So after last week's win, the first team were looking to build some momentum going into the second half of the season after a winless nine games. Thurgarton, it must be said, is not the easiest ground on which to rediscover former glories. Due to a combination of factors, ranging from an oak tree in the middle of the pitch to the prolific Colin Cliff, it's a difficult ground on which to win games.

Ian Beard won the toss and elected to bowl first, hoping to put them under pressure. Whatever plans we had for Cliff went out of the window, thanks to Ian Black breaking his toe. Ian Black and Sam Robinson, like last week, bowled well without ever looking dangerous, on what was a low, but extremely placid pitch. It wasn't until James Mitchell lofted a Robinson slower ball to mid-on that we made the first breakthrough. Pete Forster bowled one of his better spells in recent times and in tandem with second-change Steve Kennewell, we kept a lid on the scoring without ever looking like bowling them out. The dangerous Ed Mordaunt was dismissed cheaply and Thurgarton's young wicketkeeper batted well, though I'll repeat a criticism from last week and suggest that better urgency might have taken Thurgarton to 200, always likely to be too good a total for a struggling team.

As is always liable to happen, some lusty hitting and indifferent bowling and fielding took the home team to 176-6, a total far from insurmountable on a fast outfield and against a bowling attack short of full strength.

James O'Leary played some coruscating drives alongside some more elegant shots before the opposition's plan of deliveries down the legside (well, seemingly) frustrated him and he miscued an innocuous delivery to mid-on. Al Hales came and went, but all was looking good at around the halfway stage, with Newark 103-3 off 25, needing only 3.70 an over with plenty of batting left in the shed.

However, Ian Black, after looking excellent for his 48, chipped Thurgarton's young off-spinner to midwicket and we stalled completely. Robert Matchett batted nicely without rotating the strike and Steve Kennewell was given out caught behind, leaving us facing a climbing, if still quite surmountable, runrate and buoying the home side. Matchett eventally got bogged down and was stumped, leaving an asking rate of a run-a-ball. Scoring continued to be difficult for the newer batsmen, with the wicket getting slower and lower.

After Pete Forster was caught, 32 were needed off four overs, with John Gomersall and Sam Robinson at the crease. Thankfully, ones and twos started to come more easily with the reintroduction of the opening bowlers, but when Gomersall was bowled aiming an almighty hoick, 19 were needed off 13 balls.

When I got on strike, I aimed a big drive and missed. With the requirement now 16 off 10, I aimed a big mow and saw the ball fly up in the air. Two balls brought two dropped catches and four runs before I got Sam back on strike... All of which left us needing 10 off the last over.

44.1: a floaty ball on off-stump was crunched by Robinson straight back past the bowler, bouncing up the slope and into the sightscreen. The cheers from the boundary became more audible, as the four had brought it down to 6 off 5. Not a gimme, but surely ours to lose...

44.2: a better delivery was still squirted by Robinson through square-leg and frantic running from O'Leary at the non-striker's end brought it down to 4 off 4. "Sam, a run-a-ball mate, nothing funny". The clapping continued from the sidelines and despite everything, we're looking good!

The last ball of the match was a length ball on middle and I can assure all readers that Sam, although he'll probably play better and more substantial innings, will never strike a ball as cleanly as that again. Clearing his front leg, he smeared it over mid-wicket for a huge six and the two men in the middle were running and cheering like never before.

--------------------

So, what to make of it all? Pretty much the same as last week. After the euphoria of it all, winning in such fashion, a more sombre analyis reveals that from overs 25-35, we scored only 22 in ten overs, partly due to good bowling, but mainly due to poor batting and good field placings. A game we should have won more comfortably was made extremely difficult.

Hickling and Willoughby now mean that there is a quintet of teams evenly matched on points, forming a mini-league of five we must look to come top of. Fiskerton and Bramcote both won, so it is tight down there. However, what other teams do is meaningless if we don't win our games, however much we follow their results. With seven games remaining, a minimum requirement of four wins is still outstanding. Two out of two needs to become three against a Southwell II side next week.

By

Alex O'Leary - 11/07/2010 via the Chairman

 Dear All ,

I have this weekend witnessed and been involved in 2 great games of cricket, where SCC didn’t win.

 

I trust that you play the game as I do , hard and fair, with respect for our opponents, umpires , spectators, tea ladies and the Spirit of the game.

