OECC 177-10
S&GCC 180-5
OE's skipper Paul Daniels won the toss and chose to bat on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The strip looked good and played better with plenty of pace and the recent rolling looks to have paid off. OE's couldn't have got off to a worse start when Phil Raisey drove the first ball of the afternoon uppishly and short cover took a good catch. However, Jeff Brown and James Driscoll saw out the rest of the first 10 overs without further alarm. But James fell to a leading edge and when Calum Nash was out caught soon after, OE's were back in trouble at 45-3 – all the first three batsman having been caught by the same fielder. Enter Jack Green making his 3 XI debut, and he and Jeff saw the score through to 80-3 at drinks. A score of 200 was the target then but Jeff was out soon after and there was some accurate bowling from the visitors, especially Joe Fernando (7.4-1-14-2) and Amit Patel with 2-21 off his 8. Jack was also finding fielders with a lot of his best shots, but kept his head and kept going. Paul Glenny chipped in with useful runs also, but, seeking quick runs in the last 6 overs, there was a bit of a collapse. The skipper joined Raisey in the day's primary club hutch. However, Jack Green reached his fifty in the penultimate over with an outrageous off driven 6 to generous applause from both sides. OE's ended up all out in the last over for 177, Green making 52, and S & G's Frazer Barnes taking 5 catches. The visitors bowled, fielded, and especially caught well in the heat. Phil Raisey completed another marathon umpiring stint.
After tea, S & G started relatively sedately in the face of some tight pacy bowling from Green (8-1-24-1) and the nagging accuracy of Peter Lee (after one or two sighters). Raisey and Azhar also bowled tightly to begin with. However S & G's dogged keeper/opener/skipper Danny Benson chipped away at the target and he was helped by big hitting from Cheema and Pleydell (with 3 maximums in his 40). A further tight spell from Chris Gaywood (5-0-23-1) pegged the score back and accounted for Pleydell stumped; At 100-2 OE's started to wonder, and had a couple of big shouts for LBW adjudged not out, but Benson kept going and he was assisted by some cultured batting from Amit Patel. S & G kept up with the rate, but with victory within their sights they lost 3 wickets. The first was when Patel hit a stinging drive towards the short off side boundary that went straight at Brown out of the sun like a Japanese kamikaze, which he caught using his leg rather than either of his hands to arrest the progress of the ball. Then James Driscoll's slight misfield encouraged Benson to try a risky run with terminal results, and lastly with only 2 wanted Daniels (1-18) induced a nick which Glenny pouched easily at the 4th attempt. There were only 11 balls to spare when S & G hit the winning run.
Altogether an encouraging performance from OE 3's who kept going to the end, but never quite looked like winning. No disgrace in losing to a strong S & G who move up to 3 in the table. OE's drop a couple of places to 10 out of 17.
Man of the Match: Jack Green for a patient 52 and some good pace and accuracy to return 1-24 off 8
Captain's Choice: Jeff Brown's catch despite being blinded by the sun
High Halstow 144-9
OECC 146-7
A top of the table clash that gave the seconds a chance to depose the current league leaders started under leaden skies, with High Halstow strolling out to open up, faced by the mighty opening combo of Kam and Harley. An early breakthrough by Harley (too quick to pull) shifted one opener, whilst the other fell to a leg-side catch by Menzo off Percy, who had replaced the ever lively and deadly accurate Kam from the top end. Halstow's 3 and 4 batted for a long time at little more than 2 an over as Percy and Harley sent straight ball after straight ball down on a slightly slow pitch that discouraged the drive (or indeed any shot from this pair). Cookie replaced Harley by this stage having overcome the disappointment of flushing his mobile down the toilet, but he failed to bring many more shots from the obdurate Halstow 3rd wicket pair. The deadlock was finally broken by Cookie as Menzo took a slow motion catch to signal Halstow's desire to push the run-rate on from the 2 an over they had managed off the first 25 or so. Wickets started to tumble with increasing regularity as the bowling remained accurate, and skipper Ferret executed a run out following what may have been a more suicidal single attempt than even Phil Raisey's in the 3rd XI game on the adjoining square.
The Halstow innings closed on 144 all out in the 50 over – the product of some suberbly straight bowling from Kam (2-23 off 10), Harley (1-37 off 12), Percy (2-37 off 15 with a sore backside, and, we later saw, a dodgy party shirt) and Cookie (3-34 off 13 with no phone).
145 to win, 50 overs, a strong batting line up and a reliable track – it couldn't be a problem really. Hammer and Menzo started things off and Hammer impressively lasted longer than his one ball of last week, surviving the whole of the first over without any major scare. All seemed well until Menzo played round a straight full toss bringing the previously sane Cookie to the middle. Quite what had been put in his tea in unclear, but the bare statistics – 16 off 5 balls - indicates that he'd clearly decided that the Halstow opening bowler needed to be hit for four off every ball. It couldn't last, and indeed didn't, and Uzair strode out to join a bewildered looking Hammer. These two moved the score on well, with Uzair playing some nice shots in his 15 before he too fell victim to one of the day's poorer balls. Webby seemed unfazed by the chirping in the field that greeted him but sadly fell to an uppish drive and Charlie 'Fizzle' Robson ambled to the crease with the Elthamian innings creaking a little. Fortunately, Charlie and Hammer stayed put to take the total past the 100, before Hammer (52) hit a full toss straight back to the Halstow bowler. Ferret and Charlie took us to within 20 of the target with Charlie playing the first, second and probably third best shots of the day with languid cover drives skimming their way to the boundary. The fall of Ferret brought the ever uncomfortable sight of Kam and Percy padding up, but Harley strolled out to join Charlie, though only briefly as the oppo's umpire gave him LBW without scoring. At this point, perhaps the convoluted selection process showed its mastery as the ever-reliable Jeff Brown took his economical backlift out, tickling a lovely stroke behind square leg and allowing Fizzle (37*) to finish proceedings.
