Welcome to this week’s Wizzy News which includes reports on a narrow First X1 loss and victories for our Second X1 and Ladies teams, and a fantastic century for one of our players in a record scoring game. We also have a Wizzy news exclusive – a picture of our First X1 Umpire Peter Mattock as you’ve never seen before ….
Honours Board
We’ve got two rather full Honours Boards this week – congratulations to all those who made it onto the Boards this week
Match reports
First X1 vs Three Bridges
Wizzy snatch defeat from the jaws of victory
Cricket is a hard game, it messes with your body, your mind and your spirit both individually and as a team. Sometimes you can win 90 per cent of the battles but lose the game. This is what occurred at Three Bridges. It was our second Saturday in Crawley in consecutive week ends although the pitch and the setting were more aesthetically pleasing. I was told that the ground was quite often a bowler’s graveyard and on a hot sunny afternoon we lost the toss and found ourselves in the field.
We couldn’t have got off to a better start, Junior opening the bowling and getting a curious wicket first ball as a mistimed shot sent a slow looping catch to point. Junior bowled all the way through his 9 overs, consistently beating the bat or being chipped between fielders and his 9 overs for 18 runs were scant reward for his performance on the day. Huggie bowled well from the other end, finding swing, and causing the batsmen problems and picking up the wicket of the number 3 – well caught by CD. It was apparent however that the ball on to the bat was slow with some balls staying low and others gripping in the wicket and popping a little with a sort of slow tennis ball bounce.
CD replaced Huggie after 6 overs and bowled well, keeping things tight and Calvin did the same from the other end. Both taking important wickets early in their spells. Runs were still hard to come by and at 20 overs Three Bridges were 60 for 4. The next 10 overs saw Three Bridges move to 100 for 4 as they determined not to lose wickets and re-establish a foothold in the game by running singles hard. Junior had the luxury of 6 bowlers and Calvin was replaced by Joey after an over when Mist got his arms swinging: with Jimmer taking over from CD. Jimmer eventually got the man for 44 and Three Bridges continued to attack when they could. 130 for 5 with 10 overs left. Joey bowled well and picked up 3 wickets towards the end of the innings with the batsmen looking to score quickly, with good use of the cutter and the slower ball.
157 for 6 with 5 overs left. The last 5 overs needed to be tight as the straight boundaries were short. 44 runs were scored but only three boundaries were scored, and Three Bridges managed 191 for 9. In general, this was a very good fielding performance with the ground fielding of DJ, Nick, Joey, and CD being particularly impressive. However, the last four or five overs saw a couple of stops on the boundary being missed, a potential missed run out, and a catch dropped which probably cost the side at least 10 runs or so. Throughout the innings 17 wides and 3 no balls were bowled, 20 runs given away.
Nevertheless, we were pleased with where we were. We needed to build partnerships, have clear plans, and accept the wicket was a little tricky. SCS and Jimmer went out to bat and the opening bowlers found good lines. Scoring was hard as we knew it would be. The Chinese cut was working well. Slowly and, despite neither batsman ever really being in, runs were scored. The partnership grew directly in proportion with the advice on how to bat from the wicket keeper and first slip.
At 10 overs the score was 48 for 0. SCS was dismissed soon after LBW and Wizzy were 62 for 1 in the 13th over. Hoppo joined Jimmer and the pair consolidated and built a second wicket partnership until Pyle bowled a full straight one to Jimmer who was looking to attack.
Wizzy were 91 for 2 at the end of the 19th over. Good plans and application were required 26 overs to score 100 runs with 8 wickets in hand, we were the favourites to win. Push the good balls for 1 if you can, run hard, hit the bad balls and force the oppo to try too hard. Three Bridges turned to spin when Pyle was removed from the attack and DJ and Hoppo continued to accumulate runs. At the start of the 30th over Wizzy had lost DJ driving over a straight one.
16 overs were left with 61 runs needed at less than 4 an over with 7 wickets left. Somone needed to commit to stay to the end. CD, who has been the most solid batter this year went in at 5 and it was decided he would play his shots and Hoppo would accumulate and stay in. Sadly, he was beaten by a turning delivery from off-spinner Blandford trying to drive and you could sense the momentum shifting. Two overs later Jack departed the same way, and the game was on a knife edge at 149 for 5 with 10 overs left. 19 ahead of where the opposition were but it didn’t necessarily feel like it. Kleiny can only bat one way – full throttle attack with seven overs left we were 172 for 5.
20 runs need from 42 balls with 5 wickets left. However, the 38th over was cruel. Hoppo just needed to stay and get to his 50 and see the game out but drove over the first ball and was bowled by Alderman for a well made 47 off 80 balls. Three balls later, Dan seemed unsure whether to stick or twist and was out in the same way.
