Match Reports

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=75 BGCOLOR="#006600" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#FFFF00" FACE="Castellar" ><B>Reepham & Salle Cricket Club</B></FONT><B> </B><B>    |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reepham Salle Cricket Club"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id54.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="TEST PAGE"><U>TEST PAGE</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Players"><U>Players</U></A>   |   <B>Match Reports</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="755d4003.jpg"> <div> <IMG SRC="758455a0.jpg" border=0 width="69" height="90" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>MATCH REPORTS</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id22_m.htm#eaton" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Match Reports"><U>RSCC v Eaton</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22_m.htm#narborough_away" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Match Reports"><U>Narborough v RSCC</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22_m.htm#cringleford_away" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Match Reports"><U>Cringleford Lodge v RSCC</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22_m.htm#sandringham_home" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Match Reports"><U>RSCC v Sandringham</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22_m.htm#old_catton_away" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Match Reports"><U>Old Catton v RSCC</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22_m.htm#bacton_v_stealers" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Match Reports"><U>Bacton v STEALERS</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22_m.htm#terrington_home" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Match Reports"><U>RSCC v Terrington</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22_m.htm#gt_witchingham_away" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Match Reports"><U>Gt. Witchingham v RSCC</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22_m.htm#sandringham_away" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Match Reports"><U>Sandringham v RSCC</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22_m.htm#denver_home" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Match Reports"><U>RSCC v Denver</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22_m.htm#dereham_away" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Match Reports"><U>Dereham v RSCC</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22_m.htm#beeston_away_1" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Match Reports"><U>Beeston v RSCC</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22_m.htm#witchingham_home" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Match Reports"><U>RSCC v Gt. Witchingham</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22_m.htm#bradenham_home" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Match Reports"><U>RSCC v Bradenham</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id51_match_reports_archive.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Match Reports Archive"><U><I>Match Reports Archive</I></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=405 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="7" COLOR="#006600" FACE="Castellar" ><B>Match Reports</B></FONT> <A NAME="match_reports"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A> </div> <div> <I>Match Reports for previous seasons can be found in the </I><A HREF="id51_match_reports_archive.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Match Reports Archive"><U><I>Match Reports Archive</I></U></A></div> <div> <I>Please send match reports to </I><A HREF="mailto:reports@reephamandsallecc.co.uk" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:reports@reephamandsallecc.co.uk"><U><I>reports@reephamandsallecc.co.uk</I></U></A></div> <div> <B><U>_____________________________________________________________________________________</U></B></div> <div> <B> <A NAME="have_your_say"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>HAVE YOUR SAY!</B></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Write your own match report to be posted on this page...</B></I></div> <bR> <div> It doesn't matter whether you are with Reepham & Salle or one of the opposition teams, download a form and then email it to <A HREF="mailto:reports@reephamandsallecc.co.uk" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:reports@reephamandsallecc.co.uk"><U>reports@reephamandsallecc.co.uk</U></A> as an attachment.