2011 Final Table and Results
Match Reports - 4th XI 2011
4th Team Report for 2011
Won 2 Cancelled 3 Lost 13 so I guess that says it all.
This was our first year when we really failed to cope and give the opposition a run for their money which was disappointing.
We used 38 players of which 23 bowled so never really had a settled side. Also late drop outs from above made it extremely difficult to get any continuity.We found it difficult to set a target so often finished up batting second and struggled to chase 200 let alone 250+ probably due to some very slow starts.Our best attempt was 240 - 5 chasing a Hayes C C total of 268 - 7. Early in the season we had a number of unfortunate incidents and as the season progressed found sides having one decent player which made all the difference against what in our case was a genuine fourth eleven.
Nevertheless amongst all this doom and gloom there were many positives. Despite our difficulty in setting or chasing targets it meant we had only three significant individual scores. Andy Rouse (82),Mark Webster (88 against Hayes C C and out when it looked as if he might win it for us) and Chris Webster (72). Leading the runs scored were Chris Webster (238) and Andy Rouse (201).Raj once again topped our bowling with 29 wickets with the evergreen Couch getting 15 victims.
Sadly we didn't see enough of Sam O'Neill or John Lee both of whom would have made a signicant difference. However the main bonus to our season was a number of young colts who did extremely well in a struggling side. Chris Webster who was outstanding and deserved his promotion to the Second Eleven,Billy Rouse and Ollie Clarke who both showed great promise with their batting and bowling,plus Sam Fishlock,Will Baldwin,Liam Osborne and the Caddy brothers all of whom will go on to the higher sides in the not too distant future. Again we didn't see enough of Ben Smith who bowled beautifully against Catford/ Cyphers C C nor enough of Ben Stuart both of whom will improve.
Finally on the cricket front it was great to have Neville umpiring for us towards the end of the season and to have Anne Webster scoring in her sleeping bag! Thank you both.
My thanks go to everyone who played in the Fourth team and don't let your experience put you off this wonderful game. I don't really mean to get the hump,I just want each individual and the Team to do well Hopefully next year with our new nets,more Colts joining and progressing into the senior sides the Fourth Eleven will give a greater account of themselves.
H
3rd September 2011. ODCuaco C C 4th Team v Old Brockleians 2nd XI
ODCuaco 4's 111 - 8
Old Brockleians 2's 112 - 3
On the face of it this seems like 'a good hiding' but it certainly wasn't with so many plus points coming out of the game. We had an Umpire (Neville) and a scorer (Anne) which we owe many thanks to, so many thanks to you two!. Old Brocks had an Umpire which this season has been a bit of a rarity so thanks to him.
The stand in skipper won the toss and decided to bat telling his ten man team that he wanted them to concentrate on getting in and using up all of the overs. That they did was a credit to them even accounting for the skipper who was in full block mode until a juicy full toss appeared which he duly put down mid on's throat! Against a very tidy bowling attack the team did well with Phil Kitch (34), Michael Parr (20) and Raj (16) being the higlights.
A total of 111 was always going to be hard to defend but Northie 12 - 2 - 30 - 2, Raj 12 - 2 - 39 - 0 and the 'Old Actore' 4.5 - 1 - 8 - 1 made the oppo work hard for their deserved victory. Excellent fielding from Scottie, Sam Fishlock, Liam Osbourne and Michael Parr, plus really good keeping from Taylor and two superbly taken catches from Michael made them take 33 overs to get there. Youngsters like these are the future so although the result was not what we wanted these guys will make the club proud of them.
20th August 2011. ODCuaco C C 4th Team at Blackheath 8th XI
Blackheath 158 - 8
ODCuaco 89 - all out
As is normal with the 4's some good, some bad and some downright unfortunate. Neville umpired and Anne scored so definitely good. Although Anne had to give the oppo some withering looks for their disparaging comments about us as a team. The girl 'dun good!!' Many thanks to Anne and Neville. The tea supplied was the worst we have had all season and should be up before the trade descriptions as good it was not. The tea was eaten or mostly left after only 7.3 overs to keep the match moving. The oppo failed to produce mid innings drinks but as H would say 'hey ho'.
On and off many times due to showers but to our credit we completed and competed. Starting with only nine as our Actore failed to fully read his e mails. Steve Smith then valiantly appeared to give us 11 joining our 'forgetful' Actore. Then half way through the Blackheath innings Steve attempted to take a catch on the boundary and cut his hand so we were back down to 10. Steve still owes his subs, not sure who collect it. Thanks for coming Steve at such short notice.
The bowling was nice and tight. A fourfer for Iestyn and a threefor for Raj. Tight stuff from Northie and the Actore. Good fielding particularly Scottie, Sam Fishlock, Iestyn and Jake behind the stumps was a feature.
When we batted the rain had turned the track into something that resembled a rugby pitch and the ball was seaming all over the place. That being said the highlight was a very mature 33 from Jake which included two sixes, so the the good outweighed the not so good.
20th August 2011. ODCuaco C C 4th Team v Locksbottom 2nd Team
An Umpire but no scorer, please come back Anne and thanks to Neville. The team short of a Keeper so the skipper had to stand in. Only one bye so eat your hearts out all the other keepers, particularly H! I won't mention the easy missed stumping off Brian North but we all make mistakes. Decent bowling from Northie, Ollie and Skanda against what looked like a good opening pair. Also good fielding helping our inept keeper.
After 19 overs the heavens opened for a good hour and half of heavy rain. When the covers were taken off in now bright sunshine the square was soaked and there was a very damp patch at one end where a right arm over bowlers left foot would land. Our very anal skipper said it was not fit to play, both umpires agreeing. Their skipper said 'your bowler could bowl round the wicket', but anal skipper ignored this. So the away skipper conceded that it would be fruitless to continue. This seemed to upset some of the oppo, one refusing to shake hands and one suggesting Graham Johnson ' takes up snooker!'
