Disaster! After a week of rain and two 2020 match postponements we were all pleased with the break in the weather allowing us a match at home to Fleetwood on Saturday. With Captain Alcock winning the toss and electing to field, we felt we had a good chance of getting some early breakthoughs in bowler frinedly conditions. After dropping their opener first ball and then with him not walking after a clear edge caught behind, things were not looking good. We battled on and Dave Lever took 4 wickets to end the innings with Fleetwood posting 148/8. A total we felt we could get, even though it felt like it had taken a lifetime to bowl the overs!
Having initially been put into bat at 3, I asked to drop down the order to get warm again and be able to give a good batting performance. However batting at 5 I was in after 5 overs after Coker took a hat trick to demolish our top order in a weakened team! The name of the game had instantly turned to salvaging a draw and remaining undefeated if possible. Mike fell to a Cottam Hall shooter but I managed to stick around for an hour and score 18. But when I yorked myself we had an hour to go with 5 wickets in hand. Scott, Lefty and Kenny hung around well but with just under half an hour left, Coker came back on to finish the game. A disappointing end to the game and the unbeaten run is over. Such a shame as a win would have sent us top of the league with a game in hand, what would have been a very strong position. Anyway we must regroup and use the Twenty20 to get back in form and ready for the Stuart Cup Final.
Sunday, 17 June 2007
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Tiring weekend
What a tiring yet fantastic weekend of top class FCL cricket. Rather than think since my brain hurts, here's my match report from our website:
"Legend Pete Snape MSM and Scott Taylor produced match winning performances, taking 9 wickets in 8.4 overs, to turn a game heading for a draw into a fantastic win for the champions against a competitive Thornton side.
Wyre were put into bat and Gregson and Moyes (recovering from a day at Old Trafford watching the Test match) produced a solid start on the astroturf wicket, combatting some good tight bowling. However they fell to leave Wyre 29-2 and needing some good middle order batting performances, which Cartwright (49) and Abbott (52) produced, to take Wyre to 112-2 and looking at a big total. However a middle order misfire meant the lower order needed to bolster the total which Wright, Lever and Snape (5* including a nice 4 through mid-on) did to post a total of 167/9. Paul Diver the star of Thornton's bowling with a complete innings spell of 23-8-55-7!
Thornton went at the opening bowlers with abandon, the wicket not helping Captain Rawcliffe or Bamford very much. However chances were being created regularly, but with two fielders short and chances finding gaps or being fumbled, frustration was mounting and the fight was well and truly on. A moment of inspiration from Wright producing a direct run out to remove big hitting Higson invigorated the team. But with Higson, Partington and Smith all having good innings to take Thornton to 90-1, a draw or Thornton win looked on the cards. Last hour called and only 16 overs remaining. Rawcliffe and Bamford toiled on to no avail and soon after the change bowlers came on. With only 12 overs to go containment was the order of the day, but Snape had other ideas, demolishing Thornton's middle order in figures of 5-0-13-5. Not bad for a 73 year old legend. But with experienced Paul Diver at the crease marshalling the batting and rotating the strike well with only a few overs to go, the atmosphere was tense. Then Scott produced one of the finest C&B's you will ever see. Last ball of the 3rd from last over and Diver drills the ball back towards the bowler, only a few inches off the ground. Taylor dives forward and takes a stunning catch to remove the Thornton danger man, genius! Scott then caps a fine bowling performance by taking the 10th wicket and winning the match with 8 balls to go and ending with figures of 3.4-0-14-4. What a fantastic match and a massive win for Wyre."
Not a bad start to the weekend! Sunday brought the big one, the Stuart Cup semi final v Baxi, who had brought their big guns out to play since they were struggling in the league and up for the cup! However after being put into bat, Mike and Greggy put their bowlers to the sword, scoring heavily and both making half centuries in Wyres total of 168/7. With 25 overs and some big hitters in their side it was shaping up to be a good contest. However that soon changed after four ouvers where Mike and I took four wickets, leaving them 10/4! Whilst their middle order hit out, the result was never in doubt and we coasted into our first final for many years, and my first since being at the club. Bring on Thornton at Blackpool CC on 1 July, two innings, 20 overs each, genius!