</div> <bR> <div>  <a href="HTMLobj-1890/Match_Report_Form.doc"><img align="bottom" border="0" width="100" height="40" src="HTMLobj-1890/Button_Download.gif"></a>  </div> <bR> <div> <B><U>_____________________________________________________________________________________</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RSCC V Eaton</B><B> <A NAME="eaton"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <I><B>Friendly 40 Over Match - Sunday 19th April 2009</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Words by David Henry</B></I></div> <bR> <div> RSCC entertained Eaton in the season's friendly opener. The ground and wicket looked in great condition following the efforts of the grounds team and suitable praise was heaped on them by all. </div> <bR> <div> Batting first, Henry was joined by Adam Meek and the pair put on a steady 50 opening stand before the fall of Meek for an admiral 22. Hollis made a brief appearance before being bowled on the second bounce by a 75 year old spinner. Hollis not wishing to blame the wicket chose to blame the gods. Matt Saunders decided to warm up by trying to hit the ball into the wood which he succeeded in achieving many times. Henry, trying to clear the wood and the church fell for 47 and Saunders was retired on 62 to give some batting down the order. Despite the Doc falling first ball to a good catch all contributed giving a respectable total of 191 for the visitors to chase.</div> <bR> <div> RSCC opened the bowling with Meek and Joe Wright with Wright taking 2 quick wickets. Both bowling well but the runs flowed with the visitors ticking along at 5 runs an over. Matt Saunders and Cameron Clapton bowled the next 10 overs doing at excellent job of slowing the rate and Saunders was rewarded with a wicket. Eatons opener pushed on and was starting to score freely, Eaton were in control. Doctor Raj finally tempted the opener (75) into a lofted drive which Meek excellently held. RSCC then turned to a blend of youth and experience. Simon Hardwood and George Wright both produced excellent spells of bowling to calm the run rate and put RSCC back in the game. The experience was brought by Joe Hollis who, due to mid-life crisis, is looking trimmer than ever and finished off the game with figures of 5-1-12-2 resulting in a win for Reepham and Sale. Highlight in the field was a tremendous run out by Cameron Clapton who swooped like an eagle from cover to leave the batsman with no chance.</div> <bR> <div> An excellent opener played in an excellent spirit and we thank the Eaton player's for that. RSCC's young players showed some great spirit and ability and they will all be pushing for places in the league team.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Reepham & Salle 191 - 7, Eaton 164-9</B></div> <div> <B>Reepham & Salle win by 27 runs</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>_____________________________________________________________________________________</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Narborough v RSCC</B><B> <A NAME="narborough_away"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <I><B>40 Over League Match - Sunday 26th April 2009</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Words by David Henry</B></I></div> <bR> <div> A young Reepham and Salle side visited Narborough for the first league game of the season.</div> <bR> <div> Winning the toss Reepham opted to bat but soon found it hard going against a disciplined Narborough attack. Loosing Paul Minns early the veteran pair of Henry and Hollis dug with a partnership of 68 in 24 overs. Hollis (20), Austin and Henry (42) all fell quickly with the remaining Reepham batsmen struggling to build a score. Only a typically flamboyant 13 from the Doctor and a more traditionally crafted 15 from Simon Hardwood took the visitors over the 100 mark with Reepham and Salle eventually all out for 119.</div> <bR> <div> Despite the opener falling to the first ball of the innings from Meek Narborough looked untroubled by the Salle attack. King (25), Williamson (44), and Hill (35*) raced to the required total in 20 overs with Hollis the pick of the Reepham and Salle bowlers with 7-2-25-1. </div> <bR> <div> A spirited performance by a young Reepham and Salle side, which on the day were outclassed by a strong Narborough team. Reepham and Salle were pleased to give league debuts to two young guns in Leggoe and Legget.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Reepham & Salle 119, Narborough 120-3</B></div> <div> <B>Narborough won by 7 wickets</B></div> <div> <I>Reepham & Salle 5 points, Narborough 21 points</I></div> <div> <I>League Position </I><I>8th</I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>_____________________________________________________________________________________</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Cringleford Lodge v RSCC</B><B> <A NAME="cringleford_away"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <I><B>Friendly 40 Over Match - Sunday 3rd May 2009</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Words by Jim Everton</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>DEFEAT WITH REDEEMING FEATURES</B></div> <bR> <div> This was a defeat but with some redeeming features and we came away encouraged. We had two new players  in Paul Minns and Richard Greenwood but still could field only nine men, partly because of a full strength Stealers side playing elsewhere. The wicket was tricky initially with the ball bouncing or squatting for no reason but gradually it calmed down and batting was not too difficult.