On The Cusp Of Greatness

Jamie Cummins is set to confirm his status as a two-sport superstar this weekend as he seeks to complete the career double of 200 runs and 100 wickets for Offley.

A man who has enjoyed tremendous success at Quidditch, Cummins now needs just six more runs and a solitary wicket to achieve the double.

Cummins burst on to the scene in 2016 and the fact that he's still plugging away eight years later is a testimony to his staying power.

Back then he was a little-used fourth-change trundler as Offley maintained their ascendancy and continued to climb the leagues.

Today he is an over-used trundler who takes the new ball as Offley maintain their alarming descent through the leagues.

While it could be argued that Jamie's batting average (3.80) barely outstrips his number of famous lookalikes (Harry Potter / Dennis Nielsen / Rose West), he showed great promise in his last outing when he sacrificed the need for quick runs at the end of the innings in favour of deploying his favoured block and prod.

Jamie hasn't taken a wicket since before Luton were relegated and has been stuck on 99 for his last two matches, despite some heroic diving attempts to pull off a catch with a solitary fingertip.

Part of this may be down to the fact that he has improved his accuracy this year and has cut down on the number of wides he sends down.

Unfortunately this means that batters are now less likely to be surprised by a rogue straight ball.

Despite that he still boasts a career strike rate of 34 so six overs at the weekend should be enough to take him to 100 wickets - especially if the fielders who have let him down so often can remember to hold on to the ball if it comes their way.

Consequently a celebration is on the cards if Jamie can prove once and for all that he really is hotter than Potter.

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