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  • 14 Jun AVCC v Amesbury Farmers
    5 July 2018

    We were back Thursday evening in the sun and breezes at home to Amesbury Farmers. An unusual 20/20 fixture as the Farners always bring an excellent tea with them…courtesy largely of Mrs Morrison. Plenty of nice chocolate cakes, victoria sponge, scones with cream and jam…….. Not a good start, as AVCC had 8 players due to very late drop outs including post scheduled kick off time. We were kindly allowed to bat and Jon Wolverson and Hugh Norman (welcome back for his first game of the season, and looking grown up). Both handled the early bowling well, and both were out when looking good to progress on 17 apiece. Jamie Corden, reluctant to bat, went in at 3. Smashed an excellent looking 4 for his first ball, showed us a range of good shots around the wicket and looked every part a batsman - retiring on 31 n.o. having scored 5 boundaries. After this the momentum slowed although the score book ticked over and we concluded on 114-3, with Rory Plank scoring 9 and our 2 potential pensioners - Dudley Perrin and Graham Newland (combined age of 128) in at the death being unbeaten both on 1 n.o. Daley and Graham have shared more end of the innings unbeaten tan any other pairing in the club. Not sure what that means, but as resident stato, I know these things :) It never looked enough, especially having been fattened up with the tea from the Farmers. Nevertheless, we attacked with gusto and between the 4th and 6th overs took out 3 wickets of dangerous batsmen - with Peter Williams takin 2 (1 courtesy of a fine running catch by Rory and one a fine catch by interim wicket keeper Jon Wolverson who performed the role admirably). Tom Campbell took one in an excellent spell of bowling at the same time and we felt we were in with a chance. 31-3. However, the new batsman hit 4 sixes in a row off Peter (4-0-45-2), and before we knew it the Farmers had sailed past us and were well over the rate. Although good bowling by the Campbells - Tom especially (3-0-11-1) and dad, Simon (3-0-6-0) - and Hugh Norman (4-0-16-2) slowed them down, we never quite got close enough and we were passed in the 18th over. Good game of cricket, good evening, and I think a rematch would be good…especially if AVCC can put 11 bodies in the field reliably.

