Weekly Round Up (w/e 16th July)

Another disappointing week for the Rayleigh adult league sides, with only the 4th and 5th teams managing to secure wins. The Ladies XI had their fixture cancelled, which saw them take 2nd place in the AnyTickets Essex T20 League for the season. Excellent work, ladies!

Despite the poor results from our adult sides, the U17s beat Wickford, the U13s beat SOSEMT and the Sunday XI grabbed victory against local rivals Rettendon CC in a tight match.

Presidents Week is just around the corner! Starting on Monday 31st July, we’ve got a fantastic week of cricket planned for members.

• Monday 31st July – RCC vs. Basildon & Pitsea, captained by Brad Walker
• Tuesday 1st August – RCC vs. South Walsham, captained by Matt Walker
• Wednesday 2nd August – RCC vs. Belhus, captained by Tom Peppiatt
• Thursday 3rd August – RCC vs. Leigh-on-Sea
• Friday 4th August – Robert Baird Annual Memorial Match
• Saturday 5th August – League games as scheduled
• Sunday 6th August – Presidents XI (captained by Brad Walker) vs. RCC U19s (captained by Sam Harmsworth)

Catering has been arranged for Friday and Sunday and we expect that BBQs will be held after most games during the week. If you are available to play on Wednesday, Thursday or sunday, please contact Tom Peppiatt, Brad Walker or Matt Walker.

We’re pleased to announce that we will be holding a family fun day for some of our younger members, and wider community, on Sunday 20th August. Kids, parents and family are all welcome. There will be bouncy castles, mini-golf, a treasure hunt and kids cricket available between 10am and 2pm.

Wristbands for all activities cost £5 per child. The bar will be open and we plan to have a BBQ towards the end of the day – along with prizes for those who take part in the cricket.

More details will be published on the website (www.rayleighcc.com/funday) in due course. A big thank you to Rachel Turnbull for her support in pulling this event together.

There were some fine individual performances last week, including:

• James Geddes – 86* from 94 balls (6 fours and 2 sixes)
• Mike Mayfield – 55 from 36 balls (7 fours and 1 six)
• Ben Francis – 55* from 31 balls (7 fours and 3 sixes)
• Tom Peppiatt – 51 from 64 balls (7 fours)

• Sam Skillett – 3/27
• Elliot Davies – 3/14
• Jason Ox – 3/69
• Akash Nanayakkara – 3/39 (Midweek XI)
• Akash Nanayakkara – 3/12 (Sunday XI)
• Ben Hoskins – 3/33

On a blustery afternoon Rayleigh 1^st XI travelled to Springfield for their next match of the season. The skipper won the toss and decided to put the opposition in on a damp looking wicket, hoping that it would be tough to bat and the wind would dry out the wicket to make it easier later in the day.

It looked like it would be difficult to bowl up the hill and into the wind so the skipper gave that job to the youngest bowler in the team and Rayleigh started well with the ball in hand. The run rate was slow but unfortunately due to a combination of good batting and a bit of bad luck they couldn’t find the breakthrough. Mayfield, struggling into the wind, was replaced by Patel who once again showed great control to keep the batsmen quiet and eventually led to the first wicket. At drinks Springfield were 80-1, with wickets in hand Rayleigh knew they would come out aggressively in the second half. Even though the set ups were made the opposition found gaps and ran well to increase the run rate perfectly through Baker (56) and Khan (63) . Json Ox(3-69) was brought on to break the partnership and he did just that and Mayfield with the wind at his back got the other set batsman. This was the time to go for the jugular, but unfortunately the bowling went blunt. The skipper decided to go for something different and removed his cap.  His grandpa pace, making military medium look quick, proved problematic and he got a simple caught and bowled in his first over.  Ox then removed the opposition skipper and got the 6^th wicket in quick succession. The opposition still struggled the other end playing and missing and Littler (2-34) finding edges which were slightly too wide for the keeper. The all rounders found their range though and runs came freely again for Springfield who posted 261 for 7 in their 45 overs. In the end Rayleigh did well to keep it below 300 but it was going to be a tough chase.

The wind picked up in the tea interval and not just because of the pots of Curry provided by the opposition. Unfortunately, the skipper had hoped the wind would die down for the second half but it actually got gustier. This meant the bails had to be abandoned and the bowling from the end with help was a lot quicker on to the bat. Littler (18), after being dropped twice, thought his luck was in and went on the offensive to try and put the opposition on the back foot straight away.  Third time was not so lucky and with one that got caught by the wind and moved that extra half inch away from him he was caught in the gully. Harmsworth, promoted to 3 after good form, was blown off his feet in the bowlers delivery stride and his stumps also went flying.  Ox (28) counter punched but the introduction of the first change bowlers destroyed the middle order with Attwell (4-22) and Baker (2-18) sealing victory for Springfield. 7 of the 10 wickets to fall were bowled so work needed on that forward defense!! Rayleigh’s tail wagged valiantly with Turnbull (39), S. Verrinder (15) and Patel (23) making sure the score got up to 175 for some extra points which could be all important at the end of the season. Regrettably, it was a day that Rayleigh came up against a side that batted, bowled and fielded better then them on the day – they were just far stronger then us. You have to take games like that on the chin and hope you can bounce back off the canvas the following week.   

