Long Itchington Cricket Club

Under strength LI gave run away unbeaten champions Moreton a run for their money before finally succumbing by 52 runs on Saturday. Makeshift opener Richard Cressey captured a wicket in the 4^th over but once Jamie Hurrell and Shurmer overcame the early dampness in the wicket they built towards a good total. Dealing mainly in boundaries off short balls (the first single didn’t come until the 12^th over) they advanced to 107-1 off 30 overs. The shackles then came off and the rate increased as Hurrell passed a very well constructed century. He was finally out in the 44nd over for 124 having added 211 for the 2^nd wicket. Shurmer was out off the last ball for a more patient 78 and LI were left to chase 224 to win. Cressey was the pick of the bowlers with 2-43. In reply Martyn Rawbone and Aaron Jones put on a 3^rd consecutive 50+ opening partnership before Rawbone was bowled by Shurmer for 23 at 62 in the 19^th over. Jones was next out for a fine 50 and despite another quick wicket Cressey and James Clarke took the total to 152-3. With overs running out Cressey was dismissed by the impressive returning Ashley Hurrell for 34. When Clarke fell to Shurmer  for 30, and the win the only outcome LI were interested in, the tail fell away with Shurmer finishing on 5-46 and Hurrell 3-16 off 9 overs as LI slid to defeat but with some consolation in having achieved their highest ever league finish of 3^rd place.

Best Performances:-

Cotswold Hills League Division 5
Played 22nd August 2009

Long Itchington 2nd XI lost every facet of their game against an Ashton Under Hill 2nd XI who punched above their weight to win convincingly by 7 wickets.

Itchington batted first with their strong batting line up but unfortunately no one player played a big innings and the top score was 30 which was well below par on a well prepared wicket which look conducive to high scores.

Confidently the Itchngton bowlers took the field after the break but unfortunately appeared to go back to early season nerves with a number of wides added to the extras total.

The Ashton batsmen started confidently with the dangerous Capaldi looking well set until he was well caught at short cover by Franks off White. This brought Pearce to the wicket to play an innings that none of the Itchington bowlers had come up against this season, from the outset he played attacking shots to all parts of the ground to quickly accumulate a big score.

Smith changed his bowlers at regular intervals using seven bowlers in total to try and make the important break through it was all to no avail until with only 15 runs needed for victory first Martin who had supported Pearce well was bowled by the returning Hudson for 29 then Pearce was well caught down the leg side by Rogers off White for an excellent 80.

Ashton scored the winning run in the 35th over to record a resounding win and the title hopes of the Itchington players were left to hang in the balance until next Saturday in a must win game against Ealswood.

Long Itchington 2nd XI 169-9, Ashton under Hill 2nd XI 170-3.
Kineton 2nd XI won by 144 runs.

Long Itchington 2nd XI 2 points, Ashton under Hill 2nd XI 20 points

LI were involved in an excellent game of cricket on Saturday and despite having scored their highest ever total they still lost! On their first visit to the well appointed Blockley ground the playing arena looked full of runs. The home side made the most of batting first scoring 48 off the first 10 overs dealing mostly in boundaries. Stephen Rawbone accounted for the dangerous Sipthorp for 26 at 78 and Williams for 56 at 125 in the 22^nd over. Knight, who smashed some early big shots, was joined by his skipper Dyer. They played relatively sedately, especially against the returning Nick Brooks, although at 204-2 off only 35 overs they were in a good position to post a massive score. This they did adding 101 runs in the last 10 overs before both fell in the last over to boundary catches, Knight for 96 and Dyer for 98. Rawbone finished with 2-59, Martin Clark 2-80 and Brooks, although wicket less only conceded 32 off his 10 overs. The visitors, needing a win to maintain their promotion challenge, were not deterred in chasing such an imposing total. Martyn Rawbone and Aaron Jones took 65 off the first 10 overs but had been pegged back slightly when Jones was first out at 125 in the 22^nd over. Three wickets then fell in the next 6 overs including the in form Richard Cressey, James Clarke and Martyn Rawbone for 63. Tom Perks and Alex Jack then joined forces and some great running and hitting saw 87 scored in 11 overs before Perks succumbed for 53. More wickets fell as the total needed reduced. 19 were needed off the last over and despite a 4 coming off the first ball two wickets fell to boundary catches including Jack off the last ball for an excellent 75 as LI fell only 8 runs short on 297-9 with 602 runs having been scored in the 90 overs and many players admitting it was the best match they had ever played in.

Best Performances:-

Cotswold Hills League Division 5
Played 15th August 2009

Acting Skipper Andy Crump maintained his unbeaten run as Itchington convincingly beat Winchombe IIs, away, by 144 runs.

Inserted on a hard track, openers Graham Foster (104) and George Insall (50) set Itchington on the way with a fine stand of 131, before Insall was run out.

Foster hit 16 boundaries in a superb innings, taking full advantage of some good fortune before being 7th out at 209. Wickets tumbled in the search for quick runs but Tom Crosthwaite (22) and Steve Franks (19) maintained the momentum with Itchington closing on 222 (the same score as their first team). Hobbs 4-42 was the pick of the bowlers.

Neil Hudson opened Itchington’s attack and bowled with pace and hostility taking 2-24 off 6 fine overs. Veteran Dave Buchholz maintained control at the other end and took 3-35 off 10 overs as Winchcombe slipped to 53-5.

Craig White replaced Hudson and soon got in on the act taking 3-12 off 5.1 unplayable overs. A run out and a wicket for Crosthwaite off his solitary over saw Winchcombe bundled out for 78.

Long Itchington 2nd XI 222-9, Winchcombe 2nd XI 78 all out.
Long Itchington 2nd XI won by 144 runs.

Long Itchington 2nd XI 22 points, Winchcombe 2nd XI 4 points

A good all round team performance was backed up by good catching as well as enthusiastic fielding from Martin Greaves.

With two games left Itchington remain top but need to maintain this level of performance to avoid being overtaken by the chasing pack.

LI came out on top in another high scoring encounter against visitors Winchcombe to put behind them their disappointing defeat last weekend. The Gloucs side, batting first on a true and pacy LI wicket, lost their first wicket at 20 in the 7^th over. Skipper Hugget was dropped 2 balls later and again in the following over before hammering four 4’s in an over to celebrate his good fortune. He survived two more difficult chances as he and Durston added 110 before finally succumbing for 74. Durston was 3^rd out for 45 at 153 to spinner Steve Chapman who proceeded to trouble all the batsmen as the visitors slipped to 191-7. No 4 Foster was still in residence however and his unbeaten 43 aided by 17 n.o. from Didcote pushed up the final total to 221-7. Chapman finished with an excellent 5-37. Having chased down 238 at Winchcombe earlier in the season the home side began positively reaching 39-0 off the first 10 overs. Aaron Jones was first out at 72 for a well constructed 29. Richard Cressey joined skipper Martyn Rawbone adding 79 in just 14 overs when Rawbone was 2^nd out for 60 at 151 in the 31^st over. Another 70+ stand followed as Cressey (89 n.o.) and Tom Perks (27 n.o.) saw LI home with 8 balls to spare for an 8 wicket win. S Jones taking both wickets to fall in a 2-49 return.

Best Performances:-