</div> <div> We opened the batting with Paul Minns and Jack Such. Jack, coming back from a season's rugby, found it difficult to make any contact with the ball initially but improved sufficiently to edge a catch to the wicket keeper. Paul, Richard Westwood and Matt Saunders all got a start but the wicket was still playful and they succumbed to it, leaving us at around fifty with four wickets down.</div> <bR> <div> Then came the youngsters, Simon Harwood and Adam Meek, although the latter could be termed a veteran compared with Simon. Without taking risks they added well over a hundred and both scored unbeaten maiden fifties, taking us to 172, a total we would not have thought possible at the beginning of the innings. No praise is too high for their performances.</div> <bR> <div> Unfortunately our bowling and fielding could live up to the standards of our batting, even allowing for the fact that we had only nine and sometimes ten players. The medium pace was sprayed around and the off spinners bowled to the favourite shot of the opposition's century maker. The fielding was sloppy and no-one set any kind of example.  Even getting the ball back to the bowler without it touching the ground a couple of times seemed to be a major feat.</div> <bR> <div> Without Danny and the injured Tom we do not seem to have the bowling to match our batting. I desperately hope that I am proved wrong.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Reepham & Salle 172-4, Cringleford Lodge 173-3</B></div> <div> <B>Cringleford Lodge won by 7 wickets</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Man of the Match:</B> Simon Harwood</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>_____________________________________________________________________________________</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Reepham & Salle v Sandringham</B><B> <A NAME="sandringham_home"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <I><B>40 Over League Match - Sunday 10th May 2009</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Words by Jim Everton</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>SUPERB BATTING/SUB-STANDARD BOWLING</B></div> <bR> <div> Superb batting - again; sub-standard bowling - again; slightly better fielding but one or two fielders looked less than fit. It was almost a carbon copy of last week but at least we had and what must be one of the half dozen best wickets in Norfolk to bat on. Raj returned from holiday and we introduced a new medium pacer, Freddy Harrison, 6ft 5in tall and with a waist size to make most women jealous.</div> <div> David Henry and Paul Minns opened the batting and, against some good early bowling, produced what is thought to be the Club's record opening stand of 172. I leave it to our Secretary to authenticate this. David, until he got out for124 with the worst shot of the day, played like a dream and Paul supported him perfectly until he was out for 42. Joe Hollis came in and played one or two good shots while at the same time giving advice to Matt Saunders. Either this advice was helpful or it was unnecessary since Matt managed another 50 after Joe had departed.  At the end Simon and Adam didn't have time to repeat their fifties of last week.</div> <bR> <div> On such a perfect wicket we were going to need to bowl better than before to win and, although Freddy helped to improve the attack, Joe beat the bat on a number of occasions and Paul bowled his off spinners/cutters well at the death, our attack could not quite make it and we lost with a couple of overs to go. Never mind, it was a good game of cricket and we hope to see Tom Saunders and Joe right back soon. On such a good wicket as this our bowlers have to work hard to ensure that length and line are paramount and this can be achieved only with constant practice and forethought about what each bowl is meant to do.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Reepham & Salle 261-5, Sandringham 262-6</B></div> <div> <B>Sandringham won by 4 wickets</B></div> <div> <I>Reepham & Salle 8 points, Sandringham 18 points</I></div> <div> <I>League Position </I><I>7th</I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>_____________________________________________________________________________________</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Bacton v STEALERS</B><B> <A NAME="bacton_v_stealers"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <I><B>40 Over Friendly Match - Sunday 24th May 2009</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Words by Jim Everton</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>FAIRY-TALE FINISH</B></div> <bR> <div> Only the meanest of churls could fail to designate this “Hollis's Match” since our hero (aka “Biggles”, “Bulldog Drummond”, “The Saint” or, for our younger readers, James Bond) dominated from start to fairy-tale finish. Not only did he take 3 wickets for 14 runs in his eight overs but, coming in when our score was 8 for 4, he then scored an unbeaten 110 to carry us to victory. And he still had time to attend his son's birthday party in the middle of the game. He didn't want to try walking on water after the game but I bet he could have managed it.