Sapcote v BOTWCC 2nd XI
Saturday 2nd September 2006 - Sapcote
On a day better suited to staying indoors with a nice hot cup of cocoa and a video, Burton Seconds traipsed over to Sapcote in very high winds and soul destroying drizzle to face a Sapcote team that had endured a torrid time in the league over recent weeks, apparently due to some internal squabbling. Burton were hoping for some of the same against them on this day, needing a win to have any chance at a promotion on this last day of the season. (If Walton didn't win at Thornton of course).
As had been the case on way too many occasions this season, we turned up to find that we weren't actually playing the Sapcote 2nd team at all, but a handful of key First XI bodies had been drafted in as their match was called off. Great, just when you need a bit of luck in a match that could have meant promotion for Burton, Sapcote decide they want to win a game when they had absolutely nothing to play for.
And it didn't turn out well either.
Firstly, Steve Neal lost the toss again and Burton were put in to bat.
Mark Russell and Ali Love started the game and between them (Mark Russell at least) enjoyed piling on runs at a healthy rate against a very pacey and accurate attack. Ali Love fell soon though for 4 off the bowling of M Furlong, easily their quickest bowler of the day.
Taggy then stepped up and hit a few with Russell and put on a very useful 43 partnership before Taggy fell to a catch behind for 19. Simon Leak failed to capitalize on his run of form and didn't last too long (3 runs) being bowled by K Freeman, a name you might remember from the first encounter at Towles Fields and one you will hear again today.
Next to fall was Mark Russell who had stood firm at the crease for 21 overs before gifting an easy catch to backward point. Still, he had just hit a very competent 51 runs and secured the batting averages for the 2006 season. Well done that lad.
After this point, things started averagely and went down hill to a less than useful rubbish. Steve Neal and Rob Morley did well to get their 13 and 16 runs, before they both fell to one member of the Bartlett family or another. Shane Marshall went for a meager 3, John Shipman 8, Adam Archer 3 and Jack Child 0. All of these also taken by one of the Bartlett clan (see below for which one) who had removed the Flannery folk from the match earlier in the day. This left a buoyant Penton at the crease all stranded on zero not out, unable to improve his dismal batting average.
The innings ended after just 36.4 over on 157 for 10.
Tea was taken at this point and as the rain started to fall with more conviction, Burton took to defending their total with John Shipman and Jack Child with the cherry.
It was bad at this point, but it got worse quite quickly.
John Shipman made the first breakthrough at the end of the 3rd over when he clean bowled an very unconvincing S Towers (AKA Tank, for obvious reasons). This was quite a good start, given that they were only 5 for 1 at this stage. But this wicket only served to bring in skipper Lee Bartlett who wasn't going to hang around. He got started straight away and took both Shipman and Child apart for a few overs before Child (6-1-22-0) was eventually replaced by Penton. Shippo was still being given a hard time with Bartlett losing balls aplenty with a volley of 4's and 6's. He even tried to kill him slapping a very hard shot straight back to Shippo who took it on the wrist and went down in some pain. At least it was his non-bowling arm. Anyway, that very long, expensive and painful over saw the end of Shippo. (6-1-40-1)
Very shortly after Penton finally made the break-through taking Lee Bartlett out of the game with a catch by Adam Archer at mid wicket. It wasn't pretty, as by this stage the ball was wetter than a sponge and difficult to hold on to, but a full toss at Bartlett's leg stump tempted him into tame dab to the waiting hands of Archer.
Sadly though, Bartlett had already hit a very quick 70 runs, so although he was sad to have gotten out in that way he had basically won the game for his team who were 89 for 2 after 18 overs.
The next man in, A Harris, was also a bit unconvincing and he only managed 2 runs before he tried to leather Rob Morley (who replaced Shipman) and was clean bowled.
Once again though, good news only brought bad news with it. In came Kev Freeman who, like Lee Bartlett, didn't want to stand out in the rain for too long. Penton (7-1-35-1) and Morley (6-1-22-1) kept him down for a while though and Penton even had him dropped twice in 2 overs. But this just fired him on a bit more and he then made Burton pay by hitting his very own array of 4's and 6's.
Steve Neal (now sulking a bit having dropped one of the aforementioned catches and not enjoying the driving rain, high winds and the impending loss) took Penton off and gave the ball to Mike Tagg to bowl his first over, possibly of this Millennium. Time to get the game over with. It was lost and nobody was enjoying weather conditions that were miserable enough to have even the fish reaching for a pullover.
Amazingly though, Taggy bowled well in his two overs and even forced the wicket of the quick scoring K Freeman (32) with a running catch at mid-wicket by John Shipman. (I don't know why you bastards couldn't catch him off my bowling though ! )
Taggy's bowling spell also brought about a quite special Teddy Throwing Moment that equals the Shane Marshall episode at Broughton Astley. While stomping about in a bit of a strop, the ball was hit to Steve Neal at mid on and in a bid to end the game he tried to kick the ball the remaining 25 yards to the boundary. Firstly, it was never going to get there as the grass was so long and wet and he'd have had to kick it hard enough to break his toes to get it there, and secondly (and most importantly) he completely missed it. A total air shot of mammoth proportions. It was a funny moment and it did cause a couple of comments both on and off the pitch. It has also been mooted that a trophy could be made up in honor of the event. God bless Steve Neal.
