Lots of Runs but No Victories.
Almost 900 runs were scored in the two SNCL games this Saturday, but no wins were forthcoming.
The 1st XI travelled to the vast wilderness of Notts Unity to play on a ground which made the MCG look like a postage stamp! Quite why a boundary needs to be in the next county to the wicket is open to debate.
Scottys boys took to the field full of vigour with the boundary fielders issued with mini motos & quad bikes in order to retrieve the ball as it disappeared in to the abyss & to ensure the game was finished before it was dark. The actual bowling & fielding performance left a lot to be desired. It is never easy chasing leather for the best part of three hours and with the score already on 150 at drinks, a total in excess of 300 looked probable. With that in mind, a final score of 287-7 was somewhat better, from a Calvo point of view, than it might have been. Billy Armstrong continued his fine form taking four wickets & Michael Nester was the best of the rest with ten economical overs.
The weary limbs trooped in for tea somewhat dispirited. However, the performance after tea was much improved on the effort prior to tea. Now 287 is not going to be chased down on to many occasions, but if we could score a minimum of 192 & not be bowled out, we would gain 9 valuable points. And that is exactly how it panned out. Most of the top order made useful contributions to the cause (Scotty 59, Callum & Windy 42 each) & although the vast total was never really threatened, we never really looked like getting bowled out either (until a wobble at the end). With 200 on the board & seven overs to go, six wickets were still in the hutch; this soon became one wicket left as the innings closed on 215-9. A tad worrying at the end, but a reward for perseverance & application.
MOM Michael Nester, top spell of bowling in adversity.
The 2nd XI hosted Caythorpe at GLA and for a change we had to field first. Caythorpe progressed comfortably throughout their innings as the Calverton bowling was a little wayward. However, three wickets for Bilal Waheed & a super spell of bowling by Brinsley Kirkham (10 overs 1-35) a score of 211-8 was posted from 45 overs. A decent score which could have been higher had Brins not bowled so well.
Although Dave Dean was an early casualty with the bat, John Leafe & Jamie Taylor shared a good partnership taking the score passed fifty. Unfortunately, once these two were out and the middle order failed, it appeared as though we would get nowhere near the target. Chris Cooke was then joined at the crease by Billy Bennett and they enjoyed a splendid partnership putting on over fifty, Chris ending on 50 not out & young Billy on 17 not out with some lusty blows & cracking shots from both of them. Again, the target was never really threatened (we finished 42 runs short), but it was heartening to see Cooky & Billy really enjoying themselves. So, 6 points gained & more valuable experience for the yoof!
With no Sunday Newark Alliance game, GLA hosted the Notts V Lancashire Under 13 ECB Cup fixture. A huge crowd descended & they were treated to a cracking game between two strong teams.
Notts won the toss & batted first in this 40 over contest & made steady progress. By the 31st over the score stood on 125-4 when the heavens opened. After an hour and a half delay, the rule books were scrutinised and Notts were to receive a further 14 balls & then Lancashire would get 33 overs to surpass whatever Notts had totalled, hardly fair but rules are rules. So Notts gave it a bit of a biff and ended up on 150.
The Notts bowlers then performed admirably and although no wickets had been taken by drinks, 52-0 from 17 overs, Lancashire apparently were batting themselves into a bit of a hole. With more dark clouds looming, 20 overs would constitute a game should rain intervene again and Lancs would need to have been on 91 off 20. As the batsmen tried to increase the tempo wickets began to tumble thanks to some fine spin bowling & a number of run outs. The rain stayed away long enough for the game to be finished on the field and not by means of a calculator and saw Notts win by 20 runs. A tremendous effort by the Notts team who will now finish top of their group regardless of the result in their final group fixture at Staffordshire.
Good luck in the quarter finals from all at Calverton CC.
Kids Inspire Sunday Victory
With both scheduled Saturday SNCL fixtures falling foul of the weather for the first time this season, it was left to the Sunday XI, who travelled to Gotham, to provide the Club with a win.
