Cas the Lone Bright Spot in a Tale of Batting Woes

Opening bowlers Ananda Krishnan (1-56) and James Wyatt (2-52) bowled well to reduce Chelmsford to 62 for 3 at Chelmer Park. However Prowting (66), Hayto (68) , Jones (41) and Fergus 36) scored freely off the other bowling to set a formidable 286 for 7. Chris Cook took 2 for 45 but there was insufficient control exerted by Green's bowlers. Green's batting woes continued as they had no answer to Drain (5-15) and Fergus (4-23). Only Jacob Thompson (16) and Freddie Butt, who was last out for 33, reached double figures in an inadequate reply of 95 all out that resulted in a crushing defeat.
After Jon Bayfield (11), Chris Gibbon (24) and Thomas Oakley had been dismissed to leave the 2nd Xi at 80 for 3, The Casons (Martin and Alex) joined forces in a century partnership. Alex departed for 41 but the Fat Man went on to another century (125) with the declaration coming on his dismissal. The reply was in the 9th over when heavy rain came in which time Thomas Oakley had taken the first wicket. The visitors showed a great willingness to resume even though the time left them with little opportunity to achieve a favourable result but the weather had the final word.
James Duhig opened with 4 maiden overs but had no luck at all in an excellent opening spell where he beat the bat consistently. Ironically, it was James Haylett who made the breakthrough after which Bradshaw (62) and O'Dell (55) put Hutton in a strong position. A giant total looked in prospect but, after spells by Keith Mitchell, John Coxall and Jawaid Ali, Dougal (2-31) returned to make a double breakthrough which was assisted by a smart slip catch by Graham Cook. The Beast then returned to puck up a brace and finish with 3 for 71 with Bennett (32) giving the home side a late boost with some lusty blows. Cockinson was dismissed early to an excellent catch by the keeper which prompted a short storm. On the resumption there was little prospect of Green making the runs but Ian Gibbs (20), Graham Cook (25) and Jawaid Ali (33) all played their shots before Andy Cook (16 n.o.) hit out in the final overs to secure a solitary batting point. The hosts bowled and fielded well and were possibly denied a positive result by the break for rain.
The 4th XI welcomed back The Whale to the side and he made an immediate impact with a 16 over spell in which he took 5 for 31. Green's strong position was given a dent by Gooday (60 n.o.) and Parry (51) but wickets for Ted Patel. Fraser King and Vic Simmons ensured that Hutton were restricted to 197 for 8 on a good batting pitch at Ilford Wanderers. Green's reply had barely started when heavy rain started to fall and Andy Symes must have rued the decision of the umpires not to leave the field a bit earlier when he was dismissed in a torrent of hailstones off the 3rd ball of the innings which proved to be the final ball bowled.
Kevin Chapman (2-46), Craig Burd (3-22) and Ryan Dack (2-25) were all amongst the wickets at Stanford-le-Hope but could not prevent the hosts posting 200 for 7 thanks largely to the efforts of Pearn, who scored an undefeated 77. Dorrington-Harris (5-47) and Fuller (4-9) ripped through the 5th XI batting with only Kevin Chapman (35) and last man Billy Greaves (10 n.o.) reaching double figures in a miserable display. The innings was wrapped up for just 78 in the 21st over.
After the poor display on Saturday one would have expected to see the 1st XI players keen to get in a bit of practice in the Sunday friendly against Waltham who stood in when Walthamstow conceded the Bertie Joel Cup game. However there were only 2 first team regulars present to supplement the 2 2nd XI players. Potter (35) made his usual fast start but his dismissal, sandwiched between those of Norman Collett and Jacob Thompson left Green on 67 for 3. Alex Cason settled in but, after Joe Langenhan, Terry Dack and Mitchell Collett had fallen, Green were in further trouble at 108 for 6. Martin Cason came in at no.8 and continued his excellent form and, after Green slumped to 155 for 9, he finally found a partner in Simon Dowling (25 n.o.) in a last wicket stand of 85. Martin finished on 80 n.o. and, in doing so, completed his 1,000 runs for the season. The visitors seldom looked troubled and although Simon Dowling, Jacob Thompson and Terry Dack took a wicket apiece, they eased home with 7 wickets in hand and 4 overs to spare.
Opener Geoff Robinson was extremely grateful to skipper Matt Simmons for electing to bat first on a green top at Little Hadham. However his early dismissal for a paltry 1 was put into perspective by Billy Shorey who made his best ever senior score of 40. After the dismissals of Adam Mathias and Adam Green saw Green slump to 43 for 3, Matt (38) joined Billy to take the score on to 91. Ted Patel (batting at 6!) produced shots rarely seen outside the IPL (or inside it for that matter) in his 14 as he supported his skipper in a stand of 39. Wickets fell regularly with Adam Savery on his senior debut making 11 and Paul 'Squeak' White being caught on the boundary to the surprise of those who had never seen him hit the ball off the square before. After a sound start, Vic Simmons (2-12) took the wickets of both the Little Hadham openers and Green looked on top when Rob Duhig and Adam Green each claimed a wicket. Wheatley (45) stood defiant although Matt Simmons (2-6) redressed the balance in Green's favour with a couple of wickets. Squeak finally ended Wheatley's resistance and although Adam Mathias took a wicket on his debut for Green and Adam Savery claimed his first senior wicket the hosts held on for a draw.

