza – fulfilling P+C duties
The day was set to be a long one, with UMWCC’s first fixture at 10am and last fixture scheduled for 7pm so a special mention must be made to the lads for putting up with Rooty all day.
Game 4 – Warwick bt. University of Birmingham by 53 runs
UMWCC continued their campaign against a much fancied Birmingham uni team at the start of the day. Goodyear won the toss (4/4) and elected to bat first (again) and, with an unchanged team from the previous round of fixtures, Bexson and Mihir opened up. The lads got off to a cracking start with Bex retiring in the 5th over with the score on 50-0. Rooty came in and the runs continued to flow. Mihir (24) also batted very well and after Rooty retired with the score on 87-1 off 8, UWMCC were very well placed. Joe and Rhino fell in the pursuit of some quick late runs but Goodyear and the returning Bex/Rooty combo pushed UWMCC up to an excellent 105. Birmingham started well, reaching 23-0 off 2 before the introduction of Randall saw Birmingham slip to 23-3 off 3.
“You can’t script this stuff. Randall bowls a triple wicket maiden…” (Henry Bowen via Twitter, 2016)
Boz – showing his worth
Birmingham never really recovered, finishing on 52 all out with Joe finishing with decent figures of 4-6 off his 2 overs while Mihir took the other 2 (Goodyear with 4 dismissals)
The lads now had a gap of four hours until the next game so after saying an emotional goodbye to Rhino, Ubers were ordered and The Bullring was the next stop.
Nandos – a real athletes lunch
Goodyear – Lemon and Herb
Rogue bloke in bullring – claiming to be better at cricket than Azhar Mahmood
North London Derby – A thrilling watch
Sarfraz (uber driver) – Top bloke
Game 5 – Warwick bt. Coventry II by 10 runs
After the long break and the departure of Rhino, Warwick knew that they would have to key in quickly against varsity rivals Cov 2’s. Predictably, Goodyear won the toss and the Bex/Mihir partnership again proved fruitful as the first wicket fell with the score on 51 off 5. Shortly after Bex retired and left the middle/lower order to again try and push the score over the hundred mark. However, the lads slipped from 66-1 to 77-4 and it took the returning Bex to push the score to 97 with some clever shots, finishing on a classy 38*. Warwick then started strongly with the ball again, restricting Cov II’s to 44-4 off 6 overs (Randall 2, Root 1, Mihir 1) and then 53-5 off 7 with Stevo picking up his first. Perhaps a little complacency crept in as Cov II’s last darb standing took them to within 18 off the last over and then 10 off the final two balls. Rooty held his nerve and bowled two dots to make sure Warwick did not slip up. Credit must be given to the Cov bloke who finished on 47*. As it stood, UMWCC had currently played 5, won 4, lost 1 but knew their biggest test of the day would be the next game against Worcester 1’s.
Game 6 – Worcester I bt. Warwick by 5 wickets
With news filtering through that a number of the Worcester II’s players/fans had a stadium ban from the previous week (perhaps crowd control is part of the cricket management degree), Goodyear won the toss again –
BUCS Indoor Competition – Questioning the need for a toss against Goodyear
Goodyear – Currently 6/6
UMWCC – Already padding up before toss
Worcester – Still shit blokes, dabbing and chanting at themselves
Bexson and Mihir strode out however neither could predict what would happen next. Bex carved the first ball to backward point where an unsuspecting Worcester fielder took an absolute blinder, one handed, low to his left. Then, after looking promising, Mihir was subject of a shocker from square leg and none of the other Warwick lads could prevent the collapse, Warwick finishing on 41 all out. Even though Worcester went on to win the game, UWMCC could not have bowled or fielded better over the course of the next 8 overs, pushing Worcester really hard and making them work for every run. Despite only taking one wicket, the chase was nowhere near as comfortable as the scorecard would suggest and if a couple of tough chances had stuck, you never know…
Game 7 – Warwick bt. Aston by 5 wickets
A disappointed UMWCC now knew that the chance of progression from the group was all but gone and would look to enjoy their last game and mix things up as it would potentially be the last BUCS indoor game for some. Goodyear treated the toss with reckless abandon and los, Aston electing to bat.
UMWCC – would have bowled anyway
A great bowling performance saw Warwick dismiss Aston for only 42, with Mihir (3) Randall (2) and Root (1) picking up the wickets. With a slight reshuffle in the order, Bex would open up with Stevo this time and the pair got off to a solid start, reaching 36-0 off 4 overs. Stevo fell shortly after and Bex retired leaving Goodyear and Rooty just a few more to see the lads home.
Goodyear – steals the strike from Rooty with only 1 left to win
Goodyear – Good bloke
Rooty – ‘I almost didn’t run’
Rooty – Shit bloke
The Great Escape
A comical end to the day saw the Edgbaston team clock off before anybody could verify their parking tickets and actually leave the stadium. Many potential options were considered with regards escaping the barriers, some more outrageous than others (how strong is Captain Bozza?), but in the end Rooty (being the grumpy northerner he is) went and sorted things out with the receptionist. The umpire however was not so lucky and rumour has it that he stayed the night.
UMWCC – Escaped
And with that the 2016 BUCS Indoor campaign draws to a close, with some exceptional performances throughout the games, Warwick can consider themselves unlucky not to be progressing into the next round of fixtures from what is probably the toughest group of the lot. Special mention must go to Bexson who had a great day with the bat and Goodyear who lead the side well throughout the competition.
UMWCC –
Played 7
Won 5
Lost 2