After four false starts, the weather gods, the team selection gods, the pitch booking gods and Mav’s fixture planning skills all aligned and TheBigBlash24™ finally got under way in perfect conditions at M&T.

Blades season opened in the field and Galpin took the first over. With just a single on the board it was first blood to the Albanians when Spacey sporting a new nickname for a new season [FFS it was Marsh, watch the game – Ed.] took a regulation catch to dismiss the number two. Blades tails were up, Grimes attempted stumping in the second over looking good value for an appeal from the scorebox, but the over ended with a big 6. A couple more boundaries across the next overs gave the impression M&T were settling in but the resistance didn’t last.
In the fourth over, Meering watched a tonk off of K-Pax all the way into his hands on the long on rope. 18 for 2. Galpin was joined by Afzal in the attack, both insisting runs would only be prised from their cold dead hands. The rate slowed, and then screeched to a halt as Janan announced his arrival on The Blades stage with a wicket maiden thanks to Khan’s catch at Deep Point. We had to wait a full two overs for the next wicket – KDog’s catch at third man off of unplayable paceman Janan – followed by Afzal opening his 2024 Victim Roll in the 9^th. 35-5 at the halfway point and Blades with very much the upper hand, wrist, elbow and half of the bicep.
Enter Meering, ever the Scrooge, to partner Afzal, and the scorers unplugged the 4 and 6 switches on the electronic scoreboard. The wicket button however was working overtime. Bazza flatpacked the furniture in the 13^th, then debutant Marsh-Collins did the same from the other end. 48-7 in the fourteenth and calls were being made to partners at home not to bother recording The One Show, it would all be over by then. Marsh-Collins took 2-5 in the 16^th with another lumberjacking of the stumps followed by a C&B to leave M&T on 56-9.
M&T found some resistance in the final two overs, besmirching the figures of Meering and M-C in the process, and ending the innings on a slightly more respectable, but still achievable, 77 for 9.

Blades got off to a reserved start as Grimes took just a single from the first over but – spoiler alert – any idea this might be a lengthy chase were dispelled with a four from the first ball of the second. Marsh and Grimes rushed the total along to 15-0 from three, ably assisted by Tras who chipped in with 4 wides. Next over saw Grimes’ first six of the evening, hitting another and losing a ball in the bushes along the way to his retirement on 28 in the 8^th with Blades on 60-0. Skipper Spacey joined Marsh to steer the innings towards its inevitable destination with a few more scheduled calls at Boundary Town on the way. Victory came in the 11^th with the Blades – partly due to a dropped catch on the final ball – ending the innings on 79 for 0 and the first 10-wicket Blades victory since 2013.

RESULT: BLADES WIN BY 10 WICKETS

Champagne moment contenders:
Marsh-Collins C&B
Marsh-Collins 2-5 over
Grimes 28*
Janan 2-1-4-2 on his debut

 
CLICK HERE FOR SCORECARD

For the first time since 2006, Blades had a Monday fixture and on what felt like the hottest day of the year, eleven baggy blues gathered at the Sporty.

OMCC batted first and from the off, Galpin and Meering were taking no prisoners. A measly total of 3-0 was all they allowed the batsmen from the first three overs, one a maiden for Galpin. Cue an almighty swing from the number two who was growing impatient and was very lucky not to play on. A couple more dots, then he DID connect for the first boundary of the evening. Both batsmen were starting to swing, eager to get the total ticking over, and in the sixth it was one such swing by the number one, chasing one from Meering outside off, which lofted the ball into the dependable gloves of Grimes. “It was frustration,” the batsman confirmed to his team mates as he trudged back to the pavilion with the score on 12-1. Next over the other opener was clean bowled by Galpin and very much advantage Blades. The early dismissals turned out to be a poisoned chalice in disguise as the number four stepped in and gave an exhibition display of stroke play, hammering boundaries whenever he chose.  This also coincided with a viral attack of The Wides to pandemic its way through the Blades attack, along with a side order of No Balls, and the OMCC total began to tick over at an alarming rate. A run out chasing a single that wasn’t there pegged them back briefly but 49-3 at the halfway was beginning to look more respectable. Hamer B added to his wicket of the week before when Hurst watched a catch safely into his hands but the rate was still increasing, occasional sixes now adding to the fours. Two overs later, a yorker from Hamer B was somehow dug out of the batsman’s feet and sped for four at fine leg, a sign of the fortunes not working for Blades. In the 17^th over Marsh was sharp in the field to gather at the fence and send in a return for a run out. The fifth wicket was down but for 128 by the end of the over. Hurst came on for a couple of overs at the end and gained 1-10 thanks to a diving catch from Whitear. Taking six wickets was a creditable performance by the Blades but those extras, 24 in total, combined with some big hitting had motored OMCC to a formidable 149-6.

