1st XI Season 2017
Saturday 6th May 2017, Minster Home
We lost the toss and were put into bowl on what seemed to be a wicket for the bowlers. In fact it was for the first 5-10 over with Nick and Chris opening the bowling and creating chances resulting in 14 dot balls to start the innings resulting in 2 early wickets when the score was on 0 and 11 respectively. In response Minster battled and landed 94-4. Unfortunately we put some chances down and the tides changed with Minster posting 270 off 50. They paced their innings well keeping wicket in hand so they could attack for the last 10 overs. Overall Andy Ainger bowled well completing 15 overs and taking to wicket as well with the bowlers up. Special mention to Dan Baylis (cap 112) on a debut wicket!!!
The second innings did not start well being reduced to an early 9-1 and ending up 27-4. A recovery was needed, with it seeming to come through the from of Aaron White (30) and Nick Worsley taking us to 75 before the 5th wicket fell When Aaron was stumped. Nick reached 50, playing in a very controlled manner leading from the front. Minster were bowling well and not giving much away. With scoring proving hard as a team we crawled to 148 -9 and finally ending up on 155 all out with Eash 11*.
Overall Minster played well and stuck to their game plan and came out with the win. A few positives to take from the game though, the commitment from the group and the batting of Nick!!!
We move on to next week with an away game at Downham and Bellingham away.
Seth
We lost the toss and were put into bowl on what seemed to be a wicket for the bowlers. In fact it was for the first 5-10 over with Nick and Chris opening the bowling and creating chances resulting in 14 dot balls to start the innings resulting in 2 early wickets when the score was on 0 and 11 respectively. In response Minster battled and landed 94-4. Unfortunately we put some chances down and the tides changed with Minster posting 270 off 50. They paced their innings well keeping wicket in hand so they could attack for the last 10 overs. Overall Andy Ainger bowled well completing 15 overs and taking to wicket as well with the bowlers up. Special mention to Dan Baylis (cap 112) on a debut wicket!!!
The second innings did not start well being reduced to an early 9-1 and ending up 27-4. A recovery was needed, with it seeming to come through the from of Aaron White (30) and Nick Worsley taking us to 75 before the 5th wicket fell When Aaron was stumped. Nick reached 50, playing in a very controlled manner leading from the front. Minster were bowling well and not giving much away. With scoring proving hard as a team we crawled to 148 -9 and finally ending up on 155 all out with Eash 11*.
Overall Minster played well and stuck to their game plan and came out with the win. A few positives to take from the game though, the commitment from the group and the batting of Nick!!!
We move on to next week with an away game at Downham and Bellingham away.
Seth
Saturday 13th May 2017, Downham & Bellingham away
After a slow start to the season with a disappointing performance against a strong Minster side, ODs looked to get their first meaningful points on the board for a promising 2017 Campaign against a reshaped and rebuilding Downham & Bellingham side.
After a football warmup (with some exceptional keeping from Laurence "The Gazelle" Sanders) the new skipper Nicholas Worsley favoured for an aggressive "Win toss bat" policy to try to get ODs' first 20 points on the board.
ODs started steadily with Ben Webster and Laurence Sanders putting together a better opening partnership than last week. With Laurence pouncing on the bad ball and dispatching it to the boundary with multiple flowing cut shots ODs looked to take control of the match early to put a daunting score on the board on a deck which seemed to have the odd ball keeping low. Unfortunately Ben Webster couldn't continue his strong striking from the T20 against HSBC on Sunday, and struggled to find the middle of the bat, being bowled for a decent but not imposing 10.
Out strutted Jamie Batten, looking to make his first meaningful runs (and fantasy points) of the season. JB gave a couple of chances early, with an LBW shout and a close caught and bowled, it seemed to be shaping up to be his day... until he left a ball which hit his pad on off stump and he was walking off for 8.
Chris Webster then came out to steady the ship with some risk free batting, who started in typical fashion by trying to smash everything to the hedge. The counter-attack seemed to be paying off as he piled pressure onto the Downham & Bellingham bowlers, hitting a few towering sixes out of the ground. New Balls Please!
With Aaron and Chris at the crease it looked like ODs were well on their way to a good score, David Meeking had other ideas as he took three quick wickets White (10), Worsley (0), Nott (0) leaving ODs 86-6 and the chance of reaching 200 falling further into the distance.
Something special was needed from the boys to give us a truly defendable score, and something special definitely came in the form of Andrew Ainger, hitting his high score of 93 in an extremely tough situation. With Chris and Ainger at the crease the scoring was flowing and Downham & Bellingham could not do much but stand and watch as these two picked the bowlers apart.
