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2005 Season Report December 9th 2006 |
The first Sunday of the season was one of unbroken sunshine: unfortunately we weren’t playing because the match was called off on the Friday due to persistent rain. So we got under way at Danbury on another pleasant sunny afternoon. They batted first & looked set for a big score at 123 for 3. But then Jon Jones(10-4-23-3)removed two batsmen who were going well including S.Gauntley for 50. Ed Vandermark then took over & removed the lower order to claim his first ever 5-wicket haul with 9.5-2-41-5. Earlier he had also dismissed opener W.Davis who had looked a threat. Ali Manhire bowled with great consistency straight through his spell of 10-5-24-1, & Colin Hayward took a blinding caught & bowled off a fierce drive. They made 150 in which an odd statistical quirk was that the first 7 batsmen were all bowled. Allan Highfield got us off to a fine start with a mixture of sweetly timed strokes to leg & 7-iron shots over the bowler’s head. He shared a stand of 32 for the 3rd.wicket with Robin Seller who included a straight 6 in his 18. But from 70 for 2 we collapsed to 77 for 6 & were suddenly second favourites. The ship was steadied by a mini-stand of 20 during which new recruit Charles Stewart(10) showed much promise, displaying a cool head & sound technique. When he was out at 97 for 7 there was still much to do but a match-winning partnership followed between Jerry Morgan(20 not out) and Colin Hayward(35 not out). Mixing watchful defence with judicious shot selection they never looked like getting out & used all their experience to ensure there were no further alarms. They added 55 runs & in the end contrived a comfortable win in the 40th.over, Colin finishing it in style with a drive through extra cover for 4. It was great to snatch victory from a position of potential disaster and get off to a flying start.
Champagne Moment :- Colin’s caught & bowled.
Our first home match was played on a warm, sunny day with a dry pitch – most unexpected at the start of a season. Having been put in by Boxted we lost 2 early wickets to the new ball but a partnership of 73 for the 3rd.wicket repaired the early damage. The new bat of Rob Davis(15) sounded in good order but it was Robin Seller who dominated. He played very responsibly, showing good judgement of which balls to hit & which to attack. While not at his best his 75 was the backbone of the innings. He shared a 4th.wicket stand of 40 with Jon Jones who placed the ball skilfully into gaps in the field & both players used their feet well against the slow bowlers. Jon then took charge in partnerships of 33 for both the 5th. & 6th. wickets, the latter unbroken. He brought up his half century in grand style with a straight 6 & finished 57 not out. Charles Stewart played another promising knock of 10 not out, helping lift the total to 200 for 5. Ali Manhire immediately extracted pace & bounce from the pitch and this, combined with his customary accuracy in 2 spells, earned him the superb figures of 9-3-9-3. Ed Vandermark opened the bowling with him & was almost as effective, bowling right through for 10-3-14-2. Allan Highfield was just as economical & unlucky not to capture a couple more wickets in his spell of 10-3-11-1. Craig Alderson bowled 5 tidy overs, taking his first wicket for Lexden in the process, as did Jerry Morgan when a small child came in at no.11. Their approach was hard to understand as they were all out for 61 having batted 44 overs & never seemed to be trying to reach any sort of target – not even 75 for a single batting point.
Champagne Moments :- Jon reaching his fifty with a 6. Craig & Jerry’s first wickets.
The curse of Abberton struck again as rain forced the abandonment of the home game with them after only 5 overs.
The next match was away to Tendring who could only muster 75 all out as all the bowlers returned good stats :- Colin Hayward 10-2-23-2 ; Michael Rudge 1.5-0-6-2 Jon Jones 7-2-11-2 ; Allan Highfield 10-2-17-2 ; Ali Manhire 6-0-14-0. In reply Allan(33) & Chris Martin(15) shared an opening partnership of 57 which set up a win by 6 wickets.
The following week an excellent pitch at Spring Lane saw us reattle up 233 for 2. Star of the show was Allan Highfield who finally converted one of his many decent scores into a big one. Hitting 9 fours & 4 sixes he was agonisingly caught in the deep for 99. He put on 116 for the 2nd.wicket with Rob Davis who, after a slow start, got into his stride & hit 5 fours in an innings of 64 not out, his highest for Lexden. He added a further 91 for the 3rd.wicket with Robin Seller who also cashed in making 40 not out. Chappel were never really in the hunt & finished on 151 for 8. The most successful bowler was Colin Hayward with 10-5-31-3, followed by Jon Jones(10-3-20-2). Michael Rudge was also economical, picking up 1 for 21 in his 10 overs.