  • 10 Jun Wilcot v AVCC
    5 July 2018

    An eagerly awaited game versus local rivals Wilcot. AVCC captain didn’t write up a report and so have appended Wilcot’s captain report which is a lovely read. i was whisked away for a romantic weekend in Cornwall as the twins were on a residential school break and so did not witness this game but to keep you up to date, please read Jamie’s report. For colour, the day was hot and bright, and Wilcot batted first. Only their 1st team batsman - Ashley Eliliott troubled us with an excellent 60 before being run-out; allegedly hobbled through herculean efforts the day before helping inspire Wilcot’s 2nd league win of the season vs Bradford upon Avon. Their openers went cheaply - their captain (Jamie) for 7 and their ex-Pakistan Universities hit man (Wilson) for 1. a procession of wickets fell after that and Wilcot’s innings subsided for 126-7 off 35 overs. Our bowling was strong, taking advantage of the pitch with good efforts from George Lishman 5-2-6-2 (excellent), Julian Lishman (dad) 4-1-6-2, Jon Wolverson 3-0-7-1. Ben Eveling returning also picked up a wicket as did young Rowan Morrison. Batting was difficult, but Angus Harley excelled with a widely commented best innings of the season comment for his 34. Jon Wolverson chipped in with a hard fought 20, opening with Angus.George Lishman scored an excellent 20; Greg Caswell got 3, Bruce Carter (still elevated up the order) scored 7 and the not out pair were Ben Jones on 13 n.o. and Rowan Morrison on 6 n.o. All over in the 28th over. Excellent win. 5th on the bounce. and Wilcot’s version - but at least their captain was there and wrote his report the same day….hint hint Wilcot vs Avon Valley match report – 10/6/18 With the clouds of the morning dispersing and the temperature gauge knocking the twenties, Wilcots finely honed athletes arrived at Avon Valley’s ground full of confidence. With two wins out of two so far this season the team were keen to extend this unusual run of form. Avon Valley play their cricket in Rusholme in a ground that was once a cow field. The field has been reclaimed as a cricket pitch by the farmer who’s family are fanatical cricketers. Flanked by the village church on one side and the rolling hills of Salisbury plain on the other, it’s a stunning place to play cricket. The pitch looked firm and even and with blue skies overhead, the captain took the view that the conditions would favour the batsmen and so when the toss was won, chose to bat. The now regular opening duo of Wilson Saraj and the skipper were picked to open the batting. Those Dauntsians within the team had alerted the opening pair to the dangers of opener G. Lishman, Dauntsey’s first team opening bowler and so the plan was to see him off and the runs would hopefully be easier to come by come first bowling change. It became apparent fairly quickly that the surface was more troublesome than first appeared and this was confirmed when Wilson edged on to his own stumps in the first over. Ash Elliot and the Captain saw out the next few overs but the Captain was the next to fall unable to get on top of a hook shot which ballooned to square leg. A number of additional quick wickets fell and Wilcot were deep in the mire at the 18th over with only 37 runs on the board and five wickets down. Wilcot’s fight back was spearheaded by Ash Elliot who’s watchful innings brought up a half century and was ably supported by both Luke Morane-Griffiths and Jacques Dutoit. Ash was eventually run out in the last over bringing an innings total of 126 runs scored for 7 wickets; a total which certainly felt short of where we needed to be but defendable given the state of the unpredictable wicket. The Captain was pleased to see some home made scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam on the table for tea and these were accompanied by some excellent looking cakes (lemon drizzle and a dark brown chocolate / coffee looking number). With some very tasty egg sandwiches, Doritos and spicey looking sausages, Wilcot’s warriors were able to replenish batteries and make a start on their defence. Before they did however, given the array of talent within Wilcot’s ranks, the Captain was keen to get a team photo in order to capture the moment for posterity. A member of the opposition was subsequently called upon to take the snap. This open display of camaraderie and team bonding was, the Captain thought, bound to unsettle the waiting opening batsmen. In an additional moment of unadulterated cunning, the team then took to the field to practise some catching and bowling to unnerve the batsmen even more. Avon Valley’s openers were clearly completely unfazed by the skills on display and their hopes would’ve been additionally buoyed by the sight of Wilcot’s opening bowler, Ash Elliot hobbling out to the middle. Ash, however, was quick to reassure the Captain that he was ok to bowl and so play got underway with the team in good spirits. Callum Marshall joined Ash to open the bowling and both got things off to a good start but with Ash clearly in some discomfort and runs starting to leak, Wilcot were in trouble with 10 overs down and already 54 runs scored. With Avon Valley’s opening duo well set and Ash having to retire hurt, it wasn’t until Rob Herret’s second over (following a change of ends) which turned Wilcot’s fortunes. Rob was then joined at the other end by Pradeep and the pair started to apply some pressure. The two bowlers worked well in partnership and with further pressure mounting, wickets started to fall. The run rate fell substantially and Wilcot sensed an opening. Sadly, even with some enthusiastic appealing (most notably from Wilson Saraj at square leg), Wilcot were unable to stem the flow of runs, take the remaining wickets needed and Avon Valley passed our total in the 28th over. A well fought contest played in an excellent spirit on a beautiful ground. Wilcot can take many positives from this match. Ash’s excellent half century gave the team a defendable total though our response hinged on getting quick wickets which didn’t come and ultimately their openers took the game away from us. Wilcot play their next fixture at home versus Wilton next Sunday. Saraj. W Bowled 1 Watherston.J Caught 7 Elliot. A Run Out 60 Herret. R Caught 5 Powell. C Bowled 5 Pradeep Stumped 0 M. Griffiths Bowled 16 Dutoit Not Out 8 Marshall.C Not Out 1 Marshall. A D.N.B York. C D.N.B Total 126 (22 extras) Bowler Overs Maidens Runs Wickets Elliot. A 4 0 21 0 Marshall. C 7 0 20 0 Herrett. R 5 0 28 1 Pradeep 7 0 21 3 York. C 3 0 19 1 Watherston. J 2 0 5 0