The second ball of the next over saw Kleiny hit an Exocet, 7 feet off the ground, flying to long on off the bowling of Pyle who had returned into the attack after the mauling Blandford received in his previous over. A figure leapt like a salmon, plucked the ball from the air, and despite falling backwards, held on. There was a moment of stunned silence following by a roar from Three Bridges bar and players when people realised what had happened. Mr Blandford had his revenge. What a catch!
Sadly, Junior fell in the next over to a very good caught and bowled trying to turn the ball for a single, and in the next over Pyle, bowling commendably straight had Huggie LBW. We had lost by 11 runs. We still had 22 balls left to bat. Three Bridges had only conceded 13 fewer wides and no balls.
We lost a game we should have won, we lost the game not because of talent, on the day the teams were pretty even. We lost the game partly because we weren’t disciplined enough in the field. We lost the game because a couple of outstanding catches swung the game in the direction of Three Bridges. We lost the game by not having batting plans and being clear of what we were trying to do when we went in. We lost the game because we didn’t have enough cricketing nous on the day to bat out. We have shown ourselves we can compete and need to keep trying to improve in the next game.
Congratulations to Three Bridges, they stuck at it when things were going our way, and ultimately deserved to win.
Please click here for the full scorecard
Steve Calder Smith
Second X1 vs Chippingdales
2’s post record score and are rewarded with victory after working hard in the field
When the coin was turning end over end in the air over the middle of the square no-one knew that this was going to be a monumental afternoon of cricket. The coin landed and it was tails – the Chippingdale skipper chided himself and Wisborough Green elected to bat on a very hot, still and beautiful day.
The new opening batting pair of Callum Price and Tommy Colbran strode out with purpose and played the early bowling with grace and respect – punishing the occasional bad ball and slowly and surely building an important partnership. Both Callum and Tommy built their innings carefully playing some extraordinarily attractive cricket strokes off both front and back feet. Tommy was unlucky to be bowled on 39 and Callum followed shortly afterwards having reached a very well made 52.
Ollie Stott and Jonny Farmer continued the good form with Ollie providing great entertainment and excitement with a fantastic display of clean hitting accumulating his 50 off few balls whilst JF kept the score board ticking over at a more conservative rate. Ollie continued to hit the ball to all corners of the ground much to the disappointment of the bowling attack. JF soon started to compete with Ollie as he hit a clean 18 off one over and then reached his 50. JF hold out soon afterwards on 54, Juan Vorster came to the crease whilst Ollie scored his maiden 100 in record time – an amazing knock – especially considering it was his first of the season. Ollie was then bowled on 107 and Tarni Dixon came with a few overs to go.
Juan was bowled going for a big shot and Tarni soon followed caught on the boundary. Harry Hunter and Will Andrews managed the last few balls well such that Wisborough Green finished with a record 309 runs off their 40 overs.
After a filling and tasty tea WGCC slowly drifted towards the field of play. All credit to Chippindale who played positively from the outset to give our opening bowler Jonny Farmer something to think about. Juan Vorster bagged their skipper with a short ball which was cut to Will ‘The Juggler’ Andrews who caught his first catch cleanly at point. Chippingdale then started to knuckle down with one of their batsmen knocking the ball confidently around the ground whilst the other looking less than comfortable. They started to build a solid partnership whereupon Josh Dixon was brought on and broke it with an LBW decision dismissing the on-form batsman.
Mark Brown roared in down the hill and the other batsmen was caught again by Will -The Juggler who juggled the ball expertly as if in a circus before catching it. Josh bowled with precision to keep the run rate down and Tommy then started down the hill with some flighted off-spin which the batsmen took advantage of and the ball was spilling up in the air and away from fielders – the runs kept coming.
The patience of the 2 spinners paid off as the ball in the air started to hit fielders with great catches from JF who was defending his family courageously with a low dipper, Tarni who netted one with a single outstretched arm, Callum with a skier and the Juggler was back with his 3rd (and not quite final) catch.
Josh finished with 2 for 29 off 8 overs and Tommy was 4 for 65 off 8 overs By this stage Chippindale had batted valiantly but were running out of wickets. Will then was put on up the hill and juggled a c & b to get the 9th wicket – by this stage Chippingdale had run out of steam and ended with 258 for 9 off their 40.
A great batting performance by the 2’s – many congratulations to Ollie Stott for his 107 and Callum and JF for their 50s. Great bowling by Josh and Tommy and a continually energetic and supportive fielding display won the day. Well done to the entire Team.