Having won 4 games out of 4 we were joint top of the table with the 2 promoted teams who we played next. The game at Coggeshall was very different from what had gone before. They piled up a massive 290 for 4 of which C.Dingle made 153, O.Blackwell 63 & A.Robinson 54 not out. Bowlers & fielders stuck to the task well & we never wilted under the pressure. Most successful bowler was Ed Vandermark who, having been asked to come back & bowl the last over, picked up 2 wickets. He also took a fine catch at long off to dismiss Dingle. Ali Manhire took 1 for 41 & Jon Jones bowled 10 overs for 37 runs. We never looked likely to get anywhere near & were all out for 117, with only Robin Seller(32) & Anthony Shearman(25) making decent scores.
Next we hosted the other promoted side, Mistley. Their innings was set up by a 2nd.wicket partnership of 134 between J.Orriss(71) & R.Parkes(60). After that wickets fell regularly & they were all out in the last over for 229, of which M.Griggs made 41. The bowlers again stuck to their task & were rewarded with reasonable returns :- Ali Manhire 3 for 53, Colin Hayward 2 for 39 & Jon Jones 1 for 33. With only 4 regular bowlers available Charles Stewart filled in to good effect taking 3 for 28. Mark Howlett pulled off an outstanding catch down the leg side, diving away to his left. However we dropped 5 other catches & had they been taken the target might have been somewhat lower. They were 97 for 1 after 25 overs but with wickets in hand were able to score at nearly 7 an over off the last 20. Chris Martin, after deciding to put his glasses on, got us off to a positive start. He dominated a 2nd.wicket stand of 67 with Rob Davis whose contribution was 8. Chris went on to make 55 with 2 sixes & 6 fours before being run out through sheer exhaustion. He shared a 3rd.wicket partnership of 41 with Robin Seller who hardly played a false stroke in a well-paced innings. His 53 also included 6 fours & a six and he added another 41 for the 4th.wicket with Jon Jones, who made 26 in good time before being stumped. Despite 15 not out from Anthony Shearman we fell some way short at 195 for 5, but did really well to take maximum bonus points from the game.
Champagne Moment :- Mark Howlett’s catch.
Our next visitors were Great Horkesley who set off at a blistering pace with Sarat(43) & Jayasuraya(33) putting on 76 for the first wicket in just 15 overs. It was Colin Hayward who first slowed them down then broke the partnership & was mainly responsible for reducing them to 100 for 4. He bowled with control & intelligence to earn the excellent figures of 10-2-28-3. There was then a stand of 68 for the 5th.wicket between Srikanth(33) & Fitzgerald(40) but from 168 for 4 they collapsed to 189 all out, gifting us 3 overs. Towards the end Allan Highfield maintained a tight line & had his reward with 3 for 35, while Ali Manhire took 2 brilliant one-handed catches, one off his own bowling. There was also a rather comical run out when Chris Martin chased the ball to the boundary & threw it in. The batsmen had given it up for 4 & were chatting in mid-pitch. The ball was missed at the stumps but Anthony Shearman was backing up & completed the job. Chris then anchored our reply with his second consecutive half century. There were plenty of beefy pull shots & lofted on drives in his 59 & he shared two important partnerships. First he put on 83 for the 2nd.wicket with Jon Jones who, promoted to no.3, played with great responsibility in making 32. Robin Seller(33) then dominated the 3rd.wicket stand of 45 but from 129 for 2 we slipped to 158 for 7. However Colin & Ali then teamed up in an unbroken 8th.wicket partnership of 32 which secured a hard won victory in the 46th.over.
Champagne Moments :- Ali’s 2 catches & the run out.
