Welcome to another edition of Wizzy News – our weekly roundup of news and events at Wisborough Green Cricket Club. If you missed last week’s edition please click here

A bumper edition of Wizzy news this week which includes around 80 pics of a fantastic Presidents Day – some great reports of the day and some other memorable games to report on including a delightful report from our under 10 captain. Congratulations to Jack Dixon for his magnificent 102 for the Second X1 against Littlehampton and James Rainford for his fantastic innings of 94 against top of the table Ram.

Honours Boards

Congratulations to all the players who feature on our two Honours Boards this week

Presidents Day

What a fantastic Presidents Day on Sunday . Good food, good company and fantastic cricket. What more could you ask for …

Thank you from our Club President

I sincerely hope everyone enjoyed Presidents Day, and met a few friends old and new.  I would like to thank everyone who bought food it was a fine collection of culinary delights, and made for a fantastic spread of food. I would also like to thank Jenny Jones, Ann Wells and Bex Samuelson for their hard work during the day and long into the evening organising the food, the raffle and various competitions.

The cricket was excellent with some great moments. The Bowes family playing together for the first time ever (Ed, Matt, Nicky and Reuben) Alan and Harry law playing together and Harry catching a tricky catch off Alan’s bowling. Will Dixon batting beautifully but listening too much to the opposition captain.

Many thanks to Jonny and Dan for all their help pulling the teams together and of course Tarni for allowing the Presidents Team to win.

These special days are a testimony to the great club that has been created by all of those who have played or been members before you. I will do my utmost to keep these traditions going for you and your family and also have some fun along the way.

James Sadler – President

Club Chairman report on Presidents Day

It was wonderful to see so many members, friends and family of WGCC together on President’s Day.  Many thanks to our President, James Sadler, for masterminding such a successful event and to Jenny Jones, Bex Samuelson, Tim Palmer, Dan Vickery and Johnny Farmer for their help in the planning and on the day. 

WGCC was delighted to recognise the outstanding contribution of the Life Members with awards for all that they have done to support the Club over the years.  In an extraordinary move mid-Season the Committee elected Peter Klein as a Life Member for his exceptional service over 20 years helping with all aspects of the Club including Registration Manager, Junior Coach, Women’s Coach, Wizzy News Editor and 2nd XI umpire.  On behalf of WGCC – many congratulations and many thanks to Peter – very well deserved.

Tarnie Dixon – Chairman

Dan Vickery – winning captain of the Presidents X1 Team

Presidents day – what a day to be part of. Firstly thank you to everyone that helped make it a great day, in particular Jim Sadler, Jenny Jones, Bex Samuelson, Tarni and Farms!   It was great to see so many families enjoying the green and being part of a fabulous day – including some old face from yester year as well as some that have recently joined the club.  And the food spread was bloody brilliant too! 

The cricket didnt disappoint either, the fans wanted a scoop and a scoop they got – see ya (as Kleino would say)!! The classy Bowes’ and Law dream team (you bowl em i’ll catch em Dad!) as well as some lucky hitting at the front end (Vickery/Trestrail) and back end (Thatcher/Warmington) did for Farms and his men. I can still hear him chuntering to himself, helplessly watching on the sidelines as his team just couldn’t quite find the gaps in the field as easy as the Presidents XI manged to – all down to good hitting I say! 

Cheers to a great day

Dan Vickery – Captain – Presidents X1

Final Words from Jonny Farmer – losing Captain of the Chairman’s X1

A wonderful occasion seeing so many former players return, the Chairman XI were up for the challenge, and through our 30 overs of fielding used 10 Bowlers each bowling 3 Overs.

Many personal battle were on the line, first up Vickery Vs Vickery. Sadly Frank lost to Dan. Bowled his 3 overs and that was him done for the day – off the field he trudged (didn’t tell anyone that was his plan) , but was spotted earlier in the day running over his own kit bag while trying to find a spot – only our Frank.

Chris Marshall was our wildcard left armer and removed the dangerous Alan Law – snicked off and Hoppo held one. He also got Ed Bowes, who in his day can score 50 extremely quickly.

Newman arrived at the creased – no real plan involved here, gave his wicket to us kindly and that was that.

Hugo as ever bowled 3 of the most economical overs but was yet to be rewarded .

Enter young Josh Braddock, already talked himself into being a future star. But his 3 overs went for just 8 runs removing, Mr Trestrail, Golden John Francis and Nicky Bowes. Bigger smile than a Cheshire cat, and high 5s all round.

