Wiltshire v Norfolk - Friendly - Friday 8th August @ Frocester CC

Scorecard - On Friday 8th Aug we played our last match of the season, this was an extra match on our fixture list. We played Norfolk at Frocester CC, nr Stroud in Gloucester, so I'm not really sure who was the home team, but as Norfolk were on tour in the area it must have been them!

After losing in the Quarter final of the County Cup we hoped this would be a good match for the boys to finish the season on a high note, but unfortunately it was not to be. On a surprisingly good looking pitch bearing in mind all the rain we have had recently, we won the toss and decided to bat first and use the helpful looking overcast conditions. We made an early breakthrough in the first over when Jordan Butler clean bowled one of there openers with the score on just 5. We then picked up wickets at regular intervals thanks mainly to Jack Bramwell who took 3 wickets in his first spell, eventually finishing with 8-1-30-3. At 76 for 7 we were looking in good shape and on course to bowl Norfolk out for a low total, but due to undisciplined bowling, poor fielding, dropped catches and a very good if somewhat fortunate at times innings of 78 from Norfolk number 6 Asker we let Norfolk put on 87 runs for the last 3 wickets and they finished on 163 all out in the 39th over. Pick of the Wiltshire bowlers along with Bramwell were Adam Lavis 8-0-18-2 and Tom Cowley 4.4-0-18-2.

Everyone was disappointed with the way we had performed in the first innings and wanted to turn things around in the second innings. On paper we had a very strong batting line-up, but as we all know matches aren't won on paper but in the middle.

We started well with Jack Mynott and Sam Wild putting on 53 by the first drinks break, but sadly this break caused us to lose concentration and Sam was out soon afterwards for 20. We lost our second wicket at 77 when Jack was out for 34. Against some very accurate bowling by Harkness 8-1-22-2, Asker 8-3-16-2 and Weber 7-2-6-3 we started to struggle badly and lost wickets at regular intervals. Adam Mitchell did his best to keep the scoreboard ticking over but was always fighting a losing battle, we finally finished on 137 for 9 after 40 overs. Our batting was very poor overall with a lot of batters panicking and not adapting to the situation but ultimately it was our bowling which let us down, we should never have let them reach 163 after having them 76 for 7. Hopefully lessons were learnt and the boys will take these on board for next season. Our season tailed off towards the end after such a great start, but overall it was a very successful season.

Thanks to Frocester CC for putting this match on at such short notice and being excellent hosts.

Wiltshire v Dorset - Quarter Final ECB Cup - Wednesday 30th July @ Bournemouth CC

Scorecard - On Weds 30th July we travelled to Bournemouth Sports Club to play our eagerly awaited ECB U13 County Cup Quarter Final versus Dorset. Apart form Sam Wild we had a full squad to choose from, so on paper our final selection looked very strong, but as we know in sport, games are not won on paper and unfortunately as you will see that was to be the case in this match!! On a sunny morning we won the toss and elected to have first use of a well worn but firm and decent track. Once again(this is haunting us a little) for the 4th match in a row we lost an early wicket in the first over, when this happens it always makes things a little difficult.Things never really got any better with all our 'big guns' going cheaply, only Jack Mynott offering any resistance with 24. With some poor shot selection and silly running between the wickets we subsided to 65 for 6 with the wicket being blameless in all the wickets to fall. We desperately needed to post a score so we had something to bowl at and with some sensible late order batting, mainly from Lawrence Hannaford 21 and Jordan Butler 18 no we eventually closed on 116 for 9 from our 40 overs, not ideal but at least a score on the board. Pick of the Dorset bowlers were J. Underwood 8-0-38-3, R. Scott 7-1-20-2 and M Porter 6-3-5-0.

