Welcome to another edition of Wizzy News – our weekly roundup of news and events at Wisborough Green Cricket Club and the local community. If you missed last week’s edition please click here
Wisborough Green Primary School are hosting their Summer Fair on the green on Saturday afternoon – please do come along and support the school as they raise some much needed funds.
Honours Boards
Congratulations to George Nicholls whose name appears on the Sussex Cricket League Bowling Honours board this week following his fifer against Kiln Vale on Saturday. The Sussex Cricket league has over 370 teams competing in 39 divisions across East and West Sussex so its a special honour to feature on the County wide Honours Board.
Well done to all our players who feature on our club Honours Board this week.
RunWisborough
WOW – WHAT AN EVENT !!
Once again, RunWisborough was a roaring success with over 600 runners plus more at the children’s Colour Run. Feedback has been fantastic – the runners praised the atmosphere, beautiful village setting and of course all the brilliant marshals and supporters who made it such a special day. In addition, there were a number of different food & drinks stalls on offer which people loved before, during and after the races!
Congratulations to all the runners who took part – particularly those linked to the Cricket Club including Fraser Williams who won the juniors category in just under 20 minutes – fantastic achievement. Well done Fraser.
A big thank from the RunWisborough team to everyone involved, including runners, helpers, marshals, stallholders, audio team, race organisers and the fantastic sponsors – the event wouldn’t have been as successful as it was without everyone’s support !
For pics and all the results please click on the following link : https://www.runwisborough.co.uk/
Presidents Day – Sunday 23rd June
Presidents Day is only a week away and we are all looking forward to renewing old acquaintances and enjoying an afternoon of cricket as a cricketing family.
If you missed our club President James Sadler’s invitation to President’s Day please click here for all the details
Upcoming Fixtures
A number of games coming up again this next week
- First X1 are away to Bognor Regis on Saturday at 1pm
- Under 12’s have an away game against West Chiltington on Saturday morning
- Under 10’s have an away friendly against on Steyning on Saturday morning
- Under 13 girls have an away game against Southwater on Tuesday evening
Please click here for all of our age group fixtures on the ECB’s Playcricket website. Fixtures are also listed in our official Fixture card, copies of which available in the Pavilion. You can also download an electronic copy of the fixture card by clicking here.
Team selections for this week
Only one game this week, and clearly a few regulars have taken the opportunity to have a week away from- well timed gents! The 1sts visit Bognor, though not for the white sandy beaches or crystal clear waters, I’m told it’s delightful this time of year!! We will be aiming to bring back 30 points along with the wind chapped faces…..
Dan Vickery – Club Captain
Match Reports
First X1 vs Worthing
A cloudy windy chilly June summers day sees Wisborough Green at home to Worthing hoping to make it four from four. Vickery wins the toss and bats first on a good looking pitch.
Very quickly it’s 4 for 3 and looking like a very good toss to lose. Facing from the top end, Will Crombie, the league’s form player, carried on his warmup (chipping up catches for fielding practice) out in the middle, dropped off the first ball at gully he gives Worthing a huge reprieve by serving up a dolly to midwicket just two balls later. Meanwhile from the bottom end, SCS (Steve Calder Smith) and Hoppo (Martin Hopkins) – clearly still wishing it’s still football season, kick big swinging straight ones and have to trudge off.
Tommy (Tom Colbran) battling hard (what an addition to the green middle order!) and captain Danny , combining swishing with straight drives the late great Kenny would be proud of, steady the ship.
Suddenly though its 3 LBWs from 4 wickets for the away umpire – Peter Klein meet your match. Tommy, kicks a maybe not so straight one and is devastated to go in front of the football lads. Having said that with a strike rate of 28.07 I think they’d given up watching.
Dan and DJ continued comfortably until Dan characteristically and DJ uncharacteristically both holed out to long on in quick session. In at 7 was Ran, playing some beautiful shots, including a pull that rocketed for four and massive 6 over midwicket, before being caught for a quick 22.
This left just shy of 10 overs for the bowlers to bat and things weren’t looking very pretty at 120-7. It was even less pretty when Junior somehow got bowled round his legs – 139-8. Some good running and hitting saw a near 50 run partnership between Hugo and JCS (Joey Calder Smith) develop before Hugsy unfortunately top edged a pull. In came Jack at last man with 2 overs to go, 200 in sight and JCS 3 away from a maiden first team 50 – just rotate the strike. Alas, out went Jack with no real score change. 191 scored, a very good effort given the start, but probably below par.
