Chris

Not a result to improve the skipper’s knee.

Having won the toss and elected to bat the Ives innings looked to be off to a good start as Denis (10) and Phil P (19) put on 29 for the 1^st wicket.  Unfortunately from there the score quickly took a turn for the worse and after 17 overs 5 wickets had fallen with only 46 on the board and time for a rescue mission.  Malcolm (17) & Richard (19) started the recovery with a stand of 30 with Earle then joining Malcolm for a further stand of 18.  Malcolm departed with 8 overs to go and with 92 on the board it was left to Earle (24no) and playing possibly his best innings to date and Andy C (34no) to add 50 to the score in only 8 overs to post 144 for 7 at the close.  Probably 30 short of what was  a par score but at least one that gave Ives a chance of victory.

Unfortunately apart from Andy C early on and in particular Denis (8 overs 1 for 21) the other bowlers continually fed the Corinthians opener  Shah with short balls which he took delight in pulling for boundaries to square leg as he scored 94 before being well caught by Earle in the deep but by then the game all but over as the match was lost in only 27 overs as Corinthians recorded 145 -3.  The only other high points were another wicket for Badders in the closing overs and one for Ciaran well caught in the gulley by Den.

A lesson to be learned to pitch the ball up and not feed the batsman’s best shot on a hard wicket!

In the absence of injured skipper Adrian and vice captain Bob, backpacking somewhere in Australia, Ciaran took the helm for the first time and having won the toss inserted the opposition on a very damp track for a timed match .

With Andy C (8 overs for only 24 runs) and Lawrence bowling tight opening spells runs were restricted in the first half of the Chaseville’s innings and although no wickets fell everything was going well.  After the drinks break however the Chaseville innings took off and despite sterling efforts from all the bowlers and Lawrence coming back to finish with 1 for 45 a century from Barrel for Chaseville in the last over left allowed them to finish on 201 for 2 with Ciaran being the only other wicket taker.

In reply Ives inning got off to a good start with Den(20) and Phil P (44) putting on 51 for the first wicket and with the final 20 overs coming up the score was 88 for 2 with an unlikely win still on the cards. Phil and Malcolm (25) kept the score going aided by Andy H (11) but as Chaseville tightened up their bowling runs became harder to come by. However Kabir playing his first match showed a good eye for the ball to finish on 25no and with Ciaran’s brother, Dominic (14) also scoring well followed by Richard (15no) the innings closed on 170 for 5 for an honourable draw, the thought of what might have been, and a well done to Ciaran in his match as skipper.

Well what a day for records.  First and foremost the highest score for the club of 131 held by Dave Howard for five decades or more has finally fallen.

Many have tried and been close over the years but it has finally fallen thanks to Denis and an unbeaten 135 not out. Added to that was a 3rd wicket stand of 157 with Bob to which Den contributed exactly 100 as Bob playing the supporting role scored 43.  Then there was Andy H’s top score for the club with 27 and when the Ives took to the field Richard recording his best return for the club of 5 for 13 in 8 overs as a 200 run win was recorded which must again be a record.

To tell the story in more detail after losing the last 3  games to bad weather it was somewhat of a surprise to everyone that there was no email on the morning of the match to say that the game was called off on what turned out to be the best day of the summer so far.

Ilford Catholics recognising they were understrength offered  an agreed toss and so it was that the Ives batted first in a 40 over game.

The innings started with Chris B and Denis opening .They put only 10 on the board before Badders (2) was caught by the wicket keeper bringing Andrew H to the wicket. Together with Den the pair proceeded to put on 60 in 12 overs before Andy (27) was dismissed. This brought in  Bob “The Batsman” Collins who with Denis put together a record stand for the third wicket  of157  in only 21 overs  with Denis contributing 100 of these before Bob was caught on 43. Laird Christopher “2 Plates” Parnell came next and as Denis continued to accumulate runs at the other end they added 5 runs to the score before Chris was bowled to be followed shortly after by Ciaran “The Beast” Woodcock . Malcolm added 4 runs in the final over to leave Denis unbeaten and with a new club record score of 135 not out and a total Ives score of 238 for 5 in 40 overs.