A win that took the 2s to the top of the table was earned off the back of some great bowling and fielding and a couple of good batting performances, notably Charlie's fluent finishing – bring on Linden Park next week.
Sidcup 120 (C Gaywood 3-30)
OECC 121-3 (S Viswanath 47)
A break in the league season was not what we needed following the win last week, but the friendly against Sidcup gave us an opportunity to try different options. Having put them in, the seasoned opening duo of Phil Raisey and Nigel Williams restricted the early run rate, with Phil getting the rub of the green and a couple of wickets.
The rather more youthful Siddhu Viswanath and Chris Gaywood then took up the mantle bowling their different versions of leg-breaks to good effect. Chris in particular should look back at this match as a turning point. His 10 overs netted 3 wickets at around 10 apiece and his line, length and viscious change of pace caused problems for all that faced him, not least their skipper, who top-edged a quicker ball that split both lips and loosened a nicotine stained tooth. Not pretty.
The second significant 'positive' was the bowling of Tim Garrett, playing his first game for OE's, with some sharp medium pace and a wicket, courtesy of a smart diving catch by Phil Raisey - smart that is, once he'd realised the ball was coming to him. Finbar finished off the bowling with a tidy two overs and we'd held them to 120.
Only 3 wickets fell as we made a sucessful chase; Phil made a good start, Siddhu was finding his feet when he thumped one straight to a fielder for 47 and Dave Hole, making a most welcome return made a quickfire duck. Graham Howie and Nigel Williams steered us comfortably home with plenty to spare.
Champagne moments:
Contenders for half a pint each were Graham Howie for fielding a foot in from the boundary and not laying a finger on a ball that came straight to him at such force it tricked 6 inches over the line, and Dave Hole for a 'Gary Sprake' (ex Leeds goalkeeper - you have to be old enough) butter-fingers moment.
However, the full beer voucher goes to Tim Garrett for collecting a return throw for a run out and not so much taking off the bails as obliterating the wicket with a full-on rugby tackle.
Man of the Match: Man of the Match: Chris Gaywood for a confidence inspiring spell of wrist spin and 3 wickets
Old Wilsonians 107-10 (R Pickerill 4-28, B Carey 4-32)
OECC 108-7 (A Hammond 38, A Samsudeen 27*)
On a bright but very cold day at Old Willies, Old Elthamians had a chance to stamp their authority at the top of Div 5.
After a perfect toss from skipper Ed, OE's had what they wanted, a chance to bowl first on a wicket that had the look of one that would aid good lines and precise length.
There was a new look to the opening lineup with the ball for OE's with the skipper and Reg taking the new ball. Lines were generally good but the oppo went on the attack pretty much from ball one. But the usual, anal lines and length's of Reg and the swing of the skipper meant that Old Willies could never really get going.
Then came the undoubted moment of the match...an over-pitched but straight ball from Reg was driven back with gust and venom by the number one bat and as the majority of the OE's team were looking to the boundary and the umpire was prepared to prematurely signal four, Reg prepared his six foot frame to swoop down and pluck with his left hand what could possibly be written and talked about as being the best caught and bowled catch that has ever been taken...FACT!
A stunned silence fell around the ground, the only silence of the day thanks to the RAF exhibition that continued throughout the rest of the game.
The number 2 bat played a procession of crap shots but the Willies number 3 showed his class with a credible four straight down the ground early on only to play one one aggressive shot too many early on and Fizz took a very important catch at point, well bowled Samsudeen.
Reg then smashed into the Leg stump of the number 2 bat and the OE's were in their element once again.
What followed was an inspired spell from Maria. Four wickets and a sharp run out from Dill (great acting Gary) meant that Willies were eight down and seriously facing the prospect of a sub 100 total.
A short break from the wickets meant that the 8 and 9 bats could find some rhythm for about 10 runs - great partnership boys, this was quickly ruined by Reg and some pin point tail end bowling and a jubilant OE's team trotted off into the clubhouse for a well earned tea. And can I just say what a great tea it was, it just kept coming and we even got table service from the increasingly attractive tea lady - I fell in love with her, instantly!
So OE's had to make 108 runs to win the match, a walk in the park the neutral would think and at 50 for 1 so did I. At that point it was only the heavily beaten and bruised Whalley that had departed the field, with his package in one piece, but only just.
Fresh from a century the week before our Saffa looked good but then fell to the worst ball of the match, so he is human, but I'm sure there will be many more hundreds to follow and he can fill his shed, I mean mansion with plenty of silverware.
As the skip quickly entered and exited the field the OE's were rocking. All this time though Hammer was holding his own and with a mixture of clever singles, slow two's and a huge six, he helped to edge us ever closer to the total we craved.
