Annual curry night

Why am I blogging about cricket in the middle of December? Well, I thought it was worth drawing attention to the fact that last week marked our annual North West Water Cricket Club curry night.

In truth, the turnout was a little disappointing; only five of us braved the cold weather. Still, the company was good, and watching Justin tentatively sampling his first ever vindaloo made it worth the effort.

But on to the cricket, we made our usual pledges to socialise more, try and get in a bit more net practice, and generally be a better team. I doubt it will happen but it's always nice to have good intentions.

We also talked about the way the club is run. At the moment, Huw (Jones) has to shoulder most of the organisational workload, supported by Steve (Daulby). Steve made a very sensible suggestion - that we operate a pyramid system whereby Huw phones two people, who each phone two people and so on.

If it works, it would at least relieve some of the pressure on Huw and allow him to concentrate on his on-field performances. If last year was anything to go by, he'll be our leading strike bowler next season.

Keeping up with the Joneses

Incredibly, and in spite of the torrential rain during the latter part of last week, we played our final game of the season, a 30-over match at Acton Reynalds on Sunday - and we won in emphatic fashion.

Our victory was really the story of our very own cricketing dynasty, the Joneses - dad Huw and sons Rory and Geraint.

Rory stole the show for us, claiming a hat-trick which included Acton Reynald's star batsman, Fran Hick, and taking two splendid catches.

Huw weighed in with two wickets, while Geraint (who was run out by me in dreadful fashion during our innings) also chipped in with an important wicket.

All in all, it was a superb performance from North West Water. We batted first on a pudding of an pitch. The artificial square was soggy and slow and the outfield almost ruled out the prospect of boundaries unless they were sixes.

We started solidly enough, with Pete Danby and Rory putting on 20-odd for the first wicket. Two of our new recruits, James and Lloyd, then continued in the same manner, with Lloyd - who went on to make 29 - in particular playing some lovely shots.

Wickets fell, but we managed to maintain the momentum and skipper Justin Evans raced to 30 (we'd agreed beforehand that batsmen who reached 30 had to retire).

His innings featured some tremendous hitting, including an enormous six that was simply majestic.

We ended on 135 off our 30 overs, and I ended on six not out after going in with two overs left and the bowler on a hat-trick. I played all round the first ball and was expecting to hear the stumps rattle but somehow survived. It was the most exciting thing that happened while I was at the crease.

After too much to eat during the interval, I took the new ball and bowled a decent first over, before spraying it all over the place during my following two overs. I blamed the slippery conditions; in truth, I think the roast beef sandwiches had more to do with my eratic performance.

Anyway, I ended up going for nine runs off my three overs, while Gareth Cole was similarly tight at the other end.

Huw's introduction saw us grab a couple of wickets, one coming courtesy of a tremendous diving catch from Rory.

At the other end, Matt Daulby made amends for being hit for six (well, it was more of a full toss that hit the batsman's gloves and ballooned for six) by clean bowling one of the Acton Reynalds' crew.

Justin then joined the party with two excellent wickets, including one with his first delivery, and Geraint removed another of their batsmen, while we continued to look sharp in the field - well, most of us did. I just slipped and stumbled around due to my lack of spikes, and at one point fell flat on my face while trying to field at point. Very classy.

Then Rory arrived with Acton Reynalds on 85 for five. First he removed Acton Reynald's best batsman, Fran Hick, clean bowled. Next up he got a plumb lbw. Two in two balls and the hat-trick was on. Rory was right on the money and his next victim had his stumps rearranged.

That little episode prompted the umpire (one of their openers) to ask Justin why he hadn't opened with Rory "rather than that other rubbish". Cheers.

Anyway, Rory was now looking for four in four and to mark the occasion Justin posted four slips and me at gully. I've never seen a field like it in all the time I've been playing for North West Water. The delivery was spot on again and struck the batsman on the pad, prompting a massive appeal from the slip cordon. It wasn't given, but it reduced the umpire to hysterics as we closed in on victory.