</div> <div> Apart from Joe and Tom Saunders our bowling varied from promising medium (Liam, Muddy) to unpracticed slow (most of the rest). Nobby Cobb, one of our oldest Bacton friends, scored 73 until he was bowled by the only ball of a thirteen ball over that was on the wicket; Martin Clapton converted a dolly caught and bowled into a brilliant diving catch; and Mark Houldey managed to lurk two yards too deep at slip to have to bother with any catches. The spirit was great though with some of the fielders running through the pain barrier.</div> <div> After our collapse to 8 for 4 wickets Joe and Mark gradually improved the situation with Mark, despite a damaged leg, showing that he could match Joe in most respects except running between the wickets. In fact the odds were on Joe running out Mark when the latter was well caught at square leg after a stand of over a hundred. Importantly, although our next batsmen didn't score many, they stayed with Joe until he was able to score the winning runs.</div> <bR> <div> After the game Joe didn't stay long. He just put on his cape and flew away. “To an assignment in the Middle East” he said.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Bacton 177-9</B><B>, Stealers 181-7</B></div> <div> <B>Stealers won by 3 wickets</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Man of the Match: </B>Joe Hollis</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>_____________________________________________________________________________________</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Reepham & Salle v Terrington St. Clements</B><B> <A NAME="terrington_home"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <I><B>40 Over League Match - Sunday 31st May 2009</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Verse by Jim Everton</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>A BIT OF A DISASTER BUT NOT ON THE SCALE OF TAY BRIDGE</B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="8da4dbb0.jpg" border=0 width="589" height="443" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> 'Twas on the thirty first of May, two thousand and nine</div> <div> That Terrington St Clements came to Salle and the weather was fine.</div> <div> David won the toss and decided to bat;</div> <div> He overpowered the opening bowler but took a chance against the first change</div> <div> and that was that.</div> <bR> <div> Joe batted carefully and , when Matt came in, gave him plenty of advice</div> <div> But unfortunately Matt played down the wrong line and was out in a trice.</div> <div> Then Joe and Mike achieved a stand of over sixty</div> <div> But Joe edged a wide ball on to his stumps and, apart from Mike's forty six</div> <div> we subsided until it was time for the Bev's fixed tea.</div> <bR> <div> Eventually we were out for nearly one hundred and sixty four</div> <div> But the general feeling was that we needed at least sixty more.</div> <div> Our bowling was undoubtedly better than in previous games</div> <div> With Tom Saunders and Joe Wright added to our list of names.</div> <bR> <div> Both Raj and Paul Minns bowled tightly at the death</div> <div> But by that time the batsmen were in no hurry and had time to draw breath.</div> <div> Our fielding looked better than in previous matches</div> <div> Although, sadly, we dropped two crucial catches.</div> <bR> <div> Our opponents did not need to take any chances </div> <div> As they steadily progressed with the help of drives and glances.</div> <div> At last they overtook our score,</div> <div> Which means that as far as the League table is concerned,</div> <div> we are on the floor!</div> <bR> <div> <B>Reepham & Salle 162 (39), Terrington 166-3 (37)</B></div> <div> <B>Terrington won by 7 wickets</B></div> <div> <I>Reepham & Salle 7 points, Terrington 21 points</I></div> <div> <I>League Position: </I><I>7th</I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>_____________________________________________________________________________________</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Gt. Witchingham v Reepham & Salle</B><B> <A NAME="gt_witchingham_away"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <I><B>40 Over League Match - Sunday 14th June 2009</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Words by David Henry</B></I></div> <bR> <div> RSCC took the short trip to local rivals Gt. Witchingham on a glorious sunny afternoon.</div> <bR> <div> The previous evening a heavy downpour had stopped Witchingham's first teams game and although the wicket has been covered overnight and showed signs of wet patches its reputation as the best batting wicket in Norfolk allowed the Gt. Witchingham skipper confidence to bat first on winning the toss.