Weekly Round Up: Two Centuries and Colts Fly High

Rayleigh knew a fast start was needed to try and put some doubt in the opposition for a low chase. They got exactly that when Abley got the wicket of the dangerous opposition skipper in the 3rd over. Unfortunately, that was to be the only wicket in the second innings. Chances were few and far between, and when they did present, Rayleigh failed to capitalise. Bharti (101*) and Krise (55*) saw off the good ball and were able to keep the scoreboard ticking without having to take too much risk. The skipper tried to entice them with some gentle in-duckers from Littler but the Batsmen weren’t going to be fooled. Krise weathered the early storm and reached his 50 in 78 balls and Bharti was able to bring up a very deserved ton with the winning runs at the end.

A better display with the bat from Rayleigh this week and against a good attack, unfortunately the middle overs of the innings hurt any chances of building a sizeable total. The second innings showed that with 3 main bowlers being out it was always going to be a difficult task; however, everyone stuck at it and if some chances had been taken it might have been a little tighter against a very good side.

After a quick lie-down from the skipper, Rayleigh took to the field looking to apply pressure from the outset. Mahoney and Mayfield took the new ball, both searching for early wickets. Mahoney nearly struck in the 5th over when John edged one low to Bala at slip, who stuck out a hand but couldn’t hold on.

With no reward after 10 overs, Nolde changed the attack, bringing on Mantle from the far end. It was Mayfield, however, who made the breakthrough, with John chipping a low full toss to Green at mid-on. Just an over later, Mantle struck again with a half-tracker that was chipped straight to Nolde at midwicket. After 12 overs, Rayleigh had OC’s at 74-2.

Knowing that skipper Hodivala was a key wicket, Nolde turned to his go-to man, Green, hoping to break his rhythm. Green bowled patiently and was rewarded with a wicket on the stroke of drinks—and another just after the break.

Looking to keep the pressure on and slow the run rate, Nolde brought on young Ryan Hart. Speakman came to the crease, fresh from a 4-wicket haul, and was now aiming for a man-of-the-match double. He played some classy shots through the ‘V’ and kept the scoreboard moving. Just before the 30th over, Green—bowling his final over—removed the OC’s skipper, who had made a well-constructed 60 off 76 balls.

However, Speakman remained at the crease, and Nolde knew his wicket would be pivotal. Unfortunately, it didn’t come. Speakman continued to find the boundary, including one bounce fours back over Green’s head, and capitalised on the occasional loose ball from Hart. Green finished a solid spell with figures of 9-2-44-3.

Nolde now had to find 7 overs from the Pavilion End, which were shared between Mahoney and Mayfield. After a few full tosses, Hart was removed, and the skipper knew that dismissing Speakman quickly was crucial. That moment finally came in the 44th over. With a trap set—cow corner, mid-on, and mid-off back—Speakman picked out Walker on the boundary. His job,was done, scoring a match-shaping 86 off 63 balls.

And so, it came down to the last over. With OC’s needing 8 to win, Nolde took responsibility. He aimed to get the new batter on strike and succeeded. But the next delivery—a half-volley on leg stump—was swept away for four, reducing the target to 3 off 2 balls. A wide followed, and then a single, leaving it down to the final ball. With the field brought in to force a run-out, J. Speakman lofted Nolde back over his head for four, sealing victory for OC’s off the final ball. They finished on 269-7.

Nolde was frustrated, feeling he had lost the game in the final over. But after a drink in the bar, Barker and Francis reminded him that he’d gain more from a game like this than from being outplayed by a better side. Nolde couldn’t fault anyone’s performance—everyone contributed, whether with bat, ball, or in the field.

If the 2s can maintain this level of performance, the wins will come quickly. They’ll be looking to bounce back next week at home to Great Wakering!

In reply, Rayleigh were facing a challenge, fielding a weakened bowling attack due to injuries. But the bowlers rose to the occasion, striking early and keeping the pressure on throughout the innings.

Trevor Nunn (2-29 from 9 overs) and Andy Long (2-32 from 9) were outstanding with the new ball, removing both openers cheaply. Baddow’s middle order responded well, with Tom Evans-Green (55) and Richard Wyatt (81) building a threatening partnership. Wyatt, in particular, looked dangerous, punishing anything loose.

But Rayleigh kept chipping away. Richard Barker (1-40) and Thomas Barker (1-30) picked up important wickets in the middle overs, and a superb piece of fielding saw Richard Barker run out Wyatt just as Baddow looked to accelerate.

With the game in the balance, Rayleigh needed tight overs at the death—and they got them. Tom Barker and Kat Mayfield held their nerve, and a disciplined final spell saw Baddow finish just short on 253-7, handing Rayleigh a deserved 18-run win.

A true team performance—with bat, ball and in the field all contributing to a fine victory. Special mention to Mike Mayfield for a brilliant ton and to the bowling unit for sticking to their task under pressure.

Let’s carry this momentum into next weekend’s away fixture at Ingatestone!

With a Great Totham batting order that can probably be cited as being against the spirit of cricket (4 out of 5 batters were left handers!?!) and although there were some chances (and some jaffers bowled!); Rayleigh struggled to find the right line and length to contain the scoring. Great Totham came out of the starting blocks quickly, with the aptly named Billy Boom dishing out big strikes to the Rayleigh bowling on his way to racking up 52 runs before Geoff Morgan (5-0-28-1) got him to thick edge the ball to Chloe Martin at point for a smart catch.

Andy James (5-0-19-1) picked up the teams’ second wicket when Yousuf Khan caught the ball at cover and finally Terry Martin (3.4-0-15-1) clean bowled the other opener. However the damage was done early and Great Totham cantered to the finish line and won by 7 wickets.

After tea we took the field, with Sangeet and Josh taking the new ball, both bowled well against the very capable opening batters, but wickets would proved a rare commodity for us. Archer and Nolde took up the mantle, both extracting turn and troubling the batters, who resisted well. Siva and Harmsworth entered the attack, with the skipper hoping they could carry their good form with the bat into wickets with the ball. Siva bowled with excellent control and squeezed the run rate throughout his spell, whilst Sam bowled his seamers up the hill and caused problems on the increasingly dusty surface; both were unlucky not to take wickets, foiled by drops.

The right handed opener retired on reaching 50, bringing another colt to the crease. Terry replaced Sam up the hill and quickly removed the new batter and sending a few nerves through the home dressing room. Sangeet replaced Terry to close out the innings from the bottom end, and removed the impressive left-handed colt who had opened the innings, but it was too late with only 6 runs required and 5 overs remaining.

A couple of nervous overs followed before the winning runs were finally scored. A commendable performance in the field to compete with a below-par total and take the inning to the last 4 overs. Now to the important events of the day, the post-match awards…

The inaugural vote for the ‘Thanks For Coming’ award, and accompanying cap, had 3 candidates:

• Richard Nolde: 2 dropped catches
• Dave Turner: often outfoxed by field changes
• Shane McDonagh: criminally late 2-footed challenge on the ball in the outfield, thankfully missing the ball by at least a yard

The team voted and Shane is the first winner of the, soon to be much-coveted, TFC award.

The second award was the duck award, a badge to be worn in the field during the next match. This is awarded to the first duck of the day, with poor Shane also the inaugural recipient.

A fantastic spirit in the field and good grit shown with the bat when under pressure.