Date: Sat 17th Jul 2010 @ 13:00

Ground: Kibworth CC

Type:  League : Leicestershire County Cricket League - Everards Leicestershire Premier Cricket League

Toss:  Stoughton & Thurnby CC - 1st XI won the toss and decided to bowl

 

1st XI

			R	B	4s	6s
Matt Craven	ct Andrew Fullerton-Smith	b Alex Wyatt	1	28	0	0
Tom Burton	ct Mike Scully	b Tom Wells	13	30	1	0
Greg Smith	ct zain mir	b Stephen Franklin	27	41	3	0
Andrew Smith *	st Andrew Fullerton-Smith	b James Sykes	16	46	1	0
Aadil Ali	Not Out		21	52	1	0
Darren Shaw		b Stephen Franklin	1	11	0	0
richard jackson	LBW	b Stephen Franklin	0	7	0	0
Aamir Mahmood	LBW	b Stephen Franklin	2	8	0	0
Tom Driver	ct Gags Singh	b Tom Wells	9	23	1	0
Russell Spiers	ct Andrew Fullerton-Smith	b Tom Wells	0	1	0	0
steve matthew +	ct Tom Wells	b Alex Wyatt	40	35	7	0
Extras	( 5b  5lb  9w  3nb  )		22
Total	( all out , 47.3 overs)		152

 

Fall Of Wickets

18-1 Tom Burton (Matt Craven*); 20-2 Matt Craven (Greg Smith*);
64-3 Andrew Smith (Greg Smith*); 64-4 Greg Smith (Aadil Ali*);
66-5 Darren Shaw (Aadil Ali*); 68-6 richard jackson (Aadil Ali*);
70-7 Aamir Mahmood (Aadil Ali*); 86-8 Tom Driver (Aadil Ali*);
86-9 Russell Spiers (Aadil Ali*); 152-10 steve matthew (Aadil Ali*);

Bowling

	O	M	R	W	Nb	Wd
Tom Wells	13	1	50	3	0	0
Alex Wyatt	10.3	1	30	2	0	0
James Sykes	10	4	19	1	0	0
Stephen Franklin	14	3	41	4	0	0

 

Stoughton & Thurnby CC - 1st XI

			R	B	4s	6s
Phil Norwell		b Tom Driver	9	0	2	0
Andrew Fullerton-Smith * +	ct richard jackson	b Russell Spiers	22	0	3	0
Chad Yates	ct Greg Smith	b Aamir Mahmood	0	0	0	0
Mike Scully	ct Darren Shaw	b richard jackson	2	0	0	0
Neel Thakrar	ct steve matthew	b Tom Driver	23	0	3	0
Tom Wells	LBW	b Tom Driver	34	0	4	1
Gags Singh	ct Greg Smith	b Tom Driver	0	0	0	0
zain mir	Not Out		29	0	3	0
James Sykes		b Tom Driver	16	0	3	0
Alex Wyatt	LBW	b Tom Driver	0	0	0	0
Stephen Franklin	Not Out		0	0	0	0
Extras	( 1b  4lb  10w  3nb  )		18
Total	(9 wickets, 47.4 overs)		153

 

Fall Of Wickets

21-1 Phil Norwell; 28-2 Chad Yates; 38-3 Mike Scully; 42-4 Andrew Fullerton-Smith;
89-5 Neel Thakrar; 89-6 Gags Singh; 107-7 Tom Wells; 148-8 James Sykes;
148-9 Alex Wyatt; -10 ;

Bowling

	O	M	R	W	Nb	Wd
Aamir Mahmood	13	2	28	1	1	2
Tom Driver	14	0	46	6	2	5
richard jackson	8	2	23	1	0	0
Russell Spiers	10.4	2	37	1	0	0
Darren Shaw	2	0	16	0	0	4

Match report

Team changes from the previous weeks defeat to Kegworth would see Dips on stag do duty, Cobb unavailable due to ankle injury, broughts unavailable, Clarkey getting some batting in the 2’s and the seasonal debut from the catalyst and a returning chuckle 1.

It’s now cheaper to get a speeding fine trying to get to the game on time as opposed to actually paying the new increased late fine. I exaggerate but it’s now £4!. Chuckle decided that as he was verging on late, if he just made it into the dressing room as 12, he would not be fined. So he was in the changing room with a carrier bag and no kit but made a case for abiding by the rules. He would pay £4 as the selector wasn’t having it.

