Barnards Green cricket Club

There was a celebratory atmosphere as BGCC made the short trip to Norton’s Gordon Jones Memorial Ground for their final WCL Div 1 game of the season. With the championship confirmed by a win against Stourbridge and second placed Nomads unable to polish off the Droitwich tail in the league’s penultimate week the Green traveled hoping to round off the season with a strong performance.

Continuing his good run of form with the coin visiting skipper Tim Williams elected to bat first and his decision looked to be shaky as the Green crashed to 14-2 losing Golder and Hooper cheaply with makeshift opener Binks struggling to force the pace with his 9 runs taking 47 balls. After a circumspect start however Andre Russell yet again dominated his opponents attack with Phil Harris once more providing valuable and mature support beyond his years.

Russell showed his undoubted class with a brutal display of clean hitting dispensing harsh justice to all bowlers with Horton and the usually economical Wagstaff both disappearing for 8 an over. Pick of the bowlers Weston returned to try and thwart late innings damage but was given no such opportunity as his final overs were harshly dealt with, increasing his economy to nearly 6 per over. With Harris falling for a run a ball 70 and Russell scoring 110 from 60 balls before being caught in the deep by Walters it was left to Rhodes and Jazzy Clarke to accelerate the score contributing 48 and 36 respectively. Weston finished with figures of 4-103 and the visitors total closed on 310-9.

Jack Horton got the home side off to a strong start with some excellent shots off Russell and Harris however the innings suffered an early setback with Peppiatt dismissed for 7 by Russell. McKay and Horton were then both rifled out in quick succession to a sharp slip catch by Clarke off Williams and a Smedley/Banks combination respectively.

Keyte used up 17 deliveries until he was captured LBW by Banks who also picked up the wicket of Worcester ‘keeper Barratt for 9. Padden and Brown then combined in a stodgy partnership of 18 which took the home side to 102-5 which ended with a massive deluge from the heavens.

Despite a brief respite from the elements rain soon returned to leave the visitors with no chance of using the remaining 21 overs to capture the final 5 wickets for a season ending victory.

Barnards Green finishing with a strong winning draw and topping the Division by 40 points.

2011 promises to be a massive challenge with the Malvern club under no illusions of the task in hand to remain in the Birmingham League. They can however take heart from their performances in the middle of the season where without the highly influential and class act that is Andre Russell for 9 games they managed to climb from 3^rd place to 1^st during his absence.

BGCC 310-9 Russell 110, Harris 70, Rhodes 48, Weston 4-103

WCC 102-5 Banks 3-25

11th September 2010 - Match Reports.
Worcester CC vs Barnards Green 1sts	BGCC 2nds vs Worcester 2nds.
There was a celebratory atmosphere as BGCC made the short trip to Norton’s Gordon Jones Memorial Ground for their final WCL Div 1 game of the season. With the championship confirmed by a win against Stourbridge and second placed Nomads unable to polish off the Droitwich tail in the league’s penultimate week the Green traveled hoping to round off the season with a strong performance. Continuing his good run of form with the coin visiting skipper Tim Williams elected to bat first and his decision looked to be shaky as the Green crashed to 14-2 losing Golder and Hooper cheaply with makeshift opener Binks struggling to force the pace with his 9 runs taking 47 balls. After a circumspect start however Andre Russell yet again dominated his opponents attack with Phil Harris once more providing valuable and mature support beyond his years. Russell showed his undoubted class with a brutal display of clean hitting dispensing harsh justice to all bowlers with Horton and the usually economical Wagstaff both disappearing for 8 an over. Pick of the bowlers Weston returned to try and thwart late innings damage but was given no such opportunity as his final overs were harshly dealt with, increasing his economy to nearly 6 per over. With Harris falling for a run a ball 70 and Russell scoring 110 from 60 balls before being caught in the deep by Walters it was left to Rhodes and Jazzy Clarke to accelerate the score contributing 48 and 36 respectively. Weston finished with figures of 4-103 and the visitors total closed on 310-9. Jack Horton got the home side off to a strong start with some excellent shots off Russell and Harris however the innings suffered an early setback with Peppiatt dismissed for 7 by Russell. McKay and Horton were then both rifled out in quick succession to a sharp slip catch by Clarke off Williams and a Smedley/Banks combination respectively. Keyte used up 17 deliveries until he was captured LBW by Banks who also picked up the wicket of Worcester ‘keeper Barratt for 9. Padden and Brown then combined in a stodgy partnership of 18 which took the home side to 102-5 which ended with a massive deluge from the heavens. Despite a brief respite from the elements rain soon returned to leave the visitors with no chance of using the remaining 21 overs to capture the final 5 wickets for a season ending victory. Barnards Green finishing with a strong winning draw and topping the Division by 40 points. 2011 promises to be a massive challenge with the Malvern club under no illusions of the task in hand to remain in the Birmingham League. They can however take heart from their performances in the middle of the season where without the highly influential and class act that is Andre Russell for 9 games they managed to climb from 3^rd place to 1^st during his absence. BGCC 310-9 Russell 110, Harris 70, Rhodes 48, Weston 4-103 WCC 102-5 Banks 3-25	After a tough and long season just what the Green Second’s wanted was a 24 point win against our local rivals Worcester CC and this is exactly what we got on a blustery September day at North End Lane. Strangely, after winning the toss, visiting skipper Robinson chose to bat on a damp, green tinged wicket and immediately found his side in trouble when Eliot Hennessy (6-1-31-1) bowled the experienced Muspratt first ball of the innings. Tom Clack (6-0-30-0) found it hard to bowl with accuracy as did Hennessy, at times and the visitors managed to score at a decent rate in the opening overs. The introduction of James Scullion (7-3-16-3) and Lewis Hooper (9-6-5-3) changed the face of the game as the Worcester innings went from a position of strength and potential at 98-4 to being bowled out for a meagre 126 runs inside of 35 overs. Georgia Hennessy (4-1-17-1) bowled well, again, and picked up the other wicket to fall in the innings. (Worcester only had ten men). In reply Wheeler (6) smacked the second ball he faced for 6 before falling inside the first two overs. Doughty (22) played some attractive strokes before perishing softly to the gentle spin of Winstanly. Enter Tom Clack. Clack (63) played with supreme confidence and punched the ball, particularly on the leg-side, with venom. Greaves (0) fell ill at the wicket and missed a straight one when perhaps he should have retired, Scullion (4) and Hooper (10) fell in quick succession leaving Ash Brewer (0) to partner the unbeaten Clack as the game was won at a canter by the home side before the 23rd over was completed. Well done to all who played in this good natured, end of season game, between two clubs who often have a little too much ‘needle’ in their fixtures. BGCC 24pts – WCC -3pts.

11th September 2010 - Match Reports.