Category: Match Reports

Saturday 29th July at Lodsworth

The Lodsworth Six-a-Side Tournament on Saturday 29th July was a huge success and most players in the Lodsworth Squad played for one, and in some cases two, of the teams in the tournament. Matt Hall, Ollie King, Kyle Chadwick, Graham Braithwaite, Ben Randall and Martin Howard turned out for the Lodsworth Six, with James Hickey, Alistair Rix and Sean Chivers in the Lickfold team. Bob Powell donned the gloves for the Singapore Cricket VI while Edward Gore-Browne, Chris Scott, Russell Mayne, Nick Broom and Giles Pearman strutted their stuff with the Holist Arms or the No-Hopers. Add Matts cousin Lee and that adds up to 16 current players who were actively engaged on the day, which is something of a record.

Thanks to John King and Tim Johnson for effectively organising the programme, to Tim and Gillian for scoring, to Jill King, Victoria Braithwaite and Zena Davies for providing the teas, to Paul Phillips and Paul Lawson for preparing the wicket and to James Hickey for the excellent barbecue and band in the evening and to a host of volunteer umpires including President Don Ford.

The winner of the tournament were the Singapore Cricket Club with the Lickfold Arms worthy runners up. (Ed: Unknown to many, SCC were spurred on by the fact that if they didn’t win they’d have to admit they’ve lost the coveted tropy which was in their possession!)

Nick Holloway (45av) (Lickfold Arms) won the award for best batsman of the day and (wait for it) Al Rix took the most wickets (6 for 34) winning the Best Bowler Award. (Note: Al took a random blood test after the game and there was found to be an excess of alcohol in his A sample. The results of his B sample are awaited before this last award can be confirmed! Al of course denied knowingly to have drunk any beer during the tournament and said his lemonade must have been spiked!) (Ed: This is of course completely subjective by Bob who probably still can’t believe I can bowl in a straight line…)

A short history lesson about our opponents….

Tangmere is a small village in West Sussex, proud of an assocaition with RAF fighter pilot hero Sir Douglas Bader, stationed at Tangmere during the second world war. From Tangmere Bader led his wing of Spitfires in raids over northwestern Europe gunning down the might of the german Luftwaffe.

Lodsworth launched their own air offensive yesterday sending out two fighters in Phillips and King, an agressive air assalut started the innings, the ball being launched to all areas of the boundary. Not a hint of Tangmere resistance as Lodsworth cruised to 93 without loss. However the fall of both openers Phillips a magnificent 44 and King 55 surely ment the Lodsworth big guns could come out firing – ”plenty of rabbits in the hutch” as captain Long said at the drinks break.

However Tangmere had a few rabbit catching ideas and our rabbits never got going.Unfortunately Lodsworth failed to build on such a promising start although Houghton hit an unbeaten 24. Lodsworth finished on 175-6.

The Tangmere innings got off to a bad start with an early wicket to Man of Match Paul Phillips. However poor fielding and dropped catches allowed a home side recovery. Catches win matches and unfortunately Lodsworth dropped eight chances. At the run rate down to less than 6 an over with 7 wickets remaining there looked only one winner. But Captain Andy Long bought himself on to try and turn the game and that proved to be a wise move with tight bowling at the death and returning figures of 2 wickets for 8 runs.

The game fizzled out into a draw in what looked the fair result. There was no victory flypast through Tangmere and the Loddie squadron made their way home after an enjoyable but unsuccessful mission.

Lodsworth v Bury & West Burton
16th July

Lodsworth were looking to put in a big performance against West Sussex league team Bury with the Rec packed to the rafters. The Vice President’s had just seen Andy Long, captain, deliver a rousing speech but was he about to choke on his fine words after 14 runs were knocked of the first over.

It looked as though the young Bury team were in no mood to stretch this game out beyond their bed time….. Lodsworth looked ready to capitulate in the heat with the Bury batsman led by B Elliot ( Billy Elliot!!) who smashed 53 supported by a quickfire 23 from N Lewis.

However eager to impress the crowd Lodsworth showed spirit in the searing heat. A great spell from messrs Braithwaite with some tight bowling from John Houghton. Father and Son looked ominous with G Braithawaite finishing with figures of 3 overs 3 for 5 and J Braithwaite 8 overs 2 for 19. Houghton made full use of the pitch, finishing with 10 overs 3 for 25. From cruising on 102-3 the Bury innings collapsed to 140 all out.

