Coggeshall climb back up the mountain to defeat the Youth

Just a day after missing out in the County finals, Coggeshall produced something of a surprise result to defeat Braintree Youth by 16 runs at Notley, with only five men. However, was it really such a surprise result, history actually reports the converse. For this was the eighth time they have met at Notley since we returned to playing League matches there, and remarkably this was the seventh Coggeshall victory in those eight matches. Coggeshall were without Greg Stephens for one reason or another, and when they had been dismissed for just 69 it looked unlikely that they would achieve this victory. George Blackwell top scoring for them from the number five slot with 18. Dave Hale and Andrew Sherry each taking two wickets for Braintree Youth. Ben Stephens then claimed a wicket at the end of the first over when he bowled Warren Celiz. Most damage was caused when George Blackwell took three wickets in one over to reduce Braintree Youth from 32-1 to 37-4. Ben Stephens and Shaun Bragg then polished off the final two wickets to leave Braintree Youth, still top of the table, but 53 all out, and with only a nine point lead. Witham tied with Bocking, now whilst that may not sound that strange, it was Witham's second consecutive match at Notley which has ended in a tie, and both times they were batting second. It was also the third tied Division One match of the season, and Coggeshall have also tied two matches there this season. Bocking closed their innings with 78-2 on the board, Keith Merrell top scoring with 21 not out. Witham must have fancied their chances at this point, but it was not long before they were reduced to 27-3 with Jake Wakelin, Richard Green, and Michael Headley all dismissed. Greg Taylor and Paul Bellehewe had the task then of putting the back on course, and were seemingly doing just that, but then Taylor was bowled by Darrell May for 21. Much rested in Bellehewe's hands, and it all did once Jack Sambrook was bowled without scoring. In the eleventh over, Bellehewe leveled the scores. but then he got an edge and was caught behind by Barry Edwards off his brothers' bowling, for 29, and it ended all square. Coggeshall Hamlet defeated Sampfords by five wickets to move ahead of Witham and into third place, and still within touch with the top of the table. Tom and Matt Pickles both took two wickets as Sampfords were dismissed for 66. Chris Girling then retired with 25 not out, but Matthew Hart stuck around with 22 not out, to take Coggeshall Hamlet through to 67-1 with a shade under four overs to spare. Finally Braintree gave themselves hope of avoiding the drop with a crucial two wicket win over Kelvedon & Feering, a result that will also have pleased Sampfords. Kelvedon, thanks to 28 not out from Matt Bridger, and 33 not out from James West, helped Kelvedon close with 94-4. Braintree made sure that their reply was always up with or ahead of the required rate, and their margin of victory should have been greater but they threw away two late wickets before Rory Ainsley, 25 not out, and James Chalk, got them to 95-4 with one ball to spare.

At the Leisure Centre, the top of the table clash in Division Four was won by Earls Colne, who ended Rayne Reserves unbeaten start to the season, by 39 runs. Rayne Reserves still lead the way but Earls Colne have cut the lead to ten points. Earlier this season Earls Colne had to concede their contest with Rayne Reserves at Notley, but now this 39 run victory has brought them to within ten points of Rayne Reserves. Steve Willsher, 40 not out, and 51 from Ollie Bocking helped Earls Colne close with 130-5. Ollie then took a wicket with the first ball of Rayne Reserves' reply, and Earls Colne never lost control after that, dismissing Rayne Reserves for 91. Richard Banks top scoring with 34. On the field of play, Earls Colne have still never been defeated by Rayne Reserves, but they have only met three times. Woodham Mortimer Reserves kept up their pursuit of the top two with a three wicket victory over High Garrett. Trevor Mason and Keith Mitchell each taking two wickets as High Garrett were dismissed for 93. Woodham Mortimer Reserves took less than nine overs to reach 94-3, but not without drama, as Damian Fannon had to retire hurt for a short time, after suffering a calf injury whilst running. Chris Collis top scored for them with 27 not out, 26 of which was scored in fours and sixes. Coggeshall A moved above Sampfords Reserves after defeating them, for the first time, by 34 runs. Josh Norman, Charlie Green, and Paul Brown all retiring as Coggeshall A posted a score of 130-2. Sampfords Reserves struggled thereafter and only 51 from Steve Thrower saved them from a larger margin of defeat. Kane Addison taking 3-27, and Paul Brown, 2-9, as they were dismissed for 96. Finally, the clash between the bottom two saw Halstead defeat Margaretting by three wickets, to keep alive hopes they can avoid the drop back to Division Five. James Mickley claimed the seasons' fifth four wicket haul as his 4-24 helped dismiss Margaretting for 80. Margaretting were soon fighting back as Tim Norman dismissed Gavin Cook off the first ball of their reply, and George Pritchard was run out soon after to leave Halstead on 17-2, but then the Mickley's saw to it that stress was eliminated as Halstead reached 81-3 at the start of the tenth over.