The boys were quiet at tea but after the coaches team talk the boys went out onto the field in a positive mood to try and beat the odds and pull off a win. We started well ourselves getting an early wicket with the score on 12, but Dorset slowly and surely picked off the runs to take the score to 39 before we broke through again, this was during a fantastic spell from Akash Sharma who bowled his first 4 overs fro just 2 runs and that wicket. With the introduction of spin in the shape of Cowley and Lavis we started to take a little bit of control and picked up 3 more wickets with 74 on the board, but no matter what the Captain tried with bowling changes we could not force another breakthrough and Dorset went on to win by 5 wickets in the 39th over. Good batting from R. Scott 24no and F. Kerrins 29 no with a partnership of 43 saw Dorset home. Pick of the Wiltshire bowlers were A. Sharma 8-2-14-1, A. Lavis 7-1-24-2 and T. Alsop 5-2-11-1.

So our fantastic journey in the ECB County Cup has come to an end for this year and there was a lot of sadness after the match, but the players can all feel very proud of themselves because they have put in some great performances this season and we the Coaching/Management staff are very proud of them all.

Thanks to Bournemouth Sports Club for being very good hosts for this match.

Wiltshire lost by 5 wickets

Wiltshire v Cardiff & Vale - Tuesday 29th July @ Chippenham CC

Scorecard - On Tues 29th July we played hosts to a new side for us, Cardiff & Vale at Chippenham CC. For the first time in 3 matches we had a virtually full strength squad to choose from, which was good fro us as we were able to give a run out to most of the players who would play the next day in the quarter final. Cardiff & Vale won the toss and asked us to bat and as in the last 3 matches we once again lost an early wicket which is not ideal. Harry Hawkins and Tom Cowley started to rebuild the innings both playing with complete ease when at 43 Harry was out. Jack Mynott came to the crease and carried on the good work of the previous pair. Against some very good bowling and fielding from Cardiff, Cowley and Mynott put together a very good partnership of 96, both scoring runs all-round the wicket, so it was a bit of a surprise when Mynott was out for 49 which contained 9 boundaries. Cowley carried on in his inimitable way, getting good support from the lower order and was last out off the last ball for a very well made 77 which included 12 boundaries. We finished up after 40 overs on 186 for 8. Pick of the Cardiff bowlers were J. Porteus 7-0-34-2, G. Weatherall 7-2-28-1 and S. Williams 7-3-17-1.

Cardiff & Vale started their innings very well indeed putting on 52 for the first wicket in just 36 minutes, with the openers taking advantage of anything loose. Once again doing a great job U12 player Joe Clare made the breakthrough in what was a great first spell. Joe really has bowled very well for us since making his debut for the U13's, bowling straight and in good areas. It was sometime before we got our next breakthrough, the score was on 92, Cardiff were proving to be a very good side indeed. With the first of 3 run outs, we took our next wicket with the score on 111, this started a sequence that broke the back of the Cardiff innings, their next 3 wickets were taken for just 4 runs and they were 116 for 6. Once we ran out T. Ikram for a well made 38 we started to feel we were in control of the match. Some decent late order hitting got Cardiff to 159 for 9, so we ran out winners by 27 runs, although it sounds close it was never really in doubt from about 32 overs. Pick of the Wiltshire bowlers were J. Mynott 7-2-25-2, Tom Cowley 8-2-24-2 and Joe Clare 4-1-11-1.

Many thanks to CDM Steve Silk and Chippenham CC for getting this match staged at the last minute due to the original ground becoming unavailable, they were great hosts for the day, thanks to everyone involved.

Wiltshire won by 27 runs

Wiltshire v Dorset - Sunday 20th July @ Redlynch @ Hale CC

Scorecard - On Sunday 20th July we hosted neighbours Dorset at Redlynch & Hale CC in what was a dress rehearsal for our quarter final clash with the same county although this was only a friendly both teams would want to gain 'first blood' as it were.

