Hockwold soar above Stow in Sunday thriller
Over the woods, skimming the fields, a Lancaster bomber emerged.
It was 74 years old, the same age as the oldest player in the cricket match or five of the younger players added together.
It circled the ground and tipped its wings.
Was it David Gower re-enacting his notorious exploits in Australia?
He left without identifying himself.
Perhaps he was shy. Or jealous at missing such a great match in such a superb venue.
Cricket grounds don’t come much better. Behind the grounds lie the gardens, open to the public today.
You could sneak in from the cricket field – but you wouldn’t of course.
The cedar trees and the cricket ground were established together at Stow, hundreds of years ago.
Strangely, though, two original features are missing.
First, where is the hall?
It was the mansion that all this was based on. But one year you turned up to play against Stow and it had gone. Where was it?
Second, the cricket field used to contain a famous tree, with the usual customs for deciding how many runs you scored if you hit it.
On one village ground you could get caught off the tree; you could also get hit on the hooter. Storm damage sadly did for the tree at Stow.
Stow and Hockwold are thriving clubs. Each has a successful first team.
Each uses Sundays to bring through young talent, guided by gnarled veterans.
The Mid-Norfolk Sunday Cricket League Peter Parfitt Division Two captains Kieran Knott and Alan Thulbourne were assisted by the players in ensuring that everyone played a part.
It was a day when even the losers said what a great game it had been.
It was windy and it was dark. From some parts of the ground the ball was invisible.
In the middle, if you could pitch the ball at all it swung voluminously.
Hockwold batted first and struggled to reach 70 for 5.
Then Alan Thulbourne joined Joel Gilmour and the fight back began.
For a while they cautiously rebuilt. Then Thulbourne put bat to ball. Strong off the back foot, he eventually hit the ball all round the wicket for 45.
Gilmour meanwhile scored a classy 61.
Encouragingly, Stow fielded a number of young spinners. After the allotted 40 overs the game was balanced with Hockwold’s score of 171.
For Stow, Jack Challen took four wickets and Charlie Riddington three.
The Stow innings followed a similar pattern.
Nathan Thulbourne took three early wickets with prodigious away swing.
Then sensible batting brought Andrew Knott 54 and Mark Wilkinson 24 not out.
For Hockwold, Luca Spencer tied down one end and held a fine catch, while Bert Marlow showed promise in bowling both off breaks and leg breaks.
The match was beautifully poised. Inexorably, time and target reduced together: 70 runs needed off 12 overs and 30 off five.
Thulbourne brought himself and Gilmour on to bowl and wickets fell.
Twelve runs were needed off two overs: just 12 deliveries.
Only two runs came off the penultimate over to leave ten needed off six deliveries.
Two came off the first ball – eight were now required from five balls. None came off the second and one came off the third to leave seven needed from three.
The fourth ball brought a wicket and the very young Ed Albutt came in.
Stow’s last man his first ball for a boundary to reduce the target to three from one.
But he couldn’t touch it and Hockwold won a Sunday thriller by two runs.