As Hammer fell though it was Samsudeen's job to take on the role of daddy and hopefully take us all the way to victory. As he watched more wickets fall he held his own at both ends and with guile and panache stroked us ever closer to victory.
He finally found a partner in the shape of Guy and as the sun shone and the final spitfire flew over head, OE's had reached the total set by a dejected Old Willies team with hundreds of overs to spare.
An important victory, an excellent bowling and fielding display but still some lessons to be learned with the bat. What OE's proved though was they had character, they had backbone and they held onto their throne at the top of Div 5.
OECC 167-6 (N Byers 43)
Bexleyheath 44-10 (P Daniels 3-5, P Davies 2-9)
Under grey skies and on a green wet virgin square, Old Elthamians III's (with the emphasis on the old) comfortably defeated a young Bexleyheath III's.
The wicket was like a wet rice pudding with a green skin. OE's were inserted and a cautious start ensued, with extras (enviably consistent this year) and Phil Raisey keeping the board ticking over. Following a scratchy start Siddhu Viswanath played some good shots. 70-2 at halfway, then some acceleration was provided from a very solid knock by Nick Byers who was particularly harsh on Bexleyheath's young leg spinner Ben Hoey. All the top 5 reached double figures and all agreed batting was not easy faced with a low pitch and some accurate bowling from Bexleyheath's young attack. Suresh Viswanath, however, made slogging look easy at the end. Other points of interest: Siddhu admitted shamefully that his dad Suresh could beat him in a sprint; and Phil was not too upset to give Hugh Sylvester out run out as they are having a personal duel in the early season averages. Twitching note: - a pair of buzzards circled above the ground, and so we warned young Ben to keep low.
The first ball bowled in Bexleyheath's innings was, to quote Paul Davies, 'possibly the worst ball he'd seen bowled in any form of cricket' and remember Paul runs our under 9's !! Phil Raisey was the culprit - he later said that it had rather knocked his confidence, and well Phil - it had the same effect on your 10 team-mates. Phil still somehow managed to take a wicket in his first over. In fact Bexleyheath's innings was going well at one stage, and at 35-1 a good second innings partnership had been built by Batt and Moore. But you couldn't keep Phil out of the game as he dropped a catch, then redeemed himself by effecting a run-out; with two batsmen standing at the bowler's end debating which one should go, Phil chose the right end to return the ball to. For once Hugh caught it. After this run-out the innings crumbled against some straight bowling from Paul Davies and skipper Paul Daniels (16-7-14-5 between them). The pitch played its part too. The 'Magic man' unselfishly gave the man of the match award jointly to himself and Paul Davies. Nick Byers gave the champagne moment to the skipper for a stunning return catch. Richard Saunders took two fine catches. Siddhu mentally calculated the run rate with Hawking-like precision.
Bexleyheath's star player was undoutedly Jamie Batt (24) who got more than half his side's runs mainly with powerful pull shots; Batt also got rid of the dangerous J Brown (well I would say that, I'm writing this report) and ran out Hugh Sylvester. Lyons also swung the ball well away from the bat. All credit to a young Bexleyheath side for bowling and fielding well.
Men of The Match: Paul Davies & Paul Daniels
Vice Captain's Choice: Paul Daniels
OECC 144-10 (D De Beer 103)
RACS 145-8 (T Scorgie 4-33)
After heading into this game with three wins under our belt, confidence was high as we were set for the visit of RACS; we lost the toss and were put into bat for the second consecutive game. After a sound warm up consisting of football, a few stretches and a motivating team talk from both Captain and Vice we were ready to go out and put runs on the board.
On a somewhat damp pitch from the early morning dew we knew batting was going to be a challenge and this was so very true. We were quickly reduced to 7-3 before we knew it, with a strong batting line up all the way down we still believed we could post a reasonable score even at this stage; however, wickets continued to fall, with the main resistance coming from De Beer who hit a superb century to continue his brilliant form with the bat this season so far. We posted a score of 144 in just over 47 overs, which was soon to be the pivotal point of the game; the fact that not one person other than De Beer got into double figures is worrying for a team with such a strong batting line up, however, it is something which we will aim to reverse in the next game.
The second half of the game started with a drier pitch and conditions which seemed to favour the batsmen; Pickerill continued to bowl as always with great perseverance, backed up superbly by Carey which saw us take three early wickets, with the sense of another close game strongly on our minds.
During the middle period of RACS’s innings we continued to field and bowl with great courage, in particular 16 year old Scorgie who bowled brilliantly as the light deteriorated, bouncing the ball in with great pace. We managed to pick up two more wickets during this period leaving the visitors on 118-5, with the chance of still winning this match and taking the points. Moving into the final stages of the match with the score at 138/8 it was always going to be a close finish, however, the fact that they had two extra overs proved to be the clinical factor, with the winning runs being hit in the 52nd over.
It was our first defeat of the season and left a very bitter taste for all the team to swallow, however, with a game on Saturday it will be the perfect time to put things right again and get back on the winning track. We are still top of the table by 6 points and this lead will no doubt be increased over the next few weeks.
Special mentions have to go to De Beer for a beautifully timed innings on a difficult pitch; Pickerill whose bowling was a joy to watch with an economy rate of less than two; Scorgie who came into the team for the first time and bowled in a very mature fashion picking up a number of wickets; Finally the Captain Thorogood who managed to pick up one wicket - that of Bender.