The catalyst was looking forward to sweets, but forgot that broughts wasn’t playing and so a quick trip to the spar would be in order and a selection of haribo bags returned.

With rain about and some warm up Frisbee action, Stoughton won the toss and asked the Kcc boys to bat first. Always difficult if rain around and how to pace the first 25 overs and with a short shower before the game started, we were left with a 48 over a side match.

Stoughton after a difficult start had pulled some good form together and with kcc looking to bounce back, it was set to be a decent game. The Stoughton opening attack was felt to be one of the strongest, with County Duo Wells and Wyatt on a hard and quickish track. Indeed it would take the badger 125 balls to eventually get off the mark. (it was actually about 30but it felt like 3 figures!) To be fair to badge, it was doing all sorts and Burty also found it tough going. Some superb seam bowling with movement both ways kept the runs down. Having got off the mark, the badger was struck down and sawn off for an aledged nick behind. The red mark on his thigh pad was testimony to the fact that actually on this occasion, justice hadn’t been done and the unlucky badger after a wait of 12 minutes, had to walk back to the dressing room and drop some f bombs. Chuckle despite trying to get himself below 4 in the batting order, was made to bat at 3 by selector. With county coach Tim Boon watching from the balcony, chuckle would hope to impress after his 80 odd against Pakistan earlier in the week having run out chuckle 2 by a street.

He indeed looked like he was in the zone and partnered stringy well as they began to build a partnership against the still impressive opening attack. Stringy however was picked up by scully off wells and the selector with his autograph bat and on the back of his Sunday 50, was in at 4. Selector would enjoy batting with chuckle as it gave him the opportunity to keep an eye on him and stop him doing anything silly, like charging down the wicket first ball after lunch and getting stumped, which would be a ridiculous and irresponsible way to perish having created a decent platform. So after drinks were taken, the selector shimmied down the track to the first ball and was stumped/run out. For once chuckle would have something on the selector. On the balcony FK would be miffed as by becoming a stumping victim, FK’s aim of finishing as the keeper with most victims in the prem would take a beating as overseas keeper fullerton-smith would take 3 during the game, with just 1 for FK. Having impressed with his composure the previous week, Aadil was again given the opportunity to show just why he has nailed 1000 runs already, just half way through the season. Having been 80 off for 2, we were now 3 down at the halfway stage. And the bowling change would see pace off with spinner Sykes and the medium pace of franklin. Chuckle perhaps relaxed at the change in bowling and muffed a catch to the eccentric Zain Mir off franklin. 80 odd for 4 and wobble avoidance was needed to set a decent total. Like a set of wobbly jellies, balancing 1 legged on a wobbly thing, stacked on a couple of additional wobbly bits, we wobbled. POTS would be bowled by franklin, jacko missed a straight one LBW to franklin AND Aamir would be given out lbw to one he thought as he had a red mark at the top of his thigh, would probably have not been out, but sometimes it doesn’t go your way, so he took it on the chin and with a knowing smile, trotted back to the pavilion. For legal reasons that’s what happened ok!!. Actually he thought himself jolly unlucky and that the umpire perhaps made an error of judgement in this instance.

So with Aadil grinding out runs at the other end, the catalyst would look to add momentum and not get bogged down as openers wyatt and wells would return to try and wrap up the tail. At 90 odd for 7 a fair bet would be that 150 was some way off, but a wager was soon to take place. The catalyst cut one to former kcc man and now super mario impersonator gaggs and at 90ish for 8, the ledge would look to add some experience in the middle with Ad’s. Wells provided some hostile bowling with the ledge fending one off the chest only to be taken by the keeper and it looked like game over under 100 all out. FK waddled to the crease and with the selector assured of an easy £30 from chuckle who bet him a £1 at 30-1 that we would get 150+, the selector snapped his hand off as perhaps Aadil would survive, but could he farm the strike for 10 overs and keep the podgy gloveman out the way.

With FK’s bat having been used all week by Burty, some of the blonde bombshell’s batting talent had rubbed off onto the willow and FK stroked a majstic off drive from wells and another off the legs. Being a nice chap he refused to go with his colleagues suggestion and bounce the chubster but after an FK cut for 4, he had had enough, as had Wyatt from the other end who didn’t wait long before clonking the helmetless swede of the porky number 11. The glancing blow seemed to make FK more determined and after straightening his cap, crunched the next ball through the covers for 4. FK would receive a few more short ones, but by then was able to swivel his ample weight out of harms way.

