County Under 17: Last season
2008 Season
Wiltshire v Bedfordshire - 30/31 - Biddenham CC
Bedfordshire 116 all out and 188 all out lost to Wiltshire 342-2 by an Innings and 38 runs.
Another super all round team effort saw Wiltshire dominate over both days at Biddenham Cricket Club. Bedfordshire won the toss and decided to bat on what looked to be the flattest of wickets. After a series of no balls from Dom Webb, the Wiltshire bowlers soon settled into a rhythm and Webb took 3 early wickets to stun the Bedfordshire top order. Nick Harrison was as miserly as ever and constantly looked a threat but the introduction of Courtney Earl and Simon Beetham saw more wickets fall at regular intervals. Only Andrew Quarmby and Chris Wood showed any resistance as Bedfordshire were bowled out for a lowly 116, Aaron Lee picking up a further 2 wickets, giving Wiltshire the best part of two sessions to chase down Bedfordshire’s first innings score.
After the early loss of Tom Young, the Wiltshire batting looked solid with Uzi Qureshi and Ben Upton adding 68 runs before Ben was caught behind for 26. Uzi was joined by wicketkeeper batsman Tom Newman who had returned home from holiday late the previous night. After a fairly scratchy start, Tom soon got into his stride, hitting the ball firmly through the off side. Uzi continued in his rich vein of form and passed 50 with ease. Midway through the final session Wiltshire passed the Bedfordshire score and pushed on for the 300 mark, Uzi batted on to his second consecutive hundred and Tom Newman was on 92 at the end of day one.
At the start of day two Wiltshire had a 200 lead in sight and the way Newman and Qureshi batted in the first session pretty much set the tone for the day. Tom Newman powered his way to a superb century, two of his cover drives were hit with the utmost power, and one of his sixes hit the roof of a local property. Wiltshire declared on 342-2, with Newman undefeated on 139 and Uzi on 141, sharing an unbroken stand of 277!!
Bedfordshire were set 238 to avoid an innings defeat with Wiltshire having two and a half sessions to bowl them out.
As is often the case it was no where near as easy to get wickets in the second innings but the Wiltshire boys stuck to their task really well and it was Shaun Dixon who did the damage claiming 4 wicket just after tea. Dixie had not been asked to bowl in the first innings but ripped through the middle order to allow Wiltshire to bowl out Bedfordshire for 188 in their second innings, this despite a battling last wicket stand which took an hour to dislodge!! Aaron Lee again looked dangerous and picked up 3 wickets to take his match tally to 5 wickets, and Simon Beetham took the last wicket to end a troublesome partnership. Outright wins do not happen often in championship cricket and this was possible through the swift scoring of the Wiltshire batting and the potency of the seam bowling. It will be a match for Tom Newman to remember, for he was on the field for all but 2 hours of play, keeping wicket to a high standard and scoring a superb 139 not out!! With maximum points being scored from this game, Wiltshire go top of Division 3 south and meet Gloucestershire next at Chippenham who this week tied their match against Cornwall, and lost their previous game to Herefordshire who currently sit in second place.
Wiltshire v Isle of Wight - 23/24 July - Dauntsey School
Isle of Wight 215 all out (119.2 overs), and 40-2 (16 overs) lost to Wiltshire 309-8 (73.5 overs) on first innings.
Wiltshire U17s played two days of superb cricket to beat the Isle of Wight at Dauntseys School, Lavington. On winning the toss the Islanders decided to bat on a good looking surface which offered some good bounce with the new ball. The Wiltshire bowlers bowled an excellent line just outside off stump and runs were hard to come by, and against the pace and bounce of Nick Harrison, the batsmen seemed quite happy just to survive till lunch. The first wicket fell when Nick Hatt cut loosely at Harrison and was caught by Upton at point, and Courtney Earl then had fellow opener Cameron Mitchell caught at long leg. At lunch the Isle of Wight had limped to 67-2.
After lunch Wiltshire continued to toil away, and with the introduction of Spin a few more runs were on offer. However Simon Beetham replaced Shaun Dixon and bowled well from the bottom end taking the wicket of Ben Woodhouse who looked good for 45. Aaron Lee improving all the time picked up 2 wickets and continued to keep things tight. Marcus Brown bowled his 6 over spell for no runs!!! Six maidens on the trot…better than a night in Trowbridge!! At the end of day 1, the Isle of Wight had mustered 187 runs for 7 wickets in 110 overs of cricket with Wiltshire sending down no less than 47 maidens!!
At the start of day two Wiltshire were in no mood to spend much longer in the field. Harrison opened up from the top end and bowled a torrid spell, allowing Simon Beetham to bowl full and straight from the bottom end and pick up the last 3 wickets in 7 overs, one to a quite brilliant one handed catch by 15 year old George Penfold who was superb behind the stumps. Beetham finished taking 4-55 off 20 overs, and Harrison 2-26 off 22 overs, both bowled with consistency and menace which is encouraging for the future.