Hurst opened the innings with Hamer K and set his stall out early doors with a four from the first ball. Eight runs from the first over was just the start Blades needed, and both men hit their stride from the start with some big shots. But OMCC know the Sporty pitches, and with fielders all round the fence defending a big target, the ones were more frequent than the fours. The boundaries were coming, although not as often as the stroke play deserved. The scoreboard was ticking along but at 25-0 after five, Blades were already behind the sizeable rate. In the next over, Hurst retired on twenty five, the fact that only two fours were in the total spoke more about OMCC’s fielding than Hurst’s batting. Grimes joined Hamer in the middle but not for long as Hamer retired too in the 13^th with the score on 64-0. Grimes and new partner Khan continued as the H&H combo had begun. The foundation gave them the freedom to be aggressive, Grimes hitting two fours and a six off the next over, Khan with a  four and a six in the next. 102-0 after 16 meant 48 needed from the last four overs, and with OMCC early bowlers returning with pace, that was looking like a stretch too far. Khan and then Grimes retired – the first time Blades had ever notched up a quadruple retirement – and it was down to Marsh and Webber to battle towards the target. Twenty runs in the last two overs shows how hard they chased but the OMCC score always looked out of reach. Despite finishing with all ten wickets intact for the first time since 2013, and genuinely at times having had the win in their sights if not their grasp, Blades brave efforts fell just 13 short, the innings closing on an impressive but insufficient 136-0

RESULT: OMCC BY 13 RUNS

Champagne moment contenders:
Hurst, Hamer K, Grimes and Khan all retiring
Whitear’s diving catch
Hurst’s opening four attacking the total from the first ball
Hamer B’s second wicket of the season

 
CLICK HERE FOR SCORECARD

An absolutely scorching day is lovely for a game of cricket but not so much for the 17 mile hike to pitch three of the Sporty. It was ten v ten but rumours of a player from each side having succumbed to exhaustion during the climb from the car park are as yet unconfirmed.

Galpin took on the skipper’s armband and valiantly lost the toss, Shirley putting us in to bat.
Hurst wasted no time getting off the mark with a two and a four in the first over, but when he was adjudged caught behind, that was it for him. Blades 6-1 after one over. Hamer K and Rhodes took on the opening attack but there was nothing being given away. Literally. Two maidens followed. Tras opening his account in the next over and the runs began to trickle, but at 12-1 after six, it was slow going. Rhodes took one in the stomach but replied in the following over with a smart four behind square leg. The eighth over closed with Hamer K clean bowled, the score 21-2. The arrival of Grimes and the change of bowling allowed for an upturn in the Blades batting fortunes. Runs began to flow a little easier, the boundary seemed a little closer and both batsmen were finding fours. If it weren’t for the scampering fielder in burgundy, there may have been more. There were near misses too, the occasional catch being offered, most notable Rhodes offering first slip a routine training catch, which he declined from a surprisingly recumbent position.
The fifty came up in the fifteenth over and Grimes retired on an excellent 27 in the same over. More bowling changes allowed for more extras but also the arrival of Whitear at the crease meant the cultured stroke play continued. Rhodes was bowled for a solid 23 in the 19^th over, leaving Khan to accompany Whitear in tonking 14 from the last over including a huge six. From a slow start the Blades closed on a respectable 105-3.

Galpin wasted no time taking on the Shirley openers. After allowing them only a single run in the first over, he then bowled the number two for a duck. This correspondent was busy tweeting the good news to our follower, and therefore missed the legendary spread-eagle celebration. The second over didn’t go quite so well as Meering was hit for two fours, but he soon had his revenge and bowled the number 3 in the fourth over with the score at 22-2. So a brisk start for Shirley meant they were ahead of the Blades total at the same point, but level on the overall rate and with two early wickets down. Game on.
Unfortunately that’s where the Blades fightback stalled. The Shirley batsmen were finding shots and fours amongst the Blades attack where there weren’t necessarily that many bad balls. At the halfway point they had trundled on to 64-2, ahead of the rate now and with settled batsmen. But settled batsmen retire and by the end of the next over, both were back in the pavilion and two fresh batsmen at the crease scored a little slower. Hamer B and Whitear took a wicket each with the score at 85 and murmurs among the capacity crowd were that this could be where the Blades turned the screw. In the fifteenth Hamer K stretched to a high catching chance, brought it down but despite two bites it evaded his grasp and denied Hamer B a second wicket and the Hamers a family dismissal.
Richardson bowled his first over since 2014 but Shirley quickly rattled off the three runs they needed. Their batting had been just too strong, picking up ones and fours and never slipping behind the rate despite the fall of wickets, and they ran out worthy winners with 106-4

RESULT: SHIRLEY WIN BY 6 WICKETS

Champagne moment contenders:

Grimes unbeaten 27
The return of Richardson to the bowling attack
Rhodes solid 23
Whitear’s first runs since 2017

CLICK HERE FOR SCORECARD