  • 5 Jun AVCC v Sumer Puddings
    5 July 2018

    Back to a dummy evening at a lush looking Garston Field in Rushall (great pitch prep Tim and team) we faced a team we had never beaten at 20/20….Summer Puddings…normally Dauntsey’s masters and a few strong ringers. As usual, since we were not all there at the toss, we were generously allowed to bat (this late arrivals must stop as certain teams would not be so generous…thinking Farley, Mildenhall, etc.). Nigel Rowe and George Lishman opened the batting…George a little nervous as clearly being gently sledged and under scrutiny from the teachers. Nigel was quickly back in the first over without scoring. Jon Wolverson entered the fray and bashed the bowling to all corners and quickly retired on 30 n.o. after hitting 5 great 4’s and and scoring these in just 20 balls. Simon Campbell continued the mayhem with 17 off 8, and Peter Williams scored 8 off 9, before our farming colleagues (season debutants) - Billy King (12 n.o.) and Hugh Morrison (21 n.o. ; 8 balls) - brought us home for a very respectable 134-4. This felt like a good score providing we could get through their openers and ringers. Jamie Corden struck early and bowled really well for 2-17. Wickets then flowed regularly with all bowlers contributing with wickets - Nigel Rowe was the pick of the dangerous bowling with 1-8, but was ably backed up by Rowan Morrison 1-17, Peter Williams 1-19, Graham Newland 1-20, Julian Lishman 1-12, Jon Wolverson 1-13, and Billy King needing only 1 ball to finish them off. Summer Puddings out for 120 and we had our first ever win over them by 14 runs. Excellent. Celebrated well down the Antelope. Felt like a team effort with all contributing. 4 wins on the bounce.

  • 3 Jun Avebury v AVCC
    5 July 2018

    On a gloriously sunny day, ideal for cricket, we faced Avebury at their picturesque ground. Avebury are a strong team, and we have beaten them but once in 4 seasons, and so when we turned up with 10 (including one injured), the omens weren’t good. Even the 10 were not there at the start and so we went in to bat. Tim Gent and Matt Boothway were elected to open the batting and strode out confidently. Tim found out their opening bowler, Dix, was extremely quick and we kicked off with a maiden and 6 wides. Matt Boothway had a look at the ball for a couple and then hit 11 off the next over including one towering 6. The scene was then set. Tim took the shine off the ball and Matt smacked the ball around.The 50 came up quickly in the 7th over, Matt 42 no, Tim 0 n.o. The opening pair progressed steadily until Tim fell for a gallant 8 in the 15th over with the score on 83. Tim broke his duck with a phenomenal 4 through the covers which got mighty roars and attracted a substantial crowd of historical sightseers. Good start. Jeremy Richards went in at no.3 against his Saturday League Club colleagues, who showed him no mercy and he was back in the hutch 4 balls later without troubling the scorers. Julian Lishman then entered the frayed and provided good support to Matt who was now in full flow. The tragedy struck….Matt caught out on 92 (shall we fine him for 100 avoidance??). Great innings….5 mighty 6’s and 10 4’s and obvious penchant for not running. one of the best innings we have seen for some time and it deserved a century. Graham Newland then batted but retired on 4n.o. with an ankle injury which flared up after a quick running of 2. After that we had many fine cameos as Julian Lishman scored 9, Michael Rae a rapid 17 off 20 balls, Jack Campbell 14 off 13 balls (before being run out by his father, Simon - who has considerable form for this type of AVCC dismissal), Bruce Carter 0 off 3 balls, and then Simon scoring 17 n.o off 10 balls, supporting by Peter Williams not out 0. Total of 179. Not bad. Our highest score against Avebury and one we felt we had a decent chance of defending. So out we went after a hearty tea which had a plentiful supply of nice cakes, and we got stuck into them. Jeremy Richards was his usual tidy see 4-0-7-0 and Simon Campbell unusually opened with him and took 2 quick wickets - the first bowled and the second down to a great catch by Bruce Carter behind the stumps which came through with great pace. Great start; 23-2in the 8th over. Michael Rae 3-0-9-0 and Greg Caswell (late volunteer from the golf course…much appreciated) 4-0-15-0 kept the scoring contained and you could see the tension rise. Jack Campbell then came on and bowled excellently and took a wicket with his first ball and a wicket maiden for his first over with good pace, line and length (clearly not coached by his father :) ). Jack bowled splendidly and tight 4-1-6-1, and Peter Williams tempted an lbw bowling his slow turners and took 5-0-23-1. Despite limping around the field, Graham Newland was allowed to bowl and helped himself to 3-1-10-3 - one bowled, one caught magnificently by Julian Lishman and the last due to a fine stumping by Bruce Carter as their star batsman (Clarkson, 52) was bamboozled by a real turner. Some excitement here as these 3 wickets meant Graham became the first AVCC player to take 100 wickets for the club. Matt Boothway wrapped up the innings with 3-0-23-2 and must take the honours as man of the match. So, we had beaten one of our nemeses by 35 runs as Avebury finished on 144-9. Great result, and we celebrated with Avebury in their beer garden after the match. Graham bought a couple of jugs to celebrate the first bowling century and the world seemed bright and a better place. That’s 3 wins on the trot…we have out mojo back.

