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Fixtures & Results 2005 Wednesday 6th July at The Walk
MHV were asked to bat first on a slow green pitch and other than a few wides by the normally accurate Richard Watson PB's early bowling was excellent. The breakthrough came when Tom Rowlands dismissed their opener with a fine delivery only then to see a plethora of MHV wickets tumble from some excellent PB bowling and sublime fielding. One instance in particular, a ball was struck to the left hand of backward point only to see the captain Tom Pett swoop on it and direct throw from 20 yards at one stump. This dismissed their number 3 who has scored not less than 50 in his last 3 innings! The harmony and encouragement eminating from the team already went up 10 fold and the boys were awesome for the remaining 16 overs.
A fantastic catch behind the stumps by the ever-improving Charlie Scutt off the superb bowling of Tom Rowlands (3-4 off 4!) epitomised Potters Bar's performance. They were brilliant. Olly Pepper sacrificed a bit of pace for accuracy and its the best I've seen him bowl (2-9 off 4), Andrew Knight finished with 1-2 off 2 and bowled obviously very well. Possibly the worst ball of the day - a double bouncer form Tom Pett was snapped up at gully for a fine catch. After a brief chat between umpires it was agreed this was allowed and the innings was wrapped up at 44 all out!!
But we never like to do things easily do we?
A great opening spell by the quick bowler dismissed Dave Fennell without troubling the ever-present Chris Knight with pen in hand (scorer) and then a sharp single, well called by Isaac Moore saw the umpire raise his finger as the stumps were broken and Isaac looking behind himself back at the wicket such was his distance beyond the crease. Nought - 2 at the end of the first over. Sam Taylor (9) came in and steadied the ship slightly playing a fine ducking hook off a beamer from the aforementioned quickie for four and when he eventually received a pearler that would have dismissed the best set players around PB were 3 down with 15 on the board. Charlie Scutt came to the crease and fought hard not to speak to his classmates but the first ball from the County Leg Spinner saw Scutt put his leg some 14ft down the pitch playing the sweep shot with a ball viciously turning from the rough to see the umpire raise his finger in agreement to the appeal... 4 down still needing close on 30.
But Joe Skinner and Tom Pett played two very experienced knocks to see us home with more than 8 overs to spare. Tom finishing on 19 and Joe 13. Tom pulled and cut well and Joe, I have to say, played some of the most beautiful straight drives I have seen from an U13 colt - and against some exellent bowling.
A win at last for the U13a and a fine performance to boot. MHV are a good side and were battered by a very professional performance and one that made the two coaches, Paul Kennedy and myself, very proud.
Well done boys - man of the match, could be several but, for his fine performance that set up the victory - Tom Rowlands.
Mark Ilott
PB V Cockfosters Played at the Walk on Friday 1st July PB V Winchmore Hill Sunday (26th June) morning saw Potters Bar U13a side away to Winchmore Hill. PB bowled first and against a strong WH side started very well. Richard Watson probably bowled the best spell of the saeason (a couple of wides but on the whole excellent line, length and pace) and finished with figures of 1-10 off 3. The two opening batters were good players - one lad called Chris Chapman will definitely be one for the future, and the other wouldn't look out of place in The Greene Man on a Friday night! But his size was his downfall as a quick single taken to the electric fielding of Tom Rowlands meant that some nifty turning was in order and the direct throw left him a yard short of his crease - top fielding and well congratulated by the opposition coach. Winchmore Hill had a succession of players who I was informed by their coach to 'watch this lad' only to see tight bowling together with excellent fielding send them on their way. A top catch by Richard Watson off the bowling of Tom Rowlands who also bowled extremely well (1-9 off 3) and another by Dave Fennell (who continues to improve as a fielder) off the lobby bowling of Tom Pett. Tom, captaining the side again, I feel must bowl the pace that he can bowl - this might not get as many wickets as the high lobby stufff he often resorts to but will eventually make him a much better bowler. When he does push it through he is much harder to score against and easier to set fields to.
On another positive note Charlie Scutt, who has his own style of wicketkeeping, started ok but tends to lose concentration when he thinks the ball is going to either hit the stumps or the bat, but when he was reminded to imagine the ball is coming to him every ball then proceeded to keep superbly. Standing up off the bowling of Dave Fennell was awesome.