Coggeshall fall

Coggeshall's hopes of trying the keep the Essex Indoor Cricket Championship within our League came to grief in the first Semi-Final in Chelmsford on Saturday evening, when they lost a close contest with Wickford. I do not have the full details of the contest, but Ben Stephens did tell me that Coggeshall did score about 84, and then soon had Wickford three wickets down, but after that their opponents found a way through to victory. Darren Batch, who had played for Helions Bumpstead in Division One last season, was in the Wickford team, but as the player qualification now only includes the current season, this was allowed. Buckhurst Hill defeated Belhus in the other Semi-Final.

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Janaury 15th 2012

Records tumble as Braintree College and Jake Wakelin set new marks

Records tumbled in the Preliminary Round ties of the BDICL Cup at the Leisure Centre on Sunday, and it was the final two ties of the evening that has rewritten the Records page. Three seasons ago, Witham hit 233-2 against Margaretting to set a new record score for any match, League or Cup. Now that record has been broken but again it was Margaretting who were on the receiving end as Braintree College took the record up to 235-3. Margaretting were then bowled out for just 38 to suffer a massive 197 run defeat. Witham, though, were quickly re-establishing a niche in the records as Jake Wakelin hit only the third century to be scored in 7,677 matches we have staged. He scored 101 not out as Witham hit 200-4 against a plucky Coggeshall A team, thereby erasing Matthew Hart's previous Cup record of 89 not out, which had stood for almost fifteen years.

Braintree Youth progressed to the First Round with a four wicket victory over Terling. Terling scored 102-0 in their innings but the Youth had a relatively smooth progression with 103-2, with three wickets to spare, and without a full strength team, they will now meet Helions Bumpstead in the First Round.

Halstead had to conceded their tie with Bocking due to be unable to field a team, even though they were still able to fulfil their Umpiring commitments. Bocking will now meet Woodham Mortimer.

Little Bardfield Village created the one "upset" of the round as they defeated Sampfords, of Division One, in a high scoring encounter, by 18 runs.

Coggeshall could have been a major casualty as they met Division Three's West Bergholt. They were dismissed for just 104, but fought back to bowled West Bergholt out for 60. I have no clue if this match set any sort of record, but all twelve wickets fell, and all fell to bowlers, not a run out to be seen.

Coggeshall Hamlet had little trouble in brushing aside a five man Great Totham team by six wickets, after which the record breaking matches took place.

Joy for Woodham Mortimer III's in Division Five as they recorded two consecutive victories in a row for the first time. They defeated Ashdon by 18 runs. Gosfield, Boreham Reserves and Kelvedon & Feering III's, the top three, all won their matches.

Janaury 22nd 2012

Damian creates a slice of League history

League history was created last Sunday when in the 7,681st match we have staged, Woodham Mortimer's wicketkeeper, Damian Fannon, became the first wicketkeeper to claim all six victims in an innings. He caught four and stumped two of the Shalford batsmen.

Braintree Youth defeated but not knocked off the top

What a strange day it was, not only some of the results, but in the fact that with one exception, it was not a high scoring day. However, the results of the matches in the top three divisions have certainly set up the closing period of the season into a very exciting one, with many permutations in terms of titles, promotion and relegation that will lead to very few irrelevant matches being played.