  • 20 May Chitterne v AVCC
    5 July 2018

    We turned up at Chitterne on a nice sunny day, to play our usual 25 overs game against them. We have only won once in 5 attempts here and so we decided on new tactics and to go for them and treat the game as a 20/20 with 5 extra overs. We opened the batting, and although Angus Harley fell in the 2nd over for 2 (3-1), Matt Boothway had found his eye and his bat and took the home attack to pieces with 50 n.o. retired (local rules) scored off just 34 balls and including 2 mighty 6’s into the brook and 5 magnificent 4’s. Great innings….he’s back after 2 previous ducks and looking strong. Bruce Carter elevated up the order stood up to hostile bowling well and scored 14 before being lbw, and Jeremy Richards was imperious scoring 52 not out, causing numerous visits into the brook and across the road to find the ball. He took these off 38 balls and these included 2 towering 6’s and 6 x 4’s. Simon Campbell scored 15 off 12 balls (3 x 4) and Bean Jones went for a golden duck. Jon Wolverson continued the slugfest with 34 n.o., (2x 6, 2 x4) supported by Peter Williams 5 n.o. We finished with our highest ever score against Chitterne and in 25 overs with 194-4. On this rate we would have smashed all of our 35 and 45 over records if this had continued. Great innings. Batsmen looked back on form. After a sumptuous chocolate cake focused tea, we took the field with enthusiasm and confidence. We bowled tight and they never got going. Jack Campbell made the breakthrough bowling fast and tight 4-1-17-1, the wicket falling to a neat caught and bowled by Jack. Rowan Morrison got his first wicket of the season bowling bouncy and fast for 4-0-27-1. Graham Newland took 2 in his first over, including a caught and bowled, and a major turner (Jon called it a Jaffa) to bowl their danger man with his first ball; finishing 3-1-20-2. Bean Jones bowled very well for 4-0-8-1 and deserved more; Jon Wolverson was strong, accurate and hostile and deserved his wicket for 2-0-6-1, and Peter Williams wrapped them up with 3-0-26-3 and Angus took 1-0-11-1. We had them out for 147, and claimed only our 2nd win against them by 47 runs. Good margin; good victory with all contributing and well captained by Jon Wolverson who clearly relished the role. It felt like the team now had its mojo back across the board. Great to chalk up the win and the record score.

