Thursday evening in my absence saw Jarrod take the helm away at Southwell. Batting first we reached a decent but not insurmountable total of 86-2, Jack Spafford bringing his good under 15 form to the crease retiring on 35 of 37 balls, supported by Logan Wyatt 24 and Ryder Wyatt not out for 10. My spies inform me the combination of a low skiddy wicket and a leg side line from the Southwell bowlers restricted our ability to push on to a big score. Southwell reached the total with an over to spare for the loss of 3 wickets, one of their batsmen also retiring on 35. Wickets for Teddy Cregan, Ethan Scully and under 11 Cameron Andrew. Sources tell me at times fielders were a little deep and not walking in which made the run chase easier but still a decent fielding effort from a side in their first season together.
Tuesday night saw the under 13's travel to Kirkby Portland in a re arranged league fixture. Only being able to muster 8 players due to a school performance, injuries and various other reasons we were promised the opposition would provide us with fielding cover, so the decision was taken to fulfill the fixture on a rare pleasant evening. Batting first we got off to solid start with Jack Spafford and Logan Wyatt seeing off the new ball with 19 runs on the board. The introduction by Kirkby of very slow, loopy spin proved our undoing though, as senior players Jack for 9 and Ryder for 0 were dismissed in identical fashion. Logan remained, as partners came and went until he was eventually dismissed for a top score of 18. John Kirkby was the final wicket too fall, not before playing the shot of the night, a delightful cover drive Joe Root would have been proud of. A final score of 50 was never going to be enough, although with 8 batsmen we always were up against it, losing 5 wickets bowled though from a coaches perspective was a little concerning and something we had discussed before the start of the game. Kirkby reached the total in the 15th over with one player alone contributed 32 of the 53 runs they scored, all bowlers were economical, Logan with the only wicket. If only we had scored another 20 or 30 runs!!
Since reporting/masterminding the giant killing of MHM, Claudio and Calverton under 15's have played a further 3 games, unfortunately resulting in 2 losses but also a victory, tactically stolen(backed up by some tight bowling!) from the jaws of defeat.
The first of our two losses came at the hands of Cuckney, on what can only be described as a bleak, cold, wet and windy night. Having cancelled a home match the night before due to similar conditions in the interest of the players, spectators and the tinker man himself we ended up having to travel north on this night with a very young and inexperienced side for a reduced overs game. Batting first Cuckney went on the rampage amassing 118-3 off their 15 overs Olly Lees and Ethan Wright picking up a wicket a piece plus a run out, a couple of catches were spilt but this was not a night for fielding. Batting second we reached a respectable 84-4 off our 15 overs Sam Waghorn, Stanley Tatham and in particular Jack Spafford making notable contributions. Our second loss of the season came at the hands of Papplewick in the cup.... as we all know though Claudio's eyes were only ever on the league! Batting first 93-7 off our 20 overs was always going to be below par against a strong Papp side, with some very miserly bowling and an inability from us to rotate the strike being our downfall. Only Evan Poole (24) and Jack Spafford (23*) towards the end of our innings showing the impetus required. Batting second Papplewick soon chased down the target for the loss of only two wickets with a couple of bowlers particularly being put too the sword. Our one victory came against Sherwood Colliery on what only can be described as a moist Monday evening, the entire journey there requiring windscreen wipers to help us through the Mansfield murk. For those who decided to make the effort to travel, we arrived in steady rainfall to a greasy but not boggy outfield, it was therefore decided that we would make a start in a reduced 15 overs game. After electing to bat one of Claudio's favoured motto’s being “a quick games a good game” (particularly when its raining) was literally taken to heart by some of the Calverton batsmen, playing all round straight balls, gifting catches and generally not doing themselves justice in reaching a disappointing 60 at the end of our allotted overs, Evan Poole top scoring with 16. Now the author of the piece, not only being a tinker man but also a thinker man had become aware whilst umpiring in the rain that scoring the required runs may not be as easy as Sherwood first anticipated. Emphasising this during a rousing team talk, with particular reference to the slowing outfield and a need to bowl straight but not necessarily fast a tactical decision was made to not open with the express pace of Stanley Tatham. This reaped early rewards once we took the field with Rhyun Nagur removing Sherwood’s star player well caught at point by Erika Bell for 2. Sherwood did then rebuild and at 30-1 after 7 things weren’t looking good but captain Sam inspirationally tossed the ball to Ethan Wright who proceeded to bowl with remarkable control and accuracy for a leg spinner using what resembled a bar of soap to return with figures of 3-2-7-2. Backed up by Ryder Wyatt and Stanley Tatham and some good fielding wickets began to fall and the pressure began to build 53-4 after 12 overs became 58-5 with one over remaining the excitement was palpable. Stanley off a reduced run up had already bowled with improved control but only requiring 3 to win Sherwood were still in the box seat. Stanley however proceeded to send down some excellent death bowling to finish the game and claim victory with a double wicket maiden. Certainly a game of two halves, we must improve our batting but the bowlers and the fielders can be proud of their resilience in the field to snatch victory from what seemed a certain loss. Men/Women of the match- The bowlers and fielders EASY RYDER