The last couple of wickets soon fell - with Lloyd taking the final wicket courtesy of a smart catch from James - and we were home with 30-odd runs to spare.

It was a great way to the end the season - and hopefully the spur to greater things next year.

Legal action?

The latest correspondence from Neil Morley concerning the Woodburners' fortunate victory over North West Water at Whittington on Wednesday.

Mr Wright:

My solicitors advise me that, bearing in mind the Cutting And Pasting On To Blogs Without Permission Act, an out-of-court settlement of, say, 10k, should embarrassing legal proceedings no longer necessary.

Actually, we were very very lucky to get a game. It was rain-free during play, but it was cloudy and threatening. We cut it down to ten 8-ball overs, which proved to be a good decision.

Modesty forbids me to mention the part played by a elderly gent of this parish in a 41-run, (all-run, boundary free) opening stand by the Woodgeezers. But what the hell, I'll mention it anyway.

Cheers, Neil

A sorry and soggy end to the season

I missed last night's game between North West Water and The Woodburners at Whittinghton - our final fixture of the season - due to being stuck in a queue of traffic on the M6 at Birmingham.

However, my former colleague Neil Morley - a Woodburners' stalwart - helpfully sent in this summary of proceedings. I can only assume he's being sarcastic when he refers to me as 'star all-rounder'. Regular readers of this blog will recognise this as a blatant misrepresentation of my lack of talent.

It sounds like it was a fitting end to a season that has been disrupted by bad weather throughout. Our form fell away as the season went on - probably due to the frequent postponements - and we also lost last week in the 17th over to our other arch-rivals, The Orhtopaedic last week. Still, we do have a 40 over game pencilled in for the 7th of September. Things can only get better!

Anyway, here's Neil's match report:

Fuming NWW cricketers blamed their star all-rounder Martin 'Wrighty' Wright for their latest devastating defeat against arch-rivals the Woodburners.

''If only Wrighty had turned up, we might have lost by a run or two less,'' said a rueful NWW spokesman after last night's Whittington debacle.

Gleeful Woodburners took full advantage of the absence of NWW's much-vaunted iconic talisman, romping home by the huge margin of a few runs, on a pitch that was later described as 'a trifle muddy'.

...but seriously, shame you weren't there, we were two short as well. It was a good see-sawing game on a surreal strip (I went a**e-over-tit the first time I ran).

Rain, rain and more rain

Both of last week's fixtures were called off due to this wonderful summer we're enjoying.

At a rough guess, we've now lost about four or five matches due to rain this year, making it the worst year for North West Water I can remember.

To make matters worse, we've only got two scheduled games remaining - although hopefully we'll have a decent September and we can sneak in a couple of Sunday fixtures.

Well, I like to be optimistic.

A battling defeat

As I said in yesterday's post, North West Water lost to BT on Tuesday evening on a difficult pitch at Oswestry School.

We won the toss and batted but made slow progress in the first ten overs, despite some dogged resistance from our opening pair Pete Danby and Rory Jones.

Rory continued his fine form with the bat, producing a couple of superb boundaries, while Pete showed a deft touch to keep things ticking over in the face of some accurate, hostile bowling.

The pitch didn't help. There had been plenty of showers during the day and the pitch cut up pretty quickly, which made the bounce more uneven than usual. One delivery even reared up and hit Rory on the helmet.

We continued to struggle throughout the innings, despite a cameo innings from Steve Daulby, who crashed a couple of boundaries before departing. I ended up going in with a couple of overs left and ended on four or five not out, but not before almost gloving a catch to mid on and then falling flat on my face trying to set off for a quick single. I really must invest in some spikes.

We ended on 78 and, in truth, it was always 20 short of a competitive total. We bowled tightly for most of their innings, with our skipper, Justin Evans, bowling economically and taking another wicket with his increasingly effective leg spin.

I opened the bowling and was given four straight overs, taking one for nine. It was the best I'd bowled for ages, although my wicket came from a wide ball that was knicked through to the agile Pete Danby behind the stumps. It was probably my worst delivery, but as I'd beaten the outside and inside edge of both batsmen a couple of times, and had one ball sail over middle stump, I felt I'd earned it.