After losing Chris for 78 (8 x 4s, 5 x 6s) and the score being poised at 145-7 it was in the balance. Cameron Sanders has been in good knick this season and continued to show his batting prowess with a much needed 25, staying out there with Ainger who was leading the charge.
Ainger inched closer and closer to his hundred, and with the final over upon us and Ainger within touching distance of his first league century, much deliberation was going on whether to tell him what he was on. Worsley took matters into his own hands by shouting "ANDY, YOU'RE ON 93 MATE!"...
... He was bowled next ball, ending a spectacular innings containing an eye watering 17 boundaries.
ODs 261 All Out (50 Overs)
With a full strength bowling lineup, the boys went out confident that they could pile on the pressure early and bring home the points. Not underestimating the Downham & Bellingham batting lineup, who we knew would put up stubborn resistance.
Jamie Batten with ball in hand was throwing down some serious heat to the batsmen's end, finding some bounce out of a deck which has kept exceedingly low in the first innings and giving the batsmen more than a little to think about. Whizzing a couple through around head height getting the batsmen ducking and weaving, it was a true test for them.
With the skipper Nick Worsley charging in from the other end, there really was little let up as the bowlers managed to contain the batsmen superbly, not conceding a single boundary for the first 17 overs! Jamie took the first wicket of the innings, catching David Powell (3) leg before. Then the second shortly after, bowling William Crouch for a duck.
At 8-2, ODs were putting serious pressure on Downham and Bellingham with not only great bowling, but high standards in the field (apart from Ainger's drop at first slip, but we'll let it slide on this occasion). It was then the chance of Chris and Andy to grab some wickets to go with their outstanding batting displays, as they both took a pair Ainger ending with figures of 4-1-23-2, and Chris 3-0-10-2.
There was a period of resistance from D&B coming from the hard hitting of James Nash (30) who threw caution to the wind and lobbed anything in his arc into the trees, unfortunately he was running out of partners at the other end as Jamie was in full swing taking wickets for fun!
Cameron Sanders (2-0-11-1) dismissed Nash with the help of a good catch on the long off boundary by Nicholas Worsley, leaving D&B at 71-8.
Unfortunately for the hosts the tail failed to wag as Jamie Batten cleaned up the remaining batsmen with accurate stump to stump bowling, ending with astonishing figures of 9-3-10-5!
71 All out and 20 points in the bag, a successful day for the boys and hopefully the first of many! Come on OD's!
After a slow start to the season with a disappointing performance against a strong Minster side, ODs looked to get their first meaningful points on the board for a promising 2017 Campaign against a reshaped and rebuilding Downham & Bellingham side.
After a football warmup (with some exceptional keeping from Laurence "The Gazelle" Sanders) the new skipper Nicholas Worsley favoured for an aggressive "Win toss bat" policy to try to get ODs' first 20 points on the board.
ODs started steadily with Ben Webster and Laurence Sanders putting together a better opening partnership than last week. With Laurence pouncing on the bad ball and dispatching it to the boundary with multiple flowing cut shots ODs looked to take control of the match early to put a daunting score on the board on a deck which seemed to have the odd ball keeping low. Unfortunately Ben Webster couldn't continue his strong striking from the T20 against HSBC on Sunday, and struggled to find the middle of the bat, being bowled for a decent but not imposing 10.
Out strutted Jamie Batten, looking to make his first meaningful runs (and fantasy points) of the season. JB gave a couple of chances early, with an LBW shout and a close caught and bowled, it seemed to be shaping up to be his day... until he left a ball which hit his pad on off stump and he was walking off for 8.
Chris Webster then came out to steady the ship with some risk free batting, who started in typical fashion by trying to smash everything to the hedge. The counter-attack seemed to be paying off as he piled pressure onto the Downham & Bellingham bowlers, hitting a few towering sixes out of the ground. New Balls Please!
With Aaron and Chris at the crease it looked like ODs were well on their way to a good score, David Meeking had other ideas as he took three quick wickets White (10), Worsley (0), Nott (0) leaving ODs 86-6 and the chance of reaching 200 falling further into the distance.
Something special was needed from the boys to give us a truly defendable score, and something special definitely came in the form of Andrew Ainger, hitting his high score of 93 in an extremely tough situation. With Chris and Ainger at the crease the scoring was flowing and Downham & Bellingham could not do much but stand and watch as these two picked the bowlers apart.
After losing Chris for 78 (8 x 4s, 5 x 6s) and the score being poised at 145-7 it was in the balance. Cameron Sanders has been in good knick this season and continued to show his batting prowess with a much needed 25, staying out there with Ainger who was leading the charge.
