Boreham fail to materialise for officiating duty

Boreham failed to arrive at the Leisure Centre for their two hour session of officiating. Steve Isaac received a call from Dan Grice and Daniel Broyd soon after 5.30, and contacted Glenn Hadgraft. He seemed blissfully unaware that they were down for two hours prior to their match against Helions Bumpstead. Playing in the middle two games of any divisions session does mean you have a 50% chance that you could be officiating. This failure to officiate has cost Boreham the statutory five points for each of the three officials absent, and to make matters worse for themselves later on, they suffered a six wicket defeat at the hands of Helions Bumpstead and have slipped from being one point away from leading the division down into seventh place, twenty-nine points behind the leaders, Braintree. Braintree and Shalford, who began the day as the top two, were two of the teams who were left without officials and this lead to a delayed start, and subsequent reduction in overs of all the following matches. Dan Grice hit 33 and Paul Allen, 30 not out, as Shalford closed with 123-5. As I had mentioned in an early editorial on this page, it was quite appropriate that in the week of the League's 29th Anniversary, these two clubs should meet just as they had when they played the League very first match on November 11th 1979. Braintree won that day, and won again this time around. Danny King, 25 not out, Rory Ainsley, 32 not out, and Jamie Foyster, 28 not out, helping Braintree reach 125-2 with an over to spare. Now they lead the Division Two table by nine points, with Coggeshall Reserves moving into second place, though they cannot be promoted, with a 46 run victory over, still winless, Terling. Robert Lees hit the 21st half-century of the new season, 59 not out, and James Neale added a handy 34 not out, as Coggeshall Reserves scored 140-4 from eleven overs. Shaun Bragg and Ben Stephens then each claimed two wickets as Terling were kept down to 94-4. Braintree College nudged up into the top half of the table with a narrow one wicket victory over Rayne, largely thanks to Dan Garner's unbeaten 50. Richard Whiteside top scored with 31 not out, as Rayne scored 117-2 in this ten over match. Rayne worked their way through the batting line-up but they could not dislodge Garner, and he won the match for the Collegians with one ball to spare. Boreham's miserable day was completed as Helions Bumpstead dismissed them for 85. Andy Rose, Justin Rose and Neil Winter were the only Bumpstead batsmen required as they raced to 86-0 in a shade in excess of six overs.

Woodham Mortimer and Sampfords Reserves are both still unbeaten in Division Five this season after the fifth round of fixtures, and they are pulling clear of the pursuing pack. We should not be too surprised by this news as they were playing the two teams still without a win. Woodham Mortimer hit West Bergholt for 110-5 at Notley, though their top scorer turned out to be extras with 31. West Bergholt did manage to steal one point but it was not enough to prevent them from slipping to the foot of the table, as they were dismissed for 66. Sampfords Reserves were made to work hard for their two wicket victory over Coggeshall III. Ben Hobbs top scored with 23 as Coggeshall III closed with 86-3. Sampfords Reserves then lost two early wickets before Colin Caister, 27 not out, and James Smith, 24, steadied the ship for them. Still they had to work very hard, and the winning run was left until the final ball. Boreham Reserves could not win an argument last season but now they have won three matches in a row for the first time since their first season as members, but again it was a close call. Trevor Money hit 28 not out as Boreham Reserves scored 87-5. Coggeshall A Reserves were reduced to being 50-4 in the seventh over, but Ben Smart and Matt Pickles kept them in the hunt. Then with just seven balls remaining and with only four runs needed to win, Pickles was caught for 12. So it was Ben Smart versus Trevor Money in the final over, and two dots started the over before Money got his man trapped leg before and Boreham Reserves had won by three runs. Kelvedon & Feering III's won the days remaining match by comfortably defeating Halstead by six wickets. Sam King took 3-12 as Halstead were bowled out for 63, and then he hit 16 not out, which added to Will Shortridge's 29 not out, helped Kelvedon & Feering III to 69-0 with time aplenty to spare.

Current League Tables>>

November 23rd 2008

Strange events at the Leisure Centre as Division Four gets turned upside down

Hard to explain exactly what was going on at the Leisure Centre in the Division Three and Four matches that were played there, but a look at the league tables may give some clue as now only 22 or 23 points divide top from bottom in each of those divisions. Throw some very strange umpiring decisions into the mix, a sprinkle of crazy run outs, a few high and one very low score, and you will have some idea as to why it was a crazy evening there.

