chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

 The Match 

 

It was Clinton's first game for The Wanderers against local rivals Hamilton Junction and he arrived at the ground at eleven fifty am for a twelve noon warm up and proceeded to the changing rooms.

As Clinton went into the dressing room, The Captain Luke Thomas Greeted him.....

"Hi Clinton you can get changed here, it's where your father James Radford used to change and it is your space now”..............................

"Thanks" Clinton replied with a great big smirk on his face, this being a smirk of joy...........................

As Clinton and the rest of the team walked out on to the pitch to warm up, Clinton's mother Chelsea came over to him and gave him a great big hug and with joy on her face.............................

"Clinton my son" Chelsea said...........

"Yes mum" replied Clinton.........................

"Can you come over here a moment before you go for your warm up" Chelsea asked.......

"OK" replied Clinton................................

With that Chelsea pulled along box out of her bag, inside it was a chain and locket in the shape of a cricket bat.

Chelsea then proceeded to say to Clinton "This was your fathers and I would love for you to have it, he would have wanted that" with tears running down her face....

Clinton opened the locket and inside it was two photo's one of a man and one of a woman, Clinton recognized the woman's photo to be that of his mother and the other was a handsome looking man he could only assume to be his father James Radford.

Clinton then looked into his mother’s eyes also with tears coming down his face and said with a whisper "Thank You"

Chelsea then gave Clinton another big hug and they both started to cry, but they were not only tears of happiness because of Clinton's first game for The Wanderers, but of sadness because James Radford was not there to see this momentous moment for all the family..............

Chelsea then stared straight into Clinton's eye's and said to him with a smile on her face "Go get them my boy"
Clinton looked at his mother and said " Thanks mum I will, I'm sure I will get a fifty here today I can feel it and I am sure dad is up there looking over me, with a big smile on his face saying that's my boy"
Clinton then ran off to join the rest of the team to do there warm up and the excitement of the day was building for the whole family ......
Chelsea looked up to the sky and under her breath said "Thank you James, Thank you for such a wonderful son"
Ten minutes before the start of the match Clinton was awarded his 1st XI cap by the club captain Luke Thomas, whose father Nathaniel had awarded Clinton's father James Radford his 1st XI cap more than 16 years earlier ........................
The Wanderers had won the toss and had chosen to bat, it was a lovely summers afternoon at The Town Oval, but all was not going well and Hamilton Junction were reduced to one hundred and sixty one for nine after twenty five over’s when Clinton was joined at the crease by Rahall Patel who was the number eleven batsman and was also a local Indian Restaurant owner........
Clinton walked up to Rahall and said.

"Hi Mate I'm going to look for the single off the last ball to keep the strike"
"I'll be ready for the run mate, I'll be backing up" replied Rahall..................

Clinton then walked back to the strikers end and took his mark of middle and leg from the umpire, knowing full well he had no idea what he was doing...............
All this was going through his head as he was looking at the pavilion were His mother, brother, sister; grandmother and grandfather were sat alongside Isabella looking a sexy as ever in a Light blue all in one trouser suite............

Clinton then got ready to face the first ball of the over when he heard a loud shout from behind the stump's "Come on Hondo let him have it"….

It was Hamilton Junction's wicketkeeper Robbie Mitchell a very loud person indeed.
Hondo happened to be Hamilton Junction's opening bowler who was coming back from a two year drugs ban by the name of Joel Henderson a 6ft 8in West Indian, who was a mighty big man to say the least ......
Clinton's first ball from Joel Henderson was very quick, but Clinton just moved onto the front foot and raised his bat and allowed the ball to pass him by straight into the wicketkeeper’s gloves.....
Joel Henderson then stared at Clinton and said " Hay Man it's red, it's round and it is very fast or do you want a bell in it" in his broad West Indian accent ......

Clinton just stared back at Henderson saying nothing at all to him, showing that he was not intimidated at all......
The next ball Henderson bowled to Clinton was short and very quick; Clinton  rocked back on to his back foot and proceeded to hook Henderson over square leg out of the ground for six ....
Clinton then stared down the wicket at Henderson and said "Hay big balls, you know what it looks like you can go and fetch it" with a great big smile on his face and chuckling to himself....
Rahall Patel walked up from the non-strikers end and said to Clinton in his Broad Indian voice as he came from Mumbai

“Don’t wind him up, he will just bowl faster at you and you might get hurt" ….

"Yeah well let him, He don't scare me, the faster the better and the further it will

Go" Clinton replied to Rahall.......
“Well if you say so, on your head be it" Replied Rahall ....................
Clinton then winked at Rahall turned and walked back to the strikers end to take strike again......

Henderson then came running in, faster this time and bowled to Clinton, this time the ball was pitched up and Clinton this time took a big stride forward with a bent knee and proceeded to stroke the ball past mid-off to the boundary for four at a rate of knots .......
All Joel Henderson could do was stand there and stare down the wicket at Clinton with his hands on his hips, a stare of a man who was getting very mad with this young up start of a batsman............
All Clinton did was walk a couple of paces up the wicket and stood there and stared back at Henderson and nodded his head as if to say, bring it on brother I'm ready for it with a smile on his face .............