Please click here for the full scorecard
Tarnie Dixon
Women’s team vs Slinfold
On Sunday afternoon in the baking hot sunshine, Wizzy Women played their 4th league match away at Slinfold. The gazebo was up, the prosecco on ice, supporters were clinging to any shade they could find and we were set to play.
Skipper Jen won the toss and put the oppo into bat. Special mention of Jill who stepped in to keep wicket. With a rapid five minutes of coaching from no less than three different people, Jilly was unsurprisingly scratching her head. Legs straight? Crouch down? Move side to side? Not to be confused, Jill did it her own way and put in a solid performance behind a fast downhill wicket. Also mention of Natalie, Nadia and Holly playing in their first match for the Wizzy Women.
On a dry pitch giving nothing away for the bowlers, Holly opened the campaign. Bowling medium pace to a hesitant opening pair, Holly kept runs to a minimum. Bex, Natalie and Nadia followed to see the 1st pair off with a total of 17 runs. The same four bowled against a more experienced 2nd pair, and the oppo started to build on the run rate and gain momentum.
Jen and Jill, bowling down the hill… but without fetching wickets, continued to keep the oppo to mainly singles. It was great to see the Wizzy fielding improving yet again, moving up a gear from previous outings. Well placed by Jen, fielders were kept busy on the leg side. Sarah at long on, Jen at mid-wicket, Bex at deep square and Natalie swapping with Nadia at fine leg, all had parts to play. Holly, throwing accurately from deep cover kept runs to singles and Tessa backed up the wicket coming in from point. Ever sharp in the field, Wizzy secured a run-out in the final four overs and, although our only wicket this outing, our bowlers gave away far fewer extras than in previous matches. Slinfold’s 4th batting pair were kept to a net of 10 runs, setting Wizzy a total target of 118 to win.
1st in to open the batting attack were Tessa and Jill. Setting the perfect example with smart singles, and boundaries if on offer, they put on an impressive 24 runs with no wickets. 2nd pair Bex and Natalie continued the pace and adding another 7 boundaries charged on to 75 runs. The crowd could smell a win, and despite the heat were getting noisy. Next up, Jen and Holly showed no mercy. Confident calling and quick running amassed plenty of singles, and to jubilant cheers from the supporters another 8 boundaries! Convinced Holly’s last 4 was indeed a 6, none-the-less the pair put Wizzy on a total with extras, of 127. Chasing 118, Wizzy had passed the target! On for a sure win, final pair Sarah and Nadia relaxed into the last four overs adding a further 22 runs, and settling on a total of 155.
So there it was, in all its glory. Wizzy Women had their first win.
Time to celebrate with match tea and in their usual style Wizzy brought drinks and food to share with the oppo. In fact, a few Slinfold players jokingly mentioned defection to Wizzy based on the tea!
Thanks to Peter for umpiring, and as ever for your time, endless support, and top coaching tips. Thanks to Min for scoring, and for bringing a serious contender for best quiche in the league. But mostly, thank you to Sarah, whose vision, unwavering commitment, and wonderful hospitality has brought us all to this point. If village cricket is about inclusivity, camaraderie, self-development, team spirit, a healthy dose of competition and good old-fashioned fun, Wizzy Women are nailing it 😊
Please click here for the full scorecard
Bex Samuelson
Under 14 vs Horsham
WG U14’s hosted Horsham this week.
WG captain Joe Aspidin won toss and despite the wicket looking good for a bat, elected to field due to hot conditions.
A good start saw their opening batsman out for only 8 runs from a fine delivery by Raff.
Unfortunately, their 2&3 made the most of the pitch and scored steadily with a partnership of 67 until a wonderful diving catch from Lukas brought the total to 102-2
Despite our accurate bowling the wickets weren’t coming fast enough although the run rate did slow down.
Horsham were 146-5 when their 25 overs were up. A tough score to chase but do-able.
Openers Harry R and Seb G started solidly and looked to be settling in nicely when Harry was caught at mid on.
Jackson M went in next and was looking good until a error of judgement led to a run out.
Raff retired not out again after another wonderful display of batting aided by some solid stuff from Seb until he was caught on 27.
Our tail end, all playing up by two years or more, went in and really tried to save it for us and a special mention has to go to Hector and Freddie for some beautiful boundaries but unfortunately their efforts to score led to wickets and we were all out for 128 after 22.4 overs.
Another disappointment for the boys but as always they gave it their all and there were a lot of encouraging improvements on display in terms of match play and awareness.
Please click here for the full scorecard
Dave McCullagh
Under 12 vs Horsham Sharks
Wisborough welcomed the Horsham Sharks for a home game, the Sharks won the toss and sent Wisborough into bat. This was good news with Wisborough having won most of the games in which they have batted first.
