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Anticipation
Many people may have thought that the Lions tour to South Africa was the main sporting tour this year, but that can't compare with the 2009 edition of the Hurley Tour. Following trips to Cornwall, Dorset, Kent, Norfolk and The Isle of Wight, this year Pat and the boys are off to Somerset and North Devon. The lads will be making their way west on Tuesday, hopefully all meeting up at The Crown & Sceptre in Taunton.
There is always an excitement and anticipation bulding up to a tour. Through the winter, Pat the tour manager has worked hard getting the fixtures and accomodation sorted out, and then getting commitment from the players. For the players it is a case of getting enough kit together to last the week, saving enough beer money and sorting out travelling arrangements.
Rebellion Drinker 6th July 2009.
Underway
The tourists all arrived in Taunton, some thanks to the wonders of satnav and others after a series of phone calls for directions. The journey down from Berkshire was punctuated by heavy showers, not the sort of weather one wants when going off to play cricket. The tour manager arrived with bad news, our opponents for the evening fixture wanted to call off the game because some of their players wre involved in another match. After some Henry Kissinger like negotiations it was agreed that we would play against a mixed staff and students XI on the second XI square at Queen's College. After a pub lunch and a few beers the lads headed for a pre match net at the ground which was conducted in the rain. Luckily the wicket was covered and perefectly OK for play. In a tight contest Hurley lost by three runs, with Jack Burton being dismissed off the last delivery, trying to make room to pull the ball to the square leg boundary. The highlight of the match was an altercation between the mild mannered Hurley wicket-keeper and the umpire, who almost had an apoplectic fit when the keeper dared to suggest that a ball had brushed the batsmans pad and should have been signalled leg-byes and not byes.
After the match the players retired to a local Thai restaurant, staffed by two very un Thai like locals and a female Thai chef who served up an excellent meal.
Tomorrow we move on to Minehead.
Rebellion Drinker 7th July 2009.
On to Minehead
Having been billeted in a hotel which doesn't serve breakfast, the hungry Hurley boys trooped down to the Trendy Cafe in downtown Taunton for a full English. Skipper and Dan failed to appear at breakfast, rumours are that they were still hunting for a bath plug to allow Bert to have his customary soak in the tub.
After breakfast they made their way to Minehead. Trev and MW arrived at the York Hotel in good time to see the opening skirmishes of the Ashes series in the excellent TV room at the hotel and the rest of the guys trooped in soon after. Todays game was played at the rural ground of Timberscombe. A very pituresque ground with a quaint wooden pavilion which would fit in one of the changing rooms at Shepherds Lane. Another close contest ensued with the tourists coming out victors by 9 runs. Skipper Bert did his best to keep the result in doubt with some esoteric bowling changes during the Timberscombe innings. Highlights of the game were a fine knock from Rev, after being dropped by the home keeper, and a very tight spell of bowling from Trev. Reinforcements in the guise of Jo Simon and Ren Campbell arrived for this afternoon's game. Once again their was umpiring controversy, this time between the Simon brothers, with skipper Bert berating his brother's knowledge of the LBW law after being given out. The prospect of another Shakoor Rana situation developing was averted with order and brotherly love restored by an excellent (if expensive) tea.
After a social pint with the opposition the tourists headed back to base for a curry followed by a poker tournament. Tour poker is characterised by contrasting styles of play. On the one hand you have Nico, MW and Tom who treat the game as though they are taking part in the WSP. There is Bert, who has nearly as many theories about poker as he does about cricket, and then you have the reckless alcohol fuelled Jack Burton, fearlessly calling anything and everything. In the end it was down to a battle between JB and Dan Masters, with JB holding the lion's share of the chips. With his stack being eroded by JB's aggresive play, Dan eventually pushed all in, but to no avail as JB cleaned up.
Rebellion Drinker 8th July 2009.
The Dunster Experience
With Thursday's fixture at Dunster not due to start until 6.00pm Pat, Rev, Ren and Dan took themselves off to play a round of golf. The rest of the tour party settled in to watch the morning session of play from Cardiff, cheering the exploits of the England tail as they passed 400. In the afternoon, MW and Trev made an advance recce of Dunster. Driving through the medieval village, it was difficult to see where they could have fittted in a cricket ground. After consulting a local resident, the ground was discovered squeezed in between the River Avill, a childrens' playground and a football pitch. Dunster was another example of rustic cricket at it's best, an unusual shaped outfield with no sightscreens. On arrival the groundsman was still cutting and rolling the wicket, which had a green. soft appearance. Eventually Bert, Paul Hadleigh and Jo turned up and a pre match warm up game of touch rugby commenced, with the Berkshire boys taking on the London Lads. The game ended prematurely with the score at one try apiece when Bert made a try saving touch on MW but collided with the soccer goalpost injuring his shoulder. News came through that the golfers were running late after deciding to eat at the golf club, much to the annoyance of Bert.
