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.

Comments

R Don Stiffs Offley

OSCC, 133-4, lost to Flamstead, 136-5, by five wickets Less than twenty-four hours after Scott Boatwright came within a single blow of a maiden century and Offley's fielders dissolved in the rain by dropping eight catches out of ten, the sun set on another season in the semi-finals of the Hertfordshire Village Trophy. A team bearing little resemblance to the one that had qualified for the last four, one that had been ripped apart by anniversaries, weddings and holidays, produced a spirited performance with a lineup held together by children's prayers and angels' kisses, relying on the presence of the Great Samdani to add a little stardust to proceedings. Following a delayed start due to heavy overnight rain, Ben Wiles inevitably lost the toss and Offley were asked to bat first on a green pitch tinged with green. Richie Barker and Dan Goord opened the batting, reprising the 2024 final where they shared an epic stand of 1 and were both back in the hutch within two overs. Aft...

Hats & Hat Tricks

OSCC, 180-6, lost to Luton Town & Indians, 240-9, by 60 runs On a day where Shane Jones took a hat trick, two Offley batsmen walked off at the end with unbeaten half-centuries and Jamie Cummins sustained a torn hamstring that is certain to make him a slow-moving favourite among Tenerife's looky-looky men when he arrives on Wednesday (Jamie will be back on Sunday with his hair in cornrows, several Rolexes and a dozen pairs of sunglasses), there really is only one place to start. With Kaiz Ul-Haq's hat. Sporting a fantastic piece of millinery that made him look like a cross between Audery Hepburn and a slightly effete Indiana Jones and is available exclusively from Young Man at Roger's as part of their Junior Arms Dealer Collection , Kaiz brought a touch of international panache to proceedings. Relegation-threatened Offley arrived at Potton to take on table-topping Luton and promptly lost the toss consigning them to an afternoon chasing leather in the sunshine. Had Cum...

150 Not Out: Boat Aid II

It would be easy to write the usual stuff after a hectic three games in four days that have seen us fight our way through to another trip to finals day, storm up to fourth in the Herts League and move ever closer to the drop in the Beds, but truth be told after playing five games in nine days it hurts to type and I really can't be arsed. It wouldn't be fair to highlight Jamie's misadventures of the past few days which have seen him stung by a wasp, get out-sprinted by Roger before falling over and punching the ball for four (Roger had it covered Jamie, just like he told you - the moral of the story being you should always Rely on Roger...), fail to take a wicket in two fruitless spells and then fall down while bottling attempting a catch and having to watch and wave as it bounced over his head for a boundary while he was on the ground. If he'd been any more challenged in that moment he'd have qualified for PIP payments on the spot. These escapades and many more wil...

Search This Blog