We once again went into this match with a weakened team due to school trips and players required for the national Club Championship, but for the players involved it would be an opportunity for them to stake a claim for a more permanent place in the team. With Sam Wild, our 4th Captain this season winning his first toss he decided to bat first given that we saw that our strength lay in our bowling. Things didn't start well with our first wicket going down with just 4 runs on the board due to a silly run out, something we couldn't really afford with our slightly under strength batting.

New Captain Sam Wild joined Adam Mitchell and the pair started to slowly rebuild the innings with Mitchell in particularly fine form hitting boundaries all round the wicket. They took the score to 83 before Wild was out for a patient and well made 31, but just 14 runs later Mitchell was out with the score on 97, he made an excellent 47 and deserved a half century. This was unfortunately the beginning of the end as we lost our last 7 wickets for just 38 runs in only 14 overs, finally ending up 135 all out. This was a really disappointing effort because as good as the Dorset bowling was we let ourselves down badly with some very poor shot selection, the next highest score was 8, if extras hadn't been 29 our total would have been very low indeed.

Pick of the Dorset bowlers was R Scott 7.5-1-22-4, J Underwood 6-0-30-2 and F Barton 8-2-24-2.

We started our bowling knowing we probably couldn't restrict Dorset to below our total and would have to bowl them out to win so early wickets were critical. This wasn't to be as Dorset scored at 4 runs an over and what ever the Captain tried nothing worked, edges were found, balls hit in the air but they would not go to hand, our cawse was not helped when they did as we dropped 3 catches, which was especially disappointing as this team is usually so very good in the field, 7 bowlers were used but the breakthrough could not be made. Dorset openers F Barton (69no) and S Gillett (51) put on 121 for the first wicket before we finally took our first and only wicket. The winning runs were scored in the 36th over, so Dorset won by 9 wickets to round off a very disappointing day.

pick of the Wiltshire bowlers was Stuart Brothers 8-3-16-0.

So 'first blood' to Dorset but with a full strength squad to choose  from for the Quarter Final we are hoping we can put together a better performance and play some of the Cricket we have played already this season and that Dorset will find us much stronger opposition.

Many thanks to Redlynch & Hale CC for hosting this match and making us feel very welcome.

Wiltshire lost by 9 wickets

Wiltshire v Isle of Wight - Sunday 13th July @ Newport CC

Scorecard -

On Sunday 13th July we travelled across to the beautiful Isle of Wight to play our last ECB U13 County Cup match of the group stage.This was an important match for us as a win would see us finish at worse joint top of the table and then it would be down to run rates and calculators!

Our squad was badly depleted with one unavailable and four required to play for their clubs in the two National Club competitions, but we were more than comfortable with the U12 players that were playing up for the U13's, newcomer Joe Clare and now permanent U13 squad member Tom Alsop. As you will read later, both players played a major part in the match.

With new County Captain Harry Hawkins winning his first toss, he quickly said we would have first use of a well worn, well used track and we would try to put a score on the board which we felt confident our bowling attack, which included no fewer than five spinners could defend. Things could not have started any worst with inform batter Adam Mitchell being bowled first ball of the match by a very good delivery. In walked Tom Alsop at number three to try and rebuild the innings. The score had moved on to 16 when we lost our second wicket, that of Akash Shama, given out LBW.

Tom was then joined by captain Harry Hawkins and with a mixture of watchful defence and selective attacking shots they moved the score onto 68 when Tom was out for a very well made 44 from just 53 balls including 8 boundaries. Harry carried on with useful support from Lawrence Hannaford and looked well set to bat through the innings when after reaching an excellent 50 was out for 53, the score was now 112 for 4, Unfortunately with a somewhat weakened batting order and with players who hadn't batted at this level very often we subsided to 147 all out, although this was in no small part due to some excellent I.O.W bowling with the pick being, B.Tyler 7-2-19-3, T.Corbin 7-1-21-3 and G. Cooper 6.3-0-19-3.

