Scorecard

Great Waltham Cricket Club 2nd XI v St Johns Billericay on Sat 21 Jun 2014 at 1.30 p.m.
Great Waltham Cricket Club Won By 6 wickets.

Match report An incredible unbroken 5th wicket partnership of 158 between Steve Gilliland (69*) and Mark Chapman (83*) dragged victory from the jaws of defeat and left both sides and the watching crowd in something of a shell-shocked daze. The manner of victory was made all the more compelling with Tommy Clampett acting as a runner in the '3rd wheel' of this pulsating run chase.

There was no real sense of unbridled elation afterwards... just disbelief at how a game that looked almost lost could be turned completely on its head. Momentum is one of the most powerful things in sport and when we harnessed it, St.Johns - who thought the game was in the bag, in the boot and halfway through the gate - couldn't find a way to stem the runs and stop the onslaught.

With 130 runs required from the final 15 overs and 7 to 8 men ringing the boundary, Gilly & Chappy peppered (and cleared!) the fence with relative ease as the gathered crowd started to whisper in hushed tones: 'Maybe we can win this?'

3 days later and I still don't think any words will do this victory justice. It was the type of game that I'm sure the enthralled spectators will recall in years to come: 'Do you remember when...? I was there'.

Because you did have to see it to believe it.

Electing to bat first, St. Johns Billericay compiled a competitive 231-6 in their 45 overs, Reynolds & Tucker doing the bulk of the damage on another batsman's paradise. Our bowling unit did a solid if unspectacular job but we were indebted to the control and nagging accuracy of Chappy Senior to keep the scoring in check. The pick of the bowlers however was another Chapman. Returning to the side, Lewis bowled 7 superb overs (including 2 at the death) of line and length that brought 3 well deserved wickets including the crucial scalp of Reynolds. He didn't try to bowl too fast... just kept to good areas, showing intelligence and maturity beyond his years.

Another little nod to Ryan Brown who - in sweltering heat under the lid - put in a good shift with the gloves. What pleases me most in the high standards he's setting himself...

In reply, the unorthodox - but highly effective - left-arm over of 'SJB' Captain Hadgraft (2-29) made scoring incredibly difficult in the early stages. In tandem with Springford, the run rate was slower than pedestrian as wickets tumbled and the brakes were firmly applied. At the halfway mark we were 55-3 and I was batting us slowly to defeat. At the other end we had Gilly - who twigged his calf whilst fielding - in need of a runner and just for good measure, sweepers were patrolling both boundaries for added security. I cut loose for a few overs - more out of frustration at my own struggles - and suddenly our run rate spiked and the innings sparked back to life. But just as soon as it did, I was on my way back to the pavilion and the very improbable target seemed just as far away as it did at drinks.

Enter Mark Chapman. And what happened next will go down in GWCC Folklore.

Chappy was simply imperious and as Gilly played with as much freedom as his calf would allow, the target slowly crept into view. Towering 6's... crunching boundaries... both of them were timing it like a dream and finding the (few) unprotected gaps that SJB had left on both sides of the track. Tommy stayed switched on and kept concentrating on his running as we went at north of 9-an-over from the 33rd to the 43rd over to bring it down to 14 from 12.

Wide-Dot-Two-Six-Two-One-Four.

Game over. And a morale-boosting victory in the bag.

The SJB Captain was incredibly magnanimous in defeat despite being understandably disappointed. Just a shame that after a great game of cricket, some of his team focused on an Umpires call rather than the other 88.5 overs.

Two things for us to think about...

1. Our ground fielding and catching - it needs to improve. I don't like to use the expression 'When I was a lad' but... From the moment I started playing Senior cricket, I loved fielding. Perhaps even more than batting... and certainly more than bowling. I wanted every delivery struck to come my way. I expected, anticipated and prepared for every ball to come my way... I attacked every ball in the field... Keen to hit the gloves and 'get it in' to put pressure on the batsman. We lack that intensity... that motivation. If each player saves 5 runs a game that's 50+ fewer to chase. Think about it. And although no one drops catches on purpose - and we did grass some tough efforts - the more we practice the easier these 'tough' chances become and the more confident we'll get.

2. Running Between the Wickets. For all his boundaries, it was Chappy pushing hard for a 2nd run whenever he could that helped the scoreboard tick over. He's 40+ and carrying a fair bit of timber but he ran himself into the ground. Turn 1's into 2's, always look for quick singles and these can make your score harder to chase or your target easier to get. Take note.

An incredible team effort.

Skip II

Ps. Again, a sincere thank you to the SJB Skipper who - without complaint - let us have a runner for Gilly. I can only apologize for not requesting it formally and following a crucial etiquette within the game. At 38-3, I didn't anticipate the impact that this would have on the outcome of the game... and I'm guessing nor did he.

St Johns Billericay Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 7w 12b 2lb 
for 6 wickets
22
231 (45.0 overs)		     
Reynolds b  L Chapman 60
Atkinson ct  Richardson Bowled Collins 16
Hadgraft ct  & Bowled M Chapman 29
Tucker ct  Brown Bowled L Chapman 66
Griffiths ct  Gilliland Bowled Bush 4
Ward Not Out  32
Wilson st  Brown Bowled L Chapman 2
Springford  
Sans  
Patience  
Waymark  

Great Waltham Cricket Club 2nd XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Mark Chapman12.0427127.002.25
Pete Collins9.0148148.005.33
Sam Harman10.015600.005.60
Liam Bush7.0047147.006.71
Lewis Chapman7.0039313.005.57

Great Waltham Cricket Club 2nd XI Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 15w 5b 4lb 
for 4 wickets
25
234		        
Simon Richardson b  Sams 46 7 1
Matty Reed ct  Unknown Bowled Springford 9 2
Neil Harman ct  Tucker Bowled Hadgraft 4 1
Tommy Clampett b  Hadgraft 0
Steve Gilliland Not Out  69 9 1
Mark Chapman Not Out  83 7 4 1
Ryan Brown   1 1
Sam Harman  
Lewis Chapman  
Liam Bush  
Pete Collins  

St Johns Billericay Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Springford6.0016116.002.67
Hadgraft12.0429214.502.42
Patience12.028000.006.67
Sams8.0037137.004.62
Waymark?2.002400.0012.00
Atkinson4.003900.009.75

  • Umpire :
    Shared by players.
  • Scorer :
    Shared by players.