Bury’s bowling attack was stunned by the home team reply. Graham Braithwaite exploded with a rapid 33, perhaps fitting that Lodsworth showed the youthful Bury outfit that our openers could match them both in batting and youthful good looks!! Mat Hall made a quickfire 20 with a full repertiore of his strokeplay, the late cut!! Perhaps he sensed that he was always going to lose out on the youthful good looks.

The opening stand raced through 50 however a fightback from an impressive Bury bowling attack saw off both openers and Lodsworth strarted to wobble on 75-3. John Houghton and Andy Wilson Smith took on the young guns of Bury and looked to be winning the battle but Houghton was caught on the boundary going for the big six when looking comfortable on 22 and Wilson-Smith was clean bowled by the impressive Blackwood on 36.

With the score on 123-6, 4 overs remaining, it was down to Lodsworth captain Andy Long to bury the opposition. Surely Long would deliver after that Churhillian speech at the VP’s lunch. Full toss on middle stump, out for a duck!! Long had failed to live up to his own words and waddled back to the pavillion.

Bury were desperate to make Lodsworth pay and at 129-8 the crowd sensed dissapointment. However Al Rix showed some grit and was determined Lodsworth were to get something from the game.

The match ended in a draw, dissapointing – Lodsworth have yet to destroy the nearly men tag. Next week is a match against Tangmere. Andy Long will captain the side (even after his duck!!) so please let Andy know if you are available by Monday night.

Man of the match: Graham Braithwaite

Ollie King
Wicket Keeper

Lodsworth v Tillington
9th July

England crash out on penalties in Germany through their inability to cope with the pressure against the weaker side. Sport can be cruel and people only look at results. Although Lodsworth looked to dominate against the weaker opposition in Tillington some generous bowling in the second half of the Tillington innings made sure of a victory for David over Goliath. The visitors clawed their way back from 52-5 to win with 3 wickets to spare. Lodsworth were left with egg on their sunburnt faces.

Lodsworth set a target of 148. An aggressive 68 from opener Graham Braithwaite was the story of the lodsworth innings(the presence of young love on the sidelines made sure that Braithawaite was out to impress others rather than his team mates).The rest of the Lodsworth batting stars failed to get going – the team slipped from a strong position at 104-3 to 148 All Out. Lord Lucan would have been proud the way the rest of the batsman had gone missing on this track.

Lodsworth cut through Tillington at ease with a good opening spell from Paul Phillips with figures of 10 overs 3 for 30 and Mat Hall figures of 8 overs 3 for 33. However a change of the bowling attack proved disastorous and the Tillington lower order took apart some poor bowling with M Hill scoring 42 and D Francis scoring 19 off 5 balls at the death to rub salt into the gaping wound.

A valuable lesson for Lodswoth. It seems complacency got the better of Lodsworth in a game they should have dominated, but then again it is only a game!!

Ollie King
Wicket Keeper

A Game of Two Halves

Saturday 25th June 2006.

Fernhurst CC v Lodsworth CC at Fernhurst.

Lodsworth CC 214 for 5 (Christian Budd 65, James Hickey 59, Rod Taylor 34: J Bristowe 12 overs 2 for 45).

Fernhurst CC 132 all out (S Melrose 31, J Bristowe 26: Martin Howard 1.3 overs 3 for 1, Jon Houghton 10 overs 2 for 17, Paul Phillips 11 overs 2 for 37, Matt Hall 7 overs 2 for 30)

Lodsworth won by 82 runs

In a game of two halves, starting at 1.30pm Lodsworth faced 40 overs, before taking an extended tea break to watch the England v Equador game, returning to complete the cricket match with 40 overs from 6.00 pm. Lodsworth played possibly their best cricket of the season to produce a good all-round team performance. Christian Budd (65) and James Hickey (59) both returned their best score of the season, as did Rod Taylor with a swashbuckling 34. The young Fernhurst bowler J Bristowe gave a spirited display of pace bowling to return figures of 12 overs 2 for 45.

With Beckham’s free kick safely tucked away (along with several pints of beer) the two teams returned to the field. Fernhurst were contained by some fierce bowling from Paul Phillips (11 overs 2 for 37) and Matt Hall (7 overs 2 for 30). S Melrose (31) and J Bristowe (26) put up some stout resistance but Jon Houghton applied the brakes with a spell of 10 overs 2 for 17 and then just as it seemed the home team would survive for 40 overs, Martin Howard came on to bowl 1.3 overs and take 3 wickets for 1 run.

