CB and PLATE FINAL REPORTS 2015
Back to back finals Wed and Thurs 2 and 3 Sept 15
CB FINAL WEDNESDAY 2 SEPT
Lovely tree lined ground.Overcast warm day. Rain threat. Local sages opined not. Wind in the right direction, no problems. Overnight showers and rain on previous nights.Outfield lush, dampish. Despiteuse of covers, dampness had crept underneath affecting the wicket particularly at both endsof the crease. Perhaps be likened to a Brian Turner Yorkshire pudding. Hence must win toss, put opposition in!
Repeat of last year’s final, Bolton seeking revenge, Cheltenham looking for a hat trick of wins on the trot.
10.30 hours’.Neutral umpires Harry Palmer and Andy Hooton supervise the toss.Cheltenham in to bat.10.50 hours’ umpires and teamphotos. “Young” Don Crawley’s forte, executed withhis usual panache. Done and dusted.10.57 hours, game under starters orders.
How would the pitch play? Adrian Mayes and George Leadbetter againstDave Bowden’ spin andquickie Dowling. Bowden first ball shot up, clipping Mayes helmet. Five lowerdeliveries, the first maiden of the day recorded.
Dowling licking his lips couldn’t wait to get going.His first five balls treated with respect but Leadbetter smashed his last ball to the boundary with distain. Going somewhat slow but understandable. Ball doing a bit; the result was with 25 on the board Bowden claimed Mayes lbw for 10. 25 f 1 in 7.Matthew Barrett joined Leadbetter. First change bowler Umarji clouted for a six followed by another via Leadbetter off Dowling.Bit of a shock to say the least.Umarji’s revenge, snaring Barrett caught by Craig Fergusson for 7. 44 f 2 in the 121lth. Leadbetter still there 22. Craig Baker to the fore. Runs coming but slowly. 20 more added when new bowler Connor Hickin induced a Leadbetter miscue, nicked, gobbled up by keeper Mark Burns. Gone but a good 37, 4 x 4s and one 6. Twenty overs passed by. Bolton endeavouring to keep the lid on, Cheltenham still seemingly confident.
Ashley Jones to the party. Runs slowly, slowly mounting but difficult pitch to contend with. Fresh bowler Sam Heeley doing his bit lures Jones out of his crease, no trouble, and evergreen Burns whips of the bails. Out for 9. 68 f 4. Baker 9no. Mumtaz Habib in but not for long. 3 balls sufficient to see him plonk his leg in front, 0, on his bike. Wicket to Heeley. 73 f 5 in the 23rd. Bit of a collapse. Last 3 wickets lost for 8 runs. Baker frustrated still on 9 cannot get to the batting end. William Tell into the action. Without bow, arrow or apple! Oh dear, 6 balls later no additional score, gone bowled Heeley. 73 f 6off 25. Cheltenham’s upper to middle order ripped out, demolished gone to the dogs. Stricken looks on the batting sides faces. Annihilation to follow? Poor Craig Baker, still 9 no, watching the developing carnage from the other end. Can’t get into the action.Heeley’s taking the wickets,bowlers Bowden and Hicklin maintaining a strangle hold on at the other end.Six wickets down and looks like a struggle to get to three figures. Come on Chelts. Heads down still 15 overs to go. Sacrilege if you don’t bat the 40! At last Baker gets the odd run but having been out of the action fort some time, not his fault, hikes a catch to Sykes. Another to Heeley. Is there no one to stop this guy? Out for 12 in 61 balls. 85 f 7 nine overs to go. Gaskin 8 no. Skipper Mark Febery strode in to try his luck. Will he rise to the occasion, will he not? Alas Lady Luck denies him today. A Sykes catch off, yes you’ve guessed it, Heeley. Another duck, nothing to trouble the scorers with.87 f 8. Doom and gloom on the pavilion veranda.Hopes of Steve Bridge providing some opposition foiled. Two ball duck caught Bowden off that man, Heeley. 87 f 9 n the 33rd. Seven vital overs to put on a few more runs. Gaskin on 10 no but running out of partners. Surely the time is ripe to throw caution to the winds. Conference with last man Richard Robinson. Gaskins throw down the gauntlet.Away he goes. Some lusty hitting ensues. Robinson eking out the odd run smites a 4. Past the 100, cheers all round. 110, 115 then up to 120. Overs run out. FINAL SCORE 122 f 9 in the allotted 40. Robinson 9 no and Gaskin 33 no. Sterling. His runs included 4 x 4s and a six. Innings extras 1 x bye, 9 wides, 1 no ball. Interesting statistic the innings contained 10 x 4s and 3 x 6s, almost half the total in boundaries.