"Legend Pete Snape MSM and Scott Taylor produced match winning performances, taking 9 wickets in 8.4 overs, to turn a game heading for a draw into a fantastic win for the champions against a competitive Thornton side.
Wyre were put into bat and Gregson and Moyes (recovering from a day at Old Trafford watching the Test match) produced a solid start on the astroturf wicket, combatting some good tight bowling. However they fell to leave Wyre 29-2 and needing some good middle order batting performances, which Cartwright (49) and Abbott (52) produced, to take Wyre to 112-2 and looking at a big total. However a middle order misfire meant the lower order needed to bolster the total which Wright, Lever and Snape (5* including a nice 4 through mid-on) did to post a total of 167/9. Paul Diver the star of Thornton's bowling with a complete innings spell of 23-8-55-7!
Thornton went at the opening bowlers with abandon, the wicket not helping Captain Rawcliffe or Bamford very much. However chances were being created regularly, but with two fielders short and chances finding gaps or being fumbled, frustration was mounting and the fight was well and truly on. A moment of inspiration from Wright producing a direct run out to remove big hitting Higson invigorated the team. But with Higson, Partington and Smith all having good innings to take Thornton to 90-1, a draw or Thornton win looked on the cards. Last hour called and only 16 overs remaining. Rawcliffe and Bamford toiled on to no avail and soon after the change bowlers came on. With only 12 overs to go containment was the order of the day, but Snape had other ideas, demolishing Thornton's middle order in figures of 5-0-13-5. Not bad for a 73 year old legend. But with experienced Paul Diver at the crease marshalling the batting and rotating the strike well with only a few overs to go, the atmosphere was tense. Then Scott produced one of the finest C&B's you will ever see. Last ball of the 3rd from last over and Diver drills the ball back towards the bowler, only a few inches off the ground. Taylor dives forward and takes a stunning catch to remove the Thornton danger man, genius! Scott then caps a fine bowling performance by taking the 10th wicket and winning the match with 8 balls to go and ending with figures of 3.4-0-14-4. What a fantastic match and a massive win for Wyre."
Not a bad start to the weekend! Sunday brought the big one, the Stuart Cup semi final v Baxi, who had brought their big guns out to play since they were struggling in the league and up for the cup! However after being put into bat, Mike and Greggy put their bowlers to the sword, scoring heavily and both making half centuries in Wyres total of 168/7. With 25 overs and some big hitters in their side it was shaping up to be a good contest. However that soon changed after four ouvers where Mike and I took four wickets, leaving them 10/4! Whilst their middle order hit out, the result was never in doubt and we coasted into our first final for many years, and my first since being at the club. Bring on Thornton at Blackpool CC on 1 July, two innings, 20 overs each, genius!
Wednesday, 6 June 2007
More Twenty20 woe
After paying an exorbitant transfer fee to get back the talents of Pete Snape MSM from the clutches of Henry's Marauders, the Cavaliers headed into last night's Twenty20 match against Rushale with renewed hope. Having won the toss and agreeing to play an 1818 match due to the late start time, I decided to avoid the potential psychological scarring another batting collapse could cause so put Rushale into bat. Fielding in a glorious sunny evening on a firmed up Cottam Hall pitch was quite pleasant. Only 4 wickets fell, Snape taking 3 on his 2007 season Twenty20 debut but despite the occasional 6 and some aggressive strokes, I felt their total of 107 was par for the course and achievable for our beefed up batting order, especially with Amos and Stephen Taylor back in the middle and good batting down to 8.
How wrong I was, our first over was as eventful as ever with Moyesie going for a duck. Cartwright soon followed and Amos run out. Not good. With a duel Taylor batting line up in the middle, the call for calm was sent out (not a long shout from the 20 yard boundary!) and the brothers played themselves in and started to play their strokes. With a run rate just over 5 per over required it wasn't panic stations yet. However a wild swipe from Stephen to a low bouncing ball ended his time at the crease and sent in captain Bamford.
