TIGER N THE SPOTLIGHT: STUART DUFF

Stuart 'Analyse This' Duff

Tonight’s long awaited Tiger in the Spotlight is our very own Stuart Duff.

Stu made his debut in 2011 as the 40th Tiger to pull on the orange and green. And he's been a regular in the side ever since. He’s a real globe trotter so we don’t see him every game but we do love his company when he is playing.

Stu earns his living as a Psychologist which means he usually knows what the opposition is going to do before they know themselves. That also means he was able to predict his league bowling economy of 9.46 this season. 

If only he’d told the skipper that Swinbrook’s Ryan Hunt was thinking ‘Right, I‘m going to smash this bugger to the boundary’ … before pretty much every ball Stu bowled.

Stu raises his arms at bowling the hardest man at Witney RFC

Seriously though, along with many of our other bowlers, Stu took a bit of a battering at the hands of Swinbrook at West Witney and it really ruined some otherwise respectable bowling figures. On saying that he also averaged a wicket a game through the 2013 season which, in a season where wickets were scarce, isn’t bad at all.

But Stu’s not just about bowling. He’ll bat wherever he’s asked without hesitation or complaint. Being ex-Grammar school he can play a straight bat … sometimes he even plays it in line with the ball.

That's going down leg ...

Actually, his 2013 batting tally doesn’t do him justice. He came up against some pretty tidy bowling and was only out the once so he can protect his wicket.

And, of course, Stuart is brilliant for lifting morale. A great sense of humour and always ready with a smile, a laugh or a joke means that he’s brilliant to play alongside.

So lets analyse our Tiger Psychologist's 2013 performances ...

League bowling

Friendly bowling

 League batting

Friendly batting 

Now usually I wouldn’t shamelessly plug a sponsorship opportunity in Tiger in the Spotlight (only because I’ve never really ad a chance to) but Stuart is super-fit. And because he’s super-fit and loves SpecialEffect, he will be cycling from John O’ Groats to Land’s End to raise money for the charity between 12^th May and 21^st May. That means he’ll probably miss the first Tigers game of the season unless he can time his ride to reach West Oxfordshire for that particular Sunday afternoon.

Stuart’s fundraising page for his 1508 km ride is now up and running, so please do head over to it and sponsor him as generously as you can. I know money is a bit tight at the moment for many of us but even if you only sponsor him a fiver, he’d be made up. You can go to Stu’s JustGiving page by following the link below:

http://www.justgiving.com/1508-SPECIALEFFECT

Stu’ thanks for your contribution last season mate and we hope to see more of you again the 2014 season. And thanks too for your amazing support of SpecialEffect through your mammoth cycle ride.

Tiger, we salute you …

West Oxon Midweek League Fixtures

Here they are Tigers. This season's midweek league fixtures ...

Wed 28 May      Bampton (H)

Wed 4 June       Swinbrook (H)

Wed 11 June     Aston (H)

Wed 18 June     Swinbrook (A)

Wed 2 July        Audley Ducks (H)

Thu 10 July       Bampton (A)

Wed 30 July      Aston (A)

Wed 13 August  Audley Ducks (A)

Put them in your diaries (or ICal's ... or whatever)

TIGER IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Mark Westaby

Tiger in the Spotlight: Mark Westaby

Tonight’s Tiger in the Spotlight is another young Combe CC regular. 

Mark ' Westa' Westaby made his Tigers debut on a drizzly June evening at Swinbrook and played in every league game from there on. Primarily a batsman, he’s proved himself a safe pair of hands in the field and he can turn his arm over when called upon too.

Like his mates Hass Mohsin and Huw Neyroud, Mark’s batting average suffers a bit from going into bat in the middle order in a 20/20 format game. He’s either doing his best to steady the ship or going for the big shots in search of runs.

Westa on his way to 18 against Audley Ducks

His natural batting game is probably cautious and steady. But Mark’s a big lad and, when he needs to, he’s got the power to find the boundary with little effort. His highest score of 18 for Tigers against Audley Ducks was typical of Mark in cautious and steady mode. No boundaries but a steadying hand as other went for the shots against an effective Ducks bowling line up in a low scoring game.

And that's him getting all agricultural over at Swinbrook

But as I said, Mark’s game is more than about his batting. In a season when catching opportunities were in fairly short supply, Westa snapped up 3 in four league games. And as if that wasn’t enough, a smart pick up and throw from Mark sent one of the Ducks’ dangermen, J-S Saleem, running for the pavilion as he lost the race against Westa’s throwing arm.

Westa and skip, Chris Grain, after a difficult batting shift

So, there we go dear reader. That’s a brief glimpse of Mark Westaby’s league season with the Tigers. Another excellent young cricketer and a smashing bloke too. 

Pals! Westa and Combe & Tigers mate, Hass Mohsin

Mark mate, you’re a credit to the Tigers and we hope to see you in the orange and green of SpecialEffect again in the coming season.

Tiger, we salute you! 

Westa's 2013 season league batting

And he turned his arm over

And is he the 2013 Bucket Hands???