Nick Klein was left late, with one main job – remove young Calder-Smith, a player who he had known since they both wore nappies (age 10). Joey smoked a lovely cut, before his off peg rocked back. Kleiny was more than happy – job done.

Farmer came on, Hoppo couldn’t handle it, Thatchy had a swipe(eyes closed) and he picked up Matt Bowes with a high full toss (just below the waist of course).

All in all some good bowling and batting.

Short story of our innings, SCS scores runs (please convert to Saturdays) , The Presidents use Young Lawsy as secret Weapon (12th Man) and just lose out in the last over.

A great day had by all, and great to see so many faces again.

Jonny Farmer – Captain Chairman’s X1

Club200 draw

Congratulations to winners of the Club200 draw which took place at Presidents Day :

• £250 – Sally Dack
• £150 – Fiona Karn-Smith
• £100 – Ray Greatorex
• £75 – Richard Hayward
• £50 – John Newman

We’re also delighted to welcome 10 new members to Club200. Best of luck to everyone in the next draw which is to be held at the end of season dinner.

If you would like to find out more about Club200 please click here

Guess the boundaries and Total runs raffles

With the kind generosity and good sprit of the Club’s Vice Presidents, players and supporters we raised over £1,000 from ‘guess the boundaries’, ‘guess the total runs’, and our raffle. Fitting perhaps, that our ex-president Steve Calder-Smith, won the raffle – 2 x tickets, kindly donated by our current President, to see England v Sri Lanka at Lords this summer.

Alan Law won guess the runs, with the highest guess of the day – 410, surpassed by an excellent show of batting from both teams.

Ken Sadler correctly guessed the total number of boundaries at 66, across both innings. In fact, he was the first guess of the day!

Well done to one and all

Pictures taken at Presidents Day

Many thanks to club photographer Chris Marshall and everyone else who sent in some fantastic pictures of a most memorable day

Please click here to see some more pics of the day

Upcoming Fixtures

A full house of games coming up again this next week

• First X1 are at home to Pagham on Saturday at 1pm
• Second X1 are away to Pagham at Arundel on Saturday at 1 pm
• Women’s team are at home to Chiddingfold on Sunday at 2 pm
• Under 14’s are at home to Horsham Trinity on Sunday morning
• Under 12’s have an away game against Balcombe on Saturday morning
• Under 10’s have a home game against Barns Green on Saturday morning
• Under 13 girls have a home game against Horsham on Tuesday evening
• T20 X1 have an away game against Loxwood next Thursday evening at 6pm

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

Match Reports

First X1 vs Ram

• We welcomed top of the league Ram CC to Wisborough on what started out as an overcast day
• Winning the toss the consensus was bowl but the deck was true so an even contest between bat and ball would be the order of the day
• One of Rams openers was very positive, swinging and running wildly – some smart work by Leon and DJ saw to him (had run out written all over him from the first over)
• The other opener looked scratchy, miscuing regularly but nothing going to hand – that was until he hit 50 and suddenly started middling everything
• Openers Hugo and Dave toiled well but with much luck
• On came Ran and Joey – but with the batsmen attacking and in particular the opener looking fluid – boundaries were becoming too frequent 
• We turned to spin, “and within one over Junior has extended his cricket career by 20 years” – as Rainford came on and picked up an early scalp
• Pace off seemed to be helping to limit the scoring and so I bought myself on – whilst the score continued to grow fortunately so did the wickets column
• At one point it was looking like a zero bonus point day in the field but from 198-5 Wisborough – both teams continued to attack and the score finally ended on 271 All out 
• Junior getting 3 wickets with his spin, Vickery 2 wickets and a couple more really smart run outs largely thanks to DJ
• After a shocker last week, and with the Ram openers both bowling quickly and finding some swing, patience was key
• Wisborough innings started quite slowly with the openers being watchful
• Stevie went with the score on 20 – playing slightly too early on the drive lofting one to mid off (something that I would repeat in about 1- overs time)
• Tommy, as usual was firm in his defence,  but with the first change bowling being equally tricky to get he unfortunately got a good one to remove him (40 for 2)
• 40-2 quickly became 45-3 when I copied Steve in getting onto one too early
• DJ, Ran and Hugo – also got starts but unfortunately didnt go on
• It was 72-5 when Jr came to the crease – and he wasted no time with cracking some lovely and inventive shots
• It was a pleasure to watch as built a fantastic 94 from just 52 balls – from a seemingly helpless position at one point getting the 12 an over needed to win the match actually felt possible
• The team unselfishly continued to pushed for the win, but in search of quick runs wickets fell
• We ended with 219 all out off 37 overs 
• Well batted and well bowled Jr Rainford – we will miss you the next few weeks
• 15 points (the max you can get when losing) against top of the league – we will take that!  

