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2nd
XI Team Match Reports |
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Whaley
Bridge 2nd XI v High Lane 2nd XI at High Lane 29th May
2010
With a magnificent start to the season weather wise it
was inevitable that we would be rained off against High
Lane, and as we waited at the wall it was just a matter
of what time we would get back to the Sheps. Unfortunately
High Lane had the audacity to want to play, and although
their pitch was wet they were optimistic that a game would
be possible at some stage. Shawy had a meal booked at
5.30, Colin had a tee off time at 1.45, however the High
Lane lads were fully changed and raring to go. We prayed
for rain, and the umpires seemed to agree that it was
unfit, but bizarrely they said that it was not “unsafe”.
It was left to the captains, and we settled on a 25 over
slog, but having lost his first toss of the season and
been put in to bat, captain Madden was at an immediate
disadvantage. T.R. Wild dropped himself down the order
due to the format of the contest, then Madden and Latham
struggled to keep their feet in the face of some unpredictable
bounces. They eventually got into their stride before
Madden fell for 21 followed by Latham for 9. We needed
some impetus, and this could have occurred with the dismissal
of Peter Crowley for 6. Tommo and Jake tried to accelerate,
but their timing was a bit awry as the score just ticked
over. Tommo went for 12 to bring in our “Wild”
card Colin, then Jake departed for a fine 16 and we sent
in Shawy. The Colin plan didn’t exactly backfire,
it simply fizzled out as he batted for 5 overs for an
unbeaten 8, whilst the normally reticent Shaw outscored
him almost 2 to 1 as he left the field undefeated on 14.
94 for 5 didn’t look to be enough, but we were confident
that Colin and Fid would be a real handful on the wet
wicket. Unfortunately the wicket had dried and Colin and
Fid struggled with both line and length. Colin took his
first wicket with the score on 35, and three runs later
Fid got in on the act, but Jake Drayson was introduced
to enable the openers to change ends. Fid claimed another
and at 44 for 3 we had a real chance. 28 runs later Colin
claimed his second but that was the end of his success
as he finished with 2 for 47 off 9, whilst Fid had 2 for
34 off 8. Jake’s one over cost just 2, and he was
due to come back after Danny Ashworth had given it a go.
Unfortunately, Danny went for 9 in his over, and with
the addition of 4 byes the home side had won by 6 wickets.
At least we got a game in when many others failed to do
so, but turning up wanting the match to be called off
got us exactly the result we deserved.
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Whaley
Bridge 2nd XI v Woodley 2nd XI at Whaley Bridge 22nd May
2010
It was a sweltering afternoon at Whaley Bridge when Woodley
came to town, and the captain’s fifth successive
victorious toss should have given the home side a huge
advantage as he elected to bat first. The Whaley wicket
had been described as “sub-standard” the previous
week when Lee Jones was hospitalised, but there was no
sign of this as Madden and Latham opened the batting.
Latham fell for 1, closely followed by T.R. Wild for 2,
Thompson for 4 and Gibson for 0. At 53 for 4 Whaley were
in trouble, and when Madden chipped one to midwicket for
44 it was catastrophic. Simmonds steadied the ship with
a fine 33, then Shaw and Drayson put together a useful
partnership of 31 before Shaw went for 5. Unfortunately
the tail failed to wag, in fact it looked to have been
lopped off altogether as Sam Slack, Colin Wild and John
Fidler lasted 5 balls between them as they all went for
a duck. Jake Drayson remained unbeaten on 19 as Whaley
finished on an unimpressive 131 all out. It never looked
to be enough, despite Colin Wild and Fid starting in hostile
fashion. It took until the 21st over for a wicket to fall
as Gibson lured the batsman into a slog to deep midwicket.
Tommo was there to chest the ball forward before snatching
at it and eventually pouching it. At 38 for 1 Whaley were
still in it, and Gibbo got his second victim when that
rarest of breeds, a Russ Wild stumping, reduced the visitors
to 48 for 2. Gibbo finished with a creditable 2 for 25
off 8 overs, whilst Fid finished with an unlucky 0 for
32 from 14. Colin completed 11 overs for 25, and it was
left o Sam Slack and Jake Drayson to finish off the innings.
Jake got the Woodley danger man after a catch by Sam,
then Sam himself got in on the act with a catch behind
by Russ Wild and then a clean bowled. Jake had 1 for 17
off 3, whilst Sam had 2 for 20 off 4, but Woodley had
11 overs to spare as they notched up a 5 wicket win. The
game was played in great spirit despite having no umpires,
for which the captain has requested that the league be
fined.