Anyway a bit of a late rally and some good hitting took Winchmore Hill to 103-6 a score that in all honesty was about 15 too many after such a great 15 overs.
Oh but how things went wrong!
Because of Tom Pett's selection in the II's he had to open so he could get on his way(!). Isaac Moore and Tom started well enough but then the aforementioned Chris Chapman came on and changed the game their way. Removing Tom with a dreadful shot and then seeing off Dave Fennell and Sam Clarke (the previous week's hero) - not all to the same bowler but the pressure mounted and produced some indifferent batting. A steadying of the ship was in order and this was done by Isaac but maybe the ship became a little too steady as after 10 overs the required rate was up nearer to 9. A few words of encouragement made Isaac get a move on and he started to look very good. Finishing up with a fine 35. The game looked lost until Charlie Scutt (24 off not many balls) took the bowling apart. Some excellent blows off some good balls saw the score up to 95 with 2 overs left. 9 to win off 2 with 5 wickets left. Game won? The return of Chris Chapman's last over sealed the game for WH. Charlie was removed first ball with a delivery that just clipped the leg stump - backing away?, possibly. Then a plethora of run outs meant 7 needed of the last over with only 2 wickets left.
Dan Pett came to the crease needing 7 off 4 deliveries and their opening bowler bowled good enough lines to make it very hard for the youngster and Potters Bar were left 5 short of victory all out.
The lads were distraught and it was a shame that such a fantastic fielding and bowling display was rewarded without a positive result. But as always, the plus points were many - Tom Rowlands and Richard Watson's bowling, Charlie Scutt's wicket-keeping and hard hitting, Isaac Moore's continued devepoment as a good all round cricketer and the excellent banter and encouragement that these lads give each other - its a pleasure to coach them.
Thanks to Paul Kennedy for his support and to Chris Knight for scoring. Lost match but made friends with Winchmore Hill - they were impressed. Man of the Match - Charlie Scutt.
Under 13A Oh woe is me. It has taken less than a season for me to impart my cricket knowledge on to the U13 a side. The very thing that plagued my career (and still does) reared it's ugly head last night. Our two first choice bowlers in Olly Pepper and Joe Skineer broke down with injury with less than 4 overs on the board. With 4 of our senior members of the team at Lords watching the Twenty/20 spectacle the remaining members struggled through a tough fixture. Bowling first Potters Bar looked dreadful for the initial 6 overs. A quick drinks break and a 'friendly' chat from the Umpire/Coach got their preverbial butts in gear for the next 10. The fielding was atrocious early on and the spirit we have shown so much of this year was all but absent. Charlie Scutt captaining for the first time had a tough task with a few of the players new to the team and not understanding the phrases 'walking in' or 'backing up'!! Their County opening batsman bludgeoned his way to a excellent half century but without him PB would have been very much in the game. Bowling heroes were hard to come by last night although a dark horse did appear inthe guise of Sam Taylor. Bowling through opportunity as opposed to selection brought the best out in him and his slow off-spin(!) made it hard for the numbers 3&4 to get after him. He bowled the last 4 overs from the road end finishing with figures of 4ov, 0mdns, 17runs, 0 wickets. At that stage of the game that is excellent bowling. He was joined by Pat Metzelaar who varied between excellent pace and economical mediums - he did, however, bowl two of the best balls I have ever seen at colts level, leg cutters that would have made Glenn McGrath proud. So the total of 143-2 as set. Up to the plate step our season long openers Isaac Moore and David Fennell. The former, after saying 'Sorry coach I'm wearing boxer shorts (note to Ed - all colts must wear box briefs or pants!!!) but don't worry I never get hit there' duly got struck straight in the 'how's-your-fathers' to be told to leave the field to find a box. This brought Charlie Scutt to the crease, fresh from a fantastic 50 last time out. However this wasn't to be his day as yet another shot from a PB batter went aerial. The slow wicket took some adjusting too and we took too long, in fact we didn't. Scutt out for 0. Wicket after wicket quickly followed - all the same way really caught in the ring with powder puff shots. Robert Sprigens then made a mistake one would hope he'd never do again - whilst playing and missing didn't realise that he had to be behind the line where the keeper (the aforementioned County opener) removed the bails in slow motion only to send poor Robert on his way. But up stepped Sam Clarke.... ably supported by Sam Taylor in a more defensive role. Sam Clarke smashed 66 not out with some true Beefesque blows. It was now the turn of the Barnet fielders and bowlers to look ragged as Clarke despatched thenm to all parts.The highest score of the season for the U13a's together with his better than average bowling performance made him my man of the match with Sam Taylor (0 not out) a close second. PB finished on 92-8 which when we were 18-5 isn't too bad. Some positives out of the game but unfortunately too many negatives. The lack of encouragement in the