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1994 SeasonRedBat embarked on its second decade of cricketing collectivism with a bits-and-pieces season from which no clear narrative thread can be discerned. An early opening against one-off opponents WREC produced an easy victory on a wet wicket just off the Western Avenue, followed by a reversal of fortunes against Cokenach, who this year failed to fall for the put-'em-in-first trick which had paid off previously. The next two matches saw us having the better of a draw at Ebrington, but failing to finish off a good performance by bowling them out for the win, and then hanging on with one wicket standing to draw with the Shakespeare. Quality bowling then brought victory in two low-scoring games against Red Star and West before the red machine hit the buffers, losing six of the next eight. Perhaps the low point was a painful encounter with MOB XI, where only POC's application with the bat staved off complete humiliation. The 1994 tour was spent mostly in the Shrewsbury one-way system, with brief excursions to some far-flung cricket grounds. Our first international fixture was not exactly greeted with wild enthusiasm in Wales, with only nine members of Llanfyllin CC making it to the ground, slightly supplemented by this writer. My principal contribution to the afternoon was to drop an absurdly easy catch with RedBat nine down; last pair Danny and Farooq needed no second invitation to run riot, carving their way to an unbroken 83-run partnership which took the game out of Llanfyllin's reach. With the rest of the tour comprising two high-scoring draws, the season ended on a high note on the field. However, under the placid surface of the Collective's season there were rumblings of discontent. The large contingent of ringers drafted in throughout the year was symptomatic of the difficulty of raising 11 players each week during the season. With the membership becoming increasingly scattered around the country (and indeed elsewhere), sustaining a full London-based fixture list was quickly becoming impossible. The 1994 averages generally reflect a wet summer, with nobody scoring over 200 runs. POC made the most of the tricky batting conditions to rake in 35 wickets at 7.8, and threw in 171 runs at over 14 for good measure.
The season by numbers
1994 Fixture List
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