On a rare! delightful summers evening at GLA, Calverton under 13's belatedly began their 2016 season, in a league and cup double header against Hucknall CC. Batting first, things were looking ominous with both openers Jack Spafford and Logan Wyatt departing for ducks followed shortly by captain Ethan Scully, also without troubling the scorer. With the total on 22 for 4 after 4 overs a lot now rested on the shoulders of senior pro Ryder Wyatt and the younger less experienced members of the side to put runs on the scoreboard for us to defend. Although losing Erika Bell and John Kirkby for partners, Ryder remained resolute, ticking the scoreboard along and soon finding an able ally in Teddy Gregan, the pair batted sensibly until the 11th over when Teddy was bowled for 11. The fifth player out of 6 wickets to be bowled highlights a need for work on our defence, shot selection and knowing where our stumps are! The loss of Teddy bought Josh Santos to the crease, who helped Ryder reach the 35 runs required to retire, Josh and Harry Wood then demonstrated some great running between the wickets until Harry was run out in the 17th over trying to push the score along. Two further run outs then saw Ryder return to the crease to join Josh and get the side to a very respectable 107-9 of the 20 overs, Ryder not out on 42 and Josh also not out on 20. In reply Hucknall got off to a decent start with boundaries and extras costing us dearly early on. Thankfully Logan then Ryder took a wicket a piece to remove their openers followed by some tight bowling in the middle overs by Teddy, Hamish and John piling the pressure onto Hucknall. This allowed Jack Spafford (2-1-7-2) and Erika Bell to remove Hucknalls middle order in their hunt to chase down the target. A run out by Ryder and a wicket for captain Ethan curtailed any chance of Hucknall reaching our total with the overs running out on the score at 94-7. From a managers perspective it was nice to get an early victory, whilst also progressing in the cup. As a team though we certainly need to learn and improve in the batting department, particularly in our defence and running between the wickets. MOM- Undoubtedly Ryder Wyatt Despite it being Mid Monsoon season the under 10’s managed to complete their second game of the season on a humid but overcast “Summer’s” morning. Winning the toss Calverton opted to bat first and got off to a solid start with 25 runs from the first two pairs without the loss of any wickets. Caythorpe’s bowler’s then had a magical spell taking 5 wickets in 12 balls, which really put the brakes on the scoreboard. The last pair of Lachlan and Jacob managed some better running between the wickets and when batting straight Jacob demonstrated some excellent technique. With a final score of 197 the only chance of victory would be to bowl accurately and to take regular wickets. In what was a game of two halves the bowling and fielding was nothing short of excellent, with only 3 byes conceded in his first ever hardball match Dan kept admirably and after the first two pairs had completed their overs we were in with a very good shout with runs hard to come by, very few extras and 4 wickets taken, Caythorpe were only on 195. Unfortunately the boys only managed one more wicket so Caythorpe finished on 229, but Jacob’s catch and Lachlans superb bowling were the highlights of a good display.
Man of the match – Lachlan Corns- 4 wickets for 8 runs from 3 overs. Calverton 197 for 7 Caythorpe 229 for 5 On a bitterly cold Summers evening (you’d be easily mistaken for thinking it more 1st February to 1st June) the under 11’s registered their first victory of the season.
Opting to field first Josh and Harry both took a wicket a piece in their first overs meaning that after the first pair the score was only 7 with the loss of two wickets. The improvements in the field were particularly noticeable and this resulted in two run outs. On a cold evening with a wet ball it was difficult to keep control at times and again we gave way a number of unnecessary runs through wides and no balls, but tonight wickets were taken throughout the innings so in the end Calverton were able to restrict MHM to a net score of 210. The boys were understandably pleased with their first half performance but if wickets were lost it would be in vain, so the main instruction was to keep their wickets in tact. They did this superbly and didn’t lose a wicket until the 13th over. Runs were scored throughout the innings by everyone, but particularly pleasing was the calling and running between the wickets. The improvements in this area since the start of the season have been brilliant, with understanding about hitting gaps and early calling really starting to shine through. So in the end with 270 being scored and only one wicket lost the boys can be very proud of a good display, again played completely in the right spirit, if not the right temperature. Well done to you all. Man of the Match Harry Beak – 10 runs and 1 wicket for only 3 runs from his two overs. MHM 258 Net 210 Calverton 270 net 264 |
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