The next ball the forth ball of the over was another fast short ball. Clinton this time went to go onto the back foot but the ball did not bounce as high as he thought, he stayed in the position he was in and then picked the ball up of his hip and dispatched it over deep mid-wicket for another six, all Joel Henderson could do was stand there and stare at Clinton shaking his head and growling like a dog.....
Clinton stared back at Joel Henderson and said “Hay Henderson is that all you got" with a big smile on his face and a chuckle in his voice ........
Clinton thinking to himself, all the time he was batting, this game is easy............................
Henderson then came in for the fifth ball of the over, this time he was madder than normal and you could see it in his face.
He bowled the ball at Clinton short about 100 mph, Clinton again rocked back on to the back foot and pulled Henderson to the square leg boundary for another four, a big cheer went up for the pavilion ......
Chelsea then looked to her Father Reg and said " Dad this reminds me of watching James more than sixteen years ago, he certainly has got his father’s genes" with a smile on her face.........
Reg looked at Chelsea and said " But Clinton will play International cricket one day my girl he is that good a player" with a great big smile of joy on his face.............
"You really think so do you day, you think he is that good a player" Chelsea replied with some shock in her voice at what her father had just said....
"Yes I do my girl" Replied Rag smiling and shaking his head in disbelief at what Chelsea had just asked him.........
Joel Henderson then came steaming in like an express train for the sixth and last ball of the over, which was pitched up and Clinton played it with his bat and pad together back past the bowler and took the single to keep the strike for the next over.........
"How many were off that over" Isabella asked Chelsea...............
Twenty one I think and Clinton hit two, fours, two, sixes and a single so yeah a good over" Chelsea replied with a smile and some joy in her voice ......
"Right a good over then" asked Isabella smiling.......
"Yep my girl a really good over my girl" Replied Reg chuckling under his breath..............

Off the next Twenty four over’s Clinton and Rahall compiled a partnership of one hundred and twenty runs to take the score to two hundred and eighty one for nine off their fifty over’s an above par total for the ground.........................
As both Clinton and Rahall walked off the pitch, there were loud applause from Hamilton Junction's players and from the crowd all around the ground ...
Isabella ran up to Clinton threw her arms around him and gave Him a big sloppy kiss on the lips and looked at him and said " Eighty four not out, Brilliant, absolutely Brilliant" with a massive smile on her face............. Joel Henderson shouted out in his broad West Indian accent “Well played newbie, you played very well kid" with a smirk on his face...................................
Clinton turned around and looked at Joel Henderson smiled and tilted his head as a mark of respect to what he had said........................
Then there was a voice that came out of the crowd "Well played Radford, your old man would have been proud of you" It was that of Oliver Kennedy the Wanderers main sponsor..............
Oliver Kennedy was a local business man in the import, export business and a multi-millionaire and was forty four years old and a very handsome man to go with it, being 6ft 4in with blond hair, blue eyes, that some people said were come to bed eye's ............................
Everyone looked around and Chelsea's face was a picture of shock as she had not seen Oliver Kennedy since school........
You see Oliver Kennedy had moved to China when they left school where he made his money, he had never been married and to everyone's knowledge had only ever had one serious relationship, but to be honest he had eyes for only one person since school ..............................
Could this be Chelsea's Knight in shining armor only time would tell........................................?

Hamilton Junction got off to a great start and were ninety five for no wicket after some twenty over’s, when opening batsman/wicketkeeper Robbie Mitchell middles a ball from John Gill, it looked as if was going to boundary for four.
It was traveling at some six inches off the floor, when Clinton dived to his left like a salmon full length at cover point to take a brilliant catch.......
Clinton held up the ball to claim a clean catch, when a loud shout broke out on the field "he's caught it, he's caught it" it was the bowler John Gill with some excitement.......
Chelsea, Reg, Georgia, Beth Curtis junior and of cause Isabella all had looks of disbelief on their faces and they all started cheering at the brilliant catch that Clinton had taken ...............
Reg muttered under his breath "I knew this boy could play" laughing and shaking his head.............
Chelsea then proceeded to look up to the sky and said under her breath to herself.

"James if only you were here to see this" smiling all the time as she had not been this happy in years......................
But James Radford was there, in the form of his son Clinton who on this day, the day of his 1st XI debut playing for The Wanderers was playing under his birth name of Clinton Radford in memory of his late father.........
All The Wanderers team ran over to Clinton to shake him by the hand and pat him on the back at such a brilliant catch and Luke Thomas said Clinton "I have not seen a catch like that for a long, long time, it was brilliant"
Isabella shouted out with a loud voice “Clinton you really are the best in the world"

Chelsea shouted out at the top of her voice "That's my boy showing people the Radford name is still alive and kicking"
Reg then said in a very loud voice "Play for England one day this boy, so remember the name and it's Radford, Clinton Radford and he is my grandson, go boy, go" smiling all the while..............................
It was the time the whole family had been waiting for, Clinton came on to bowl his mixture of off and leg spin and what a spell of bowling it was to be....................