Ah well next week is another game.
13th August 2011. ODCuaco C C 4th Team v HSBC C C 4th Team
Well at least it was a change to play another 4th team and if anything was proved it showed we are just a little short in competing against teams of equal ability.
It was good to see Viggy back and hopefully Michael Parr will play more games in the future.
We fielded first and after 6 overs they were 43 for none but after an astute bowling change,the injured thespian bowling,after 8 overs they were 48 for 2.Before the next wicket fell,again to the thesp,we had dropped three catches. At the halfway stage they were 112 for 4 (all to the thesp) and we had clawed our way back.Their eighth wicket fell in the 39 over with the score at 155 and in getting those wickets we had held some stunning catches,two from Billy and two from Michael,one quite exceptional and Andy also caught a cracker.
They then had two youngsters at the wicket,who to their credit took the game away from us with another catch being dropped,and they finished on 199 for 8. Our bowling was in and out,when it was in we looked really good but when it was out............. Mind you our batting was more out than in! With nothing to fear from their bowling attack we contrived to lose wickets,one to the first ball of our innings to an airey fairey shot that wouldn't have disgraced Sehwag, rather than them getting us out. We then got becalmed and in the next eleven overs we scored 15 runs giving us no real chance to get near their total. Our final total of 143 for 8 could've been so much better but then I suppose that's fourth team cricket for you.
Thanks once again to Neville and Anne who've made our lives so much more enjoyable if you know what I mean!
30th July 2011. ODCuaco C C 4th Team v Hayes C C 4th Team
Following a rather lively Tour my mind is not as sharp as it could be.
However I do remember we were quite shabby in the field despite our first 20 overs going for only 69 with the next 26 going for 101.A great start as they were 39 for 3 with a good debut catch from Liam Osbourne who also started of with a tidy spell of five overs.His fielding enthusiasm also set a fine example to some of the rest of the team.Martin and Raj finished with 3 wickets each albeit Raj not being at his best. Their best player who's only played in the second eleven this season took the game away from us with a 67 until brilliantly caught and bowled by Northy.
When we batted two of our top three took 106 balls (nearly 18 overs) to score 27 between them which then puts the rest of us on the back foot.With a mixture of poor shots and poor running we amassed 122 in just under 42 overs and once again let ourselves down.I'm still convinced we are a better team than our results but I am still to have that proven on a regular basis.
What I will say is we are a genuine 4th eleven and have yet to load our team with a player or players of higher ability. What you see is what you get and we should as a Club be proud of that.
4th Team away to Catford & Cyphers 4th XI, 23rd July 2011.
What an absolute delight to have both an umpire and scorer especially as the scorer now feels confident to use dozens of coloured pens! Thank you both especially if you read this nonsense.
Well this week we were one short which doesn't help when you've got 4 sixty year olds and a seventy year old but the youngsters made up for that and fielded really well.Ben Smith took a fine caught and bowled,Taylor snapped up one at mid wicket and Sam Fishlock and Ben Stuart made some excellent stops. They all made up for some lethargic fielding from a couple of the oldens the exceptions being a fine catch from Northy and Graham got a super catch and a run out. Even the keeper helped for a change with four victims which didn't quite make up for the extra's!
Ben Smith and Martin got us off to a great start and the opposition,on an unfriendly but not dangerous wicket,were 50 - 4 at halfway both having got a couple of wickets each. Northy got 4 - 33 and they finished on 125 all out in the last over.None of the four bowlers went for more than 33 in their allotted overs. For the first time for a while our openers put bat to ball and got us off to a good start with 44 on the board off only twelve overs before we lost a wicket.The top four all got double figures and of the 5 batters out only one was got out,the rest played bad shots. Naughty,naughty. What have I told you. Ben Smith finished a good game for him for smashing a six to win the match by 5 wickets in the thirty second over.
Isn't winning a nice feeling. For some in the team it's one of the few feelings left to them!
4th Team away to Bromley 4th XI, 9th July 2011.
If we are honest we shouldn't keep blaming other clubs umpires for our poor results and performances.I agree we have had some awful decisions this year but we've also been responsible in some matches for our own downfall.Their chap on Saturday who won them the game did appear to be well in front but by that stage we should have won the game and that particular LBW decision would not have occurred.
If we're honest we batted far too slowly despite having a good platform of 127 -2 after 32 overs,having lost a wicket with a really poor run out,then both our two men in got out within two overs thus putting pressure on the remaining batters,we dropped a number of catches which made all the difference and their number 7 chanced his arm and got away with it. Instead of defending 200 plus we amassed 175 - 7 and they won by one wicket with 10 balls to spare. As I say if we're honest we lost it rather than they won it. Will we remember this for the coming week,answers on a postcard please.
There are always positives and once again the fielding by our youngsters was excellent and Chris and Will didn't wilt under the final onslaught. Chris also batted well for 46 but once again....................!
Thanks to Anne and her chum for being a brace of Websters again!
4th Team away to Old Brockleians 2nd XI, 2nd July 2011.
I suppose Old Brockleians will say there was nothing much wrong with the wicket nor the umpiring. We might think differently but you often do when you get a good hiding. If I was being impartial I would say the wicket was not the best. We were hit on the shoulder and bowled by grounders. Good or bad wicket they bowled well and used the wicket to their advantage. We are also at a great disadvantage without our own umpire as we continually concede the toss.
Regardless of our thoughts about the wicket we still need to put on our 'cricket heads' and compete. We bowled 6 overs,hardly hit the wicket,they slogged to all parts,we paid for teas while the opposition were playing a game amongst themselves and came home. Quite a sociable afternoon really. Should've gone shopping! Thanks Anne for putting up with the bad language.