 

I have therefore attached the MCC preamble to the laws for your information.

 

Hopefully you will, and others may take note.

 

Quick note to wish Dan Pearson a speedy recovery from his recent operation.

 

Preamble to the Laws

Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game. Any action which is seen to abuse this spirit causes injury to the game itself. The major responsbility for ensuring the spirit of fair play rests with the captains.

1. There are two Laws which place responsibility for the team's conduct firmly on the captain.

Responsibility of captains

The captains are responsible at all times for ensuring that play is conducted within the Spirit of the Game as well as within the Laws.

Player's conduct

In the event of a player failing to comply with instructions by an umpire, or criticising by word or action the decision of an umpire, or showing dissent, or generally behaving in a manner which might bring the game into disrepute, the umpire concerned shall in the first place report the matter to the other umpire and to the player's captain, and instruct the latter to take action.

2. Fair and unfair play

According to the Laws the umpires are the sole judges of fair and unfair play.

The umpires may intervene at any time and it is the responsibility of the captain to take action where required.

3. The umpires are authorised to intervene in cases of:

•Time wasting

•Damaging the pitch

•Dangerous or unfair bowling

•Tampering with the ball

•Any other action that they consider to be unfair

4. The Spirit of the Game involves RESPECT for:

•Your opponents

•Your own captain

•The roles of the umpires

•The game's traditional values

5. It is against the Spirit of the Game:

•To dispute an umpire's decision by word, action or gesture

•To direct abusive language towards an opponent or umpire

•To indulge in cheating or any sharp practice, for instance:

•(a) to appeal knowing that the batsman is not out

•(b) to advance towards an umpire in an aggressive manner when appealing

•(c) to seek to distract an opponent either verbally or by harassment with persistent clapping or unnecessary noise under the guise of enthusiasm and motivation of one's own side

6. Violence

There is no place for any act of violence on the field of play.

7. Players

Captains and umpires together set the tone for the conduct of a cricket match. Every player is expected to make an important contribution towards this.

© Marylebone Cricket Club

Blog it thanks to "
 
Matty D / Wibbs : covers on the covers -done during the week !
Peter Bristow : Glossing the Changing rooms
Joe Fryer / Mick Rainbow / Derek Sprawson : Sight Screens / Nets
Ruth Spraswon / General tidy
Ruth Sprawson Alex Mitchell / James Mitchell ( yes from THurgo !) Changing room walls cleaned -lessons in cleaning provided by the Chairman !
Alistair Bowie : Club house tidy: Hoover ! Brilliant stuff
Scotty : New slabs from Tims
 
More work tomorrow at 10 !!
 
Scotty & Tom F on slab work this week !
 
The Chair !!

Dear All

The 2010 Season is nearly upon us and there are many items to let you know about !
 
Nat West Cricket Force : You will see a lot of press and media activity this weekend – we are going to do it but not just yet ! Our weekend of work will be on April 10th & 11th ( Committee members this is a change from this weekend due to many people being away !). A list of jobs will be circulated shortly ! If you can help out then or before please let me know.
Sportsmans Dinner ; April 16th – have you got your ticket yet ? It promises to be a great evening. Please let me know if  you want to go and don’t have a ticket yet.£45 per ticket which includes transport. Lee Sharp is the guest speaker plus a great comedian.
May 3rd – THE DONKEY DUMP – Please see the attached flyer. We need to sell 200 tickets to cover the prize – 300 tickets to make a profit and 400 + to really have a real bonus to the start of the season.
Many thanks go to Andy Ashworth for organising a £150 donation from Capital One, which will be used for buying Junior Cricket Balls.
Premier Club, is still a vital way of raising money and a great chance to win some cash. For £2 a month you get 2 tickets in the monthly draw and  we have an annual big prize draw in November. If you already have a ticket consider having one more – its easy by Direct Debit. Let me know if you want to increase your chance to win.
Subs – yours are due now !
 
Cricket Matters
 
The 1st XI will play under slightly new rules this year with fielding restrictions and a tight line on leg side wides. These rules will not effect the 2nd XI. Both Sunday teams see a need to use 5 bowlers with the maximum of 8 overs per bowler.  Our Saturday 2nd XI ,who were promoted last year to Division D have some juicy local derbies with Fixtures against Hoveringham, Newark, Fiskerton and Thurgarton 1st XIs.
 
