Grade Cricket Season X - Results and Discussion

[Neil Pickup]

Poor guy. What does 20% compare to, though? Would that be like having King behind the stumps?

King Henry VIII, perhaps

Geraint is rated 82%, btw...

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Campsfield Braves v Greater Robbham de Grooters @ Camps Field

Campsfield:	Greater Robbham:
DP Smith	Lucas
+Dubb-Lynch	Tariq
Singh		Sukhvinder
Blackman	Tebbut
Hasabnis	MR Smith
Langdon		Palmer
Gooljar		Broadbridge
Harvey		Finnegan
Jacklin		+Jervis
Das		Pardhasaradhi
Jadeja		McKern

Both these teams had enjoyed recent success which had sent them into the title battle with Davistow, and on paper the Campsfield side looked stronger due to their fearsome batting line-up and a Gareth Gooljar who had run rampant with ball earlier on in the season. Though de Grooters got off to a good start with a half-century from Lucas, everything went to pieces as second-change bowler Daniel Smith's medium pace yielded fantastic figures of five for 26. Gooljar once again cleaned up the tail, ending with four for 54. Robbham replied with a Smith of their own, Matt "Beamer" Smith getting a wicket with his very first ball in grade cricket, and amid cloudy skies his bowling figures read 2-0-7-3 just after tea, when the Braves were 28 for 3. However, 47 from Dan Smith and a hundred from Langdon took the match beyond the best efforts of Callum McKern (six for 85), and Gareth Gooljar then tormented the top order with his lovely spell of leg breaks, which yielded five for 56. The target of 44 was easily overcome, and the opening batsman Daniel Smith might have been slightly shocked with his performance: 51 runs @ 25.50, but bowling figures of 24.4-8-45-8.

Greater Robbham de Grooters 167 & 160 lost to
Campsfield Braves 284 & 44-1 by nine wickets
Points: Campsfield 16, Greater Robbham 0

Stedingham Jets v Davistow Darters @ Jets Arena

Stedingham:	Davistow:
Wallis		Dawlat
Deodhar		+McDonagh
+Gaukroger	Naik
Prabhakar Rao	Langley
Chaudhari	Comley
Hogarth		Ehsan
Innes		Warwick
Gillespie	Chapman
Bala		Cassidy
Loganathan	Pradeep
Pratap		Waheed

After Gofftown had broken the Darters' spell earlier on in the week, the Jets aimed to push that home and advance further out of the murks down at the bottom of the table. Neither side fielded particularly strong line-ups, but Tharmi Loganathan - who was gifted the new ball after a clear-out with the captain - backed that up with five for 58 as Davistow crashed to a meagre 155. The Jets' batting was not stunning, apart from a glorious 84 from Deodhar; he took on the bowlers, particularly David Comley, who got thumped and ended with 92 conceded runs in 24 overs. Loganathan continued, aiming to defend the 78-run lead, but after getting McDonagh caught behind for a 16-ball duck he was slightly ineffective. Nevertheless, he bowled his heart out, and after 40.3 overs he had completed a 12-wicket-haul in the match. Set a target of 182 to win, the Jets lost Wallis in the opening over to Harry Warwick, but Gaukroger and Deodhar then smacked a 50 stand in 24 minutes. Rain and wickets then halted their progress, and Warwick eventually claimed Deodhar for 61 - and when Hogarth was out to Comley, the Jets still needed 57 for the last five wickets. Comley took one more wicket either side of tea, and the reintroduction of Pradeep brought on the dismissal of Bala (1) and Loganathan (7), which left the Jets with 21 left to get for the last wicket in reasonable batting conditions, and after 15 minutes together Comley gave the Jets the chance they wanted. A simple return catch was floored, Pradeep bowled a wide in the next over, and Gillespie hit a couple of boundaries off Comley to bring himself to 27 not out and the Jets to the target with one wicket to spare.