Tons for Potter and Extras as Leigh Suffer

Rain came to the rescue of the 1st XI at Castle Park, Colchester, as they hung on for a draw with 9 wickets down when well short of their target. The home side set a challenging 274 for 7 from 62.2 overs with Ali Horne (3-56) and Ricky Gill (2-72) amongst the wickets. Several of Green's batsmen got starts but none of them could go on to register the major innings required for victory. Ananda Krishnan (38), Freddie Butt (34), Paul Hurworth (23), Jacob Thompson (22) and Chris Cook (20) will all feel that they should have gone on as wickets fell at regular intervals before the rain came.
The 2nd XI enjoyed total domination in their game against Colchester & East Essex at Central Park. The batsmen were on top with Mick Clarke (71 n.o.) , Martin Cason (71), Chris Gibbon (38) Albury ,(36) and Graham Cook all scored freely as Green declared in the 50th over with a total of 262 for 7. Thomas Oakley (4-9) ripped out the top of the order and the visitors never really recovered. Mick Clarke (2-8) and Matt Simmons (2-19) completed the rout as Colchester were dismissed for 81 to suffer a heavy defeat.
It was difficult to judge a good score at Ilford Wanderers where the 3rd XI entertained Hornchurch. Cockinson (20) and Gibbo (23) looked comfortable but were dismissed in quick succession to leave Green struggling at 58 for 3 as some excellent bowling from Roberts and Paisley exerted a stranglehold. Jack Taylor (36) and Herbie Gosnell (23) picked up the tempo after which Toast (26) struck some much-needed lusty blows in his 26 before the last 4 wickets fell for just 1 run with the total on 159. Barry Bones bowled well for the visitors but must have been surprised at how easily he took 5 for 14.
The openers from Hornchurch found similar difficulty in getting the ball away with the slow outfield adding to the batsmen's problems. James Haylett (6-4-3-0) and James Duhig (8-3-21-0) bowled excellently in tandem with the opening 12 overs going for about 1 each. John Coxall (20-2-66-4) and Toast (17-4-39-1) were similarly accurate as the batsmen tried to break the shackles. Roberts fell to a splendid catch by Tiraj Patel (yes, he caught one) and, although Lee Gilbert batted through for 57 and Dave Kiff provided a few late biffs in his 20, Hornchurch were still 28 short on 131 for 6 from 51 overs as the game petered out into a draw.
Skipper Vic Simmons (29) and Gavin Castle (101 n.o.) set up a promising position of 87 for 1 against Hornchurch at Cromer Road. After The Hanger was dismissed, the Inspector received good support from Chris Haylett to take the score to 143 before a flurry of wickets, with Foxton to the fore with 4 for 34, saw Green struggling at 152 for 7. Clouseau stood form and found an ally in the unlikely form of Keith Mitchell (17 n.o.) and duly reached his century as the pair put on 50 to enable the declaration at 202 for 7. Any thoughts that this might be sufficient were soon dispelled as Keanley (69), du Plooy (35) and Imran khan (74) making light of Green's attack. The hosts were comfortable 7-wicket winners inside 38 overs.
Billy Greaves (5-32) and Kevin Chapman (3-32) did the damage for the 5th XI at the Peter May Centre where Walthamstow were bowled out for 164. Kevin (34) was also prominent with the bat where several players mad vital contributions in reaching the total with 3 wickets in hand. Phil Pearce (30), Norman Collett (22), Malcolm Waters (21) and Rob Duhig (19) all made double figures to record a vital victory.
Leigh-on-Sea suffered a pounding from Paul Hurworth in the Sunday League game at Central Park. Potter was dismissed for 107 just before the 9-wicket victory was secured with Green chasing down 186 in just 24.3 overs. At the other end Chris Gibbon was impressive if a little more sedate in scoring his half century(57 n.o.). Earlier, the visitors had struggled against the spin of Jacob Thompson (4 - 8) and Ali Horne (3-20) and struggle to score 182 for 8 form their 40 overs.
There was a rare century for the Sunday 2nd XI but it came in the form of extras as Green as Green scored 304 for 2 from their 40 overs. It is not difficult to outscore an opening partnership of Cockinson (80) and the Onion (67) but the pair struggled to keep pace with extras as the century partnership was reached with the batsmen having contributed less than half. By the time Cockinson was dismissed with the score on 218, he had just about caught up extras. Tiraj Patel played fluently to finish with an undefeated 45.
James Duhig bowled an almost perfect opening over first bringing one back through the gate to hit the top of off after 3 away swingers and then hitting the top of off after pitching middle and leg, as Leigh found themselves in early difficulty. Ted Patel (3-16), Andy Cook (1-20), Rob Duhig (2-8) and Jack Taylor (2-6) took regular wickets as the hosts were dismissed for 86 with Toby Giles scoring an excellent 56.