field, the constant drifting out of position in the field and a few errors in field placing - a whiteboard session on field placings and possible situations is desperately needed - the left hand/right hand combo stuffed us!! Also and probably more upsetting is the fact we seemed intent on smashing boundaries when recently we have run so well together - one a ball would have got us close with the odd boundary chucked in would have got us home - but never mind we'll be back! Mark Ilott Last night the U13a team gained their first victory of the season with a comfortable win over Southgate Adelaide. After they had tied their last 2 games and having not played a match for nearly 3 weeks it was good to see the boys carrying on the good work that they have been putting in at practice during the game. Having won the toss skipper Tom Pett elected to bat first. This was partly due to the fact that the opposition unfortunately only had 8 men and so to make sure people had a game the decision was taken to have a bat. In openers Isaac Moore and David Fennel I think we have found a very good pairing as they can both play their shots and they have a good understanding when taking quick singles. At Mill Hill they shared a stand of 49 and last night they continued this with an opening stand of 30 before David was caught out by Craig Collis (yes he is our player but happened to be acting as sub fielder for In reply, despite the efforts of the This was a well deserved victory by the boys and as long as they carry on putting in the work and training and taking that into their games then they will be celebrating many more victories in the future. I would just like to thank
Report from Cheeko Playing against a strong MHV side with a few of their boys having more facial hair than me as well as representing Middx U13 (and one South England representative) we more than held our own. Bowling first with captain Olly Pepper (who showed a bit of fatigue after playing his second game in as many hours) and Joe Skinner we got off to a good start. Joe was exceptional with his line and length and swung the ball beautifully. They both completed their 4 overs with only Olly making the umpire stretch his arms from time to time. When he slows everything down he really is a handful with his pace. PB then let MHV off the hook slightly with a combination of some poor bowling and some good hitting from MHV's 35year old opener! Andrew Knight - normally such a solid performer struggled from the bottom end and was quickly replaced by young Dan Pett. After a first ball double bouncer he showed remarkable accuracy and eventually removed the aforementioned 6ft 5" 12 year old! Special mention to Sam Clarke who, once the rhythym was found, bowled excellent lines and took two wickets in his 3 overs. Andrew then returned from the correct end to bowl the 19th over and did so with the maturity that I have come to expect from him. Our fielding was magnificent - David Fennell especially. At cover he has got to be one of the best fielders around and woe betide anyone trying to sneak a single to him. Apart from three overs in the middle when we dropped our heads slightly and were a little slow in making field adjustments to balls being hit over the top, we began to look like a side that encourages, thinks cricket, backs up (especially Sam Taylor) and knows what they are doing. They ended up scoring 126 which, in all honesty, was probably 20 too many due to too many wides. Isaac Moore and Dave Fennell then went about closing down the score in a truly professional manner. They put on 46 and ran beautifully. I can think of only 4 singles they may have missed out on but on the whole they were like Strauss and Trescothick both reacting to the other one's call immediately. When David got bowled to the quicker ball from their County leg spinner - who was a very good bowler - runs slowed up slightly. But a continued appettite for quick singles saw PB approach the score comfortably. Still needing just over 6 an over they brought back the best two bowlers and things got a littel beyond us. However, Charlie Scutt - who also judged singles brilliantly until a mix up with a hesitant Isaac Moore saw IM get run out for a fantastic 22 - looked like he was going to win the game for PB with some deft singles and some hefty blows. The last over needed 10 to win and a boundary and a wide (extra ball received in last over) meant we were eventually needing 4 from 4. Andrew Knight scampered through for a quick single and Dan Pett who was dwarfed by all around him, played a fine leg glance to keep the one a ball rate going. A fumble from the keeper saw a bye run and with the scores level and Dan facing bat on ball was all that was required........ The county bowler ran up and bowled wide of off-stump where from square leg it was an obvious wide(!) and Dan thought so too so he left it! Andrew, realising the situation called him through for the required run where, for the first time in the match the keeper didn't fumble it and threw to the bowlers end. Andrew was home, if he hadn't have been I wouldn't have given it anyway, but Dan who leapt like a Salmon returning home was short by about 2-3 inches where he was run out. So once again the win escaped the U13a's but yet again a fewer loss of wickets would normally mean that they'd have won two games now! The most important thing now is that all think and look like cricketers! Like British Rail - we're getting there!
