Little Baddow Cricket Club Sunday NECL XI v Nth Springfield Wanderers on Sun 25 Sep 2005 at 1pm
Little Baddow Cricket Club Won 49 runs
Last game of the season and a good flat Little Baddow track so I decided to promote myself to open in my last game as skipper. Stuart and I started steadily for the first 10 overs and then accelerated, with me in particular taking advantage of 3 spilled catches, though 2 of them were quite sharp. I was first out for 78 in the 23rd over with the score on 132. After a nervous start, young Adam Harris helped Stuart maintain the momentum and the second wicket fell in the 38th over with 229 on the board, Adam falling for 49. Stuart followed soon after for 92 and a brief cameo from Chris Salmon plus some singles from Declan and Alex saw the innings close at 266 for 5. Declan was run out from the last ball of the innings, but Tom "I want to bat" Golding strode out to the middle and took guard as the fielders walked off as I had mistakenly told him there was one ball to go!!
With runs on the board, Alex opened the attack and the visitors found it very difficult to work out his variations. His 10 overs yielded just 30 runs and he deserved more than 1 wicket. Despite the slow start and the early loss of 2 wickets, the dangerous John Clarke began to strike the ball well and and had moved on to 74 before Tom had him caught behind with the score on 135. Tom's brief but fiery spell of 2 overs yielded only one run, a no ball, so I assume he was still mad at the batting incident! To keep him happy, he was granted his wish to take over behind the stumps from Stuart and he did a pretty decent job for the last 15 overs or so. The required rate crept up towards 10 an over, despite the efforts of opener C Humphrey, who was finally out in the 44th over for a patient 83. Andy bowled 2 overs of leg spin at the end to achieve the rare dismissal of 'stumped Golding bowled Harris', unlikely to ever be repeated!
Finally, an honourable mention for Mark Franklin, dad of Alex, who turned out to help us as we were one short and did a great job chasing around in the field, despite dropping a very sharp chance off Alex's bowling. I bet that gets mentioned a lot in the Franklin household this winter!
A good win to end an enjoyable season as champions of the division, and in which we've seen some of our younger players compete very well in adult league cricket. With the bat there have been maiden 50s from Rhys Mason and Rob Tuttlebee and a very near miss (49) from Adam Harris, plus several important 30s or 40s from James Stevens. James has also bowled well to take 23 wicket and Chris Harmer has bowled steadily and has one of the best economy rates in the side. Alex Jenkins with his left arm seam and Alex Franklin with his leg spin have all performed well. Michael Wood and Matt Beardall have played regularly and I'm sure will develop further next season.
Thanks to everyone who has played this season, and particularly to the adult regulars Ross, Andy, Stuart, Steve, David and Tom for their contributions and their willingness to step back from the limelight, allowing the youngsters to play their part.
Little Baddow Cricket Club Sunday NECL XI Batting
266 for 5
Nth Springfield Wanderers Bowling
Nth Springfield Wanderers Batting
217 for 7
Little Baddow Cricket Club Sunday NECL XI Bowling