Braintree Youth still lead Division One despite slipping to their third defeat of the season. They are level on points with Coggeshall, they have won the same number of matches but the Youth do have the better runs per wicket average. Only David Hale reached double figures, 31, as Braintree Youth were dismissed for 81 by Coggeshall Hamlet. Matthew Hart then lead the Hamlet's reply, but he had to retire with 25 with victory in sight, and with only three wickets down it meant that they gained nine points on their opponents and a still very much in the title race, just six points adrift of the top two. Coggeshall probably came away from Notley wondering how they managed to defeat lowly Sampfords. Coggeshall only had five players, and then were soon 3-2 with Ben Stephens and Darren Green dismissed. It took 37 from Carl Bragg, and 20 from Greg Stephens to take them to 79 before their fifth and final wicket fell. Sampfords must have fancied their chances of gaining their second win of the season, but Greg Stephens made sure their hopes were soon in tatters. He took 3-19 as Sampfords were bowled out for 50. Bocking moved into fourth place, fourteen points behind the leaders by defeating Kelvedon & Feering by four wickets. Kelvedon were without a few regulars and it took 25 not out from Will Shortridge to get them to 73-3. Lloyd Edwards' 27 not out, and then 23 not out from Keith Merrell, and 19 from Danny McIntyre saw them reach 75-2 with two balls to spare. Witham were defeated, maybe surprisingly, by Braintree, but even so as they are still only sixteen points behind the top two, they cannot be ruled out of the Championship race just yet. The win for Braintree, though, has far more effect at the bottom of the table, as it gives Braintree a little breathing space ahead of Kelvedon & Feering. Braintree managed to score 74-4, with Chris Leech top scoring with 24 not out, but Witham stumbled from 50-2 to just 60 all out. Their bowling attack, for once, not giving away copious amounts of extras.

Earlier in the day at Notley it had been the turn of Division Two to start the action, and it was another great day for Braintree College as they crushed Three Fields by 66 runs to take all the points and move into a thirteen point lead at the top. Trevor Spalding, 28 not out, and James Garner, 25 not out, helping them close on 114-4. Three Fields then lost Neale Dakin in the opening over and never recovered. Robbie Spalding taking 3-17 as Three Fields were blown away for just 44. Shalford are still in second place, but they must be wondering how. Steve Richardson took 4-22 for Woodham Mortimer as Shalford were dismissed for 67, with Russell Dawes top scoring with 29. Somehow though, Woodham Mortimer could only get to 62-5, with Dawes stealing the bowling honours too with 3-16. Woodham Mortimer may have lost by five runs, but the five points lifted them ahead of Little Bardfield Village. Bocking Reserves defeating Little Bardfield Village by 44 runs to move level on points with Shalford, but of course, they cannot be promoted. Bocking Reserves closed their innings on 89-3 with Darrell May, 25 not out, and Rob May 28 not out. Little Bardfield Village never got going at all, and ended their reply on just 45-5, with Daryl Hymas being 23 not out. Terling moved above both Woodham Mortimer and Little Bardfield Village as they defeated Great Totham by 16 runs. Tristan Woolfenden, 42, and Peter Tompkin, 33, taking Terling to 103-5. Great Totham only had five men, but they made a decent fist of their reply which ended on 93. Peter Shortland, 30, being their top scorer.

The promotion battle in Division Three is as open as ever with 14 points dividing the top five teams. The day started with Rayne on top, and with Shalford Reserves in second place, and they met each other. Shalford Reserves only had five men, but that did not stop them crushing Rayne by 56 runs, and replacing them at the top of the table. Lee Godding hitting 51 not out, and Paul Allen, 33, as they closed on 170-3. Rayne soon lost Richard Whiteside and Marc Phillips. Peter Dawson hit 47 and Alan Stevens, 23, but they could not get Rayne to any points before they were dismissed for 114. Witham Reserves moved into third place as they defeated Braintree Reserves by three wickets with one ball to spare. James Clark, 34, and Lee-Jon Theys, 36, helped Braintree Reserves to recover from a sticky start to reach 118. Witham Reserves started well enough, but then slipped from 45-0 to 57-3, but they prevented any further collapse, and made it through to 119-3 when needing 15 off the final over. Michael Glynn adding another 33 not out to his impressive first season batting total. Richard Howes also added a telling 27 not out. Helions Bumpstead kept themselves in the race with a five wicket win over Boreham. The game could have been finished quickly as Boreham soon slumped to 18-4, but Ken Greenaway hit 38 not out to 73-5 from their eleven overs. Greenaway then bowled Adam Suckling in the opening over, but that was their only success as Helions Bumpstead moved through to 76-1 with two overs to spare. Michael Claydon and Billy Moulton-Day both retiring with 27. Boreham actually slipped to the foot of the table as Kelvedon & Feering Reserves did manage to take five points from a nine run defeat to West Bergholt. Dave Applin hit 46 not out as West Bergholt reached 114-5, despite 3-20 from Miles Harvey. Kelvedon & Feering Reserves then reached 105-4 with Frank Warner top scoring with 31 not out.