ODCuaco C C 69. Old Brockleians 70 - 2. (In 6 overs).
4th Team away to Orpington 5th XI, friendly 25th June 2011.
OD Cuaco 4's 155 - 6 Orpington 5's 67 - 8
This was a late arranged friendly played at St Olaves School for which we thank Orpington. We won the toss and decided to bat. At 32 - 5 after 20 overs with Graham Johnson scoring 17 we were certainly doubtful as to it being a good decision. Enter Ben Smith who bludgeoned 59 (no) backed up by reluctant skipper Bob Lake (37) and Billy Rouse ( 21 no) enabling us to muster a good score on not a great wicket. The match was of 35 overs and we certainly felt 155 was defendable.
Our very young opening bowlers Billy Rouse and Skanda Raja had the opposition 13 - 2 after 12 overs so definitely on the back foot. We had six bowlers in all (all Colts) and they all finished with good and tight figures. Billy 3 - 5, Skanda 0 - 6, Jake Caddy 2 - 8, Ben Stuart 2 - 17, Ben Smith 0 - 5 and Ollie Clarke 1 - 21. The fielding of our young guns was also excellent with no dropped catches, four taken and a particularly good catch taken by Ollie Clarke where he finished in a double salko and dive!!
All round a good performance in a match with no contentious decisions played in a very good spirit. Only shame was H could not be there, apparently he had pulled a G string or something!!
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4th Team at Locksbottom 18th June 2011.
We agreed a 35 over match and despite our excellent start before the rains came, where we had them at 14 - 2, we probably had the worst of the conditions for batting as the wicket dried out. However where we were good at everything last week we were poor at most things this week. With the odd exception the fielding was poor,almost in some cases disinterested. Our cause once again was not helped when Raj bowled a waist high full toss (a legitimate delivery for a slow bowler) and Billy Rouse took a stunning catch in the deep. As he caught it their square leg umpire ( a player) then raised his arm and called 'no ball'. Our playing umpire,Mr Lake,explained the delivery was legitimate but the umpire refused to go for the correct decision. The batsman who was 30 at the time went on to carry his bat for 130* and take them to a total of 227 - 3. (Extras a few,a positive).
We struggled and finished with 110 - 6 and left fairly quickly. Of our 35 overs 23 contained at least one four ball.Of their 35 overs only 10 contained a four.They hit the bad ball well and we weren't able to do likewise.However clearly they were of second eleven standard and we are a genuine fourth eleven but we must perhaps go back to bowling as we did at HSBC and also not keep giving our wickets away thus giving the opposition more points. I won't dwell on yet another match turning decision but that's the third time we've suffered and without our own Club umpire we will come across decisions that are unfortunate. However whilst we continue to play honestly it speaks well of our Club but clearly we are not prospering.
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4th Team v HSBC 11th June 2011.
It could have been a good finish but the English summer spoiled it for both sides. We opted to field and on an expected excellent wicket our bowlers did us proud. Raj at last was back to his best and we held all our early catches.The fielding in the main was above fourth team standard and without missing two late chances we could've been chasing 110. As it was they got to 130 -9 a target we felt we could achieve especially against a side doing well in our Division. Billy,Raj and Phil took 3 wickets each and Raj held two fine catches.
After tea the sky looked good but we lost an early wicket,got bogged down and were behind the clock even chasing such a modest target off 40 overs.Richard Fletcher gave us a slight push but when Billy ran himself out probably our best chance had gone as he and Ollie were making inroads into their total.We must despatch the bad ball more often. We seem to either miss out or miss it.When the rains came we were 90 - 6 with seven overs left.
Nevertheless the pre tea session was excellent especially with a side of 5 sixty year olds,one 70 year old,two forty plus year olds and three fine colts. The fourth team over the years have managed to push a large number of the Colts into the higher teams and that must be our aim this season. A shame really as had we held our two catches,we would have had tea earlier,chased a smaller target and maybe achieved it before the rains came. How wise it is to be after the event!
Thanks again to Anne who scored with a virus (should've used a pencil) but is fighting fit now.
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4th Team v BW/CoL 4th June 2011.
Having once again scrapped together eleven men just and true, removed the concrete blocks holding down the covers, removed the covers, collected the stumps, unlocked the scorebox, carried out the chairs (and all the 4th Team have paid their subs) we lost the toss and fielded in the heat which isn't the best start for our 50, 60 and 70 year olds.
However against the top of the table team we fielded for most of the time extremely well and very enthusiastically, with our youngsters once again showing how it should be done. Sam Fishlock on his debut and Ollie Clarke led the way. We did miss a few chances early on which would have made a difference, however heads didn't drop and we were left to chase 243 which included ONLY 8 extra's a massive improvement. Martin bowled tightly with 1 - 34 off twelve with 3 maidens and Billy picked up two wickets.
We had a slowish start against a bowler who was nearly as quick as Sammy, not what you expect at 4th eleven level, but having weathered the storm our two senior chaps endeavoured to get one run out. Mark Webster had pulled up lame whilst fielding and the only runner available was Andy Rouse who had just been run out! However, we struggled to get up to a reasonable run rate, but it was a big ask against some decent bowling and only Chris Webster with a brilliant 72* got to grips with all their bowlers. We finished with 175 - 7 with the skipper getting a second ball duck, which was an improvement on his last two innings; where he's had two first ball ducks!
Scoring after tea were a brace of female Websters, our thanks go to them and also to everyone who helped with the chores mentioned in my first sentence.
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v Hayes 4s Saturday 28th May at Hayes
Well we've now had two consecutive Saturdays where players from the opposition have walked off when being bowled and not stayed at the wicket. Makes it all worthwhile. Also we've conceded 21 extra's last week and 32 extra's this week which even at 4th team level is unacceptable. This week could have made the difference between winning and losing.