Man of the Match: Dylan De Beer
Captain's Choice: Richard Pickerill
OECC 126-10
RACS 99-10 (H de Vos 6-36)
After losing the toss and being put in to bat on a green seaming track, OECC recovered from the loss of an early wicket to reach 67 before the second wicket fell. Through a combination of tight bowling and poor batting, OE’s collapsed to 81 for 8. Sensible batting from James Worf and Phil Alger allowed OE’s to reach 126 before being bowled out in the 41st over, the highlights being Uzair Ansari’s 31 & James Worf’s 22.
OE’s took to the field knowing they needed to get off to a good start, one which was duly provided by Harley de Vos - taking a wicket in the second over. Thanks largely to some tight bowling by De Vos and Pearce (despite the no balls) RACS were soon in trouble at 58-5.
OE’s bowlers maintained their disciplines, keeping the pressure on RACS with Paul Cook taking 2-14 before a great one handed catch from wicketkeeper Paul Mendez ended the innings with de Vos finishing with figures of 6-36.
Man of the Match: Harley de Vos
Captain's Choice: Paul Mendez - for leaping like a salmon to win the game
OECC 135-10
Blackheath 123-10
After the season had started with two emphatic 9 wicket victories for the first 11, there was much excitement and anticipation about the visit to Blackheath. So much so that they found themselves at the ground an hour before the gates had even opened!
Having batted second successfully in both of the previous games, it was this time going to be a case of trying to set a formidable total as OE's won the toss and elected to bat first. Hammer and Whalley took to the crease and looked to build another steady partnership for the team to build on. However it soon became evident that the pitch was far from predictable, a stark contrast in fact to the batsmen's paradise that is Foxbury...
Both openers persevered with the virtually nonexistent bounce and a slow outfield, and managed to accumulate 20 between them by the time they both departed. Whalley having achieved the impressive feat of surpassing last season's run total in just the third game.
With De Beer and Captain Edd Thorogood out in the middle there was confidence that the innings would be provided with the required solidarity, indeed both demonstrated excellent defence combined with powerful front foot drives. Ironically this was to lead to the dismissal of De Beer. A well timed drive over the bowlers head, destined for the boundary was impressively caught by mid-off. 35-3 and for the first time in the season OE's were struggling. A captain's innings was desperately needed and that was exactly what was provided. As wickets continued to fall throughout the middle order Thorogood continued to play with immense concentration, clearly determined to lead his team to a respectable total.
At 80-8 and with still 20 overs to survive Nick Johns took to the middle. The slow left arm round bowling that had led to the dismissal of the majority of the middle order continued. However, with a familiarity with this particular action, it was no match for the impenetrable defence of Johnsy. A vital 17 over stance provided Thorogood valuable time to increase the run-rate. Johnsy himself demonstrated his run-scoring prowess and power with a bullish drive down the ground for 4. He eventually fell victim to the pitch but by this time he and the Captain had moved the score onto 120.
With 3 overs remaining Carey went out to continue the supporting role. The pair rotated the strike well and Thorogood, now with his eye in and realising the score was still not sufficient, began to attack the bowling. A flurry of powerfully executed slog sweeps saw the score move onto 135. Into the final over with Carey facing and aware that he needed to get his Captain on strike for the remaining balls. Unfortunately another ball kept low and the OE's innings finished 5 balls prematurely. Not only could the 5 balls have provided valuable runs, but they could also have provided Thorogood with a fully deserved half century.
135 all out. Nowhere near the score the talented line-up should be posting, but with a strong bowling attack and an evidently bowler friendly pitch it was at least defendable.
The new ball was handed to Pickerill and Carey, both knowing that it was essential not to let the Blackheath batsmen get any quick runs. OE's were off to the perfect start when the final ball of the first over saw Pickerill knocking back the middle stump. This signalled OE's intent and marked what was to be the beginning of an exceptional opening spell from both Pickerill and Carey. They both demonstrated excellent line and length discipline combined with pace, beating the outside edge of the batsmen on countless occasions and suffocating the flow of runs.
Thorogood then demonstrated why he is captain with an instinctive field change. Mid off was moved back 10 yards as the Blackheath No.3 tried to force runs. The very next ball Carey was celebrating as Hammer held on to a superb catch in his newly found position. Pickerill and Carey soon finished their 11 over spells, boasting figures of 1-17 and 1-16 respectively.
Unsurprisingly the skipper turned to the spin of Johns and De Beer. The impact was immediate. Realising they were behind the run rate, the Blackheath middle order looked to take on the spin. But masterful flight and guile from Johns and De Beer soon led to a flurry of wickets whilst also restricting the run-rate.
Blackheath were by no means out of the game though and their no.7 was increasingly becoming a thorn in the OE's side. As he began to play with more aggression it became clear that they themselves were going for the win. With 6 overs remaining OE's required 4 wickets to gain maximum points, while Blackheath needed just 30 runs. Worryingly the OE's momentum began to wane as the wickets dried up.
With Blackheath pushing for the win though, there was always going to be chances given, and this soon proved to be the case. De Beer continued with his tight lines and he soon forced the Blackheath danger man in to one too many attacking strokes. A top edge when playing across the line went skywards, before falling into the safe hands of Thorogood. This restored hope in the Elthamians ranks.