A cracking tea from the farm shop topped up wonderfully by Franky, meant the Green entered the field slowly and sleepily but most importantly, happily.
Junior and Hugo, once he had decided that 6 hill sprints an over was enough, bowled brilliantly to restrict Worthing to 40/2 from the first twelve overs. Game right in the balance. On came Ran mixing up wides with very good balls and picked up two key wickets, while Jack bowled the danger man with an absolute beauty.
Drinks – 86/5, Green on the up. Quick huddle, comment on the crazy running of Worthing. Run out chances coming.
As if by magic a few balls later it’s pushed straight to mid-off, SCS swoops in and as fast as the back will allow throws down the stumps. Queue a Stuart Broadesque celebrappeal from the fielders, it’s 90/6, surely the win is in the bag. Correction 90/5. The only opinion that counts in this situation doesn’t think it’s out.
From here Worthing build a very good partnership, helped by some fairly ordinary bowling and take the game away from Wisborough. Both batsmen score well made 50s with special mention to 16-year-old Chandler for finishing unbeaten and taking Worthing to the win.
A very disappointing end to a good game, let’s put it right next week.
Please click here for the full scorecard
JCS – The batting all-rounder.
Second X1 vs Kiln Vale
I had thought that the opening match of the season when we made extremely heavy work in chasing a low total, as enough for my aging nerves to take, but they were stretched beyond comfort levels on Saturday as the second XI managed complete the full house of available cricket results by managing to TIE at Kilnwood Vale. A game which we should have won, then lost, then won, then lost again, finally drew to conclusion after an extremely brave batting performance by Will Andrews and Joshy “2 fours” Dixon.
Chasing just over 100, they came together at 70-odd for 8 with 12 overs to go. Nudging singles and power hitting got them us, 5 wides from the ferocious opener drew scores level, and a hitherto unlikely victory was within touching distance. But alas, it was not to be. All in all, a fair result with 15 points each, but maybe another one that the 2s let slip away.
Earlier in the day, the all star team assembled at the luxurious ground (!), filled with optimism. As well as welcoming Buddy Edwards on his senior debut, we were delighted to see Chris Francis, Jackson McCullagh, Ollie Warmington and George Nicholls available for duty, amongst other regular luminaries.
On an astro wicket, we bowled tight and straight, caught well and looked like a thoroughly competent outfit. Early hard work especially by Phil and Will delivered slim rewards, and it was left to Super Georgie Nicholls to show the young pups how it’s done with his brand of deceptively slow, straight ones. Picking up 5-18 of almost 6 overs. Special appreciation to Harry Maggs (x2) and aforementioned Buddy for outstanding catches to help George on his way to an Honours board performance. Kilnwood Vale stumbled to 102 all out in only 22.4 overs.
We know however, that chasing small targets is not our strength and yet again we delivered drama and tension throughout. Palmer should have known better than to leave a straight one, Tarni thought he got more on a thwack than he did. Warmington and Francis started but couldn’t get going and momentum took its course. When Andrews and Dixon came together for the last wicket, there was lots to do and anything other than a loss was unthinkable.
We enjoy a week off this week in prep for our trip to the coast on the 22nd. 2s flying high in 2nd place… keep your eyes peeled. It’s going to be fun.
Please click here for the full scorecard
Tim Palmer
T20 vs Petworth
Wizz hosted Petworth CC on the green on a cloudy Tuesday evening. Petworth won the toss and chose to bat, something Wisborough were looking to do due to the lack of light that was to come later in the evening.
Raf (Rafferty Finn) and Joshy (Josh Dixon) opened the bowling and started strong. Early pressure from both caused Joshy to pick up the first of the evening caught by his opening bowling partner. Will Andrews was first change and bowled fantastically. A masterclass in the swing bowling allowed him to pick up 3 wickets in the middle overs, putting deep pressure on the Petworth batsmen. Ash Perry was put on towards the end of the innings and put Petworth out of their misery picking up 4 wickets in his 4 overs, again a super display of spin bowling outdoing the oppo tail end. Petworth managed 124 runs off their T20 variant innings.
Stotty (Ollie Stott) and James J (James Janion) opened for Wiz. They started off swimmingly with mix of technical and agricultural shots. They ticked along nicely for a solid opening stand of 44 off 7 overs. A couple loss of wickets due to some amazing fielding from oppo and pressure to score with the required run rate increasing. Will D (Will Dixon) joined Stotty and scored a couple boundaries in quick succession. Ash P (Ash Perry) entered the crease after the fall of Stotty was a very well made and fast 46, ultimately being the anchor for the team. Ash finished the runs off with some help from oppo extras allowing Wiz to get the runs after 17 overs.