However the positives this week were that we stuck at it for 46 overs,no slacking in the field on a cold and blustery day with some excellent fielding especially from Ollie Clarke who was outstanding,backed up by Chris and Billy. Even the old 'uns contributed and it was a pleasure not to have to keep reminding people where to stand almost every ball.
Hayes slogged their way to a pretty impressive total and late on despite good ground fielding we missed three chances which could've changed the game. However we persevered with all the bowlers suffering despite bowling some fine deliveries.Chris with three and Martin and Raj with two a piece were our wicket takers and with only four bowlers they all stuck to a difficult task.
Another good tea saw us perk up a bit and make our way,some by car,to the far wicket at Hayes to chase a high target.We lost a wicket early on but Andy Rouse (13) and Mark Webster (lbw 88) put on 93 and Mark with son Chris (49) added a further 42. Ollie and Chris ran well to add 49 and at the end with Ollie (37*) still there he and Andy Rouse (14*) took us to 240 - 5 which was a brilliant effort. The opposition conceded 37 extra's so it is important we keep ours down to a minimum.
Despite the loss,I see it as a very honourable daw,we are unearthing new young talent in Chris,Billy and Ollie (maybe Richard Fletcher eventually) and hopefully more Colts will want to play adult cricket as I can promise you that you'll get a bat or a bowl in the 4's. An excellent run chase and we got a lot closer than we thought.
Many thanks to Anne Webster who's learning the delights of scoring in an open field. I've never seen anyone score in a sleeping bag before (if you know what I mean!).
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Catford/Cyphers 4ths 177 - 9. ODCuaco C C 115 all out Saturday 21st May.
This was a game of four thirds. Beautiful day,two umpires,we had a scorer a really good third.
We won the toss and asked them to bat and at the halfway stage they were 67 - 5 and it was a great second third. No dropped catches and Martin Couch 2 - 35 off 12 overs,Sam O'Neill 1 - 24 off 6 overs and John Lee 2 - 5 off 5 overs gave us a great start. John eventually finished with 3 - 31 off his 12 an excellent spell and a great improvement on last season which augurs well. The next third saw them put on 110 in the 23 overs with some slogging and some poor fielding and in the odd case a bit of disinterested fielding.
Still a good wicket and a decent batting line up gave the skipper some optimism. Come the fourth third we batted appalingly more or less all the way through and at our halfway stage were 61 - 5 and slowing up. A brief stand between Bob (22*) and John (19) took us just over 100 with an 8.00 o'clock finish. Positives were that Sam and John showed why they were in the thirds and Billy made a case for being in the thirds.
For me I was delighted we had John Ing as our umpire for one week and even more pleased Anne Webster appears to want to follow the 4th eleven round the globe as our scorer. Many thanks to them both.
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Fourth Team Report. v Old Colfeians 4’s Saturday 14th May at Old Colfeians
Old Colfeians 4th's 245 - 7 Odcuaco C C 137 all out.
Raj bowled really well and we saw good innings from Billy and Chris.
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4th XI home to Bromley Saturday 7th May
Firstly my thanks go to the 10 players who made themselves available and helped on the day with moving the concrete blocks (my hernia is going back),removing the canvas cover,taking and bringing back 15 chairs. Not bad for £195 per week.(What an incentive to play in the second team! on the other hand!). Also to everyone who umpired and scored. Also thanks go to Dave Caddy who dropped out to let Jake play and to Andy Rouse who got there before Phil Kitchingman to make us up to eleven! A fairly ill tempered affair into which I will not venture but suffice to say winning takes away any bad taste.We won the toss and fielded and Chris Webster and Martin Couch opened and both bowled really well.Backed up by various bowling changes,a fine spell from Will Baldwin 2 wickets,Jake one and two good containing spells from Lobban and Raj limited them to 193 - 5 which would have been a lot less had their non fours batsman (89*) not played! Second week running. We lost an early wicket but Andy Rouse with an excellent 82,Chris Webster with a classy 31 and Jake (27*) saw us home with 15 overs to spare for the loss of four wickets. Second highest score for us was 45 extras so let that be a lesson to us all. Line and length keeps the skipper happy. We finished at 7.30pm with 15 overs to go. It would have been past one or two of our young lads bedtime had the match run it's full course. Once again thanks to all who played and supported and keep replying to Teamer!
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Fourth Team Report. v Blackheath 8’s. Saturday 30th April
Twelve players turned up on Saturday, 'cock-up on communications front so apologies to Steve Smith. No umpire or scorer could be found so no change there, even Steve found something else to do. At the drinks break Blackheath were 67 - 3 after 23 overs and soon after 73 - 4. Enter an Indian called Sachin, perhaps that should have alerted us!! At the close they were 244 - 7 and Sachin had got 121 of them. Blackheath said it was his first game for them and they were not sure how good he was!!! Isn’t that amazing for an 8th team player!!!
Our innings started well as Scotty and Mark Watson had an opening partnership of 61 and we were 100 - 2 at drinks. Sachin was brought on for 4 overs and took 3 - 7 ripping out the middle order. A last wicket partnership of 40 from John Lee and Martin Couch took the score to 164 and some respectability.
Overall too many dropped catches and Sachin on 30 being dropped was match changing. The good points were the bowling of Martin Couch 0 -27, Sam O'Neil 1 - 40 both off of 12 overs and John Lee 1 - 41 off 8. Understandably facing Sachin the other bowlers took some stick but battled on.
Good fielding from Scotty, Calum and Mewie plus good keeping from Andy Rouse. In the batting good efforts from Scotty, Mark, Mewie, John Lee and Martin. Hopefully we won't see another Sachin this season as he was the only difference between the teams. Well, except their wonky eyed umpire who gave me out to a howler!!
