TCL 2nd XI Match Reports

Saturday 12 September (TCL Div 5)

Mistley was the scene for the 2nd XI's final outting of the summer and they put up a fairly decent show against a side who had suffered only three defeats in the campaign, two of these agianst champions Maldon and one at The Brow.

Having been inserted, the Swans got off to a steady start and had just started to accelerate when Craig Scott got one to spit off what proved to be a troublesome pitch and Mike Abrey pouched the catch at slip via a helpful outstretched finger of the wicket keeper who was enduring a torrid time trying to prevent his handsome features being damaged as the early morning watering made the strip a tad unpleasant.

A bizarre run out with both batsmen occupying the same crease signalled a run of wickets at regular intervals as Dane White (2-21) impressed in mid-innings. However, it was the experienced Abrey who exploited the drying pitch with aplomb and his figures of 12-1-20-5 were a fitting tribute to his accuracy and guile as the opposition failed to strike him to the boundary.

Ben Huxley claimed a memorable catch at the third attempt and mention must go to Gregan Savill who returned to bowl at the death with considerable vigour as Mistley were finally out off the last ball of the innings for 183.

Abbgerton's response lacked conviction and stuttered along with most players just about making double figures but not much else. The scoring rate had increased sharply when Gragan Savill at number eight joined Dan White at the crease with nearly 100 required for a very unlikely victory.

The two youngsters acquitted themselves supremely well and the home sphincters were defintely twitching as they set about the bowling in the latter overs. White ended with a superb maiden TCL half century and Savill 34* as the visitors fell eleven runs short to end a thrilling contents watched by a near capacity-packed People's Enclosure courtesy of the reduced price Saturday afternoon admission. John 'Two Teas' Everett trurned up for refreshments and then hastily departed; nothing new there then.  MP

Saturday 5 September (TCL Div 5)

Another glorious, sunny afternoon at The Brow and another victory for the Lions against a somewhat weak Brightlingsea side. The visitors elected to bat first and were soon under pressure with opening bowlers Craig ‘Spinner’ Scott and Gregan Savill performing well early on with the new nut. Scotty was soon ripping through the Brightlingsea top order whilst Savill struggled to find his radar but ended up with figures of 6-1-19-2 which included a great catch from behind the sticks by Dave Schofield who performed very well again with the gloves. Scotty’s consistent line and length was key to his overall bowling performance which undoubtedly made him the pick of the bowlers and the man of the match. His outstanding figures were 15-3-35-7 which included a hat trick of Brightlingsea victims. Well bowled the spinner! Keith Brewster came onto bowl and was very unlucky to see many runs off the edge of the bat and through the slip cordon but anyhow picked up a wicket, knocking some guy’s pole out. Brightlingsea all out for a dismal 94.

Abberton started the chase with Sir John Gallant and Paul ‘Gatting’ Johnson at the crease. The innings got off to a bad start with Gallant being dismissed early on for a p-altry four whilst Gatting’s larger, younger brother was scratching around. The dismissal of Sir John brought Simon ‘Beefy’ Berger to the middle. Bergs looked comfortable early on but after some advice with the square leg umpire was out a ball later. Sorry Simon! Dave Schofield joined PJ at the middle and both of them knocked off the remaining runs. This partnership saw Dave Schofield (45 not out) show off some expert strokeplay and Paul ‘Sparky’ Johnson’s (40 not out) precise slapping of the cricket ball. On the subject of Sparky, The Sparky lookalike (being Johnners) smashed a six, which puts him in the driving seat in the six hit challenge being 3-0 up. Come on Mr Lockyer there is still hope! Another win for Abberton and another important 20 points which should keep us safe from relegation.

A big thanks to Rosemary Fox for yet another smashing tea which would definitely be highly rated, courtesy of Sawdon’s Tea Watch. Roll on Mistley next weekend which is the final game of the season for the TCL 2nd XI.

