The stage was set for a joyous day on the carling. With torrential rain throughout the week, many of the lads could see themselves in the Bradley by 3 o’clock.
A pitch inspection was made on Friday night, with both wicket ends looking wetter than... However, there was one man determined to get the game on, and that was acting (the goat) captain Joe McCurdy.
McCurdy made the early call on Saturday for all the lads to make the trip to Beaconsfield road. Lads turned up with high expectations to see what McCurdy’s new haircut would be like after announcing he was getting his haircut at 10 am several times. It was awful. Short back and sides, with everyone unsure what was going on at the top. Best advised to follow mark Hignetts footsteps and get it all off.
With the track looking as if it was going to cause havoc for batters, it was vital that McCurdy win the toss. He lost it. Widnes were inserted to bat with Mikey Byrne and Will Myers opening. Alvanley oddly not putting in a mid-on in place for Myers, who can’t get enough of chipping it up into that area.
Unfortunately rain stopped play and with a heavy downpour, the game looked off for all money. A fantastic effort from all the team, working on the pitch to clear of the water so the game could be on, as well as taking an early tea, giving more time for the pitch to dry. Chicken wings and chips for tea. Boss man was happy. The pair went back out and formed an impressive partnership with Byrne leaving Myers in his smoke, as he raced to his 50. Skipper McCurdy backed Byrne to convert and go on to 3 figures, only for Byrne to get 3 more runs instead, before being bowled by a lollipop. Out for 53. Tim Wearden entered the game, sporting a helmet for the first time in his career and looking sharp in his new gear. This had no effect on his rapidly dwindling batting ability. Wearden wasn’t served his early half volley outside off stump resulting in him giving his wicket away cheaply. Keane rang up to say "he may as well have under armed it to the man in short cover". Out for next to nothing. With one Wearden exiting the crease, another entered, this time Daniel Wearden. After finding his feet early on, he and Myers displayed a boring partnership with very little ambition or excitement. Tension grew in the crowd, with people unhappy with the pair not attempting any big shots. This saw the end of D.Wearden, out for 20ish.
Mitchell, who was the ringleader in the attempts to call the game off early, was in next. Given the green light by the captain to go in and go big. This message was completely ignored as he kept tickling his balls for singles. Myers, absolutely gasping for a ciggy at this point, crawled to his 50 (131 balls). The urge for nicotine ultimately became to much to resist for Myers, who was stumped on 61 after coming down the pitch with the keeper stood up. Keeper fumbled it giving Myers a chance to get back into his crease. He turned down this opportunity by asking the keeper to pick the ball up and stump him. Terrible attitude. Stand aside as the BIG BOSS MAN arrived. Starting slow with some huge air shots, James “Boss Man” Wearden and Mitchell formed a little cameo to leave Widnes 206-4 off 49 overs after McCurdy declared.
A quick turnaround saw Widnes take to the field, with D.Wearden opening the bowling. Unfortunately as the first over was concluded, so was the match, as the rain started yet again. without hesitation, McCurdy decided to call the game off. A wicketless spell for Wearden.
Although the storm was passing outside, a storm was about to kick off in the changing room. Boss man came steaming into the changing room, furious at the decision by McCurdy. An explicit exchange of words saw Boss Man ask McCurdy to go outside to sort things out. McCurdy flapped it and went all quiet before Boss man gripped him by his newly assembled barnet just to seal the deal on a verbal victory. McCurdy stormed off saying that he was going home to bed, which was a relief as we didn’t have to look at his terrible barnet anymore, only for him to be back at the club an hour later.
Carling was the only winner at Beaconsfield Road.