|
|
Ashover Cricket Club
Second X1 Past Reports
Old Whittington (A) Mansfield Hosiery Mills (H) Woodsetts (A) Rockware (A) Old Whittington (H) Wiseton A Mansfield Hosiery Mills (A) Wiseton H Pretty Polly (H) Kiveton Park (A)
Left to right.
Back row, David Bush, Charlie Gwillim, Rick Holland, Jack Bradford, Mark Winson, Dave Cooke,
Bill Vermeulen, Kev Godfrey
Front row, Thelly Bolstridge (scorer), Merrick Bull, Michael Bloore, Andy Colleyshaw
Recently, Ashover's second team have had a tendency to start the season very slowly, scoring few runs, but today they bucked the trend.
Under the influence of new Captain Dave Cooke, we got off to a flier on a cold, windy and often grey day. The wicket was wet on top, but in good condition, well able to take more water if, as anticipated, it rained during the game.
Old Whittington won the toss and elected to bat, making a slow solid start, until Bill Vermeulen removed one of the openers. Charlie Gwillim then weighed in with two wickets in two balls, before a brilliant piece of fielding by Bill resulted in a run out to leave Old Whittington struggling with four wickets down. However, aided by some indifferent fielding and dropped catches, the home team recovered to close on 144 for 6 off of their 46 overs, with Charlie Gwillim taking the last two wickets to fall (also taking some punishment in the process).
The Ashover reply started with a single off the first ball to Kev Godfrey, but unfortunately this was the only time that he troubled the scorer, being bowled for one.
Next in was young Mark Winson, another product of the Dave Cooke Youth Academy, and he and Jack Bradford set about the task. We were also aided by indifferent fielding and dropped catches and both batsmen took advantage of their good fortune, Jack accumulating his runs deceptively (thanks Bill!) and Mark playing a little more aggressively. It was a race to see who could reach their fifty first and it was Jack who just pipped Mark to the post and Mark was then bowled for 48.
Next in was Bill Vermeulen who signalled his intent by dispatching his first ball for a boundary on his way to a quick 29 and victory by eight wickets, with 8.1 overs to spare, Jack finishing on 63 not out.
All in all, a satisfactory start to the season (even the rain kept off).
Check
out the Old Whittington report : http://freespace.virgin.net/oldwhitt.cc/matches.htm
Left to right: Back row. J. Bradford, A. Colleyshaw, C. Gwillim, D. Cooke, W. Vermeulen, R. Holland
Front row. L. Rhodes, D. Bush, S. Gerrard, A. Patel (Absent, K. Godfrey)
It was a reasonable day for playing cricket, but not one which even hinted at what was to follow, namely Ashover setting a new club record.
Mansfield Hosiery Mills won the toss and elected to bat on a slow but benign pitch, making a good start, scoring 26 from the first 5 overs, with D. Betts playing aggressively. When he had reached 15 he was dropped, going on to reach 29 before being caught by Kev Godfrey for 29 off Charlie Gwillim's bowling with the score on 43. Next to go was P. Aldread for 10, bowled by David Bush in his first bowling stint for Ashover, with the total on 47. This brought in Russ Lucas to partner Ben Rossi, who was dropped before he had scored. These two then set about accumulating runs over the next 18 overs, adding 75 runs before Kev Godfrey bowled Ben Rossi for 27.
With the score standing at 123 for 3 after 32 overs, a big total was on the cards, but the reintroduction of Charlie Gwillim into the act, coupled with tight bowling by Kev, put the brakes on and once Russ Lucas departed (knackered) bowled by Charlie for 53, wickets fell regularly and Mills were all out for 158, a very attainable total.
However, disaster was lurking just around the corner and abject batting coupled with good bowling saw Ashover slump to 4 for 5 and looking down the barrel.
Things didn't improve much and the only hope was to try and beat the Club's lowest ever score, achieved in 1970. Even this was beyond us and we were all out for 20, with Dave Cooke unbeaten on 11, the only man to show any application in the Ashover batting.
