4th July 2009 - Match Reports.
Redditch CC vs Barnards Green 2nd XI	Barnards Green 1st XI vs Redditch.
Biff! Whack! Thump! Kapow! Captions from an episode of Batman, but yesterday, captions matching the sound of leather on the willow of Paul Drinkwater (81) and Cyril Dean (65). They were superheroes in their own right in this challenging fixture away at Redditch Rugby, Cricket, Football and drunken chav walking across the pitch Sports Club. Winning yet another toss skipper Judd Doughty had no hesitation in asking Redditch to bat first on a surprisingly green but rock hard wicket. Matt Brookes (10-2-30-1) bowled excellently with the new ball on his return to second team cricket backed up by the quick but at times erratic Tom Clack (7-1-27-0). The home batsmen got off to a decent start and exploited the gaps in what was a large field occupied by the oldest team the Green have put out this year. At 57 for none the visitors had to put the brakes on and Louis Loader (5-0-27-0) followed by Paul Drinkwater (15-1-56-4) and then Lewis Hooper (13-0-49-4) began the hard task of slowing the run rate down and picking up wickets at regular intervals. All bowled well, Loader, bowling in the seconds for the first time mixed his pace well and showed what a talent he is. Drinkwater, ‘the slot machine’ nagged the batsmen with his unerring lines and Hooper, who has developed fantastically  this season, allowed the ball to hang in the air drawing false shots from a number of batsmen. Brewer took three sharp stumpings, and kept efficiently again proving he must be one of the leagues’ top stumpers, regardless of his age and is a first team player in the making. An innings which started looking likely of posting 270 plus stuttered and stumbled to 200 for 9 in 50 overs. After a tea which saw the home side eat most of the food before the Green players entered the tea room (where has etiquette gone?) the opening batsmen of Doughty (12) and Lewis (0) headed out to bat on a wicket which had been freshly soaked when the plastic sheets protecting the wicket had been inadvertently emptied on a length after a brief rain shower. Lewis missed a straight one and Doughty chopped on whilst attempting to late cut a painfully slow delivery. Drinkwater (81) started his innings with freedom and a flourish whilst Curtis (1) was unlucky to glove a lifting delivery from the off-spinner. Dean (65) announced himself with a pulled four and then with his southpaw batting partner began the epic task of rebuilding the innings. Both batsmen rode their luck whilst hitting the ball in the air but this created more gaps as the field spread allowing quick singles and calculated twos to be taken. Drinkwater finally perished playing a tired looking shot which brought Hooper (28*) to the crease. Dean, struggling with a gunshot wound to the leg, was run out allowing Steve Metcalfe (5*), batting with a runner after also being hit by a sniper, to swat a four to mid-wicket easing the pressure before Hooper first prodded and poked then later swotted and swiped the Green to victory.    Yet again the ‘Youth Club’ battled, fought and didn’t give up allowing them to obtain a positive result against what is a very strong and experienced Redditch side who deserve to be in the top 3 in the league. With four key players out either through promotion or holiday and two players getting injured during the game it was a fine demonstration of the strength in depth that the club and second team has this season. Well done, again, boys. Worcester Nomads visit us next week and they’re a strong side also!	After a couple of desperately disappointing results Barnards Green bounced back to winning ways with a victory over an in form Redditch outfit. Green won the toss and with North End Lane bathed in sunshine and a wearing wicket there were few surprises when captain Williams elected to bat. The tried and tested formula of Williams snr and Golder was back at the top of the innings and provided Green with the perfect start. Both men capitalised on a loose start from the Redditch opening bowlers starting positively and finding the boundary frequently in the first ten overs. The opening stand moved on briskly before Williams snr (22) miss-timed a pull shot and was the first man out caught and bowled. Youngster Rhodes came to the wicket and dug deep providing the perfect foil for senior partner Golder who began to go through the gears. Redditch captain Gailey turned to spin in an effort to stem the flow but Green continued to make good progress as Golder brought up another well compiled fifty with a lofted drive over mid on. He looked assured and played with apparent ease until the 33rd over when he returned a simple catch to Australian overseas Friedrich and was out for an impressive 86. Paddock joined Rhodes with the perfect platform and the pair looked to kick on with a score in excess of 250 looking a distinct possibility. The pair played sensibly and took the score beyond 200 before Paddock became Friedrich’s second victim caught at long off for a run a ball 24. That welcomed the first of the big-hitters Harris to the crease with Green ideally placed three wickets down after 42 overs with a wealth of firepower still to come. Harris contributed 11 before falling to Mason and he was soon followed by Rhodes who made an accomplished 51. The middle and lower order rightly looked to accelerate the run rate but the Green fell away losing six wickets in the final seven overs leaving their opponents 241 to win the game. In reply Redditch made a swift start of their own with Captain Adam Gailey hitting the ball cleanly clearing the short leg side boundary on a couple of occasions. Murphy removed Gailey’s opening partner sparking a key period of play as Redditch’s key man Southwick entered the fray with Barnards Green captain Williams introducing spin into the equation. Green and Smedley soon gained the upper hand as the slow bowler dried up the runs up from one end provoking a suicidal quick single from the two Redditch batsmen. Harris picked up well and Southwick cut a despondent figure trudging back to the pavilion run out for three. Off spinner Ford was the next man into the attack in the very next over and with only his third ball he removed the dangerous Gailey (42) smartly caught by Harris at mid wicket. With two new batsmen at the crease and the two spinners bowling in tandem the required run rate soon soared. The economical Smedley conceded just 26 runs in his 16 overs and Ford claimed two further wickets to end his spell with figures of 3-37 as the Green bowled and fielded their way firmly into the driver’s seat. Then, as the game threatened to peter out into a draw livewire Harris produced a piece of magic to run out the dogged Protherough. He picked up cleanly at mid wicket and swiveled to throw down the stumps at the keepers end leaving Green eight overs to take the remaining four wickets. As Green pressed for victory, Captain Williams re-introduced opening bowler Nick Murphy and brought himself into the attack and with both changes came immediate success. First Williams (2-11) removed Guy Hair and mainstay Friedrich (48) before Murphy (3-37) blew away the tail. Green took a well deserved maximum 24 points. Barnards Green 240-9 [50 Overs] (Golder 86 Rhodes 51) Redditch 146 all out [46.2 Overs] (Ford 3-32 Murphy 3-37)