Chess Valley 1st XI Match Reports - 2006

July 30 - CCC 211 all out lost to Old Albanian 212 for 8 by 2 wickets

A full strength side this week but sadly another defeat. Fosters scored 211, which was a reasonable effort after a middle order collapse and the failure of Fish and Flat Track to make the most of their excellent opening. In the end it was left to the Father and son Sayers together with Wellsy to club some much needed runs.

In response Matt Stead, clearly enjoying his Sunday outings, made hay by taking 5 for 33 from his allotted overs. Unfortunately he wasn't really backed up as all of the other bowlers went for more than 5 an over with only his brother returning some decent figures of 2 for 52 off of his full 10 overs.

Nevertheless it was even closer than the result suggests as Old Abanian's last man was away ill so in effect just one more wicket was needed to secure the win.


July 23 - CCC 156 all out lost to Osterley 320 all out by 164 runs

With the first team playing in the Becker Plate and more than a couple of the remaining players put off from travelling to the M4 corridor, it was a far from full strength team that set foot on the playing fields of Iver.

Skipper Wellsy lost the toss and before we knew it drinks had been taken with Osterley cruising on 166 for 0 from just 22 overs. From here though came a really spirited effort by the whole side. All of the bowlers kept their nerve and took wickets, with Shafi Babwah's figures of 2 for 46 from 10 overs being quite exceptional in the circumstances. The bowlers received full support from the fielders with Andy Stokes completing a run out and a catch, Hicksy taking 3 excellent catches and nearly pulling off another and Anthony taking 2 sharp chances behind the stumps.

320 all out on paper is quite depressing but the whole side felt good about our efforts and went in to bat full of confidence, with Wellsy call of get on with it. Andy fell unluckily to a surprising lifting delivery and then Anthony and Marcus added 50 in good time before they both fell in quick succession for 18 and 20 respectively. Tosh and Hicksy continued te rate but wickets started to fall regularly as Tosh fell for 12 to a smart catch and then Tom Mason was beaten for pace.

Hicksy top scored with a gutsy 31 and it was left to sample a few balls of the future as Sam Barker and Michael Levy added 7 runs for the final wicket before Michael was caught.

156 was scored but, in keeping with the captain's wishes, came off of just 30 overs. A decent day's workout even in crushing defeat.


July 9 - CCC 283 all out beat Edmonton 195 all out by 88 runs - Matt Fisher

League leaders Edmonton made the short trip to Chalk Lane on a blustery afternoon to find a pitch that looked favourable to bowlers. They duly won the toss and elected to field first. The home captain moved himself down the batting order.

O'Leary and Penny opened up and worked hard for a stand of 65 from 15 overs. Penny in particular was on the receiving end of some lifting deliveries from tennis-ball-like bounce and his innings of 22 included some typically textbook off-drives. O'Leary fell immediately afterwards for a patient 32 and when Pigden and Xavier failed to make inroads, the score of 102-4 had many predicting a total in the region of 180.

They hadn't counted on the fireworks that followed though. The skipper - who hadn't been home from the night before - blazed the ball to all parts. First came a stand of 49 with Richie 'The Boy' Sumner, who made just 5, before James Stead came to the crease. Still wary of some alarming bounce, Fisher tried to protect his younger partner from the strike as much as possible, despite catcalls from the pavilion. It seemed to work as the pair put on 83 for the sixth wicket. Edmonton's resolve was being severely tested by this point, but none more so than when Stead was confidently driving and leg-glancing into the gaps, only for the batsmen to stand their ground!

Fisher reached his century from just 62 balls, with six 6's and ten 4's in a punishing knock. But with three figures made, he was caught attempting another six down the ground. This brought Tony Sayers to the crease with the total on 234-6, and still five overs left. Some supporters were getting pretty vocal by this point but the loudest cheers of the innings were reserved for Tony. He hit two of the biggest sixes of the season in a blistering innings of 22 and put on 32 with James Stead. The latter was next out after an hour at the crease for a well-made 26. It could have been double that if the captain had given him more of the strike.