</div> <bR> <div> RSCC's bowling attack has struggled this season but the opening pair of Meek and Joe Wright looked full of confidence and although bowling at Gt. Witchingham's Australian, Knowles, both bowled well. Meek could have removed the Aussie with the first ball of the match but the skied ball fell safe however Meek did remove the other opener with the second ball caught by Alok making his debut. The highlight of Knowles innings was a powerfully hit six that went into the open driver's window of a parked car and out of the open passenger window. Wright bowled 10 straight overs and finished with the excellent figures of 10-5-31-3. Doctor Raj (7-1-15-1) and Paul Minns (4-0-16-2) finished the innings in an economic manner and although there were excellent innings by old Ian Mears and young William Rodgers two late run outs resulted in RSCC bowling out a side for the first time this season for 166.</div> <bR> <div> RSCC opening partnership of Henry and Minns again started the innings well, scoring at a good rate and looking comfortable on the very good batting track. Gt. Witchingham turned to experience in Knowles and Ian Mears and although Minns fell for a well made 15, Henry and Hollis continued to score above the required rate. Gt. Witchingham turned to the spin of Junior Rodger which appeared to mentally un-hinge Hollis but despite his discomfort Hollis survived and the runs continued. No further wickets fell and RSCC reached their target in the 30th over with Henry unbeaten on 84 and Hollis on 48.</div> <bR> <div> Reepham's first league win of the season. An excellent game against a young Gt. Witchingham side that's hospitality deserves a special mention.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Gt. Witchingham 166, Reepham & Salle 168-1</B></div> <div> <B>Reepham & Salle won by 9 wickets</B></div> <div> <I>Reepham & Salle 21 points, Gt. Witchingham 6 points</I></div> <div> <I>League Position</I><I>: </I><I>5th</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Man of the Match: </B>Joe Wright with an excellent opening spell of bowling</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>_____________________________________________________________________________________</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Old Catton v Reepham & Salle</B><B> <A NAME="old_catton_away"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <I><B>40 Over Friendly Match - Sunday 12th July 2009</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Words by Jim Everton</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>I've Said It Before... Line and Length</B></div> <bR> <div> It was all rather easy but a number of good things came out of the game. The first was that Raj was almost as old as any two other players from our team put together.  He scored 15, took a good catch and a wicket (bowling his spinners) so age was not to be disparaged but it was a day for youth and this has to be celebrated.</div> <bR> <div> Simon and David Boycott opened on a pretty dreadful wicket although it wasn't quite as difficult as David made it seem.  Simon was eventually out LBW, a decision he didn't disagree with so it must have been pretty plumb. Then David somehow made contact with a ball  that would otherwise have been a wide and was caught at the wicket. Raf arrived,flourished his bat and departed. This gave Matt and Joe Wright a chance and although Joe was dropped twice on one he batted subsequently with great maturity and only over-enthusiasm stopped him reaching fifty. Matt reached this target with some ease and the usual quota of huge sixes, one of which landed in the middle of a girls netball match a long way away. We all held our breaths. Matt said that he got out to give the others a chance and we believed him. There was an opportunity for Adam to play some beautifully timed shots which looked effortless and we then subsided after 36 overs.</div> <bR> <div> The match was won after six overs of the Old Catton innings by which time they were 6 for 4 wickets. Joe took 2 for 1 in his four overs and Adam 2 for 7. Sensibly the latter then gave an opportunity for the rest of his bowlers to have some practice. Some, like Jack, took advantage of this; others bowled lines some feet wide of wicket and lengths behind the wicket keeper. No names but I have said before that line and length come before everything, particularly speed.</div> <bR> <div> Then a dot appeared on the horizon which turned out to be Harry Leggoe, bowling his off-breaks. The first four balls were short of a length but after that he kept the ball up and fully deserved the three wickets he took. It was great to watch and Harry will become a very good bowler if he can maintain his length, be clear about the right field for his bowling and accept the occasional 0 for 60. </div> <bR> <div> <B>RSCC 181 (36), Old Catton 99 (32)</B></div> <div> <B>RSCC won by 82 runs</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Man of the Match: </B>Adam Meek whose captaincy was first class, apart from his batting and bowling. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>_____________________________________________________________________________________</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Sandringham v Reepham & Salle</B><B> <A NAME="sandringham_away"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <I><B>40 Over League Match - Sunday 19th July 2009</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Words by Jim Everton</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Looks Are Deceiving</B></div> <bR> <div> It looks dismal but not at all. We were missing our top four batsmen and Sandringham weren't.  