Smudger Puts Green Through in T20

An excellent spell of 2 for 16 from 4 overs by Chris Cook brought Green back into their T20 game at Hutton after the early batting had looked to dominate. Shanka Gunalan (3-28) and Matt Simmons (2-24) also bowled with good control as the home side set a challenging total of 145 on a gloomy evening. The early loss of Potter for a duck followed by an unfortunate run out of Bambi set Green back and the cheap dismissals of Ananda Krishnan and Shanka Gunalan looked to have put Hutton in control. However, Royston Smith (53) forged a good partnership with Ramesh Gunalan (26 n.o.) to take Green to the brink of victory. A couple of late wickets were not sufficient to deny Green a place against Hornchurch in the next round.

Ivor Scores First Half Century Before Enforced Break

Green were knocked out of the Conference Cup at the 2nd round stage following a disappointing defeat at Blackheath. After a good bowling performance from Ricky Gill (3-23), Shanka Gunalan (2-30) and Ananda Krishnan (2-45) saw the home side dismissed for 189 in the last of their 45 overs, the batting disappointed in falling to 141 all out with only Royston Smith (70) and Freddy Butt (20) making any impact.
A weakened side had to take the field against Harold Wood in the opening Sunday League fixture. The cup game at Blackheath meant that only Jacob Thompson of the first XI regulars was available to play. Another late cry off from Herbie meant an eleventh hour call for the Onion who, at least, enjoyed watching the T20 game in the comfortable surroundings of the new pavilion. Aaron Hills and Cockinson were the unlikely opening pair and, although fairly comfortable, could not really get the scoreboard moving. It was a similar story for others with Tiraj Patel and Martin Cason unable to play the length of innings hoped for once they had got a start. Jacob Thompson (35) and Chris Gibbon (36) were the main contributors to an inadequate total of 153 for 7. Wood could take their time and knocked off the runs quite comfortably for the loss of 4 wickets in 31 overs. Steve Gawler was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 39.
The 2nd XI performed well to get a draw in the home game against Craven. Steve 'Ivor' Shorey managed his maiden half century in the last game before his op as, with Big Norm (26) and Matt Simmons (25) batting well, Green mustered 157 for 7. The return of Paul 'Squeak' White (3-30) undermined the visitors' reply although there are no details as to whether or not he turned any. Simon Dowling (2-4) and Matt Simmons (2-26) put Green in a promising position but Craven held on to finish with 124 for 8.