Bowling: Bowden 10-4-15-1, Dowling 10-0-42-0, Umarji 4-1-23-1, Hickin 10-2-21-2 and Heely 10-5-20-6.
Sumptuous spread lay on for lunch during the course of which a “happening” occurred. A presentation by the CSCA in the shape of anextremely large sized iced cake depicting cricket stumps, balls and all, made to Peter Crossley long time CB organiser to mark his 80th birthday, yes 80th! Don’t look a day older than 53.Faced with this dastardly below the belt deed he girded his loins about responding in a mumbling fashion but did promise to be around in the future for as long as it took, whatever that meant! See photos enclosed with this email. Handsome looking guy really!
On with the motley. 123 for victory at 3 an over. A stroll in the park for Bolton’s seasoned hard men. Didn’t seem a lot but the conditions had not changed. Could be interesting to say the least.
Battle resumed, Fergusson and Sykes facing Habib and Bridge.Runs coming slowly in dribs and drabs suited the occasion. Quite happy to take ones and twos as they came along. 10 overs up, past the 30 mark. The tranquil proceedings were shattered in the 12lth. Fergusson, hitherto looking untroubled, a rare miscue, caught by Habib off bowler Bridge. 34 f 1 in the 11lth. Cavill to the party. Score trogged along but10 runs only added when Sykes tickled one snaffled up keeper Baker. 44 f 2 in the fourteenth over. At this stage Chelts innings were44 from 12. Not much in it. Twenty six overs to go. 79 for victory, still on track about 3 an over, no panic. Runs not the issue. Chelts need to take wickets. Heeley, he of bowling fame in. He’s done it with the ball, what price some action with thebat. Still getting singles. Score up over the 50 mark. Bowlers Robinson and Jones on or around the target but Bolton still getting away with singles, something which Chelts had found difficult to do. 60 up then 70 but minor hiatus. Trying for a quickie Heeley found himself short of the white line. Run out 18 by Chelts Barrett. Now 77 f 3. A glimmer of hope perhaps but then again surely not. Bowden joined Cavill. Up and down,up and down, runs here and there punctuated with odd fours andall’s well or was it. Cavills mistake led him to presenting a catch, gobbled up by Gaskin to give Barrett his first wicket. Hissteadying innings of 23 contained 4 welcoming boundaries. So 95 f 4 after 28 overs. 72 balls, 28 to win. Bowden now partnered by Kennedy. Despite more than usual frenzied activity by Chelts there were no further surprises as the batsmen reached the target within the next 8 overs. Kennedy and Bowden 22 and 21 respectively. 4 overs or 24 balls to spare. Final score Bolton 126 f 4 in 36. Six wickets win. Innings included only 2 extras. Not an easy task. Well-orchestrated Michael.
Bowling: Habib 5-0-19-0, Bridge 6-1-19-1, Robinson 10-1-40-1, Jones 6-2-0-20, Barrett 5-0-10-1, and Leadbetter 4-0-13-0.
CSCA Chairman Glenn Thorpe presented the spoils, CB Shield to Bolton, the Crusader Cup to Cheltenham and appropriate medals to the umpires, scorers and the teams.
The man of the Match Award. A number in the running. For Cheltenham opener Ledbetter’s steady 37 (4x4 and a 6) and 4 overs for 13 and Ben Gaskins middle order resistance 33 no (4x4 and a 6) in 48 balls. For Bolton all their bowlers contributed, particularlyBowden 1 f 15 off 10 and Hicklin 1 f 21 off 10. However on the day the pick of the bunch undoubtable the almost unplayable Sam Heeley. Match winning performance of6 f 20 off 10 overs and 18 with the bat.What more can you say.
