PDQ Division 2 Match Reports

19th April - Great Bentley Vs Boxted – Great Bentley 87-7, Boxted 30 all-out – Great Bentley won by 57 runs

On an extremely chilly opener to the new season, new skipper Chris Wilson won the toss and inserted the hosts, on a slow wicket. The hosts made little early effort to score on a wicket that also provided plenty of movement left, right, up and down. Paul Harris made the initial breakthrough in the 12th over. Runs continued to be at a premium, against the useful bowling of Ian Evans, Rohan Khaira and Justin Hainsworth. Indeed the hosts had only reached 66-4 after 40 overs. A few late blows and some wickets left the score a very gettable 87-7. Michael Dell and Khaira the most successful bowlers with 2 wickets apiece.

If we thought the run chase would be easy within 21 balls our innings was in tatters at 4-4, including a hatrick. The desperate rebuilding that was needed never materialised and wickets continued to fall at an alarming rate. Only Mike Pearce with a typically robust innings of 16 including a six from 13 balls made double figures. The embarrassing 30 all-out (5 ducks) was achieved inside 14 overs. One can only hope for an improvement next week!

27th April – Boxted Vs Little Baddow – Boxted 275-2, Little Baddow 98 all-out, Boxted won by 177 runs

Boxted lost the toss and were inserted on an excellent early season wicket. The hosts only took six overs to beat last weeks total of 30, as Chris Wilson 73 and Ian Evans 44 laid a good platform. After an initial burst Wilson batted sensibly and let his partner up the pace. It came as a surprise when Evans misjudged a lofted drive and was caught in the deep with the toal on 89 in the 19th over. Ed Whybrow entered the arena and after playing himself in, soon upped the tempo with shots all around the wicket. Wilson who had passed 50 by now threatened to cut loose, but was well caught with the total on 186 with 10 overs remaining. Whybrow in full flow kept the accelerator well pressed and with Rohan Khaira adding a quick unbeaten 27 the final total of 275 was reached. In the process Whybrow brought up his own century and finished unbeaten on 107 from 90 balls faced.

To Baddow’s credit they started quickly despite the loss of an early wicket to Michael Dell. The next breakthrough came from the unlikely source of Justin Rishworth who out foxed the batsmen, first with his Barnes Wallace ball and then with the unplayable swinging seaming delivery. By the time Michael Booker (2-18) had claimed two wickets, both caught by the inspired Rishworth in the field as well a run-out from Whybrow the match was as good as over. The only danger was from the steady drizzle, but Evans (3-17) including a candidate for catch of the season from Sylvester McKnight and Khaira (2-14) made a light work of the tail as Boxted ran out very convincing victors.

5th May – Boxted Vs Bocking – Bocking 260-8, Boxted 218 all-out, Bocking won by 42 runs

The visitors elected to bat and were soon into their stride on a lovely Bank Holiday Monday afternoon. Boundaries rained down as the 50 was reached in only the 8th over. Skipper Chris Wilson rotated his seam attack, but the run-rate only slowed a little as the 150 was reached in only the 25th over. Mike Pearce with his occasional slow bowling provided the break-through removing both openers in quick succession. The seam bowlers then returned and Mike Booker (4-56) picked up wickets on a regular basis, and was well supported by Paul Harris (1-42). Along the way Sylvester McKnight and Jon Wilson held good skiers. A late flurry of runs took the total to 260, however after the start, this was probably an acceptable target to chase.

Boxted needed a good start to chase down the target. Chris Wilson and Justin Rishworth 28 added 72 at 5 an over and the platform was well set. Rohan Khaira 29 continued the support as Wilson went past 50. Mike Pearce with a typically hard hit 35 (3 sixes) kept up the chase, but when both he and Wilson 60 departed, the score was 182-4 in the 33rd over. Only Booker with 29 then made double figures as the tail collapsed in the chase for the runs, and eventually we were all-out for 218 in the 41st over.

12th May – Boxted Vs Clacton Ramblers – Boxted 270-7, Clacton Ramblers 159 all-out, Boxted won by 111 runs

Boxted who won the toss and sensibly decided to bat first, were soon one down. A limping Ian Evans was joined by Tim Bellamy, and the pair rebuilt the innings. Evans harsh on anything short perished to a stunning catch for 26 with the score on 50. Bellamy 15 soon followed at 58 and Rohan Khaira was joined by Mike Pearce. The pivotal moment of the match soon arrived as 2nd ball Pearce gave catching practice with a skied catch to the infield, which was not accepted. Khaira scoring at his usual fluent best and Pearce with a mixture of brutal blows and air shots, proceeded to dominate a tiring attack. Both batsmen passed 50 and the total raced along past 200 before Khaira was dismissed for 62 when the 4th wicket stand was worth a club record 158. Pearce showing no sign of letting up rode his luck in the 90’s before reaching his first ever ton before finally being dismissed for 118 including 6 sixes. With a few late wickets the innings finished on 270-7.

