Long Itchington Cricket Club

Long Itchington V Winchcombe 20th August
Long Itchington travelled down the Fosse to Winchcombe on Saturday knowing that a win would all but secure their promotion. As ever the host team were a delight to spend the afternoon with, as was the surrounding countryside. Perhaps the only surprise was the wicket which the home side admitted lacked a little water.
That aside the home side batted first. Lifelong Itchington supporter Paul Montgomery sat down to watch events unfold, after first finding the bar….what score would be a good one?…no one really knew. With a fast outfield and short boundaries 400 had been recorded before so anything under 250 was fair game.
The ever reliable Andy Wood got the choice of ends for the bowling duties so he decided to run down hill for 10 over’s and old Man Clark had to walk up it at the other end to bowl his own version of slow “spin”.
After the first 10 over’s 32 were on the board for the loss of only one wicket, however the pitch was playing its part with the Batsmen not 100% sure what to do.
A short rain break stopped the game for a few overs and Paul got another pint in!
After the break, Wood and Clark both finished their 10 over spell, and Winchombe had moved on to 70 for 3. Clark was particularly expensive conceding 13 runs of his 10 overs and picking up 2 wickets.
Matt Cox and Skipper Brookes took over the bowling duties and the theme remained the same.
Didcote got 33 from No 5 however the home side never got on top and Itchington picked them off one by one. The excellent Cox picking up another 4 wickets and Brookes 3, as the visitors walked off after 38 over’s with the home side 141 all out.
Tea was an absolute delight, as was the company all day, and whilst opener Alex Jack looked on, the rest of the Itchington side stuffed themselves, especially the tall Enders who hoped not to bat.
Itchington are not the best at chasing a low total and after a short while were 13 for 2! Enter Rawbone senior, who, after last week’s walk about had been given a romantic night out by the present Mrs Rawbone after the game so he was bound to do well at some point during the afternoon. Alas the dinner table discussions would not be dominated by how he got 50, as Martyn hit one to cover for 13…….
Will Grindal and Tom Perks then made batting look a lot easier than all of those before them, and they basically went on the attack. Will reaching 50 of the last ball of the game, with a six that gave the visitors the extra point, as they chased down the rain reduced target in 34 of the 46 allotted over’s. Tom was also unbeaten on a fine 44.
All in all a wonderful afternoon was had, included Mr Montgomery who joined the team back in the Green Man after a very “relaxing” afternoon.
As a host team there are no better than Winchombe, and as Itchington are set for promotion it will be a sad day if we go too long before seeing them again.
All eyes now turn to next week and Itchington host the league leaders LEAMINGTON who are 4 points in front with 2 games to go. If the game is played in anything like the same spriit as this one then that has to be good for everyone.
Division one looks on the cards for both Leamington and Itchington, lets hope the game lives up to the billing.

1)G Foster
2)R Eadon
3)G Insall
4)N Smith
5)S Wood
6)B Phillips
7)A Smith
8)J Breakwell
9)C White
10)N Sandy
11)S Franks

Please meet at the pond no later than 11.40 – Its a long way! dont be late

1) Aaron Jones
2) Alex Jack
3) Martyn Rawbone
4) Will Grindall
5) Matt Cox
6) Tom Perks
7) Nick Brookes
8) Andy Wood
9) Steve Chapman
10) Martin Clark
11) James Clark

LICC vs FISSC 13/08/11 – Match sponsored by Mr. Paul Montgomery

Reporting from the ground…Andy Wood

With 28 points separating Itchington and opponents FISSC prior to the game, it was clear securing victory was imperative for the promotion prospects of both parties.

One change was made from the previous week’s defeat as the absent Steve Franks was replaced by debutant Jamie Breakwell.The toss was a walkover due to the opposition not all being present, subsequently Itch skipper Nick Brooks inserted the visitors on a green track that looked like it would be receptive towards those who put the ball in the right areas.

The skipper’s decision proved a good one as FISSC struggled to get a foothold in the opening overs and were quickly three down thanks to the impressive Steve Chapman (3-30). If the batsmen thought they could find the acceleration needed to reach a competitive total through the change bowlers, they were sadly mistaken as Martin Clark (3-23) and Brooks (1-28) turned the screw. Only the resilient Stokes (40) showed any real fight from the visiting side, but once he perished to an excellent catch from Breakwell the innings looked like petering out with somewhat of a whimper.

A couple of lusty blows from the lower order proved in vein as Will ‘Elmer Fudd’ Grindal (2-1) polished off the tail to leave FISSC on what looked a below par 114 all out from just 31.3 overs. An excellent display in the field, including sharp catches from the aforementioned Breakwell, Clark and Andy Wood ensured that the Greens gained what could be two crucial extra bowling points.

It was agreed that 10 overs were to be bowled before tea was taken, but after this period, whether it be a mix of complacency or good bowling the home side entered the interval at 45-4 as opening bowlers Smith (2-20) and McKee(2-50) took two wickets apiece, and it was certainly game on. Martyn ‘Aboriginal’ Rawbone felt so aggrieved at being given LBW that he embarked on a Phileas Fogg mission of ‘around the Itch in 80 minutes’, he was later discovered shortly after the game’s finale as everybody concerned shed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t gone the same way as Harold Bishop.

Tea was the usual delightful affair from Mike and Joy Clarke, as son James filled his boots on scotch eggs, samosas, bhajis and mini pasties. Will ‘Mark Ealham’ Grindal was, once again, last to vacate the dinner table.

With another 70 to win, the visitors would have felt well in the game but a solid partnership between the classy Tom Perks (49*) and Grindal (20) left the Itch with 30 to win whern the latter departed LBW. Young Breakwell was unlucky to cop a dubious leg before decision before the home side eventually completed a 4 wickets victory.
Although not a perfectly polished batting display, at the business end of the season winning matches against the sides around you victory is all important. The side showed good bouncebackability from the disappointing defeat at Warwick County Council Staff last weekend to grab 20 points and leave the promotion race firmly in their own hands.

Next Saturday sees the first team visit Winchcombe in what is sure to be another massive game. To ensure he arrives on time, Marytn is starting rambling from Tuesday afternoon.

Long Itchington U11 vs Barby U11 11/8/2011
Barby won the toss and elected to field on a dry, slow,worn pitch that was likely to be hard to score runs on.
Brennnan and Lucas opened the batting and put on a solid 15 runs for the first pair with no loss of wickets, including a fine 4 from Lucas. Bean and William took the score to 21 with one loss of wicket. Ethan and Peter C despite hitting some good shots and scoring 19 runs unfortunately losing 3 wickets to make a net score increase of only 4 runs. Peter C looked fluent in his first game of the season hitting 2 fine fours. James and George were the final pair and we needed a good stand. They did not disappoint hitting a net 17 runs after being out just the once. James again looking at ease after hitting his first ball for 4 to make 12 runs which made him the top scorer on the day. LI finished on a respectable 242.
Barby tried to get after the LI bowling from the start but there aggressive intent also let to a regular loss of wickets. For the second week running LI took 8 wickets with 3 fabulous catches in the outfield from Brennan, James and George. Pick of the bowlers were George with 3 over’s 1 for 8 and Ethan 2 over’s 1 for 5. Good death bowling under pressure again this time from George and James made sure Barby did not get over the line, finishing 10 runs short. Overall it was probably the best fielding display of the year.
LI ended on unbeaten run of 7 games to round of the season after sealing the league title the week before.