🧢 Captain's Log

Sun 17 Sep 1944 🧢 1st XIv ? · HomeformLLWLD

Skipper's Log — Sunday 17 September 1944

Well, we did lose, but not before giving the good people of Linton Park something to natter about over their teas. Put in to field first, we made early inroads count for little as the visitors settled — a first-wicket stand of 56 that had me rearranging the field more times than I care to admit. T Waller's 29, with Lewer and Patey chipping in 25 and 22 apiece, carried them to 132 for 5 before, mercifully, the floodgates opened at our end for a change — 135 all out, with X Wilson, K Faulkner and C Curtis sent packing without so much as a run to their name. Herbert Rayner was magnificent, 4 for 28 with a couple of maidens thrown in for good measure, and I managed to sneak in on the act myself with four wickets — old legs, it seems, still remember the way to the crease.

With the bat we made a nervous fist of it, 8 down for the loss of an early wicket before Stan Wratten (46) and John Anscomb (38) put on 88 together and dragged us to something respectable — 142 for 5, helped along by a generous 26 extras, for which we thank the opposition's accuracy, or lack thereof. Poor Maurice Fenner had a torrid time behind the stumps, nine byes going begging, and in the end four wickets did for us — beaten, but not disgraced.

Stan Wratten and Herbert Rayner continue to lead our charts with 336 runs and 18 wickets respectively this season, so the engine room is in good order even when the chassis rattles. We'll be better for it next week.

Sat 16 Sep 1944 🧢 1st XIv ? · HomeformDLLWL

Saturday 16th September 1944, and a fine autumn afternoon at home for the club. I called correctly for once and, with barely a flicker of doubt, put us in to bat — a decision I shall claim full credit for regardless of what followed.

What followed was rather splendid. Stan Wratten and John Anscomb put together a second-wicket stand of 90 that had the tea urn nearly boiling over with excitement, Wratten finishing unbeaten on 64 and Anscomb falling agonisingly short of the same landmark on 56. We closed on 162/2 from our 45 overs — a total with enough runs in it to make the walk out to field feel almost cheerful.

The visitors made a proper fist of the chase. R Goodwin top-scored with 46, well supported by T Waller's 26 and X Rice's unbeaten 23, and for a while it looked as though our tea might go to waste. But Gordon Fenner bowled beautifully for 3-44 with two maidens to show for his miserliness, Stan Wratten chipped in with 2-3 (as if his 64 with the bat weren't enough for one afternoon), and D Cloke took 1-14. X Lever and C Makudo departed without troubling the scorers. They closed on 138/6.

A draw, then — honours shared, and honestly a fair reflection of an afternoon where neither side could quite land the killer blow. Stan Wratten's day, in truth: runs, wickets, and a climb past the Reverend himself into 8th on the all-time list. The rest of us merely watched.

Sun 10 Sep 1944 🧢 1st XIv ? · HomeformLDLLW

Sunday 10th September 1944, and a fine autumn afternoon greeted our visitors — though what followed was anything but gentle hosting. Winning first use of the ball, we set about them with real intent, and the innings simply came apart in our hands: 58-6 became 67-9 in the space of a few overs, and they were bowled out for 67 from 28.4. Stan Wratten was magnificent, 4-11, with Herbert Rayner (3-22) and Herbert Wratten (1-11) chipping in, while Gordon Fenner bowled three maidens as tight as a Sunday collection plate. W Webber and J Jerman departed for ducks without so much as a squeak from the scorebook.

Chasing a modest target, you'd have fancied us comfortably home — and so it seemed, until we too discovered the pitch had other ideas. Stan Wratten again led the way with a fine 30, but from 61-6 we somehow contrived to stagger to 71 all out in 32.4 overs, A S Day and Gordon Fenner both departing for golden ducks as the tail folded like a deckchair in a gale.

I did manage three wickets myself, which was some consolation on an otherwise chastening afternoon — though wickets in defeat taste rather like tea gone cold. Stan Wratten now sits proudly atop our season's run charts with 226, and Herbert Rayner leads the wickets with 14, so the form is there even if Sunday's nerve wasn't. Not our day, lads — heads up, and back to the nets.