Only 3rd XI Win on Dark Day for Green

All matches included a minute of silence for Graham Bayfield for which we thank he opposition in each game. The mood of the club was not brightened at all by the events on the field where only the 3rd XI managed a victory.
A poor batting performance saw th 1st XI crushed by league leaders at Brentwood by a 9 wicket margin at Central Park. Ananda Krihsnan (42) and Jacob Thompson (32) were the only batsmen to make any sort of contribution as Osborne (3-13), Bellchamber (3-21) and Bodhisha (2-3) saw Green collapse to 125 all out by the 35th over.
James Wyatt took an early wicket in the reply but there were few alarms for Walford (56 n.o.) and Bodhisha (66 n.o.) as they cruised to victory.
Former Green player, Kevin Shallow, appreciated the benevolence of his former team mates as they failed hold on to chances offered in constructing his excellent century for Hornchurch against the 2nd XI. Chris Cook impressed with the ball taking 4 for 67 but with Nupier (70) also scoring freely, Hornchurch raced to 276 for 8 before the declaration came. Matt Simmons (2-42) and Minesh Gunalan (2-55) took a couple apiece but could not stem the flow of runs.
Green soon lost Mick Clarke, Thomas Oakley and Jon Bayfield before Chris Cook was joined by skipper Martin Cason (21). The pair took the score to 97 and then Chris Gibbon (42) helped add another 33 but once Chris was dismissed, Funky was the only real resistance as Green finished on 215 all out. Harper-Horn took 4 for 45 and captain Dean Skipper 3 for 31 for the hosts.
The dropped catch malaise continues to haunt the 3rd XI with many chances going down in their game against Chingford at the Peter May Centre. The openers struggled at the start against good new ball bowling from James Duhig and James Haylett who can both count themselves unlucky not to take an early wicket. Mark Fletcher (23) looked in good form but nicked one behind off Tiraj Patel just as he was looking to play a more expansive game. Waterman (48) and Lambert (71 n.o.) build a solid platform but Green came back into the game when James Duhig returned to remove Waterman and then Jawaid Ali (2-29)and Paul Sutton (2-26) took two wickets apiece as the innings was brought to a close on 192 for 7.
There was quite a bit of movement in the wicket even if at a slow pace and Green's openers benefited from some early extras to get the score going. Sir Harold (23) played some fine shots and it was a surprise when he was bowled by Lambert with the score on 48. Cockinson (40) and Gibbo (44) took the score to 122 before the former misjudged a full toss and, even though Ian Gibbs fell shortly afterwards, Green looked well placed at the start of the last hour with 3 runs an over required. The Chingford attack stood up well to the challenge with Woodcock (2043) coming back to take a couple of wickets in his 2nd spell and young Lawrence (2-48) who bowled his leg spin with great control which, on another day, may have seen him take a hat-full of wickets. Jawaid (33) kept the score moving but, with wickets falling, Green were indebted to Suggs and The Beast for seeing them home with less than a couple of overs left.
The 4th XI began well in their game against Upminster 5th XI with Captain Fierce (45), Graham cook (26) and The Doc (36) all making runs. There were modest offerings from Chris Haylett (11) and Clouseau (15) but the innings fell away alarmingly against the bowling of Karim Govani who returned the outstanding figures of 8 for 55.
The visitors began their innings in similar fashion with the first three batsmen, Sam Langston (46), Ant Limn(15) and Russell Savidge (33), getting runs of the board. Hopes that The Sub would suffer from the altitude of such a position proved groundless. The Doc (2-50), Fraser King (1-25) and Ted Patel (1-14) exerted some control but Jordan Tigg (31 n.o.) saw Upminster home with 4 wickets in hand.
Malcolm Waters was unable to find any real support from the 5th XI batsmen as he was left stranded on 50 n.o. out of a total of just 125. Paul Simmons made 15 and was the only other player to reach double figures as Pithia (4-18) and Douglas Maxwell (3-30) ran through the order.
The bowlers applied themselves to the task with 5 of them taking a single wicket as Brentwood eased home for a comfortable victory. Andrew Maxwell finished on 62 n.o. for the visitors whilst Billy Greaves was probably the pick of the home bowlers with an economical spell of 1 for 12 from 7 overs.