Congratulations to Mills, with S. Betts returning figures of 5 for 7 (best ever?), D. Brittlebank 3 for 4, P. Aldread 2 for 3 and one tidy over of spin from young Master New.
6
Ashover players achieved 
It was a very damp grey day when we arrived at Shireoaks to play Woodsetts, but the gloom was lifted by an astonishing revelation from one of the Ashover players.
The player (who' s identity I will not reveal at present) was recollecting his first visit to the ground as being the day after he lost his virginity. He hastily realised his mistake but it was too late, all we have to find out now is the girl's name - and we will!
Ashover won the toss and elected to field, the start being delayed by 15 minutes due to the conditions, which were surprisingly good given the rain that had fallen overnight.
It was a hard slog for both teams, but Woodsetts definitely had the better of the opening session against the bowling of Iain Broome and Charlie Gwillim, with J. Parker and D. Johnson putting on 56 for the first wicket before Johnson was caught by wicket keeper Godfrey off the bowling of Roger Bolstridge for 32. A. Mosely came in and helped to keep the pressure on the fielding side, but the game changed course when Parker departed for 33 with the score on 84, again off the bowling of Roger Bolstridge and a catch by Iain Broome.
Wickets then started to come as the runs slowed up, only two other Woodsetts batsmen reached double figures, Mosely with 11 and H.Tomlinson with a brisk 16. Roy Bolstridge and Joe Alexander joined Iain Broome in being unable to get amongst the wickets, Roger Bolstridge taking 6 for 37 off 17 and Charlie Gwillim 3 for 33 off 16.
The Woodsetts score closed on 119 for 9, one short of a batting point.
Ashover's reply was a cautious affair, but suffered an early upset after Kev Godfrey was bowled by I. Armitage for 4, falling the ball after he had top edged into his face, with the score on 5. Mark Winson joined Dave Cooke and they made steady progress to 29 before Cookey was caught by I. Armitage off the bowling of J. Parker for 15. Next in was Roger Bolstridge who shored up the innings despite losing Mark Winson for 6 with the total on 39, Mark going to a catch by wicket keeper N. Cooke off I. Armitage, bringing David Bush to the crease, anxious to atone for his blank in the previous match.
This pair put on a respectable 29 before Roger fell to a catch by wicket keeper Cooke off R. Lee, for an invaluable 32 and this gave an opportunity for Mark Waring upon his debut. Mark and David played confidently, adding 19 before Mark was caught by H. Tomlinson, bowled Lee for 10. Next up was big Joe Alexander, desperate to redeem himself for falling short of his high standards in his bowling spell and they tied the scores up on 119, when Joe was bowled by I. Armitage for 16.
Charlie Gwillim and Danny Higgon both came and went without troubling the scorers, leaving Iain Broome to hit the winning run with an over to spare, David Bush finishing with an unbeaten 24.
The Woodsetts wickets were shared between I. Armitage with 4 for 49 off 17, J. Parker with 1 for 2 9off 11 and R. Lee with 2 for 27 off 13. M. Roe finished his 4 overs wicketless.
A hard earned win and another 17 points in the bag, but the real plus point was the performance of the Ashover youngsters who were a credit to themselves and the Club.
Ashover seconds continued their promising start to the season with a hard fought win on an unpredictable pitch.
Batting first, Ashover made steady rather than spectacular progress with Kev Godfrey making 24 and Huw Champion 25, before a collapse saw 5 wickets fall for 2 runs. Geoff Vardy (25) steadied the ship and in partnership with Roy Bolstridge, added 27 for the last wicket, ensuring that all the overs were used and that a batting point was in the bag. The Ashover total was 134 all out.
Rockware's bowlers shared the wickets, S.Dean 1 for 43, G. Atherton 2 for 24, R. Nash 1 for 23, M. Dean 5 for 15.
