Frome Incidentals vs Horningsham

23 June 2009

The village cricketer has such a rich array of physical factors to blame for poor performance - injury, threat of injury, inadequate equipment, state of the wicket, quality of the tea, alcohol poisoning - that the mental side of the game is often overlooked. Horningsham were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to learn the importance of this aspect of the game in this return match against the Frome Incidentals.

The Incidentals, smarting from their recent defeat at Horningsham, were clearly bent on revenge. Determined, focused, sharp - these are all words that could not be applied to the visiting Horningsham team, who showed up as if they'd come straight from Sunday's apres-Fayre party at the Bath Arms. Rocking up a minute before the match begins, sending in to open the only two players who happened to have pads with them, and playing a pudding-slow grass wicket as if it were a Horningsham trampoline track, did not, as we were soon to discover, help much either.

A detailed description of the Horningsham innings is neither necessary nor, given its brevity, possible. The scorecard tells its own story, with Extras the only contribution in double figures. It was a team effort only in the sense that everyone was equally abject.

Under the circumstances, Horningsham put in a respectable fielding performance in defence of our pathetic total, obliging the Incidentals to earn every run, but we had dug ourselves far too deep a hole to make a game of it. We could only make our apologies, and slink off chastened, leaving the Frome ground bathed in glorious evening sunshine for a good hour or two yet.

Unfortunate circumstances under which for Colin McCord to make his Horningsham debut, but things can only improve. Oh, the next match is against the League leaders, is it?..

R.S.