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Whaley
Bridge 2nd XI v Charlesworth 2nd XI at Charlesworth 15th
May 2010
The captain could perhaps have been forgiven for being
a little distracted after three defeats to open the season,
and it didn’t help when he revealed he had forgotten
his bat on arrival at Charlesworth. With a weakened bowling
attack there was never an issue about what to do first,
and after winning his fourth consecutive toss MMM chose
to bat. The team talk centred around the fact that we
had had three good batting performances and three poor
bowling displays. This meant that the season could go
one of two ways. Either the batting could fail and we
would be home early, or the bowling could improve and
we might actually register a victory. Shawy was late turning
up, but that didn’t matter. The captain and Rigger
were about to set off for the middle when Russ Wild asked
the captain a simple enough question. “Are you not
putting any pads on?” at which point all semblance
of a focussed pre match dressing room went out of the
window. MMM then started to put on his pads as Rigger
walked to the middle. It did not bode well, and what followed
bore this out. Madden was out to a positively dreadful
lbw decision for just 2, and then Peter Crowley spooned
a catch to be dismissed for the same score. At 17 for
2 Russ Wild strode to the middle and proceeded to play
all of those hooks and pulls that he practiced to good
effect in front of his mirror. Now, as then, the ball
was not really involved, but he settled down to repair
the early damage. Rigger perished for 26, then Gibbo and
Russ put on 80 before they fell in quick succession for
48 and 29 respectively. Curiously, Scholesy had umpired
the whole innings up to this point, his explanation being
that he did not want to talk to anyone, but with Shaw
and Thompson at the wicket he sprinted off to get some
pads on. He needn’t have rushed as Shawy used all
of his experience to calmly guide the score to 176 before
he was out for 31, whilst Scholesy was run out for a frenetic
21. Ed Kitchen played out a maiden with just 3 overs to
go, but he rectified this, finishing with 20 not out.
Tommo was also unbeaten on a much needed 34, giving Whaley
the remarkable total of 242 for 7, but after recent fielding
displays we were still not confident. The consistency
throughout the batting could have been down to the insight
of the captain in constructing just the right batting
order, however news came through from Whaley that Lee
Jones had been hospitalised on a dodgy pitch. This meant
that there could be a place in the firsts next week, and
this is probably why nobody really wanted to pass 50.
Shawy regaled us with tales of his latest date, a woman
that he’d not seen since 1975 when he was traumatised
at a barn dance, but who he was now about to escort to
a Michael Buble concert in Hamburg. “Never heard
of him” was the response when Shawy was asked for
his opinion of the crooner. Tea was a magnificent affair,
with several players going into wedding buffet mode. So
much so that as we took to the field, Fid was still munching
despite the fact that he was due to open the bowling.
Whaley started well with Fid and Ed Kitchen both taking
a wicket to leave the hosts at 18 for 2. Peter Crowley
also claimed a victim, and when the energetic Scholesy
predicted he would get an lbw, and then remarkably did,
the game could have been over at 100 for 4. Scholesy was
likened to Derren Brown, or at least Derren Ginger for
his prediction. Action man Scholesy then caught their
danger man off Fid, whilst Jake Drayson picked up a wicket
that the batsman could not quite believe. Ed Kitchen claimed
another wicket, T.R. Wild took a catch off Fid, then the
same bowler bowled a wide one that somehow nipped back
and hit middle stump. “Sorry” Fid offered
by way of condolence as the startled batsman trudged off.
At 163 for 9 it was all over, until the Charlesworth number
11 smashed Ed for several sixes, and it was only when
38 were required off the final over that we all breathed
a sigh of relief. 219 for 9 may have only got us 19 points,
but it was the first victory of the season, and maybe
the opening of the floodgates. Good
battiong oprder
Jonesy injured so no one got 50
Shawy Hambrg
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Whaley
Bridge 2nd XI v Buxworth at Buxworth 8th May 2010
It was a curious day at Buxworth, with the pitch looking
dodgy even though it was extremely close to the pavilion
side boundary. Madden won his third consecutive toss and
stuck the home side in, with Colin Wild bowling like a
god in his first spell. Unfortunately Fid could not support
him, and was replaced after 3 overs for 31. Col removed
Sam Hall and Whaley were amongst them, but things were
about to get an awful lot worse. A chance went to Peter
Crowley who failed to hold on to it, giving the Buxworth
opener a second life. The score moved along rapidly with
a fast outfield and a short boundary, then a chance went
to Peter Crowley who failed to hold on to it, giving the
Buxworth opener a third life. The two incumbent batsmen
both passed 50, then a chance went to Peter Crowley who
failed to hold on to it, giving the Buxworth opener a
fourth life. Neil Shaw, a welcome addition to the squad
and hopefully a regular member this season, psyched Chris
Pike out of a century as Fid bowled him for 97, then a
chance went to Peter Crowley who failed to hold on to
it, giving the Buxworth opener a fifth life. Colin got
the second and third wickets that his bowling deserved,
including a catch by Crowley, but the Buxworth score had
by this time sailed past two and then three hundred. Gibbo’s
three overs cost 41, whilst Sean Pyke threatened to end
his own career by bowling two for 28. Fid dismissed the
opener after a very lucky 162, Colin taking the catch,
as Shawy admitted he’d never played in a game where
the opposition got 300. As it turned out this was still
the case, with Buxworth finishing their 45 overs on 401
for 6, Colin taking 3 for 129 and Fid 3 for 109. Whaley
were never going to reach this figure, with the captain
giving clear instructions that 175, for maximum batting
points, was the target. Madden and Latham got off to a
brisk start before Madden was caught for 21 with the score
on 24. Latham and Crowley then both notched solid 50s
before Latham fell for 53. Thompson didn’t last
long for his 3, then Crowley was run out in a comical
mix up with Gibbo for 54. This was probably not too surprising
as Gibbo’s pre batting warm up consisted of him
chatting up a Buxworth supporter who seemed strangely
open to his advances. Shawy and Gibbo played very sensibly
to inch the score to 175, then Gibbo went berserk, obviously
trying to impress his ladyfriend, as 28 came off the final
over. 204 for 4 was a solid reply, and it meant that the
deficit was reduced to less than 200. It also meant that
Whaley had comprehensively won the second half, and in
the process they claimed more bonus points than the poorly
captained home side.