Our bowling and catching were mostly excellent and to dismiss a strong batting side for under 150 was a great achievement. In fact, inspired by a “catch of the season” by Jack Such at second slip off the first ball, we had them 8 for 4 with both Adam and Joe Wright bowling quickly and intelligently.  Their top batsman stopped the rot but Sandringham never looked in command and more good catches helped us to bowl them out, something we couldn't do at Salle. Adam again captained intelligently, adapting his fields to the styles of the batsman.</div> <bR> <div> To have any chance we needed a sound start but unfortunately, oddly similar to Sandringham, Simon Harwood was out from the first ball and we were soon 5 for 3. Both Mike Austin, grittily, and Adam, stylishly, scored around twenty but no-one else stayed for long and the end was inevitable. Even the weather was against us. Heavy rain at Salle would have meant cancellation but at Sandringham we had only one small shower. It just shows which side royalty was on...</div> <bR> <div> <B>Sandringham 147 (38), RSCC 55 (22)</B></div> <div> <B>Sandringham won by 92 runs</B></div> <div> <I>Reepham & Salle 7 points, Sandringham 21 points</I></div> <div> <I>League Position </I><I>5th</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Man of the Match: </B>Jack Such for his fantastic catch.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>_____________________________________________________________________________________</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Reepham & Salle v Denver</B><B> <A NAME="denver_home"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <I><B>40 Over League Match - Sunday 26th July 2009</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Words by Jim Everton</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Exciting As Anything You've Seen</B></div> <bR> <div> The last twenty minutes of this game, with RSCC, having lost seven wickets and needing 15 runs, with only Raj and three of the youngsters to bat, was as exciting as anything seen at Cardiff during the last hour of the Ashes test.</div> <bR> <div> Each time one of the youngsters stopped a ball the sizeable crowd (alright, the mums and dads) cheered. If they missed it and it hit the wicket there were groans; and each time that Raj attempted to hit the ball into Reepham Market Place and missed without the ball hitting the wicket (time and time again) there were huge gasps.</div> <div> We shouldn't really have been in this position. We bowled and caught well to take 8 of their wicket for under a hundred but some sloppy fielding gave them a total that flattered them and made our task more difficult than it need have been. It needed another good catch by Jack Such to finish the innings.</div> <bR> <div> The wicket was soft and so that ball stopped on pitching and no-one on either side was capable of dealing with this, except Mike Austin who hammered the ball through the offside time and time again. It was unfortunate that, after a sparkling sixty, he slapped a ball rather tamely into cover's hands but this then led to the fantastic climax.</div> <div> We were 123 for nine at the start of a new over with Raj facing. As each of the first five balls were bowled Raj took three paces down the wicket and swung mightily without making contact. I must admit that had I been keeping wicket I would have stood up to the stumps since even if the ball had been fumbled there would still have been time for a stumping.</div> <bR> <div> The last ball of the over arrived. This time Raj took four paces down the wicket and turned the delivery into a full toss which made contact with the middle of his bat and hit the ground thirty yards or more beyond the mid-wicket boundary. Never before has Reepham and Salle cricket seen such excitement.</div> <bR> <div> Frankly, I would rather have been watching this game than holidaying in Cornwall.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Denver 126 (39), RSCC 129-9 (33)</B></div> <div> <B>Reepham & Salle Won by 1 wicket</B></div> <div> <I>Reepham & Salle 21 points, Denver 9 points</I></div> <div> <I>League Position </I><I>5th</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Man of the Match: </B>It has to be Raj.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>_____________________________________________________________________________________</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Dereham v Reepham & Salle</B><B> <A NAME="dereham_away"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <I><B>40 Over League Match - Sunday 9th August 2009</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Words by Jim Everton</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>That's Entertainment</B></div> <bR> <div> The alternative was watching England being humiliated by some overseas team so even without the lift, the Magnum and the Snicker all donated by Paul Harwood (and all I could do to repay him was to give his son out LBW when, he claims, he got an edge) it was worth being in Dereham to watch this exciting match.  