Won 2 Cancelled 3 Lost 13 so I guess that says it all.
This was our first year when we really failed to cope and give the opposition a run for their money which was disappointing.
We used 38 players of which 23 bowled so never really had a settled side. Also late drop outs from above made it extremely difficult to get any continuity.We found it difficult to set a target so often finished up batting second and struggled to chase 200 let alone 250+ probably due to some very slow starts.Our best attempt was 240 - 5 chasing a Hayes C C total of 268 - 7. Early in the season we had a number of unfortunate incidents and as the season progressed found sides having one decent player which made all the difference against what in our case was a genuine fourth eleven.
Nevertheless amongst all this doom and gloom there were many positives. Despite our difficulty in setting or chasing targets it meant we had only three significant individual scores. Andy Rouse (82),Mark Webster (88 against Hayes C C and out when it looked as if he might win it for us) and Chris Webster (72). Leading the runs scored were Chris Webster (238) and Andy Rouse (201).Raj once again topped our bowling with 29 wickets with the evergreen Couch getting 15 victims.
Sadly we didn't see enough of Sam O'Neill or John Lee both of whom would have made a signicant difference. However the main bonus to our season was a number of young colts who did extremely well in a struggling side. Chris Webster who was outstanding and deserved his promotion to the Second Eleven,Billy Rouse and Ollie Clarke who both showed great promise with their batting and bowling,plus Sam Fishlock,Will Baldwin,Liam Osborne and the Caddy brothers all of whom will go on to the higher sides in the not too distant future. Again we didn't see enough of Ben Smith who bowled beautifully against Catford/ Cyphers C C nor enough of Ben Stuart both of whom will improve.
Finally on the cricket front it was great to have Neville umpiring for us towards the end of the season and to have Anne Webster scoring in her sleeping bag! Thank you both.
My thanks go to everyone who played in the Fourth team and don't let your experience put you off this wonderful game. I don't really mean to get the hump,I just want each individual and the Team to do well Hopefully next year with our new nets,more Colts joining and progressing into the senior sides the Fourth Eleven will give a greater account of themselves.
H
3rd September 2011. ODCuaco C C 4th Team v Old Brockleians 2nd XI
ODCuaco 4's 111 - 8
Old Brockleians 2's 112 - 3
On the face of it this seems like 'a good hiding' but it certainly wasn't with so many plus points coming out of the game. We had an Umpire (Neville) and a scorer (Anne) which we owe many thanks to, so many thanks to you two!. Old Brocks had an Umpire which this season has been a bit of a rarity so thanks to him.
The stand in skipper won the toss and decided to bat telling his ten man team that he wanted them to concentrate on getting in and using up all of the overs. That they did was a credit to them even accounting for the skipper who was in full block mode until a juicy full toss appeared which he duly put down mid on's throat! Against a very tidy bowling attack the team did well with Phil Kitch (34), Michael Parr (20) and Raj (16) being the higlights.
A total of 111 was always going to be hard to defend but Northie 12 - 2 - 30 - 2, Raj 12 - 2 - 39 - 0 and the 'Old Actore' 4.5 - 1 - 8 - 1 made the oppo work hard for their deserved victory. Excellent fielding from Scottie, Sam Fishlock, Liam Osbourne and Michael Parr, plus really good keeping from Taylor and two superbly taken catches from Michael made them take 33 overs to get there. Youngsters like these are the future so although the result was not what we wanted these guys will make the club proud of them.
20th August 2011. ODCuaco C C 4th Team at Blackheath 8th XI
Blackheath 158 - 8
ODCuaco 89 - all out
As is normal with the 4's some good, some bad and some downright unfortunate. Neville umpired and Anne scored so definitely good. Although Anne had to give the oppo some withering looks for their disparaging comments about us as a team. The girl 'dun good!!' Many thanks to Anne and Neville. The tea supplied was the worst we have had all season and should be up before the trade descriptions as good it was not. The tea was eaten or mostly left after only 7.3 overs to keep the match moving. The oppo failed to produce mid innings drinks but as H would say 'hey ho'.
On and off many times due to showers but to our credit we completed and competed. Starting with only nine as our Actore failed to fully read his e mails. Steve Smith then valiantly appeared to give us 11 joining our 'forgetful' Actore. Then half way through the Blackheath innings Steve attempted to take a catch on the boundary and cut his hand so we were back down to 10. Steve still owes his subs, not sure who collect it. Thanks for coming Steve at such short notice.
The bowling was nice and tight. A fourfer for Iestyn and a threefor for Raj. Tight stuff from Northie and the Actore. Good fielding particularly Scottie, Sam Fishlock, Iestyn and Jake behind the stumps was a feature.
When we batted the rain had turned the track into something that resembled a rugby pitch and the ball was seaming all over the place. That being said the highlight was a very mature 33 from Jake which included two sixes, so the the good outweighed the not so good.
20th August 2011. ODCuaco C C 4th Team v Locksbottom 2nd Team
An Umpire but no scorer, please come back Anne and thanks to Neville. The team short of a Keeper so the skipper had to stand in. Only one bye so eat your hearts out all the other keepers, particularly H! I won't mention the easy missed stumping off Brian North but we all make mistakes. Decent bowling from Northie, Ollie and Skanda against what looked like a good opening pair. Also good fielding helping our inept keeper.
After 19 overs the heavens opened for a good hour and half of heavy rain. When the covers were taken off in now bright sunshine the square was soaked and there was a very damp patch at one end where a right arm over bowlers left foot would land. Our very anal skipper said it was not fit to play, both umpires agreeing. Their skipper said 'your bowler could bowl round the wicket', but anal skipper ignored this. So the away skipper conceded that it would be fruitless to continue. This seemed to upset some of the oppo, one refusing to shake hands and one suggesting Graham Johnson ' takes up snooker!'