Please click here for the full scorecard
Will Dixon – Captain
Under 16 vs West Chiltington
Due to the Wisborough Green Run we relocated this T20 game to the beautiful grounds of Petworth Park on a hard and rather flat wicket that screamed ’big total’ at us. The sun shone brightly but grown men shivered – was this ‘first game nerves’ for their sons or ’should have brought a coat’?
WGCC’s captain Will Reed won the toss and put West Chilt into bat. We started well, with Joe Reed and Raff Finn containing their openers to 3 runs per over. But finding wickets was proving challenging. Enter Dexter McCullen into the attack to trap their opener leg before in his second over. But our hopes for a low total to chase were put on ice as we started leaking runs in the field. It was, perhaps, starting to show that this was our first game together this season. It would be another 74 runs and two retired batsmen before Dexter struck again, clean bowling their No4 who was flaunting with a retirement score. This was swiftly followed by a run out by debutant Nick Reed whose keeping was excellent throughout. A mid order collapse was successfully delivered as Joe Reed bombed the stumps of their No7 for a golden duck.
So how would we measure up against a chase of 135?
There will be a stewards enquiry into whether it was entirely fair to send our keeper, on debut I will remind, over the top to face one of West Sussex’s finest U16s attack only to be caught in our second over. But Nick will hopefully return and contribute with the big scores we know he’s capable of. Alex Greaves obviously had his upcoming Biology GCSE on his mind (who can blame him) and never quite found his usual rhythm, bowled for 4. Dexter followed his excellent bowling performance with the team’s top score of 15 before going the same way as Nick, caught. Rafferty was looking solid on 4 before attempting his second boundary and being, er, caught. You can see where this is going. Joe showed intent and for a moment we dared to believe before he was….you guessed it. Sebbie Garbett turned heads with some thunderous strikes that annoyingly kept finding fielders before making it to the rope. So he decided to go over the top and in line with team policy of the day found a solid pair of West Chilt hands. Ed Crowther, full of confidence following a matching winning performance for school the day before, decided it was time for the team to stop being caught out so opted for being bowled, before another of our debutants Jonny Messer who had excelled in the field but frankly had been left far too much to do in the six remaining overs had no choice but to go for it and followed where 6 of his team mates had gone and found another safe pair of opposition hands. Seb Scrase showed why hope never quite dies as he tried to spare our blushes with a courageous smash for 11 and, because Seb likes to be different, being bowled not caught. That left Lukas Graham-Cloete to proudly carry his bat for 3, no doubt relieved that being not out definitely means not being caught out.
This team will come back stronger, much stronger. Today was not our day and we should have and could have don’t a lot better. But it is never shameful to be beaten by West Chilt who were spot on with their tactics in every department. We now have a two week break for Fathers Day before we host Horsham on 23rd June. Please come down and support us.
Please click here for the full scorecard
Jon Finn
Under 14 vs Rudgwick
9th June 2024 Quarter Final of the Plate – Away at Rudgwick
U14’s DOMINATE IN QUARTER FINAL VICTORY….
A chilly and blustery Sunday morning saw the U14’s travel to Rudgwick CC for a quarter final fixture.
Rudgwick won the toss and put Wisborough Green in, 7 overs later they probably wished they hadn’t. Joe and Jackson opened up with real purpose dispatching anything that was loose for a boundary and respecting the good deliveries. It proved to be a devastating opening partnership putting the Rudgwick bowlers under pressure and off their lines, as a result many extras were conceded. They both retired in the same over. Bella and Buddy followed and consolidated the innings with calmness and purpose. Buddy was out for 15 as he was trying to up the run rate. Freddie followed with some strong shots, Bella ending the innings on 21 not out. WG had amassed 151 for the loss of just one wicket. An outstanding score.
Harry and Olivia opened the bowling with accurate spells and the Rudgwick reply couldn’t have got off to a worse start with Harry picking up a wicket with the first ball, a nice catch by Freddie. Rudgwick were under immediate pressure as the run rate required was so high. There were three run outs as they tried to keep the score moving on. A truly excellent spell by Hector taking 3 wickets and a further wicket for Henry kept the pressure on.
Rudgwick finished eight down and over 30 runs short. Despite such a dominant display there is room for improvement and WG will need to be at their best in the semi-final away at Barns Green in July.
