Match Reports - 2008
From the pen of the Hon. Secretary (and others!)
24th August 2008 - Middle Rasen (H)
Won - 24 runs
Following last week's disappointing result Winthorpe were back on home soil against the team who had inflicted upon them their heaviest defeat of the season having beaten us by 175 runs!!
Potter was back on form and duly lost the toss and was asked to bat by his opposite number. Winthorpe's batting line up had a very solid look about it with everyone able to score good runs. However, runs aren't scored on paper and batting out in the middle was very difficult indeed on a very slow and low pitch. Macintyre was looking in fine form scoring 24 before being given out LBW having hit the ball! With the exception of Matthews who made 21 no other home batsman made it to double figures and in the end we were grateful to the opposition who gifted us 20 in extras to take us to the grand total of 94!
The Middle Rasen reply got off to a flyer with them scoring 22 off the first 5 overs. However when Locke removed the free scoring Rasen opening batsman the run rate slowed dramatically. Wily off spinner Noble's introduction into the attack brought immediate reward collecting 2 wickets in his first over leaving the opposition on 31 for 4 the game was very much on. Potter took a wicket with the first ball after the drinks break to make it 5 down and still more than 40 runs required. Locke returned to bag 2 wickets in successive overs and with Noble picking up another victim in between Rasen were reduced to 58 for 5. For probably the first time in the match the home side were firm favourites. Having used up all the overs of his most experienced bowlers it was left to Winthorpe's junior bowlers Bailey and Hartland to remove the last remaining 2 batsman. This was duly accomplished in the space of just 21 balls with them picking up a wicket apiece to leave the home side victorious by the considerable margin of 24 runs.
Quite a turn around from that of our previous encounter.
17th August 2008 - Bassingham (A)
Lost - 39 runs
After a month of inactivity we were back in league action away to our near neighbours Bassingham. Skipper Potter broke his duck for the season; (he won the coin toss!) and asked the opposion to bat first on a damp track. Potter and Locke were back in tandem with the new ball for the first time since the opening game of the season, both bowled well with little reward in terms of wickets but runs of the bat were equally scarce. Some lusty hitting by the Bassingham batsmen throughout the middle of the innings propelled them to a respectable total of 162 for 6, with Locke the pick of the bowling taking 3 for 26.
With some of the regular batsmen missing for varying reasons Winthorpe's top order had an unusual look about it; Macintyre and Locke opening and Matthews at no. 3. Several batsmen got started but failed to go on to make a significant contribution to the chase, but at no point did we fall to far behind the required rate. With the entry of Chris Wragg (batting at 6 due to injury) the game was very much on, he plundered 27 in just 4 overs and we looked well in the hunt. Until the Bassingham bowler took a fine caught and bowled to remove him. After the dismissal of Wragg Winthorpe's run chase fizzled out finishing on a total of 123 for 9.
20th July 2008 - Old Lincolnians (A)
Lost - 5 wickets
Sunday the 20th of July saw us on our travels, away at Old Lincolnians. Not for the first time this season Potter called incorrectly and was promptly asked to have first go with the willow. On a damp pitch with varying bounce and pace Macintyre and Fereday did an admirable job in putting together an opening partnership of 48. Fereday was yet again first to go and two more quick wickets fell to leave us on a precarious 61 for 3. A rallying 4th wicket stand of 58 full of typically pugnacious shots between Cope (58) and Matthews (26) carried us towards a total of 200 plus. However a flurry of wickets left us considerably short of this finishing with only 167 largely due to some big hitting from Neil Bailey who perished for the cause for 24 attempting one more big one.
The Old Lincs. reply got off to a flyer with 3 of Potter's first 4 balls being dispatched over the whitewash for boundaries, the 5th ball however had the batsman LBW; a quite remarkable start! More wickets were hard to come by; Potter collected 2 more to finish with 3 for 27 but the rest of the bowlers were finding it hard to penetrate the batsmen's defences whilst conceding plenty of runs. Fereday was brought into the attack and did well to stem the flow of runs from one end bowling 8 overs for only 24 runs (in fact the opposition batsman considered him to be a 30 year veteran whilst in reality he is still to bowl 30 overs in anger!). The Old Lincs. charge to victory carried on unabated until the entrance of Matthews, bowling his own variety of spin he was able to bamboozle a couple of victims but it was all too late.
Old Lincolnians reached their target for the loss of 5 wickets and with 4 overs to spare. Our half time fears of being 30 runs short proved to be unfortunately accurate.