Our first Saturday game was at West Mersea & there was the usual problem of finding 11 players. Fielding 2 guests we were put in on a green, uneven pitch where the new ball bounced shoulder height. Only 2 of our batsmen came to terms with it, putting together a partnership of 73 for the 3rd.wicket. Chris Martin pulled the short ball ferociously in a hard hitting innings of 63, his 3rd.consecutive half century. He was unluckily dismissed playing another such shot when the ball his his glove & bounced down onto the stumps. Robin Seller made 40 with his usual mixture of careful defence & lofted drives. But from 124 for 2 we slumped to 160 all out with Bruce taking 5 for 29. Their innings followed a similar pattern with Rutter making 45 & Conway 46 but from 129 for 2 they collapsed to 136 for 8. However our lack of a 5th.bowler then told as the last 5 overs were filled in by part-timers & they got home in the 45th. Good bowling performances were put in by Ali Manhire(10-3-25-3),
Ed Vandermark(10-1-44-4) and Michael Rudge(10-2-29-1).
Danbury were invited to bat on their first visit to Spring Lane & all their top 6 reached double figures. But the pitch did a bit early on & none of them went on to make a big score. Colin Hayward bowled his 10 overs right through removing both openers at a cost of 32 runs, of which 12 came in one over. Ed Vandermark dismissed the 2 top scorers including the dangerous Huntington thanks to a fine catch by Ali Manhire. Mick Tunstall also took a vital catch, the ball bouncing off his stomach & lodging between his thighs. Allan Highfield bowled a fine spell of 10 overs taking 2 for 23 & Michael Rudge backed him up with 1 for 10 in his 5 overs. They only had 10 players & the 8th.wicket fell in the 35th.over but their last pair managed to hang on until the 43rd. It was a really good comeback in the field after they had set off at 5 an over. Our reply was set up by a partnership of 55 for the 2nd.wicket of which Ali made an assured 20. Star of the show was Allan who hit 13 fours in a commanding innings of 68 which included many sumptuous shots all round the ground, especially off the back foot. He put on a further 43 for the 3rd.wicket with Robin Seller, whose cameo knock of 22 included 12 runs off the first over after the drinks break. After that the result was never in doubt & a comfortable win was secured inside 30 overs.
Champagne Moments :- Catches by Ali & Mick.
The start at St.Osyth was delayed due to some of our players being caught up in a traffic jam. The pitch was unpredictable but on a lightning-fast outfield anything beating the field went all the way. Batting first on a blazing hot sunny afternoon we had the perfect start with an opening partnership of 52. A statistical curiosity arose when the 50 came up in the 11th.over with Chris Martin still on nought. Allan Highfield was out immediately afterwards having scored 32 of his 38 runs in boundaries & flayed the new ball to all parts. Chris then got going to such good effect that he raced to his 50 in only 12 overs, recording his 4th. half-century in consecutive innings for Lexden; a feat which, so far as anyone is aware, has never been achieved before. In amongst his trademark pulls were some delicate leg glances, all of which yielded him 14 fours in his 62, the only score in this sequence not to exceed the one before. He shared a 3rd.wicket partnership of 95 with Robin Seller who hit 7 fours in another sound knock of 41. There was a final unbroken stand of 60 for the 6th.wicket which involved 3 players. Michael Rudge blazed a quickfire 35 before retiring hurt after being hit in the mouth by a ball which lifted wickedly & seemed to follow him. Happily he was not badly hurt & was able to bowl. Anthony Shearman(22 not out) & Craig Alderson(4 not out) were together at the end and in between Ali Manhire made 25 in his characteristically smooth style. Our total of 265 for 5 contained 48 fours & was the highest since we made 272 for 7 at Kirby on the corresponding weekend in 1999. St.Osyth must have realised the target was way beyond the reach of their young team as they made no attempt to chase it down. After 28 overs they were 65 for 6 & the game was dead but they managed to drag it out into the 45th.over thanks to Downes who scored 53 not out coming in at no.8. Ali took 4 for 37 & would have had 5 but for hitting the off stump with one of his many no balls. Michael took 3 for 21 in a good controlled spell of 8 overs. Robin held 2 catches at 2nd.slip including a fizzer off Ali down by his bootlaces. Jerry Morgan deputised faultlessly behind the stumps picking up 2 catches & a stumping and conceding no byes. With a high boundary count & the ball sometimes going a very long way it was well after eight o’clock before the game ended but fortunately it was a gloriously light evening.