Man of the Match: Christian Budd

Lodsworth Back On Song

Sunday 18th June 2006

Tillington CC v Lodsworth CC at Tillington

Lodsworth CC 139 for 9 ( Jon Houghton 35, Andy Long 23, Sean Chivers 15 not out: D Clarke 12 overs 4 for 33)

Tillington CC 110 for 10 (S Hodd 47, M Hill 23, D Clarke 19: Andy Long 9 overs 6 for 29, Jon Houghton 18 overs 4 for 41)

This was a much-improved performance from Lodsworth with a spirited batting display from Jon Houghton (35), and another from Andy Long (23). Sean Chivers hit an unbeaten 15 and there were supporting cameos from Paul Phillips (13) and Alistair Rix (13). But M Hill and D Clarke bowled tightly for Tillington and 139 for 9 looked at first to be a low score to defend.

Set a target of 140 Tillington were initially held on a tight rein by Paul Phillips and Jon Houghton until the 18th over, whereupon Andy Long took over and produced his best form of the season with three wickets in his first over. Long finished with figures of 9 overs 6 for 29, with Jon Houghton sharing the bowling honours with 18 overs 4 for 41. Houghton took three catches and Bob Powell two as Tillington hung on grimly to finish with 110 for 10 at the conclusion of play. Tillington’s best batsmen were S Hodd with 47 and M Hill with 23. Lodsworth welcomed Jack Dimond to the team in what it is hoped will be the first of his many games this season.

A victory for Lodsworth? Well not quite the result was declared a draw as in the spirit of Village Cricket it had been agreed at the outset that Tillington could field 12 players and schoolboys A and D Groves held out in the very last over. But Lodsworth can claim a moral victory.

Man-of-the-match Andy Long.

Lodsworth Collapse

Saturday 4th June 2006.

Lodsworth CC v Westbourne CC at Lodsworth.

Westbourne CC 210 for 9 (Butt 87, Taylor 33: Paul Phillips 8 overs 3 for 45, Matt Hall 10 overs 3 for 50, Jon Houghton 7 overs 2 for 41)
Lodsworth CC 61 all out (Oliver King 19, James Hickey 17: Rayham 8 overs 5 for 18, Haynes 10 overs 2 for 27).
Westbourne won by 140 runs

Chasing a score of 210, Lodsworth collapsed against visitors Westbourne. The team is struggling to capture the sparkling batting form of last season although some consolation can be taken from the fact that this is only the second defeat of the current campaign.Lodsworth Collapse.

Westbourne won the toss and elected to bat on a blistering hot day. Following the loss of one opener in the first over, a second wicket stand of 121 ensued, in which Butt was outstanding with an innings of 87 including three 6’s and eleven 4’s. Lodsworth’s bowlers laboured in the heat. Paul Phillips claimed 3 wickets for 45 runs from 8 overs and Matt Hall 3 for 50 off 10 overs but hopes of containing the visitors evaporated when no.8 batsman Taylor smashed a rampaging 33.

Lodsworth’s response was laboured and all their batsmen struggled to master Westbourne’s accurate spin bowlers. Oliver King (19) and James Hickey (17) enjoyed a brief period of ascendancy but with their departure the batting collapsed to end on 61 all out. The Westbourne bowlers Rayham and Haynes finished with 5 for 18 of 8 overs and 2 for 27 off 10 overs respectively.

Lodsworth CC v Kirdford CC

14th May 2006 at Lodsworth

Kirdford CC 67 all out (T Ryder 24; Paul Phillips 9 overs 3 for 9, Matt Hall 10 overs 4 for 18, Jon Houghton 6 overs 1 for 9).
Lodsworth CC 69 for (I Lusted 5 overs 3 for 32) Oliver King 19, James Hickey 18 not out, Rod Taylor 13).
Lodsworth won by 5 wickets

Opinions differed on Lodsworth CC’s decision to turn their wicket through 90 degrees in the close season. Kirdford CC the first visiting team of the 2006 season collapsed to 67 all out in 31 overs and would doubtless allege the surface was ‘somewhat lively’. Lodsworth, on the other hand, could claim with equal justification that it was the venom of their opening bowlers, Matt Hall with 10 overs 4 for 18 and Paul Phillips with 9 overs 3 for 9, that inflicted the damage. Only Kirdford skipper Tim Ryder had an answer to the Lodsworth pair and scored 24 before being caught behind leg by Jon Houghton. The dramatic implosion of the visitors batting might have been worse if Lodsworth had held all the catches that were on offer – seven went to ground and only a brilliant diving catch by James Hickey at square leg halted the anguish.