At the other end, Aadil was heeding FK advice to use up all the overs and not give them anything and to just focu on putting away the bad ball and see what we could scramble in the remaining overs. The balcony was getting more animated, especially Chuckle who was extremely vocal in his support of the flourishing partnership. 2 things were unusual about this, 1) chuckle normally doesn’t care if he isn’t batting and 2) chuckle normally doesn’t care if he isn’t batting.

Aadil was demonstrating great patience and technique to keep out Wells and Wyatt and as the overs ran down , the duo opened up in the final over. A dodgy hoik from FK got us over 150 and with Chuckle bellowing support from the balcony, you could have been mistaken that a cockspuresque victory had occurred. What actually happened is that by reaching 150, chuckle had won £30 from selector, who indeed post game honoured the bet and then paid the chairman for his 100 club with it.

With 3 balls left, FK holed out with Aadil unbeaten on a mature 21 and FK out for 40 and we had reached 152 somehow.

All we needed was a slice of fortune and some good bowling and who knows what could happen. With the catalyst taking the new ball with the colonel it would prove to be the start of an impressive spell of bowling from the wood chiseler and umpire botherer. Driver bowled a heavy ball and FK and Chuckle would move back noticeably as the lively pace and back of a length bowling would account for opener norwell. Both bowled very good areas and overseas Fullerton smith was fortunate enough not to get a nick on a number that passed the bat. The selector tried for spin to make the breakthrough and it would be jacko picking up the wicket of scully and spiro getting overseas man with the catch of the season (so far) held by jacko at square leg. A hard hit clip of the legs looked a certain boundary but somehow jacko defied gravity and held on to a stunning 1 handed catch to his right in mid air. Its those sort of moments that turn games and this did. Yates back at Stoughton having done nothing at langtons was packed off by the colonel with chuckle taking a decent slip catch.With a bit of self belief back in the ranks selector saw the opportunity to bring back the catalysts and aamir. With his back up, drives banged the ball around in awkward areas and muscled it through wuth a lifeter catching the glove and FK taking one down legside. Wells looked classy with the bat and a large six was followed by some good strokeplay and it was an inswinger which trapped him infront LBW. The colonel was keeping things tight at the other end and helping build pressure as another wicket for driver as a nasty bouncer had Gaggs in trouble and the top edge taken by chuckle running back at 1st slip.
Tango spinner Sykes is also no mug with the bat as he proved in the first kleague encounter and he was being coached by Zain Mir. Anyone watching Zain bat, would probably suggest that dishing out batting advice wouldn’t be his strong point, but he proved to be an awkward customer and despite playing and missing a fair bit, he was well up for it. The catalyst knocked the Kirby like sykes off stump out the ground followed shortly after by getting a second LBW as gangly paceman and FK head bruiser Wyatt couldn’t get his legs out the way and it was 9 down and 4 needed in the last over.

An excellent spell of bowling from driver yielded 6 wickets for 46 in his 14 overs and if you could have anyone bowling with the pressure on in the last over it would be the ledge. The first 3 balls either went straight into FK’s gloves or found a fielder and it looked with the field spread that a boundary was out of reach of young mir. The pressure didn’t seem to bother him and like his kcc playing relation Imran, he didn’t seem to be fussed with goings on. The 4th ball was a good ball that with a swing of the bat, managed to club in the gap between bowler and mid on at pace out of the middle of the bat and over the ropes. A very good game to watch for spectators and a well fought victory in the end for Stoughton who continued to go for the win to their credit and credit to Zain for his Zany batting style and gutsy finish.

The batting will still keep the selector awake at night as will some of the decisions that have gone against us so far. I know it tends to even itself out in a season, but so far it’s just not been going our way on decisions. The penultimate over from the colonel saw a pretty adjacent LBW turned down and was probably the best shout of the day as franklin played from the crease and it hit him on the kneeroll infront of middle and leg which would have been the difference between 7points and 23 points. Varied results elsewhere mean its all up for grabs still and the title could go 1 of 5 ways.

Still spilt milk and all that. A back to back weekend to come with cup semi final away at broomleys on Sunday and a bounce back trip away to sileby on Saturday.

If you can get down to Ivanhoe on Friday to cheer on the under 17’s in their cup game it would be goot to have some away fans and look forward to the winning under 15’s side beating Wellingborough at home this Sunday 11am start in their aim of national glory.

FK in now condones or endorses betting and gambling on the results of sporting fixtures and no member of the team has at any stage taken money to influence the outcome of a game or element thereof. Although I was given a leather jacket for some info on Abbo’s track for this Saturday?