Champagne Moments :- Robin’s second catch & the 50 coming up with Chris on 0.
This year the game at Abberton wasn’t called off & it proved beneficial for us as they started one place below us. They chose to bat on a pitch with just a hint of damp but which was nevertheless rock hard. Ali Manhire removed both openers & after 17 overs they had only reached 38 for 2. They then accelerated to 69 for 2 after 22 when drinks were taken. In the first over after the resumption Ali pulled off a brilliant diving catch one-handed at short midwicket to remove their top scorer. By the end of the 24th.over they had reached 81 for 3 but more good catches & accurate bowling shot them out for 129 in the 36th. Ali earned superb figures of 8.1-2-16-3 & Colin Hayward, having conceded 10 wides from his first 2 deliveries, recovered splendidly to finish with 10-3-27-2. Michael Rudge employed good variations in flight & was rewarded with 4 for 17, one of his best returns for Lexden. The openers got us off to a decent start putting on 30 with Allan Highfield making 17 but Chris Martin’s sequence of half-centuries came to an end as he was out for 9. There then followed a match-winning partnership of 81 for the 3rd.wicket which put the result beyond doubt. Robin Seller continued his good form with some powerful pulls & drives in making exactly 50. Ali stroked his way to 25 before being bowled going for a big hit with the scores level. We won by 6 wickets & thus consolidated our position in 3rd.place.
Champagne Moment :- Ali’s one-handed catch.
Next we entertained division leaders Coggeshall & chose to bat. After 17 overs we were 60 for 5 but recovered to make 174 all out. Jon Jones, in his first innings for 2 months, struggled at first but hung on in until his timing returned. He played some glorious shots in making 45 not out & was well supported towards the end by Michael Rudge(15). Earlier Robin Seller also made 15 & Charles Stewart on his return to the side led the fight back with 17. Our total was much indebted to 56 extras including 32 wides! The result was never in doubt once K.Rajah(104 not out) & M.Blackwell(43) put on 143 for the 1st.wicket & they cruised home by 8 wickets in only the 33rd.over. Michael took both wickets at a cost of 57 runs.
Our first visit to Mistley resulted in a similarly crushing defeat to the one suffered at Coggeshall in May. They chose to bat first & suffered an early setback when their Aussie opener was well caught by Jerry Morgan one-handed down the leg side. Allan Highfield clean bowled their no.3 then held a fine catch at deep midwicket, followed by a little jig as he made sure he was inside the boundary. That made it 66 for 3 but they then batted us out of the game with a 4th.wicket partnership of 186 between Garwood(54) & Michael Griggs who made a superb chanceless 145 including 3 massive straight sixes in one over. In the circumstances Ed Vandermark emerged with the highly creditable figures of 10-1-54-3. Jerry also collected his second stumping of the season. Their total of 302 for 7 was the biggest against us since Halstead made 317 for 4 in September 2000. Our innings began in driving rain & our batting was almost as miserable as the weather. Only Ali Manhire looked comfortable as he stroked his way to an assured 39 but when he was out the score stood at a paltry 93 for 8. At this point Jerry was joined at the crease by Ed who first saw the score past 100, then stayed on to act as runner for Michael Rudge. Despite twisting his knee when fielding he flayed the bowling to all parts with a minimum of footwork in knocking up a quickfire 27. With Jerry making 23 not out the last wicket stand yielded 45 runs, the best of the innings, and hoisted the total to 154 securing two extra batting points.
Champagne Moment :- Allan’s catch & dance.
We returned to winning ways at home to St.Osyth. Batting first we lost 2 early wickets but the ship was steadied by a stand of 31 for the 3rd.wicket. Robin Seller scored 24 of those, including the only 6 of the game. His partner was Chris Martin who then shared a partnership of 76 for the 4th.wicket with Anthony Shearman who mixed cautious defence with some robust attacking shots in his 39. Chris played many characteristic pulls & sweeps in making 54, his 5th. half-century of the season. Having reached 139 for 6 the final push was provided by Colin Hayward who made a brisk 31 & added 39 runs for the 7th.wicket with Craig Alderson(8). They never attempted to chase down our total of 184 for 9 & were all out for 91 in the 42nd.over. There were good bowling figures all round – Colin 10-5-10-0, Ed Vandermark 7-4-4-2, Ali Manhire 8.3-1-25-3, Michael Rudge 10-1-22-3. Chris also took a blinding catch at silly mid-off to dismiss their skipper who had been hanging on stubbornly.