Davistow Darters 155 & 249 lost to
Stedingham Jets 223 & 185-9 by one wicket
Points: Stedingham 14, Davistow 0

Nixonstown Foxes v Gofftown Tigers @ CW Oval

Nixonstown:	Gofftown:
Pitt		Courtis
Fensome		Thampi
+Gray		+Vaughan
Prestwidge	Mohammad
Adhikari	Dwyer
Grierson	Nash
Sanjeet		Jamaluddin
Eccles		Kipling
Flanaghan	Swann
Riaz		Hartley
Edmunds		Masterman

Rich Edmunds' pace bowling was simply unplayable today, as the young Reds paceman stamped his credentials by helping the Foxes back into title contention. The first innings saw him remove grade debutant Chris Dwyer for a two-ball duck, along with seven other victims, to end with staggering figures of 21-8-52-8 - the best innings figures thus far in the league. No partnership was worth more than 21 for the Tigers after they were inserted, but the Foxes showed that with care the pitch could be made to work for them. Adhikari was impossible to remove, lasting 391 balls and 480 minutes for 37, while Matt Pitt, Alex Fensome and Jamee Gray enjoyed only brief cameos. Nevertheless, the Foxes ground out 317, and then held plenty of catches as Edmunds reaped another six scalps to end with 14 for 111 in the game. Chris Dwyer threatened to take the game back to the Tigers when he thumped 75 off 42 balls, but a smart stumping by Gray off Fensome took care of him, and Fensome could be pleased with the day's work - three for 69 in a long spell, and then hit 26 not out to finish off the match.

Gofftown Tigers 122 & 241 lost to
Nixonstown Foxes 317 & 47-1 by nine wickets
Points: Nixonstown 17, Gofftown 0

Pickford Panthers v Edfield Seahawks @ Pickford Reserve

Pickford:	Edfield:
Richings	Barnaby
Bhattacharjee	Herbert
+Hepworth	James
Jacob		Satish Kumar
Chopra		Galbraith
Trafford	GN Nayak
Benjamin	Banik
****erill	MS Smith
Bhadauria	Whitehead
Roberts		+Baber
Pickup		Derick

A win would see the Seahawks off the bottom place in the league, but with a full-strength Black spin attack of Roberts, Pickup and Benjamin at the other end and a pitch that was known to turn only to Pickford residents, the Panthers went in as overwhelming favourites - despite a worse record in three-day cricket to date than Edfield. However, it was the Seahawks who triumphed in a similarly overwhelming manner. Their much-vaunted batting line-up finally fired, with Barnaby and Herbert putting on 145 for the first wicket, and a crucial 31 not out from Gaurav Nayak helped them past 200. Pickup was frustrated, getting a hat-trick of tailenders towards the end but not showing any of the form he had in the West Indies, while George Roberts' four for 91 were credible figures but could not stop the rot. Gaurav Nayak then took the first three wickets, and though he was his usual expensive self, the wickets were crucial. Matt Smith the elder then sliced through the Panthers' tail, who fell from 149 for 5 to 156, and following on the story repeated itself - though this time Pickup was not out for 4. Nayak got Richings, Bhattacharjee and Hepworth again, Smith broke a threatening partnership between Jacob and Chopra, and the rest of the team folded as the Seahawks didn't even have to bat again.

Edfield Seahawks 302 beat
Pickford Panthers 156 & 144 (f/o) by an innings and two runs
Points: Pickford 0, Edfield 16

Garven Island Sharks v Twybridge Titans @ Clowich Stadium

Garven Island:	Twybridge:
Fitzsimmons	Joslin
Hanbury		+Burke
Jones		Gunn
Tariq		Bokey
Shaukhat	Amresh Kumar
+Monaghan	Buttsworth
Richards	Naidu
Gregory		Hale
Teague		White
Bristow		Cotterill
Stuart		Colabawala

Simon Fitzsimmons was the all-rounder of the match, which should reveal something about the nature of the clash at Clowich. He batted for seemingly an age with Simon Jones, who ground out 66 from 181 balls, while Fitzsimmons gathered 124 runs at the other end and helped his side to 221 for 2. A slight comeback from the bowlers resulted in the last six wickets falling for 60, but by then the Sharks had still managed to make 398 and score full batting points. However, their bowling left something to be desired. Dave Richards bowled tightly but with little effect, and Stephen Burke was the only one to score quickly - when he was out, the Titans withdrew for the draw. Rain ruining some of the second day's play didn't help either; however, the Sharks failed to capitalise on two early run outs, as half-centuries from Bokey and Amresh Kumar ensured that the Titans drew their fourth game of the season and are still unbeaten in the three-day format.

