Goonie inspires first Sunday win

On a scorching afternoon Kibworth Sunday All Stars finally broke their duck. A loud and boozy crowd got right behind their team in a match which, in strict entertainment terms, came second only to inadvertent entry to the St Trinians Sixth Form 'Blind Man's Buff' competition. In a wrong footing move The Bard allowed Sideshow to captain the side, however the pupil followed the master all too closely and lost the toss. The evident pause from the visiting skipper only prolonged the agony before the home side reached for the bowling boots and sun cream. To merely look at the final Bowden total of 191 all out would be to miss a whole list of event and carnage, not least the triumphant entry, and subsequent departure, of Dicky Barkworth. The former Sunday skipper arrived at the ground in a blaze of glory ,waved a £50 note to pay his annual subs (the flash ******) , came on second change, removed visiting danger man Jack Ferguson with a smart caught and bowled only to find he had done himself a rare mischief and departed the scene gushing blood from a throbbing index finger. Catches they say win matches and it was a theme this afternoon. Tim Elwood sporting one shaved eyebrow, a shaved portion of skull and a monster hangover took two ludicrously good catches to put his previous crocodile handed efforts firmly into the past. The Bard joined in the fun with a triple juggled caught and bowled which led umpire Medland to lean over the prone pie chucker humming clown music. The real star of the show was James 'Tommy' Cooper who finally took his first wickets for the club. The first, a Yorker which clipped off peg, was a decent ball but the celebration itself was Test Class. The leap and punch through the air was reminiscent of Brett Lee in his pomp but the yell that accompanied it was like a having his toe stepped on Mid Haka. Either way it was a reward which was long overdue for his wholehearted effort.

 With Dicky out of the picture the Bowden skipper was kind enough to allow the home substitute fielder an opportunity to bat, step forward Ben Underwood. In batting terms it was a bit like allowing Arnie to come in for Tom Bailey in a Mr Universe competition. Dickie's misfortune would be the difference on the day. In true Sunday style the top order showed more class in eating sarnies than batting and at 46 for 5 it looked about as promising as a train spotter at a paint drying convention. Fair enough Illo and Sam Pole had been cleaned up by good deliveries but Sideshow, Tim Elwood and Lee 'Frodo' seemed content to give catching practice when application seemed to be the order of the day. The backbone of the recovery was a near 100 partnership between Bunny and The Treas. Bunny displaying a full range of strokes to move things along and the Treas showing a full range of two shots that would have sent the 'Wagon Wheel' drawer to sleep. When Treas fell for a terrific 33 and hammed up his walk to the pavillion with full bat raising honours John Butler picked up the baton and edged the team closer to victory. With only 10 runs required Bunny was finally castled for a simply superb 82 and deserved every last clap of the ovation he received. Windy went out to bat showing no outward signs of nerves which was in stark contrast to The Bard who, as next man in, was padded up and unable to sit down for fear of a different sort of follow through. He needn't have worried as Kibworth got over the finishing line with over 3 overs remaining. True to form Bowden had been gracious and sporting opponents and probably paid the price for it as Bunny turned in his match winning show. Thanks to them and also thanks to the crowd whose support was very much appreciated by the lads.

 
Man Of The Match:- Undoubtedly Dickie Barkworth. Not only did he remove the main opposition player but he had the good grace to get injured in the process to allow Ben Underwood to bat.

Champagne Moment:- Tim Elwood taking a fantastic diving, over the shoulder catch which was quite out of context from his previous Sunday outings.