The entertainment value this year has been higher than ever before and this game provided us with another superb century from David Henry; a last wicket stand lasting the final four overs of our innings and putting on enough runs for us to win the game by Cameron Clapton and Ollie Kempson; some fine medium pace bowling by Adam Meek, Joe Wright and Tom Saunders: and a magnificent imitation of a whirling dervish by Joe Hollis when he took a catch.  Sometimes I wonder if we should give him a urine test at the end of each game.</div> <bR> <div> This was a very different Dereham team to the one we had expected.  Earlier in the season they had arrived at Salle with a young team but the youngsters were playing elsewhere and we faced a mixture of Saturday First and Second eleven players.  Their opening bowlers were particularly good and David and Paul Minns did well to keep them out until Paul tried to turn a full toss to leg and was given out LBW.  Joe also batted well until he was bowled by another excellent ball.  From then on David dominated the innings.  He reached his hundred with a classical straight six which hit the sightscreen and made their change bowlers, all of whom knew what they were doing, look ordinary.  When he was eventually caught in the deep for 117 the crowd (don't forget that two's company but three's a crowd) rose to him, apart from the old farts who couldn't struggle out of their chairs.  After David the rest was anti-climax but we still needed extra runs when Ollie went in as last man to join Cameron and the 14 that they put on in the last four overs won the match for us.</div> <bR> <div> Adam and Joe Wright opened the bowling and, together with Tom as first change restricted Dereham to 62 for 4 in the first twenty overs.  This was fine bowling against good batsmen.  Two of their batsmen then took over and started to attack our slower bowlers.  Joe Hollis swears that he bowled a beautiful “Yorker” outside the off stump which went for six over square leg.  No whooping celebrations there, Joe.  Our fielding rather went to pieces at this point and we failed to take advantage of half a dozen opportunities for run-outs.</div> <bR> <div> The last over arrived with Joe Wright to bowl and needed.  The first ball went for four and the fifth ball, with six needed to win' was hammered against Ollie Kempson's ankle.  It did him no good at all but won us the game since they could take only a single and couldn't manage a six off the last ball.</div> <bR> <div> It was a great game played in a great spirit.  </div> <bR> <div> <B>RSCC 214-9 (40), Dereham 211-5 (40)</B></div> <div> <B>Reepham & Salle Won by 3 runs</B></div> <div> <I>Reepham & Salle 18 points, Denver 10 points</I></div> <div> <I>League Position </I><I>6th</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Man of the Match: </B>David Henry</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>_____________________________________________________________________________________</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Beeston v Reepham & Salle</B><B> <A NAME="beeston_away_1"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <I><B>40 Over Friendly Match - Sunday 16th August 2009</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Words by Jim Everton</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Old Man Saves The Day</B></div> <bR> <div> Sadly, we could find only ten players, one of whom was older than any two others put together.  Against the loudly expressed wishes of his wife he decided to metamorphose from spectator to player which gave him an opportunity to display a few of his cricketing skills to the rest of the team.  Further, he was still able to drive back and spend some time in the Kings Arms without collapsing.</div> <bR> <div> Most of our batsmen got in and then got out, except for Simon Harwood who batted sensibly and chancelessly until he missed a slow full toss.  His 77 could easily have been a hundred had he managed to avoid the fielders at cover and mid-off.  At the end of the innings the aforementioned old man came in and produced a cameo 33 not out, concluding with a six off the last ball.  Eat your heart out, Simon.</div> <bR> <div> Our medium pacers shared the wickets, producing a mixture of excellent deliveries and a few leg side full tosses and long hops.  The lack of a full team showed since about a quarter of their runs came from edges through the slips.  We also dropped a few catches which helped Beeston to keep in touch with the required rate.  At times we seemed to have about four captains directing operations but we kept taking wickets and finally George Wright deservedly bowled their last man and we were home.</div> <bR> <div> The a.o.m. (work it out for yourself) beamed.