Winter Nets continue at Trent Bridge on Thursday nights under the excellent guidance of Andy Haynes and Howard Wibberley. A big thank you to them both for the help they have given attendees.
 
Fixtures – are on the website, with a 1st XI Friendly taking place against Kimberley on April 17th at Newdigate Street. We have additionally have a Touring Team Northwood CC , from Hertfordshire visiting us on June 15th for a 45 over game starting at 1pm.
 
Overseas : Sadly Patrick Whelan is unable to return this year due to him having an impending eye operation. We wish him  a speedy recovery and an open invitation to come back to Top Ground. We are still exploring a couple of other avenues but as yet have no confirmed replacement.
 
We would like to welcome Richard Beaumont & Lee Galligan to the club, and welcome back Ali Haynes. Additionally Grant McCarthy has moved schools and will be available for most of the season. Gentlemen we wish you every success at Top Ground. Moving away from TG are George Bacon & Beverley , to Kimberley. We hope to meet George in some League fixtures in the not too distant future. Alex Mitchell has decided that the Saturday commute from London has finally become too much and has opted to play for Shepherds Bush CC. we wish SBCC well ! Ben Carr decided to move down Brinkley Hill to Fiskerton at the end of last year, and FCC have picked up a fine young keeper. Good Luck Ben.
 
Nathan Burton is to undergo a major operation this summer so will miss this season. Get well soon.
 
Another new arrival to the Club is William Rimmer , who was born on March 13th. Congratulations to Gemma & David. The Scotts, The Boswells, The Patels ( nee Thompson – our new Auditor Helen and husband Raj) and The Millers all have impending arrivals during the season. We wish you all well.
 
Evening League – after long consideration we have withdrawn from the Newark Evening League and decided to run an U17s team instead.
 
Umpires & Scorers – we have 54 games where we need to provide and umpire and 72 games where we need a scorer. Any suggestions, offers of help are greatly appreciated. Many thanks go to Jerry Butler who has attended an Umpires Course this winter.
 
Sunday Captains – we have new ones. Firstly a big thanks you to Mark Bowie, Dave Stead and Ted Behl who ran our Sunday teams last year. This year Matt Davis, fresh from his winter in NZ has taken on the 1st XI job and is keen to challenge for the 2nd division title. Jim Scott is going to lead the Development Team, who gained promotion to Division 5. Good luck gentlemen.
 
Nets – will continue to be on Thursday evenings during the season but with a more structured approach. We are also spending some money on refurbishing the nets and getting a mobile net available to be used on the square.
 
Juniors – we are running Kwik, U11s, U12s, U13s, U15s and U17 this year – that’s a lot of cricket, and lot of work for our excellent Ground Team of John, Tim and John. The first Junior Friday night of the season is May 7th, all help greatly appreciated and this year CF SPORTS will attend this session with a display of equipment and clothing.
 
A big note of thanks go to Garth McCarthy, Peter Johnson, Tim Willson, Ruth Sprawson,John Thompson Chris Steele and Mick Rainbow for running our Winter Junior programmes at MHM and Southwell Leisure Centre.
 
Tour – details are currently being finalised by Sam Grimley for this years Senior Tour to NW England.
 
Web Site – Sam is has undertaken to take over the running of the site from Stuart Foster ( Stuart Thank you for an excellent job over the years). Watch this space. There are rumours of a Twitter feed , whatever that is !
 
Fixture Cards –  Chris Miller and myself are working on them as we speak.
 
We hope to host Notts U11s this season on a couple of occasions.
 
Finally , can you please confirm to me your contact details, phone/ mobile / email/ address so I can ensure we have the right details for our records and the league registration documents.
 
Enough from me ! not long now !
 
Cheers
 
Stuart Grimley
Chairman
 
PS There is a Southwell Cap up for grabs as a prize for answering  the following sporting questions ; email me at 135notout@gmail.com with your answer ..
 
1 What name follows : Stabile ; Nejedly ; Leonidas ; Ademir ; Kocsis ;Fontaine ;Garrincha ; Eusebio : ……………? One for the older ones !
2 Which Notts player has a benefit this year ? And which football team did his Dad play 20 games for scoring no goals ?
 
PPS Please pass this to any parent , player , potential sponsor , interested party that I may of missed ! Stuart F can it go onthe Web ?