Weekly Round Up (w/e 9th June)

What a difference a week can make! After a period of poor availability, the club returned to winning ways with five wins on Saturday. The U15 Eagles, Evening League XI and Ladies team also came away with well deserved victories during the week.

There were some great individual performances last week, including:

Batting:

• James Ellis – 105 from 89 balls
• Matt Walker – 75* from 100 balls
• Steve Rothon – 75 from 73 balls
• Richard Barker – 75 from 66 balls
• Ryan Hart – 66 from 123 balls
• John Wright – 65* from 48 balls
• Sam Harmsworth – 62* from 86 balls
• Josh Francis – 56 from 81 balls
• Terry Martin – 52 from 61 balls
• Ben Francis – 51 from 43 balls
• Toby Turner – 55* from 28 balls (evening league T20)

Bowling:

• Mihir Patel – 9-0-35-4
• Katrina Mayfield – 4-2-4-4 (Ladies T20 game)
• Freddie Ashworth – 9-2-41-4
• Xavier Garms – 6-0-31-3
• Sam Skillett – 6-0-38-3
• Sangeet Prasad – 8-1-26-3
• Duncan Bond – 6-3-7-3

A special mention to Ryan Hart for his first ever half century in adult and league cricket!

We’re thrilled to confirm that Saxon Hall has been booked for the End of Season Awards Night. The date for your diaries is Friday 11th October. Save the date and expect more news in the coming weeks [Read more]

The club would like to say a massive thank you Sam Mayfield for running the BBQ last Saturday. It was fantastic to see so many members, friends and family in attendance.

A reminder to all adult members that training is scheduled on Monday’s and Thursday’s from 6pm till twilight on the new ground. Please contact your team captains should you have any questions.

“Extra! Extra! Read all about it!“

Rayleigh 1st XI travelled to Aythrope Roding for their second consecutive away game, aiming to return to winning ways against the team at the bottom of the table. The skipper decided to take the afternoon off, with Ox stepping into the hot seat. Despite being presented with a decent-looking pitch, the heavy cloud cover suggested that bowling first would be the best option. Unfortunately, he lost the toss and the home side elected to field first.

Littler and Keene opened up and had some early success, mainly because the opening bowler couldn’t control the swing he was generating. Wide after wide ensured the scoreboard kept ticking over, with Keene elegantly pushing boundaries through point and cover when the bowler got it right. Unfortunately, a rare delivery hooping in on the stumps was too good for Littler, and Lynch followed him to the pavilion soon after when he also received a ball that did a bit off the pitch. Cook, returning after an extended injury layoff, was given out to a generous LBW decision.

A change of bowling brought success with Ox caught at mid-off, leaving the score at 76-4 with only 41 runs off the bat. The good balls continued to be devastating, with Frost, Hood, and Turnbull either not lasting long or not troubling the scorers. Rayleigh were reeling at 110-8 in 16 overs. However, of the 34 runs scored since the 4th wicket, only 13 had come off the bat.

Harmsworth and Patel decided the best course of action was to stay put and let the opposition give away the runs Rayleigh desperately needed. The home side obliged with continuous wides and byes, adding to the score, and at one point the wicketkeeper had three backstops! Harmy and Mihir brilliantly shepherded the strike and caused more issues with their right/left combination. Toward the end, with bowlers tiring, Harmy and Mihir superbly attacked at the right moments, pushing the score to the 200 mark and achieving a 100 partnership with a few overs still remaining.

Mihir was caught attacking in the last couple of overs for a commendable 25, and Abley was bowled soon after, ending the innings at 232 all out in 43 overs, although Rayleigh probably faced 50 with all the extra balls. Harmsworth ended 62 not out but was outscored by the 94 extras. The pick of the bowlers were Desilva (4-32) and Kiriella (4-42).

Rayleigh requested a quick turnaround due to the lengthy first innings, and the umpire agreed to just a 10-minute break between innings. Rayleigh came out firing, while Aythorpe seemed a bit sleepy. Abley took the first over and got Desilva out LBW. Two balls later, he had Ali Akhtar caught superbly by Turnbull at second slip. Frost then joined in, dismissing the other opener with a flashy drive that Littler caught at first slip, making it a perfect start for the away team at 0-3.

The next couple of overs were quiet, with Abley being thrifty at one end and Frost not having much luck at the other. However, Frost soon claimed his second wicket with a great ball that rearranged the stumps. Azeem Akhtar and Steve Chambers tried to rebuild and targeted Hood for runs, but he got the breakthrough with a mistimed shot that was caught by Abley at mid-off. Chambers and Tennakoon then started to rebuild again, with Turnbull reducing the run rate and Mihir proving tough to read at the other end.