Please click here for the full scorecard

Dan Vickery

Second X1 vs Littlehampton

2nd XI travelled to the sunny seaside to take on a team that was suffering from similar ups and downs as us for the initial 6 games of the season. Initial signals were good – the sun was shining, we had a seaview, we had a scorer and an umpire (thank you to Susanna and Peter – again).

Toss won. WGCC fielded. Everything looking very promising. Tight bowling and great fielding. George Nicholls patrolled the point area like Farage’s security guard at an egg throwing contest – nothing got past him. Dave McCullagh covered a huge amount in the deep. Wickets were hard to come by, but the scoring rate was manageable and we had the upper hand. Harry Maggs (1-12) and Jackson McCullagh (1-25) showed the, ahem, more experienced how to do it.

Then the wheels came off a bit. WGCC faced something that we haven’t had to face much this season. A bit of tap. Their powerful 5th man, sketchy early on, found his eye and rhythm and started smashing good balls to all parts of Sussex. 81 off 54 balls later, Joshy finally had his man, but what we thought might be a target of 130ish had turned into a target of 210 off the 40. Joshy, inevitably bowled deliciously for 3-48.

Tea was a leisurely affair, the younger gannets hovering whatever they could find in others’ cool-boxes. George Nicholls pleased with the pork pies and mini sausage rolls (noted).

What came next was possibly the most disappointing few hours I can remember on a cricket pitch. WGCC managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of almost certain victory. Heart rates, anger levels, overriding joy and despair all competing for space in the emotions of this correspondent. After a very tidy start with Alex and Tarni laying the foundations, Alex was out, ensuring an all Dixon affair in the middle as Jack strolled in. What went for th next 25 or so overs was a batting masterclass from two technicians. Jack – all creatine and ice-baths – whacking to all part of the ground with a display of controlled aggression. Tarni – all high elbow and MCC coaching manual – hit glorious shots, especially through the offside. All was well as we reached 100 with one wicket down.

A Tarni stumble lead to his runout, a poor shot from Palmer saw him depart at 156-3 – Jack still cruising nicely above the rate. Nothing to worry about. Jack reached a glorious century with the score nearing 190 – victory was in reach. So close we could smell the 30 points. But alas. A heady mix of dehydration, good bowling, inexperience with the bat and a little panic saw us lose 5 wickets for 6 runs and lose a game that we all know we should have won.

We were generous in defeat as we quickly left the ground. I know we’re all looking forward to putting this one right when they come back and play us on the Green later in the summer.

Gentlemen of the second XI – Heartbreak isn’t a great emotion. Let’s not do this again.

Please click here for the full scorecard

Tim Palmer

Under 14 vs Rudgwick

U14’s continue hot streak with dominant performance at Rudgwick.

Having lost the toss Wisborough Green were put into bat, there was some ‘stand and deliver’ hitting from Harry R, Joe and Jackson. There was also a masterclass in running between the wickets from Bella, Buddy, Josh and Hector who eked out every available run putting the fielding side under pressure. This was good to watch and great reading of the match situation by the players who were prepared to sacrifice their own wickets to up the run rate – well done, a great attitude.

The bowling and fielding performance was mostly very impressive. We have set more attacking fields this year with the aim of putting the batting side under pressure, this requires commitment from the players, and this was clearly evident with some fine close quarter fielding. Rudgwick, under pressure from the outset with the early loss of wickets, were unable to muster any quick singles. Two wickets apiece from Harry M and Hector and another for Joe. Well done to all of the bowlers for playing their part in this.

With the game effectively won with eight overs to go WG took their foot of the throttle a little. Although Rudgwick were not really in the contest sterner tests await and pressure will need to be applied for the full match.

Well done to all of the players, this was a very good performance.

Thank you to Pete A for umpiring and Suzana for scoring.

Please click here for the full scorecard

Phil Maggs

Under 13 girls vs West Chiltington

On one of the hottest days of the year so far Wisborough green girls hosted West Chiltington for a return fixture.

