Scorecard

Cosby Cricket Club 2nd XI v Earl Shilton Town II on Sat 23 Apr 2011 at 1.30pm
Match was Drawn Losing 7 Points

Match report 23rd April 2011, Cosby II vs Earl Shilton II


C2 Unit off to a disappointing start against Shilton


First day of the new season and it was an early start for the C2 Unit with Commandant Wood asking the 2s to be down at the Cosby Oval aka The Home of Cricket to help assemble the clubs new sightscreen under the careful supervision of Cooky. With a decent number of the 2nd team making the early start the new screen soon started taking shape. Spirits were further buoyed by the arrival of the clubs new kit for the season ahead. After the pre match photo shoot with Chris Jones of the clubs new shirt sponsor Cadalec Control Systems the 2s embarked on a pre match fielding warm up (1st time for everything) and everything seemed well with the world.


With the sun shining, the sightscreen set up and Gok taking abuse from all quarters it all looked set to be a good day’s cricket against an always competitive Shilton. Veteran went out for the toss and it was reassuring to see he has not lost any of his form with the coin as he promptly lost it and the Unit found themselves being asked to field on the hottest day of the year so far. The 2s assembled in the dressing room to hear Woody’s first pre match address of the season where he laid down his aims and objectives for the season (promotion), set out a few rules (play hard, play fair) and introduce us to some of the literary works that he will be drawing from throughout the season (Mein Kampf).


The 2s took to the field with a new ball attack of Uncle Ben Cox and Big Phil Needham. The pair started in decent fashion both bowling some testing deliveries and Coxy getting the early breakthrough when the Shilton opener hit one straight up off the edge of his bat to provide Cindy’s Baby Boy with his first catch of the season behind the stumps. Despite the early success further wickets proved elusive for Uncle and Neddy and the Shilton batsmen started to play with more freedom especially their opener Payne who took advantage of some wayward deliveries. Matt “Sven” Hurst was brought on for Coxy from the Deeply Dippy end but struggled with his lengths early on as Payne tucked in and the runs continued to flow. With runs continuing to flow Veteran decided we needed a change of pace and introduced his new VC Andy Gray aka Sheriff (although we are now supposed to refer to him as Deputy, never going to happen). Andy’s introduction at the DOTB End provided one of the first key moments of the game when with his first delivery Payne popped back a return chance to Sheriff/Deputy only for Andy to ground the chance for which the 2s paid dearly and Shilton reached the 1st drinks break at 80 for 1 and Payne having gone by 50.


The drinks break provided the Unit with the fillip they needed as in the 1st over after the break Hursty removed the Shilton number 3 hitting the top of his off stump. A further breakthrough was achieved when Super G removed the Shilton number 4 when he attempted to hit him out of the ground only to be caught by Uncle Ben Cox at long on. However further breakthroughs were not forthcoming and the Shilton batsmen and once again Payne in particular taking advantage as the Cosby fielders wilted under the hot sun. However 2s thought they had made the key breakthrough when the Wicket Keeper formerly known as Vice appeared to have Payne stumped off Sheriff/Deputy only for the Shilton square leg umpire to controversially give him not out when he appeared not to have made his ground. After the decision went against the C2 Unit further bowling changes were made with Oddsocks coming on at the Deeply Dippy End and Billso replacing Sheriff/Deputy at the DOTB End. Despite occasional decent delivery the pair could do nothing to halt the flow of runs as Payne began cutting loose and went past his 100 with the score on 150. The spin twins both took a bit of a battering (as did Lecky’s fence from 2 wayward Billso deliveries) and the score at 2nd drinks break was approaching 200 for 3.


After the drinks break Hursty and Big were reintroduced to the attack and the changes appeared to work as they began to take wickets with the number 4 being run out by 100 yards by Fancy Dress magnate Mark “Jedward” Foxall and another run out was achieved when the Shilton batsmen thought they’d hit a boundary only for Coxy to get the ball back in and the Shilton number 6 failed to make his ground. The 2s finally got rid of danger man Payne when he was caught at cover by Grice off Hursty for a brutal 147 and the score on 230. Big finally got the wicket his bowling deserved with 4 overs remaining when he took a sharp caught and bowled and Shilton were 7 down. Sheriff/Deputy was brought on at the DOTB and despite a few lusty sweeps from the Shilton skipper was able to get him caught off the last ball of the innings by Uncle and Shilton finished on 259 for 8.