Steve Daulby also bowled a good spell, taking one wicket and instigating a run out, to leave BT needing 26 off the last four overs. At this stage it looked like it could be a close finish, but BT hit back through a tall left-hander, who simply demolished our attack. They ended up winning with two overs to spare.

It was a disappointing end to a decent match. We're now turning our attention to the rematch with BT next Tuesday, followed by Shropshrie Health at Whittington on Wednesday. We need a win.

Strike rates and updates

Just a brief update on North West Water's recent progress... or rather lack of it.

I missed a game two weeks ago due to work commitments, away at the beautful Acton Reynolds ground against Shropshire Health Authority.

We managed 94 chasing their total of 114 which, according to reports at last night's game was a decent effort, "we just lacked a few boundaries".

Last night, we also lost, failing to defend a total of 78 against BT. I'll post a full report on that match shortly.

However, I would like to boast about my strike rate so far this season. Now I have a quite deserved reputation as being the most negative batsman in our team. I admit that I possess very few scoring shots... in fact, I'm struggling to think of any.

Instead, I prefer Mr Boycott's high left elbow, no need to score runs today, approach.

But last night, our resident statistician Jamal produced a spreadsheet not only showing that my batting average for the year is 32, but that my strike rate is a frankly remarkable 84. In fact, it's the third highest in the team, behind Rory on 110, and Justin on 100. It's obviously inaccurate, but I'm still going to have it framed. In fact, I'm seriously considering retiring on a high...

No cricket

The disappointing British summer is continuing to disrupt our programme this year - hence the lack of updates recently.

Tonight's game is scheduled to be away at Acton Reynolds against Shropshire Health Authority. I can't make it due to work commitments but I'm not sure whether it will be on anyway judging by the view from my desk in Mold.

Next week is fixture-free, followed by two games the week after - weather permitting.

So I'll be watching the Test match intently instead. At least the return of Freddie Flintoff adds spice to the occasion. I just hope his injury troubles are behind him because, on song, he's one of finest bowlers in the world. And, if fit and in form, he could make the difference against Australia next summer.

The great British summer strikes back

The dodgy British weather saw off last week's scheduled fixture against the Orthopaedic at Gobowen.

Although it was disappointing, at least we were able to retain our 100 per cent record over our arch rivals - for another couple of weeks at least.

Anyway, in more important news, our skipper Justin is now a proud father. I had a text on Friday evening (while sitting in a pub in Maidenhead, of all places) to say his wife, Sally, had given birth to a baby boy. Congratulations Justin. Does this mean you won't be available for this week's match against The Woodburners?

A thrilling victory

Picture the scene: we're almost down and out. Cae Glas Ladies, thanks to an onslaught by somebody looking suspiciously like a man, are ten runs from victory with 14 balls remaining. Surely there's no way back. Is there? Just like Mr Stallone in the Rocky movies, there was.

Step forward our heroes, Rory Jones and Dave Ryder, with honourable mentions to Geraint Jones, Rory's elder brother, Matt Daulby, and our stand-in wicket keeper (again) Brian Cole. Thanks to this quintet, we somehow snatched victory - by five runs.

After batting first, we struggled to 83 all out. That represented something of a recovery after we had been reduced to 2-2 off four overs, then 20-odd for four. Only a handful of our batters made double figures - Dave Ryder, Mike Stokes and Steve Daulby, I think - and we were probably 20 runs short of a good score on another flat Whittington pitch.

Our innings certainly didn't lack drama, though, and one fielder needed the first aid kit for a split finger after one diving stop, while Huw Jones gloved a ball on to his own face.

I went in at number seven or eight and ended not out on two or three, Jamal being the last man to fall LBW in the final over. Jamal's innings was notable for the fact that it was the first time I had seen one of our adult players wearing a helmet. I think he'd seen the Huw incident and decided he didn't fancy a trip to the dentist.