After losing the toss and being put into field captain Becca set the field and prepped her bowlers. The batting set off to a good start with a flurry of boundary’s however our first wicket came at the end of the second over from the sharp bowling of Romilly.

Some tight fielding saw Lucy bowl a maiden over and wicket maidens from Becca and Romilly. A further wicket came from a run out from an incredible direct hit from Romilly.

West Chiltington ending their innings with 102/6. A win would require our highest ever batting total.

Captain Becca alongside Oliva began the chase. They displayed a master class in finding gaps running and calling. Some very straight bowling and some sharp fielding from West Chiltington saw Wisborough girls lose two wickets.

Romilly and Molly steeped up to the crease and hit the winning runs. Romilly 10 not out and Molly 4 not out. Our first win of the season for the under 13 girls team is the result of hard work and learning from every match prior. The game was played in the true sprit of cricket with both teams offering support in the field to each other when required.

Well done girls.

Please click here for the full scorecard

Kate Waters – coach

Under 12 vs Horley

Walking out on the pitch in Horley, it looked like we would have a repeat of last weeks sodden event. The skies equally moody, the air chilly and as expected, a sheer downpour minutes after setting the boundary. Luckily within 15 minutes under a golf umbrella, there appeared a break in the clouds. A game would take place this week and it was to be a great one!

The match got underway and spectators were served up a wicket falling treat from the team. Hector got underway with his usual indisputable precision – only 2 runs for Horley. Josh took the first wicket in over 3, with a magnificent catch from Max Vasadi. Next pair up Freddie and Buddy took 3 more wickets. Buddy bowled a double wicket maiden in the 6th over. WOW! The wickets continued to fall with only minimal runs added. William Bunce also took a double wicket with only 1 run conceded in the 9th over accompanied by stunning catches from Hector and Buddy. Another WOW! At the half way mark, the runs were constrained indeed at 44.

The girls stepped up next. Olivia and Lucy bagging excellent wickets and only conceding 4 runs between them. Hector took the penultimate wicket in over 17 caught by Freddie. Josh finished off this innings with a 2nd wicket for his bowling stats. Score: 88 all out in 18.3 overs. Truly spectacular bowling and fielding performance from this Wizzy team!

Wizzy batting commenced with equal tenacity and would be very much to the point. 6 meticulous overs between Freddie and Josh added 68 to the scoreboard, Freddie running 13 of those in over 6 before retiring not out on 34 runs!

Hector joined Josh and they continued as accurately for 2 overs before Josh also retired not out on 25. This left only 6 runs to get after only 8 overs. In came Buddy, took one ball and hit it for the required 6! It was short, to the point and sweet!

A truly polished display of cricket from all in the squad! More to come in Balcombe this week 💪

Please click here for the full scorecard

Darren Hunter and Suzana Braddock

Under 10 vs West Chiltington

The Under 10s played a league game against West Chiltington on our home ground. A not too hot day made it the perfect playing conditions for our first match against a team we heard have great skill and work really well together.

We won the toss and decided to field first as we like to look for a run target to try and beat.

Our bowlers did an amazing job at trying to hit the stumps, we got lots of chances to take catches which our fielders managed to pull off many times. We did very well at recognising if a batter was a boundary hitter or not, making sure that we were in the right positions to stop them getting too many runs.

Anaya took the first wicket, with Leo taking the catch, there were 8 more wickets to follow. Great job Reuben on taking his first wicket! Well done Seb who got multiple wickets to help the team.

Many thanks to the parents for all the squash and biscuits in our break form the match…my personal favourites were the jam sandwich creams…yum!

Next we padded up ready to get some runs! We started to bat really well but it was tough as West Chiltington had very good bowlers and positioned their field strongly. By pushing in their fielders close to the batter it wasn’t easy to get runs but we defended our stumps and tried our best. Will put on a great performance as he hit two 4s!

Being Captain felt like a big responsibility as I had to sort out the field and keep the team feeling positive. Making sure everyone was in the right place was hard because we are only just learning where is best to stand in the field. The best part of Captaincy was being able to make sure players were happy and then hearing from after the game how much they enjoyed the game. I hope I will asked to be Captain again because I really enjoyed it. Thank you Peter, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.

Our next game we are up against Barns Green, we are looking forward to playing them again, this time at home.

Leo Roberts (age 10) – Captain

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