Scorecard

Great Waltham Cricket Club 1st XI v Havering atte Bower 1st XI on Sat 19 Aug 2017 at 1pm
Great Waltham Cricket Club Won by 205 runs

Match report Heading into game week 16 we knew that 20 points would secure the Division 2 league title. With Mr Harris off jollying with fellow KEGS alumni (presumably going for a morning shoot, followed by a wine tasting whilst discussing their latest tweed and corduroy acquisitions) vice skip Bloom Jnr. was tasked with leading the team in this decisive tie on the back of consecutive defeats. No pressure ayy? Having incorrectly guessed which key to use in every situation when unlocking the ground, I duly lost the toss (odds of 1 in 2 if anyone is interested). With V Festival causing travel and selection headaches for both sides, Havering arrived later than scheduled and with only 10 players. Despite this, Havering captain Jack Hurley elected to bowl first on a pitch that looked like it could contain a few demons if the ball was put in the right areas.

Another week, another opening partner for D.C. This week Nindi was drafted in to provide the stability that Simon consistently offers, insuring us against Goresbrook-esque collapses. The opening partnership dovetailed nicely with Dave punishing the barrage of short balls offered by Hine whilst Nindi nullified the threat of Roe who bowled with control and accuracy down the hill. The partnership ticked over nicely, 14 overs, 67 without loss was exactly what was required on a nervy day. Unfortunately for David, he helped a short ball from Downes into the hands of deep square leg much to his anguish. 40 from 36 balls was a solid contribution but I’m sure he would have wanted to cash in more with Sam absent and the batting cup firmly in his sights.

Promoted to number 3, I entered the fray with a nice start to build on. Despite some questionable running at times Nindi ‘Usain’ Dhanjal and I set about the task of building a platform that the middle order could use to propel us to a sizeable total. Dyerson bowled well up the hill and into the wind, conditions not ideal for a spinner. Unfortunately for Havering, the rest of their bowlers lacked control and served up too many leg stump full tosses to not be punished. With 150 off 30 overs the agreed target we reached that landmark at 146-1. From this point Nindi and I began to up the intensity with 250 set firmly in our sights. As the Havering bowlers tired, Nindi’s scoring rate accelerated including a magnificent straight six into The Langleys.

Unfortunately in our “race to 100” Nindi and I both fell to Hine slower balls. Nindi chipping his cutter to mid-wicket for a well calculated 75 whilst I hit a towering sand wedge into the stiff breeze that was well held by Roe at mid-off. I believe that the top 3 had done what was required allowing Craig and Ollie to bat with intent and freedom. This freedom was embodied by Ollie who executed an exquisite reverse lap over backward point for four. Shot of the day and all as a result of hours of the ‘net game’. Craig batted in typically bullish fashion hitting 7 fours and 1 six in his innings of 43* off 31 balls. Ollie made 21 off 17 before getting some D.Bloom treatment by being the recipient of a shooter that saw him get bowled in the penultimate over. This partnership saw us score 79 in the last 10 overs, posting 273-4 from our full compliment of overs. 1st part of the job done.

Having never captained a game before the fielding element was naturally what I was more worried about. What sort of field should I have? When shall I make bowling changes? How can I tame Chappy if he decides to “bang everyone out”? All of these fears were alleviated as I effectively did nothing before Havering’s eventual demise in 14.5 overs. Josh found the magic formula much to my delight. The magic formula being that he must only wear the right contact lense and that he must not bowl short cuts balls on a sticky wicket. I think Josh will admit that his first two overs were somewhat erratic as Havering got off to a bit of a flyer with Downes and J. Hurley striking some nice boundaries.