Ah well next week is another game.
13th August 2011. ODCuaco C C 4th Team v HSBC C C 4th Team
Well at least it was a change to play another 4th team and if anything was proved it showed we are just a little short in competing against teams of equal ability.
It was good to see Viggy back and hopefully Michael Parr will play more games in the future.
We fielded first and after 6 overs they were 43 for none but after an astute bowling change,the injured thespian bowling,after 8 overs they were 48 for 2.Before the next wicket fell,again to the thesp,we had dropped three catches. At the halfway stage they were 112 for 4 (all to the thesp) and we had clawed our way back.Their eighth wicket fell in the 39 over with the score at 155 and in getting those wickets we had held some stunning catches,two from Billy and two from Michael,one quite exceptional and Andy also caught a cracker.
They then had two youngsters at the wicket,who to their credit took the game away from us with another catch being dropped,and they finished on 199 for 8. Our bowling was in and out,when it was in we looked really good but when it was out............. Mind you our batting was more out than in! With nothing to fear from their bowling attack we contrived to lose wickets,one to the first ball of our innings to an airey fairey shot that wouldn't have disgraced Sehwag, rather than them getting us out. We then got becalmed and in the next eleven overs we scored 15 runs giving us no real chance to get near their total. Our final total of 143 for 8 could've been so much better but then I suppose that's fourth team cricket for you.
Thanks once again to Neville and Anne who've made our lives so much more enjoyable if you know what I mean!
30th July 2011. ODCuaco C C 4th Team v Hayes C C 4th Team
Following a rather lively Tour my mind is not as sharp as it could be.
However I do remember we were quite shabby in the field despite our first 20 overs going for only 69 with the next 26 going for 101.A great start as they were 39 for 3 with a good debut catch from Liam Osbourne who also started of with a tidy spell of five overs.His fielding enthusiasm also set a fine example to some of the rest of the team.Martin and Raj finished with 3 wickets each albeit Raj not being at his best. Their best player who's only played in the second eleven this season took the game away from us with a 67 until brilliantly caught and bowled by Northy.
When we batted two of our top three took 106 balls (nearly 18 overs) to score 27 between them which then puts the rest of us on the back foot.With a mixture of poor shots and poor running we amassed 122 in just under 42 overs and once again let ourselves down.I'm still convinced we are a better team than our results but I am still to have that proven on a regular basis.
What I will say is we are a genuine 4th eleven and have yet to load our team with a player or players of higher ability. What you see is what you get and we should as a Club be proud of that.
4th Team away to Catford & Cyphers 4th XI, 23rd July 2011.
What an absolute delight to have both an umpire and scorer especially as the scorer now feels confident to use dozens of coloured pens! Thank you both especially if you read this nonsense.
Well this week we were one short which doesn't help when you've got 4 sixty year olds and a seventy year old but the youngsters made up for that and fielded really well.Ben Smith took a fine caught and bowled,Taylor snapped up one at mid wicket and Sam Fishlock and Ben Stuart made some excellent stops. They all made up for some lethargic fielding from a couple of the oldens the exceptions being a fine catch from Northy and Graham got a super catch and a run out. Even the keeper helped for a change with four victims which didn't quite make up for the extra's!
Ben Smith and Martin got us off to a great start and the opposition,on an unfriendly but not dangerous wicket,were 50 - 4 at halfway both having got a couple of wickets each. Northy got 4 - 33 and they finished on 125 all out in the last over.None of the four bowlers went for more than 33 in their allotted overs. For the first time for a while our openers put bat to ball and got us off to a good start with 44 on the board off only twelve overs before we lost a wicket.The top four all got double figures and of the 5 batters out only one was got out,the rest played bad shots. Naughty,naughty. What have I told you. Ben Smith finished a good game for him for smashing a six to win the match by 5 wickets in the thirty second over.
Isn't winning a nice feeling. For some in the team it's one of the few feelings left to them!
4th Team away to Bromley 4th XI, 9th July 2011.
If we are honest we shouldn't keep blaming other clubs umpires for our poor results and performances.I agree we have had some awful decisions this year but we've also been responsible in some matches for our own downfall.Their chap on Saturday who won them the game did appear to be well in front but by that stage we should have won the game and that particular LBW decision would not have occurred.
If we're honest we batted far too slowly despite having a good platform of 127 -2 after 32 overs,having lost a wicket with a really poor run out,then both our two men in got out within two overs thus putting pressure on the remaining batters,we dropped a number of catches which made all the difference and their number 7 chanced his arm and got away with it. Instead of defending 200 plus we amassed 175 - 7 and they won by one wicket with 10 balls to spare. As I say if we're honest we lost it rather than they won it. Will we remember this for the coming week,answers on a postcard please.
There are always positives and once again the fielding by our youngsters was excellent and Chris and Will didn't wilt under the final onslaught. Chris also batted well for 46 but once again....................!
Thanks to Anne and her chum for being a brace of Websters again!
4th Team away to Old Brockleians 2nd XI, 2nd July 2011.
I suppose Old Brockleians will say there was nothing much wrong with the wicket nor the umpiring. We might think differently but you often do when you get a good hiding. If I was being impartial I would say the wicket was not the best. We were hit on the shoulder and bowled by grounders. Good or bad wicket they bowled well and used the wicket to their advantage. We are also at a great disadvantage without our own umpire as we continually concede the toss.
Regardless of our thoughts about the wicket we still need to put on our 'cricket heads' and compete. We bowled 6 overs,hardly hit the wicket,they slogged to all parts,we paid for teas while the opposition were playing a game amongst themselves and came home. Quite a sociable afternoon really. Should've gone shopping! Thanks Anne for putting up with the bad language.