13th July 2008 - Saxilby (A)
Saxilby
is one of the fixtures we look forward too during the
course of the season as games with them tend to be very
close run and hard fought affairs. This should have been an
away fixture for us however it was hastily re-arranged due
to a problem at Saxilby; nevertheless conditions were fair
and the pitch in excellent condition. Again we took to the
field with 10 men, with this in mind having won the toss
Winthorpe elected to bat first. Saxilby’s bowlers set about
their task in earnest keeping the scoring down and also
restricting the batsmen. The score progressed through to
Winthorpe being 75 with 5 wickets down off 20 overs. This
bought the evergreen Brian Noble to the crease to join
Matthews who himself had not been long at the crease. In
the next 18 overs they both batted sublimely adding 90 to
the score before Noble was dismissed for 41 attempting
another boundary. Matthews continued on before being
dismissed for 57 chasing runs off the few remaining overs.
Winthorpe’s final total was 176 off 40 overs giving the
team something to defend.
Despite lack of numbers we had a more balanced team than
took the field at Middle Rasen and whilst we were short in
our main strike bowling we did have more strength in depth
in the overall bowling attack. Locke and Bailey opened the
bowling both looking pretty lively, Locke bowled with his
usual economy and accuracy which was good to see in his
fist match back after a nasty eye injury had kept him out
of the side for the last 2 months. He was well supported at
the other end by James Bailey bowling with all the
enthusiasm and exuberance of youth. Their opening spell had
Saxilby struggling on 46 for 5 from the opening 9 overs
which included an excellent diving catch from Chris Wragg
fielding at mid off to dismiss Evans fist ball off the
bowling of Locke. The following spell was bowled by Noble,
who was fresh and confident following his excellent batting
performance and Fereday with another rare outing as a
bowler. The next 5 wickets fell relatively cheaply with
Saxilby being dismissed for 76 with only Gelder offering
any notable resistance who was finally dismissed for 19
caught by Matthews after brushing aside onrushing batsman
and bowler to take the “skied” catch. Pick off the bowlers
was Ashley Locke who finished with figures of 6 overs, 5
maidens, 3 wickets conceding just 2 runs, Fereday finished
on 5.2 overs, no maidens, 3 wickets for 14, Noble 6 overs,
2 maidens, 2wickets for 11 and Bailey with 5 overs, no
maidens, 2 wickets for 47.
29th June
2008 - Boston (A)
Unable to raise a team. Match forfeited.
22nd June 2008 -
Middle Rasen (A)
Lost by 175 runs. 2 Batting Points.
We again
travelled to an away game with only 10 men available on the
day. This was one off the oddest days of the year weather
wise to date. We took the field in bright sunshine on what
can only be described as a blustery day! The trees
surrounding the ground were bending and swaying with leaves
being deposited in abundance across the ground, such was
the problem that play had be halted from time to time to
clear the strip. However all of this did not deter Middle
Rasen who batted first scoring 260 for 5 off their 40
overs. Our cause was not helped on the day due to lack of
numbers and a depleted bowling attack. At one stage in
order to try to mix things up a little Fereday was bough on
who finished with figures of 2 wickets for 45 off his 6
overs. In response we were unable to keep with the required
run rate and lost early wickets cheaply. The only
resistance came from Chris Wragg who hit a dashing 47
before finally holing out going for another big hit before
he ran out of partners at the other end. We were finally
all out for a total of 85 in what was a comprehensive
defeat.
15th June 2008 - Old
Lincolnians (H)
Match Rained Off - Nothing to
report!
5 points
1st June 2008 - Bassingham (H)
Match Rained Off - Nothing to report!
5 Points
25th May 2008 - Nettleham (A)
A disappointingly low Bank Holiday weekend availability
meant that only 8 hardy souls braved the elements at a
particularly cold, wet and windy Nettleham. We were greeted
by very good facilities, an excellent hard, fast pitch and
a young, keen opposition only 4 points ahead of us in the
table.
Fortunately, captain Simon Potter won the toss and elected
to bat. A good score would be required to help negate the 3
gaps we would have in the field and openers Jamie Macintyre
and Chris Wragg began briskly scoring freely as the ball
raced over the fast outfield. After a promising start, and
with the score on 62, Wragg was deceived in the flight and
bowled for 26. After his inauspicious start to the season,
Max Cope strode less than confidently to the wicket but on
such a good track the scoring continued as before. After a
quickfire 36 Cope was caught at deep cover fishing for one
too far outside off stump. Neil Bailey replaced him –
albeit briefly – but he was unluckily adjudged LBW despite
an inside edge which was clearly visibly from the boundary.
Son followed father and James joined Macintyre at the
crease. Macintyre had just reached his second half century
of the season when he was caught and, by now, the rain was
falling quite steadily. The umpires took the opportunity of
the fall of the wicket to call a halt to proceedings and it
was agreed to take an early tea.