  • 16 May AVCC v Urchfont
    22 May 2018

    Match report vs Urchfont 1st home T20/20 of the season vs Urchfont. Weather bright but a chilly wind and our ground in Rushall looked in very good condition. We even turned up with a full team, a first for the season, although late as usual. AVCC went in to bat first, and discovered how to score better in 20 overs than 35. Tim Gent and Jon Wolverson opened the batting and got us off to a very good start. Tim Gent, looking confident this season after discovering his touch in the nets, scored a confident looking 4 before being bowled by one of their pacy 1st XI bowlers after 2.2 overs with the score on 25. Why 25? Jon took their other opening bowler apart for 18 off his first (and only over) with 3 mighty 4’s and one towering 6 over mid wicket. Great start. Jon looked in awesome form. The runs continued to flow. George Lishman came in and got the ball moving around, followed by Michael Rae who did the same but in his usual high energy style. We had set a game rule of retiring on 30. Jon retired on 30 off 23 balls (5*4’s, 1*6), George 33 no.o. on 28 balls (4*4’s) and Michael was the speedmeister with 30 retired from just 17 balls (4*4’s and 1 enormous 6). All 3 batted excellently and gave us the momentum we needed. 84 off 10 overs, 100 in the 12th over, and the platform for a strong performance. Just what you need to get results in this type of game format. Nigel Rowe, making his debut for the season, and Rowan Morrison came in and kept the scoreboard ticking making 9n.o and 9 respectively. Ben Jones got a surprise duck (2nd ball) and Shane Williams making his debut for AVCC was there at the end 1 no with Nigel. Extras top-scored with 35 as wides and no balls counted as 2 (with no extra ball given, except in the 20th over). Overall, a score of 151-3 - our second highest score in T20/20. Our previous best being 152 at Poulshot last season. It could have been beaten but the last over was a maiden. This batting performance gave the team great encouragement. Ben Jones opened the bowling and looked good - a wicket maiden giving us the start we needed. Peter Williams opened from the Upavon end and moved the ball around before taking his first wicket of the season with his last ball of his 3rd over, taking their number 3 batsman for 8, with figures off 3-0-1-28. Shane Williams came on and bowled well in his debut spell taking 2 wickets caught courtesy of Simon Campbell (rehabilitated into the team) who took them with aplomb after taking some banter after dropping one earlier. The figures could have been truly outstanding as Shane also dropped 2 difficult catches off his own bowling, but still finished with an excellent 3-0-2-20. Graham Newland bowled from the Upavon end and bowled economically and tidily and Nigel Rowe came in from the Rushall end taking out their youth with a number of good balls, many of which were now coming in very low as the temperature dropped. 2-0-2-1 are excellent figures - well done Nigel. Rowan Morrison bowled well and took their final wicket of the evening and Urchfont finished on 90 with 2 retired and just 5 extras on the board. So overall, a great win by 61 runs, and our season felt that it had got off to a good start in May as a result. Afterwards, we spent ample time at the Antelope with Urchfont, enjoying the post-match atmosphere. Urchfont are a good team and a nice bunch. Good game. Peace and harmony restored to the AVCC world, and Grumpy Smurf has retired from report-writing. Next up Chitterne.