Fire Brigade Provide Fitting Tribute

Surprisingly good weather greeted the annual visit of the London Fire Brigade to Central Park for the Kevan Ellis Trophy match. Tony, Jeanne and Kim were there to renew acquaintance with many of Kev's friends who were playing in the game and Colin 'Wally' Hammond was a surprise visitor from Scotland ensuring that it was a theriouth occasion.
On a slow pitch, Green soon found themselves in trouble as Ivor, for a duck, and Smudger were dismissed to good catches which reduced them to 12 for 2 after 8 overs. It was then that Martin Cason entered the fray and the scoring rate increased as he continued his excellent early season form. When drinks were taken at 21 overs, Martin had just reached his fifty and the score stood at 85 for 2. After, Cas had faced another 12 balls, he was back in the pavilion for 96 having been caught in the deep off the persevering Dave Roberts (3-77). This was one of three good catches by Patel. Things did not get better for the Brigade as Potter struck 23 from 10 balls followed by Jacob Thompson, who scored 44 from 24 mixing some clean strikes with some air shots. There was no danger of the LFB having to put a fire out at the other end where Cockinson made his way to a sedate half century. The innings closed on 264 for 7 which was a stiff target on the day.
The task of the Brigade was mad much more difficult after they consumed too much food from another magnificent spread provided by Marie Haylett.The openers didn't seem in any trouble but fell behind the rate until Archer (44) hit his wicket. The introduction of Simon Brown brought an immediate reward when Randall (24) chopped on. This brought Matt Simmons (as a guest) to the wicket but his innings was short-lived having been adjudged LBW by father Vic as umpire off his brother's (Paul) bowling. Reid played positively for his 48 and Cansdale hit out for his 28. There were some lusty blows from Luther (19 n.o.) and Sampat (22 n.o.), the latter in particular taking a fancy to the buffet served up by Smudger (3-0-33-1).
And Phillips took his defeat with his normal good grace as the trophy was presented to Steve Gawler by Tony Ellis. Fat Cas was the natural candidate for man of the match in a game that was a fitting tribute to a fantastic guy and brilliant cricketer.

Graham Bayfield

Thursday was a sad day for Ardleigh Green when the news that Graham Bayfield had died whilst playing golf. Graham was a regular spectator, taking great pride in the development of his son Jon and would never let anyone down when asked to play at the last minute. He contributed to and enjoyed the banter off the field. A long standing Blues fan, Graham recently saw his team win the F.A. Cup Final at Wembley.
Graham was 49 and it seems especially sad when people die so young. He will be missed by all members of Ardleigh Green.