The 6th wicket fell just before drinks when Mihir bowled a perfect delivery to take the opposition skipper’s off stump. James Chambers came to the crease and played some nice shots to support his father but struggled to break the infield. At drinks, they had reached the hundreds, but Rayleigh felt another wicket would see them through the rest.

Steve Chambers, after reaching fifty, survived two caught-and-bowled opportunities and a midwicket catch before his luck ran out. He attempted to clear the cow corner boundary but found Hood with safe hands. Mihir followed by catching James Chambers off his own bowling and then dismissing Jain, who was caught by Abley. With the opposition at 9 down and their number 11, a non-cricketer, at the crease, Ox, as captain, brought himself on to bowl. Initially, he attempted to bounce the poor guy out but finally bowled a full and straight delivery to end the game.

The pick of the bowlers were Mihir with 4-30 in his 9 overs and Abley with 2-8, setting the tone from the start. A solid performance in the end, with Harmy showing his class in his unbeaten innings and Mihir shining with both bat and ball. However, Rayleigh were aided massively by the opposition’s extras, though we did concede 41 extras ourselves in return. Next week, we face Little Baddow at home, another side recently demoted, which will present a much tougher examination. The batting still needs some improvement to meet the challenge.

Written by Rob Littler

The 2nd team welcomed South Woodham & Burnham 2s to Rawreth Lane for their second consecutive home fixture. The skipper was hoping for a better performance than last week.

Matt won the toss and elected to bat first on a hard pitch. Ellis and Francis (snr.) opened the batting, with Ellis finding two boundaries in the first few balls of the game. The two openers put on a show for the crowd, managing a stand of 91 runs before Ben was dismissed thanks to a caught and bowled by Rathi. The skipper then joined Ellis at the crease, and they continued to dominate South Woodham, building a partnership worth 123 runs.

Ellis reached his century in only 84 balls (124 minutes / 31.2 overs). Shortly thereafter, he was caught by the keeper on 105. Bala and Bobby added useful contributions of 27 and 28 respectively, and the skipper finished the innings unbeaten on 75* from 100 deliveries. Rayleigh concluded their innings at 302-4 from 45 overs.

Xavier Garms opened the bowling and made an immediate impact, taking a wicket in his first over. He struck again in his second over, with excellent support from Zack Skillett, who kept the batters quiet. South Woodham rebuilt well, but a good spell of bowling from Nick Green (9-1-24-2) helped break the opposition’s momentum. With the scoreboard reading 87-4, South Woodham needed a big partnership. Garms, returning to the attack, took another wicket, as did Jake Ashworth. A sharp run-out, thanks to a Zack Skillett throw, further dented their hopes. Richard Nolde removed the only Woodham batter who really troubled the scorers (Wade, 81), and Zack finished off by rearranging the stumps.

Woodham finished on 167 all out. The pick of the bowlers was Garms, with figures of 6-0-31-3. It was a completely different game to last week, with some fantastic individual performances. Long may it continue!

“No Ball!”

Rayleigh welcomed Tillingham 2nd XI to the old ground for their division seven clash. Skipper Noble lost the toss, and Rayleigh were asked to bat first on the uncovered wicket.

Rayleigh started poorly, losing four wickets for only 37 runs. Despite contributions from Noble (20) and Isherwood (21), the wickets continued to fall, leaving Rayleigh reeling at 86-5. Thankfully, Josh Francis (56) and John Wright (65*) had other ideas, helping to propel the total to 186-5 before Francis was caught off the bowling of Hylton. Ben Hoskins added a quickfire 12 to bring the score to 208-6 from their 45 overs.

Tillingham lost opener Reynolds cheaply in the first few overs but rebuilt to 52 without further wickets. Plummer was the next batter to fall, leading to a brief collapse with Tillingham losing three wickets for 13 runs.

It wasn’t meant to be for Rayleigh, though, thanks to the opposition skipper Hylton (79) and number seven Shipton, who built an impressive 87-run partnership. Hylton was removed with the score at 153-6, but the damage had already been done. With help from McCarthy (17*), Tillingham reached the target with one ball to spare.

Freddie Ashworth was the pick of the bowlers, picking up four wickets.

“Long journey for little reward”

The 4s made the very long journey to play Ilford Catholic at Barkingside Recreational Ground. After examining the ‘wicket’ and not noticing a discernible difference between the strip and the outfield, Captain Morgan felt it was a good toss to lose – which he did, and Ilford opted to bat first.