Garven Island Sharks 398 drew with
Twybridge Titans 261 & 188-5
Points: Garven Island 7, Twybridge 5

Table:

Team		W-L-D	BP  Pts
Campsfield	6-2-1	18   81
Davistow	5-3-1	24   75
Gofftown	5-2-2	12   66
Greater Robbham	5-1-3	11   64
Nixonstown	4-5-0	20   64
Twybridge	3-2-4	18   58
Stedingham	3-6-0	14   50
Garven Island	3-4-2	10   44
Edfield		1-6-2	13   31
Pickford	2-6-1	 5   24

After a one-day bonus point rule clarification:

The Sharks have been awarded one extra point for their round 7 win over the Jets
The Titans have been awarded one extra point for their round 7 win over the Braves
The Darters have been awarded one extra point for their round 8 win over the Tigers
The Foxes have been awarded one point for their round 8 win over the Jets

To clarify, bonus points are awarded for net run rates as follows:
1.1 greater than that of the opposition: 1 point
1.25 greater: 2 points
1.5 greater: 3 points
Twice as great: 4 points

If a team is bowled out, their run rate is calculated based on their full quota of overs at the start of an innings.

 

[Loony BoB]

Oh my Lord! We won one!

Looks like a good day for Colts bowlers, bad day for Colts batsmen at grade level - McKern & Beamer teaming together very nicely, that's great to see.

 

[steds]

Great victory for the Jets there. Quality bowling from Tharmi. You should open the bowling all the time. ()

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Campsfield Braves v Greater Robbham de Grooters @ Camps Field

Both these teams had enjoyed recent success which had sent them into the title battle with Davistow, and on paper the Campsfield side looked stronger due to their fearsome batting line-up and a Gareth Gooljar who had run rampant with ball earlier on in the season. Though de Grooters got off to a good start with a half-century from Lucas, everything went to pieces as second-change bowler Daniel Smith's medium pace yielded fantastic figures of five for 26. Gooljar once again cleaned up the tail, ending with four for 54. Robbham replied with a Smith of their own, Matt "Beamer" Smith getting a wicket with his very first ball in grade cricket, and amid cloudy skies his bowling figures read 2-0-7-3 just after tea, when the Braves were 28 for 3. However, 47 from Dan Smith and a hundred from Langdon took the match beyond the best efforts of Callum McKern (six for 85), and Gareth Gooljar then tormented the top order with his lovely spell of leg breaks, which yielded five for 56. The target of 44 was easily overcome, and the opening batsman Daniel Smith might have been slightly shocked with his performance: 51 runs @ 25.50, but bowling figures of 24.4-8-45-8.

Greater Robbham de Grooters 167 & 160 lost to
Campsfield Braves 284 & 44-1 by nine wickets
Points: Campsfield 16, Greater Robbham 0

Well that's a pleasing debut! Although a bit miffed about falling 3 runs short of a debut 50!

 

[Bowl-A-Beamer]

good start to my career with figures of 20 1 70 3 2 1

 

[Matteh]

First loss for De Grooters

 

[Buddhmaster]

Good Budh, good

 

[vic_orthdox]

Is it whoever finishes on top of the ladder in Grade cricket, or are there finals?

 

[chaminda_00]

Nice win by the Jets and happy i could contribute, also still no Chris Kalmar in our side. I happy to care the work load all by myself, but i prefer some help.

 

[Robertinho]

Why did no Reds play for de Grooters, when we have a bye?

 

[chaminda_00]

Why did no Reds play for de Grooters, when we have a bye?

Today's games haven't been simmed yet, that was yesterday's games.

 

[cometer]

I didn't like the sound of that game seems I was a little expensive although i still picked up 7 wickets for the match. We should have got up though terribly batting 1st innings and disappointing not to get the last wicket to win, however we move on to next round

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Is it whoever finishes on top of the ladder in Grade cricket, or are there finals?

