The Shuffler is back…

Bramshaw 1s vs Hyhte 1s HCL Division 2B Match Report written by Bailey Loveless.

Bramshaw XI: Jack Booth, Joe Coombs, Tom Arnold * +, Ben Chandler, Sergio D’Monte, Thomas Winter**, Dylan Hatton, Mike Kingston, Jamie Martin, Ben Arnold Bailey Loveless

** 1s League debut T Winter 02/08/2025

Scorer: Teresa Whitcher

On a day so hot Ben Arnold was sweating getting out the car. Bramshaw were kindly invited to field first by Hythe, a decision met with reasonable happiness as it was a relatively green deck by Bram standards.

Ginge and Joe opened up tighter than Ben Arnold’s wallet at the bar. Despite the sweltering heat, both kept it tidy, barely offering a sniff. Until their opener took a likening to Coombsy. One Hythe batter nicked one but the umpire didn’t give anything. JMac, never one to bottle things up, shared his thoughts with the batsman. Jack and Dylan came on from up the hill but couldn’t stop the runs flowing,

Hythe cruised to 60-0 off 12, looking comfortable… but then came on J-mac

JMac removed both openers and the number 4 in his first over of rage. The first wicket a seed. It was like watching a man possessed his meidos down that hill swinging all over the place. Bails flew, heads dropped, and suddenly the game was very much on.

Hythe’s number 3 and 5 dug in and batted nicely, finding the rope and rebuilding. The number 3 reached 50 before I cleaned him with a lovely half volley. Jamie who retired three weeks ago and with his old man watching on then “Daddy this is the last time you’ll see me on the pitch”. Shut up you bitch you’re back finishing with 3-18 off 7 and announcing he’s available for every game next season. Not due to cricketing passion but just because he is a bowler with great abilities and finally the skipper has realised this.

Then came Ben Arnold, with his grey socks tucked into his trousers, returning to 1st XI action after a 4 year hiatus after getting whacked everywhere by the Compton & Chandlers Ford overseas. Not only was he met with open arms, but also open ears because with every delivery, he brought back his classic Chewbacca roars. A deep, guttural moanas he beat the bat time and time again. Boy, had we missed them.

First over? Spot on. Second? He told Jack to go to slip. One ball later, edge, taken. At 141-6 with a dozen overs left, We, for once, resisted the temptation to let it drift. Ginge returned, Arnold shuffled in, and between them they mopped up the tail with ruthless efficiency. Hythe were bowled out for 181 in 38 overs, with the big fat Wookie finishing on 3-13 off 6.1!

Then came Jamie Martin’s tea, cooked up by his soon-to-be wife. The muffins were so good they nearly distracted the skipper from the batting order. There are rumours Bronte has been offered a rolling contract for future teas.

With Tom still recovering from 38 overs behind the stumps, Joe Coombs was sent out to open with Jack. Coombs’ knock could be described as “visually challenging,” swinging hard at everything but hey, 35 runs is 35 runs, and we’re not here to judge technique. He eventually spooned one to gully and walked off looking like a man who’d just completed a MMA fight with Chewbacca. His knock had got us way above the initial asking rate of 4.05 runs per over over.

Jack, meanwhile, was pure class. That cover drive? Textbook. The sort of shot you’d put in your age and email address on the hub and enjoy your pot noodle whilst watching.

Tom joined him and continued the tempo, running well, rotating the strike, and nudging us closer. Booth departed for a tidy 29 with the score at 82-2, but he and TA had laid a solid platform. Chandler joined Tom, and the pair batted calmly putting on 80 to take the sting out of the chase. Tom reached a composed and classy 50, before Chandler fell for 14 with just 20 needed.

Enter Serg D’Monte, back from holiday, tanned and his guns looking bigger than ever. He didn’t get off the mark but he didn’t need to. Tom was in no mood to hang around, belting a couple of boundaries to seal the win with 12 overs to spare, finishing unbeaten on *76 captain’s knock, public sector pension energy.

A top all-round performance, and a little bit of Barnold nostalgia. But that over from JMac was game changing. What a way to go out in your last game of the season as he gets married very soon.

Thanks to Teresa and the Hythe scorer and you can see their work below:

Bramshaw CC

The unlikely chance of staying up still a possibility after this win. We travel to the Island to take on Ventnor next week!