Sheldon Marlborough CC Blog

Latest news from Foliot Fields

Side to play Fillongley away on Saturday, meet 12:15 at SMCC:

W Hemming, J Hemming, G Morris, N Rughani, N Ali, M Weir, T Hemming, K Rondeau, J Shirley, T Westwood, V Parmar

 All players confirmed.

With the last day of May upon us, a look at the league table shows the Saturday 1st XI are joint 7th on 35 points. Topping the table are Bablake Old Boys with 80 points, having claimed three 24 point victories and two abandonments. Unsurprisingly, the top half of the table have all had 1 or 2 games rained off, whilst the bottom half have all had 2 or 3 abandonments (we have had 3 games rained off).

The two games which we have played have been pleasing. The Bank Holiday game against Stockton was excellent - I think most of the players in the team had played in sides over previous years that might have let the game slip, so to have kept going to the end and forcing the winning draw was fantastic. Si Baxter is a deserving player of the week after a great spell of bowling to tie up an end which was proving very difficult for the seamers with a longer run-up. At the other end Viz Parmar bowled a great spell for 3 wickets before Tim and Martin chipped in with 3 more.

Our batting at the top still needs some work, but the inital signs are there. Both Guy Morris and Neal Rughani looked good for not many, but two great knocks from Martin Weir, and the fine form of Tom Hemming have been invaluable - plus that man Baxter again to add some muscle at the end! A special mention to Tim Westwood, blazing the final ball of the innings against Stockton for 4 - following up with two vital wickets and an important catch - the fielding will get easier Tim!

On Saturday we go to Fillongley who lost to Bablake on Monday.

I think we are all hoping for better weather in June, and that we can build upon the good points from May and get that first outright win of the season.

The club is able to purchase reduced price tickets for Twenty20 cup matches to be held at Edgbaston at the end of June. Fixtures take place on:

• 28th June vs Glamorgan Dragons
• 30th June vs Gloucester Gladiators
• 7th July vs Worcester Royals
• 10th July vs Northampton Steelbacks

Match tickets cost £10 per adult (saving £5 on the gate price) or £5 per child.

Season Tickets are also available for all 4 matches and a 40 over floodlit game later in the Summer, these are £30 for adults or £10 for children. There is no limit to the number of tickets available so please feel free to purchase for friends and family as well.

The last chance to buy tickets will be at Junior Training on Monday 5th June (weather permitting!!) Application forms are available at the club by the pool table. Please complete and return to Adrian Maguire with cash or cheques made payable to Sheldon Marlborough CC.

Well done to all members of the Saturday 1st XI who claimed a winning draw in a tight contest with Stockton today. Thanks to all who turned up to support and braved the rain showers to see the finish, with SMCC gaining a winning draw as Stockton finished 15 runs short with 9 wickets down.

More thoughts on this later in the week.

Despite our best efforts this morning, the reluctance of the rain to relent meant we had to abandon the fixture against Hampton without play. Our last chance of a game in May is Monday when we are due to host Stockton.

Currently the outfield is very wet with surface water in places. Water was beginning to collect on the square as I left today. A dry day tomorrow would help immensely - if it rains much more we will have to wait until next Saturday’s visit to Fillongley.

Reports from the umpires (who travelled from Coventry) were that it had rained heavily there with many games called off yesterday. No games being played would be some consolation, but the fact remains that both SMCC and Hampton needed to play today, given our position in the league table.

Chances of play this weekend are becoming slimmer and slimmer as the rain continues. On Monday night the pitch (outfield in particular) was heavily waterlogged. Despite all the rain on Saturday, two fixtures still went ahead in our division - at Ansley and Southam. Both home sides lost, getting bowled out cheaply by the opposition, Camp Hill and Fillongley respectively. Perhaps they would have called the fixtures off if they had known that was going to happen!

The current Division 1 - 1st XI table reflects this, as Camp Hill and Fillongley jump up to 2nd and 4th respectively. Our hosts on Saturday - Bablake Old Boys - remain top despite not playing.