The plan so far is to have whoever finishes on top. There might be an end of season semi- and final event, but nothing is planned.

 

[Nate]

So close! Good contest.

 

[Eyes_Only]

*Mutters before spending hours in the nets*

3 catches makes the 6 runs I scored a little easier to deal with...

Good win all the same Jets...let's keep it going!!

 

[aussie]

dalm the panthers have been taking a beating..

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Davistow Darters v Twybridge Titans @ Heathridge Oval

Davistow:	Twybridge:
Dawlat		Joslin
+McDonagh	+Burke
Naik		Gunn
Ehsan		Bokey
Comley		Amresh Kumar
Chapman		Buttsworth
Murdoch		Naidu
Cassidy		Hale
Watt		White
Kennett		Cotterill
Pradeep		Dolphin

Despite a half-century from Dawlat, Davistow Darters failed to assert control after opting to bat first at their Heathridge Oval, as Cotterill completed a five-wicket-haul to keep the visitors into the game. However, without any professional help against Watt and Kennett, they were always going to struggle with the bat, and when Stephen Burke gave a return catch to Watt for 10 they were staring down the barrel. Watt took the first three, Kennett the next two, and David Comley broke a 47-run stand between Gunn and Naidu to see the Titans crashing from 88 for 5 to 131 all out. The second time around, Comley stamped his authority on the Titans' bowlers, hitting 75 runs in a well-crafted innings which helped his side to 192 for 5. The Titans needed 278 in a day, but once again Burke deserted them early, and they closed on 55 for 3 - well short. Watt and Kennett then wrecked havoc on the second day, ending with 4-41 and 5-32 respectively, and the Titans were bowled out for a meagre 86 to lose their first match this season.

Davistow Darters 182 & 226 beat
Twybridge Titans 131 & 86 by 191 runs
Points: Davistow 14, Twybridge 0

Edfield Seahawks v Nixonstown Foxes @ Sanderston Ground

Edfield:	Nixonstown:
+Mørk		Pitt
Barnaby		Feeney
Herbert		Fensome
James		Adhikari
Satish Kumar	+Gray
Galbraith	Grierson
GN Nayak	Prestwidge
Borcich		Sanjeet
Whitehead	Eccles
MS Smith	Gundry
Derick		Edmunds

A slow first day, with 199 runs scored for four wickets, ruined all chances of a result at Sanderston. Paddy Gundry's patience paid off, as he got figures of six for 68, but he would have preferred a lower strike rate as he failed to prevent Edfield batting all the way until lunch on day two. Alex Feeney and Jamee Gray hit half-centuries in reply, and though Matt Smith managed to take five wickets with a late burst, the Foxes got an 18-run lead on first innings. With three early wickets falling, the Seahawks once again retreated into their shell, but a fine spell from Gundry saw the Seahawks crash from 156 for 3 to 212. Chasing 195 in 37 overs, Nick Borcich repaired a poor first innings with the wicket of Pitt, and the first three wickets fell for 20 to give the Seahawks a glimmer of a hope. However, patient knocks from Adhikari, Gray and Grierson ensured the inevitable draw.

Edfield Seahawks 268 & 212 drew with
Nixonstown Foxes 286 & 69-5
Points: Edfield 5, Nixonstown 6

Pickford Panthers v Campsfield Braves @ Youngshead Ground

Pickford:	Campsfield:
Richings	Langdon
Bhattacharjee	Jahangir
+Hepworth	Singh
Jacob		Hasabnis
Chopra		McEwan
Trafford	Gooljar
****erill	+Harvey
Gokarn		Jacklin
Rabone		Dunks
McCrystal	Das
Bhadauria	Jadeja

Pickford defied the odds against leading Campsfield to register a thumping win at Youngshead, their reserve ground. A side totally without professionals routed Campsfield for 64, with nine men registering single-figure scores, then batted to 223 as Gooljar, for once, was left stumped. (So was Pickford's middle order batsman Trafford, for 51). He did take five for 72, but Hepworth and Jacob frustrated him for long periods, and that allowed Pickford to take a lead of 159. The second time around, Dhamaka Singh hit an exquisite 88 - only to be let down by his team-mates as Bhattacharjee completed a nine-wicket-haul in the match and the Panthers recorded an innings win and pass Edfield in the table once again.