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Whaley
Bridge 2nd XI v Hawk Green 2nd XI at Whaley 1st May
2010
For the first home match of the season Whaley again
won the toss and elected to bat. It was an even better
start than the previous week, with Madden and Latham
putting on 81 before Latham fell for 15. Tommo should
have been batting at 3, but his hangover meant that
he promoted Ed Kitchen instead. This backfired spectacularly
as Ed was out first ball, Then Tommo came in at 4 which
matched his score. Gibbo, freed from the shackles of
captaincy, took the lead, then MMM fell for a marvellous
60. Scholesy was also suffering from the after effects
of the night before, and it was a relief to all when
he went for 4, whilst Sam Slack dispelled the nightmares
of last season’s run of ducks when he was dismissed
for 1. Gibbo bludgeoned 32 before being caught and bowled,
then Andrew Bailey and Nige Morten took the total to
155 for 6 after 45 overs, a respectable score but one
which never looked to be enough. Fid started well, but
it was the ninth over before he made the breakthrough
with a catch by Bails, and by then Hawk Green had reached
36. Ed Kitchen was loose at the other end, and he was
replaced by Sam Slack after just 4 overs. Sam and Scholesy
both went for 5 an over without success, whilst Fid
kept chipping away with another two wickets. Gibbo gave
away 19 in his two overs, but when Ed Kitchen fashioned
a run out the visitors were just 15 runs short with
plenty of overs left. Fid claimed another victim, caught
by Sam Slack, to finish with 4 for 56, whilst Harry
Bold, an under 13 in the team as Peter Crowley thought
a performance by the Liverpool Philharmonic was more
important than cricket, bowled two overs for 7 including
a maiden. Whaley lost by 5 wickets with 10 overs to
spare, but at least the bonus point tally increased.
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Whaley
Bridge 2nd XI v Chapel 2nd XI at Chapel 24th April 2010
It was an unseasonally warm day when the seconds rolled
up for the opening game of the season at Chapel. With
the retirement of Gibbo from the captaincy, it was the
dawn (no pun intended) of a new era, with Mike Madden
bringing his experience to the captain’s role,
whilst grooming future captain Marc “Test Match”
Thompson in his role as vice captain. Whaley won the
toss and elected to bat first on a firm pitch. They
started well, with the skipper putting on 44 for the
first wicket when Nick Latham fell for 11. Madden went
for 41 with the score on 75, but Peter Crowley and Gibbo
took the score into the nineties before Gibbo fell for
11. The scoring rate slowed as Tommo eased himself into
the new season, whilst Peter has never been one to hurry.
Crowley eventually fell for a blatant jug avoidance
49, though this enabled Elliot Simmonds to join the
party. Tommo went for 14, whilst Simmonds blasted a
rapid 18 before being bowled. Ed Kitchen and Scholesy
continued to run for everything, and the Whaley innings
closed on a respectable 190 for 6, a big improvement
on batting performances from last season. The feeling
was that we were perhaps twenty runs short, but with
a good bowling display, including the return of Fid,
we should be ok. Fid opened the attack and kept it tight,
whilst Danny Ashworth began with a sensational, if unpredictable
wicket maiden, Nige Morten taking the catch behind the
stumps. This was about the last good thing that happened
to Danny, as two overs and twenty three runs later he
was duly removed from the firing line. Ed Kitchen steadied
the ship, then Fid claimed a wicket with another catch
behind. The captain spilled a couple of sharp chances,
but when Ed bowled the other opener Chapel were struggling
at 38 for 3. Peter Crowley conceded just over 5 runs
per over in his seven, whilst Gibbo and Scholesy had
one thing in common, they both gave away 14 runs, Gibbo
from 2 overs and Scholesy from just 1. Fid had trouble
with his footwear, exchanging his boots with Gibbo to
enable him to complete a second spell but without success.
Chapel ran away with it, with some dreadful misfields,
and some even worse bowling, and their 7 wicket victory
with 4 overs to spare was an inauspicious start for
the dream team that has been installed into the captaincy.
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