This report was brought to you by MENSA Minor Minor.

Monday 31 August (TCL Div 5)

A third successive success was achieved on Bank Holiday Monday giving Abberton sufficient points to preserve their 5th Division status barring a mathematical fluke. Visitors Frinton were no doubt pleased to get away from the hoardes that descend upon their pleasant village on such occasions and they contributed greatly to an excellent game of cricket played in fine spirit throughout.

Batting first in hot conditions, the Seasiders recovered from 61-4 but then lost wickets regularly to be dismissed for 190 in the last over of their innings. Craig Scott dished up probably his best spell of the sumemr, bowling unchanged for fifteen overs that yielded the splendid figures of 3-32. Dan White also performed reasonably if not enthusiastically with the ball and Tom Sawdon's first spell, which cost only sixteen runs, also caught the eye. Sam Trussler was in great form behind the timbers and claimed two stumpings as well as making some impressive leg side saves.

Mark Copson and Trussler was soon enjoying a shower (not together it has to be emphasised) but John Gallant and James Carroll then held firm, taking the score to 115 before the latter departed for 46. Although the required run rate was not massive, it had climbed higher as opener Gallant suddenly struggled to get the ball away and, had it not have been for an explosive 25 from skipper Mike Abrey, we may well have lost a game that was ours for the taking.

With Gallant bowled for 90 off the first ball of the last over, a thrilling finale ensued with Scott and White scampering the four singles required for victory to end an exciting contest. Thanks must go to veteran Ken Sparkes who rolled up and umpired the whole match. Not many are capable of that at his age; top marks. MP

Saturday 29 August (TCL Div 5)

Another Saturday, another Suffolk town. For the third game in a row, the Chairman tucked his passport into his back pocket and set off in his green go kart to negotiate the Nayland Pass, this time en route to Bury St Edmunds. Messrs Fox, White, Abrey and Brewster clearly had problems at passport control (would you let any of them into your county?) as they radioed ahead to confirm they may not be there at kick off. Coochy Coo received this news with huge optimism, realising that he may be batting as high as seven if the famous four did not arrive in time. As it was, our hosts won the toss and batted first. Their skipper must have received inside information and was merely protecting the already prepared and laid out tea – if we had batted first there was no way the Abberton contingent could guarantee the safety of the fodder before its designated eating time. Sir John Gallant, who had earlier been heard discussing the merits of croquet as a sport, was disappointed to learn that there were no cucumber sarnies available at the interval. Oh, how the Pimms must flow on the sprawling lawns of his Tollesbury mansion. For the remainder of the game, it was clear the Abberton minds were hovering dangerously close to the gutter. Craig Scott asked the Chairman if he had ever worn a thong (no, in case anyone else is interested) and then whether or not he had ever worn Sara’s knickers to work (once again, no). Scotty didn’t believe him on either count. Budgie’s underwear was the next topic – two sizes too big, I’m sure at one stage they must have been white, but had now progressed to a murky grey colour. His protestation was that "I like to have lots of room in them" (for what???). Oops, just realised this is supposed to be a cricket report. Bury St Ed 150 all out – Coe 3-37 off 15 (impressive), ADCC 151-8 – Trussler 32 (stylish), Collett 38 (brutal), Brewster 33 not out (belligerent). After a few scares we limped over the line to just about ensure safety from relegation this season.  SS

Saturday 22 August (TCL Div 5)

A much needed victory was ground out by Abberton at The Brow on Saturday as Kelvedon & Feering were overcome by 33 runs thanks mainly to some excellent work in the field and tidy bowling after a fragile-looking batting display had recovered to post an almost-respectable 224-8.

Having had two poor batting experiences in the past fortnight, the home team got off to another nightmare start losing the rotund Paul Johnson who gave a simpe return catch to the third ball of the innings. Kelvedon enjoyed more success with the ball as further poor shots saw the Lions stumble to a decidedly-dodgy 41-4 in the ninth over.