Without the benefit of covers that would probably have been
the end of the match. However, the rain eventually stopped
and, after a 90 minute interruption, Neil Hartland Snr and
Bailey strode out to resume the innings with only a handful
of overs remaining. Bailey played with a commendably
straight bat before succumbing for 14 and Potter and
Hartland saw the innings through to conclusion at 149-5.
We felt we’d given the bowlers something to bowl at but
knew we’d need to get several quick wickets to stand any
chance. The Nettleham openers began in similar vein to the
Winthorpe ones. James Bailey caused an early, and very
short-lived, bout of optimism with two wickets in two balls
– the first a catch to Cope behind the stumps and the
second a wickedly rising delivery making the batsman fend
weakly to top snaffler Macintyre. What followed was, quite
simply, brutal. The ball disappeared with hideous
regularity not only over the boundary but into the trees a
further thirty yards from the boundary and, at times, it
seemed as though 28 fielders would have been no more help
than the 8 hapless souls on the park.
Suffice to say our total was breached in only 14 overs, the
Nettleham number 5, Cook, helping himself to 94* from only
29 balls! The four Winthorpe bowlers used all suffered in
the onslaught and even the normally reliable Potter went
for an uncharacteristic 60 runs in 6 overs.
Although confidences took a battering those who braved the
elements, and the opposition, can all hold their heads
high, acknowledge the quality of the batting which won the
match so convincingly and move on to the next match knowing
it can’t happen again – can it?
2 Bowling Points
18th May 2008 - Reepham (H)
Our
second game of the season was a home fixture versus Reepham
on Sunday18th
May.
On the face ofthings it didn't appear to be much of a
fixture as the opposition turned up with only 6
players. Having won the toss and elected to bat
Reepham were all out for 44 runs. Good opening spells
were bowled by SimonPotter with the off spinning veteran
Brian Noble accompanying him from the opposite end.
Neil Hartley junior again bowled a good first change
restricting the opposition to a somewhat meagrescore.
The wicket at this point had behaved somewhat better than
what was to come.
Reepham took to the pitch with their 6 players setting a
field that was somewhat devoid of bodies. In an
excellent spell of bowling their two opening bowlers gave
our batsman a bit of a torrid time assisted greatly by some
indifferent bounce from the track. After and early
fall of wickets mainly it must be said due to the excellent
opening combination of pace from one end and medium swing
from the other the requisite number of runs were duly
scored for the loss of 5 wickets, Neil Bailey and Chris
Wragg seeing us safely home.
Two wins out of two and the Captain's happy
20 Points
11th May 2008 - Washingborough
(A)
We
opened our 2008 league campaign away to newly promoted
Washingborough. Somewhat disappointingly we could muster
only 10 players on the day due to varying circumstances,
and one of those would certainly be late!
On a gloriously warm sunny day and with only 9 men present
the captain promptly lost the toss and was asked to field
first. With regular wicket keeper Max Cope destined to be
late, the usual opening bowler Ashley Locke took over the
'keeping duties. However, rather than hindering our chances
this worked in our favour as veteran off spinner Brian
Noble took the new ball and produced a miserly spell that
finished with figures of 2 wkts for 9 runs off his allotted
10 overs.
The welcome arrival of the first drinks break (after 15
overs) coincided with the entrance of regular keeper Cope
which enabled Locke to enter the fray with the ball.
Bowling unchanged he destroyed the Washingborough middle
order to finish with figures of 5 wickets for 16 runs off
10 overs. Neil Hartland Jnr also deserves a mention for his
opening spell of 2 wickets for just 11 runs was just what
the team needed at that time.
A superb effort in the field and with the ball saw us
restrict our opponents to 103 all out something we would
quite happily have taken if offered to us at the start of
the game. The run chase set off at a pace with openers
Macintyre and Fereday seizing every opportunity to score
runs until with 17 on the total and perhaps too much
confidence flowing Fereday fell playing a rash shot for 7.
Cope entered the fray and looked far from his fluent best
struggling to find the pace of the pitch he fell for just
2. His demise meant that 15 year old James Bailey came to
the wicket. Far from being intimidated he played some sound
shots and made 7 before being bowled. The loss of James
brought his father Neil to the wicket.
Whilst all this was going on Macintyre at the other end was
making serene progress. The majority of his shots were
sublime to watch scoring runs all around the ground. It was
no surprise when he eventually made his fifty. Having spent
several overs trying to locate the ball Neil eventually got
his eye in and a flurry of boundaries took us over the win
line with 15 overs to spare and 7 wickets in hand.
A quite excellent start to the season!
20 Points