Scorecard

Rainham v Epping Cricket Club Sunday Gentlemen's XI on Sun 11 Jun 2006 at 2.00
Epping Cricket Club Lost 7 wickets

Match report On a perfect summers day the Gents XI took a trip to Rainham, in Essex not Kent that is, to play a 40 over match.

The bionic captain won the toss and elected to bat first on what looked a very green wicket. With the sun beating down the Gents were thankful for batting first. The opening pair of Sanger and Batchelor strode out to the wicket in positive mood, Sanger was positive that they were not going to be running much in this heat!!!! Sanger took the first over and it was immediately clear that there was some bounce in the pitch. This was confirmed when Batchelor faced the Rainham captain, Haward, in the second over and had to play the ball off his nose. The Rainham bowlers kept a tight line and aided with the extremely bouncy pitch made it very hard for Sanger and Batchelor. Both Fuller and Haward were also finding some swing and keeping their wicketkeeper very active. Sanger and Batchelor kept nudging away and when Fuller was replaced by Dorday the runs started to flow with both Sanger and Batchelor dispatching some full tosses to the boundary. Owaiss came on to replace Howard and found the same extreme bounce that his skipper had. Epping were thankful for the drinks break until Batchelor faced the first ball after the break from Owaiss. The ball bounced to head height and took the glove of Batchelor and he was easily caught for 24. Having dug in well and done the hard work Batchelor was looking to increase the run rate. Hancock joined Sanger at the crease and the pair carried on the job in hand. Both were aware of the need to increase the run rate and take the attack to the bowlers but when Sanger played all round a delivery from Owaiss and was bowled for 17 the gents had to regroup. Brades joined Hancock and kept the score board ticking over but both were unable to really get about the Rainham bowlers who were all bowling well. Brades and Hancock looked in good form throughout their partnership and both were dismissed later in the innings trying to go for big shots. Brades for 18 and Hancock for 32. With Stuckey, 10 not out, scoring some much needed quick runs at the end the Gents finished on a very low 124. Having been given a good solid platform by the openers the Gents were unable to stamp their authority and score freely. The Rainham bowlers deserved the credit for bowling very well with Owaiss, 2-12, the pick of them.

Epping opened the bowling with the ever reliable Beaumont and Davies. Both bowled well, with Davies finding a good line and length to tie the batsmen down. Beaumont sent a few loose balls down that were dispatched by Fuller. He then got his revenge by having Fuller dismissed LBW for 10. Beaumont then had Patel caught by the safe hands of Batchelor for 6 and the gents thought there might be a glimmer of hope. This brought to the wicket young Skipper who took a liking to Beaumont and Batchelor, who had replaced Davies, by dispatching the ball to the boundary with destructive ease. He was eventually caught and bowled by Batchelor for 28. Sanger then came on to replace Beaumont and kept the batsmen quiet and was unlucky on a few occasions, although sending down the odd bad ball did not help. Smith took over from Batchelor as the Gents skipper turned to spin. The Rainham march to victory was never in doubt and they reached their target with ease for the loss of 3 wickets. With Callaghan, 47 not out, carrying his bat and being the solid rock for Rainham and Elliot, 22 not out, able supporting him at the end. The Gents were easily beaten by a better team.

A note must be made of the gymnastic Bill Beaumont who has added a new dimension to his appealing repertoire, by actually doing a summersault while screaming “HOWZAT!!!!!!!”. This made for much amusement for not only the Gents but for the batsmen as well who did actually complain to the umpire as it was unsportsmanlike behaviour as he was now unable to compose himself to receive the next delivery. A cunning plan that Bill has come up with.

Rainham were a friendly team and very sociable. They contributed to an enjoyable game, although very one sided. As this was the first fixture between the clubs it is hoped to keep the fixture for the future.

Epping Cricket Club Sunday Gentlemen's XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 4 wickets
0
124		        
John Sanger Bowled  17
Tim Batchelor Caught  24 2
Ian Hancock Caught  32
John Brades Bowled  18
George Thorpe Not Out  1
Martin Stuckey Not Out  10
Mark Smith  
John Newman MBE  
Terry Hayward  
Bill Beaumont  
Tom Davies  

Rainham Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Fuller4.01300.000.75
Haward4.011000.002.50
Dordoy3.001900.006.33
Owaiss8.041226.001.50
Simms6.002000.003.33
Page8.0129129.003.63
Murrel7.0023123.003.29

Rainham Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 3 wickets
0
126 (0.0 overs)		     
Callagher Not Out  47
Fuller Lbw  10
Patel Caught  6
Skipper Caught  28
Elliot Not Out  22
   
   
   
   
   
   

Epping Cricket Club Sunday Gentlemen's XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Bill Beaumont7.0037218.505.29
Tom Davies6.021400.002.33
Tim Batchelor4.0028128.007.00
John Sanger6.412300.003.45
Mark Smith3.001700.005.67