Concerns that Blackheath may now look to block out for the draw were soon dispelled as the new batsmen began to come down the track to the bowlers. The next over saw Johnsy providing further jubilation as he completely out did the batsmen with flight before bowling him. Two overs to go and two wickets required.
De Beer continued to apply pressure from the other end and his next wicket came in the same manner as his previous had. Trying to go over mid on the batsmen did not connect properly and De Beer's plea of “Catch it......Please!!” was granted by Thorogood as he held on to another pressure catch. The final over was upon us with all three results still possible. With twelve runs to protect and 1 wicket to take, Johnsy took centre stage. It took him only one ball as yet again he flighted the ball perfectly to beat the batsmen, whose bat was the only thing that ended up near the square leg boundary! Both Johns and De Beer ended with 4 wickets a piece in an exhibition of top class spin bowling at the death.
The team spirit throughout the match and after the victory was outstanding and Johnsy stating that “some of us have played at this club for 15 years and today was as good as it gets” is evidence of the huge strides forward the club is making. I am sure that this spirit combined with the undoubted talent the team possesses will ensure that this celebration will be replicated many more times this season. OECC 171 for 7 (H Sylvester 44, N Williams 30, M Lewis 4-26) Snodland Community 174 for 3 (A Flynn 85*, P Raisey 2-29) OECC lost buy 7 wickets On a blustery day OECC lost the toss and were put into bat. With the previous two games being lost to Nurstead conceding the match and rain, it was inevitable that OECC were still rusty after their winter lay off. P Raisey and J Brown got off to a slow but solid start on a pitch that looked like it had a few surprises up its sleeve. J Brown was soon pinned back on his stumps to a ball that like the Wright brothers hardly got off the ground. U Ansari very quickly took his game to the Snods with a couple of quick boundaries but for a straight full toss (which he missed) could have gone to a big score. Wickets soon tumbled with G Howie out first ball. J Driscoll got a caught behind decision that perhaps if the OE's had a snickometer might have revealed a passing gnat hitting a tree in an adjacent field. The OE's were in desperate trouble. H Sylvester came to the crease with most of the OE's knowing that Hugh can talk a good game but could he on his recall come up with goods. Using his chances to hit the bad ball and to talk the bowlers into submission H Sylvester scored 44 and carried his bat seeing the OE's through their 40 overs. N Williams (30) in typical mood not to give his wicket away contributed to a 75 run partnership with H Sylvester. With 171 runs on the board and a pitch that was beginning to play more consistently with the odd shooter, OE's took to the field to play a containment game. Unfortunately the Snodland opening bat had different ideas and cruised through to score 85 not out. P Raisey restored some credibility by taking 2 late wickets with some impressive quick bowling but the OE's total on a pitch where 220+ is the norm wasn't enough to defend. Man of the Match: Hugh Sylvester Captain's Choice: Phil Raisey OECC 176-7 (U Ansari 52, R Pickerill 41, E Thorogood 34) Bexleyheath 121-10 (U Ansari 4-12, J Nicholls 2-22, C Nash 2-20) OE's kept up their winning streak to the season by easily dismantling a side from the league above. The confidence of the Satrurday sides spilled over to the shortened format as a young yet talented OE's team took on Bexleyheath. OE's lost the toss and were asked to bat. Thorogood and Ansari set about the oposition bowling, stroking the ball to all corners of the ground, Ansari with grace, Thorogood with more bullish invention but all the same they brought up 70 off the first 9 overs to set a platform for the rest of the side to bash their way to a decent total. A brief yet posative stay at the wicket from Vice-Captain Nicholls saw OE's maintain their run rate. At the fall of the second wicket, the big strapping opening bowler Rich 'Reggie' Pickerill was sent out with one instruction - destroy - he did not dissapoint hitting 41 off 19 balls including 4 huge sixes. The runrate continued to soar untill OE's finished on 176-7. Bexleyheath were always going to have to do something special to win the game but they were never in the hunt as Pickerill backed up his batting performance with a very fast and intimidating opening spell. After the initial 6 overs the spinners Nash and Nicholls tied the oposition down with some fantastic flight and guile and then it was left to some brilliant bowling from White and Ansari to finish the Bexleyheath tail off. Fantastic performance from everyone but for two different types of individual brilliance the Man of the Match must be shared by: Rich Pickerill and Uzair Ansari HSBC 129-7 (R Littlechild 4-15) OECC 95-3 (D Flowers 25 Rtd, B O'Rourke 19*) With the threat of rain around, the match was wisely reduced to twenty overs per side. HSBC batted first and some excellent batting from Braithwaite, Brooke and Wotton saw the home side build a very good total. Old Elthamians stuck to their task well and there was some excellent fielding from the boys through the innings, particularly from Dominic Flowers on debut. Old Elthamians did rally in the last few overs with Robert Littlechild bowling excellently to claim four late wickets and restrict the scoring. HSBC however still posted a very impressive 129-7 from their twenty overs. Old Elthamians started their innings very solidly and did well to keep out a very good bowling attack. Harry Board played particularly well in support to Dominic Flowers who, on debut , made an excellent 26 before retiring. Bill O'Rouke also followed up from his impressive debut with 19 not out. Although some big hitting towaeds the end pushed the score up towards 100, 129 figure always seemed a bit too far out of reach for the boys on this occasion. Having been bowled out for 45 the previous week, OE's batted much better on this occasion and can be pleased with their overall performance and it won't be long until they register their first win. Bapchild 142-6 OECC 147-1 (I Whalley 74*, D De Beer 40*) OECC win by 9 wickets After the previous weekend’s glorious sunshine, the rain, low cloud and drizzle descended upon Foxbury. This led to a late start, and the game just got underway before 3.30pm with the game reduced to 30 overs a side. The wicket, once we found it under the covers, was, and I quote Mappy; “the best surface he has ever seen at the club in all his years here”. The new ball pairing of Pickerill and Carey, proved this to be the case with Pickerill in particular managing to achieve some good pace and steep bounce early on which seemed to trouble the Bapchild openers. However, it was Carey who struck early on, which resulted in a painful blow in the second over for one of the Bapchild openers and the trainer was called on to have a recount. After the loss of two early wickets for Pickerill, the Bapchild batsmen seemed to get to grips with the pace of the bowling, although benefitting from several lives. By the mid way stage they looked as if they could set a challenging target, with 75 off 15 overs, but with the spin twins (Johnsie and De Beer) coming into play, the last 9 overs restricted them to 39 runs for the loss of another 4 wickets as they tried to set a competitive total. This was also down to some very tight fielding supporting the bowling. In reply, Hammer and Wag’s got off to a good start keeping up at a rate of 5 an over for the first 6 overs without really being troubled by the bowling. Hammer eventually fell for 25 which brought together last weeks match winning pair. Soon after, Wags pulled his calf muscle and Carey was sent in to do a running job for him. However, this didn’t prevent the ball flying to and over the boundary with regularity.