With my confidence low after 3 below par innings things weren't looking good. Still the pitch was hard and the bowling fierce, always a fun combination so I took the aggressive option, opened the stance and set to the task. A few bashes came from the bat bringing some welcome boundaries. Near death on one occasion to the fielder at silly mid-on... The bowlers response was a few short ones into the chin, nice. I was feeling good and hopefully entertaining the crowds, 3 families viewing, almost capacity at Cottam! However with the run rate rising more aggression was called for. Scott's confident little innings came to a close and the lower order didn't last too long and for all intents and purposes the game was over. This brought Rob into bat and the classic Gregson family technique was soon evident to see with some classy forward defensives. I managed to keep bashing and with my 25 retirement approaching I foolishly got Rob run out taking a quick single to their best fielder. However all due credit to the opposition allowing Rob to continue batting with us requiring 40 off the last couple of overs, certainly well received. So the last few overs provided a few runs off a misture of spin and uber-pace, Snape was left with his pad (singular) on and I walked down the pitch West Indies style to swipe the last ball for four to end on 28* but with another match defeat.
The good thing about the Twenty20 League is that with 10 matches and four teams qualifying, it is far from over and if we can keep going and find our form, we can surely challenge to get into the finals. (He says hopefully, P.M.A!)
How wrong I was, our first over was as eventful as ever with Moyesie going for a duck. Cartwright soon followed and Amos run out. Not good. With a duel Taylor batting line up in the middle, the call for calm was sent out (not a long shout from the 20 yard boundary!) and the brothers played themselves in and started to play their strokes. With a run rate just over 5 per over required it wasn't panic stations yet. However a wild swipe from Stephen to a low bouncing ball ended his time at the crease and sent in captain Bamford.
With my confidence low after 3 below par innings things weren't looking good. Still the pitch was hard and the bowling fierce, always a fun combination so I took the aggressive option, opened the stance and set to the task. A few bashes came from the bat bringing some welcome boundaries. Near death on one occasion to the fielder at silly mid-on... The bowlers response was a few short ones into the chin, nice. I was feeling good and hopefully entertaining the crowds, 3 families viewing, almost capacity at Cottam! However with the run rate rising more aggression was called for. Scott's confident little innings came to a close and the lower order didn't last too long and for all intents and purposes the game was over. This brought Rob into bat and the classic Gregson family technique was soon evident to see with some classy forward defensives. I managed to keep bashing and with my 25 retirement approaching I foolishly got Rob run out taking a quick single to their best fielder. However all due credit to the opposition allowing Rob to continue batting with us requiring 40 off the last couple of overs, certainly well received. So the last few overs provided a few runs off a misture of spin and uber-pace, Snape was left with his pad (singular) on and I walked down the pitch West Indies style to swipe the last ball for four to end on 28* but with another match defeat.
The good thing about the Twenty20 League is that with 10 matches and four teams qualifying, it is far from over and if we can keep going and find our form, we can surely challenge to get into the finals. (He says hopefully, P.M.A!)
Wednesday, 30 May 2007
Excuse me while I vomit
Oh dear oh dear, Twenty20 used to be our game. Last summer we turned up confidently and brushed all aside (well most). Sport is a cruel mistress and another low scoring encounter between the Cavaliers and Blackpool EVH last night has led me to sulk for most of today. The less said about the game the better. Defending only 63 is never going to be easy, but we made a good stab of it, with EVH needing to get into the last 5 overs before passing the finishing post. Batting cost us again, me included getting out to the same shot for the 3rd time in a row!
However we pull our socks up, dig in and go again next week. Keep watching for news of Snape's dramatic transfer back to the Cavaliers next week and leading the charge to a first 2020 victory...
However we pull our socks up, dig in and go again next week. Keep watching for news of Snape's dramatic transfer back to the Cavaliers next week and leading the charge to a first 2020 victory...
