I wasn't able to play on Tuesday, versus BT at Oswestry School, but I have received the following message from the talismanic Steve Daulby who, as you will gather from the extract below, returned to action after a six week injury lay-off.
I think I was 2nd highest scorer with a massive contribution of 8!!! ( Justin high 20’s) but what a return with the ball, three for circa eight off 4 overs with the chance of a hat-trick - batsman just played a “dead” bat surrounded by close fielders!
“Daulby is back; Daulby is back” the hordes of fans were screaming from the packed stadium [Editor's note: there may be a little artistic license in this description].
As you may have gathered with me being second highest scorer on eight, we lost. We got 80 but it took BT to the last over to surpass with only one or two of wickets left.
So there we are - now we're all busy preparing for Sunday's 40-over clash with Shropshire Health Authority at Acton Reynald. It's time we rediscovered our winning ways.
Showing posts with label Oswestry School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oswestry School. Show all posts
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Thursday, 13 August 2009
We've won - again!
Well, we notched up only our second win of the season last night in pretty murky conditions against the Woodburners at Llandrinio.
Fine performances from Gareth Cole (with both bat and ball), Carl Dulson (bat), Dave Ryder (bat), Geraint and Huw Jones (ball) saw us to an unexpectedly comfortable victory by a margin of 20-odd runs.
Our total of 87 batting first looked a little bit short, but our bowling and fielding restricted the Woodburners to just 25 off the first 10 overs and, together with the fact we regularly took wickets, they were simply too far behind the run rate.
Admittedly, we did have the best of the conditions. We batted first while the light was relatively good and then bowled as became increasingly cloudy and dark. There was also quite a bit of movement for the bowlers which, combined with the slow outfield, made scoring difficult.
The game was also notable for the number of injuries suffered - Dave retired hurt after making 21 with his troublesome Achilles; Dan Powell, our evergreen wicketkeeper, suffered a back spasm and had to be replaced behind the stumps midway through the Woodburners' innings; and Carl also managed to pull a muscle while batting, which restricted his mobility in the field.
After losing skipper Justin early on in the innings, Dave and Gareth established an excellent partnership. Gareth in particular managed to score freely, hitting a couple of fours, before finally falling for 21. Dave kept the scoreboard ticking over, while Carl produced some meaty blows at the other end, including one towering six over long on.
A clatter of wickets in the last few overs kept our total down, and I went in with an over to go but failed to get off the mark as Woodburners finished strongly, conceding only two runs off the final over.
I opened the bowling in, frankly, horrible style, with successive wides. After one good ball, I then served up another wide, before finally finding my radar and conceding only one more run off the remaining 11 balls of my spell. It was pretty frustrating as, apart from those three wides, I beat the bat a few times and almost got a wicket when one of the openers very nearly chopped on to his stumps.
Ian Lloyd was in form at the other end to keep the scoring in check and Geraint then made the first breakthrough, with Gareth taking a fine catch in the gully. We continued to restrict the scoring - the Woodburners only hit one boundary, a six, in the innings - while picking up wickets through Huw, Brian Cole, Carl, Gareth (two clean bowled), and, bowling at the death, Justin.
After reaching 25 at the halfway stage, we were always in control and, as I said, the conditions, particularly the light, definitely helped. Our fielding was also sharp throughout and that certainly played a major part in keeping us on top.
I should also mention my friend, former work colleague and Woodburner Neil Morley who, when umpiring, gave a controversial LBW decision against a team mate who was adamant he'd got an inside edge. It all added to the highly charged - but friendly - atmosphere in which the game was played.
Next Tuesday, we play BT at Oswestry School - hopefully our fine form will continue.
Fine performances from Gareth Cole (with both bat and ball), Carl Dulson (bat), Dave Ryder (bat), Geraint and Huw Jones (ball) saw us to an unexpectedly comfortable victory by a margin of 20-odd runs.
Our total of 87 batting first looked a little bit short, but our bowling and fielding restricted the Woodburners to just 25 off the first 10 overs and, together with the fact we regularly took wickets, they were simply too far behind the run rate.
Admittedly, we did have the best of the conditions. We batted first while the light was relatively good and then bowled as became increasingly cloudy and dark. There was also quite a bit of movement for the bowlers which, combined with the slow outfield, made scoring difficult.
