Rob scores 1st 100 of season and youth do well too
Monday 30th April 2007
With unbelievably good weather for the 1st League games of the season, the club suffered mixed fortunes on the 1st weekend of the season. The normal early season unavailability meant both Saturday sides went out with weaker sides than hoped for and whilst the 2nds came away with an excellent hard fought victory, the 1sts went down to a hard scrapped 3 wicket defeat at home to Rollesby.
Batting first, there were promising starts from Rob, Breamo and Craig but the batting plaudits have to go to Krusty whose 63 was not only his highest League score in his 13th season at the club but also by all accounts a thoroughly entertaining innings. Defending only 163 was never going to be easy with the wickets being shared by Doddsy, Rob, Craig on debut and Mike, whose 12 over spell included 7 maidens. Considering the strength of the team, this was an excellent effort and whilst defeat is always disappointing, the effort and team spirit should hold the team in good stead for the rest of the season.
For the 2nds, they notched up an excellent 28 run victory over Norwich Union B. Having unsurprisingly lost the toss, they notched up a handy 193-7 with batting plaudits going to Beefy, Statto and Simon with arguably Jeeth's stroke filled cameo of 31 being the batting highlight.
Following the batting was an excellent fielding and bowling performance with Sparksey, J and Jez leading the way with the ball. It got tight towards the end but all 11 players can be well pleased with the effort and the start made.
On Sunday, the A team kicked off their season with an exzcellent win at home to Belton. Batting first and again with an understrength side, the teams total of 191-4 was dominated by Rob's unbeaten 110, his 8th career hundred for the club. He was ably supported by both Stus in two 50+ partnerships. In the field, wickets were shared around with Paul on debut snapping up 4, Oaky, Stu and youngsters Jordan and Jake finishing the innings off with 2 apiece. An excellent team performance and a great start to the season.
Rounding off the weekend was the 2nds trip away to Burston. Skippered by club legend Ernie, the side included eight U-15's and was a fantastic performance by all involved. Bowling first, the opposition were kept to 227-7 with debut wickets for Matt, Billy, Peter and others for Sparkesy and J. The fielding and catching for such a young team was also fantastic, as was the enthusiasm. Batting wise, nobody let the team down but the highlights came from Josh D and Jamie and a record club 10th wicket partnership between Ernie and Sparkesy. We're lucky enough to have a number of really talented youngsters playing for the club and exposure to adult cricket alongside the same level of effort should mean they make excellent progress this summer.
Overall, not a bad weekend. 2 wins, 2 defeats and several notable performances. The season has started well, the club spirit is fantastic - looking forward to the 3 games this weekend already.