The 2s went in for an as ever high standard Cosby tea aware that Shilton had posted a decent score but also aware that it was far from impossible to chase down such was the nature of the track and the apparent still hot weather. After a pre innings pep talk from the skipper the C2 Unit went out to bat with Veteran and Grice opening the innings. Things started brightly with Henshaw looking in fine fettle as he managed to hit an early boundary. However the Captain was soon back in the pavilion when he got caught on the crease and got bowled for just 1. The Tiddly Wink was in at 3 and joined and again things looked positive as both Kato and Grice appeared in good order only for Grice to fall for 13 thanks to a sharp catch in the gully, the 2s were staring down the barrel at 28 for 2.


Cindy’s Baby Boy joined Gok at the crease and the pair went about repairing the Cosby innings with a mixture of resolute defence and some very decent shots from both batsmen. As the pair continued to bat on the weather began to take a turn for the worse with the occasional rumble of thunder eventually being followed by an ever increasing flow of rain. The surprising turn in the weather did nothing to quell the 2 batsmen’s run scoring exploits as aided by some wayward Shilton bowling providing a steady flow of wides and byes the scoreboard kept ticking along. The score had reached 120 when Gok became the 3rd Cosby wicket when he got a ball that skidded along the deck and hit him on the pad to fall lbw for a well made 36. He was quickly joined back in the pavilion by Hursty who was out 1st ball when he was bowled by a delivery that kept slightly low.


With Billso making a £400 bet with 6 year old Regan Henshaw (he suggested the stakes not me) over the outcome of the match Foxy went out to join Russ at the crease and the pair were set with the realistic target of making sure the 2s didn’t lose. They appeared to be handling the task quite well when apparently Foxy lost the ball in the kite that was being flown at the DOTB end and was bowled for 7 and the 2s were 135 for 5. In at number 7 was Uncle Ben Cox who played in his usual manner of see it hit it and the tactic appeared to be working when he hit the first Cosby 6 of the season. The score had moved up to 160 when Coxy became the 6th man out when he was well caught on the boundary for 13.


With 7 overs remaining to hang on Curt joined Russ in the middle but Curt was soon in need of another partner as Russ got hit on the boot and 2 balls later was bowled for a well made 47. Ever the man for a crisis Sheriff/Deputy was in at 9 and he and Curt took the Unit to the brink of safety with score on 180 when Andy became the 8th Cosby wicket to fall on the last ball of the 44th over. With an over to see out Curt managed to add 4 further runs with no real scares and the C2 Unit as they finished on 184 for 8.


Result: Losing Draw


Points: Cosby II 7 points, Earl Shilton II 19 Points


Quote of the Day: After his Golden Duck Hursty appeared to have gone missing:

Gus: What’s happened to Hursty?

Coxy: He’s hanging himself after his Golden Duck.

Billso: That’s going to have to be one strong length of rope!


MOM: Not an easy choice as despite the disparity in scores there were a few decent performances. Nigel and Russ both batted well and Phil was the pick of the bowlers. However for a decent opening spell, 2 catches a run out and a handy cameo innings MOM goes to Ben Cox.


Verdict: Obviously not the result the C2 Unit wanted but one man’s innings proved the difference. Had Payne been caught by Andy or the stumping given the game would surely have been closer. However this shouldn’t disguise the fact that too many bad balls were bowled and if we are to challenge for promotion then they need to be cut out.

Earl Shilton Town II Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 8 wickets
0
259 (0.0 overs)		     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Cosby Cricket Club 2nd XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Ben Cox5.0027127.005.40
Phil Needham12.0238138.003.17
Matthew Hurst9.0244222.004.89
Andy Gray8.0147223.505.88
Curtis Holloway7.005200.007.43
Matthew Bills4.003600.009.00

Cosby Cricket Club 2nd XI Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 8 wickets
0
184		        
Steve Henshaw Caught  13 1
Paul Wood Bowled  1
Nigel Meredith Lbw  36
Russell Sullivan Bowled  47 1
Matthew Hurst Bowled  0 1
Mark Foxall Bowled  7 1
Ben Cox Caught  13 2
Andy Gray Bowled  5
Curtis Holloway Not Out  8
Phil Needham Not Out  0 1
Matthew Bills  

Earl Shilton Town II Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.

  • Umpire :
  • Scorer :
    Simon Cooper