In reply the home side made a poor start, losing 2 wickets with the total on 9 and continued to lose wickets steadily, slumping to 53 for 8, before a late rally by P. Billam (24) and G. Atherton (25 not out) ensured a nervous spell ended by Roy Bolstridge capturing the last Rockware wicket and a 24 run win.
Ashover's wicket takers were Charlie Gwillim 7 for 36, Lee Rhodes 2 for 32, Roy Bolstridge 1 for 16.
Looking bleak at Ashover (and not just the result!)
Lorna & Edith Bradford who provided a superb tea for us, thanks girls - Brilliant!
As nobody has come forward and offered to do match reports for the Second X1, I have come to the conclusion that our players are not interested in these matters and I am not prepared to do them myself any longer. Apologies to anyone who reads these reports, but I suspect that there is more support outside the club than inside for them. If you have any views on this, whether you are part of Ashover or not, please post them on the message board.
Check out the details on the Old Whittington site (thanks to Pete Whitely)
http://freespace.virgin.net/oldwhitt.cc/matches.htm
Changeable weather, coupled with Ashover CC’s hostile bowling attack, led to Pretty Polly finding runs hard to get. Keen fielding from Ashover kept the runs to a minimum, and wickets inevitably fell. Tidy bowling from from C. Gwillim 3 for 25 off 17.1, L.Rhodes 2 for 41 off 11 and a five wicket haul for G.Vardy finishing with 5 for 30 off 10. Two good catches from D. Bush and one from Joe Alexander put pressure on the Pretty Polly batsmen. Unfortunately Gwillim failed to take a caught and bowled attempt, but given his recent history in these circumstances, some may say it was inevitable he would drop it. B. Farnsworth batted well for a gritty 25. The lower order Pretty Polly batsmen began to accelerate, G.Farnsworth making a quick 33, but Ashover took control. Rhodes made an excellent catch diving low in front of him, pleasing every one on the Ashover team. This meant extra overs to knock them off and the prospects of an early tea! Pretty Polly finished up 101 all out.
A run rate of 2 an over looked a reachable target. H. Champion and D. Bush opened up the batting for Ashover, however Champion departed quickly with the score at 0 for 1. Joe Alexander, who at the time of the dismissal was relaxing in the pavilion after a sumptuous tea (many thanks to tea lady) left for the middle in the hope of a good knock with his favored batting partner D. Bush. Alas, it was not to be as Bush, playing an attacking drive, was caught at mid off for 5. Dave Cook pushed steadily with Joe, but it was not long before Joe was on the receiving end of an L.B.W decision much to the dismay of the on looking crowd. Amil Patel looking solid at the crease, steadied the innings, however was caught behind for four after a spell of good bowling from the Pretty Polly side. The Ashover middle order tried to stop the rot, but it was turning into a classical collapse, three wickets were lost for a total of 7 runs, the score now on 29 for 7. Pretty Polly went from strength to strength, pleased by the bowling points they were quickly accumulating. Charlie Gwillim strode to the crease at number 10 and proceeded to play a beautiful text book drive for four, but fell to his standard style of dismissal, the ‘unfortunate’ L.B.W. The lower order batsmen offered little resistance, much like the rest of the team and Ashover were skittled out for a measly 35. A disappointing performance with the bat for the Ashover team but all credit to the Pretty Polly bowling with F.Brown taking 5 of 19 off 12 and both A. Raynham and G. Farnsworth picking up 2 wickets on the cheap.
Joe
Ian Brailsford receives a few words of wisdom from Captain Dave Cooke.
The pavilion of Mansfield Hosiery Mills came into view as we rounded the bend. It was sure to be a grand day out, the car park was bigger than many grounds.
