Wantage and Grove Cricket Club

Freeland II – Away – OCA League

Pod — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:04:56 +0000

Colin won the toss and as usual fielded, despite Steve Yates having told him he would be turning up late. This proved none too costly, however, as Chaz and Mabs bowled tightly for the first few overs until he turned up. Both of them were keeping a tight line and length, and James was eventually rewarded when the opener miscued an off side drive to NiB at point. The Freeland number three then decided that life was too short for cricket, spurning caution and technique to aim every single one of his 7 or 8 balls over cow corner, to everyone’s great amusement. Although one connected, he was predictably caught off an outside edge at gully, and in the same over, Mabs bowled a left hander and had another right hander caught at second gully – Mongo and Chaz both taking nonchalant one-handed chances as though they were doing catching practice. Freeland were in a mess, so Colin decided to give them some respite by bringing on Barry and Steve Yates, although not before James had taken his 5th wicket.

Barry and Steve both bowled well, and indeed Barry had the Freeland opener given LBW off the middle of the bat, to which the opener displayed the true spirit of cricket by asking the umpire if he was joking. In turn, the response appeared to be that, yes, the umpire had in fact been joking. Consequently the referral system found its way to the Oxfordshire League – a fine sight for any cricketing purist. It didn’t really matter though, as Barry soon caught the opener off his own bowling with a sharp return catch. Steve Yates bowled very well too, forcing some airy shots which a number of Wantage fielders declined to take, particularly a couple in the slip cordon by Ian and Grant.

As per last week, bowling the opposition out for 70ish meant we had to negotiate a few overs before tea, so NiB and Colin meandered their way to about 25 for no wicket off some tight bowling. After the break Colin was adjudged LBW to the demon Left Arm Over bowler, and Barry showed everyone his fine form with the bat by lasting three balls – being dropped once and caught off the very next ball. Luckily Oatibix batted sensibly and although NiB and NiP were out to consecutive balls, Taylor and Mongo saw us home with some strong hitting off their second string bowlers. Mongo impressing with 30 not out and Olly signing off for the season with 15 not out.

Man of the match went to Mabs for his 5-27, meaning he got to do nasty things to Nessa for a week. Rumour has it, homemade love beads have already inflicted. With 4 more days til the weekend, who knows what other delights James has in store for our favourite sheep? Mongo was also nominated for his 30*.
Champage Moment went to a combination of Barry’s caught & bowled and Chaz & Mongo’s one-handed catches at gully.
Pig’s Ear went to Barry for his batting indiscretions.
Ian and Grant went home in the Ferrari Punto after contributing a dropped catch each.

29 more points though, and promotion is in our hands! Let’s beat Shrivenham on Saturday!

~Challand

Chalgrove– Away – OCA League

Pod — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:57:27 +0000

We turned up at the allotted time, ready for a 1.30 start, which put us in a field of one, as only half of Chalgrove’s team turned up, and the second umpire also didn’t make it til the 4th over. He probably wished he hadn’t though, partly due to Ryan sledging him for calling two or three tight leg side wides, and partly due to the paucity of actual cricket which was served up by the Chalgrove batsmen. They only had 8 men and appeared to be playing for rain, but we managed to weasel out their last wicket in the 43rd over, after they had put on not particularly mammoth 73. Duncan bowled well, only taking one wicket, although he did upend the opener’s off stump and had a catch dropped off him (which fortunately led to a run-out anyway, didn’t it Nordic?). Barry got 3 wickets, and Chaz, Ryan and Steve Yates all bowled equally tight spells.

Nordic and NiB opened the batting and put on a quick 30 before we had to go off for the most memorable part of the day, which was chips for tea. These were crispy on the outside, golden and pretty delicious, and were without doubt the highlight of the day. When combined with a fine platter of assorted sandwiches, pork pies and cakes, it all added up to a solid 9/10 tea. So at least match fees weren’t totally in vain. Back in the game, wickets fell steadily at one end whilst NiB saw us through to about 70 before falling to a difficult shooter, and we won by 5 wickets. PoD, Barry and Ian all failed with the bat. So nothing new there.

Man of the Match went to Barry, which meant he got to keep Nessa, our latest mascot, a sheep in whore’s clothing. Colin will update the website with mascot rules I’m sure. Let’s hope Barry hasn’t punctured her by the end of the week.
Pigs ear I’m sure must have gone to Ryan for his altercation with the umpire though I can’t actually remember. Chaz’s 5 wides which gave them a batting point also deserved a mention.
I don’t think there was anything that deserved Champagne Moment, I certainly can’t remember what we voted for. It was either Barry or the chips.

Still, 28 points, so it could have been worse!

~Challand

Saturday Team vs Freeland II (League) – Away – 1.30pm Start

Pod — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:45:00 +0000

Colin Mercer
Nick Burton (NiB)
Barry Martin
Ian Challand
Olly Taylor
Mark Tugwell
Nick Burton (NiP)
James Mabbett
Chaz Boshell
Grant Summersbee
Steve Yates

Club at 12 or their place at 12.45.

