Welcome to Wizzy News for this week – our weekly roundup of news and events at Wisborough Green Cricket Club.

Slam Ladies final Day

Our Ladies Hardball team were scheduled to plan in the Slam Finals Day at Horsham on Sunday 21st September but the organisers have decided to postpone the event to early May next year due to the weather forecast for Sunday.

We look forward to supporting the ladies at the start of next season.

End of Season dinner and awards – Friday 3rd October

Our end of season dinner and awards is always a highlight of the season – a time to reflect to the highs and lows of the season and to hand out some awards. Places are limited so please reserve your spot as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Please email Jonny Farmer at jon.farmer87@gmail.com with your menu choices.

Dorset Tour

Tour report by Tarnie Dixon with additional insights by Chris Marshall

Dorset was the chosen destination for the 2025 WGCC Tour. Due to the poor weather all week our opposition for the Saturday match, Wimborne CC, had given us little hope of a match (with more rain forecast overnight). Nearly 30 players good and strong from both the Women’s and Men’s Teams made their way to our rendezvous in the East Cliff Bournemouth Premier Inn on Friday evening for a pre-meal drink and presentation of the tour shirts. The mood was excitable and enthusiastic in anticipation for what the delights of Bournemouth had to offer.

The Tour then headed on foot to the Tour meal restaurant ‘Bournemouth Lahore’ located in a vibrant part of town with a very good reputation for its food. Perhaps the few other diners in the restaurant wished they had booked somewhere else as the noise levels and frivolity of the group quickly ramped up fuelled by the BYO drink selection and deliciously spicy food intake. The volume was turned up further with a few late arrivals. James Sadler, who was elected Chief Fines Officer for the Tour, was quick to award the late arriving Men’s Tour Captain Dan Vickery with the Spam award which he duly accepted. The Spam suit was to be worn in public as a symbol of shame, although it seemed to have the opposite effect. The good people of Bournemouth clearly love a bad-boy dressed as a tin of luncheon meat.

Numerous other fines were awarded based on triflingly small misdemeanours or even good behaviour – no one was spared. The Tour stumbled out of the restaurant in good cheer clinging onto any BYO drinks that were left and sprayed out into the Bournemouth night. A few late-night venues were explored and hilarious stories made – all good preparation for the cricket on Saturday.

An early morning message from Wimborne CC confirmed that sadly both the Women’s match, due in the morning, and Men’s match in the afternoon were cancelled (as was the BBQ lunch) due to on-going overnight rain. The Tour slowly emerged for a leisurely and much needed breakfast sharing their late night antics with mirth and surprise. A contingency plan which had been muted the night before was then put in place as the rain stopped and the sun appeared – the Tour will play beach cricket on Bournemouth Beach in full fit – everyone to meet in the bar at 11am changed. The Teams were selected randomly with Bex and Dan as respective Captains and the Tour made its way to the beach

Click on the video below

The pitch was selected in bright sunshine with Bournemouth Pier as the backdrop. Dan’s Team was batting first in this T20 competition – the sandy conditions made for some extremely amusing fielding efforts with Junior cartwheeling across the sand in his efforts to retrieve the ball

Fielders stumbled into the sea, soaking their shoes. Many utilised their non-throwing arm by supporting a can of Stella Artois. It was a keenly fought match with no shortage of laughter, banter and sand in places you would prefer it not to be. Churned up sand does not make for a decent bounce. Luckily years of over pitched full tosses from some of us on the Green proved perfect in these conditions. Cricket as it transpires was the winner (although Bex is adamant that her team won)

As we were on the beach there was only one thing we could do for lunch – fish and chips. The Harry Ramsden’s staff were a little surprised to see a group dressed up in cricket kit and requesting a table for 28. The meal was enjoyed by all, although a few schoolboy errors occurred like Junior and Chris ordering a disappointing pie and mash in a fish and chip restaurant. Many pints of lager were downed by all except Oscar, who opted for a middle class cappuccino. Sophisticated though it might be – it is as completely unacceptable on cricket tour as it will be during his Freshers Week in Nottingham next week. President Sadler (Chief Fines Officer) rightly insisted Oscar and Matt down a pint of Guinness for dessert.

As the fish & chips were settling the next activity of the day was organised – Sixes (indoor cricket game) was booked and everyone was to meet for 5pm to take taxis to the venue. The Tour then set up camp at Sixes which was embedded in an indoor go-karting track – it was booked for 1.5hrs and due to the frequency that the bar was being visited they extended our time for an additional hour. Many balls were hit fiercely and many runs were scored.

The Chief Fines Officer had time to issue his finale of fines at which everyone received at least one and most several – for reasons that are still beyond us all . Oscar was awarded the Spam suit for so many reasons. The boy is a walking fine. The fines were then invested in a round for the Tour.

A call was received from the opposition for our Sunday match, Ferndown Wayfarers CC who confirmed the match was cancelled due to the rain and forecast for Sunday. Thereafter two factions were in play – a younger group that visited the Bermuda Triangle (apparently in Poole) and an older group that went to a tasty Italian restaurant near our hotel in Bournemouth. Josh Dixon polished off his own pizza in record time, plus any slices left lingering on others’ plates for too long. A highlight was Peter Klein downing Amaretto shots. It’s always the quiet ones! Plenty happened with one smaller group visiting 4 different night clubs, the Spam outfit changed hands from Oscar to Matt, and was signed / defaced by a famous local gymnast.

Sarah, James and Dave sung karaoke (rather well) and much laughter and joy was shared by all- the last message was posted on the group chat at 03.49am (predictably from Suzana who kept those fools trying to sleep updated with a photo every 2-3 minutes.

Once again many amusing stories were traded at breakfast on Sunday morning. It was agreed that it was the least successful tour from a cricket match point of view but it was one of the best from a point of entertainment and enjoyment. Dan made an accusation that actually no cricket had been organised in the first place and that all communications with the other clubs was fake news. In any event it was a great pleasure to spend the weekend with such a fantastic group of positive, interesting and entertaining people and that is what made it all so special – a huge thank you to you all. WGCC has an amazing and uplifting spirit.

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

Cheers

Wizzy