Lodsworth were swiftly put on the back foot when Christian Budd was dismissed in the second over with zero runs on the board, But Jon Houghton and Oliver King steadied the innings and with the departure of these two batsmen James Hickey and Rod Taylor turned the innings around with a burst of big hitting. Kirdford’s leg break specialist I Lusted gave the home team a bit of a scare taking 3 for 32 in a 5 over spell but Lodsworth scrambled home with 69 for 5 and five wickets to spare. Last year’s hat-trick hero J Upton did not get an opportunity to show his skills.

Meanwhile the verdict is out on the new pitch which will next be put to the test when Westbourne CC are the visitors on June 4th.

Man of the match Paul Phillips

Bob Powell
Skipper
Lodsworth CC

Sunday 7th May 2006.

Easebourne CC v Lodsworth CC at Easebourne.

Easebourne CC 112 all out (A Smith 50, Nutting 23: Jon Houghton 9 overs 4 for 30, Matt Hall 8 overs 2 for 21, Paul Phillips 8 overs 2 for 25, John Braithwaite 10 overs 2 for 33).

Lodsworth CC 114 for 9 (Rod Taylor 32, Christian Budd 13: D Smith 11 overs 6 for 36, Fourie 13 overs 2 for 34).

Lodsworth won by 1 wicket.

Upon winning the toss, Easebourne elected to bat on a wicket that proved to be temperamental, creating problems for the batsmen on both teams and ultimately leading to a low scoring game. Lodsworth bowled efficiently and kept the batsmen on a short rein. Jon Houghton returned the best figures with 10 overs 4 wickets for 30 runs, ably assisted by John Braithwaite (10 overs 2 for 35), Matt Hall (8 overs 2 for 21) and Paul Phillips (8 overs 2 for 25). Zimbabwean all-rounder A Smith mastered the bowling and the vicissitudes of the wicket, contributing 50 for Easebourne who finished on 112 all out.

Lodsworth were similarly affected by the unpredictable nature of the wicket and struggled initially. A Smith led the Easebourne attack returning 11 overs 6 for 36 while his compatriot Fourie bowled 13 overs 2 for 24. It seemed that the home team would triumph until Lodsworth’s Rod Taylor arrived at the crease and struck a flamboyant 32 including two mighty 6’s and three 4’s. This, and a high total of byes, effectively swung the game in Lodsworth’s favour though the result went right down to the wire with the last two batsmen at the crease and eight runs required. Miraculously both skipper Bob Powell and John Braithwaite struck 4’s and snatched the game from the predatory ring of fielders.

Lodsworth Man of the Match Rod Taylor

Bob Powell

Skipper

Lodsworth CC

Saturday 29th April 2006.

Ebernoe CC v Lodsworth CC at Ebernoe.

Ebernoe CC 198 for 6 (M Scaife 90, D Whittington 36 not out, C Rose 28: Jon Houghton 7 overs 4 for 28).
Lodsworth CC 140 for 8 (Jon Houghton 58, Matt Hall 11 not out: C Clark 6 overs 5 for 35, M Scaife 5 overs 2 for 10).

Ebernoe won by 58 runs.

Put in to bat Ebernoe went off at a cracking pace. Lodsworth’s lack-lustre fielding indicated they were only slowly emerging from their winter hibernation. Several 4’s, that should have been intercepted, carried to the boundary and the bowling lacked penetration. Only Jon Houghton with 7 overs 4 wickets for 28 runs troubled the batsmen.

Ebernoe’s M Scaife, just back from Australia where he has been playing a good standard of cricket, smashed 90 runs supported by D Whittington (36 not out). The home team ended with 198 for 6. Lodsworth’s response was laboured and the team struggled to 140 for 8. Jon Houghton cemented the innings with a determined 58.

In 2005 a total of 143 was sufficient to seal the equivalent game for Lodsworth but this year Ebernoe were the deserving victors by 58 runs. C Clarke bowled accurately for the home team with figures of 6 overs 5 for 34.

Bob Powell
Skipper
Lodsworth CC