Currently we share 15 points with Hampton who are due to visit on Saturday. It looks highly likely we will be sharing 19 points come Sunday morning.

The 1st XI are scheduled to play at home on Saturday and Monday, although some good drying weather will be required during the week if we are to get the games on.

Team selection as follows:

Saturday vs Hampton, meet 12:45:

W Hemming, K Rondeau, M Weir, N Rughani, J Hemming, T Hemming, N Ali, G Morris, T Westwood, S Baxter

Monday vs Stockton, meet 12:45

W Hemming, J Shirley, M Weir, N Rughani, J Hemming, T Hemming, N Ali, G Morris, T Westwood, S Baxter

Still awaiting confirmation from: N Rughani, M Weir

Having got to the Bablake ground on Saturday, the 1st XI were sent back by the weather as a waterlogged pitch and heavy rain led to the match being abandoned before the start.

 At least Warwick were able to call the Sunday fixture off before we set off - the only consolation for a really poor weekend’s weather. 

As I drove to Foliot Fields on Saturday morning, I was not really expecting us to get a game of cricket. Reports that the pitch had sweated heavily under the covers meant that any rain would give us problems. Overcast skies indicated that this was likely to happen at some point in the afternoon.

Upon inspecting the square, the other cut strip was drier than the pitch that had been covered, and so we chose to use track number 3 instead of 5. When the Walsall YMF skipper called correctly and chose to bat, I wondered whether I should have gambled and chosen the wetter pitch!

The match details

The scorecard and match report give the details of the game. I think we all agreed that we would have ‘taken’ 7 points if we had been offered them on Saturday morning, yet there was a feeling that we could have come out on top. It goes without saying that dropping their centurion, Fiaz, was a major turning point - and the sort of opportunity that just has to be taken at 1st team level. Having said that, their next batsman may well have been just as destructive - but we will never know.

Fielding

Our ground fielding was generally good, and although two other chances went down (not counting the very hard one that badly bruised Ronny’s thumb) - one was a batsman dismissed next over, and one was at the end (but would have given us another bowling point).

Bowling

Both opening bowlers performed well. Tim Westwood found pace, bounce, and movement. Viz Parmar bowled a long spell and looked comfortable in the role. Si Baxter produced a beauty to get his wicket, but shoulders unaccustomed to bowling tire quickly - this is only a short term issue, and his return to the side was great to see.

Batting

With the bat, losing only 4 wickets to a side containing Amar (62 league wickets last season and generally gets 5+ against us!) is an achievement in itself. Only the captain failed - Adam Coppell showed much promise at opener, Guy Morris looked as though he’d been netting all winter, and both Martin Weir and Naz Ali showed good shot selection to get the extra batting points for us. With Jack Hemming, Neal Rughani, Rob Jordan to add to the lineup, as well as the outstanding early season form of Tom Hemming, plus Keith Rondeau, Jim Shirley, Rick Singh, Si Baxter, there is plenty of batting potential in the team.

Next Week

Top of the league Bablake Old Boys are our hosts, and they have clearly continued their division-winning form of the previous season. Their victories have been against YMF (who admitted they pressed the self destruct button chasing a target they felt confident of getting) and Hampton - who came down from the Premier last season and are our visitors the week after next.

 Injury worries for Keith Rondeau and Viz Parmar are a problem, the side selected will be published tomorrow. Likely XI: W Hemming, A Coppell, N Ali, M Weir, J Hemming, T Hemming, N Rughani, S Baxter, T Westwood, R Singh, V Parmar.

Team selection for Saturday’s 1st XI fixture at home against Walsall YMF is as follows:

Will Hemming
Keith Rondeau
Martin Weir
Tom Hemming
Adam Coppell
Guy Morris
Simon Baxter
Naz Ali
Tim Westwood
Viz Parmar
Rick Singh*

We are waiting for confirmation on Rick. If he cannot play, Aman Singh will come up from the 2nd XI.

Meet is at 12:45 for a 1:30pm start.