Summing up. Never a truer word said,“He who wins this toss must surely win this game”and so it came to pass. A low scoring game full of interest. In all 248 runs, 13 wickets, 76 overs. No guaranteed winner. Even with only 123 to get always difficult for the chasers. A six wicket victory seemed easy but no, Chelts took Bolton to 36 overs. No mean feat. Batsmen George Ledbetter and Ben Gaskin the main run getters for the defeated champions. Each scored 4 fours and a six. Only 9 fours and 2 sixes in the entire innings. Unfortunately on this day the upper and middle order bats did not come to the party when most required.
As for Bolton on the losing side in 2013 and 2104 there’s nothing like sweet revenge. On the day I believe Bolton had the most desire to win, not to take anything away from Cheltenham.A game played out in the best of CS cricketing traditions. And so to2016?Will it be the return of the Triffiads or the Titans or better still Another. Lastly Chelts must be heartily congratulated, putting out two sides in this year’s competitions. Marvellous enterprise. Couldn’t be better. Keep up the good work Eddie.
“It is sport’s mental equivalent of being a Battle of Britain pilot”
Matthew Engel on Test-Level umpiring
PLATE FINAL THURSDAY 3 SEPT
Round the corner today as a T20 Wolverhampton v Manchester game on one pitch at 16.00 hours leaving us to pursue our merry way on the other wicket.Similar weather as to yesterday, usualhint of rain in the air leaving some Dynamos concerned the match would be a non-starter.However after taking note of what the residentweather experts had to say about the weather, wind in same direction as yesterday, sun to appear later, little or no rain, contest over.Who’s going to argue, not me for one.
Dynamos having a net or two, playing some immaculate shots. Doubt about whether this form could be repeated in the middle. We will see.
Wicket of similar condition as yesterday but changed from Brian Turner to a Mary Baker lash up. Puddings at the ready sir. Usual waffle twixt umpires Harry, Andy, team captains, very friendly. Skipper Martin Graves calledcorrect. Wales inserted. Team photos done, and ready to go on time unlike South Western trains.
Morgan and Lewis tackling bowlers Barnes and Bushnell. Tight bowling over the first few overs. HASSRA taking no chances but then decided to take the battle to Dynamos, in particular get at Barnes day.A change in bowling looked likely but no sooner the thought Barnes retaliated clean bowling Lewis for 2. 21 f 1. The field moved in and the pressure took its toll. Moores caught Carden via Barnes for 2, closely followed by Phil Harris bowled the unlucky 13 by Tipper. So 20 f 0had become 27 f 3. 10 overs by the board’ Dynamos looking good, HASSRAdistinctly jittery.
A double bowling change saw Mark Tipper and Daniel Coonan taking up the fight. Tipper a little stiff gradually worked himself loose and in control. Alas an entirely different affair at the other end. Coonan’s first ball head height earned him a black look from the umpire. Put down to a slightly dampish ball, slipped out of the hand was the plea. 2nd ball exactly the same brought him an instant warning. As they say “to strikes and you’re out”! Third ball a wide, closely followed by another head heighter. Accepting his final warning Coonan delivered his 5th and demolished the stumps. Alas the ball hammered down from high in the skies almost decapitating the startled batsman en route. Batsman given not out rightly so leaving Coonan to be banished from cricketing society to the dim and distant outfield. Out of the bowling attack for the rest of game. Somebody had to finish the over, skipper Martin Graves obliged.
That bit of unusual excitement over Graves brought himself on” proper like” with his medium pacers.He had a little experience himself. First ball a dot, things looking up? Nah, two wides thence lo and by his own admission one of the worst long hops you are ever likely to seebought him the wicket of Tippet stumps rattled, out for a duck.37 f 4. Could it get any worse for HASSRA? Wait and see. SteCarden replaced Graves and in company with Mark Tipper laboured to make further inroads but HASSRA had regrouped to an extent there were no further losses up to the drinks interval. 20 over gone, six wickets left in the locker. Wouldn’t have said the game was finely balanced at this stage but interesting possibilities could lie ahead.On resumption of play Pennington and Carden kept a tight hold on the situation building up the pressure on HASSRAs batters. Two wickets fell, 54 f 5, 65 f 6. Score rising but extremely so and matched with the constant rattle of falling wickets. Thomas was hanging on in there continuing to defy the trend but support was just not forthcoming. Batsmen came, batsmen went, Thomas soldier on regardless. Alan Bushnell struck. Two wickets in two balls, hat trick on? Not to be but the writing on the wall, HASSRA 76 f 7, 76 f 8. An 8th wicket stand of 26 pushed the score over the magic 100 figures, but Paul Barnes wrapped up the tail taking the remaining two wickets with a couple of dippers to leave HASSRA on 106 all out in 31 overs. Extras in the total: byes 2, leg byes 5, wides 10 and no balls 9.