It was more like normal service at Notley where the Division One teams held centre stage, and I case the results were fairly predictable as the four teams that had not won a game at Notley this season met the four teams that had not lost there, and that bizarre balance was maintained as Coggeshall, Cressing, Witham, and Kelvedon & Feering kept their records intact and recorded their third wins of the season at the Centre. Coggeshall will also be happy that their lead at the top was extended by a point or two as they defeated Bocking by 41 runs in the evening's final match. Sam Blackwell and Jim Rees both scoring 35, Rees not out however, as Coggeshall scored 132-4. Paul Cockley did hit 25 for Bocking but the task they faced was always going to be tough but they did manage to nick one point away with their reply of 91. Cressing retained second place and gained a one point lead over Witham as they defeated Chappel & Wakes Colne by 31 runs. Matthew Hart top scoring with 26, after surviving twice, being dropped and a good run out opportunity being squandered early in his innings. Cressing closed with 108-5. Chappel got themselves into a good position to challenge for victory when they were 53-2 at the halfway stage, but then it all went wrong for them and they were dismissed for 77, Chris Carter scoring 35 of them before he became Rick Bailey's third victim. Three defeats in three outings at Notley for Braintree Youth is something of a rare event, but that is how is it for them this season as they were defeated by three wickets by Witham. Leroy Facey taking 3-6 as Braintree Youth were contained to 60-5. Witham would probably have wished to have gained more than twelve matches from this contest but Braintree Youth claimed three wickets before Cody McDonald's 23 not out, put the game to bed with more than two overs to spare. There are some players in teams beneath Braintree Youth in the table that believe Braintree Youth are candidates for relegation. I only have two words for them. "no chance". If only Kelvedon could take their Notley form to the Leisure Centre, and they could be considered as contenders, but they do not, but they remained unbeaten at Notley as they defeated Elmstead Grasshoppers by five wickets to move into the top half of the division. Adrian Garnham hit 36 in Elmstead's score of 82, as Tristan Pepperal claimed 3-20. James Baker and Stuart Warner then both retired as Kelvedon eased their way to 84-1, another team claiming victory with more than two overs to spare.

Rayne Reserves unbeaten start to the season in Division Three came to an end as Dunmow recorded their first win at the Leisure Centre this season. Oliver Rooney, Paul Reid and Connolly all reaching the upper 30's as Dunmow posted a total of 149-5. Rayne Reserves were well in contention for a while but around the 9th and 10th overs they fell too far behind the asking rate, and despite 32 from Alan Stevens and 31 not out from Richard Dawson, they could only reach 115-4. Bocking Reserves now lead the table thanks to a marginally better runs per wicket average, but Kelvedon & Feering Reserves ran them very close before Bocking Reserves won by eight runs. Rob May top scoring for Bocking Reserves as they posted a total of 129-4, but Ashley Griffiths, 28, and Alex Parsons, 31 not out, lead the Kelvedon Reserves reply but 121-5 was all they could reach and they remain bottom of the table, but only twenty-three points behind the leaders. Coggeshall A are still in third spot after another closely fought contest. They just edged Great Totham out by four runs. Gareth Fisher held Coggeshall A together, hitting 74 in their total of 106. Great Totham looked dead and buried when they were four wickets down but Andrew Whiting, 43, and Ross Walpole, 27 not ut, kept them in the match, but they could not quite scramble the runs to win the match, and ended on 102-5. Little Bardfield Village ended their three match losing sequence by defeating Sampfords by four wickets. Sampfords had been restricted to 106-2 before Hitchcock, Owen, and Tom Graham carried them to victory with 109-2 with two overs to spare.