Saturday Team vs Chalgrove (League) – Away – 1.30pm Start

Pod — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 11:33:04 +0000

Colin Mercer
Nick Burton
Barry Martin
Ian Challand
Olly Taylor
Nick Burton
Steve Bramley
Ryan Martin
Chaz Boshell
Duncan Wooloff
Steve Yates

Meet at club at 12 or meet at their ground at 12.45 (OX44 7SL)

Stanton Harcourt – Home – OCA League

NiB — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 05:59:38 +0000

After stealing victory from the jaws of defeat on the last ball of the away match earlier in the season, the return fixture was eagerly awaited. A heavy shower in the morning had given some cause for concern, but once Mongo got his legs out the sun shone to dry the pitch ready for the game to start on time. Colin’s attendance at a wedding later in the day relegated him to scoring duties, leaving Barry to take the reins for the first time this season. He began well, winning the toss and electing to field.

Steve Yates got an early breakthrough, finding the edge from opener Gilgrass for the original Nick Burton to take a regulation keeper’s catch. This brought the prolific Harry Sutton to the crease and he showed the form that has brought him five hundreds this season. As expected, wickets were easier to come by at the other end with NiB taking a juggling catch at cover and Tim taking a sharp slip catch and also leaping like a salmon to very nearly hold a superb effort at gully. A brief shower then interrupted proceedings but after 15 minutes play resumed and Barry settled into a really good groove against Sutton, eventually forcing a lofted shot through midwicket which was well caught by Ian to remove the key batsman for a classy 78. Some effective hitting by Luke Pettifer took the visitors’ score above 150, but only 1 run came off the final 3 overs as they closed on 158 for 9, including two run outs and a stunning one-handed catch by Nick behind the stumps. Notable bowling figures included 3-34 for Yates and 2 wickets apiece for Ryan and Barry.

The start of our reply was a game of two halves as NiB scratched around against left-armer Richardson and Ian looked comfortable against Lawson, dispatching one delivery for 6. After Ian unluckily played on for 15, Tim immediately looked in good touch and was quickly into double figures. After NiB was adjudged caught behind for 29, Barry joined Tim to take the score above 100 and dispatched Sutton for a massive six onto the road. Tim and Barry were out for 25 and 24 respectively and Sutton was starting to look threatening. Some nice shots from Olly and Ryan took us close to the total but when the original Nick Burton fell to an outstanding catch the crowd started to bite their nails after what happened in the away fixture. Luckily that wasn’t the case as team Summersbee took us to an important victory.

MOTM: Barry for the big wicket and a key contribution with the bat
Champagne moment: Ian for taking the important catch
Pig’s ear: OT for calling for a run that nearly led to Tim being run out by a street

Garsington II – Away – OCA League

NiB — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 05:56:07 +0000

We arrived at Garsington looking to banish some bad memories from last year’s away fixture and were boosted by the return to Saturday action of Chaz and Nick Wilkins. A 10 man Garsington side were depleted by injuries, holidays and wedding attendance but despite this Colin managed to lose yet another toss and we were invited to field.

On a good-looking pitch and lightning fast outfield, Ryan and Steve Yates bowled particularly well to build the pressure on Garsington. Steve finished with 2 for 22 and Ryan deserved more than his 1 for 17 which included 3 maidens. Their opener Graham Day has been in good form and weathered the early storm to produce some well timed shots through the off side. It took the introduction of Tim Lane to remove him with a cracking inswinging yorker. Wickets then fell at regular intervals with both Barry and Tim finishing up with 3 wickets apiece as Garsington were all out for 86.

In reply, Garsington’s opening bowler Samuel Wharton bowled at a lively pace which initially saw some streaky edges fly down to third man. Although Colin ran himself out for 7 early on, Tim got stuck in to the change bowling and reached 38 before being adjudged LBW trying to hit Neil’s car again. All that remained was for NiB (32 not out) and Barry (6 not out) to see us home and secure 30 points.

MOTM – Tim for top scoring and getting 2 wickets
Champagne moment – Tim for his six
Pig’s ear – Colin running himself out

Saturday Team vs Swinbrook (League) – Home – 2pm Start

Pod — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:29:55 +0000

I can confirm it is a 2pm start on Saturday, please be up the club for 1. Fines for late comers

Colin Mercer
Barry Martin
Ryan Martin
Nick Burton
Nick Burton
Mark Tugwell
Duncan Wooloff
Ian Challand
Olly Taylor
Grant Summersbee
Chaz Boshell

Saturday Team vs Stanton Harcourt (League) – Home – 2pm Start

Pod — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:28:39 +0000

Barry Martin
Ryan Martin
Nick Burton
Nick Burton
Tim Lane
Mark Tugwell
Steve Yates
Ian Challand
Olly Taylor
Grant Summersbee
Dave Summersbee

Sunday Team vs Challow (Friendly) – Away – 2:30pm Start

Pod — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 10:47:39 +0000

2.30 start (Game is now at Challow – so meet there at 2 – if you need a lift let me know)

Dave Summersbee
Mark Tugwell
Tim Lane
Oliver Taylor
Barry Martin
Alan Mercer
Colin Mercer
Alex Peach
Stewart Bulpitt
Grant Summersbee
Olly Haine

Saturday Team vs Garsington II (League) – Away – 2pm Start

Pod — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 10:46:38 +0000

2pm start (Either meet at our club at 12.30 or meet at Garsington at 1.15 (OX44 9EL))

Colin Mercer
Nick Burton (NiB)
Barry Martin
Tim Lane
Olly Taylor
Nick Burton (Nip)
Ryan Martin
Chaz Boshell
Grant Summersbee
Steve Yates
Nick Wilkins