With the Cake Fingered Skipper deciding that his digits were not up to it, Tom Wright took the reins for the first time & did the first thing right winning the toss. Gotham were duly inserted and as the half century approached with no wickets down, The Guns decision was beginning to look dodgy, or was it? Gun then took both the opening bowlers off replacing them with young Brins & himself. A collapse ensued with Gun & Brins removing the next five batsmen for just 20 runs. Guns next master stroke was to rest Brins & himself after 12 fruitful overs bringing on Billy Bennett & Baby Gun Will. However, there was to be no let up for Gotham as Billy (3-13) and (now not so little) Willy (1-4) finished off the Gotham innings for just 92. 47-0 to 92 all out, a tremendous effort from Tommys Young Guns.
Following tea (which was plentiful & quite splendid), Scotty & Harry opened the innings. It soon became apparent that Scott had been watching the telly too much of late with all this 20/twenty stuff & switch hitting etc. Never before has an innings of such ugliness been witnessed in a Calvo shirt! Shots were played on one leg, eyes closed, right handed, left handed, you name it, Scotty played it! Not quite sure what Harry made of it all, but a partnership of 87 was realised in just ten overs; barmy! Harry was bowled for a more orthodox 37 as the finishing line loomed, it seemed he was in fits of laughter watching the antics of his partner at the other end and missed the ball! An over later the target was achieved with Scott remaining unbeaten on a filthy 52.
MOM Billy & Brins, top bowling boys.
Mogadon Not Required at GLA!
The 1st XI entertained (sic) Attenborough on another dry day at GLA in Division A of the SNCL. Seven games into the season now & not one of them has been affected by the weather, this must be a record.
Attenborough batted first and plodded along on a good wicket & fast outfield with no obvious intention of scoring lots of runs! This was to set the tone for the day (save for a barmy aberration of 15 overs at the start of Calvo innings, when bat was actually put on ball waking the crowd from their slumber!). After what seemed like 623 overs, Attenborough decided to go for it for the last three overs, smashing the ball to all parts in reaching 194-5 from 48 overs. A strange score and one which should not have been anywhere near enough. Pete Crawley was the pick of the bowlers taking 4-55 from 16 overs of very, very slow pie throwing, he also grabbed 2 catches (& dropped 2).
So DFD & Eddie were woken up & told to go out & entertain the dwindling crowd who decided to remain in the beer tents & have an elongated tea. However, the tents & bars soon began to empty as Beefy & Worzel hit the little red thing to all parts putting on 80 odd in just 15 overs, the highlight being Eddie belting three sixes off consecutive balls. This was too much for some spectators & the St.Johns Ambulance staff had to treat many for fainting! Order was soon restored however as this temporary blip of insanity was destined not to last. Beef unluckily chopped a bottom edge onto his stumps & Eddie was given out LBW & the rot set in. With just over a hundred need off 30 overs & eight wickets in the bank, this should have been a stroll, how wrong. Poor shot selection saw the middle order perish & for some unknown reason the asking rate rose from just over 3 an over to astronomical proportions. The amassed gallery were scratching their collective heads as the run rate rose & rose & rose. By the last over 18 were needed & it came as no surprise that we got nowhere near it finishing 12 runs short & eight wickets down. So a Losing Draw & 7 points were snatched from the jaws of victory!
All in all, an eminently forgettable day. Games likes this will only drive the spectators to other more exciting sports & hobbies like crochet or tiddlywinks! The only positive note was the curing of three people from insomnia!
MOM Eddie Lee, batting as it should be.
Hat Trick On Debut!
The 1st XI travelled to Newstead with Raj & Harry Bhaker making their debuts for the Club and what a day it turned out to be for Raj taking a Hat Trick as the Ist's won again. Meanwhile at GLA the 2nd's came off second against a strong Gedling Colliery side.