Champagne Moment :- Catch by Chris.
At the end of August we went to Chappel & put them in. They had an opening partnership of 89 in 20 overs between W.Maythem(51) & D.Maytham who went on to make 107. They progressed to 192 for 1 off 41 overs before finishing on 212 for 5. Best of the bowlers was Ed Vandermark with the highly creditable figures of 10-1-32-2 & acting captain Ali Manhire took 2 for 42. It was a pretty good effort as for a while we were down to 9 fielders. Michael Rudge aggravated the knee injury he picked up at Mistley & limped off after bowling just 2 overs, which sadly marked the end of his season. Allan Highfield(21) launched our reply in an opening partnership of 35. Chris Martin(18) & Charles Stewart(16) then added 34 for the 2nd.wicket but from 69 for 1 we slipped to 74 for 4. The flurry of dismissals unexpectedly brought Ed to the crease at no.6 & he successfully steadied the ship making 4 in a stand of 43 for the 5th.wicket. At the other end Jon Jones was taking control & when he was joined by Colin Hayward they put together a match-winning partnership of 88. Colin fell just before the end for 36 but Jon went on to finish 77 not out having hit 9 fours & 2 sixes, securing victory by 4 wickets.
There was a feeling of déjà vu at Boxted as a similar, even bigger, run chase was also successfully accomplished. This time they chose to bat & made the most of it by reaching 241 for 5. After a decent opening stand their total was mainly due to a 2nd.wicket partnership between C.Honey(53) & P.Gilbert(88 not out). In the light of that big score Colin Hayward produced a superb spell of 10-4-25-1. Coming on first change he bowled right through on a hot afternoon, beating the bat on many occasions. Allan Highfield, having been hit for 6 in his first over, thereafter kept the scoring in check taking 1 for 38 in his 10 overs. He then led our reply with 52 including 9 fours off just 16 overs which put us well on course. He shared an opening stand of 84 with Chris Martin who went on to make 55 with a six & 8 fours, his 6th. half-century of the season. Towards the end he was afflicted by cramp & skipper Robin Seller acted as runner, which resulted in rather more scampered runs being acquired than would have been otherwise. Chris survived another mini-collapse which took the score from 84 for 0 to 95 for 3 & was then joined by Ali Manhire in a partnership of 88 for the 4th.wicket. After 40 overs we had reached 202 for 5 & there was still much work to be done. But Ali played with great calmness & saw it through to the end. He was lent invaluable support by Charles Stewart who hit the winning runs by driving the first ball of the final over through mid-off for 4 to finish 16 not out. Together they added an unbeaten 47 for the 6th.wicket. Ali paced his innings perfectly stroking 9 fours in making 73 not out, his highest score for Lexden. It was unusual to have 3 half-centuries in the same innings & very satisfying to chase down such a big target.
Our final home match was the return match against West Mersea, again played on a Saturday. It rained heavily the night before but the pitch was covered & although some water got underneath it was playable. Unsurprisingly they put us in but hardly a ball misbehaved & batting was comfortable throughout. The opening pair of Chris Martin & Charles Stewart put on 44 before Charles, looking sure to reach 20 for the first time, was unexpectedly bowled offering no shot for 16. Jerry Morgan was unusually the biggest contributor in a partnership of 47 for the 2nd.wicket, falling LBW for 24. Equally unusual was Robin Seller contributing only 15 to a stand of 55 for the 3rd.wicket. A further 28 runs were then added taking the score to 174 for 3 with Anthony Shearman on 8 not out. Still there at the end was Chris having carried his bat, the first to do so since Jerry Hadcock at Gosfield in 2002. His 78 not out contained 11 fours & was his 7th.half-century of the season. West Mersea’s reply was based around a 2nd.wicket partnership of 101 between G.Pryke(68) & T.Vince(35). From 113 for 1 they stumbled to 162 for 6 after 36 overs & the momentum seemed to be with us. But as in the earlier game they managed to squezze home, winning by 3 wickets in the 39th.over. Ed Vandermark was a real star with the ball & could hardly have done any more for the cause taking 5 for 29, the best bowling analysis of the season. Colin Hayward lent excellent support with 1 for 23 off 8.5 overs. Unfortunately they were the only bowlers we had & those called upon to fill-in couldn’t apply the necessary control. There was one bright moment when Chris, realising too late that he was fielding in the wrong position, took a tumbling catch at short mid on. At the time it seemed fortunate that our nearest challengers for 3rd.place, Danbury, also lost – going down by 9 wickets at St.Osyth in a freak result.
