May 2013

After last week’s fine batting performance old frailties returned as Ives attempted to chase down a challenging score set by Battersea Badgers.

Bowling first Andy H bowled 2 excellent spells to finish with 3 for 17 in 9 overs and with Bass also bowling well for his 5 overs for 22 runs the early scoring was held in check. Wickets from Den, Ciaran and Earle and two from Richard with catches also from Matt, Den, Earle(2) and Richard plus an excellent run out from Phil P held what looked at one time being a 220/230 score to 202 for 9 at tea.

Unfortunately early wickets fell to the Battersea bowling attack to leave the Ives innings in disarray at 38 for 7 with only Andy H making double figures. Then Ciaran playing a resolute stone wall defence albeit for only 4 before he was out and then Earle and Malcolm 29no took the innings towards an unlikely draw with 6 overs remaining, but with the fall of Earle for 17 the last 2 wickets quickly fell to leave Ives 76 all out and an emphatic loss.

On another overcast day Ives were put into bat in a time game and made steady progress against nagging bowling from the Mathews openers. Helped by some missed catches Den (30) & Bob (26) put on 51 for the opening stand which was the starter before the main course as first Raj Shah in his debut game for the club and then Richard upped the pace putting on 70 for the 3rd wicket in quick time before Raj was bowled for a fine 52. Richard carried on to score an excellent 59 helped first by Matthew (21) and then Malcolm (22) as the runs piled up and Ives declared on 228 – 7 with 1 ball remaining.

In reply Tim took the first early wicket to a fine catch by Ciaran but Mathews accumulated runs at a quick rate as wickets failed to come. Andy H and Raj plugged away and Raj took the 2nd wicket but this failed to stem the flow entirely and 109 were required off the last 20 overs with 8 wickets in hand. Eventually Richard removed the dangerous Mathews No 3 for 91 to a catch by Tim and with Den, and then at the end of the innings, Andy H joining Richard the last over came with Mathews requiring 7 to win. Thanks to excellent fielding by Ciaran turning what looked like being a 4 into 2 and a run out by Malcolm only 5 were conceded by Richard for the tightest of draws as the game finished with Mathews on 227 for 5 and a memo to Bob not to declare with 1 ball remaining next time!

Whilst persistent heavy showers eventually caused the match to be abandoned, at that point with 10 overs to go in a time match all 3 results were still possible.

Having won the toss Bob elected to bat and against a good opening spell from the Arkley openers runs were hard to come by averaging only 2 an over in the first 12 overs. Den quickly departed and it was Phil P coming in at No 3 who was to hold the innings together firstly with a partnership with Bob (24) and then as wickets fell, leaving Ives on 68 for 5 and in danger of not posting a competitive score, with Malcolm (15). Phil finally departed for 58 and Earle then took up the challenge with a quick 21 not out at the end for the rain interrupted innings to close on 151 for 8.

Heavy rain showers continued after tea forcing the teams off on a number of occasions. Throughout this Ciaran bowled an excellent spell in difficult conditions taking 3 for 47 in 13 overs. Similarly Den with 0 for 47 in 11. Excellent fielding and two brilliant catches by Matt P and Den helped keep the scoring in check and with Richard taking 1 for 3 in 1.5 overs before the rain finally won the day the match was abandoned with Arkley 88 for 4 and 10 overs remaining.

After a sudden heavy hailstorm threatened to cancel the match before it started play eventual got underway 75 minutes late with Ives electing to bowl first in a reduced 35 over game.

Denis and Andy H lead the way with tight opening spells but without success on the wicket front and although Richard and Ciaran didn’t have initial success both finally were in the wickets with Ciaran taking 2 for 56 and Richard 4 for 39. Tim chipped in with 1 for 27 taking an excellent caught and bowled to follow up on an equally good catch in the deep earlier in the GWR innings. With a couple of run outs towards the end of the innings GWR closed on 183 for 9.

In reply Bob contributed 18 but it was a stand of 61 between Phil P (23) and Richard (36) that gave a the Ives hope of overhauling the opposition score but it was not to be with only a quick fire 14 by Andy H at the end of the innings helping to push the Ives score to 138 for 9 at the close.