The South Board sides failed to achieve any success in this years inter-district T20 competitions. Some poor batting saw the under elevens lose their play-off match against the North Board by five wickets with just one over to spare and the under thirteens disappointingly lost in their semi-final to the Metropolitan Board by a similar margin after only scoring 98-9 in their 20 overs. Their third/fourth place play-off with the Central Board was rained-off after just 15 overs with our opponents on 77 for 3. The under fifteens scored over 140 in both their matches, but lack-lustre fielding and bowling saw them lose to the West by six wickets in their semi-final and to the North by 11 runs in the third/fourth place play-off.
As part of our ongoing efforts to develop cricket talent within our District, some of the coaches involved in our performance programme have decided to offer 30-minute, one-to-one coaching sessions at FitzWimarc School on Thursday evenings between Oct 6 and Dec 16. The coaches, John Wade, Simon Humby, Scott Simmons, David Wright and Mike Sullivan are all fully qualified ECB coaches and will provide a written report to each attendee upon completion of the 12-week period, which will highlight both strengths and areas for future development. The sessions are aimed at children who are Under 15 as at September 1, 2011, will start at 8.00pm, 8.30pm or 9.00pm and will cost £175 for the full 12-week programme.
Having initially given our current district squad members first option, the last of the remaining 30-minute sessions have also now been booked. A reserve list has now been started for those who wish to be contacted on an ad-hoc basis should any of the sessions become free at any time. If you wish to be added to this reserve list, please send an email to John Wade (jwwade@btinternet.com) stating your preferred time and contact details. Once all replies have been received, timings will be confirmed to all participants and registration forms distributed.
In order to be fair to everyone, it is important to understand that this coaching will not influence future selection for district representative squads which will continue to be based on the trials which will be held after Christmas.
The final round of matches were played this week against the Metropolitan Board – or at least, most were. The Under 15 match was postponed at the last minute by our opponents who were incredibly unable to raise a side. The Under 11′s put up a brave performance against a strong side, going down by 5 wkts after scoring 148 for 5 in their 40 overs. Skipper Tom Baker (Westcliff) led the way with 41 runs and 3 for 16 and was well supported by Oliver Kersley (Benfleet) who scored 26. The Under 13′s however had a very successful week and showed just how much they have improved by initially overcoming their Met counterparts by 71 runs. Our score of 192 for 5 was built around a positive opening 37 by skipper, Austin Holmes (Hadleigh), was sustained by Harry Lockyer (Orsett) who scored 44 and finished off by an excellent unbeaten partnership of 69 between the Rayleigh pair of Max Jones (45 not out) and Matt Dobson (35 not out). In reply, Mohammed Khokar (Leigh) bowled admirably straight to finish with 4 for 30 and all the other bowlers showed consistent discipline in support.
The week ended with a highly enjoyable match against the Dutch National U13 side at Garon Park. We were put into bat and it was Harry Slack (Leigh) and Praneet Patel (Rankins) who set up the platform for a good score with 42 and 32 respectively. However, some tight bowling eventually restricted us to 143 for 6 in our 40 overs with Matt Dobson this time scoring a vital 18 runs at the end.The Dutch batted very positively and at 114 for 3 looked to be winning, but inspired spells by Joe Mitchell (Orsett) and Harry Slack who took 4/19 and 3/16 respectively turned the tables and we ended victorious by just 1 run with 3 balls to spare. In a great team performance led by the thoughtful captaincy of Austin Holmes, the fielding and catching were of a very high standard throughout.
We next look forward to the district T20 festivals with the U11′s first to play this week in the preliminary play-off on Wednesday Aug 10th at Billericay CC, 11.00 start. As usual, all support will be very welcome.
This week saw some exciting matches against North Essex, plus a very enjoyable game for our Under 12′s against the touring Dutch U12 national team. Pride of place once again goes to our U11 side who won by 31 runs after scoring 158 for 6 in their 35 overs. Top scorers were Harry Seaden (SOSEMT) with 57 and Tom Baker (Westcliff) with 35. Tom also excelled with the ball, taking 4 for 11 in the North reply of 127 all out. The U13′s unfortunately lost by 6 wkts off the last ball of the game, having scored 181 for 7 when batting first. Austin Holmes (Hadleigh) batted right through with 64 not out and Praneet Patel (Rankins) hit an excellent 73. The U15 game also went to the final over before the North managed to win by 5 wickets. Top performers here were Carl Lees (Rankins) with 70 and Aaron Butcher (SOSEMT) with 46 not out in a score of 172 for 9.
On Friday, the U12′s hosted the Dutch U12′s at Rankins and put together a respectable 143 for 8 in their 40 overs. Orsett boys, Jack Plom (33) and Harry Lockyer (36) led the way. In reply, a fine bowling peformance saw the Dutch bowled out for 79 with Harry also taking 3 for 11 and Praneet Patel 3 for 14.
This week we have more matches against the Metropolitan Board on Wednesday 3rd (at Wickford, Garon Park and Rankins), all starting at 2.00pm and an Under 13 match against the Dutch U13′s at Garon Park on Friday 5th starting at 12.00. All supporters will be welcome.