The breakthrough came at 29-0 when Downes top edged a short ball to fine leg where ‘The Juggler’ O Fitz eventually ensnared the ball against his chest. With the Hurley brothers at the crease you could argue that Havering still had a slight chance of chasing down the mammoth total. Although Josh will get the headlines, Ollie deserves a lot of credit for the way he bowled. Charging up the hill into a strong wind he bowled with accuracy and control getting the ball to swing nicely away from the right hander. One such occasion was the wicket of R. Hurley. A gentle out-swinger that he went to leave lifted off a length and clipped the toe of his bat. A very smart catch from Bloom Snr. and a great bit of sportsmanship from the batsman saw the back of the dangerous R. Hurley without score. Shortly after, an absolute jaffa from Josh saw the back of Hurley brother number 2, nipping back and clipping the off stump bail.

These wickets effectively opened the floodgates and in the next hour or so of play we saw the Fitzwater brothers run through the Havering batting order with very little resistance. Hopefully we’ll see this level of Fitzwater carnage when the team hits the town in a fortnights time. From 29-0 to 68 all out we demonstrated a ruthlessness befitting of Champions. Matt Duggan epitomises this ruthlessness. Although he didn’t get a game he encouraged intensity and tenacity which is an invaluable asset for the team. Full and straight was the order and Josh hit the stumps four times in his 7 wickets. The final and league winning wicket came when Josh cleaned up Aiano leaving him with the second best figures in the history of the website. 7.5 overs 7 for 38 all whilst bowling cross seam. Imagine what would have happened if Sam let him bowl cross seam all year?

If you’ve read through all of the previous reports this year you probably wouldn’t realise that Sam has scored 579 league runs at an average of 72.38. Due to Sam’s reluctancy to mention his own talents I’ll take this opportunity as the first guest writer to issue him the praise that he deserves. He has batted magnificently and led from the front and this league victory can largely be attributed to his contributions. Having been captain for one week it made me realise how stressful it is so kudos to Sam for guiding the ones to their first promotion in some years. Well done Skip, much deserved.

I’m not going to indulge in the captain’s notes segment of the reports but I will dish out some awards;

YES BANK Maximum sixes: Nindi for his 4-iron stinger into The Langleys.

FBB stylish player of the day: Ollie Fitz for the reverse lap.

MOTM: Josh Fitzwater. No harm in being second to the legendary Ben Collar.

No Muppet of the Day this week as we’re all winners!

Congratulations if you’ve made it this far.

Daniel Bloom over and out.

Great Waltham Cricket Club 1st XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
2nb 6w 8b 4lb 
for 4 wickets
20
273		        
Nindi Dhanjal ct Southam b Hine 75 101 8 1 74.26
David Clout ct R. Hurley b Downs 40 36 6 2 111.11 1
Daniel Bloom ct Roe b Hine 69 66 8 3 104.55
Craig Swan Not Out  43 31 7 1 138.71
Ollie Fitzwater b Roe 21 17 2 123.53 1
Gary Bloom Not Out  0 1
Matt Duggan   1
Lewis Chapman   1
Mark Chapman  
Joshua Fitzwater  
Dean Harman  

Havering atte Bower 1st XI Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Roe10.0261161.006.10
Hine10.0247223.504.70
Dyerson10.004200.004.20
Dowas9.0060160.006.67
Southam 3.002700.009.00
Aiano3.002400.008.00

Havering atte Bower 1st XI Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 1lb 
for 9 wickets
2
68 (14.5 overs)		     
J. Hurley b J. Fitzwater 21
A. Downes ct O. Fitzwater b J. Fitzwater 16
R. Hurley ct G. Bloom b O. Fitzwater 0
K. Bath b J. Fitzwater 14
M. Roe b J Fitzwater 6
J. Southam ct M. Duggan b J. Fitzwater 0
L. Dyerson ct D. Clout b J. Fitzwater 3
M. Creevy ct L. Chapman b O. Fitzwater 0
T. Hine  
F. Aiano b J. Fitzwater 0
   

Great Waltham Cricket Club 1st XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Joshua Fitzwater7.513875.434.85
Ollie Fitzwater7.0129214.504.14