Champions of Aylsham!
Another successful weekend for The Greens as the 1sts continued their winning form and Cookies Sunday side won the Aylsham 6 a side tournament.Unfortunately Rocker’s 2’s were badly beaten against top of the table Rocklands A. All this excitement leaves the 1’s with a huge game on Saturday as rivals for 3rd spot in the league, Bungay, travel to The Green. Robbo is spending the week at a Buddhist retreat, meditating on how to turn the season around while The Greens have their first piece of silverware in the (non-existent) trophy cabinet!
See you on The Green!
NCL DIVISION ONE
MATCH REPORT
Aldborough travelled to Beccles A after a lay off of 3 weeks due to the weather and held high expectation of a victory against the bottom placed team.
In drizzling conditions the home team won the toss and elected to bat. This looked like a poor decision as Reeve removed the opening pair in the space of the first few overs. Ably supported by Troy Allan, the veteran pace man tied the home side down and continued to take two further wickets to reduce Beccles to 29 for 4 off the first 20 overs.
After some near misses and vociferous appeals Beccles dug deep and began to build a total. Kevin Bacon and Nick Dingle bowled tightly and the team score of 78 for 4 after 35 was way below par. Trying to get wickets Aldborough captain Botwright introduced some part time bowling but this gamble gave an opportunity for Beccles to accelerate and gain important momentum. Warnes and Ruddock both passed half centuries and amassed 112 for the fifth wicket. The gamble by Botwright eventually broke the partnership but Beccles ended up with a healthy 171 for 7 at the close. In hindsight this looked like 50 runs more than the team should have achieved.
With the all important momentum, the enthusiasm and a deteriorating pitch it was no surprise when Botwright was sent packing in the first over. Shortly after, Reeve was well caught and then Farrow played loosely to reduce Aldborough to 30 for 3. Cooper and Allan worked hard and moved the score onto 57 before the left hander was bowled. A further partnership in careful time from Bacon and Allan began to swing the game back into balance before Bacon, with a runner, was out for 14 when the team score was at Nelson. Debutant Dannett came and went and the task in hand was 55 runs off 10 overs with Flannagan and Allan together. The South African, despite taking a couple of blows, batted very well and deservedly passed his half century. At the other end Flanagan remained cool and calm and rotated the strike well. With the weather and darkness closing in and the pitch deteriorating every over, the task was becoming harder with 40 required off the last six. Allan pushed on and with a huge six brought the game closer to Aldborough but unfortunately was dismissed soon after for an excellent 86. Flannagan took over and brought the team close before he was out and it was left to Skinner to become the hero when he hit a boundary in the final over to win the game.
Aldborough Black Boys Man of the Match: TROY ALLAN
Aldborough ‘A’ Rocked by Rocklands
Aldborough ‘A’ had to suffer an onslaught on Saturday at the hands of top-of-the-table Rocklands ‘A’ whose batting display could hardly be called pretty, but was mightily effective. Playing at Holt CC, Rocklands chose to bat in a fine drizzle and got off to a good start scoring 48 of the first 10 overs. The first wicket fell in the eleventh over to the tidy Mark Holroyd when Ben Sizeland took a smart catch at short leg to dismiss Kay for 8 with the score on 52. Dunning was joined by Puttock and the pair continued the momentum, adding another 40 runs before Dunning was trapped leg before by skipper Robinson for 54. When Rocklands skipper Robbie Doe was bowled by Holroyd for 16 Aldborough looked as if they might restrict the scoring. However nobody was ready for the impact of T Phillips who with a combination of a good eye and power launched his own personal onslaught comprising five sixes and nine fours. By the time Ray Smith bowled him for 73 in th 39th over the damage had been done. Puttock (78 not out) and Pearce (18 not out) finally posted a daunting total of 275 for 4.
Aldborough’s batsmen simply had no response. Excellent bowling from P Allen and left hander G Pearce meant that it was the fifth over before a run was on the board, unfortunately the in-form Mack had already been sent back to the pavilion. The innings never got going thanks to continued good bowling and fielders taking some fine catches. Only Tim Nicholson and Mark Holroyd managed to reach double figures, Holroyd ending on 31 not out.
Rocklands are going to be a tough act to beat this season against any of the sides in Division 8. In the meantime Aldborough need to regroup ahead of next week’s visit to Watton.
Aldborough Black Boys Man of the Match: MARK HOLROYD
AYLSHAM SIX A SIDE TOURNAMENT
MATCH REPORT
Mark Cook’s Sunday team captured the inaugural Aylsham Legionnaires six a side tournament on Sunday at Aylsham’s Recreation ground, by defeating a sporting yet competitive Coltishall in the final.
In a very well organised tournament Aldborough were one of six teams who played in this small sided round robin competition.
In game One Aldborough batted first against Coltishall B and scored a healthy 53 in their 5 overs with good contributions from Sizeland and Perry-Warnes, in response Seaman, Sizeland and Cook bowled very well and the opponents fell 14 runs short.
In game two Aylsham St Giles batted first and with Shelley and Minns playing well got to 47 with Reeve bowling quickly and aggressively to the former whose attempts at walking down the track were not well received. In reply Botwright, Reeve and Perry-Warnes batted well to see the team home in style.
In game three Legionnaires restricted Aldborough to 43 with Reeve top scoring late on in order to give the greens a decent total. In reply excellent bowling all round from Seaman, Perry Warnes and Reeve snuffed out the reply and the Aylsham side fell 13 runs short.
In game four Cook and Seaman batted superbly against a friendly Buxton team and amassed 56 runs without conceding a wicket. Highlights being two big sixes by Captain Cook. In reply Buxton stumbled to only 13 runs.
Game five against Coltishall Awas important because despite being unbeaten a big victory would be needed to ensure a place in the final as the bonus points system meant other teams were theoretically able to pip Aldborough to the final. Batting first big guns Reeve and Botwright made no mistakes and took no prisoners both reaching 33 and 30 respectively before being forced to retire before the end of the fourth over. The team amassed an excellent 70. In reply Seaman, Sizeland, Parry Warnes and Reeve strangled any chance of and won by 23 runs. As throughout the tournament Botwright was sharp behind the stumps.
The final looked likely to be a St Giles versus Aldborough grudge match but the final group game saw the only tournament all out as Legionnaires crumbled and gave Coltishall B the bonus points to overtake St Giles. Batting first Aldborough started seriously but lost Botwright for 11, however Reeve again batted through past 30 and retired and with Perry Warnes and Sizeland in good form again took the team score to 57. In reply Seaman for the first time was taken for a few and some good bowling by Perry Warnes was not rewarded. Sizeland leaked a boundary but it was Mark Cook who bowled a very good over leaving Coltishall having to score 17 from Reeve off the final over to win. This never looked likely and the game and tournament was won by 11 runs to the delight of the crowd.
TEAM: MARK COOK, PAUL REEVE, ED BOTWRIGHT, BEN SIZELAND, JAMIE PERRY-WARNES, TOM SEAMAN AND MATTHEW SKINNER (7TH MAN)
Leading Bowling: TOM SEAMAN - 4 Wickets / lowest average
Leading Batsman: PAUL REEVE - 5 innings 110 runs/ Average 110.00