2007 Season Report
A very wet summer, seemingly wetter on Sunday afternoons than
most others, made for a frustrating season for the 4th
team in our second year competing in the top division of Sunday
cricket in Cheshire.
A finish of 7th place was achieved, with our final
record reading:
|
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
C/A |
Points |
|
18 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
7 |
199 |
This represented a decent effort in a
league with a number of clubs fielding strong teams on a more
consistent basis than the previous year. The story of the season
was almost identical to last year, a poor start followed by a
good run before a disappointing final game loss leaving us in
7th position when it could have been as high as 3rd.
In the 11 games not falling victim to the weather only 3 of
which were at home!) 38 players were used, with just 6 players
playing 5 games or more. The fact that we used such a varied
team has lead to no consistent stand-out performers with either
bat or ball and a failure for anyone to qualify for the league
averages.
However, there have been a number of brilliant individual
performances throughout the season, including Ste Johnson’s
maiden senior fifty at Nantwich, Mike Roberts’ 89* at Alderley
Edge and maiden senior century (113*) at Upton, Jonny Pearson’s
99 at Upton, Paul Vesey’s 60 at Toft and most notably Doug
Whyley’s 103 out of 183 at Oulton Park, a fantastic maiden
century. Useful contributions with the bat were also made by
Ollie Bowden, Will Pidgeon, Andy Batty, Ross Willard, Paul
Garnett, Matt Guy, Dan Darbyshire, Alan Clowes, Nick Johnson,
Elliot Woodage, George Drakonakis and Rob Holloway.
Although in general we struggled with the ball there were 3
exceptional performances: Nick Johnson’s 5-24 against Stockport,
Elliot Woodage’s 5-13 against Didsbury and Eddie Shaw’s 6-30
against Alderley Edge. The ever-reliable Col Barrett was again
our most consistent bowler throughout the season, taking 12
wickets at an average of 23. Other leading performers with the
ball included Andy Batty, AJ Hart, Tom Mitchell, Will Mitchell,
George Drakonakis, Max Lloyd and Siva.
In general our batting has been good, only twice did we score
below 170 in a completed innings – both times holding out for a
draw, but we struggled with the ball, only bowling out the
opposition on 4 occasions (including all 3 occasions when we
played at home). These statistics show we need to improve on our
bowling but are also indicative of the pitches that we played
on, with some great decks being prepared at most away grounds
while our own pitches have not quite been up to the same high
standard.
The standard of fielding and wicket-keeping was high throughout
the season, with some catches being taken at crucial times and
pressure being built through sharp fielding a regular feature,
hopefully this will continue next season.
For many in our side the 4ths has served as an introduction into
senior cricket, with all the youngsters who have played having
shown they have the ability to develop into very good cricketers
– the future is bright!
Throughout the season our great team spirit has been apparent
and the attitude of enjoying our cricket has spread to all who
have played, making captaincy much easier for Andy and myself.
Thanks to all who have played and helped out throughout the
season, all your help is appreciated.
Next season promises to be another enjoyable one, with more
juniors entering into senior cricket and many of the current
team still playing we should have an excellent squad for next
year. Hopefully we will have a more consistent year and improve
on our finish from this year – maybe we’ll even get some
sunshine on Sunday afternoons!
Mark
Vesey
Please check the
Archive
for averages, results, fixture records, etc.
Previous Seasons
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