Belhus Cricket Club won the South Essex District Cricket Board’s Veterans’ Trophy for the first time when they overcame a strong Stanford le Hope batting line-up in the final on Tuesday evening (26th July 2011). Stanford, on their own ground, batted first and reached 134 for the loss of six wickets, as one of our Vice-Presidents, Geoff Lake, contributed 21, Robert Pearn made 13, Duncan Page top-scored with 29 and Chris Ballard was there at the end of the innings, undefeated on 22. Richard Waters was the most successful Belhus bowler, picking up 3-25 from his allotted four-over spell and he was supported by Scott Bayford 2-28, also from four overs. In the reply, Belhus opener Jim Robertson was off to a flyer with a fine knock of 58 until he was caught by Lake off the bowling of Ballard (1-12), but by then Belhus were within easy reach of the Stanford score as Amit Gohil finished on 34 not out, while there was a useful contribution of 29 from Bayford in the middle of the innings. As well as Ballard, four other Stanford bowlers took one wicket each, being Harris, Knight, Powley and Gray.
Stanford le Hope CC scored 140 for the loss of three wickets as they defeated Pegasus and Corringham (137-8) with just four balls to spare in the final of the South Essex District Cricket Board’s twenty overs per side competition on Wednesday (20th July 2011). More details to follow when known.
During the half-term week, the South Board’s age group sides played their first two rounds of inter-district cricket against the West and Central Boards. In what was unusually fine weather for this particular week, results were mixed but here were some fine individual performances which bode well for the future.
The next matches will be on July 28th when all three sides will be away to the North Essex Board.
On Tuesday against the West, pride of place goes to our Under 11 side, who managed a fine seven-wicket win chasing down a total of 121 in only 28 overs thanks to an excellent stand of 106 between Frank Farrington (Basildon and Pitsea) who scored 57 and Tom Baker (Westcliff) who scored 28. The Under 13 side batted poorly reaching only 51 with Mathew Lewis (Belhus) scoring 28 of them. However, they came back strongly to have the West at 3 for 3 at one point before finally going down by 5 wickets. In the Under 15 match, poor fielding allowed the West to score 217 for 8 in their 40 overs and we were never in the hunt, falling to 116 all out of which Louis Poynter (Hadleigh) and Matt Austin (OS & Southchurch) scored 32 and 28 respectively.
On Wednesday at a sunny and even warm Chelmer Park, all 3 sides gave a good account of themselves in front of large crowds. The Under 11′s had an exciting match in which they narrowly failed to chase a target of 160 in their 35 overs despite Kaelan Williams (OS & Southchurch) scoring a patient 26. The Under 13′s showed a terrific improvement from the previous day when they managed to bowl out their Central Board opponents for 128 having collapsed from 103-3 at the 20-over mark. This was mainly due to some accurate bowling from Harry Lockyer (Orsett) and Harry Slack (Leigh) who both took three wickets and were backed up by keen catching and fielding. In reply, Tom Haden (Orsett) with 34 and Austin Holmes (Hadleigh) with 22 put together an opening stand of 71 and Praneet Patel (Rankins) with 26 not out saw us through to a seven-wicket win in just 22 overs, ably supported by Dan Petts (Horndon) and skipper Mathew Lewis (Belhus). In the Under 15 game, some strong batting by the Central Board saw them to a total of 238 for 6 in their 40 overs on a good batting pitch. A much improved reply was led by Carl Lees (Rankins) who kept us in the hunt with a hard-hitting 77, ably supported by Ben Kent (Belhus) with 30. In the end though, wickets were lost in the chase and we ended up 35 runs short.
Our district youth squads are eagerly awaiting their first round of fixtures during the school half-term holiday, but some of our U11 squad members have been fortunate enough to have already played in a warm-up game against Basildon and Pitsea’s U12 team at Mopsies Park on Friday 13th May. The SEDCB batted first in this 20-overs per side evening fixture and scored 70 for the loss of eight wickets, with Craig Smith top scoring for the Board with 22. In the home team’s bowling attack, Frank Farrington took 2-11 from 4 overs (one maiden) and Ben Thompson claimed three wickets for just two runs, also from four overs and including a maiden. In a thrilling finish, Basildon and Pitsea reached 71 for the loss of nine wickets with just 2.3 overs remaining, as Anthony Ayres top scored with 14. For a listing of our district youth representative fixtures, please select the “Youth Representative Cricket” option from the menu listing on the right of this page. The photograph shows John Wade giving some words of wisdom to his young charges. Our under eleven team will next be in action when they entertain the West Essex District Cricket Board at Wickford CC on Tuesday 31st May.
Rayleigh “B” were crowned champions in the inaugural womens’ indoor six a side cricket competition at Grays School this evening (Friday 15th April). Rayleigh finished their league programme unbeaten, having achieved victories over Benfleet, Rayleigh “A” and Thurrock Ladies. Pictured (right) are some members of four participant teams together. Full results, league table and match reports are now available on this website (see menu options on right).