After tea Ives took to the field with the bowling attack of The Beast and ’Lionel’ Richard Parnell. They were quickly among the wickets as Ilford Catholics collapsed with Ciaran taking 2 for 19 in his 8 overs and Richard 5 for 13 in his assisted by catches by Adrian, Andy C, Andy H, and one each for Ciaran & Richard..  With Andy C taking over from Ciaran and taking 1 for no runs in his 1 over it was left to Badders making his annual bowling appearance to finish the game off in the only way he knows how.  On a hat trick from his only spell last year Chris failed to achieve this feat with his first bal lthis time only to again dismiss the last two Ilford batsmen in 2 balls to again be on a hat trick next season when the annual call from the skipper comes.  So Ilford Catholics were dismissed for 38 to end a day of sun and club records.

Cut the noose we have another win!

On what has become the norm for this summer, a windy, wet day, Ivanhoe CC looked to avenge the comprehensive beating they had been given by Bamville CC the previous year. Woodcock and Parnell opened the bowling, after keeping it tight in the opening overs, Ivanhoe had Bamville with less than 50 runs coming in the first 16 overs for 2 wickets. However from then on, Ivanhoes game changes completely. Sloppy errors in the field, combined with Lazy fielding Ivanhoe let Bamville build up an important partnership, with quick singles a plenty due to some lack lustre fielding.

The partnership was broken when Skip putting himself on to bowl, opened with a magic delivery which managed to stay just low enough to not be called a no ball, but a wicket none the less. This was then followed up by some excellent bowling by the Skip providing him with the rewards of a 5 wicket haul. Evans kept it tight from the top end, and his accurate bowling helped to keep the score lower than what was once threatened. However Bamvilles innings was consistently helped by a poor Ivanhoe attitude in the field, which gave Bamville a total of 173 for 7.

The task of chasing down this total was opened by Dancer and Evans, who put on a brilliant opening partnership of 101, ending with Dancer on 41 and Evans 58. Evans then got out at 61, continuing the brilliant form he has shown all season. Having set Ivanhoe up with the hopes of victory, there was little help from the rest of the team as although R Parnell and Kenchington made a good start, both could not deliver the big score that the victory would require, so with an ever increasing run rate Ives fell agonisingly 11 runs short of a victory all out for 163.

Some may say that more passion was shown in the pub discussing the game and what went wrong, than what had been put into the game, with different criticisms ranging from needing better players to the need for improvement from the players on the day. It can be looked at the scoring 163, better than 4 an over is a very positive step by Ives and shows a big improvement. Personally I felt that we let this game slip away, as from two positive positions we failed to deliver when we should have, with a mixture of poor fielding and slow run rates combining to deliver defeat.

It has been decided that before each home games, the players should arrive one hour early to work on batting and fielding. There is no quick fix going to come, and no Matt Martin about to paper over the cracks in our batting line up. The solution has to come from within. Chris Baddeley is a prime example of someone who has put the effort into his game, and is reaping the rewards, if we could all do this, Match reports would be a lot more positive, and the game more enjoyable. However talk is cheap, so it will be interesting to see if Ivanhoe practice before games, and if this makes a difference.

Ivanhoe have the chance to avenge the loss next week, so hopefully this is a different story!

The first fixture after our tour brought us to Hawridge & Cholesbury CC. A last minute fixture but a great spot thanks to ‘The Fox’!

Not too sure now but I think skip won the toss and put us in the field. Anyhow, we were fielding first!

Hawridge’s batsmen looked as though they were digging in well with two and three racking up a decent partnership. At one point it looked like they would be finishing around the 190 mark. However, apart from a scratchy start from the field, some good bowling saw ‘Beast’ take a couple of wickets but Andy CCCCCCCC gets the hat trick! All said and done, Hawridge left us a respectable score to chase of 154.

After a fine tea, Badders and Evans were sent out to open Ives account. Evans facing, picked up some early fours from a short bowling spinner. Badders on the other hand, just couldn’t see the ball. Evans put on a respectable 24 before being bowled and Badders managed a slow and boring 15!

Collins put on a slow but satisfactory 31 but it was left to Skip to significantly boost Ives account with a hard 51. Due to the oppo scoring, poor old skip didn’t get the recognition he deserved in achieving his 50 but we made up for that later. Sorry Skip!

It seemed as though it was all over but with Ady and Beast (n.o) going for it, we needed 8 off the last over. It was not to be with Ady being bowled leaving six to achieve.