"Hay Reg by the way what does Clinton Bowl" asked Nathaniel Thomas.......
"A bit of off spin with a bit of leg spin thrown in for good measure" Replied Reg with a great big smile on his face and chuckling to himself...........

"A genius then" Replied Nathaniel Thomas with a laugh.................
"Well if you say so, if you say so Nathaniel" Replied Reg with a great big smile on his face and a laugh........................
Then there was a loud shout that came out from the pavilion "give it plenty of air, get it above the batsman's eye line and give it time to turn" It was Clinton's grandmother Georgia who was a first class cricket coach with some years’ experience .............
Clinton's first full over in 1st XI cricket was very medico and it was a maiden, there was no turn for him in this his first over.......................
Clinton's second over how ever was a different story and he asked the captain Luke Thomas for a seven, two off side field, as to encourage the batsman to play to the leg side and it worked a treat....................................
The third ball of his second over Clinton had the number three batsman out with a leg spinner, bowled around his legs, the forth ball had the number four batsman probing forward and caught bat and pad at short leg and to top it all off a classic off spinners wicket, with the number 5 batsman being bowled between his bat and pad for a hat-trick in only his second over on his debut.
Off only eleven balls Clinton had taken three wickets for no runs and better was to come off the last ball of the his second over when he had the number six batsman caught sweeping at backward square leg and he had taken four wickets in four ball and had taken four wickets for no runs off two over .................
Clinton had reduced Hamilton Junction to one hundred and ten for five from one hundred and ten for one....................
A big cheer went up from the crowd as Clinton walked back to his fielding position and as Clinton was walking back he took his cap off and bowed as a mark of respect for the cheers........................
Clinton thinking to himself, man this game is easy and thinking what a beautiful woman he had in his life in Isabella and seeing how happy his mother was.........  

Clinton's next over though was taken for twenty four runs by the 6ft 8in Joel Henderson, giving Clinton a taste of his own medicine by hitting the last four balls of the over for six.........

Joel Henderson then proceeded to smash the ball to all parts of the ground, before a stroke of magic happened with Henderson on fifty eight and with the score on one hundred and eighty five for five..........

The magic came from Clinton who came in to bowl his seventh over and decided a change of tact was needed and it came by the way of a change of bowling instead of bowling off spin he decided to bowl leg spin and duly picked up the wicket of Joel Henderson who tried to hit Clinton out of the ground but was bowled, batsmen numbers eight and nine followed in quick succession both being caught in the slips.......................

 John Gill then picked up the last two wickets in the next over and Hamilton Junction were all out for two hundred and nine with Clinton ending with bowling figures of seven wickets for fifty runs and a seventy two run win for The Wanderers ............

As Clinton and the rest of the team left the pitch after a great win to some rapturous applause, Clinton leading the team off and taking his cap off and bowing to the crowd in recognition of his achievement on his debut............

A Loud voice could be heard say "That's my Boy" It was Chelsea Clinton's mother who had a great big smile on her face........................

Clinton looked up at the twilight sky and said to himself under his breath "Thank you father" with a great big smile all over his face and a tear in his eye................

Isabella then came running up to Clinton a flung her arms around him and gave him a great big kiss on the lips and their eyes looked at each other and they then knew they were in love...........................

Isabella looked at Clinton in there embrace and whispered to him "I think I love you" with a great big smile on her face........................

Clinton stared back at Isabella and said "I think I love you to babe" and hugged her with a smile like a Cheshire cat on his face.......................

This was to be a long a loving relationships with some very unwanted attention but for now they were young and in love the rest was to come later .................

As the team was in the bar drinking with Clinton and Isabella the responsible teenagers they are being sixteen and seventeen and unable to drink alcohol, decided to drink Orange juice............
Reg, Georgia, Chelsea, Beth, Curtis junior, Clinton and Isabella were sat at the table in the corner of the room, when over walked the clubs main sponsor Oliver Kennedy to the table................
"Hello Ladies and Gents" Oliver Kennedy asked chuckling all the time with a smile on his face................
"Oliver how, are you today" replied Isabella with her soft sweet voice........
"I'm fine thank you, Miss Thomas" replied Oliver "Just come over to see the new rising star of the side" Oliver then said with a smile........
Then looking at Chelsea Oliver said "Chelsea you are looking very nice tonight" Chelsea came all over with embarrassment, her face turning bright red at the comment.........................
"Why thank you Oliver, your flattery will get you everywhere” replied Chelsea blushing all over her face .......
As Oliver you had, had a crush on Chelsea ever since they were teenagers in school, but had really never done anything about it, but maybe now was, the time to take the bull by the horns......
Was this the chance that Oliver had passed him by to be with the woman he had loved for some may years, only time will tell for them both..................................