The most bizarre day in Division Four with high scoring matches, low scoring matches. Without doubt the most pathetic performance came from Braintree Reserves against Earls Colne. In the first ten balls of the match they had lost one wicket to a very unfortunate run out when the ball rebounded from a fielders' foot onto the stumps at the bowling end to run out Ben Golds. Steve Isaac was then given no chance as Warren Celiz run without calling, and that was two runs out. The innings then just disintegrated to a paltry 24 all out. Earls Colne took less than four overs to knock the runs off without loss. Shalford Reserves pulled off a remarkable victory over Margaretting to increase their slender lead at the top of the table. Margaretting had pummeled 150-2 from 11 overs with Will Hunt scoring 50 not out, and retiring twice, Tim Norman added 35, and Oliver Glasson 30 not out. Shalford Reserves then lost Lee Godding at the start of their reply, but Nick Wright ensured the scoring rate remained up tempo, but they still faced a massive task, Wright was eventually run out for 32, and Nigel Hainsworth departed similarly for 25, so it was left to Kevin Hainsworth to see them through to victory, and with 54 not out, he did so with three balls to spare. Three Fields suffered a surprising defeat at the hands of Witham Reserves. Michael Headley scoring 43 not out as Witham Reserves hit 126-2. Three Fields reply ended on 116-5 with Dave Atterbury top scoring with 31. High Garrett ended Helions Bumpstead Reserves hopes of moving into the top two as they defeated them by 69 runs in a ten over match. So instead High Garrett moved up into third place after scoring 133-3 and then keeping Helions Bumpstead Reserves down to 64-5. Now just twenty-two points separate top from bottom in this division.

November 30th 2008

Bocking dent Cressing hopes

A busy day of action with a full programme of sixteen matches being played at either the Leisure Centre or Notley Sports Centre, and the results saw the leadership of two divisions change hands, as well as the ending of one unbeaten record this season, and a first win recorded by another.

There was no change at the top of Division One as Coggeshall extended their unbeaten run in league matches to sixteen in what was their 399th indoor match. Playing against, as yet, winless Chappel & Wakes Colne, they did not start too well as they lost Sam and Oliver Blackwell inside three overs with just 25 on the board, but 38 from Jim Rees. 37 not out from Will Blackwell, and 25 not out from Craig Lesiak eventually took them to 141-4, a target way out of reach of Chappel & Wakes Colne. Chappel fell apart in their reply and they lost five men for scores of either 1 or 2 as they clumped to 37-5. Only Brett Patmore put up any resistance and he reached 57 before losing his wicket in the final over with Chappel on 76. Witham moved up into second place with an emphatic 55 run victory over Elmstead Grasshoppers. Richard Green, John Chick, Cody McDonald, and Leroy Facey all retired as Witham closed their eleven over innings on 153-2. Darren Davies did hit five sixes in his 36, and Fraser Eadie added 29 not out, but he could not take Elmstead through to any bonus points as they closed on 98-5. The Champions are still fourteen points behind Coggeshall in the table, and their hopes of retaining that title will depend much on the return match with Coggeshall later in the season. Bocking did themselves a power of good in their quest to remain in the top flight as they defeated a five man Cressing team by three wickets, a result which pushes Cressing back down into third place. Cressing did score 122-1 but they were a bowler short in reality and Bocking, with Danny McIntyre scoring 42 not out, and Barry Edwards 28 not out, got Bocking home to 125-3 with four balls to spare. This was also Cressing's 399th match indoors. Braintree Youth, unbeaten at the Leisure Centre, against Kelvedon & Feering, who simply cannot win there, surely only one outcome, but that looked in danger as Kelvedon dismissed Braintree Youth for 104. No shocks though transpired as Braintree Youth fought back to then dismiss Kelvedon & Feering for just 47.