  • 13 May 2018
    22 May 2018

    Match report vs Marden First home match of the season, first Sunday game and the weather shone and reminded us why cricket is such a wonderful sport. The Garston Field in Rushall was looking in fine shape, well-prepared by Tim Gent and the crew. Jeremy Richards rolled the pitch to perfection and with clear OCD inclinations before the game and we were ready for old rivals Marden. As usual, not everyone showed up on time, and one player went missing unheard of - in advance - for a second game in a row. Very bad. Worse was to follow. Our stalwart leading batsman and captain, Simon Campbell, proactively gave himself away to the opposition with his son Jack without consultation. One dodgy toss from Simon minutes later and we had lost the toss too and were put into bat. Have to say, the injustices and approach of our Simon were strongly not appreciated by the team. So, with some enthusiasm and even more growling, we went out to bat. Unusual for us to open at home, and it was not what we wanted I’ll keep it short, worst batting performance since our first season. Early season rust and poor shots abounded. All out 96. Actually there were only 9 of us thanks to Simon (oh 10, as his youngest son Tom driven in half way through the innings). Our Zimbabwean trio of terror - Michael Rae (top scorer in 2017), Jeremy Richards, and Matt Boothway (welcome back) got 7 between them at the top of the innings when 150+ from them was expected. Probably being sober didn’t help and Michael and Jeremy succumbed to catches in front of the wicket. Matt was bowled (first ball) from a slow dobbler/turner. Tim Gent was looking confident as an opener and ticked up the runs, and Jon Wolverson came in for a lively cameo scoring a quick 16 before being bowled - having hit 2 lovely 4’s first. So Graham Newland came in (on a hat-trick ball) and dug in with Tim. The pitch was extra large, the outfield long and slow, and we ground out the runs for a 50 partnership (1st of the season) in 1’s and 2’s against accurate bowling which did not really come on to the bat. Thus, our golden oldies, the 2 oldest on our side and with an aggregate in years of over 120 clawed out way back from 31-4 to 76 before Tim was bowled for a top score of the innings of 24. Tim now has our best aggregate of runs for the season (44). Graham worked with the tail to get to 96 before he fell for 20 - bowled hitting out to get to treble figures, and Tom Campbell followed and we were all out 96-9. In the interim, Bruce hit 10, including one blistering 4, and Peter Williams hit 2, leaving Rory Plank 1 n.o. First time we had not scored 100 in a first at bat since 2013. Grim, and the talk at tea was not of hope and winning. More of cake (which was plentiful and good), sandwiches, tea, and crisps. To make insult to injury, Simon Campbell opened the batting for Marden and resisted our hostile opening spells from Michael are, Jeremy Richards and Jon Wolverson who all bowled well. I am sure we would have broken through their batsmen if we had been facing them instead and won the game. Michael Rae made the breakthrough getting their other opener, and Jeremy accidentally ran out Simon with the score on 38 by deflecting a hard hit drive onto the stumps where Simon had wandered off from. Their no 3 hit us for 63 n.o. (good innings) and the game was quickly over. They only had 2 reasonable batsmen and if we could have broken them I think we could still have won. We need our Zim trio to take more wickets than they scored runs in total, and it did not happen. Marden sneaked off with the Richard Cox Trophy without presentation and drinks with us. That felt mean given how much we had helped their 8 men out. Overall, to be honest, it felt like a crap day. A poor game, a poor spirit, not really a competitive game, the wrong approach. Not sure I have ever written such a report before…hopefully be better after Urchfont tomorrow - even though we are low on numbers and shorn of our key bowlers for the fixture.