Ashover fielded first on a slow pitch with a wet outfield. Mills scored steadily but I cannot say quite how steadily, as no figures are available. I do, however, recall clapping on a few occasions and therefore believe a few of the Hosiery Mills batsmen to have scored 50’s. The Ashover opening bowlers occasionally troubled the batsmen, but were unable to take any wickets. Ashover never attacked Hosiery Mills and as a result there were plenty of singles to be found. Godfery took 4 wickets for 68 off 13. There were a couple of catches taken during Ashover’s spell in the field, unfortunately I have slept since so cannot name names. I will assure you they were good efforts and invaluable contributions. Hosiery Mills kept the score board ticking at over 4 an over and subsequently finished up at 180 for 5 just gaining the extra batting point.
The teams made their way into the luxurious pavilion for a spot of tea, and a jolly good natter. Plans were revealed by Gwillim the devious mastermind for a development on the Ashover web site, trust nobody!!
The Ashover batsmen headed off to face the formidable bowling attack that had lead them to an embarrassing defeat earlier on in the season. A sigh of relief was heard throughout the away supporters as we reached 21 runs. Unfortunately wickets fell rapidly, Cooke and Godfrey tried to steady the innings after the openers got out on the cheap. At the fall of Cooke’s wicket Bush joined Godfrey at the crease for a very brief spell before getting out and I quote. ‘ I went forward to it thinking this one can go, then I kinda realized I should have gone back, then I sort of left it and it bowled me’. Godfrey went on to score 32 before being caught of the bowling of Hudson, who ended up with 3 wickets. Brailsford joined Alexander at the crease and proceeded to smash two sixes and a four despite assuring me that his eyes were spinning and he couldn’t see the ball any way. Vardy batted well to scoring 15, and Gwillim must have been feeling very ill as he managed 16. Ashover finished up on 118 for 9 off 46 just two runs short of a batting point. The crowd were then treated to an angry dispute as to whether Gwillim should have scored two more runs, for Gwillim to even score two runs is an incredible feat so leave him alone.
Joe
On
a very murky day in Wiseton the Ashover players eventually found the ground, and straight away had to go out and field, on which looked an
unusually good wicket compared to anything we'd had all season.
The
duo of messieurs Vardy and Bush were to open the bowling for Ashover and the Wiseton batting line up looked to take the quick singles with
the fielding side missing opportunities to run out one of the openers on a
couple of occasions. Vardy and Bush had been bowling pretty well but then the
rain came and the umpires decided to go off. The two teams had been off for around 30 minutes when the rain stopped
so some sort of law came in to play which in my opinion doesn't make any sense at all. (Anyone wanting to know this law ask Dave Cooke) After the
rain stopped the umpires said that we wouldn't be playing for another 20 minutes so we should take tea. The look on everyone's faces when he said
this was one of astonishment as the time was 2:50. I was particularly not in the mood for this as I had only had my lunch at 1:30 and on a few occasions I
haven't even had my breakfast at this time.
Anyway, after tea the players went back out and the first break through was made when Vardy bowled one of the openers. Then Bush was replaced after
bowling 7 overs but failing to get a wicket. His replacement Rowan Patel made a
breakthrough with his 2nd ball, clean bowling the Wiseton batsman with a full
toss.
After a stale period, Roy Bolstridge was brought on to bowl and took a wicket in either his first or second over. (The excitement of the whole game
has blurred my memory) Then after this the players went off for another rain
break, but this one was not as long and we were only off for around 15 minutes. Only two more wickets fell after the second break for rain, one to Roy
and the other to Dave Cooke. Wiseton eventually declared on 161 for 5 with
one of the Wiseton batsman (sorry no names) finishing on 60 something.
With no tea, and the prospect of batting out for a losing draw till 8 o'clock, I
decided to sit down get settled and read a magazine. Should I have done this?