The game was also notable for the number of injuries suffered - Dave retired hurt after making 21 with his troublesome Achilles; Dan Powell, our evergreen wicketkeeper, suffered a back spasm and had to be replaced behind the stumps midway through the Woodburners' innings; and Carl also managed to pull a muscle while batting, which restricted his mobility in the field.
After losing skipper Justin early on in the innings, Dave and Gareth established an excellent partnership. Gareth in particular managed to score freely, hitting a couple of fours, before finally falling for 21. Dave kept the scoreboard ticking over, while Carl produced some meaty blows at the other end, including one towering six over long on.
A clatter of wickets in the last few overs kept our total down, and I went in with an over to go but failed to get off the mark as Woodburners finished strongly, conceding only two runs off the final over.
I opened the bowling in, frankly, horrible style, with successive wides. After one good ball, I then served up another wide, before finally finding my radar and conceding only one more run off the remaining 11 balls of my spell. It was pretty frustrating as, apart from those three wides, I beat the bat a few times and almost got a wicket when one of the openers very nearly chopped on to his stumps.
Ian Lloyd was in form at the other end to keep the scoring in check and Geraint then made the first breakthrough, with Gareth taking a fine catch in the gully. We continued to restrict the scoring - the Woodburners only hit one boundary, a six, in the innings - while picking up wickets through Huw, Brian Cole, Carl, Gareth (two clean bowled), and, bowling at the death, Justin.
After reaching 25 at the halfway stage, we were always in control and, as I said, the conditions, particularly the light, definitely helped. Our fielding was also sharp throughout and that certainly played a major part in keeping us on top.
I should also mention my friend, former work colleague and Woodburner Neil Morley who, when umpiring, gave a controversial LBW decision against a team mate who was adamant he'd got an inside edge. It all added to the highly charged - but friendly - atmosphere in which the game was played.
Next Tuesday, we play BT at Oswestry School - hopefully our fine form will continue.
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
The curse of BT
I used to play for BT in my (much) younger days. They're a good side and, since I've been playing for North West Water, I can count the number of times we've beaten them on one hand.
It was with some trepidation then that I approached last night's encounter at Oswestry School, my first outing of the season. My worries were well-founded, we ended up being beaten comfortably despite getting into a very good position half way through their innings.
Again we fielded a slightly weaker side than usual - Gareth and Brian Cole, Carl Dulson and Huw and Geraint Jones - were all unavailable, which meant our task was that much harder.
I have to say that I was pretty nervous before the game. I blame my brother. A couple of weeks ago we had a conversation about how sensible it is to keep taking part in team sports as you get older. Basically, my brother Baz - who plays football not cricket, by the way - was saying he was worried he had lost his pace. I know the feeling; as I said in my final blog of last season, it's not much fun struggling to find any kind of form and it does make you wonder if you've lost whatever scrap of ability you once had. So when the first ball of my spell disappeared back over my head - landing just short of a six - I almost retired on the spot. More of that later...
Back to the game, we won the toss and batted first with the ever-elegant Dave Ryder and rising star Rory Jones starting strongly. They added 30-odd for the first wicket at a decent pace before Rory departed and our collapse started.
First Mike Stokes and then a helmeted Steve Daulby were dismissed, before skipper Justin Evans attempted to steady the ship with some powerful strokes. Unfortunately his time at the crease was cut short and I arrived at the wicket with Dave still holding the innings together.
Dave was the next man out, our eagerness to take quick singles leaving him stranded in the middle of the pitch, as I went on to notch up 11 before attempting one quick single too many and finding myself a few yards short. To be honest, I felt pretty good at the crease - better than I had done for some time - and, if I could just work out to score off my legs, I might have made a useful contribution.
By this point, Jamal Penrose and Dave's son Dominic were at the wicket and we limped on, edging towards 80 before Jamal was out and Ian Lloyd - a late arrival due to confusion over dates - arrived and took us to 83 before being caught out with the last ball of the innings.
That total didn't look like being enough, especially when I opened the bowling and my first delivery was smashed to long on. However, I managed to redeem myself by bowling four dot balls before having Phil James caught by Jamal at square leg. As if by magic, all thoughts about retirement disappeared, even if it wasn't the greatest dismissal of my career.
