A Lovely Game of Father's Day Cricket

The annual Father’s Day generational match is a highlight of the cricketing calendar for
those who are lucky enough to take to the field with their children or father. This season saw
a record 4 fixtures scheduled, thanks to the tireless efforts of Duncan Higgins and the Junior
Committee. Sadly, the two morning fixtures had to be cancelled due to the wet conditions of
the King’s Field. The 35 over fixture on the Main Square was not impacted by the rain of the
previous week. A pair of Dunmores led their respective teams and a toss agreed in the car
on the way to the club resulted in the Fathers batting first against the Youth on a surface that
had been described (unfairly?) by the Wick 1st XI skipper as a ‘minefield’.

Abid Ikram (1) was first to fall, with son Zain holding an excellent catch at first slip. Duncan
Higgins (14) looked very comfortable at the crease before being caught from the bowling of
his daughter Imogen. Phil Miles (24) joined Dipesh Morjaria (24 retired not out) in a
partnership that put the Fathers in a decent position. Miles fell to an excellent delivery from
Eve Abbott (5-1-14-2) who bowled beautifully. Michael Abbott (1) and James Miles (1) both
fell in quick succession and the Fathers needed Mandeep Singh to take to the team to a
reasonable total. Singh (23 retired not out) faced a hostile spell from son Jivraj. However,
support was provided by Ben Bartlett (18) and Lee Pickrell (14) who was stumped from the
bowling of his son Frazer. Paige Goodwin (4-2-2-1) bowled an excellent spell for the Youth,
who were well marshalled by skipper Tom Dunmore. A final total of 141-8 was definitely
competitive and both teams went to tea with some confidence.

Leo Morjaria and Tom Dunmore opened the innings for the Youth and were faced with an
attack of Ted Goodwin and Nick Dunmore. Morjaria (5) fell cheaply to Goodwin but his
captain looked very good as he scored freely from anything slightly off line or length.
Throughout the innings the Fathers fielded very well – with 3 good catches and 3 run-outs.
The first catcher was Phil Miles which removed Charlie Higgins (10) from the bowling of Abid
Ikram. The next to fall was Tom Dunmore (42) who was caught by his father from the
bowling of Ben Bartlett. Molly Bartlett (9) joined Zain Ikram (28 retired not out) in an excellent
stand before Michael Abbott held a steepling catch to dismiss Molly from the bowling of Phil
Miles. At this point the Fathers produced some very tight bowling, led by Mandeep Singh,
and the Youth found runs very hard to come by. Paige Goodwin (7), Jivraj Singh (16) and
Erin Goodwin were all dismissed run-out, Jivraj to a direct hit by his father, as the pressure
began to increase. Imogen Higgins (10*) and Frazer Pickrell (4*) calmly ignored the pressure
and took the Youth to victory with an over to spare.

The teams exchanged elbow-shakes and everyone agreed that the Youth deserved to win.
Once again, the Father’s Day fixture had been a success. It had been a lovely game.