All in all, a well suited oppo of which we might like to see on the fixtures card in seasons to come!

After continual rain for virtually the whole of the previous 36 hours the chances of playing this match after the previous day’s washout looked slim. However thanks to the oppo’s artificial strip the match was able to go ahead as planned on what turned out to be a dry sunny afternoon.

Playing against a generally young Knowle side Ives batted first and after Malcolm departed early firstly Chris B (21) and Adrian 23 kept the score ticking.   The tempo was  increased by  a returning ‘for one game only’ Nick James (21) and  a cameo 32 from Andy C.  It was during this that the presence of our very own Barmy Army supporters club became apparent. Made up of non playing opposition players sitting on the boundary they kept up a continual chant in support of the Ive’s throughout the afternoon which was much appreciated by all.

A quick fire 11 from Richard and with first Tim  (12) and then Andy H (6)putting bat to ball at the end supported by Bob (19no) the  innings closed on 170-8 from 40 overs.

With the constant support from the Barmy Army, Ciaran took a wicket with the first ball of the innings and with Adrian bowling a superb opening spell of 4 for 9 in 8 overs at the other end the opposition quickly found themselves 5 down with nothing to speak of on the score board. With two wickets for Andy H (2 for 9) the match seemed over with 20 overs to go with Knowle 7 down and only 50 on the board.  However an 8^th wicket stand for looked for a time that it might upset the result until Tim (1 for 26) nipped in with a wicket and Nick James finished off the opposition with two quick wickets as Knowle closed on 107 all out and a 63 run Ives win.

On a glorious May day Ivanhoe played Jaguar CC, a late selection from the fixture list, but hopefully lesser components given their vegetarian preferences versus the red-bloody carnivores of Ives. Alas it was not be, carnivores or not, 3 bad omens soon appeared. 1. They arrived early. 2. They were practicing. 3. They were a third of our age. Skip won the toss and put the vegetarians in to bat. The start was good as often it is, with 3 cheap wickets gained (Lionel 2, Christie 1) through good catches from the Duke/Bob and the author. Later their opener fell for 32 to a cleverly disguised (well the cow in the field next door didn’t pick it) slow ball from Christie. From there on it was all downhill with some big hitting from their next 2 batsman who scored 61 and 95. Their tail-enders chipped in and their final score was 262. The pick of the bowlers were Richard (2-19), Skip (2-32) and Christie (2-35).

Tea was taken. Then Ives resolved to show the youngsters the way cricket should be played!! Laurie, Den, and Bob (0/6/0) gave textbook examples of how not to bat. Adrian showed some resolve, hit some nice 4s before falling for 13. It was left to our resident Yorkshireman, Chris “Boycott” Baddeley to show what could have been with a well constructed 35no, demonstrating patience and picking off the loose ball for 4 when warranted.

The oppos skipper cleaned up the tail cheaply with Ives all out for 95.

Oh well – the tour to follow and hopefully some better results to be had.

First game of the 2012 season, on what could be described as soft wicket and outfield.   Ives win the toss and ask Rivetts to bat in a 40 over game. Opening the bowling, Richard and Andy ccc. It’s not long before Richard strikes with a fine catch from Sid who kept busy in the field. Not to be outdone Andy cc strikes, not bad a wicket in the first game and a catch for Tim. First change sees Andy H picking up a wicket, this is backed up by Tim at the other end picking up 2 wickets . Rivetts score is boosted with two 50s from Amer and Shomas. Bowling continues with spells from Phil P , having a workout and a wicket, also Den with a wicket as well as AD from a Quick stumping from Phil K. Rivetts score ends on 162.

After tea, opening are AD and Den. AD soon departs for a duck and Den is joined by Bob the Batsman Collins. Ives score reaches 34 before Den departs for a 20 which brings Richard to the middle. Richards positive start helps the score along, and is backed up by Bob. Rich falls for 26, and the game is still in the balance . With the middle order and the departure of Bob the Batmen for 55, carrying on from his last game last season , the innings slows . A few boundaries are needed to keep the target in sight. With wickets still falling this brings the last pair of both Andys to the middle AndyCC hits a 6 then is bowled. Ives score ends on 141.

Looking forward, all bowlers picked up wickets, a solid start from Bob with a 50, a target for all of us in the top 4 to do?