27th June 2009 - Match Reports.
Tenbury Wells 2nd XI vs Barnards Green 4th XI	Barnards Geen 2nd XI vs Worcester
Saturday saw the Green 4ths venture over hill and dale to the charming town of Tenbury Wells to play Tenbury 2nds.  With Captain Dick Brown playing overseas in the Isle of Wight, stand in skipper Robin Longmore won the toss and elected to field on an interesting looking wicket.  Fourteen year old Jack Cullity and Ryan Scullion opened the attack on a hot and sunny afternoon, but Cullity had to be replaced after just 3 of his overs due to injury and was replaced by spinner Chris Freeman.   It was Scullion who drew first blood in his first spell bowling a big in swinger to bowl Thompson for 6.  Murphy then joined Taylor and pushed the score along before he mistimed a sweep and skied the ball to fine leg where Scullion took an excellent catch to give Freeman his only wicket in a tidy spell of 1 for 30 off 8 overs.  Steve Hunt found a good length and caused difficulties with his leggies, but Scullion was called back into the attack and bowled skipper Yarranton for 9 and completed an excellent spell of 2 for 18 off 8 overs.  Opener Taylor reached his 50 but then mistimed one sweep too many and was LBW to Dave Price who also accounted for Yarts and 14 year old Eliott Hennessey showed good pace to bowl Duffy for 18.  Steve Hunt then took three more Tenbury wickets to finish with 3 for 39 and Taylor 21no helped Tenbury to 160 off their 45 overs, which never really looked enough despite some inconsistent bounce in the wicket.  Some good fielding by the Green team was a key element to restricting the Tenbury score. Skipper Longmore opened the batting with 16 year old Lewis Churchill who looks a good prospect for the future and played some delightful straight drives and looked set for a good score before being undone by Yeoman who then had John Barr adjudged LBW next ball.  Hennessey joined his skipper and these two set about building the total required before Longmore (46) spooned a half volley to mid on to depart with the score on 90.  Jack Cullity joined Hennessey who took the lead role and batted beautifully to finish on 64 not out.  Cullity was also adjudged LBW  and it was left to Mark Perkins to help Hennessey take the Green to victory with six wickets to spare and 20 points in the bag.  Thanks go to sponsors Clarke Roxburgh Insurance. Worcester CC 1^st XI vs Barnards Green CC 1^st XI Saturday saw league leaders Barnards Green lose their second consecutive game and fall from the top of the table with rivals Pershore picking up another 20 point win. With the Ashes on the horizon it was apt that the Green could have been described in a similar fashion to the 1986 Ashes tourists; being unable to bat, bowl or field in a diabolical all round performance Upon visiting skipper Williams  winning the toss Murphy bowled with pace and swing to capture the early wickets of Keyte, Peppiatt and Wille  thanks to excellent slip catching from Ford. He was also unlucky not to capture the wicket of Weston who survived several close LBW shouts from Murphy’s stock in swinger. Things for the visitors here took a turn for the worse. Weston found an ally in skipper Kelleher as Worcester built a valuable 5^th wicket partnership with Weston playing a patient, clinical and attacking innings with Kelleher happy to play the anchor at the other end. Ford broke the partnership as Weston attempted a glide to third man to be caught by ‘keeper Binks for an excellent 84. The Worcester innings then momentarily lost its way as Kelleher was also captured for a stoic 59 caught by Paddock off Harris. Foster (16)and then Walters (44 from 20) however dispensed harsh justice on the wayward offerings of Harris and Williams as the Green conceded 40 runs in the final 3 overs to be set a challenging 237 to win. Golder again started well however could not turn his brisk 26 into a more substantial contribution when he was LBW to Walters. Smedley’s scratchy form also continued as he missed a straight ball to be dismissed by Wille. Brief respite was provided by Rhodes (16) and Paddock however a dual blow Rhodes succumbing to Wille and Paddock having to retire hurt after a Liam Weston beamer crept through  his helmet grille left the visitors in serious peril. Tim Clarke played a sensible innings in  the number 6 role to rebuild the innings with Adam Binks with the former looking fluent on his way to the innings top score of 38. His demise was quickly followed by that of Binks who offered a simple return catch to Walters for 32 leaving a  target of slightly less than a run a ball with 9 overs to go. Despite the brave return of Paddock sporting a heavily swollen and bruised left eye none of the visitors lower order could reach double figures as Walters ripped through the tail  to leave the visitors twenty to win from the final 2 overs. A slower ball from Wille in the penultimate over had Williams trapped LBW for 2 with Worcester victors by 19 runs. Two complacent performances see the Green slip to second in the table with the need for an improved performance with Redditch the visitors to North End Lane this week. Worcester 236-8, Weston 84, Kelleher 59, Walters 44no BGCC 217 Clarke 38, Walters 5-48	Apparently ‘consistency is key’ to making loaves of bread. I’ve heard the same applies to bricklaying and marking exam papers. Consistency of results and the momentum gained from positive results is a key component to a successful cricket season. Luckily for the Green seconds, we have found a rich vein of form and have managed to play consistently well in all three areas of the game; Batting, Bowling and Fielding in all of the games we have played thus far. Things were no different on Saturday.Yet again Green skipper Judd Doughty won the toss in this, the last fixture of the first half of the league season at home to Worcester on a hot and humid day at North End Lane. Without hesitation the home side asked the visitors to bat on a dry wicket surrounded on all sides by what looked like, and later proved to be, a lightening fast outfield. Worcester, a side considerably older than the ‘youth club’ of the Green, struggled with the pace attack of Sam Spencer ((7-1-1-17) and Tom Banks (6-2-0-8), the latter particularly unlucky not to pick up a wicket during a classy exhibition of swing bowling. The batsmen, Genever, Finbow and Musspratt, all experienced performers struggled to beat the infield and, tellingly, were unable to pick up any singles either due to the tight lines bowled and a spritely fielding display. James Scullion (7-0-4-39) came into the attack and with too few runs on the board something had to give for Worcester. Seven overs later swinger Scullion had four wickets in his bag, helped by his partner in crime Ash Brewer who claimed a catch and two smart stumpings, the visitors’ innings had not only halted, it had gone into reverse. Tom Clack (7-0-0-20) bowled with pace and nip, Lewis Hooper (11-5-2-13) tied up one end superbly well again and Paul Drinkwater (8-1-3-30) bowled with control to further restrict the Worcester innings which ended 143 all out in the 48^th over. The Green innings got off to a steady start with Doughty and Mark Hooper finding the boundary early before Doughty managed to late cut a quick delivery from Elleray straight to second slip for 8. Drinkwater joined Hooper and the pair put on 37 before Hooper fell after a fine knock of 31 which included 6 fours. Drinkwater, looking equally assured off front and back foot punished the bowling for an unbeaten 64 off 85 balls on his way to sealing the match for the Green. Drinkwater was well supported by Curtis (23) and Dean (12) who both mixed solid defence with savage blows when appropriate. The total was reached in the 38^th over for the loss of four wickets. Yet again the Green were consistent. Consistently consistent. This game, like so many this year followed a similar pattern. Win the toss, bowl well, field well, enjoy our tea and then knock off a score of 140 odd with overs and wickets to spare. Whilst we all must be happy with this level of consistency, or repeatability as the ECB coaches like to call it, none of us most become complacent. Complacency is dangerous. We visit 3^rd place Redditch on Saturday and must be prepared for a hard fought game of cricket.