It could have been interpreted that the wicket was difficult to bat on but from the moment that Luke Edwards walked out to the wicket, it was made to look very easy. Luke who was drafted into the squad 24 hours previous following a rich vein of form for his club side Calne, batted superbly well for 110. He hit no less than 16 boundaries and looked at ease both against the pace of the impressive Donald Gordon and Isle of Wight spin department. Ben Upton helped out with 29 runs, and then we had the Pittman road show!! Rob scored a superb 100 off just 107 balls, hitting 10 boundaries, and 4 towering sixes, one of which landed in the Headmasters garden!! Wiltshire declared their first innings on 309-8 leaving the Isle of Wight 16 overs till the close of play. Aiming for another bonus point for taking 3 second innings wickets Wiltshire fell just short, taking two with Nick Harrison picking up both scalps bowling superbly once more. Taking 18 points from this game, the Wiltshire team are high in confidence and so they should be. 3 batsmen have now scored centuries, and the bowlers are performing well together, the major room for improvement is in the catching department, 4 missed opportunities on day one made life a little difficult for the bowlers.
Elsewhere in Division 3 South, Herefordshire have also won their first two opening games against Bedfordshire and Gloucestershire with opener D. Barling scoring two double hundreds!! Next week we travel to Bedfordshire aiming to make it three wins on the trot!
Wiltshire v Oxfordshire - 16/17 July - Radley College
Oxfordshire 346-7 (102 0vers) lost to Wiltshire 349-8 (100 over) by 2 wickets.
In a quite superb all round team effort, Wiltshire got their 2008 County Championship season off to a superb start at the impressive Radley College ground. On loosing the toss, day one was always going to be tough, bowling first on a flat looking Radley pitch. However the Wiltshire U17 team bowled and fielded with great character. The key to bowling first is to win the start of each session and Wiltshire certainly one the last two sessions after Oxford started strongly and went to lunch at 121-1. Nick Harrison and Dom Webb took wickets at crucial times to stem the flow of runs, and the spin duo of Rob Pittman and Shaun Dixon bowled miserly spells, Pittman picking up 2 wickets and bowling with great control. You might have expected Oxfordshire to cut loose in the last session but only 22 runs were scored in the last half hour, testament to Wiltshire’s effort and determination.
On day two the rain clouds loomed, which probably swayed Oxfordshire’s decision to declare overnight. Set 346 for victory Wiltshire got off to a steady start until Tom Young was out LBW for 19. Steve Bullen soon followed, and Uzi Queshi was joined by the imposing figure of Rob Pittman. Wiltshire needed something big from these two and they did not disappoint. Looking rather like ‘Little and Large’, Robbo and Uzi crafted together a 3rd wicket partnership of 198. They both batted superbly well and it was a shame when a tired Pittman was caught on the deep midwicket boundary for 89 valuable runs. With Wiltshire still needing 121 runs, the fragile middle order was exposed. Uzi continued to his century, a superb innings full of punch drives through wide mid on and sweetly timed shots through straight midwicket. 3 further wickets fell in quick succession and all looked to be in vain as Oxfordshire rallied. However Wiltshire’s last chance laid at the lofty heights of Dom Webb who walked out to the wicket and promptly despatched the Oxfordshire attack to all part, rattling up a quick 30 that saw us virtually home. Needless to say we needed a run out to keep the Wiltshire Management twitching!! With Shaun Dixon joining Uzi and 4 runs still required, the little master 
simply leant on a cover drive which powered to the boundary. Wiltshire reaching 346 with just 12 balls remaining.
Uzi ended with 144 not out, all but 4 of those runs being played on the ground, such was his skill and concentration. Rob Pittman had a superb all round game, runs, wickets and a sharp slip catch. All the bowlers went for under 4 runs per over and everyone stuck to their task with commitment and determination.
A great start to the championship campaign which continues at Dauntsey’s School on Wednesday 23rd July when Wiltshire entertains the Isle of Wight.
Wiltshire v Dorset - Sunday 30th June - Milton Abbey School
In near perfect conditions at the idyllic Milton Abbey School, Wiltshire got their 2008 campaign off to a cracking start with a comfortable victory over division two side Dorset. With the ball swinging around in practice, the Wiltshire captain, Courtney Earl decided to bowl first, and at lunch with Dorset on 148-4 honours were around even.
Dominic Webb and Nick Harrison bowled well for Wiltshire, ably supported by Aaron Lee, Simon Beetham and Marcus Brown. The scoring rate briefly increased with the introduction spin, but after lunch both Rob Pittman and Shaun Dixon settled down and bowled more consistently, and Wiltshire did well to restrict Dorset to 238 off 55 overs.
The Wiltshire batsman could not have started better. Two new boys, Tom Newman (formally of Gloucestershire) and Chris Aubrey (Swindon C.C) opened up and put on a superb 148 opening stand. Both players were strong through the offside and punished anything loose to such an extent that Dorset looked ragged in the field. Newman was first out for a fine 74, and Chris Aubrey soon followed for 51. Rob Pittman batted sensibly for 23, but with the game getting a little tight in the last 10 overs perished playing one shot too many. It was left to Ben Upton (South Wilts) batting at 4 to steer Wiltshire home with 4 balls to spare. Upton played some superb shots to end on 43 not out, rounding off a very encouraging day for the U17 side.
The Wiltshire U17 side start their ECB County Championship Division 3 campaign on the 16th July with an away game against Oxfordshire.
