Richard Jones in much more relaxed mood when he didn’t have a train to catch PICTURE: JONATHAN CIRKEL
So when under-14 Archie Stephens played at a ball going down the legside on Sunday there was a loud shout for a catch. Was the noise that of the ball nicking the bat; was it his pad? No, it was neither of these, it was the crunch of the packet of crisps he had in his side pocket.
Archie survived the appeal and went on to hit a tasty 34 before the ball crunched into his pads and was lbw as the Park’s XI sped at break-neck speed to victory over tourists Lower Earley from Reading, who had only managed 185 on a belter of a track.
Eddie Large snapped up 2 for 18 as the most successful wicket taker. Jimmy Leather also had the audacity to throw down the bails from 35 yards with only one stump to aim at from cover point to remove the opening batsman. Poor fellow wasn’t happy to be out that way.
At the start of the Park’s reply, Richard Jones smashed 34 batting as if he had a train to catch. Well, he had. He was only playing on the understanding that he could pick his wife up at six from the station as she returned from a family visit up north.
And then Richard Leather (52 not out) and Parth Patel (21) provided the finishing gloss to a five-wicket win with some thumping, beautifully struck boundaries.
Patel seemed more alive than when he accidentally woke the club chairman up at 2.30am, slurring on the phone ‘I’m trying my best’ in endeavouring to turn off the club alarm system.
Sadly, the touring visitors didn’t quite show Parth’s drinking prowess after the game.