Wanstead Thwarted by The Beast

The 1st XI did well to restrict Hainault & Clayhall to 207 for 8 from their 50 overs after the visitors had developed a strong position of 100 for 1 through Irfan Shah (50) and Mousshin Ismail (41). Ali Horne (1-26) broke the partnership after which Green's spinners, Jacob Thompson (1-27), Shanka Gunalan (2-25) and Ricky Gill (3-37) brought the innings back under control. Central to this was the spell of 0 for 22 from 10 overs by Akhtar Shafiq.
The top of the order failed with Green finding themselves in trouble at 44 for 4.Shanka Gunalan (43) and Ananda Krishnan (24) steadied the ship but the loss of Ananda and Ricky in quick succession put Green back in trouble. Shanka was joined by his brother Ramesh and the pair took the score to 143 before Shanka was dismissed. Ramesh found an ally in Akhtar Shafiq (11) and the pair added before the latter was dismissed. Chris Cook then stood firm as Ramesh completed a 54 ball 55 not out to win the game by 2 wickets.
The 2nd XI bowling found themselves on the wrong end of a hammering when Loughton raced to 257 for 5 from 50 overs with Terry Taiani making an excellent 108 n.o. The bowling figures were not too impressive with Minesh Gunalan being the pick with 2 for 20. green hardly helped their cause by conceding 45 extras, 25 of which were wides.
Openers Martin Cason and Jon Bayfield were dismissed cheaply at which point Alex Cason (17) joined Melba at the wicket. The pair took the score to 60 after which Jumbo(17) and Melba added another 35. Once Melba was run out for a fine 57, the rest of the batting collapsed and, despite a brief flurry of resistance late on from Chris Gibbon (24) and Chris Brett (21) the seconds were resoundingly beaten by 93 runs.
The Third XI did not know quite what to make of the promised appearance of The Beast before their game against Wanstead 4th XI. The home side's openers did not seem too perturbed and raced away at 7 an over until The Beast took a couple of wickets in succession. Jawaid Ali (4-63) and John Coxall (1-49) then bowled a long spell in tandem bringing the scoring rate back below 4 until a late flurry of runs took Wanstead to 221 for 8 on a slow pitch offering movement and variations in bounce. Steve Baldwin scored an excellent 82 until he was well caught low down by Sir Harold. This was one of three catches (the others by Suggs and Gibbo) that Green could count as a bonus following recent displays in the field.
Green lost early wickets as batsmen could never really feel in even when appearing comfortable. Jack Taylor (30) and Tiraj Patel (18) batted soundly but when they were both out, Green looked to be surrendering the game to their hosts as Jawaid, Suggs and Andy Cook all went cheaply. Enter the Beast. James Haylett (22 n.o.) and James Duhig (12 n.o.) batted out the last 8 overs showing a degree of comfort (apart from in their running) not evident in the players up the order, and saw Green to 2 extra batting points.
Orsett 3rd XI declared early after they had posted 254 for 4 in just 48 overs against the 4th XI at Ilford Wanderers. Openers Lockyer (97) and Pavitt(60) dominated the Green attack for whom Fraser King was the pick with 2 for 45.
Graham cook (45) and Andy Symes (99 n.o.) got Green off to a similarly excellent start and the work was carried on by The Doc (35) after Cookie was dismissed. Chris Haylett fell cheaply but The Inspector (31 n.o.) helped Fierce bat through to victory.
Kevin Chapman and Tom Greaves made early inroads into the Benfleet 4th XI batting at Woodside Park. Most of the middle order got established but did not go on to make a big score as Craig Burd (3-26) took out the middle order leaving Rob Duhig (4-17) to mop up the tail.
Although Ivor (18) abandoned his duck shoot for the day, Green found themselves in trouble. Kevin Chapman (62), Rob Duhig(13) and Craig Burd (14) took Green close, leaving Mitchell Collett to hit the winning runs.
With the 1st team game at Blackheath and the 2nd XI game at Little Hallingbury falling victim to the weather, there was a rare 'A' team game against West Ham at Central Park on Sunday. Green amassed an impressive 255 for 4 in the 40 overs a side game with Jacob Thompson dominating with 82 n.o.). Chris Gibbon (55) scored his first half century of the season Whilst Thomas Oakley and Chris Haylett made 33 and 30 respectively.
The visitors were making a good fist off chasing the target and were187 for 4 with 13 overs left when the game had to be abandoned due to rain. Matt Simmons took all of the wickets for Green, finishing with (4-54).