Sat 09 Sep 1944 🧢 1st XIv HC Harrietsham CC · HomeformLLDLL

As the honorary match reporter, I don't need any tools for this — I'll write the report directly.

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There are days when a captain's decision looks clever, and Saturday last was one of them: I won the toss, chose to bat, and for once nobody in the pavilion questioned my judgement. Harrietsham were the visitors, the sun was kind, and 163 for 9 off our 43 overs was a total built almost single-handedly by John Larking, whose 69 sailed well past a well-deserved fifty. Stan Wratten chipped in with a tidy 25, and in doing so quietly slipped past C Murdoch into 9th on the club's all-time run-scorers list — the sort of milestone that gets a nod in the bar rather than a fanfare on the field.

Defending the total, we were rampant. Harrietsham never looked settled, and when M Reed departed for a duck it rather summed up their afternoon. Gordon Fenner was the story of the day — 5 for 30, a five-for that had been coming and was thoroughly earned, moving him past Ernest Cruttenden into 4th on the all-time wicket-takers list. Herbert Rayner (3 for 29, two maidens) and Herbert Wratten (2 for 18) squeezed the innings from both ends, and I managed three wickets myself, more by enthusiasm than science. Ten byes did rather give poor John Anscomb behind the stumps a torrid time, though nobody held it against him once Harrietsham folded for 102.

A 61-run victory, two points banked, and Stan Wratten and Gordon Fenner both sitting proudly atop the 1944 season charts. All told, a very satisfactory afternoon's work.

Sun 03 Sep 1944 🧢 1st XIv ? · HomeformLLLDL

From the captain's chair — Sunday, 3rd September 1944. We hosted our visitors on a day that promised more than it delivered, though not for want of trying.

Put into the field first, we set about them with real purpose. L Wynn's 36 was the innings' backbone, with useful support from X Miroy (30) and X Weston (25), but they never quite got away from us, closing on 141 for 9 from 37.2 overs. Elwell, Holman and Pilbeam departed for nought apiece, and the star of the show was undoubtedly Gordon Fenner, who span a web through their middle order for 5 for 38, four of his overs maidens to boot — mean and magnificent in equal measure. Stan Wratten and Dick Langridge chipped in with a wicket apiece for good measure.

With 142 to chase, our reply had its wobbles. Stan Wratten, in the form of his life, made a fine 59, and Herbert Rayner's 44 gave him fine company in an 82-run fourth-wicket stand that looked, for a while, to have seen us home. But from 127 for 4 to 141 for 7 the innings rather fell apart in a rush, Jimmy Jameson and W Bunting both departing without scoring, and my own 44 wasn't quite enough to nurse us over the line.

Two wickets short in the end — a proper club cricket heartbreaker. Still, Stan's 59 pushed him past Percy Brattle into 10th on the all-time run list, so not without its silver lining. Heads up, lads — back to the nets.

Sun 20 Aug 1944 🧢 1st XIv ? · HomeformLLLLD

Sunday 20 August 1944 — a home fixture, and I won the toss, elected to bat, and told the lads it was the right call. History, I'm pleased to say, backed me up, at least for a while.

We laboured our way to 146/9 off 34.4 overs, with Gordon Fenner top-scoring on 35, John Anscomb chipping in a fine 33, and Stan Wratten adding 21 for good measure. The second-wicket pair put on 55 together, which was as good as it got — and a nod to poor W Bunting, who departed for a duck without troubling the scorers, bless him.

Defending 146 looked a tall order on paper, but the ball had other ideas. The opposition never settled, losing an early wicket with just 6 on the board, and though Griggs played the only substantial innings of the reply with 23, the middle order simply evaporated — 48-4 became 59-7 as Wood, Mott and Benger all trooped back without scoring. J Warburton was magnificent, 4-10 with five miserly maidens, well supported by Stan Wratten's 3-12 and a wicket for Gordon Fenner too.

Alas, arithmetic is a stubborn thing, and 59/8 from 16.4 overs simply wasn't enough — beaten by 87 runs in the end. A curious match: bowled and fielded like champions, batted like men still finding their sea legs. We'll be better for it next week.