Anyway, our reply started well even if we didn't take wickets. I was grateful to Brian's agility behind the stumps as I struggled to find a decent line opening the bowling, but I didn't go for many runs and even induced a couple of edges that almost carried.

Mike Stokes produced a miserly spell, and after 10 overs, Cae Glas had only made 33. It was the skipper Justin Evans (who's asked me to point out there's a lot more to him than a pair of expensive Puma pads) who made the breakthrough, bowling their Kiwi opener (another male) with his increasingly effective leg spin.

However, their number three (another male) was an accomplished player, who proceeded to play with a great deal of authority. Our total looked worryingly low.

We took a couple more wickets - courtesy of Steve Daulbly, who also opted to bowl slow left arm rather than his usual pace - to leave Cae Glas with 14 balls to make 10 runs, with seven wickets in hand.

And that's when it all happened. Rory bowled the penultimate over, removing the number three courtesy of a smart catch by Matt Daulby. Two balls later there was a run out - courtesy of a brilliant throw by Matt and smart work by Brian to whip the bails off - followed by another wicket for Rory, this time clean bowling the hapless batswoman.

This left the game poised on a knife edge going into the final over. Dave Ryder was bowling with Cae Glas now needing six to win. His first ball produced a wicket, clean bowled. Crucially, it was also a dot ball. Next up, a dot ball, followed by a scrambled single. Then another run out - this time Geraint Jones throwing down the stumps from eight or nine yards. It's a good job his throw hit - they probably would have won it off the overthrows, the ball was travelling so quickly.

Another dot and a run out off the final ball - this time courtesy of Brian behind the stumps - saw us to victory. With hindsight it was an enjoyable. At the time, things were pretty tense, particularly after I managed a couple of inexcusable misfields. I'm just glad they didn't cost us victory...

An apology

Before I post on the most important subject - our match with Cae Glas Ladies last night - I have been asked to apologise to our stalwart statistician and swing bowler extraordinaire, Jamal Penrose.

I've actually referred to him as Jamahl for the entire existence of this blog - so I'm now happy to put the record straight. One question, though: why haven't you read the blog sooner?

A humbling defeat

Well, I was back in action this week when we took on a team made up of youngsters and fringe players from Frankton Cricket Club at Whittington. I rather wished I stayed in Zakynthos.

Not only did we lose - we were all out for 112 in the 18th over chasing 143 to win - I ended the game wicketless and with a golden duck for my efforts. Brilliant. In fact, my main contribution was retrieving a ball that went through the hedge and ended up floating in a brook the other side of the boundary fence.

North West Water skipper Justin won the toss and decided to bowl first, although the decision did prompt one or two dissenting comments from some members of the team.

I was handed the new ball and proceeded to spray the ball either side of the stumps, leaving our unfortunate wicketkeeper Pete Danby with an impossible task. I went for 11 off my two overs.

It was the first time we had played the Frankton side and although we expected one or two to be pretty handy, we weren't quite prepared for the onslaught from the opening pair.

After eight overs, they were 82-0 - including a succession of brutally dispatched boundaries. Thankfully, their team-mates took pity on us and called them off before they could inflict any further damage on our battered egos.

Thereafter, we retained more control - Huw continued his fine form with the ball, picking up one wicket and just missing out on a sharp caught and bowled chance. Gareth and Jamahl also struck, while Justin opted to bowl leg spin and picked up two wickets in a superb spell (he might have had three if I had been able to take a catch on the boundary; instead I did a pretty convincing impression of a headless chicken).

Two run outs also helped our cause - one courtesy of a searing throw from Brian Cole from fully 20 yards, the other from the consistently accurate arm of Ian Lloyd.

Bowling at the death, Brian went on to produce a hostile spell that went for only a couple of runs and included a wicket courtesy of great catch from Mike Stokes at slip.

In reply, we started brightly enough, with father and son pair, Gareth and Brian, picking up a number of boundaries as they put on 30-odd for the first wicket in the face of some useful bowling. But when Gareth then Pete Danby departed, we were tottering, having fallen well behind the required rate.