Michael Dell skippering instead of the resting Chris Wilson, opened the bowling with Mathew Francis and within 6 overs the match was finished as a contest as they each claimed 2 wickets, Mark Applin and Evans holding good catches. Francis could consider himself unfortunate not to add to his couple in his 2-21 from 10 analysis. The visitors batted sensibly with the game beyond them and Dell was able to rotate his bowlers. Khaira bowled with pace and claimed a deserved wicket. Matt Wilson managed a brace with Pearce taking a catch. Applin after a loose start also claimed his first wicket of the season, before the final two wickets were claimed by who else, but Pearce as Alex Carter first took a good catch, and then the first stumping of the season as the victory was sealed by 111 runs.

19th May – Boxted Vs Tendring – Tendring 144 all-out, Boxted 148-5, Boxted won by 5 wickets

The visitors chose to bat and despite useful opening spells from Skipper Michael Dell and Justin Hainsworth the early breakthrough did not come. Runs ticked along steadily despite the first change bowlers of Paul Dowde and Ian Evans beating the bat on numerous occasions. With the score at 78 in the 25th over the first wicket fell as Clive Honey in putting down a catch of Evans redeemed himself immediately with a direct hit run-out. The other opener was run-out in the next over as he tried a run on a misfield caused by the artificial wicket and Dell beat him with an accurate throw. Soon Matt Wilson and Evans clean bowled one apiece and the innings stood at 88-4. Young Seam McGovern then got into the act as Honey held a sharp effort in the covers, before Sunny Patel in his first game of the season worked his way through the tail, by clean bowling 4 batsmen including 3 in 4 balls to finish with 4-22. The last man was well run-out by McGovern in the last over with the total at 144, probably some 50 or so runs short of a competitive total on a pitch which offered some seam movement all afternoon.

Evans and Honey got the innings off to a good start, with Evans putting a series of forcing shots mainly through the covers off the front and back foot, while Honey accumulated at a more gentle pace. The 50 came up in the 14th over, and despite both batsmen playing and missing the runs came along at a good pace. Eventually Evans passed 50 before playing a careless shot on 57 to be caught in the deep with the total at 82. A mini collapse saw us 112-4 and Tendring had renewed hope, but Hainsworth joined the limpet Honey and pushed us towards the target with an unbeaten run a ball 24. With only a couple needed Honey was dismissed for 41, but the target was soon reached with more than 5 overs to spare.

15th June – Boxted Vs Cavaliers – Boxted 240-8, Cavaliers 63 all-out, Boxted won by 177 runs

Acting Skipper Mike Pearce had little hesitation in choosing to bat despite a slow damp wicket. Steve Philpott 12 and Ian Evans 30 added 36 runs until Philpott was out. With the score at 59 Evans departed for 30, and was followed very next ball by Pearce. Rohan Khaira 59 and Mike Booker 36 steadied the innings and against the change bowlers put together a stand worth 82 in 16 overs before they both departed in quick succession. Alex Carter pushed up the order added a quick fire 25, but the final few overs of the innings was built around the returning Justin Rishworth who spanked the ball to all parts. He was well supported by Paul Harris 15 until he injured himself and was run out. There was just enough time for Rishowrth to reach an unbeaten 50 of the final ball of the innings as we closed on a formidable 240-8.

Cavaliers never got into any position to chase down the total, and were soon in trouble at 25-4 as both Khaira including a fine slip catch by Evans and Booker (2-10 off 10) took 2 wickets apiece in good opening spells. Evans and McKnight kept things tight and also picked up a couple of wickets each, one caught by the juggling Carter on his way to 4 catches & 0 byes. Skipper Pearce then turned to Richard Cutter who surprised most people none more so than himself with a fine spell and was rewarded with 2-5, as we claimed victory by a massive 177 runs just a few minutes before a hail storm left the square totally unplayable.