Coach Paul Stoddard said to the team during the interval he would have been happy with a score between 140 and 160 and believed we had a good enough bowling line-up to defend this score, but it would need everyone on top of their game to pull off a victory. With this message still fresh in their minds, we took to the field and after two overs the I.O.W were 21 for 0!!! 'Oh the best laid plans and all that'. The I.O.W openers were determined to latch onto anything either short or off line. They chanced their arms a few times and the ball just keep going into gaps or over our heads. We did however pick up our first wicket with the score on 21, this started to slow things down a bit and when we picked up our second wicket with the score on 31 it saw the end of both I.O.W openers.

Spin was then introduced in just the 8th over, this saw the run rate really start to drop with Adam Lavis once again bowling a great line and length with plenty of turn. Adam bowled unchanged until the end of the innings with figures of 6.5-1-24-3. U12 player Joe Clare, playing his first U13 match bowled superbly in tandem with Adam and finished with figures of 4-1-11-3. Tom Alsop replaced Joe and between him and Adam they finished the I.O.W innings. Adam Lavis took the last three wickets in one over to leave the I.O.W 89 all out in just 19.5 overs, thus leaving Wiltshire winners by 58 runs. Great jubilation ensued with the fall of the last wicket as the boys knew what a terrific performance and win this was. We now sit on top of group 6 and as I said earlier at worse level on points with Oxfordshire. As I write this we do not know if we have got through to the quarter finals or not, but whatever happens this has been a great U13 County Cup campaign.

My thanks again go to Coach Paul Stoddard who once more stepped in for the unavailable Tim Cowley, his efforts are much appreciated, lastly thanks to everyone at Newport CC for being great hosts.

Wiltshire won by 58 runs

Wiltshire v Hampshire - Sunday 29th June - Friendly @ South Wilts CC

Scorecard - On Sunday 29th June we played our first friendly of the season against Hampshire at South Wilts CC. The boys were in confident mood after our first two wins of the season and were looking forward in particular to playing Hampshire. On a pretty good looking track, Wiltshire Captain for the day, Jack Mynott had no hesitation upon winning the toss to have a bat first.

This turned out to be a very good decision with our new opening partnership of Sam Wild and Adam Mitchell putting on 93 for the first wicket from 19 overs. Hampshire were somewhat shell shocked as these two played shots all round the wicket and were quite relived when Mitchell was finally out for a fine 62, which included 10 boundaries. Wild fell shortly after for a well made 22, playing second fiddle to Mitchell, but a valuable contribution none the less.

We then lost another fairly quick wicket, before a good partnership of 53 for the 4th wicket between Captain Jack Mynott and U12 County player Tom Alsop, there running between the wickets was quite superb. Alsop fell to an unlucky LBW decision for 16, but Mynott carried on to a very good 49 before being run out with the score on 173. We managed to score 9 more runs to finish our 40 overs on a very respectable 182 for 7. Pick of the Hampshire bowlers was B. Mengham 2-0-5-3 and B. Myers 8-0-37-2.

 

We took to the field in confident fashion with the thought that this was a total we could defend. But after 10 overs with the score on 41 for 0 a few doubts were staring to creep in, these doubts were very short lived as we took our first wicket with the score on 41 and just seven overs later with the score on 55 for 6 our doubts had totally gone. Hampshire never recovered from this and only with the help of some lusty hitting from there lower order, when a victory had long gone they finished 147 all out with the last wicket falling in the 39th over.

Pick of the Wiltshire bowlers were Jack Mynott 7.3-0-25-4 (to go with his earlier 49) and Jordan Butler 4-1-11-2 (his first wickets for the county) although all the bowlers bowled well and the fielding was of a very high standard, something that was commented on afterwards by the Hampshire coach.

So three matches played, 3 wins, one against a country, and two against first class counties, we couldn't have wished for a better start to the season.

 

A couple of thank you's, first to South Wilts CC for being excellent hosts for the day and secondly to Paul Stoddard for Coaching the team on match day due to Tim's unavailability, it was greatly appreciated.

Wiltshire won by 35 runs