Brian continued to score quickly until he was dismissed after reaching the mid-20s. Steve Daulby reached six before sportingly walking after gloving a delivery to the keeper, before Rory Jones and Justin launched a counter attack that saw both of them score a succession of boundaries. I should mention that Steve ran another three - his second of the season - which we believe is a new record.

Unlike most of our team, who spent the winter months getting a little bit older and slower, Rory is rapidly developing into a very promising bowler and an attacking batsman. His 18 also included a leg side six - the only maximum in our innings.

Unfortunately, Rory's dismissal brought me to the wicket. I played all around a straight delivery and umpire Merv Hughes (that's his real name, honest) raised his finger.

Justin's 26 was full of aggressive intent, and included one textbook cover drive. But when he was dismissed, our innings crumbled to 112 all out, with Jamahl the last man out. Against very talented opponents, it wasn't a terrible effort; it's just a shame we weren't a bit more competitive in the first half of their innings.

Next week, we're without a fixture. However, a practice match is on the cards. I certainly need it.

We won... and I wasn't even there to see it

As regular readers of this blog will know, it's not often we win.

Therefore, I was gutted to miss out on our victory last week owing to my week's holiday in Zakynthos.

I'd like to provide full details of our victory over JT Hughes but, unfortunately, the only info I've got to go on is sketchy, having been provided by our left arm fast bowler and prolific batsman, Steve Daulby.

I'll leave Steve to sum up the performance:

"Thrashed em last week!

They had 2 x innings and still didn’t reach our total of 122.

Batting a lot better – off the mark at last. A magnificent seven before being clean bowled by Greg or was it Ryan. It would still be rising now if I’d connected though – two overs to go so start hitting out I said!"

Back to earth with a bump... but Steve's off the mark

North West Water's winning start to the season came to an abrupt halt at the hands of Cae Glas Ladies last night.

After the elation of last week's shock victory over The Orthopaedic, it was perhaps inevitable that we would struggle. However, despite posting a modest total of 84, we were still favourites to win with around six overs to go; Cae Glas needed 40-odd with three wickets remaining.

Unfortunately, our killer instinct deserted us at the crucial moment and Cae Glas inched home with four balls to spare. We were gutted.

Things stated promisingly. We won the toss and batted first, with Brian Cole and Rory Jones opening on our adopted home ground of Whittington. We got off to a decent start too. Brian, a classy left hander, unleashed a glorious drive through extra cover in the first over, while Rory's good form continued after his heroics against the Orthopaedic last week.

However, Brian was bowled and his father Gareth failed to hang around. Things got worse when Rory, who had raced to 17 with a succession of boundaries, was run out when our skipper Justin Evans called him through for a sharp single.

Justin - sporting very posh new pads - looked in good form before missing a straight one. Mike Stokes, making his first appearance of the season, joined Steve Daulby at the crease - with Steve opening his account for the season after last week's duck in Gobowen.

His departure brought me to the crease with the score at 40-odd for five, and when Mike was caught in the next over, we were struggling at 48-6 off 10 overs.

I was joined by Geraint Jones, and we managed to survive, taking the score to 82 in the final over before I managed to run Geraint out.

Until that point, we'd been making decent progress, even if it was a bit slower than it should have been. I even hit three boundaries in my 26no - more than I scored in total last season. Geraint batted really well for his 14 and really deserved more.

Jamahl Penrose hit two off the final ball and we ended on 84 - probably about 15 short of a decent score.

Our reply started well. I opened the bowling with Steve and we kept things tight (I conceded three off my two overs), before Mike struck and a run out courtesy of Rory Jones put us in the driving seat.

When Justin took two wickets in his spell - one courtesy of a sharp catch in the gully by Greg Stokes - we looked favourites. Huw Jones' produced an impressive spell, taking 2-7 including a smart stumping courtesy of Brian, our stand-in wicket keeper in the absence of Pete Danby.

But the last six overs of the innings cost us dearly. Cae Glas's ninth wicket stand was resolute and, despite one or two chances, in truth we never looked like breaking the partnership.

