Mells 2008: Match Report 
Sometimes a captain has to hold up his hands and claim sole responsibility for a defeat. This is, of course, easier coming from a tradition of winning and the less successful Stroller's skippers ( Rick Bristow will no doubt point out who you are if this is unclear) would do well to continue pointing the finger at others than to take the full weight of responsibility on their shoulders, for fear of being forever saddled with the burden of failure. But the rousing victory at Mells in 2006 has not faded in the minds of the Stroller and this has given your Mells skipper the inner strength to take full blame for what turned out to be our worst performance on the annual Somerset tour.
From losing the toss for the 3 rd year running and being sent into the field it was always going to be an uphill battle. This it proved to be as Mells started to pile on the runs. Despite two early breakthroughs from Luke Fletcher, the bowling was too inaccurate to contain the Someset farmers and they proceeded to make hay while the sun shone to the tune of 248 runs in the allotted 35 overs. Stroller's bowlers did show good fighting spirit, however, and all bowlers toiling in the midday sun did get the eventual reward of a wicket, with Rick Bristow , former strike bowler, being the only bowler to end up with “none for” figures. Again, I want to make it clear that I take full responsibility for the defeat in Mells and should learn that to expect anything more than a long run up from Bristow to be nothing more than wishful thinking. The only truly notable performance with the ball came from Andrew Farrimond on his Strollers debut, taking two wickets and showing some genuine pace off a short run-up.
Set such a formidable total to chase, your devoted skipper looked to the more experienced players to lead the attack. The strategy of using the unconventional opening partnership of Finlow and Bristow proved only half of a well made plan. Finlow went on to score a career best 66 against some fine Mells bowling, proving once again that the crossed bat can be a very effective weapon in the right hands. Bristow on the other hand was bowled for 5. The faith put in Bristow, to bounce back from his disappointing spell with the ball earlier in the day, was sadly misplaced but the responsibility of this missed opportunity must again lie with his captain. The only other player to break double figures was Carey and he managed a decent 26. The Mells bowlers couldn't have foreseen that they were into the tail end when Fletcher came out to bat at 4, but that is how it turned out. Take nothing away from the Mells bowlers, however. They are as clever with the ball in hand as they are with a bucket of apples and a rusty cider press. We will need to be up for a fight when we return in 2009, down 2-1 in the series.
Player Ratings
Alex 8 - Man of the match, but loses one point for persistently questioning the umpire's decision not to call no ball.
Rick 4 - No wickets, but economical (6-0-26-0), and final over only 2 runs. 33% of par with bat - poor. Good PR with flowers for Mrs.Duffus, and the idea of giving up his own bat (although unusable) to Jim Duffus as honorary stroller.
Carey 5 - Anonymous in the field (note to self: is there any point of a slip fielder with the current bowling attack?) Didn't make par with bat. Good PR with flowers
Luke - 4. Bowled economically enough, but still over 6 an over. 2 wickets. Good catch, but well below par with the bat (22%). PR with flowers, and presentation of bat to JD.
Ed 0 – The skippers “all or nothing” policy to the captain's player rating has seen to play against him here. Lost the toss for the third consecutive year. Bowled pretty well being the only bowler other than Bristow to concede fewer that 6 runs an over. Some good captaincy decisions (e.g. bringing on Kieran to bowl his Dad, moving Luke back where he took a catch next ball, bringing Anderw Farrimond who took 2 wickets and 2 catches) mixed in with some strange fields. Some dire fielding in the early stages, but improved later on. Unable to get the best out of his batsmen. Well below par with the bat. One shot and about 3mm off a 3 dart finish in the Talbot that would have put everything right.
Youngy 5 - Byes record. Well below par with bat. Dropped catch. Darts champion.
Andrew 6 - Bowled well, good catches, despite injury. Hopeless with the bat, but he did tell us that! Good PR with flowers + wine
Allen 2.5 - Worst ever game for strollers. 5-0-51-1 extremely expensive, then bowled by an 8 year old playing an ugly shot for 6. Good PR with flowers + wine
Keiron 8 - Got his dad out, fielded well and a couple of lusty blows with the bat. Unlucky not to be man of the match
Maurice 5 - Good sprints in the field, but refused to bowl. 2 not out, one of his best score for the strollers
Adrian 5 - Didn't do much wrong. Would be invited to play any day instead of Maurice.
ED