Sat 19 Aug 1944 🧢 1st XIv ? · HomeformLLLLL

Saturday the 19th of August, 1944, and the visitors rolled up to find your correspondent in uncharacteristically bullish mood, calling the toss right and electing to bat — a decision I shall be dining out on for weeks, whatever happened to my own innings later. The openers set about laying a platform in the most sensible fashion, ferrying us to 100 for the loss of just the one, and from there Stan Wratten and John Anscomb took ownership of proceedings. Wratten's 69 was a handsome, well-made fifty, Anscomb finished unbeaten on a polished 55, and Joe Fenner chipped in with 43 as we motored to 200 for 3 from our forty overs. Only poor Herbert Rayner had nothing to show for his visit to the crease, departing for a golden duck.

In the field we set about defending the total with Stan Wratten again to the fore, 2 for 17 doing real damage, well backed by Herbert Wratten (1-20) and Gardener (1-22). The visitors battled hard, Dillon's own well-made fifty the backbone of their reply, but they could only manage 108 for 5 from their 25 overs — Maurice Fenner having rather a trying afternoon behind the stumps, 14 byes leaking through.

As for the skipper, I led from the front in the worst possible sense, out for a golden blob — a captain should set an example, and on this occasion I set entirely the wrong one. Small consolation: Wratten's 69 nudges him past J N Tonge into 11th on the club's all-time run charts, and he now leads our 1944 run-scorers with 91, with Rayner topping the wicket-takers on 7. Honours, in the end, honestly shared.

Sun 13 Aug 1944 🧢 1st XIv ? · HomeformLLLLL

Sunday the thirteenth of August, and a fine home fixture it should have been. Winning the toss, I sent the visitors in — a decision I stood by right up until MacIldowie made merry with 75, and their openers put on 79 before the first wicket fell. They finished on 186 all out from 35 overs, Buxton chipping in 31 and Holmes 20, though credit where due — the lads clawed back well at the death, tumbling them from 171-5 to 182-8, with Smith and Robinson sent back for nought. Herbert Rayner bowled beautifully for 3-27 with two maidens, ably backed by a Gardener's 3-49 and Herbert Wratten's 2-23. I even managed three of my own, which I shall mention here since nobody else will.

Our reply never found its feet. From a respectable 53-5 we subsided to 72-8 in the time it takes to put the kettle on, D Sells and a Gardener both departing without scoring, and 76 all out from 22.5 overs told a sorry tale — as did the 20 byes, which suggests our man behind the stumps had rather more on his plate than usual.

One bright note amid the wreckage: Stan Wratten's 16 eased him past E Humphreys to 12th on the club's all-time run charts, while Maurice Fenner and Herbert Rayner continue to lead our season's batting and bowling respectively. But a defeat by 110 runs is a defeat by 110 runs. Heads up, chins high, and back to the nets.

Wed 02 Aug 1944 🧢 1st XIv ? · HomeformLLLLL

From the captain's chair — Wednesday 02 August 1944

Well, we knew our visitors meant business, and so it proved. Put into the field first, we watched them build steadily to 181/9 from their 44 overs, Holden the chief architect with a fine 45, well supported by S- Hill's 36 and F- Smith's 27 — the pair of them stitching together a 65-run stand for the third wicket that rather took the shine off our afternoon. Credit where due: Stan Wratten was superb, 4-26 and the pick of the attack, with Herbert Rayner miserly as ever — 4 maidens on his way to 3-64 — and a- Gardener chipping in with 2-29. At the other end, Robertson and Alberts departed without troubling the scorers, which was some small consolation.

Chasing 182 was always going to ask questions of us, and we answered rather too many of them wrongly, losing a wicket before a run was on the board. D Sells top-scored with a gritty 24, Maurice Fenner made a useful 20, and I managed 17 myself, but with E- Humphreys, A S Day and a- Gardener all following the openers' unhappy example, we subsided to 104 all out in just 22.2 overs. Poor Tom Osborn had a torrid time behind the stumps, 24 byes his unwanted reward.

There were bright spots amid the wreckage — Herbert Rayner brought up 100 career wickets, and his 17 runs with the bat lifted him past F S W Cornwallis into fourth on the all-time run charts. Small mercies. Beaten by 77 runs in the end — no dressing it up. We'll be better for it next week.