John Gallant (64) held firm, having hit some fine boundaries as his teammates departed miserably and he then received excellent support from Mike Tuck (61), the overseas-born all-rounder flourishing with some splendid strokes on both sides of the wicket as the pair added 93 for the fifth wicket.

With the departure of an obviously-disappointed Gallant leg before wicket, Dan White injected some pace in the run-scoring with a quickfire 31. Further useful contributions came from Simon Berger (17) and an out-of-breath Craig Scott (23*) as, for once, Abberton were not bowled out inside their over allocation.

Kelvedon's mainly young side had peformed pretty well with the ball and also in the field but, having reached 120-2 in the 28th over, they seemed to lose direction and the homesters capitalised with magnificent catches from skipper Michael Abrey, Tuck and little Tommy Pike (twice).

Opener Scott was perhaps unlucky not to retrun better than 1-35 from his stint and recorded a new personal best on the f***ometer, but it was Tuck (14-1-49-3) and Abrey (11-1-40-4) that bowled the last nineteen overs unchanged to give Abberton what appeared a more comfortable victory than might have been the case. MP

Saturday 15 August (TCL Div 5)

For the second week in a row, Abberton's inability to post a testing total on a pretty decent batting strip cost them dear as Hadleigh recorded an eight wicket win at their pleasant ground. Prior to the game, ADCC chairman Simon Swinn presented Barry Rudlin with a special memento to mark his 1000th game for the club, an incredible achievement only managed by two players before him.

Having won the toss, stand-in skipper Michael Abrey chose to bat and almost immediately John Gallant suffered a repeat of his freak dismissal against the same club earlier in the season when the bowler deflected a drive from the striker on to the stumps with a forlon Gallant stranded out of his ground. Mark Copson briefly flourished without ever looking comfrtoable and Rudlin played a couple of trademark shots but both were undone by opening bowler Tim Caston whose line, length and pace were a constant menace. He charged through fifteen overs straight off to finish with 5-51 and Abberton were in tatters.

Ben Huxley, battng at seven, held firm with some enterprising strokeplay, but debutant Paul Thompson (29) was the only other player in double figures as the visitors were again dismissed short of their overs, Huxley's 67* with scant support from the lower order taking the final score to 157.

Abberton tasted brief success after tea when Gallant held on to a magnificent catch at gully with the score on five but, although Chris Coe (16-5-34-0) toiled honestly without reward, the Hadleigh number three crashed some bludgeoning boundaries on his way to 98*, their victory coming in the 40th over.

Positives from the second innings were the bowling of youngsters Dan White and Tom Sawdon and the fielding of the atheltic Huxley. The Lions were yet again left wondering whether a score of 200 may have been beyond the Suffolk club as we did not manage to get down to some very young and experienced batsmen and the opener took all of 127 balls in making just 31 before edging behind. We will never know! MP

Saturday 8 August (TCL Div 5)

Abberton weakly handed Harwich & Dovercourt an eight wicket victory at The Brow and the visitors could be excused their surprise at how tamely the home side surrendered after a bright start that yielded 28 from the first three overs.

Michael Abrey (40) and Paul Welton (50) were the only batsmen to reach double figures, the important dismissal of the former inciting some very camp celebrations amongst the H&D fieldsmen. With seven wickets down inside 32 overs and middle order having capitulated to the Harwich spinners, it was never likely to be a positive day for Abberton and their final score of 136 was way short of what should have been achievable.

Some poor fielding and indifferent bowling gave the away team a solid start and, although Dan White and Mike Tuck did impress with the ball and Abrey toiled through a long stint from the Pyefleet End, we just did not set them a stiff enough target and they sauntered home by eight wickets with about five overs to spare. Even so, their battting clearly lacked any depth and one was left thinking that a total of 180 might well have been beyond Harwich. Very disappointing. Food for thought!  HE