  • 09 Poulshot v AVCC
    22 May 2018

    First fixture.....the sun has started to shine Well, after our first fixture with Friends of Stonehenge cancelled through a sodden pitch, we finally started our season at Poulshot last Wednesday in a mix of sun, rain, dark clouds and windy conditions for our first 20/20 game of the season. Initially starting with 12 players at the start of the day, we began the match with 7 and ended up with 9. Distinctly frustrating for the captain and all the players, as it makes winning extremely difficult against a first class strong side. Poulshot are an awesome batting and bowling side, and on home conditions (they don’t travel) we had our work cut out on a small pitch, artificial batting track, road and palisade through one end of the pitch and goalposts at the other end. This is a big-scoring ground and 150-160 runs generally needed to win here for a 20/20 match. Given we had 7 players, Graham and their captain agreed it would be fair if we batted first. Generous and fair. We had to change under the trees (no changing rooms, and not a bush in sight unlike at Keevil in similar circumstances). So Angus Harley and Michael Rae strode out to bat. Angus looked in good knick and scored a towering 6 on the leg side over the road. Michael was his usual busy self. Between them they got us off to a solid start, 6 an over, until Michael succumbed to a typical early season catch hitting out on 38. Michael scored 18.. Angus went shortly afterwards for a well struck 29 also caught. For a man batting for the first time, this year, Angus looked like he had never stopped and was in good form. Jon Wolverson hit a bright and breezy 17 before being caught in the deep trying to get the scoring rate beyond 6. Jon scattered the noisy crowd with one towering 6 into the trees. Our other nets stalwart, Tim Gent and Graham Newland kept the score going on at 6 an over. Both confident after nets throughout the winter, the pair made runs consistently against a strong and pacy attack. Tim was out for his top 20/20 score of 20 and Graham and Jamie Corden were there at the end on 16 and 4 respectively. 119-5; setting Poulshot a target of 6 an over….a target likely 30 runs short on the evening. Michael Rae and Jamie Corden started the bowling and were lively and causing problems for Poulshot. Their first wicket went down in the 5th over for just 17 courtesy of bowling one of their openers for just 2. However, that brought Will Bissett to the crease. This guy smashed 51 against us last year in 20 balls. This year it was 33 not out (I decided to bring the retiring limit down before the game due to last years batting) off 12 balls before he retired. After that Poulshot were always ahead of the rate, and they reached our total without too much issue in the 16th over for just the loss of 2 wickets. Jon Wolverson bowled a great hostile spell and bowled the other Bissett, but it was too late. Rory Plank fielded well for us, Rowan Morrison showed he can now bowl aggressively and fast, and everyone including Dudley put in a full shift in the field. Tim Gent started off as wicket keeper and kept us amused with the times he was hit in the box, and we changed him out with Michael, so that Tim could bowl his turning array of balls too. Overall, a solid performance for the first 20/20 game and the batting showed that attending nets does help the start of the season, as the top order batsmen all got good runs and looked confident even against strong and very pacy bowling. The game could have been even more interesting if we had had the 11 players we were expecting. Afterwards, we had a treat. Socialising at the nearby Raven pub, Poulshot treated us to baguettes, roast pork stuffing and apple sauce. Very tasty and a real tasty treat. Madden next.

 
 

2018

All the action, all the huge sixes, stumpings and dropped catches from the 2018 season.

Thursday, 5 July 2018

14 Jun AVCC v Amesbury Farmers

We were back Thursday evening in the sun and breezes at home to Amesbury Farmers. An unusual 20/20 fixture as the Farners always bring an excellent tea with them…courtesy largely of Mrs Morrison. Plenty of nice chocolate cakes, victoria sponge, scones with cream and jam…….. Not a good start, as AVCC had 8 players due to very late drop outs including post scheduled kick off time. We were kindly allowed to bat and Jon Wolverson and Hugh Norman (welcome back for his first game of the season, and looking grown up). Both handled the early bowling well, and both were out when looking good to progress on 17 apiece. Jamie Corden, reluctant to bat, went in at 3. Smashed an excellent looking 4 for his first ball, showed us a range of good shots around the wicket and looked every part a batsman - retiring on 31 n.o. having scored 5 boundaries. After this the momentum slowed although the score book ticked over and we concluded on 114-3, with Rory Plank scoring 9 and our 2 potential pensioners - Dudley Perrin and Graham Newland (combined age of 128) in at the death being unbeaten both on 1 n.o. Daley and Graham have shared more end of the innings unbeaten tan any other pairing in the club. Not sure what that means, but as resident stato, I know these things :) It never looked enough, especially having been fattened up with the tea from the Farmers. Nevertheless, we attacked with gusto and between the 4th and 6th overs took out 3 wickets of dangerous batsmen - with Peter Williams takin 2 (1 courtesy of a fine running catch by Rory and one a fine catch by interim wicket keeper Jon Wolverson who performed the role admirably). Tom Campbell took one in an excellent spell of bowling at the same time and we felt we were in with a chance. 31-3. However, the new batsman hit 4 sixes in a row off Peter (4-0-45-2), and before we knew it the Farmers had sailed past us and were well over the rate. Although good bowling by the Campbells - Tom especially (3-0-11-1) and dad, Simon (3-0-6-0) - and Hugh Norman (4-0-16-2) slowed them down, we never quite got close enough and we were passed in the 18th over. Good game of cricket, good evening, and I think a rematch would be good…especially if AVCC can put 11 bodies in the field reliably.