Ian took the new ball at the other end and bowled their other opener with his first delivery. It was a great start and we suddenly sniffed a chance. I bowled another couple of overs - ending with figures of 1-11 - while Ian was even more miserly at the other end.
When Steve picked up a third wicket leg before - beating their man for pace - we were looking good. After 10 overs, they were 35-odd for three and we were in a promising position. Steve was bowling as well as he has done for some time - he's quick and, being left handed, he causes problems for most batsmen.
Justin was unlucky not to pick up a wicket with his teasing leg spin, but BT consolidated through brothers Ant and Gareth James, before the latter unleashed a flurry of boundaries to take his side to victory with three overs to spare.
It was a desperately disappointing end to the match for us. We'd done well for so much of the game but our total was again a little bit below a decent score and, to be fair to BT, they paced their innings just right.
So it's on to the next game - Cae Glas at our home ground, Whittington, next Wednesday. Hopefully our fortunes will take a turn for the better.
It was with some trepidation then that I approached last night's encounter at Oswestry School, my first outing of the season. My worries were well-founded, we ended up being beaten comfortably despite getting into a very good position half way through their innings.
Again we fielded a slightly weaker side than usual - Gareth and Brian Cole, Carl Dulson and Huw and Geraint Jones - were all unavailable, which meant our task was that much harder.
I have to say that I was pretty nervous before the game. I blame my brother. A couple of weeks ago we had a conversation about how sensible it is to keep taking part in team sports as you get older. Basically, my brother Baz - who plays football not cricket, by the way - was saying he was worried he had lost his pace. I know the feeling; as I said in my final blog of last season, it's not much fun struggling to find any kind of form and it does make you wonder if you've lost whatever scrap of ability you once had. So when the first ball of my spell disappeared back over my head - landing just short of a six - I almost retired on the spot. More of that later...
Back to the game, we won the toss and batted first with the ever-elegant Dave Ryder and rising star Rory Jones starting strongly. They added 30-odd for the first wicket at a decent pace before Rory departed and our collapse started.
First Mike Stokes and then a helmeted Steve Daulby were dismissed, before skipper Justin Evans attempted to steady the ship with some powerful strokes. Unfortunately his time at the crease was cut short and I arrived at the wicket with Dave still holding the innings together.
Dave was the next man out, our eagerness to take quick singles leaving him stranded in the middle of the pitch, as I went on to notch up 11 before attempting one quick single too many and finding myself a few yards short. To be honest, I felt pretty good at the crease - better than I had done for some time - and, if I could just work out to score off my legs, I might have made a useful contribution.
By this point, Jamal Penrose and Dave's son Dominic were at the wicket and we limped on, edging towards 80 before Jamal was out and Ian Lloyd - a late arrival due to confusion over dates - arrived and took us to 83 before being caught out with the last ball of the innings.
That total didn't look like being enough, especially when I opened the bowling and my first delivery was smashed to long on. However, I managed to redeem myself by bowling four dot balls before having Phil James caught by Jamal at square leg. As if by magic, all thoughts about retirement disappeared, even if it wasn't the greatest dismissal of my career.
Ian took the new ball at the other end and bowled their other opener with his first delivery. It was a great start and we suddenly sniffed a chance. I bowled another couple of overs - ending with figures of 1-11 - while Ian was even more miserly at the other end.
When Steve picked up a third wicket leg before - beating their man for pace - we were looking good. After 10 overs, they were 35-odd for three and we were in a promising position. Steve was bowling as well as he has done for some time - he's quick and, being left handed, he causes problems for most batsmen.
Justin was unlucky not to pick up a wicket with his teasing leg spin, but BT consolidated through brothers Ant and Gareth James, before the latter unleashed a flurry of boundaries to take his side to victory with three overs to spare.
It was a desperately disappointing end to the match for us. We'd done well for so much of the game but our total was again a little bit below a decent score and, to be fair to BT, they paced their innings just right.
So it's on to the next game - Cae Glas at our home ground, Whittington, next Wednesday. Hopefully our fortunes will take a turn for the better.
Thursday, 31 July 2008
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.
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.
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