Bowling: Barnes 10-1-43-3, Bushnell 8-3-16-3, Graves 1-0-7-1, Carden 6-1-11-1, Tipper 6-2-14-2 and Pennington 6-2-11-0.
Break for lunch. Another super duper meal. Ending with a slice of yesterday’s birthday cake eagerly devoured by the slavering masses!
Weather okay despite a slight flurry of rain earlier when the players came off and went straight back on again. I can’t work it out can you?
Vinney Cranney and Daniel Coonan standing against bowlers Thomas and Lewis. Pleasant start, no immediate trouble around but vigilance definitely the order of the day. Boundaries being stroked around. The score soon broached the 30s. Success to HASSRA, Cranney lost his bearings, bowled by Thomas for 10. 34 f 1. Nevertheless a good start for the Dynamos. By the bye couldn’t understand why supporters were shouting a friendly “come on the rods”. The penny dropped, “Dyno……” Ah well it takes all sorts. HASSRA building on this success saw off Pennington caught Harris bowled Thomas 7 and Barnes bowled by Harris for 1. 48 f 23 and 49 f 3. A glimmer of hope HASSRA? Coonan continued on his merry way in company with Carden. Until a mishap. Carden 37 saw himself given out to a plum chest high lbw! Another success for Thomas who was bowling well. 71 f 4. Paul Redhead to the creased. Carden then struck a fine 17 off one over thus relieving building pressure leaving the final issue in no doubt. The ship was steadied; the winning run struck, or was it a winning bye? The score board had just suffered a seizure. No matter. Extras in the total: byes 4, leg byes1, wides 3 and no balls 1.108 for 4 in 21 overs.
Bowling: Thomas 10-1-35-3, Lewis 5-0-25-0, Harris 5-0-36-1 and Mores 1-0—80.
CSCA Chairman Glenn Thorpe stepping to the front, doing the honours presenting the Plate to Merseyside, medals to the umpires, scorers and the teams.
The 2015 season was drawn to a close by Glenn Thorpe. The final act to award the Man of the Match. A number of contenders such as HASSRAs Morgan 23 and Thomas’s all-rounder act 26 runs complimented by 10 over 3 f 35. Dynamos Coonan 31, Bushnell’s 3 f 16 from 8, Tippers 2 f 14 off 6 but it was left to Ste Carden to take the honour. 38 no and 1 f 11 off 6 overs. A popular choice. A chant went up “drinks on you matey”. Did it actually happen?
What absorbing game on a difficult wicket giving rise to the low scores? Batsmen always up against it. For As individual scores went only two passed the 20 mark twit HASSRAs Thomas 26, Morgan 23, extras 26. For Dynamos all chipped in with the pick Coonans 31 and Cardens 38 no.
The game was played in the very best of Civil Service sporting traditions as one would expect. Excellent entertainment, both teams andofficials exchanging their views in the bar, alter. Well done Merseyside and HASSRA Wales. A tribute to CS cricket.
It took some considerable effort to get both sides to this final but in the end thoroughly worth it. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
To next season then. Let’s keep spreading the gospel according to Sir Noel-Curtiss Bennett. Drum up support; we cannot afford to sit upon our laurels, painful as it may be! So let us see you all again in 2016. No excuses do it!
Regards to all loyal my readers.
Peter Honorary Secretary CB and Plate 2015
Lastly and for your further education if applicable:
The ball must weigh not less than Five Ounces and a Half, no more than Five Ounces and Three Quarters.
THE LAWS OF CRICKET AS REVISED BY THE CRICKET CLUB AT ST-MARY-LEBONE, 1820.
Now there’s a thing.