Campsfield Braves 64 & 154 lost to
Pickford Panthers 223 by an innings and five runs
Points: Pickford 17, Campsfield 0

Greater Robbham de Grooters v Stedingham Jets @ CW Bar Ground

Robbham:	Stedingham:
Lucas		+Mamesh
Dobson		Stedman
Dauth		Wallis
Sukhvinder	Prabhakar Rao
Tebbut		Deodhar
Robbins		Chaudhari
MR Smith	Kalmar
Palmer		Bennett
Finnegan	Javed
+Jervis		Bala
McKern		Loganathan

James Stedman's 94 and Marc Robbins' five-for were the highlights of the first innings at the Bar Ground, which was otherwise a pretty standard innings. Stedman put on 78 with an unusually reserved Mamesh for the first wicket, but Robbins thwarted Stedingham's hopes of a huge total with steady medium pace. Loganathan was then back to the form he'd showed in the previous match, and by his sixth over he had taken five for 24. Once again, however, Robbins was to tug his team back, though this time he had help from a flamboyant Beamer Smith. Smith thumped thirteen fours in a whirlwind 114 before Loganathan had him bowled in the penultimate over of the first day. However, Robbins pushed onwards to make 78, and with good support from the rest of the order the Grooters totalled 257 in their first innings - Loganathan having grabbed eight for 95. Once again, Stedingham attacked early on, but lost early wickets before Callum McKern took apart the tail, leaving de Grooters with a modest 159 to win. However, amid frequent rainshowers, de Grooters failed spectacularly - key batsman Dauth hit 23 before slapping the ball to Sean Bennett at mid on, and Bennett and Kalmar chipped in with wickets as de Grooters crashed to 78 for 9. Robbins tried to play responsibly, hoping that his batting partner McKern would hold out and they would somehow sneak a win, but instead Robbins was trapped lbw by the tricky leg-spin of Kalmar. Stedingham thus snatched victory for the second day running.

Stedingham Jets 206 & 209 beat
Greater Robbham de Grooters 257 & 99 by 59 runs
Points: Greater Robbham 2, Stedingham 13

Garven Island Sharks v Gofftown Tigers @ Clowich Stadium

Garven Island:	Gofftown:
Tariq		Courtis
Hanbury		Thampi
Shaukhat	Mohammad
+Monaghan	+Vaughan
Gregory		Dwyer
Piper		Nash
Edmondson	Jamaluddin
Dharajia	Kipling
Teague		Swann
Bristow		Hartley
Stuart		Masterman

Chris Dwyer continued on the fine vein of form, but his swashbuckling 73 was not enough to carry the Tigers past 200 and to a bonus point, as only Mohammad Mahmood managed to string some kind of innings together. Teague took four wickets early on, but then disappeared somewhat, and the fielders took centre stage as Gofftown were bowled out for 194. In reply, Neil Hanbury ground out 84 for the Sharks, while Dharajia took 168 balls - and still didn't get out of single figures when Dwyer closed the innings with his sixth wicket. Dwyer hit 43 in the second innings, but once again his teammates failed him, and the Tigers were bowled out for 131 with Teague and Bristow taking three wickets each - and Hanbury and Shaukhat easily secured the win for the hosts.

Gofftown Tigers 194 & 131 lost to
Garven Island Sharks 233 & 93-2 by eight wickets
Points: Garven Island 13, Gofftown 0

		W-L-D	BP Pts
Davistow	6-3-1	26  89
Campsfield	6-3-1	18  81
Nixonstown	4-5-1	23  70
Gofftown	5-3-2	12  66
Robbham		5-2-3	13  66
Stedingham	4-6-0	15  63
Twybridge	3-3-4	18  58
Garven Island	4-4-2	11  57
Pickford	3-6-1	10  41
Edfield		1-6-3	15  36

 

[steds]

Me and Tharmi sharing new ball. What sim is this? Bloody worked, though. Come on the Jets.


Nice to see Stedders in the runs, too.

 

[Neil Pickup]

How did Pickford manage that one?!