Thanks to Tom Dawson for umpiring.
Please click here for the full scorecard
Phil Maggs
Under 12 vs Horsham Trinity
Away again this week and this time at Crawley Eagles, renowned for excellent all round cricket ability. Despite the reputation, the team were ambitious for the challenge and Olivia Church made her debut as Captain.
Hector and Josh opened the 1st four overs backed once again by a tight, responsive field. 3 wickets fell in the first 4 overs. 2 for Josh and 1 for Hector, with a fantastic catch by Lucy Ross Hurst. Freddie, Olivia, Henry and Bobby Ayling all maintained the pressure on the score for the next 6 overs, until the season debut over from Bobby Pettett, who took the team’s next wicket in over 11 on his 4th ball! The Crawley batters fought fiercely. For example Mohammed Hassam Ayub scored an impressive 27 run retirement after only 2.2 overs and 10 balls! Undeterred by this, Wizzy U12s kept a lively field, concluding over 20 with Josh taking 2 wickets back to back, one bowled and caught. Hat trick next time Josh?! Crawley innings – 144 for 7 after the allotted 20 overs.
Wizzy batting commenced.The challenge was on with the highest standard of bowling starting with the first ball. Soon we were down 4 wickets, 3 bowled in over 4 alone. As the overs pushed on, the batters faced the strain. It remained hard graft and at over 9 the team had 49 runs on the board but 7 wickets down. However, an unusual turn of events was about to steady the ship a little. Captain Olivia joined the batting with Jo Nicholls, however having sustained an ankle injury earlier, she elected Josh to run for her. This is not a frequent occurrence, is absolutely permissible but does require some careful synchronisation! Bowling recommenced and the trio dug deep, working seamlessly together ball by ball for 7 overs, resulting in a much needed partnership of 26 awarded to Olivia and Jo. Olivia stayed the distance until over 19 accompanied by Josh, joined by George and Becca who all drove to close the innings as well as possible. A great team effort of 83 all out.
Some games are tough. This one was… but isn’t it matches like this that come with an abundance of determination, experience and team spirit? This week was not the win but all of the above essential qualities evident at the centre of this squad.
A special mention also to the die hard U12 supporters battling the June weather this week (pictured below). Fingers crossed for sun this weekend!
Please click here for the full scorecard
Darren Hunter and Suzana Braddock
Under 10 vs Lindfield
The under 10’s welcomed Lindfield to the Green for a friendly on a cloudy so called summer’s day.
It was the first time that the under 10’s were playing at home so there was a lot of excitement in the air
The team welcomed Anaya and Charlie Brown (under 9) who were playing for us the first time.
Skipper Archie Morgan won the toss and was keen to field first but very kindly elected to bat first because some of the Lindfield players had to leave early.
It didn’t take the batters long to realise that we were up against a very polished team who had been playing for the last 3 years. Their county level bowlers bowled fast and straight and our batters struggled to get the ball away. Our batters held their nerve and battled on bravely and there were some some fantastic shots including a number of very good fours.
At the change of innings the players were treated to some lovely biscuits and drinks by the parents which went down very well.
Anaya opened the bowling with a some good accurate bowling. Our other bowlers also bowled well against some extremely good batting. We clearly need to work on our consistency when bowling – trying to keep a good line and length.
Lots of learning points to take away from our fielding. There was lots of enthusiasm in the field but we need to get ourselves better organised and focus a lot more including listening to the captain when he is trying to make changes to the field.
At the end of the game each team selected an opposition players of the match and Anaya was awarded player of the match by Lindfield for her outstanding bowling. There can be no greater honour than being recognised by the opposition for a great performance – congratulations Anaya ! Well done to our Captain for the day Archie Morgan who also made it onto the Honours Board for a good job captaining the team. A special mention to Charlie Brown, our under 9 player who played incredibly well.
It was a very useful for us to measure up against a team who will no doubt finish top of the league this season. We are due to play them in a league game in a few weeks time and we are keen to show them how much we are learning from every game we play.
Many thank to all the parents for their incredible support setting up, providing the drinks and refreshments and giving Lindfield that warm Wisborough welcome we always like to give the opposition when they come to our grounds.
We look forward to our next friendly away match against Steyning on Saturday.
and finally ….
Spotted out and about
That’s it for this week.
If there is anything we need to know you know where to find us.
Have a great cricketing week 🏏😊
Cheers
Wizzy