A steady drizzle around Saturday lunchtime didn't dampen the hopes of Scotty's boys as they set out for Newstead. Despite a number of regular players being unavailable for one reason or another, another terrific team performance saw 20 more points bagged in game reduced to 80 overs. On a wicket of inconsistent bounce and the early loss of Flea adjudged LBW, it wasn't the most auspicious start to the innings. But Eddie Lee knuckled down & grafted for an invaluable half century off three million balls, well supported by Billy Armstrong & Chris Miller. The innings did fall away a little towards the end, but a total of 147-8 was competitive enough given the conditions. With the bowling ranks a tad depleted, Michael Nester & Billy Armstrong took the new ball & what a start they gave us as half the Newstead side were back in the Pav before the score had reached 50. Newstead never recovered & had we been playing 'caught behinds' the score would have been a lot lower! With seven wickets down the ball was tossed to Raj who promptly took a Hat Trick! Game Over.
MOM - Tough call, Eddie, Ginger Bill or Raj; you decide!
Nine men on Friday evening became eleven by 1.30 on Saturday afternoon as the 2nds entertained Gedling Colliery at GLA. John Nester won the toss again & elected to bat and was one of only three batsmen to get into double figures. A poor performance with the willow saw a score of just 72 posted, about 200 short of a decent target given the wicket & the strength of the opposition! Despite a good spell of swing bowling with the new ball by Dickon Perry and five more tidy overs from Brinsley Kirkham, Gedling reached the target with ease and the bar beckoned at 5.30!
MOM - Nobody!
June Committee Meeting
Will be held a week later than normal due to the ground hosting the Notts 20/20 fixture this week. The meeting, therefore, will be held at the ground on Thursday 12th June at 7.30pm.
Rolling Back The Years
With the 'yoof' of the Club being largely responsible for some sterling team performances recently, this week saw the return of the 'Old Guard' to inspire the 1st XI to another positive result.
Scotty's troops were hosting Keyworth at GLA on a beautiful sunny day and despite the rain during the week leaving the outfield a bit lush & in places damp, the wicket looked like another belter. Keyworths skipper thrashed Scotty at the flipperty coin game & decided to have a bowl - mistake!
DFD had put his zimmer frame aside for the afternoon & hauled himself off nights to tread the hallowed turf once more. Opening up with him, in complete contrast, the lithe, perfectly honed athlete that is Rich Lee. A profitable opening stand saw 88 runs realised just before drinks arrived half way through the innings, by this time the increasingly frustrated Flea had perished. With Armstrong, Jayes & Miller not bothering the scorers unduly, 88-0 became 140-4, enter the Captain with a point to prove. Having had his bowling smashed around the net by his 2 year old son, Scotty wanted to show (off) to Cameron that Daddy could hit the ball just as far. And he did. 66 were added in good time with Scotty outscoring the rapidly tiring DFD, however Beefy managed to hold himself together, thankfully, long enough to reach a well deserved century. Well done, well done. Once Scotty & Beefy had departed, the tail wagged with Pete Heald, Michael Nester & the self proclaimed best 6 hitter in the Club, Tom Wright all reaching double figures as a final score of 238-9 was posted.
Pete Heald & Ginger Bill shared the new ball to good effect as Keyworth's reply never really got going. Two early wickets each for Pete & Bill with the ever improving Tom Wright claiming another saw the total stutter along to 60-5. A sixth wicket stand of 80 put some respectability back to the scoreboard but it was really a case of would it be a win or winning draw. Some super catching by Eddie Lee & Michael Nester saw a couple of more wickets fall & despite the attacking fields, the last 2 wickets proved illusive as Keyworth closed on 202-8. Still, we'd settle for 17 points every week.
MOM DFD, It's yesterday once more.
The 2nd XI travelled to Farndon & batted first. On a big field John Leafe & Dave Dean put together a solid opening stand 0f 75 giving a good platform which wasn't really grasped. Once John & Dave were back in the Pav, the innings fizzled out somewhat with only Chris Cooke bothering the scorers. A total of 149-8 wasn't bad, but with our limited bowling resources, would it be enough.
Early wickets for Bilal & Dickon saw the hosts struggling on 14-2 & hopes of the first victory of the season were heightened. Alas, it was not to be. Despite taking two further wickets, Farndon cruised home in the 36th over. Another 16 overs of 'the learning curve' for the 'yoof', it'll come & it'll be sweet.
Sundays Newark Alliance game at home to Newark fell foul of the weather. A persistent drizzle which fell for several hours during the morning meant that the already sodden outfield became unfit & the game was called off.
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