22nd June – Gt Totham Vs Boxted – Boxted 301-6, Gt Totham 196 all-out, Boxted won by 105 runs

Chris Wilson won the toss and elected to bat, however despite the runs flowing at a good rate, wickets tumbled at regular intervals, mostly to poor shots or poor running between the wickets. Most batsmen got starts with Wilson 25 and Justin Rishworth 23 stunningly well caught the highest contributors. At 138-6 off 25 overs, there was a danger of us being unable to bat the overs out, but Mike Booker carrying on from the day before was joined by Richard Cutter and after a watchful start, made regular use of the short boundaries and quick outfield. The 200 was passed in the 36th over as the stand flourished and soon eclipsed the previous club 7th wicket record of 89. As the bowlers tired Booker in particular accelerated and smashed his way to an unbeaten 123 of 100 balls including 5 sixes. Cutter contributed a fine unbeaten 48 off 50 balls with the stand worth 163 when the innings closed on 301-6.

The hosts had to make a quick start and to their credit made a good effort early on despite Michael Dell and Matty Francis bowling tidy lines. Francis managed an early breakthrough, but a good stand developed taking the score past the century mark in 19th over. The introduction of Ian Evans into the attack stopped the charge in its tracks as he dismissed both the set batsmen and the next two in a 5 over spell of 4-8, with two well caught by skipper Wilson at deep square leg. Booker then claimed a wicket in a good spell. Evans (4-21) was now keeping things tight at the other end, allowing Sean McGovern into the attack. After a few overs he was also in the wickets claiming 3-37 including a catch and stumping to Alex “one-eye” Carter. Justin Hainsworth came into the attack and claimed the final wicket with the total on 196, to give us a 105 run victory.

29th June – Ardleigh Vs Boxed – Ardleigh 168-8, Boxted 25, Ardleigh won by 143 runs

After losing the toss Boxted fielded first for a change. The hosts made steady progress against the opening pair of Michael Dell (0-24) and Justin Hainsworth (1-33) who both bowled straight through. Hainsworth eventually taking the opening wicket with a fine caught and bowled. They were then replaced by spinners Ian Evans & Sean McGovern who again bowled their 10 each straight through. Evans (2-28) was rewarded through a couple of excellent Alex Carter catches and McGovern 2-35 had one catch taken by Carter and another in the deep by Richard Cutter. The final 5 overs were bowled by Mike Pearce 2-20 and Cutter 1-19. Good catches were again taken by McGovern & Cutter. The final total was a manageable 168-8

However the feeble attempt at attempting to score the runs left most observers stunned in disbelief. Against an accurate, but no more than steady attack, wickets fell alarmingly. No batsman made double figures and not a boundary was scored as the final total of 25, a team low was recorded. More than 300 one week to only 25 the next, who knows what will follow!

13th July Cavaliers Vs Boxted – Cavaliers 164-7, Boxted 66 all-out, Cavaliers on by 98 runs

Another away performance to forget, despite skipper Chris Wilson inserting the hosts in helpful conditions. Indeed with Jon Wilson removing the dangerous home skipper 2nd ball, with the help of a stunning Michael Dell catch, the ideal start was made. Unfortunately from there on in, the bowling was not accurate enough, and the home batsmen were able to tick the board over in the difficult conditions. Michael Dell claimed the 2nd wicket well held by Matt Wilson, and when Ian Evans was introduced (1-22), he claimed a wicket with his first ball in a 10 over spell. Matt Wilson claimed the best figures 3-34 from 10 which included an Alex Carter stumping, and it seemed likely that the home side would be kept to under 150. However the final 9 overs allowed 64 runs and only one more Jon Wilson (2-42) wicket as the bowling and fielding was at best average. The final score of 164-7 was probably some 30 or 40 more than we should have conceded.

We needed a good start, but within a few overs, the reply was in tatters and we had slumped to 12-3. Evans 24 and Matt Wilson 14 took the total to 44, but after that the usual away collapse continued, and we suffered yet another heavy defeat as we were all-out for only 66, to lose by 98 runs.

20th July Little Baddow Vs Boxted – Boxted 210-9, Little Baddow 213-2, Little Baddow won by 8 wickets

Having elected to bat first, Boxted put together a useful opening stand of 42 as Ian Evans 24 and Clive Honey 12 battled hard on a bouncy track. However with their departure the runs slowed and a couple of more wickets were lost as we reached 71-4 in the 25th over. Chris Wilson 68 was then joined by Mike Pearce 34 and the pair took the attack to the hosts adding a stand worth 91 in only 11 overs. Both cleared the boundary twice and at 162-4 we looked set to post a total or more than 230. However they were both dismissed in quick succession and wickets tumble from there on with Paul Harris 15 the only meaningful contribution. It was left to last pair Jon Wilson 11* and Michael Dell 8* to add 16 unbeaten runs for the last wicket as we closed on 210-9.