The match was played on a difficult track, throughout the innings the Wisborough batters struggled to time the ball. Credit to Horsham Sharks, they bowled on a good length and with no great pace. Only two batters reached double figures and there were only four boundaries scored. A good effort from Oscar with 18, and Harry with a late 10. All in all, an uncharacteristically flat batting performance as the batters struggled to build momentum. Until this game the running between wickets has been good but in this match the team probably left 15-20 runs in the middle. A total of 91 was reached off the 20 overs.
This was always going to take some defending and there were times when they did look like pulling off an unlikely victory. The highlights – some outstanding close fielding from Freddie and Buddy with Freddie taking some superb catches including one diving effort at full stretch. Bella also kept very well on a difficult pitch.
In defending a score of 91 the bowling had to be good, and for the most part it was with very few extras. Two wickets apiece for Harry and Buddy with Freddie and Josh each taking a wicket. The game went to the final over with Horsham winning with 3 balls to spare.
The fielding was not as sharp as it has been in the other matches this season with several overthrows conceded.
There are always lessons to be learnt. The team was unusually flat in both batting and in the field so the challenge for them in the next game is to find the extra 15-20 runs they missed batting and also to keep backing up in the field and to try and be 10 runs better in this aspect of the game.
The match play and game knowledge that the U12 team have displayed this season has been excellent and often the difference between the teams when we have come out on top. Keep it going – just an off day…….
Please click here for the full scorecard
Phil Maggs
Under 10 vs Steyning
No better location for a game of cricket on a sunny Saturday morning then Steyning with the South Downs in the background!
We welcomed Joanna and Eva from the U11 girls team to support us with bowling and batting quality.
Callum Campbell took on the role of skipper today, won the toss and put Steyning into bat, good shout given the temperatures were only going to increase.
The teams fielding performance was immense putting pressure on the batters by walking in, backing up and great encouragement for the bowlers.
Catch of the day went to Edward at backward square leg, the Steyning batter middled it with venom, thinking no issue with a boundary, but Edward had different ideas, and it stuck!
Callum’s performance as skipper setting the field and encouraging his team through the innings was great and I was so please he added to that with two wickets – bowled, caught and bowled, and a great catch too boot.
Hugo, William and Jayden all claimed great wickets each and the rest of the team bowled excellent line and length to keep extras to a minimum.
Zach continues to improve every week as wicket keeper and is a big reason now why we are improving in the field, he stops everything!
Steyning batted for a total of 296 runs loosing 6 wickets.
2nd Innings and WG turn to bat, delighted to see the team look to attack and be more confident to move their feet, get forwarded and go after the bowlers, this was evident in the improved scores from the last game with all players picking up runs for the team.
Joanna batted really well with one superb drive over covers for a 4. Eva played intelligently looking for the space in the field and scoring effectively running between the stumps.
Bobby P and Jayden go the show on the road as the opening pair with boundaries amongst their runs.
Edward had a great innings scoring highest in the team.
William and Callum formed a very effective pairing at the end facing up to Steyning’s best bowling attack, whilst still keeping the score board ticking over.
All in WG did not loose a wicket in the second innings – AMAZING and beat Steyning by 56 runs.
So proud of the team today for turning out such a performance, this is the benchmark moving forward, regardless of results!
Darren Hunter
Upcoming Fixtures this week
All of our age group fixtures are available on the ECB’s Placycricket website – please click here for list of all of our fixtures. A hard copy of the fixture card is available at the Pavilion – please do grab a copy. Please click here for an electronic copy
A busy week of cricket ahead :
- Our First X1 are at home to Horsham at 12:30 on Saturday and our Second X1 are away to Roffey. Please click here for the team selections.
- The Under 10’s are away to West Chiltington at 9:00 am on Saturday and our under 12’s are at home to league leaders Three Bridges 9:00 am
- Our under 14’s are at home to Steyning on Sunday at 9am and the Under 16’s are away to Horsham.
Grey Ashes comes to Horsham
Everyone is no doubt following the Ashes quite closely, but many may not be aware that the Australian over 60’s team is also in town and will be competing in five one-day international matches against the England over 60’s . The Australians first match will be a warmup game against Sussex Over 60’s who were runners up in the Over 60’s national County championship last year. The game will be played at Horsham on Monday 3 July at 1pm, so please go along and enjoy some top quality cricket against our arch rivals.
Please click on the following link for more details on the Australian Over 60’s Tour : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-27/grey-ashes-australian-over-60s-cricket-squad-chasing-ashes-glory/102523248
Spotted out and about
First team Umpire Peter Mattock as you’ve never seen him before
That’s it for this week.
Have a great cricketing week 🏏😊
Cheers
Wizzy