After a couple of blows from Wellsy and a farcical run out of Moruzzi, the home side completed their 45 overs with an imposing total of 283. A top effort on what was still a bowler-friendly wicket.

Edmonton's response was crippled in the first over. Matt Stead charged in from the church end and brought the pavilion to its feet with a double-wicket maiden. He bowled the opener with the first ball of the innings and two balls later the number three was caught by Xavier at slip with an assist from Pigden. A brilliant start. At the other end Wells was looking to exploit the bouncy surface but came in for some treatment, before removing the other opener, O'Leary taking a routine catch.

At 19-3 Edmonton were in trouble, but a partnership of 99 followed. Sayers and James Stead came into the attack and bowled economically but the visitors seemed to be playing better on a surface which for the first time seemed to have calmed down. Xavier was brought into the attack and the change worked, Sayers taking a smart catch. The visitors' middle order offered little resistance as Xavier picked up 4 wickets, but with Adeel going past 50 and looking comfortable, the job was far from over. The Edmonton number four was placing the ball at will and had moved on to 99 when Matt Stead was reintroduced to the attack. Immediate dividends.

Pigden's smart caught behind ended any realistic hopes of a close finish and deprived Adeel of a deserved century.

Stead took a wicket with his very next ball to set up a hat-trick, but the visitors' number 11 stayed resolute. So it was the responsibility of Moruzzi to claim the final wicket, bowling a bemused looking number 9 batsman.

Edmonton were bowled out for 195 with eight overs to spare. Cockfosters winning by 88 runs, showing how vital the contributions of Fisher, James Stead, Sayers and Wellsy were at the end of the innings. None of which would have been possible without the platform given them by the openers, on a testing wicket to play on. The bowling and fielding was excellent and the performance from a mostly young side only bodes well for the future.

A massive thank you to the support we received from the pavilion from the likes of Haydon and Robinson. You can't beat audience participation and the atmosphere was fantastic.


June 25 - CCC 208 for 5 lost to Preston 210 for 5 by 5 wickets

A reasonable score was posted despite none of the recognised batsmen making big scores - following his recent rich vein of form it was no surprise to find James Stead top scoring with 44, followed up Tony Sayers with 34 and Flat Track with 31. In response Preston got home with 3 overs to spare, with Bondgirl and Xav proving surprisingly expensive. Excellent figures though from the Stead twins and Cheesy kept Fosters in the hunt but in the end a 5 wicket defeat was all that the guys had to show for missing the England Ecuador game!


June 18 - CCC 248 for 5 beat Alexandra Park 182 all out by 63 runs

Fosters opened up their Chess Valley campaign with what turned out to be a comfortable victory over Alexandra Park. Flat Track O'Leary chipped in with a wonderful 128 and Richie Sumner made a useful 58. Despite a good opening stand AP were always behind the rate with Chris Xavier taking 4 for 28 off of his 10 overs to seal victory.

Report below from AP Newsletter

1st XI (182) vs Cockfosters (248/5)                LOST

A great effort by nine men. Two more players and we could have saved 30-40 runs in the field and with more batting we could have won. After winning the toss and batting, Cockfosters were pegged back by Cordy and Yasin who bowled superbly with the new ball for AP. Yas picked up a couple of wickets and Derick one. However, Declan O’Leary is a prolific scorer in the Chess Valley League and was dropped off Yas in the 30s. This proved very expensive. He made 128, supported by ex-AP man Richard Sumner, who made 50. The bowling was ok and everyone worked hard in the field but catches went down as the heat and fatigue took its toll.

After tea, better news for AP. Derick and Alistair Wilson compiled an opening stand of 111 and suddenly the home side was feeling the heat.  DC made 64 and AW 51 against good bowling especially the youthful new ball attack. Their dismissals put pressure on the lower order. Mani made 31, but wickets tumbled and the innings ended when the skipper was bowled by a shooter from one of Cockfoster’s more junior members! A good night in the bar ensued. Thanks to all those AP members who come to support us.