Long Itchington Cricket Club

Played Saturday, July 28th 2007

After performing miracles to get their game on after last weekends inundation Itchington let themselves down with a below par effort on the field.

After being sent in the home side lost a wicket in the 5th over but Martyn Rawbone and Aaron Jones took the score to 76 in the 23rd over before the latter was dismissed for 13. Rawbone was 3rd out for 79 in the 33rd over having added 57 with Alex Jack. The required acceleration failed to materialise however, despite Jack (27) and George Insall (21), with the final total being 185-7 with Wickson and Harper getting two wickets apiece.

In reply Harper and Bishop put on 43 as the wicket flattened out as the Itchington’s bowlers didn’t get much luck. Bishop was first to go at 43 for 27 but Wickson joined Harper for a match winning stand. Batting with care but dispatching anything loose they added 129 before Wickson finally succumbed to Martin Clark for 53. Skipper Hedderman hit the winning runs with 8 balls to spare with Harper completing a fine match with an unbeaten 88. Clark (10-2-36-2) being the only wicket taker.

Played Saturday, July 28th 2007

Itchington II’s returned to wining ways with an emphatic defeat of Eckington after the floods had cleared sufficiently to allow access to their ground.

Itchington’s skipper won only his 2nd toss of the season and had no hesitation inserting their hosts on a green and slightly damp wicket. Andy Wood (6-1-18-2) and Tom Perks (6-0-19-3) rewarded him with excellent opening bursts reducing Eckington to 38 – 5. Steve Chapman (6-1-9-1) and Dave Buchholz (5.2-1-10-3) then took over and runs became very hard to come by as N. Graham and C. Fincher dug in to try and salvage something from the innings but Steve Chapman removed them both Graham through an expert piece of fielding to produce a run out and Fincher caught at gully. Buchholz then mopped up the tail to finish the innings on 60.

Itchington had an early scare as they lost two quick wickets to leave them at 14-2 but Buchholz and debutant Zach Aulakh calmed the nerves with a stand of 44 before Buchholz fell for 23 with only 3 runs needed for victory which duly completed 2 balls later as Michael Parsons despatched the last ball of the over for 4, Aulakh finishing with an accomplished 19 n.o.

During the night of the 20th and the early hours of the 21st July our ground and pavilion were flooded after the River Itchen broke it’s banks due to the torrential rain. I have put up a gallery of pictures taken on the morning of the 21st after the flood waters had receded enough for us to actually get onto the ground.

As you will see there was a considerable amount of water in the pavilion and it is going to take a concerted effort to get our facilities back to a reasonable state again, so when the call comes for help please give as much time as you can.

Played Saturday, July 7th 2007

Itchington produced their worst overall performance of the season as they lost at bogey team Campden.

Opener Rose, a heavy run scorer against Itchington, was reined in to the extent that he was dismissed for ‘only’ 41 at 63-2 in the 20th over. At this point the visitors were in the box seat but aggressive knocks from Nicholls (24) and in particular Harrison (46) playing around a solid knock of 44 from Grey saw the home side escape the shackles to 212-8 off their allocation. Martin Clark was the pick of the bowling with 10-3-24-4.

Itchington replied with a solid 44 but from 60-2 they floundered against tight bowling. Stephen Rawbone (29) and Aaron Jones (24) did their best but all rounder Nicholls produced some superb figures of 9-5-7-5 in two spells as the middle and lower order succumbed to finish on a very disappointing 120 all out in only 38 overs and defeat by 92 runs.

Played Saturday, July 7th 2007

Itchington II’s started the 2nd half of their first league campaign with an emphatic defeat by Mickleton.

Due to an accident and subsequent road closure Mickleton forfeited the toss as the only had 9 men at the appointed time and Itchington skipper Dave Buchholz sent them into the field. However it was Mickleton’s 9 men that drew first blood with Tom Perks being bowled in the 2nd over (his first duck of the year). Buchholz (24) and Graham Foster (31) then built a patient stand of 52 before both falling victim to Ellis in quick succession which brought Michael Parsons into join Jeff Rogers and they provided the impetus the innings needed at that point, Parsons (45) just missing out on a deserved half century becoming Ellis’s 3rd victim, but Rogers went onto to make 55 n.o. to take the total to a competitive 184 off their 45 over’s.

Mickleton’s reply got off to a lightning start as Ellis plundered runs almost at will and when he was eventually dismissed by Luke Fogarty (5.1-1-36-1) for a destructive 111 the winning post was in sight and Mickleton duly cantered home in the 39th over with their skipper Ben Fairfax hitting the winning runs. Of the bowlers only Andy Wood escaped a mauling finishing with 6-1-10-1.