ODCuaco C C 69. Old Brockleians 70 - 2. (In 6 overs).
4th Team away to Orpington 5th XI, friendly 25th June 2011.
OD Cuaco 4's 155 - 6 Orpington 5's 67 - 8
This was a late arranged friendly played at St Olaves School for which we thank Orpington. We won the toss and decided to bat. At 32 - 5 after 20 overs with Graham Johnson scoring 17 we were certainly doubtful as to it being a good decision. Enter Ben Smith who bludgeoned 59 (no) backed up by reluctant skipper Bob Lake (37) and Billy Rouse ( 21 no) enabling us to muster a good score on not a great wicket. The match was of 35 overs and we certainly felt 155 was defendable.
Our very young opening bowlers Billy Rouse and Skanda Raja had the opposition 13 - 2 after 12 overs so definitely on the back foot. We had six bowlers in all (all Colts) and they all finished with good and tight figures. Billy 3 - 5, Skanda 0 - 6, Jake Caddy 2 - 8, Ben Stuart 2 - 17, Ben Smith 0 - 5 and Ollie Clarke 1 - 21. The fielding of our young guns was also excellent with no dropped catches, four taken and a particularly good catch taken by Ollie Clarke where he finished in a double salko and dive!!
All round a good performance in a match with no contentious decisions played in a very good spirit. Only shame was H could not be there, apparently he had pulled a G string or something!!
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4th Team at Locksbottom 18th June 2011.
We agreed a 35 over match and despite our excellent start before the rains came, where we had them at 14 - 2, we probably had the worst of the conditions for batting as the wicket dried out. However where we were good at everything last week we were poor at most things this week. With the odd exception the fielding was poor,almost in some cases disinterested. Our cause once again was not helped when Raj bowled a waist high full toss (a legitimate delivery for a slow bowler) and Billy Rouse took a stunning catch in the deep. As he caught it their square leg umpire ( a player) then raised his arm and called 'no ball'. Our playing umpire,Mr Lake,explained the delivery was legitimate but the umpire refused to go for the correct decision. The batsman who was 30 at the time went on to carry his bat for 130* and take them to a total of 227 - 3. (Extras a few,a positive).
We struggled and finished with 110 - 6 and left fairly quickly. Of our 35 overs 23 contained at least one four ball.Of their 35 overs only 10 contained a four.They hit the bad ball well and we weren't able to do likewise.However clearly they were of second eleven standard and we are a genuine fourth eleven but we must perhaps go back to bowling as we did at HSBC and also not keep giving our wickets away thus giving the opposition more points. I won't dwell on yet another match turning decision but that's the third time we've suffered and without our own Club umpire we will come across decisions that are unfortunate. However whilst we continue to play honestly it speaks well of our Club but clearly we are not prospering.
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4th Team v HSBC 11th June 2011.
It could have been a good finish but the English summer spoiled it for both sides. We opted to field and on an expected excellent wicket our bowlers did us proud. Raj at last was back to his best and we held all our early catches.The fielding in the main was above fourth team standard and without missing two late chances we could've been chasing 110. As it was they got to 130 -9 a target we felt we could achieve especially against a side doing well in our Division. Billy,Raj and Phil took 3 wickets each and Raj held two fine catches.
After tea the sky looked good but we lost an early wicket,got bogged down and were behind the clock even chasing such a modest target off 40 overs.Richard Fletcher gave us a slight push but when Billy ran himself out probably our best chance had gone as he and Ollie were making inroads into their total.We must despatch the bad ball more often. We seem to either miss out or miss it.When the rains came we were 90 - 6 with seven overs left.
Nevertheless the pre tea session was excellent especially with a side of 5 sixty year olds,one 70 year old,two forty plus year olds and three fine colts. The fourth team over the years have managed to push a large number of the Colts into the higher teams and that must be our aim this season. A shame really as had we held our two catches,we would have had tea earlier,chased a smaller target and maybe achieved it before the rains came. How wise it is to be after the event!
Thanks again to Anne who scored with a virus (should've used a pencil) but is fighting fit now.
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4th Team v BW/CoL 4th June 2011.
Having once again scrapped together eleven men just and true, removed the concrete blocks holding down the covers, removed the covers, collected the stumps, unlocked the scorebox, carried out the chairs (and all the 4th Team have paid their subs) we lost the toss and fielded in the heat which isn't the best start for our 50, 60 and 70 year olds.
However against the top of the table team we fielded for most of the time extremely well and very enthusiastically, with our youngsters once again showing how it should be done. Sam Fishlock on his debut and Ollie Clarke led the way. We did miss a few chances early on which would have made a difference, however heads didn't drop and we were left to chase 243 which included ONLY 8 extra's a massive improvement. Martin bowled tightly with 1 - 34 off twelve with 3 maidens and Billy picked up two wickets.
We had a slowish start against a bowler who was nearly as quick as Sammy, not what you expect at 4th eleven level, but having weathered the storm our two senior chaps endeavoured to get one run out. Mark Webster had pulled up lame whilst fielding and the only runner available was Andy Rouse who had just been run out! However, we struggled to get up to a reasonable run rate, but it was a big ask against some decent bowling and only Chris Webster with a brilliant 72* got to grips with all their bowlers. We finished with 175 - 7 with the skipper getting a second ball duck, which was an improvement on his last two innings; where he's had two first ball ducks!
Scoring after tea were a brace of female Websters, our thanks go to them and also to everyone who helped with the chores mentioned in my first sentence.
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v Hayes 4s Saturday 28th May at Hayes
Well we've now had two consecutive Saturdays where players from the opposition have walked off when being bowled and not stayed at the wicket. Makes it all worthwhile. Also we've conceded 21 extra's last week and 32 extra's this week which even at 4th team level is unacceptable. This week could have made the difference between winning and losing.
