Barnards Green cricket Club Match
Reports.
Hewell vs Barnards Green “Singles” |
Rushwick |
vs Barnards Green 1st
XI |
|
Barnards Green ‘singles’
ended their league campaign with an emphatic and entertaining victory over
Hewell by six wickets. With an early start and three players lost on route
the Green were asked to field with seven men. With a full
complement of fielders and more importantly bowlers the Green suffered as the
Hewell batters made the most of the short boundaries. The ‘tour weary’ Brown
removed Sutton and then saw Finney put down first ball. Finney then
bludgeoned 26 runs off ten balls before becoming the luckless Mike Genever’s
only victim. Genever and Spiers bowled unchanged for 24 overs and saw chance
after after chance put down. Pannel profited for 64 runs but it was Williams’
belligerent 78 that did the damage. He prospered with his attack at all costs
attitude the pair added 122 runs until they found a fielder that could catch.
Hewell could not prosper during the final ten overs as Ian Bryant 3 for 20
and Phil Harris 2 for 18 restricted the home side to only 34 runs but still
the Green faced a score of 227 to record victory. Whether it was
tactical or sheer good fortunate but with Freeman and C Genever back in the
pavilion after five overs it needed the middle order to score the bulk. Phil
Spencer decided that the short boundaries were to his liking and proceeded to
play a brutal innings of 51 off only seventeen balls, such was his brutality
on the bowlers his fellow players saw little off his innings as they were
scattered in adjoining fields searching for lost balls. Steve Metcalfe got in
on the act and the pair added 83 runs in seven overs. Spencer’s dismissal to
a ball that kept low brought youngster Mike Genever to the wicket. Having
nagged the skipper all season to bat up the order he produced an innings of
great maturity and saw his side through to the end. Metcalfe continued his
recent good form and unluckily played on for 80 but by this time the score
had reached 200 in the 22nd over. Mike Genever completed a superb
50 no and a cameo 13 no by Rich Birch ensured that the Green finished the
season on a high with this six wicket victory. Barnards Green 3rd XI Vs Feckenham On Saturday the Green 3rds XI entertained bottom of the
table Feckenham in the final league game of the season. The visitors won the toss and put the
Green in to bat. Skipper Robin
Longmore was forced into opening himself along with Lee Dyment and after a
lively start from the Feckenham opening attack, Longmore opened his shoulders
and started to despatch the ball to all parts on a damp track offering
assistance to the bowler. With the score on 77 he edged a long hop to the
keeper and departed for 46. Dyment
(38) and Dave Bayliss (28) found the going difficult, but Julian hall livened
proceedings with a solid 40 and Andy Tandy on loan from the social XI scored
an excellent 19 with Dave Price bludgeoning a quick 11 in a few balls at the
end leaving the Green on 232 at tea.
After a pork pieless tea, Feckenham took to the wicket and whilst
opener Houghton looked to hit the bad ball, Skipper Daniels was more
circumspect. Skipper Longmore
introduced himself to lollipop the ball up to try and get some interest from
the opposition and soon had Houghton LBW for 42. Daniels should have gone soon after, but the stumping chance
went begging. Further wickets for
Longmore who finished with 6 for 56 followed and Bob Rogers and Jamie
Longmore both picked up a wicket a piece, but Feckenham could not be broken
from their comatose stance of batting out for a draw and the game petered out
for a boring draw with 8 wickets down.
Many thanks to match day sponsor David Whyman map sales who could no
doubt have helped Feckenham who had lost their way from the start of their
innings! |
Barnards Green 1st
XI approached Saturdays visit to Rushwick just 1 point behind second placed
Belbroughton, level with Lye. With
this in mind Green skipper Tim Williams had no hesitation on electing to bat
first on a wet track and try to gain a maximum haul of 24 points. The Green started slowly on a difficult
wicket, but Tim Clarke, promoted to open and Judd Doughty both ensured that
an early tumble of wickets was not going to happen. Clarke eventually fell for a very stubborn 9. This bought the in form Dan Flynn to the
wicket. He immediately upped the
scoring rate, being particularly brutal on anything full or short. This encouraged Doughty to play some more
shots of his own with some excellent aerial hits and playing particularly
strongly off his legs. When Doughty
fell for an excellent 33 the Green suddenly collapsed with Richards, Smedley
and Drinkwater all falling for 0.
Chris Hill joined Flynn and the pair started to repair the damage. Flynn continued to dispatch the loose ball
and moved close to another hundred.
However when on 86 he was adjudged leg before. His innings contained 13 fours and 2
sixes. This then saw a second
collapse, with only Hill of the later batsman looking capable on the almost
impossible track. The Green was
dismissed for 156, with both Turner and Douglas turning in excellent
performances with the ball and claiming 5 wickets each. The Green started
well when Tim Williams had Dobson brilliantly caught at point by Tim
Clarke. However Rushwick recovered
well and it took the introduction of Clive Churchill, fresh from a successful
tour, to gain the next wicket. Bishop
again fell victim to a Clarke catch at point, this time diving forward. Churchill then bowled Jones before Ingles
was well caught at short leg by Drinkwater, again off Churchill. Ian Scullion then got in on the act,
dismissing the dangerous Watkins, clean bowled and then having Lane
brilliantly stumped by Glendinning. The
Green had reduced Rushwick to 46 for 6.
All of the Rushwick tail put up some resistance but a good catch by
Richards saw the end of Colley and a third wicket for Scullion before Flynn
came into the attack to remove Wills, again smartly taken by Drinkwater, this
time at silly point. Long then
attempted a single to Hill at square leg.
Hill steamed round, stopped the ball with his boot, before swooping in
and gaining a direct hit to run out Long and to send the Greens players and
supporters into raptures! Flynn
finished the game by bowling Turner, to give the Green maximum 24 points, and
were left to hear how other results went.
Due to Belbroughton gaining a victory the Green had to settle for 3rd
place, just 1 point behind and only 20 off the champions. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|