Ainger inched closer and closer to his hundred, and with the final over upon us and Ainger within touching distance of his first league century, much deliberation was going on whether to tell him what he was on. Worsley took matters into his own hands by shouting "ANDY, YOU'RE ON 93 MATE!"...
... He was bowled next ball, ending a spectacular innings containing an eye watering 17 boundaries.
ODs 261 All Out (50 Overs)
With a full strength bowling lineup, the boys went out confident that they could pile on the pressure early and bring home the points. Not underestimating the Downham & Bellingham batting lineup, who we knew would put up stubborn resistance.
Jamie Batten with ball in hand was throwing down some serious heat to the batsmen's end, finding some bounce out of a deck which has kept exceedingly low in the first innings and giving the batsmen more than a little to think about. Whizzing a couple through around head height getting the batsmen ducking and weaving, it was a true test for them.
With the skipper Nick Worsley charging in from the other end, there really was little let up as the bowlers managed to contain the batsmen superbly, not conceding a single boundary for the first 17 overs! Jamie took the first wicket of the innings, catching David Powell (3) leg before. Then the second shortly after, bowling William Crouch for a duck.
At 8-2, ODs were putting serious pressure on Downham and Bellingham with not only great bowling, but high standards in the field (apart from Ainger's drop at first slip, but we'll let it slide on this occasion). It was then the chance of Chris and Andy to grab some wickets to go with their outstanding batting displays, as they both took a pair Ainger ending with figures of 4-1-23-2, and Chris 3-0-10-2.
There was a period of resistance from D&B coming from the hard hitting of James Nash (30) who threw caution to the wind and lobbed anything in his arc into the trees, unfortunately he was running out of partners at the other end as Jamie was in full swing taking wickets for fun!
Cameron Sanders (2-0-11-1) dismissed Nash with the help of a good catch on the long off boundary by Nicholas Worsley, leaving D&B at 71-8.
Unfortunately for the hosts the tail failed to wag as Jamie Batten cleaned up the remaining batsmen with accurate stump to stump bowling, ending with astonishing figures of 9-3-10-5!
71 All out and 20 points in the bag, a successful day for the boys and hopefully the first of many! Come on OD's!
Saturday 20th May 2017, Old Colfeians Home
It was a glorious day at the Home of Cricket. OD CUACO faced Old Colfeians off the back of an impressive victory at Downham & Bellingham. Nick won the toss and elected to bat, some would say a bold move with the weather forecast. The Gazelle and Ben opened up the batting. The innings was promptly interrupted by heavy rain. Gaz unfortunately missed a full was sent of his way first ball back after the rain break, a nightmare for fantasy points. Out strode Nick Worsley, who was in for the long haul. Wickets fell relatively quickly. Ben, who was looking solid was workout of by a clever piece of bowling - bouncer, bouncer full one, which was chipped to mid-off. Chris came and went, leaving Aaron and Nick to consolidate. The two were looking solid (excluding the fact that Nick “didn’t know what to do” and “couldn’t hit it off the square”). Aaron then fell victim to a bouncer from their quick, which was spliced straight in the air. Shortly followed by Notty who was dealt “an absolute jaffer”. Ainger put up some resistance (mainly through the slips), but played a terrible shot and was deservedly bowled. Cam didn’t last long, putting Colfe’s right back on top. However, cometh the man, armed with one of Notty’s special sponsored swords, Eashan Patel. While Nick hauled out to long on after a well battled 60, we were still nowhere near the 200 required. No trouble for Eashan “Gains” Patel who showed us all how to bat in a tough situation. Playing some glorious strokes and gracefully dispatching a weary Colfe’s attack. Eashan was well supported by Seth who battled hard for his runs at the end. Leaving us on a total of 205. Nick’s innings turning out to be very crucial, a well battled graft from the team.