However the positives this week were that we stuck at it for 46 overs,no slacking in the field on a cold and blustery day with some excellent fielding especially from Ollie Clarke who was outstanding,backed up by Chris and Billy. Even the old 'uns contributed and it was a pleasure not to have to keep reminding people where to stand almost every ball.
Hayes slogged their way to a pretty impressive total and late on despite good ground fielding we missed three chances which could've changed the game. However we persevered with all the bowlers suffering despite bowling some fine deliveries.Chris with three and Martin and Raj with two a piece were our wicket takers and with only four bowlers they all stuck to a difficult task.
Another good tea saw us perk up a bit and make our way,some by car,to the far wicket at Hayes to chase a high target.We lost a wicket early on but Andy Rouse (13) and Mark Webster (lbw 88) put on 93 and Mark with son Chris (49) added a further 42. Ollie and Chris ran well to add 49 and at the end with Ollie (37*) still there he and Andy Rouse (14*) took us to 240 - 5 which was a brilliant effort. The opposition conceded 37 extra's so it is important we keep ours down to a minimum.
Despite the loss,I see it as a very honourable daw,we are unearthing new young talent in Chris,Billy and Ollie (maybe Richard Fletcher eventually) and hopefully more Colts will want to play adult cricket as I can promise you that you'll get a bat or a bowl in the 4's. An excellent run chase and we got a lot closer than we thought.
Many thanks to Anne Webster who's learning the delights of scoring in an open field. I've never seen anyone score in a sleeping bag before (if you know what I mean!).
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Catford/Cyphers 4ths 177 - 9. ODCuaco C C 115 all out Saturday 21st May.
This was a game of four thirds. Beautiful day,two umpires,we had a scorer a really good third.
We won the toss and asked them to bat and at the halfway stage they were 67 - 5 and it was a great second third. No dropped catches and Martin Couch 2 - 35 off 12 overs,Sam O'Neill 1 - 24 off 6 overs and John Lee 2 - 5 off 5 overs gave us a great start. John eventually finished with 3 - 31 off his 12 an excellent spell and a great improvement on last season which augurs well. The next third saw them put on 110 in the 23 overs with some slogging and some poor fielding and in the odd case a bit of disinterested fielding.
Still a good wicket and a decent batting line up gave the skipper some optimism. Come the fourth third we batted appalingly more or less all the way through and at our halfway stage were 61 - 5 and slowing up. A brief stand between Bob (22*) and John (19) took us just over 100 with an 8.00 o'clock finish. Positives were that Sam and John showed why they were in the thirds and Billy made a case for being in the thirds.
For me I was delighted we had John Ing as our umpire for one week and even more pleased Anne Webster appears to want to follow the 4th eleven round the globe as our scorer. Many thanks to them both.
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Fourth Team Report. v Old Colfeians 4’s Saturday 14th May at Old Colfeians
Old Colfeians 4th's 245 - 7 Odcuaco C C 137 all out.
Raj bowled really well and we saw good innings from Billy and Chris.
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4th XI home to Bromley Saturday 7th May
Firstly my thanks go to the 10 players who made themselves available and helped on the day with moving the concrete blocks (my hernia is going back),removing the canvas cover,taking and bringing back 15 chairs. Not bad for £195 per week.(What an incentive to play in the second team! on the other hand!). Also to everyone who umpired and scored. Also thanks go to Dave Caddy who dropped out to let Jake play and to Andy Rouse who got there before Phil Kitchingman to make us up to eleven! A fairly ill tempered affair into which I will not venture but suffice to say winning takes away any bad taste.We won the toss and fielded and Chris Webster and Martin Couch opened and both bowled really well.Backed up by various bowling changes,a fine spell from Will Baldwin 2 wickets,Jake one and two good containing spells from Lobban and Raj limited them to 193 - 5 which would have been a lot less had their non fours batsman (89*) not played! Second week running. We lost an early wicket but Andy Rouse with an excellent 82,Chris Webster with a classy 31 and Jake (27*) saw us home with 15 overs to spare for the loss of four wickets. Second highest score for us was 45 extras so let that be a lesson to us all. Line and length keeps the skipper happy. We finished at 7.30pm with 15 overs to go. It would have been past one or two of our young lads bedtime had the match run it's full course. Once again thanks to all who played and supported and keep replying to Teamer!
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Fourth Team Report. v Blackheath 8’s. Saturday 30th April
Twelve players turned up on Saturday, 'cock-up on communications front so apologies to Steve Smith. No umpire or scorer could be found so no change there, even Steve found something else to do. At the drinks break Blackheath were 67 - 3 after 23 overs and soon after 73 - 4. Enter an Indian called Sachin, perhaps that should have alerted us!! At the close they were 244 - 7 and Sachin had got 121 of them. Blackheath said it was his first game for them and they were not sure how good he was!!! Isn’t that amazing for an 8th team player!!!
Our innings started well as Scotty and Mark Watson had an opening partnership of 61 and we were 100 - 2 at drinks. Sachin was brought on for 4 overs and took 3 - 7 ripping out the middle order. A last wicket partnership of 40 from John Lee and Martin Couch took the score to 164 and some respectability.
Overall too many dropped catches and Sachin on 30 being dropped was match changing. The good points were the bowling of Martin Couch 0 -27, Sam O'Neil 1 - 40 both off of 12 overs and John Lee 1 - 41 off 8. Understandably facing Sachin the other bowlers took some stick but battled on.
Good fielding from Scotty, Calum and Mewie plus good keeping from Andy Rouse. In the batting good efforts from Scotty, Mark, Mewie, John Lee and Martin. Hopefully we won't see another Sachin this season as he was the only difference between the teams. Well, except their wonky eyed umpire who gave me out to a howler!!