Cae Glas secured victory with four balls remaining, to leave us licking our wounds and hoping for a better performance against a new side, JT Hughes, next week.

The wonderful British summer

Well, we're meant to be playing Cae Glas Ladies tonight but, judging by the rain beating against the window at the moment, it may not happen.

I'm gutted. I'm going to miss next week's match so I was really hoping to get a game tonight. Oh well, maybe the weather with suddenly improve and our first fixture at our new home, Whittington, will go ahead after all. Somehow I doubt it, though.

What a night...

Well, what a way to kick off the new season - victory over our bogey team for the first time in a good few years.

How did we do it? I'm not sure to be honest. When I arrived (late) at the ground, our team looked a bit thin - we were missing our regular captain Justin Evans, while some of our more consistent performers, including Brian Cole, Mike Stokes and Dave Ryder, weren't able to make it.

Did I honestly think we had a chance? Not really, no, especially when our stand in skipper Carl Dulson told me to get my pads on and open with him after we had won the toss.

We started well, Carl hitting the ball with his usual power; me blocking. Unfortunately for me, a miss-timed swipe against a slow bowler ended my stay at the crease for six. I was disappointed because I felt good, particularly against the quicker bowlers.

We then stuttered mid-innings - with Steve Daulby and son Matt both making ducks - but we were resuced by Carl's 24 and impressive performances from two of our younger players, Rory Jones (16) and Paddy Richards (13).

And thanks to a late flourish from veteran member Gareth Cole, we ended the innings on 77. The pitch was playing ok, but the long grass in the outfield meant boundaries were at a premium. It still looked 20 runs short as a defendable total, but at least we knew we had something to bowl at.

From the off, we bowled well and fielded impressively. Ian struck in his second over after opening the bowling with Steve (who made up for his duck with a miserly spell) and the Orthopaedic were under pressure.

Although we didn't take many wickets, we kept the bowling tight and even got away with a couple of missed chances. With eight overs to go, the Orhtopaedic had reached 39 and we knew we had an opportunity. As the pressure increased, we grabbed a couple more wickets as our opposition went for their shots.

Even I chipped in with my fielding, holding on to a catch off Rory that seemed to hang in the air for an eternity, and managing to stop a boundary by sticking a hand out more in hope than expectation. Paddy also produced one stunning stop, throwing himself full length to prevent anything other than a single, while Ian's throwing was perfect all night.

But everybody bowled and fielded well and, with one over to go, the Orthopaedic required five to win. Carl - taking his captain's responsibility seriously - bowled it beautifully and they ended up a run short, sparking scenes of celebrations in Gobowen. Forget the Champions League final, this was the result that mattered.

Next up, we face Cae Glas Ladies at our new 'home' Whittington. Hopefully our winning run will continue...

Breaking news... North West Water win opening fixture

Just a quick post to say that we won our opening game of the season against the Orthopaedic by one run last night.
It was a close match and an even closer finish as our skipper for the night, Carl Dulson, held his nerve to bowl a tremendous last over to see us over the finishing line.
A full report will follow when I've got a spare five minutes. In the meantime, world domination now surely beckons from North West Water.

The season's under way... and I've missed it

I can't believe it. The first match of the season and I missed it.

Ok, so it was a warm-up game, but I was still gutted to miss out. I did have a good excuse, I suppose - I was on my way back after a stag trip to Prague and our flight was delayed. And if I'm being brutally honest, after a night on the ale, I doubt I would have been any good.

Still, it does mean I've now dropped down the pecking order for the first game proper next week. We're up against the Orthopaedic so it's going to be a tough start to the season.

On the plus side, I have it on good authority that our pacy left armer, Steve Daulby, has been visiting a gym and dieting during the winter months. Hopefully this will turn him into the lean, mean wicket-taking machine we need.

As for me, I've not picked up a cricket ball since last September so, if I do make the squad, the first ball is going to be interesting. And then there's the obligatory pulled muscles and bad back to look forward to...