Rioteers CC v. Longparish CC, 25 August 2019

Where were you when Stokes beat the Aussies? The Rioteer faithful (that unlikely fan base) travelled varying distances to the quintessential, idyllic cricket ground of Longparish – from 200 yds to 12,000 miles in the case of Damian’s cousin Diane from Australia.  Meanwhile at Headingley, Australia had removed Root early doors and Bairstow had also …

Rioteers CC v. Newport Inn CC, 21 July 2019

Regular readers of Rioteers’ match reports should be prepared to suspend belief before continuing with this one. On Sunday, 21st July, the Rioteers (but not initially their Captain) found themselves once more in the delightfully rural setting of Braishfield, ready to play old opponents, Newport Inn CC. In the absence of Martin Hillier at the …

Rioteers CC v. Broadhalfpenny Brigands CC, 14th July 2019

Having spent the two weeks prior to the game sweating to try and increase the squad from eight to the requisite eleven I was then blessed with four quality additions with a day to spare. Thanks to Princey for agreeing to step down. The three new players being the returning Chris and Sam Green and …

Rioteers CC v. Appleshaw CC, 7 July 2019 – and breaking news

AND BREAKING NEWS WHICH WILL SHOCK THE WORLD!!! After an absence of 3 years the Rioteers ventured back to the idyllic village of Appleshaw. Due to a the Hillier family party, an early start was made at 1pm for a 30 over bash with wides counting as 2. (This proved to be a factor with …

Ode to Alderney. Or, a flawed history of a flawless tour, 21-23 June, 2019

This weekend a seemingly phenanthrene-fuelled [actually alcohol-fuelled, Ed.] Blitzkreig was waged on Alderney by the Rioteers – the infamous farrago of twaddlers, fenilletons, wall-mounted heliantheae, philosophically mesomorphic, socially congelifraction-inducing bunch that we are. [Right, you’ve met Richard’s word-inclusion challenge. In just one sentence, as I predicted you’d manage to do. Now would you please get …

Rioteers CC v. Crawley CC, 16 June 2019

In cricket, few things are more important than timing. The caress of a cover drive is nothing without it, otherwise you’re watching Williams flay another over cow. Sometimes it works for you, as it did for most of Sunday….. Horrific weather is the only thing that will distract a Rioteer from a sunday fixture, but …

Rioteers CC v Cadnam CC, 9 June, 2019

Today at Cadnam there was a lively discussion about the genre of cricket reporting literature. Should writers experiment with what has the potential to be a mutable format and celebrate the richness of the English language—owing to its rich etymology, for example, it has roughly twice the number of words in its vocabulary than does …

Rioteers CC v Racqueteers CC, 19 May 2019

In contrast to the bucolic locations typically visited by the Rioteers, this Sunday’s game took place beneath the apathetic, metropolitan glower of downtown Winchester’s skyscrapers, graffiti, ennui, and menace (just down the road from the nihilistic, metropolitan sneer, lassitude, menace, etc. of the home of the Rioteers’ match manager for this fixture – Ed.). We …