Monday, 28 May 2007
Weekend Aches
No time to rest in the life of a Wyre cricketer, two more matches this weekend and 2020 again on Tuesday! Saturday's league game against Baxi was one which we entered knowing we hadn't beaten them for a few years and that if we would have to play well against one of our title challengers last season. Baxi batted first and produced another test match performance, getting 104/7 off their 45 overs. I managed to drop another catch (that's 4 in the last 3 games now...) to keep my confidence high, haha! Alcock took the initiative and scored 62 to get us on the way and Amos and Gregson brought us home with only 1 wicket down. A good and suprisingly straightforward win but Baxi have been hit with the loss of 2 of their top players transferring to other teams.
Sunday brought a morning of work for me, Slime making at Thornton Little Theatre meaning I had to miss the first hour. Luckily rain delayed the start so when I arrived only 10 overs of our Stuart Cup Quarter Final had been played, with Cartwright and Alcock getting us to 70/0. A mini collapse managed to get me into bat quickly and I soon departed LBW for 0 given by Snape umpiring, how kind of him and I was sure it was going down leg! But with Andy knocking the ball around with ease past the mouthy Blackpool youngsters he carried his bat to score 85* and get us to 138/8. After all their talk in the field, could the Blackpool youngsters walk the walk? Well since Scott took 3 wickets in the first over, the answer was no! Bowled out for 40 and Wyre progress to the semi finals. A positive weekend ended with a few lemonades in the public houses of Poulton and thoughts of a possible end of season Spanish cricket tour...
Just the one rest day for the Wyre professionals, 2020 on Tuesday against Environmental Health who beat us a few times last year. After our dreadful performance last week things can only get better, can't they?!
Sunday brought a morning of work for me, Slime making at Thornton Little Theatre meaning I had to miss the first hour. Luckily rain delayed the start so when I arrived only 10 overs of our Stuart Cup Quarter Final had been played, with Cartwright and Alcock getting us to 70/0. A mini collapse managed to get me into bat quickly and I soon departed LBW for 0 given by Snape umpiring, how kind of him and I was sure it was going down leg! But with Andy knocking the ball around with ease past the mouthy Blackpool youngsters he carried his bat to score 85* and get us to 138/8. After all their talk in the field, could the Blackpool youngsters walk the walk? Well since Scott took 3 wickets in the first over, the answer was no! Bowled out for 40 and Wyre progress to the semi finals. A positive weekend ended with a few lemonades in the public houses of Poulton and thoughts of a possible end of season Spanish cricket tour...
Just the one rest day for the Wyre professionals, 2020 on Tuesday against Environmental Health who beat us a few times last year. After our dreadful performance last week things can only get better, can't they?!
Friday, 25 May 2007
Twenty20 Thrashing
Being Captain of a Twenty20 team who had a successful 2006 campaign, I had high hopes for our first game in the new Fylde Twenty20 League, especially as our previous 2 games had been rained off and so the troops were hungry for a match. I won the toss, chose to bat on the Cottam Hall pitch as the skies were grey and I wanted to make the most of the light. However, batting at number 5 I was in after only 7 balls with the score at 1-3! An unenviable position one might think, however I changed my mindset from 2020 mode to Test Match mode and decided to enjoy the task of having to perform under pressure. Henry's Marauders opening bowlers had ripped through our top order and so Dave Lever and I steeled ourself to see their 8 overs off and try and graft a score of 50+ by any means. We were hanging in under a bowling barrage and with only 1 over of their 2nd opening bowler remaining, Dave was squared up by a short one and caught at slip. Stu Smith came in (after having a quick hide since he gave Amos out LBW which didn't go down too well) and I was confident we could get a competitive total. On came the change bowlers and I quickly tickled a ball behind my legs and was called through by Stu for a single... then promptly sent back when half way down the pitch as the wicketkeeper had stopped it, as opposed to Stu's initial reaction and I was run out. Bugger. Apologies offered by Stu, "I don't mind so long as you get to 25..." which he made a fine effort of doing as wicket continued to fall. Scott looked confident and 2020 debutants James Trippier and Rob Gregson had a good go in very tough conditions. The youngsters were showing Michael Vaughan esque technique, but the innings was brough to an end with Stu on 10 as he was hit in the unmentionables and run out by Tillotson as he was being aided by members of the opposition. How sporting!