Champagne Moment :- Catch by Chris.
We then suffered an unexpected defeat at West Bergholt in our penultimate game. They put us in but our openers put on 81 in 19 overs. Allan Highfield dominated hitting 6 fours & a six before being caught for exactly 50, his 4th. half-century of the season. Chris Martin couldn’t continue his good run & was out for 16. Unfortunately we failed to capitalise on this excellent start as only Robin Seller(26) & Anthony Shearman(17) reached double figures. A couple of dismissals were unlucky as balls kept very low but there were also a two silly run outs. We actually lost all 10 wickets for 75 runs & even gave them an extra over, being bowled out in the 44th. for 156. That was especially inept because we only had 4 bowlers so an extra over had to be delivered by a non-regular. At first it seemed that wouldn’t matter too much as they only scored 40 runs off the first 20 overs. They then accelerated but at 98 for 4 after 34 overs the game was in the balance. However, an unbroken stand of 60 for the 5th.wicket between Lodge(41) & Falla(21) took the game away from us in the gathering gloom. There was an outstanding performance with the ball by Colin Hayward who came on first change & bowled right through in a superb spell of 10-3-10-1. Ali Manhire also bowled well in two spells, taking 2 for 21 from 9 overs & Ed Vandermark was equally economical, conceding just 24 runs in 9.1 overs. That result left us still in 3rd.place but only fractionally ahead of Danbury, who were playing Bergholt themselves on the final day of the season.
Champagne Moment :- Jerry Morgan hitting his first ball for 4.
The season finished on a low note as we went down by just 8 runs at Great Horkesley. Batting first they made 172 for 8 in which the main contributors were Sarat(48) & Walker(47). A candidate for Champagne Moment occurred when Ed Vandermark chased a ball to long on & threw in to the bowler’s end. Colin Hayward trod on the stumps but Jon Jones collected the ball + a stump to effect a run out. Ali Manhire was the outstanding bowler in 2 spells earning the excellent figures of 10-1-26-4. He followed this up by making top score of 46 & sharing an opening partnership of 44 in 11 overs with Charles Stewart(15). There was then a bizarre interruption after 3 batsmen were dismissed missing straight balls because the sun was shining straight into their eyes. An agreement was reached whereby the game was suspended for about 15 minutes but this meant it was almost dark by the finish. Jon Jones made 29 to secure top spot in the batting averages & Mark Howlett(8) made his highest score of a season in which he hardly batted. Rob Davis made 18 not out but despite some frantic running we fell agonisingly short. Thus Horkesley became the only team against whom we won one & lost one.
Champagne Moment :- Run out by Ed & Jon.
Meanwhile down the road at West Bergholt there was an equally tight finish as Danbury won by 10 runs & thereby overtook us to take 3rd.place at the last gasp. It was the only time in the entire season that we had been out of the top 3 & what a time for it to happen. It was also unfortunate to be pipped at the post by a team we had beaten twice.
That aside, it was a successful season from which many positives emerged.
Chris Martin’s haul of 7 half-centuries is the best that anyone can remember.
The team as a whole scored 18, the next best on record being 10 in 1996.
Coincidentally there were also 18 fifty-partnerships, the most for at least 10 years.
On the other hand there were only two 5-fors, both by Ed Vandermark. By working hard on his game Ed has made himself into a genuine front-line bowler & was leading wicket taker until overhauled in the last game by Ali Manhire who finished with 33.
We were in the top 3 all season in spite of the fact that Jon Jones only played 11 games. We were competitive against every other team(except Mistley & Coggeshall)so can anticipate another good season in 2006.
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