Mark Ilott U13 A
Under 13B Captain Adam Titmuss won the toss and inserted Cockfosters. With only 9 players available at the start (one was at a District Sports meeting-the other had decided that the game had been called off) I thought we would have been exposed in the field especially as the opposition had rattled up 170 for 0 in our previous meeting in May. Great credit to the team - they restricted Cockfosters to 38 for 3 after 10 overs. Bowlers of note were Alex Whitehouse (1 for 16) Luke Watling (2 for 14 including a wicket maiden) and Tom Massey, the athletics latecomer, who returned figures of 1 for 15. Unfortunately, the secondary bowlers were unable to contain the middle order batsman and Cockfosters added over 60 runs in the last 10 overs. Our openers Luke Watling and Josh Thomson found scoring difficult. The bowling was accurate and we soon fell behind in the run rate. At the midway point we only had 31 runs with 2 wickets down. A devastating spell of off-spin by Barker of Cockfosters resulted in a middle order collapse. We finished 72 for 9 wickets owed mainly to a spirited 9th wicket partnership between Michael Bennett (16 n.o.) and Joe Lang (8 n.o.). Result lost by 27 runs (Cockfosters 99 for 4 Potters Bar 72 for 9) On the positive side the Cockfosters coach, Geoff, was impressed with the improvements our team has made since May especially in the bowling and ground fielding departments. We are still hestitant with our running between the wickets and we need to work on 'backing up'. We miss out on too many runs! In reply Potters Bar made 106 for 5 in their 20 overs. Notable batting performances from Alex Whitehouse with 36 and Stephen Howard 22 For the first time this season Potters Bar batted first and were treated to a fine opening partnership of 119 from Matthew Taylor (54) and Luke Watling (43 no). After completing his maiden 50 matthew was dismissed in the final over and Bar finished on 127 for 1 In relpy Old Elizabethans reached 81 for 8 with 44 being scored by the OE Captain. Nine bowlers were used and all bowled well. The fielding was solid with good control. and three good catches taken. Pick of the Bowlers were Captain Adam Titmuss 4 overs 13 for 2 and Luke Watling with the same figures and AlexWhitehouse with 4 overs 12 for 1 Potters Bar under the Captaincy of Matthew Taylor won the toss and chose to field first. The Cockfosters opening pair set about the Potters Bar bowling and ended the innings unbeaten on 80 and 78 in a Total of 175 for 0 wickets. In reply Potters Bar were subdued in the face of some economical bowling from the Cockfosters team, they reached 80 for 8 in their 20 overs. A good opening innings from Matthew Taylor of 19 and an exciting cameo from Sam Pallette who smashed 4 fours in almost as many balls. U13B Home against Winchmore Hill B (Sunday) Winchmore Hill 128 for 6 Potters Bar 97 for 8 - Match Lost
Winchmore Hill batted first and put together a fine team performance reaching 128 for 6 off of their 20 overs. Potters Bar bowling was on the whole good but included too many run scoring deliveries. In reply all or the Potters Bar team contributed a few runs. Josh Thompson built a fine innings of 36 falling to an LBW appeal when trying to accelerate the run rate.
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