Change of innings and a tricky task to win defending only 37. Whenever a poor performance has happened, or the opponents have knockled you over quickly, you must believe you can do the same to them. Having confidence in our bowling options I thought the task was tough but doable, especially so after Scott and I had reduced them to 0-2 after 2 overs. On came Stu, recovered after the low blow to bowl fast and fiery, downwind. Some great tight, quick, swinging bowling prouced a few chances. Catches were there but not held and Tim Chronell and Billy Rowe dug in under the barage from Scott and Stu and got them past the line after 10.2 overs. We made a game of it but if we had 20-30 more runs it may have been possible. With the top 4 qualifying for the finals day and 9 more matches to go, all is not lost, bring them on!
Scorecard: http://wyre.play-cricket.com/scoreboard/scorecard.asp?id=10392379
Change of innings and a tricky task to win defending only 37. Whenever a poor performance has happened, or the opponents have knockled you over quickly, you must believe you can do the same to them. Having confidence in our bowling options I thought the task was tough but doable, especially so after Scott and I had reduced them to 0-2 after 2 overs. On came Stu, recovered after the low blow to bowl fast and fiery, downwind. Some great tight, quick, swinging bowling prouced a few chances. Catches were there but not held and Tim Chronell and Billy Rowe dug in under the barage from Scott and Stu and got them past the line after 10.2 overs. We made a game of it but if we had 20-30 more runs it may have been possible. With the top 4 qualifying for the finals day and 9 more matches to go, all is not lost, bring them on!
Scorecard: http://wyre.play-cricket.com/scoreboard/scorecard.asp?id=10392379
Sunday, 20 May 2007
Windy Win
Yesterday saw us win again in the League after the draw last week frustrated our early season campaign. Thankfully we didn't have to phone the Met Office every 2 minutes like last weekend as the skies were bright, but instead we had to contend with what felt like playing in a wind tunnel! With Steve and I opening the bowling, guess who got the use of the extra 20mph breeze...? However with some "Glenn McGrath like accuracy" we ground down the Comrades openers until they produced a few aerial chances in frustration and I managed to add another 4 wickets to my haul so far. Polishing them off was a bit harder as I proceded to drop 2 catches (I obviously want to hinder Steve and Greggy's amount of wickets!), one a forward dive which I should have held and the other a skier straight into the sun which, whilst being blinded, I should have held. Can you see a pattern apearing? Not good for the clubs catching champion of 2005, that's 3 drops in 3 games! Still we finished them of for 59 and set about chasing it down whilst keeping an eye on the FA Cup final which was on in the Pavillion.
Amos fell to an excellent diving slip catch and at 0/1 without our top batter Alcock, nerves may have started to jingle. However with 2020 openers Andy and Moyesie at the crease, we felt confident of scoring quickly. Andy was caressing the ball around the slow field well until getting run out after 2 or 3 comedy run out chances had earlier been missed. Moyes and Abbott came and went leaving us 4 down for 35. Thankfully with extra time looming in the FA Cup, Greggy strode into bat and knocked a quick 29 with the skipper to finish it off, getting us to 61/4.
Good to get back to winning ways especially with only 10 men. Another big weekend coming with a crunch league game against Baxi followed by the Stuart Cup quarter final against Blackpool IV and with a Twnety 20 League match on thursday life is becoming that of a professional!
Amos fell to an excellent diving slip catch and at 0/1 without our top batter Alcock, nerves may have started to jingle. However with 2020 openers Andy and Moyesie at the crease, we felt confident of scoring quickly. Andy was caressing the ball around the slow field well until getting run out after 2 or 3 comedy run out chances had earlier been missed. Moyes and Abbott came and went leaving us 4 down for 35. Thankfully with extra time looming in the FA Cup, Greggy strode into bat and knocked a quick 29 with the skipper to finish it off, getting us to 61/4.
Good to get back to winning ways especially with only 10 men. Another big weekend coming with a crunch league game against Baxi followed by the Stuart Cup quarter final against Blackpool IV and with a Twnety 20 League match on thursday life is becoming that of a professional!
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