With 55 still wanted off 10 overs, victory still wasn’t completely secure, however, Wags and Dylan’s “6” hitting continued and victory was secured in the 25th over with Wags 74* and Dylan 40*. Both of their averages are looking very healthy having now scored nearly 300 runs between them and having not yet been dismissed. The win wasn’t just achieved with the bat, despite Wag’s heroics with an injury and credit must go to an excellent fielding display particularly in the last 10 overs, supporting some tight bowling. Man of the Match: Ian Whalley 74* Captains Choice: Blaine Carey’s delivery which caught the opener amid ships and left him reeling on the deck for 5 minutes. Amusing for every one, apart from the batsman, who eventually did see the funny side later in the bar. Chislehurst and West Kent 181 all out (N Johns 6 for 46) OECC 182 for 1 (D De Beer 95*, I Whalley 65* OECC win by 9 wickets On a glorious spring day with the mercury touching 85, our debutant and captain, Dylan De Beer lost the toss on a pitch that looked flat, hard and promising. The wicket played as promised with bowlers having to toil hard and the game became a one of patience and nerve. OECC kept theirs, boring the Chislehurst batsmen into a variety of poor strokes, suicidal running and ultimately self destruction. Our seamers were brave and disciplined, sticking to their areas and then spin took over and with an 'in out field' Chislehurst faltered to the skill and guile of Nick Johns, who ended with 6 wickets. Chislehurst and West Kent 180 all out. OECC bowled with discipline and fielded superbly as a unit to restrict Chislehurst but was the wicket as batsman friendly as originally thought? When Hammond was giving out lbw early on it may have appeared to the onlooker that in fact the pitch was not that ideal for batting but Wags and De Beer quickly put those thoughts to rest. The hopes of a Chislehurst seem to go dormant as well, if only for a few overs because it wasn't long till those hopes were extinct. Wags and De Beer dispatched anything that came their way, seamers and spinners alike and romped home to a 9 wicket victory and with a serious message of intent to the rest of the league!! Wags ended on 61* and De Beer 95* in an unbeaten century partnership. It was the ideal start to the season for the promising young Old Elthamians 1st XI side and all bodes well for the 2008 season. Although it was a fantastic effort by the batters, it put into perspective how well OECC bowled and fielded. A very complete performance from a well balanced outfit, watch this space…. Man of the Match:TBC Captains Choice:TBC BOCA 213 all out OECC 217-7 (D Driscoll 87*, P Alger 32, P Glenny 28) OECC win by 3 wickets BOCA forfeited the toss by arriving late and OECC decided to put them into bat. BOCA got off to a good start reaching about 80 without loss off 12 overs, then lost 3 quick wickets either side of the drinks break. With some tighter bowling the run rate slowed down which caused BOCA to start taking risky singles which lead to two run outs. They were all out in the 43rd over for 213. OE'S got off to a poor start losing two quick wickets with Harley de Vos out with the score on 40. Paul Glenny and Daniel Driscoll then had a good partnership with some solid and sensible batting before Paul Glenny(28) lost his wicket. Phil Alger(32) then took over the supporting role taking us to within 25 of our target. With only 4 needed we reached our target when Driscoll clipped one through midwicket to finish the innings on 87 not out and guarantee himself the Man Of Match award. Man of the Match: Daniel Driscoll for a very mature knock by a 15 year old...87 not out Captains Choice: Paul Glenny, for guiding Daniel through the early stages of his innings Win for OECC as Nurstead conceeded the match With all of Gravsend off to see Ebbsfleet in the FA Trophy at Wembly, Nurstead could not raise a side and conceeded the match. The Nurstead Captain was quoted as saying 'he knew he was in trouble when the tea lady said she couldn't do the teas as she was going to be at Wembley'. Well done though to Ebbsfleet who won 1-0 and who gifted OECC maximum points. OECC 104 for 5 (J Fowle 25 rtd, C Adolphe 18*, W Riley-Gowing 12, D Lawerence 3-17) Bromley 92 (F Wilson 25 rtd, H Bray 18) OECC win by 12 runs OECC put out an untested team against Bromley CC who are traditionally a well drilled and strong side with several district and young kent Spitfires. Having lost the toss and being put into bat some strong hitting by the OECC captain for the day Will Riley Gowing (12) saw OECC immediately hit the mark scoring around 4 to 5 runs an over. However the loss of two early wickets to some impressive Bromley CC bowling pegged the OE's back until a 5th wicket stand between James Fowle and Elliott Flockhart (9) soon easied OE's worries with Cosmo Adelph (18) coming in to help James Fowle (25*) push the OE's to 104 for 6 in the 20 overs. Ex OE's player David Lawrence taking 17 for 3 for Bromley. Bromley got off to a slow start and due to some very impressive tight bowling and equally impressive and committed fielding, Bromley soon fell behind the run rate with. Some excellent stops by Thomas Franks Moore , Michael