Skipper for the day Tom Hooper elected to bat first in a 20/20 game played to local rules; 2 overs per bowler, batsmen retire at 30. Highlights of the game were an injury to Mike (run a ball) Walton, a blistering 30 from 12 deliveries from Rev and a bizarre catch from Dan which had to be seen to be believed. The batsman top edged a delivery which stand in keeper Rev was poised to take as Dan came up behind him, reached over and stole the ball as it was entering the keeper's glove. Onlookers remarked that it was the nearest thing to gay sex that they had ever seen on a cricket field. Some agricultural slogging from the home batsmen very nearly proved decisive, but Nico and Tom took four wickets between them for only eight runs in the last two overs to secure another victory.
After the match players from both teams retired to the local pub for food and a pint or two.
Rebellion Drinker 9th July 2009.
Watchet, no really do watch it!
With MW & Trev on their way back up the M4, we made our way (eventually) to Watchet, a ground the complete opposite of the previous evening's game, situated next to a steam railway & more worryingly a brick built shelter that seemed to house the local ASBO's. After a shower more powerful than the hotel's & ten of us humoured by Rev's attempts to paraglide helping put the covers on, the toss was won by Skip and we were bowling.
Clearly Watchet's mid innings drinks gave us some extra energy (tempered by Bert's inspirational team-talk) & a rejuvenated Hurley were chasing a target of 176.
It was left to Nico to see us home after the usual middle-order collapse; Rev also scored 49 in what was truly a team effort.
That evening was our last in Billy Butlin & his scummy chums' Minehead town. The lure of KFC over the road was the venue for dinner, with the more sophisticated players opting for Chinese, although they got in-meal entertainment in the shape of a street-brawl mid-way through crispy duck.
A few pints were supped in a nice local boozer before Bert began a pool hustle against a Jethro with a black eye in our hotel. We called it a night & spent the early hours singing Heliotrope's finest tracks along with the official tour song.
The Landlord Friday 10th July
Wrong Turn?
With many of us aching, hung over and generally having our 'its Saturday on cricket tour feeling' the hope of rain in & around Exeter was music to our ears! On the journey down sweet drops of joy fell, but there was still the possibility of a game.
The TM negotiated a 20/20 game with our hosts, Sidbury. On the way, Rob Tait did his best Colin McRae impression and almost joined the great man through the pearly gates along with three other players! With lives still intact, Bert took us an agricultural route to say the least, but we eventually found the ground & it was down to business.......
After 2 or 3 overs the drizzle started and that's the way it continued until the end of the game. The 11 eleven drowned rats & Jo Simon (umpire for all 40 overs) got changed ASAP and made it back to the comfort of the new hotel to prepare for Ren's Stag Do.
Bert found us a nice Italian called 'Nico's', where we had the premier dining room; a circular room in which the tables followed the curves leaving a 'performing' arena akin to a Roman Coliseum! Many a press up was requested as payment to coming back from the little boys’ room.
With it still teeming down we got into the queue to Exeter's premier nightspot and eventually got in. Quite a few shots and drinks later we were back in the hotel, where the annual tour merking of Jack took place..........dentists recommend Oral-B toothbrushes, well you wouldn't want to use this one!
Hadleigh&Rachel gave us a great view of his under garments as Revell was made to sing his favourite song & a few more other renditions followed late into the night.
The Landlord Saturday 11th July
The Finale
Like a more cricket based version of the Sixth Sense, a bizarre twist was applied to the end of our tour to Somerset and Devon when we departed Exeter at 11am for our final fixture…….near Basingstoke. A number of the tour party who will not be named and shamed (Vice Captain, left arm spinner, player who’s name sounds like Paul Thinnell) were slightly reluctant to play in this game but as it happened it turned into a really enjoyable 30 over a side match at Dogmersfield.
Hurley won the toss and elected to bowl on a wicket that, though by no means a shocker, offered a lot of assistance to the bowlers. Excellent spells from Ren and Hadleigh set the tone, before Nico, Jack and Dan (4 wickets) rattled through the line-up to leave Hurley a very gettable target of 125. As usual Revell was the mainstay of the innings constructing a brisk and unbeaten score of 72. What was slightly unexpected was the role of Bert Simon marching to the wicket in an elevated position of 4 in the line-up. After a few swishes, flails and a scorching cut for 4 he eventually departed after a hugely entertaining (for all manner of reasons) score of 11.
The Landlord Sunday 12th July
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