More bowling changes were ordered at the other end too. Ali Love had an over for 7 runs and Adam Archer 1 over for 8 runs before the winning runs were hit off him in the 30th over.
Game over. 22 players were cold, wet and 11 of them thoroughly peed off.
Not a good way to end the season, but certainly indicative of how things had turned out on many a day this year.
Okay, so the 4th Division would still beckon in 2007, but hey, we can hold our heads high and happily say that we played each match in the spirit in which it was intended and with a team of genuine 2nd XI players (barring the second Sunday match against the Waltons).
There's always next year though. Bye for now.
Match report by Grant Penton 3-9-06
League Match Sapcote 2nd Eleven v Burton on the Wolds 2nd Eleven
|
|
Sapcote 2nd Eleven Won
By 6 wickets
|
Sapcote 2nd Eleven won toss and
decided to field
|
|
Sapcote 2nd
Eleven
|
157
for 10 (36.4 overs)
|
161
for 4 (30.0 overs)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Batsman
|
|
|
Runs
|
Balls
|
Mins
|
4s
|
6s
|
S/r
|
M
Russell
|
c B Pickersgill
|
b L
|
51
|
68
|
89
|
10
|
0
|
75.00
|
A
Love
|
c S
Towers
|
b M
Furlong
|
4
|
8
|
13
|
1
|
0
|
50.00
|
M Tagg
|
c S
Towers
|
b K
Freeman
|
19
|
29
|
36
|
3
|
0
|
65.52
|
|
|
b K
Freeman
|
3
|
6
|
17
|
0
|
0
|
50.00
|
S
Neal*
|
|
b J
|
13
|
29
|
35
|
0
|
0
|
44.83
|
R
Morley
|
c A
Harris
|
b L
|
16
|
21
|
33
|
1
|
0
|
76.19
|
|
|
b J
|
3
|
15
|
18
|
0
|
0
|
20.00
|
J
Shipman
|
|
b L
|
8
|
14
|
27
|
1
|
0
|
57.14
|
A
Archer
|
c K
Freeman
|
b J
|
3
|
22
|
18
|
0
|
0
|
13.64
|
G Penton
|
not
out
|
|
0
|
3
|
13
|
0
|
0
|
0.00
|
J
Child
|
lbw
|
b
|
0
|
6
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
0.00
|
Extras
|
1nb 7w
5lb 24b 0pen
|
37
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional Score For
Innings
|
157
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Penalties awarded following
Innings
|
0
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Total
|
157
|
for
10
|
|
|
|
|
||
Bowler
|
O
|
M
|
R
|
W
|
Wd
|
Nb
|
S/r
|
Econ
|
K
Freeman
|
9.0
|
0
|
41
|
2
|
1 (1)
|
1 (1)
|
28.00
|
4.56
|
M
Furlong
|
8.0
|
1
|
30
|
1
|
1 (1)
|
0 (0)
|
49.00
|
3.75
|
L
|
9.1
|
2
|
35
|
3
|
1 (2)
|
0 (0)
|
18.67
|
3.82
|
J
|
9.0
|
1
|
22
|
3
|
3 (3)
|
0 (0)
|
19.00
|
2.44
|
G
|
0.0
(5)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0 (0)
|
0 (0)
|
0.00
|
0.00
|
|
0.4
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0 (0)
|
0 (0)
|
4.00
|
0.00
|
Batsman
|
Fall
of Wicket
|
Partnership
|
Batsmen
|
Over
|
A
Love
|
19-1
|
19
|
A Love
(4) M Russell (10)
|
3.2
|
M Tagg
|
62-2
|
43
|
M Tagg (19) M Russell
(22)
|
12.5
|
S
Leak
|
84-3
|
22
|
S Leak
(3) M Russell (10)
|
16.4
|
M
Russell
|
105-4
|
21
|
M
Russell (9) S Neal (4)
|
21.1
|
S
Neal
|
122-5
|
17
|
S Neal
(9) R Morley (4)
|
24.1
|
|
144-6
|
22
|
|
28.5
|
R
Morley
|
144-7
|
0
|
R
Morley (0) J Shipman (0)
|
29.2
|
A
Archer
|
151-8
|
7
|
A
Archer (3) J Shipman (3)
|
34.3
|
J
Shipman
|
156-9
|
5
|
J
Shipman (5) G Penton (0)
|
35.1
|
J
Child
|
157-10
|
1
|
J
Child (0) G Penton (0)
|
36.4
|
Sapcote 2nd
Eleven
|
Batsman
|
|
|
Runs
|
Balls
|
Mins
|
4s
|
6s
|
S/r
|
|
|
b J
Shipman
|
3
|
13
|
13
|
0
|
0
|
23.08
|
R
Turnbull
|
not
out
|
|
39
|
74
|
121
|
4
|
0
|
52.70
|
L
|
c A
Archer
|
b G Penton
|
70
|
53
|
62
|
7
|
5
|
132.08
|
A
Harris
|
|
b R
Morley
|
2
|
20
|
17
|
0
|
0
|
10.00
|
K
Freeman
|
c J
Shipman
|
b M Tagg
|
32
|
11
|
15
|
4
|
2
|
290.91
|
M
|
not
out
|
|
10
|
10
|
14
|
2
|
0
|
100.00
|
Extras
|
1nb 1w
1lb 2b 0pen
|
5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional Score For
Innings
|
161
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Penalties awarded following
Innings
|
0
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Total
|
161
|
for 4 | ||||||