The 2nd team welcomed Great Waltham to Rawreth Lane. With the wickets covered from the early morning rain, the skipper elected to bat first.

Unfortunately, thanks to some tight bowling from Great Waltham, Rayleigh lost wickets quickly. With the score at 76-7, Rayleigh needed a partnership to catapult the score any higher. Thanks to some patient batting, Ben Hoskins (28) and Matt Walker (42) put on 65 for the 8th wicket – helping Rayleigh to a respectable 147-9 from their 45 overs.

Despite the captains best efforts with the bat, Great Waltham took the attack to Rayleigh from the first over. The visitors lost their first wicket with 66 runs on the board, thanks to some tight and fast bowling from Phil Everitt (8-1-21-1). Despite some accurate bowling from Nick Green and a wicket for Ben Hoskins (5-0-27-1), Great Waltham passed the total set by Rayleigh with a reverse slog six with 15 overs still remaining.

The 3rd XI travelled to Weald Road to play Brookweald 2nd XI. With rain still in the air, captain Nunn won the toss and asked the opposition to bat first.

Brookweald took the attack to the Rayleigh bowlers and put on a sizable total of 242-7 from 45 overs. Trevor Nunn (9-1-35-2), Josh Mantle (8-1-38-2) and Ryan Hart (6-0-38-2) were the pick of the bowlers, snatching two wickets each.

In reply, Rayleigh lost quick wickets, with only James Isherwood (25) troubling the scorers – until James Geddes and Mike Mayfield put on 69 for the fifth wicket. Mike, who I’m told batted with elegance and flamboyancy mixed into one, smashed 55 from only 36 balls (including 7 fours and 1 six). Once Mike fell, James went up a gear, supported by Trevor Nunn (22) and the remainder of the tail – posting a fantastic 86* from 94 balls (including 6 fours and 2 sixes).

Unfortunately, James’ excellent batting wasn’t enough to see Rayleigh home – coming up agonisingly short by 2 runs.

Rayleigh hosted Billericay St Johns at the old ground, with the visitors winning the toss and, to everyone’s amazement, decided to bat first.

The opposition barely scored a run for the first 20 overs, thanks to some accurate bowling from Mike Law (8-4-12-0) and Geoff Morgan (8-3-17-0). Sam Skillett (8-0-27-3) then came into the attack, taking a crucial three wickets, supported by Matt Setters (6-0-32-2). Billericay weren’t done yet, with their number seven striking a quick 49 before being dismissed by a Peppiatt pie. Thanks to some tight death bowling from Ollie Bennett, the opposition could only muster 169-8 from their 40 overs.

As the wind picked up, Mark Bailey and Josh Francis strode the crease, making a quick start and putting on 50 runs for the 1st wicket. Bailey and Tom Peppiatt were then able to put on a further 50 for the 2nd wicket, until Mark was caught behind for a well constructed 45. The skipper, woefully out of form for the last seven years, managed to shuffle his way to a 51, before being caught and bowled by the opposition skipper. With the scores 150-4, Rayleigh lost some quick wickets but Steve Gosling (21*) steadied the ship and saw Rayleigh home with 7 overs to spare.

The 4th XI remain in third place in the league. A victory on Saturday would almost certainly see them propelled to second – but with only 24 points separating 2nd and 8th place in the league, it’s still all to play for.

The 5s made the journey to Danbury to play Oaklands. The home side won the toss and batted first, posting 168-7 from 40 overs. Captain Marc Smith (8-0-34-2) and Chloe Martin (4-0-16-2) were the pick of the bowling attack.

Rayleigh lost a couple of quick wickets, but some bombastic batting from James Offer (44 from 23 balls) helped propel the score. Good contributions from Kuldeep Paik (25), Sangeet Prasad (20) and Brayden Burton (23*) helped the 5s secure victory with two wickets and seven overs remaining.

The 6s welcomed our friends from Tillingham to the third pitch. Weakened by availability this week, Ray Hart took the helm as captain – winning the toss and batting first.

Rayleigh lost wickets steadily throughout the innings, but some good batting from Ray Hart (30), Chris Grob (26*) and Umer Khan (21*) helped the 6s set 159-6 from 40 overs – not a bad score on a wet wicket.

Rayleigh unfortunately let Tillingham build partnerships throughout the innings, but restrictive bowling from the whole bowling unit helped limit the damage. Elliot Davies helped the situation by taking three wickets for 14 runs (7-0-14-3), but Tillingham were able to chase down the total with four wickets and 2.3 overs remaining.

Rayleigh hosted local rivals Rettendon in a friendly 35-over game. Winning the toss, Captain Harmsworth elected to bat first.

Rayleigh lost quick wickets, but were able to reach 164-7 thanks to good contributions from Akash (28), Garms Jnr (21), Jake Ashworth (43) and Sam Keene (28*).

Rettendon lost wickets regularly throughout their innings, but managed to keep up with the run rate. In the final over, Rayleigh came away victorious by only 3 runs. Ben Hoskins (7-0-33-3) and Akash (3-0-12-3) were the pick of the bowling.