Rayleigh started well, with Andy Long keeping the openers quiet. The first breakthrough came from Sam Levett (5-0-21-1), followed in short succession by another two quick wickets, thanks to the bowling of Oliver Barker (4-1-16-2). With the score at 39-3, Ilford needed a partnership. Shah and Sharma put on just over a hundred for the fourth wicket and seemed to find gaps with ease. The introduction of Sam Skillett helped remove Shah (63), Khan, and Sharma, returning figures of 6-0-38-3. The skipper chipped in with a wicket towards the end as Ilford set Rayleigh a target of 198 runs to win.

The 4s started poorly against some exquisite bowling from the Ilford left-arm in-swinging opener. With the score at 15-3, it was up to Tom Peppiatt and Richard Barker to help rebuild the innings. Despite causing some concern for the opposition thanks to good running between the wickets, Peppiatt was the first to be dismissed, holing out to long on off a full toss, after showing uncharacteristic patience at the crease.

Richard soon brought up his half-century, supported by Mike Mayfield (20) but drinks interrupted their partnership, and hope began to dwindle for the visiting side. Despite some powerful shots, Richard fell for a fantastic 75 off 66 balls. Unfortunately, the tail didn’t offer much resistance, and Rayleigh ended up limping to 145 all out.

Captain Smith and his band of merry men (and Chloe) travelled to Margaretting to play Galleywood. Rayleigh lost the toss and were asked to bat first.

Dave Turner and Terry Martin made good starts, putting on 97 for the first wicket until Dave departed LBW for a well-made 36. After reaching his half-century, Terry (52) was ceremoniously bowled through the gate, leaving Shane McDonagh and James Offer at the crease. James made a sluggish (for his standards) 39 from 15 balls (5 fours, 2 sixes) and was supported by Brad Walker (27*) and Phil Hammond (31*), who got the scoreboard moving towards the end of the innings after Offer and McDonagh departed. Rayleigh posted 229/4 from their 40 overs.

Galleywood lost quick wickets despite a fairly solid foundation, losing 4 wickets for 12 runs, thanks to some patient bowling from Sangeet Prasad (8-1-26-3) and James Offer (8-1-24-1). Mayan Praveen (66) attempted to take the game away from Rayleigh, but was sent back by the Rayleigh skipper, and the tail couldn’t help Galleywood reach the total.

Galleywood finished on 202-8 from their 40 overs. All bowlers played a part in the victory, with Kuldeep Paik, Shane McDonagh, Sangeet Prasad, Rebecca Walker, James Offer, and Marc Smith all picking up wickets. Rayleigh now rise to the top of Division Ten.

Rayleigh welcomed Willow Herbs to Rawreth Lane, including Rayleigh Ladies player Freya Barnard. Simon Lennox captained from his deckchair due to a back injury, while Duncan took the armband on the field. Rayleigh won the toss and elected to bat first. Despite losing two quick wickets, Ryan Hart and Steve Rothon went about rebuilding the innings. They took Rayleigh from 15/2 to 159/3 with a superb partnership of 144 runs. Ryan was the first of the pair to depart, scoring a fantastic 66 (123 deliveries and 6 fours) – his first-ever half-century in adult cricket! Steve followed shortly after, adding 75 runs at an impressive run rate (73 deliveries and 10 fours). Rayleigh finished on 190/5 from their 40 overs.

Rayleigh’s bowling attack proved to be too much for the Willow Herbs batters, as only three reached double figures. The opposition was bundled out for 123 in 35.2 overs. Duncan Bond was the pick of the bowlers, returning figures of 6-3-7-3

The 7s visited West Mersea for a friendly fixture. Batting first, Rayleigh posted 138/3 from their 40 overs – Richard Mantell (38) and Alan Brown (34) top scoring.

In response, West Mersea were bowled out for 70 runs in a fantastic bowling performance. All bowlers played a part, but Aaron Akers (6-2-5-2), Robin Peppiatt (7-2-5-2) and Andy Lynch (5-0-9-2) picked up two wickets each.

Brian Dawbarn’s Barmy Army ventured out to Belfairs to play Eastwood in a friendly fixture. Eastwood won the toss and batted first, posting 114 all out from 40 overs. Jacob Collins, Arvin Ghataura and Brian Jeeves lead the bowling – snapping up two wickets each.

Rayleigh slumped to 52 all out in reply, with Brian Jeeves (15) and Naiyan Shah (13) top scoring.

The Essex Women’s T20 League returned to action on Friday and Rayleigh managed to pull off a massive win against Galleywood.

Rayleigh won the toss, batted first and posted 154-2 from their 20 overs – Georgia Wilson (26*), Rebecca Walker (28*) and Gill Collins (25*) led the scoring. Galleywood struggled against excellent bowling. Katrina was the star of the show, returning figures of 4-2-2-4!