Well what do you think, anyone who has watched or knows anything about Ashover
2nd X1, would know this to be a big mistake, because as soon as I had started reading a very old magazine about
Derbyshire's prospects for this season, I was having to equip myself for a very short time
at the crease. By the time I had gone in at number 5, Kev Godfrey was out trying to
pull a short ball only to find it nestling in the hands of square leg. Then Ian Saxton stepped up to the crease and was pushed straight back down
getting caught behind of his second ball for 0. Rowan Patel then made a short journey to the wicket before being caught by D. Pike.
So as I walked out to the crease and the score on around 10, I had memories of Mansfield Hosiery Mills and Pretty Polly (I could go ,on but I
wouldn't like to bore you!) burdened by having the hopes of the team resting on
my shoulders. I had been in for around 10 minutes or not even that, when Jack
Bradford said the worst thing possible to me in that situation "We've just
got to bat it out mate", do I really have to explain what happened next?
Next in was Amil Patel but it wasn't long before we had another rain delay. And
at this time I really could have done with something to eat.
After the break Amil is sent back for 0 after being bowled. Geoff then joined Jack at the crease and these two batted out the rest of the overs till the match
was stopped at 8 o'clock, Jack finishing with a very good 35 and Geoff on 8, the
score at a classical total of 53!
A pretty good all round game if not for the rain breaks, at a very nice ground except for a lot of very annoying sheep!
Ashover finishing with 8 points which is probably better than expected.
Bushy
On
a glorious day at Ashover, the 2nd XI took on Wiseton after taking 8 points the
week before against the same team. Ashover won the toss and decided to bat which
at the time seemed an interesting decision for the home team’s inferior
attack.
Kev Godfrey and Jack Bradford opened the batting and were looking solid until
some hesitant running led to the first wicket, and Kev was on his way back. Next
in was Andy Colleyshaw and after despatching the ball to the boundary a couple
of times he was sent back to the pavilion.
After Andy was Ronin Patel who, like last week, was caught close in for 0. Then
Dave Cooke came to the crease on the verge of another huge collapse for
his side. After he and Jack had been out there for about 5 minutes there was
another catastrophe for the Ashover batting line up as Jack clipped one and a
great catch by the man at first slip saw Jack strolling back.
Then Amil Patel joined Dave and was bowled for 5. The Ashover scorecard showing
the score at 24 for 5. Next in was David Bush and it was Cookie and Bushy who
started to hold the innings together, after being at the crease together for
over an hour and putting on around 60, Bush was caught for 25 at slip.
After being sat around probably more than he expected Wayne Carline joined Dave
at the wicket and proceeded to hit at quick fire 20 before being dismissed. Then
Dave Cooke was also sent back to the pavilion after making a match saving 59,
with the Ashover innings finishing on 156 all out, the best total of the season.
Then the Wiseton boys came out to bat and most of this innings I can't actually
remember, I was re living my 25, but I do recall that a young boy opened the
batting and, after being cocky and making Geoff Vady wait, Geoff suitably bowled
him next ball and the childish young boy walked off shouting obscenities.
Unlucky Mate.
Wiseton didn't look like they were going to chase the total until a middle order
batsman duly started to slap the whole team around the Ashover ground. With 10
overs to play Wiseton required around 35, and with the way this certain man was
going they looked like getting it with ease.
But there was to be another turning point. "The Professor" Roy
Bolstridge sent down a good ball and the man who was getting all the runs, who's
name I do not know, was caught by Geoff Vardy. Then a massive collapse took
place and with one ball to go the two remaining Wiseton batsmen needed 6 runs
and Ashover needed one wicket.
All the pressure lay on the shoulders of Dave Cooke and you could see that the
Wiseton batsman looked incapable of hitting a six, but there was still a lot of
tension amongst the massive crowd
that had flocked in to watch (well about 10). Dave tossed it up to the batsman,
he took a massive swing for the ball and missed, allowing the ball to strike
middle stump, leaving the players and bustling crowd to go wild, and letting
Ashover claim their first twenty points since 11th May.
After the match one of the Wiseton players put the whole match in to context in
one sentence "We've snatched defeat from the jaws of victory" very
well said.