With a spring in our step the boys strode out confidently into the second innings. Nick and Chris opened the bowling and did not disappoint. Chris targeted the stumps patiently and was duly rewarded with 2 early wickets. Nick again was unfortunate not to pick up early wickets. Cameron and Simon then replaced the openers who continued the good pressure. Cameron regularly beating the outside edge and threw some lovely shapes. Simon welcomed his return to 1st team cricket with the wicket of their dangerous looking left hander, aided by a tidy catch from Chris. Ainger and Seth continued this pressure. Seth ended with figure of 4 - 4 - 0 - 1. That 4 overs, 4 maidens, 0 runs and 1 wicket. Unbelievable scenes. They were on the back foot. The Colfe’s skipper had dropped anchor long ago and was battling hard to not lose. While wickets fell around him he battled valiantly. Due to the rain delays we were restricted to 40 overs. As runs were not an issue we were on the attack. As a result Nick set up some outrageous fields, including a deep wide fine leg, a deep backward square and a short leg. Notty somehow allowed his shoe lace to be behind square, which the umpire enthusiastically called a no ball. Time was running out. They were fending off everything we threw at them. 4 overs to go, 3 wickets to get. Nick finally got one right and bowled their number 9. 2 to go. With 3 overs left Cam came back into the attack. With one wicket under his belt he said “I”m going to bowl really fast”. That was all Nick had to hear. Steaming in, for the lads, Cam bowled a genuine full toss which their skipper missed and was plumb in front. Not what we expected but it goes in the scorebook all the same. Nick bowled a tidy over, challenging the batsman but no luck. 1 over to go and 1 wicket to get. Chris took the ball from Cam who probably said something inspirational. Chris came steaming in, everyone was on edge, the crowed were grumbling. He bowled a full toss and bowled their number 11. Game over. Cam’s inspirational “full tosses win matches” worked. (he didn’t say that and it’s not true).
A well deserved win for the boys. Bowling them out for 59 in 39.1 overs. Serious effort!
It was a glorious day at the Home of Cricket. OD CUACO faced Old Colfeians off the back of an impressive victory at Downham & Bellingham. Nick won the toss and elected to bat, some would say a bold move with the weather forecast. The Gazelle and Ben opened up the batting. The innings was promptly interrupted by heavy rain. Gaz unfortunately missed a full was sent of his way first ball back after the rain break, a nightmare for fantasy points. Out strode Nick Worsley, who was in for the long haul. Wickets fell relatively quickly. Ben, who was looking solid was workout of by a clever piece of bowling - bouncer, bouncer full one, which was chipped to mid-off. Chris came and went, leaving Aaron and Nick to consolidate. The two were looking solid (excluding the fact that Nick “didn’t know what to do” and “couldn’t hit it off the square”). Aaron then fell victim to a bouncer from their quick, which was spliced straight in the air. Shortly followed by Notty who was dealt “an absolute jaffer”. Ainger put up some resistance (mainly through the slips), but played a terrible shot and was deservedly bowled. Cam didn’t last long, putting Colfe’s right back on top. However, cometh the man, armed with one of Notty’s special sponsored swords, Eashan Patel. While Nick hauled out to long on after a well battled 60, we were still nowhere near the 200 required. No trouble for Eashan “Gains” Patel who showed us all how to bat in a tough situation. Playing some glorious strokes and gracefully dispatching a weary Colfe’s attack. Eashan was well supported by Seth who battled hard for his runs at the end. Leaving us on a total of 205. Nick’s innings turning out to be very crucial, a well battled graft from the team.
With a spring in our step the boys strode out confidently into the second innings. Nick and Chris opened the bowling and did not disappoint. Chris targeted the stumps patiently and was duly rewarded with 2 early wickets. Nick again was unfortunate not to pick up early wickets. Cameron and Simon then replaced the openers who continued the good pressure. Cameron regularly beating the outside edge and threw some lovely shapes. Simon welcomed his return to 1st team cricket with the wicket of their dangerous looking left hander, aided by a tidy catch from Chris. Ainger and Seth continued this pressure. Seth ended with figure of 4 - 4 - 0 - 1. That 4 overs, 4 maidens, 0 runs and 1 wicket. Unbelievable scenes. They were on the back foot. The Colfe’s skipper had dropped anchor long ago and was battling hard to not lose. While wickets fell around him he battled valiantly. Due to the rain delays we were restricted to 40 overs. As runs were not an issue we were on the attack. As a result Nick set up some outrageous fields, including a deep wide fine leg, a deep backward square and a short leg. Notty somehow allowed his shoe lace to be behind square, which the umpire enthusiastically called a no ball. Time was running out. They were fending off everything we threw at them. 4 overs to go, 3 wickets to get. Nick finally got one right and bowled their number 9. 2 to go. With 3 overs left Cam came back into the attack. With one wicket under his belt he said “I”m going to bowl really fast”. That was all Nick had to hear. Steaming in, for the lads, Cam bowled a genuine full toss which their skipper missed and was plumb in front. Not what we expected but it goes in the scorebook all the same. Nick bowled a tidy over, challenging the batsman but no luck. 1 over to go and 1 wicket to get. Chris took the ball from Cam who probably said something inspirational. Chris came steaming in, everyone was on edge, the crowed were grumbling. He bowled a full toss and bowled their number 11. Game over. Cam’s inspirational “full tosses win matches” worked. (he didn’t say that and it’s not true).
A well deserved win for the boys. Bowling them out for 59 in 39.1 overs. Serious effort!