Tompkins,Tom Upton, Ben Daniels and safe handling behind the stumps by Will Riley Gowing meant that Bromley struggled to maintain a high run rate. At the half way stage Bromley's score was neck and neck with OE's. However with excellent fielding and accurate bowling particularly from Michael Yates, James Fowle and Tom Pandafino Bromley were left with 16 to get off the last two overs. The OE's protected the boundaries and with some very effective field placings managed to restrict Bromley such that OE's won by 12 runs. This win for the OE's was the result of accurate bowling, great fielding, team work and more importantly the OE's keeping a cool head. Man of the match James Fowle OECC 228-3 (Thorogood 55 retired, Watkins 52 retired, Matthews 37*) Old Colfeians 110-9 (De Beer 3-9) OECC won by 128 runs OE's won the toss and chose to have a bat on a fairly average looking surface. Things were tough early on and OE's were two down for just 23 with de Vos and Whalley back in the pavillion. Watkins and De Beer settled the ship for a while but DeBeer top edged a wide one and was snatched up by a superb catch at 3rd man. Watkins and Thorogood, who looked decidedly shaky at the start, then gradually got their touch before smashing a 100 run partnership off just 12 overs. Both reached 50 before retiring to let Mathews and Nicholls have a hit, and hit they did both hitting a number of huge sixes to finish off the innings. Old Colfes didn't really stand a chance of reaching the target especially after Thorogood picked up 2 wickets and De Beer ran out their number three early on. Tight bowling from Rich Pickerill and Nick Johns kept things under control before White and Robson pulled off stunning catches to top off an outstanding fielding performance. A good result all round! Man of the matchTBC Old Colfeians 57 all out (Chris Thompson 4-13) OECC 59 for 0 (Jack Green 23*, Scott Appleyard 23*) OECC won by 10 wickets Old Elthamians Cricket Club U15's started the 2008 cricket season with maximum points for both of their first A & B matches. The U15 A team played away to Old Colfeians, against a team who had won their league in 2007 and whose skill was as yet an unknown quantity. The OECC team were in high spirits. Jack Green the captain won the toss and decided to field first. After a slow start, in the 5th over that Junaid Akhtar took the first wicket, LBW, for 10 runs. This was soon followed by Robert Yates taking his 1st then 2nd wickets of the season, followed by his brother Michael Yates taking a further 2 wickets for 3 runs with the help of the wicket keeper, Scott Appleyard, who caught and stumped the batsmen, respectively. However, it was Chris Thompson who made the greatest impression on the game, taking 4 wickets for 13 runs, three of which were in the same over. Thanks to the excellent fielding by Tom Harrison, Tom Edwards, Alex Jones, Josh Oatley and Oliver Pimm, Old Colfeians were bowled out in the 21st over for 57 runs, with Jack Green taking their last wicket. It then took 9 overs for the OECC U15A to make 59 runs and win the match, with the loss of no wickets and the opening batsmen, Jack Green and Scott Appleyard, each making 23* runs. The Man of the Match could have been any one of the team, but Chris Thompson stood out with his 4 wickets and he was duly presented with the match cricket ball. Well done Chris. As far as the OECC U15 B match was concerned well, due to other commitments, Sidcup B conceded the match and all 16 points will be awarded to the team. Overall, the first weekend of the 2008 season has started well. Let's hope that as the competition to win the respective leagues becomes more intense both the U15 A & B sides can meet this challenge. Steve Yates U15 manager. Man of the Match: Chris Thompson Wrotham (St George's) 187 all out (P Lee 3-28, H de Vos 2-15, D Driscoll, 2-47, P Daniels 2-30) OECC 119 all out (H de Vos 20, N Byers 20) OECC lost by 68 runs OECC 3's got off to a poor start to their league programme on a pudding of a pitch. Having won the toss Wrotham (St.George's) elected to bat first. The opposition batman chanced their arm and played across the line of the ball to good effect with many a ball falling between two OECC fielders. Harley de Vos opened the bowling to good effect and tied the opposition down taking 2 wickets for just 15 runs. Once Peter Lee got his radar working he bowled to good effect taking 3 for 28 with Daniel Driscoll at one stage on a hatrick. However the game became a tale of 1 batman and 10 other also rans with R Bryce for Wrotham (St.George's)taking his chances and returning a lucky 77. The next highest scorer being extras at 48. This is something that the OECC need to reduce in future matches. A competetive total of 187 on a pitch that refused to dry out saw OECC struggle to maintain the run rate but with wickets in hand at the half way stage and only 30 runs behind the run rate all things were possible. Harley de Vos scored a credible 20 runs and was looking set to push on for a big score but was undone by the wicket. However with an increasing run rate and a steady fall of wickets it soon proved too much for OECC to chase the required runs on a wicket that soon resembled the