We needed early wickets and got one as Harris claimed a bowled, but the runs flowed above the run-rate. The key moment involved the opening bat being dropped off an easy chance at long on when he was on 45. He went on to finish unbeaten on 130! Justin Hainsworth put in a good spell and claimed a wicket, and Jon Wilson deserved one for his useful bowling, but with the wicket appearing like a batting dream now, we were given a master class by the Baddow opening bat as they cruised home with 8 wickets and nearly 9 overs to spare.

27th July – Boxted Vs Colchester – Colchester 188-4, Boxted 191-8, Boxted won by 2 wickets

Colchester decided to bat , and were soon one down as Jon Wilson cleaned bowled one of the openers. Indeed Wilson should have been better rewarded for a good opening spell, as he both batsmen caught of no-balls. Hopefully the lesson will be learnt. Colchester made steady progress against a rather steady at best attack, with the only batsmen change due a pulled muscle and a retirement. Wilson in his second spell livened things up with a couple of wickets and we managed a run-out, but with the batsmen showing little signs of acceleration, despite wickets in hand, the innings finished on a moderate 188-4.

Boxted started well as Ian Evans 32 and Justin Rishworth 16 got the board ticking over. Pat Gilbert added a patient 19, but with his and Ian’s dismissal a mini collapse followed despite Justin Hainsworth with a brisk 17, we found ourselves in trouble at 99-6. Rohan Khaira sleeping down the order had to dig deep and was soon into his stride carrying on from the previous days century. He added 30 with Richard Cutter 4 and then with Sean McGovern 5 took us close to victory with a stand worth 49. McGovern played his part and could easily have had a few extra himself. Khaira in the mean time had passed 50 and was timing the ball sweetly to all parts. However with McGovern’s departure 11 runs were still needed. Wilson was soon away and then as the field came he lofted a boundary. Khaira then took us to the brink of victory as he finished unbeaten on 70 off 67 balls and Wilson next ball scored the winning runs to finish on 10.

10th August – Tendring Vs Boxted – Tendring 106 all-out, Boxted 107-2, Boxted won by 8 wickets

Boxted skipper Chris Wilson won the toss and had no hesitation in asking the hosts to bat first. Immediately bowlers Michael Dell & Paul Harris settled into good rhythms. Harris (2-26) made a couple of breakthroughs including rare Steve Philpott catch. After both bowlers had bowled through the score was 51-2. Then came the introduction of Ian Evans (2-10) who immediately cleaned bowled a batsmen. Matt Wilson bowled a good spell and also picked up a wicket as Chris Wilson held a catch. Runs were in short supply and the introduction of Sean McGovern soon brought a wicket as Chris Wilson held a stunning catch at mid-wicket. Tendring could hardly muster any aggression and when Evans had finished is miserly spell the returning Matt Wilson (3-12 from 6.1) with the help of some suicidal running enable us to clear up the tail as Tendring were all-out for 106 in the last over.

On a drying wicket, Boxted needed to make a good start, and Philpott and Evans took the score to 34 before Philpott was caught behind for 14. Jon Freshwater joined Evans and the pace picked up a little against the home attack. Freshwater chanced his arm and scored a useful 18 from 23 balls in a stand of 43. With the sky’s darkening and rain starting to fall, the remaining runs were needed quickly. Evans picked up his pace to pass his 50 and finished unbeaten 55 from 76 balls and debut making Chris “Bambi” Rich unbeaten on 11 including a six as the total was reached in the 27th over.

17th August – Bocking Vs Boxted – Boxted 143 all-out, Bocking 144-6, Bocking won by 4 wickets

Inserted on a damp track, with uneven bounce, Boxted soon lost a wicket, but a useful stand of 45 between Chris Wilson 31 and Richard Springett 13 took the total to 47, before we suffered a mini collapse as batsmen struggled to come to terms with the accurate bowling. Mike Booker dug in to score 28 and nudge us up to 100-8, and then the innings was given a boost as a last wicket stand of 33 between Matt Wilson 36 and Justin Hainsworth 11 not out saw us to 143 all-out in the 44th over.

Pat Gilbert immediately dismissed the home skipper for a duck well caught by Alex Carter, and then Mike Booker (2-31) claimed a couple of wickets one, caught by Ian Evans to leave the score 45-3. The introduction of Rohan Khaira (1-23) good catch by Mike Pearce and Evans (1-18) better catch by Ed Whybrow both from their 10 overs slowed the scoring rate and at 73-5 the game was in the balance. With the rate up to nearly 5 an over Bocking put bat to ball and rode their luck losing only one more wicket to Matt Wilson to win by 4 wickets in the penultimate over.