A good performance from the Ashover team coming from two very bad positions to
win the match which moves us off the bottom of the league.
Bushy J
Ashover arrived at Kiveton Park to find a very soggy and green pitch awaiting them, hardly surprising given the previous few days’ weather, which suggested that winning the toss could prove to be very important.
Stand in skipper Charlie Gwillim proved to be up to that particular task and duly asked Kiveton Park to bat with D. Mansfield and D. Richardson opening. Their progress was slow and arduous against the experienced and accurate Ashover opening pair of Charlie Gwillim and Roger Bolstridge, with only 17 runs coming from the first 16 overs.
At the 22 over mark, Charlie withdrew from the attack to be replaced by David Bush, back from holiday in Menorca, who didn’t do himself justice on the day and was replaced in the attack by Charlie in the 33rd over, with the score standing at 92 for 0. This change paid an early dividend, Charlie striking when, with the score on 94, D. Richardson lobbed the ball to Bushy at midwicket and departed for a hard earned 40, bringing P. Cooper to the middle.
The next wicket to fall was that of D. Mansfield, who holed out to a superb catch by Roger at long on for 65, to give Charlie his second wicket, with the score standing on 112 for 2 after 37 overs and he was replaced at the crease by L. Wright.
There was now considerable pressure on the batsmen to up the scoring rate, but with only another 26 runs coming from from the last 9 overs, and P. Cooper falling prey to Roger for 9, thanks to a very sharp catch by Jack Bradford.L. Wright departed to a catch by Graham Bradford for 10, which gave Charlie his 3rd wicket and K. McKeenan came and went for 2, being Charlie’s 4th wicket, having being caught by Andy “colander hands” Colleyshaw.
A mention must be made of the final over of the innings, bowled by Roger, when Kiveton Park needed four runs to claim another batting point, but thanks to superb bowling, only managed 2, one of which was a mis-field , and Kiveton closed on 138 for 5 after 46 overs.
Following a superb tea, many thanks to the tea ladies who really did us proud, Jack Bradford and Kev Godfrey opened the Ashover reply, but Jack was soon back in the hutch for 2 with only 11 runs on the board, edging C. Storey to keeper Chris Gilbert and this brought Ian Saxton to the crease. Jack was quickly followed by Kev, who edged to J. Gilbert at slip off the bowling of K. McKeenan, for 9, with the total on 13.
Ian’s stay was brief, falling in the same over as Kev, to another excellent slip catch by J. Gilbert for 2.
Six overs gone and Ashover staring down the barrel at 14 for 3 – could the Ashover youngsters steady the ship?. Rohan Patel batted well for his 8 runs, being trapped LBW by D. Richardson and Paul Alexander took up the fight, striking the ball well, before inexplicably deciding to go for a 4th run and was run out well short, having contributed a breezy 14., total 35 for 5.
David Bush came and went for 2, bowled by D. Richardson and then ensued Ashover’s best stand of the day between Graham Bradford and Amil Patel, before Amil was unluckily bowled by a misbehaving delivery for 9 and was replaced by the experienced Roger Bolstridge.
Next to go with the total on 64 was Graham Bradford, caught by D. Tipton off the bowling of C. Storey, top scoring for his team with 19, bringing Andy Colleyshaw to the middle, who immediately showed his intent by striking D. Richardson through long on for 4, before his lack of mobility resulted in him being run out for 5.
The Ashover total now stood at 74 for 9 with 11 over remaining and the onus was on skipper Charlie and Roger to try and save the game. They successfully negotiated the next few overs with no problems until, in the 43 over, an unsupported half hearted appeal for a catch behind by bowler K. McKeenan against Charlie, resulted in the umpire’s finger going up faster than Hiroshima in 1945 and Ashover being robbed of a draw that they looked well set for, Roger stranded on 16.
All credit to the Kiveton Park boys for a game played in a good spirit and good luck to them in their quest for promotion.