Braintree were the only club to remain undefeated in Division Two during the month of November, as this has now allowed to open up a decent lead of sixteen points at the top, and they are the only team to have only been defeated once this season in this section. They met winless Terling at Notley Sports Centre, so the form book kind of decreed that there would be only one outcome, as thus it proved. Braintree did make a sticky start as they lost Rory Ainsley and Daniel Broyd cheaply, but 29 not out from Danny King, 20 from Jamie Foyster and mid-teen not outs from Steve Isaac and Joel Ainsley meant they closed with 100-3 on the board. It only took two balls for Terling to lose their opening wicket as Rory Ainsley took a brilliant sliding left-handed catch, and from then on Braintree simply took full control. Peter Tomkin did hit 25 for Terling, but 51 was all they could muster as they remained rooted to the foot of the table, and already being 29 behind the sixth places team, relegation is beginning to loom large on the horizon. In between Braintree and Terling there is certainly much to fight for as just sixteen points separate the other six teams. Shalford moved into second place with a dramatic last ball, one wicket win over Coggeshall Reserves. At 41-4 Coggeshall Reserves had looked beaten, but the Bragg brothers performed heroics to take them to a final score of 114-5, with Carl scoring 30, and Shaun, 39 not out. Shalford then scrambled home to 115-5 with Lee Parish scoring the runs they required after Lee Godding had been bowled in the final over for 26. Parish, with Steve White as his running partner, just the four runs required off the final two balls, with two twos. Parish ending on 40 not out, as Shalford moved two points ahead of Coggeshall Reserves. Rayne moved into the top half of the table as their five man team defeated Helions Bumpstead by four wickets. Nick Alen and Tom Alen, with two wickets each, had Helions Bumpstead reeling, before 26 from Clive Brazier helped them to a closing total of 79-5. Rayne lost just the one wicket in securing victory when Richard Whiteside was caught for 14. Simon Payne retired with 25 before Graham Wickes and Nick Alen took them through to 80-1 with an over to spare. Boreham recovered some of the ground they lost through a points reduction by defeating Braintree College by 19 runs, even though they had to field three of their reserve squad. Andy Wordley, 30, Arlo Parker, 28, and Liam Watts, 27, taking them to a score of 103 before they bowled the Collegians out for 84. Three wickets for Wordley which certainly had put the College behind the eight-ball early on. Simon Brooks hit 49 of their reply. The win did not take Boreham out of the bottom two, but it certainly reduced the arrears.

Still at Notley, the Division Three matches also took place there and these saw Bocking Reserves surrender top spot, with Rayne Reserves taking over. Bocking Reserves made a real has of the early part of their innings against Little Bardfield Village, and they were reduced to 24-4 before Geoff Butler's 33, and Dick Pryke's 19, helped them finish with 72. Little Bardfield Village then did likewise, and crashed to 25-4, but 30 from Peter Bray, assisted by way too many extras for Bocking Reserves liking, they also amounted to 30, saw Little Bardfield Village reach 75-5. The ninth over having been the real body blow for Bocking Reserves as Little Bardfield Village began that over on 26-4, and ended it on 58-4. Rayne Reserves later defeated Coggeshall A by four wicket to move eight points clear at the top. They kept Coggeshall A down to 65-5 and then look destined for a five wicket win before losing a second wicket with the score on 64. Lee Burfield retiring with 28 not out as Rayne Reserves eased through to 68-2. Dunmow's resurgence continues apace and they moved up to third spot after defeating Great Totham by four wickets in a high scoring encounter. Drew Whiting, 42, Steve Whiting, 34 not out, and 28 not out from Peter Shortland took Great Totham to 133-4, but then Luke Swanston, 33, Oliver Rooney, 26, and B.Connolly, 25, all not out, aided by 24 from Paul Reid helped Dunmow to 134-2 with five balls to spare. Great Totham are now bottom of Division Three with an amazing 31 points, after Kelvedon & Feering Reserves defeated Sampfords by 10 runs to edge ahead of them. Stuart Bonvini's 34, helping Kelvedon Reserves to a score of 101. Sampfords were then dismissed for 91 in reply to lock the two teams together on 36 points, both still only eighteen points away from a promotion position as well. It is so close in this division as we approach the midway point of the fixture list.

At the Leisure Centre the two unbeaten teams in Division Five came face-to-face for the first time as Woodham Mortimer met Sampfords Reserves and it was the latter who prevailed by three wickets to move to the top of the table. It needed 44 not out from Dave Goodchild for Woodham Mortimer to post a total of 112-5 for Sampfords Reserves to chase down, but 25 not out from Colin Caister, and 30 not out from Steve Thrower, saw them do it with four balls and three wickets in hand. Boreham Reserves equalled their club record fourth straight win as they overcame Halstead by 45 runs. Two wickets for Ken Greenaway and Liam Watts undoing Halstead's reply before it had even got going. Coggeshall A Reserves ended Kelvedon & Feering III's recent good run with a 48 run victory, as they scored 133-3 before dismissing Kelvedon III's for 85. Finally, something had to give as the two teams without out a win, West Bergholt and Coggeshall III's met. It was West Bergholt who finally got a 1 in the win column as they came out on top by 16 runs.