</div> <bR> <div> <B>RSCC 202-7 (40), Beeston 189 (39.5)</B></div> <div> <B>Reepham & Salle won by 13 runs</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Man of the Match: </B>Simon Harwood</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>_____________________________________________________________________________________</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Reepham & Salle v Gt. Witchingham</B><B> <A NAME="witchingham_home"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <I><B>40 Over League Match - Sunday 23rd August 2009</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Words by Jim Everton</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>REVENGE FOR WITCHINGHAM</B></div> <bR> <div> At least, Great Witchingham paid us a compliment since, after we had beaten them so easily on their ground, they came prepared for revenge with several of their Saturday first and second eleven players.  Not surprisingly we were well beaten but I hope that both our batsmen and bowlers, playing on Frank's perfect wicket, learned something from this.</div> <bR> <div> We batted first and the D. Henry/ P. Minns partnership got us off to the usual good start, putting on over fifty before David was caught at the wicket for 33.  Paul carried on but we missed Joe Hollis and the scoring rate gradually stalled.  Most batsmen got in and then got out and it needed Paul Harwood to produce another cameo near the end to make our score respectable.</div> <bR> <div> Their batting against our bowling was a mismatch.  All our bowlers were belted back into the area between mid wicket and long off and the game was over in for us to get to the Kings Arms by around 6pm. Lesson one for our bowlers is line and length; lesson two is the variation of pace and length against good batsmen.  It will come but it needs hard work and a desire to improve.  At our level we are good but can we make the step up?  Time will tell...</div> <bR> <div> <B>RSCC 171-7 (40), Gt. Witchingham 175-4 (37)</B></div> <div> <B>Gt. Witchingham won by 6 wickets</B></div> <div> <I>Reepham & Salle 8 points, Gt. Witchingham 19 points</I></div> <div> <I>League Position: </I><I>6th</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Man of the Match: </B>Frank for his perfect pitch</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>_____________________________________________________________________________________</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Reepham & Salle v Bradenham</B><B> <A NAME="bradenham_home"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <I><B>40 Over League Match - Sunday 30th August 2009</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Words by Jim Everton</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>GOOD VICTORY CONCLUDES LEAGUE SEASON</B></div> <bR> <div> This was a thoroughly satisfactory end to the League season.  Raj had worked out that we needed seven points to be sure of not finishing in the bottom two places but only for the first hour did we look in any danger of not achieving this.  For a change, nearly every aspect went well and our fielding and catching, galvanised by Paul Harwood after extensive HRT, was as good as I have seen.</div> <bR> <div> Bradenham batted first and put 61 for the first wicket in considerable comfort.  Then their star young batsman made an error and was caught.  After this the scoring rate slowed and wickets started to fall.  Your correspondent went away for half an hour or so, in which time four wickets fell for only a few runs.  He returned with the score at 113 for 6, just in time to see a brilliant catch at short cover by Paul H., low to his left.  Sorry Paul but I can't rank it as better than Jack Such's catch at Sandringham but both were of the highest quality.  All of the bowlers did well, with the medium pacers keeping the early batsmen quiet and the Cameron and Raj getting some cheap wickets towards the end.  Oh, I forgot to say that Joe Hollis came on at the end bowled three crap balls and took a wicket with the third one, a high full toss which could have been called a no-ball but instead was hoiked into the stratosphere and well caught by Tom.</div> <bR> <div> The dependable opening pair of David and Paul Minns got us off to a sound if cautious start against good bowling and we were around fifty when David slapped a catch to cover.  Paul and Joe then produced a half-hour comedy during which their running and calling reminded me of two virgins deciding whether or not to succumb to the pleasures of the flesh.  Joe eventually was caught and bowled by someone who looked as if he had never bowled before but Paul and Simon looked totally in command and saw us home.  Paul's unbeaten 44 was exactly what was required in the situation.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Bradenham 130 (35), RSCC 134-2 (32)</B></div> <div> <B>Reepham & Salle won by 8 wickets</B></div> <div> <I>Reepham & Salle 21 points, Bradenham 6 points</I></div> <div> <I>League Position: </I><I>5th</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Man of the Match: </B>Paul Harwood</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U><I><B><IMG SRC="11c1e1e0.gif" border=0 width="30" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></U></A></div> <div> © RSCC 2008</div> </td> </tr></table></body>