Somme. All credit to Wrotham (St.George's) who took advantage of their luck and the conditions. Man of the Match: Peter Lee Captains Award Graham Howie for a stunning slip catch at 3rd slip whilst fielding at first slip! OECC 106-6 Orpington 101-10 (J Worf 4-13) After a fortnight of untimely rain, Old Elthamians were finally able to kick start their U16 campaign and did so in fine style with a tight 5 run victory over Orpington. Captain Calum Nash won the toss and put his team straight into bat, preferring to bat in the brighter conditions rather than make use of the new ball. OE’s started slowly as both openers struggled to find their timing on a slow pitch with equally paced bowlers. Runs steadily accumulated until Clarkson was rewarded for his accuracy and bowled Jack Green for 10. Scott Appleyard (1) followed soon after, bringing Nash to the wicket. The OE’s captain made great use of the gaps between the somewhat docile fielders inbetween some well selected aerial shots. But just as the away team looked to be stepping on the accelerator, Nash played across the line at the wrong time to Pope and had his bails removed for a breezy 19. Driscoll battled on and was the mainstay of the innings for his 22, ably assisted by James Worf (13) who carried on the disciplined batting with some impressive running between himself and Harrison (14*). As the last over came around, OE’s had crept over the 100 mark and when Chris Thompson dispatched the final ball of the innings with Chris Gayle like flamboyancy, the momentum was well and truly with the away team, closing on 106-6. Stuart Milner’s 2-12 being the pick of the bowling performances for Orpington. With a target in excess of 5 per over, the Orpington openers made good use of the extra pace provided by the OE’s bowlers as both Driscoll and Green bowled too wide of the stumps to persistently trouble the batsmen. When Green managed to hit the right lines, he immediately removed Sanders for 7, to leave the home side 19-1. Milner continued with due haste, hitting cleanly down the ground, however when Gupta removed his partner with another ball that kept low, the wheels started to come off for the batting side. The introduction of James Worf showed to be an inspired one as he tore through the middle order with impressive variations in flight and length, the dismissal of Milner for 25 proving pivotal in the defence of OE’s total. At 52-5, Orpington looked dead and buried, but the away team released the pressure as their lines strayed from the stumps and the batting side duly capitalised. With 5 wickets remaining, Orpington were within 36 runs of the total and the game was intriguely poised. However the OE’s spin attack proved too persistent for the Orpington batsmen as Burkett (14) and Hydon (0) fell to Worf and Nash respectively in quick succession. Sam Clarkson (22) continued to take the fight to the bowlers, but when Harrison had him trapped LBW and Driscoll clean bowled Taylor (2), the chase again appeared to be over at 82-9. The Orpington tail enders continued to battle, showing technical competence far beyond a number of their team mates and with 2 balls remaining found themselves still in the game, needing successive boundaries. Driscoll held his nerve and proved too quick to get bat on ball, Old Elthamians emerging the winners by 5 runs. Orpington’s slow bowling attack was effective on such a pitch as they kept a disciplined line throughout, contrary to the erratic quicker bowling on show from OE’s. The difference between the two sides however was without doubt the standard of fielding and running between the wickets, Orpington lacking the intensity and opportunism shown by the away team. Man of the Match: James Worf Bexleyheath 128-8 (Thorogood 4-16, Whalley 2-14) OECC 129-5 (De Beer 46, Whalley 23, Thorogood 23*) OECC Won by 5 wkts OECC got off to a great start in their warm up games before the real thing begins. The skipper won the toss and elected to field and take a confident OECC team to the park. Rich Pickerill opened up from the top end providing good pace and tight lines. Edd Thorogood bustled in from the bottom end and removed Bexleyheaths top 4 to leave them at 4-20. More tight bowling and a few wickets from Ian Whalley saw the boys restrict the opposition to 128-8 in 35 overs. In reply the boys got off to a good start with Kennedy and Whalley running the ball around. De Beer came to the crease and settled nicely play a few classy strokes and showing some real power at times to clear the ropes. In the end the total was never going to challenege this talented OECC team and it was left to Thorogood and John Nicholls to knock off the last few runs for victory.
Saturday 24th May 3rd XI vs Snodland Community
Wednesday 21st May 20/20 XI vs Bexleyheath
Monday 19th May U11 A vs HSBC A
Saturday 17th May 1st XI vs Bapchild
Saturday 10th May 2008 1st XI vs Chislehurst and West Kent
Saturday 10th May 2nd XI vs BOCA
Saturday 10th May 3rd XI vs Nurstead
Thursday 8th May 2008 U13A vs Bromley
Sunday 4th May 1st XI vs Old Colfeians
Sunday 4th May U15 A vs Old Colfeians A
Saturday 3rd May 3rd XI vs Wrotham (St George's)
Friday 2nd May U16 vs Orpington
Sunday 27th April 1st XI vs Bexleyheath