Date

Opposition

Venue

Result

22/4/09

Swanbourne House

Away

Won

25/4/09

Bilton Grange

Home

Won

29/4/09

Beachborough

Away 

Won

06/5/09

Wellingborough

Away 

Won

09/5/09

Spratton Hall

Home

Won

13/5/09

Oundle

Away

Won

16/5/09

Bedford Prep

Home

Won

20/5/09

Stoneygate

Home

Won

17/6/09

Akeley Wood

Home

Won

18/6/09

Lutterworth (Twenty20)

Away

Won

23/6/09

Witham Hall (Twenty20)

Home

Lost

26/6/09

Oakham (Twenty20)

Home

Cancelled

01/7/09

Swanbourne (Twenty20)

Home

Won

On a green grass pitch Maidwell fielded first and although at times bowled a little short managed to restrict the home team thanks to some fine bowling by spin twins Pratt and Harvey. They were helped by some fast work behind the stumps by Whitbread who claimed a couple of stumpings. Captain FitzRoy Newdegate had a good game in the field setting some tight fields.

Openers Barrow and Cleverly were watchful early on and after seeing off the new ball began to pick up the tempo. Barrow finished with 20 and Cleverly 30 not out.  Wright had a good game with both ball and bat and after he got out FitzRoy Newdegate helped see the game home with some good stroke play. All in all a decent start but much to work on as ever! Running between the wickets is the top priority!

On a lovely day Maidwell won the toss and decided to bat.  Barrow and Cleverly performed very well again putting on over 100 for the first wicket. Barrow made a fine 60 and Cleverly a polished 40.  After Wright had gone caught behind for 10 it was left to Fletcher and FitzRoy Newdegate  to put bat to ball and continue the positive display.  Fletcher unbeaten on 55 and FitzRoy-Newdegate also 55.

Bilton started well but with some fine spin bowling by Pratt and Harvey again were always going to struggle. Harvey was the pick of the bowlers and got 2 wickets.  Alas there was some poor catching today, quite uncharacteristic of the team but, nonetheless, there will be extra fielding practice over the next week.

Playing a time game and batting first on a low and slow grass wicket is always going to be hard. Having lost four very early wickets left Maidwell struggling.  Captain Humphrey FitzRoy Newdegate then came in and grafted as hard as anyone I have seen in 9 years coaching here. He coaxed young Bell and Playne through the innings and made an amazing 74.  Bell looked the part and Playne played a superb supporting role. Bell scored 16 and Playne a solid 15 not out.

Then, having declared, it was up to the bowlers.  The show was stolen by leg spinner Harvey who got 6 wickets for only 5 runs....that is awesome! A good win on a slow wicket. However two catches dropped again is not good enough and fielding practice will continue tomorrow!

In a time game Maidwell bowled first on a well-prepared grass pitch. They managed to restrict the home side to 114-8 through some fine bowling from FitzRoy Newdegate and Pratt. Pratt got three wickets and FitzRoy Newdegate four.

A slight panic set in to the batting and at one stage Maidwell were 10-3. Wright and FitzRoy Newdegate came to the crease and set about the bowling after an initial calming period. Wright batted as well as I have seen him and finished with a fine 40. FitzRoy Newdegate ended his fine day with another half century. Having watched them both bat today I am glad my hands were not behind their shots on this cool day!! SNAP!  On to bigger things this week and next! No dropped catches today so the extra fielding is working and we continue tomorrow!

In a 30 over match Spratton batted first and after losing a couple of early wickets managed to consolidate and get up to 132 runs.  Harvey and Pratt bowled very tight and kept the brakes fully on the opposition.  The fielding today was very good indeed some outstanding ground work and one amazing catch at point by Barrow!

Having lost two wickets rather cheaply Captain FitzRoy Newdegate and Fletcher set about the victory.  Fletcher made a fine 20 but once again FitzRoy Newdegate scored yet another half-century finishing on 54.  Playne made a gutsy 21 not out having needed to bat under a little pressure. Luckily for him Francklin came in and finished the job with two excellent pulls for four!

However two more dropped catches means fielding sessions including fitness are the way forward this week.

Maidwell batted first on a cold day and made a large score in this 25 over match.  Bullard made 46 and Playne kept his fine form going getting 65 not out.  When Maidwell bowled wickets fell at a decent rate and good displays from Harvey and Fletcher made scoring very difficult. Patrick Bullard bowled the last over and managed to get a hat-trick. This is the first for some time in the first eleven.

Awesome!

Maidwell decided to be positive against the larger and more experienced Bedford School.  With wins already under our belt, I thought we ought to be aggressive from ball one in order to unsettle the strength of this larger school's 1st XI.  After a stuttering beginning Maidwell scored 161 in this 30 over match.  Barrow and FitzRoy Newdegate took the fight to the opposition with two very good half-centuries.  However I felt, and expressed my opinions at tea, that we didn’t make enough runs as at one stage we should have pressed on to 180 or even 200 (I apologised for being a misery but things need to be said).

A superb bowling and team fielding display including wickets for Harvey, Pratt, Wright and Cleverly enabled the home side to storm home.  It was noted by supporters that the fielding is improving and we even saw the Captain catch one today.  So more this week before Wednesday! And fitness as ever! ( I have a few worries regarding the fathers fielding the ball in a few weeks however....because it's travelling pretty fast at the moment)

OK, here I go. In this 28 per team over match Maidwell fielded quite poorly by their own improving standards.  Missed catches and non-attempted ones were horrible to watch.  However they are allowed to have a more relaxed day given the efforts of the previous couple of weeks. FitzRoy Newdegate got four wickets and Wright got three today although these were, in the main, taken at the end of the innings.

A total of 130 to chase was one we would have taken at the start of the match. Barrow and FitzRoy Newdegate were again the pick of the batsman Barrow finished on 26 and FitzRoy Newdegate scored 53. Playne yet again saw the team home with a gritty 13 not out again he played well under pressure.  Four weeks off before the next match and many distractions ahead. However all players need to report back after their break with a hunger and determination to keep in the team.

 
In this 20 over match Maidwell batted first and set a good tempo throughout their innings.  Barrow and Bell set a good initial pace then this momentum was kept going by Cleverly (86) and FitzRoy Newdegate (44)  After Wright smashed a quick 21 not out it was clear that the home side were in control.  Bullard was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 31 in his four overs.  Akeley ended the match on 104 in their overs.  A good start back after all the teams excursions.  The fielding was poor and very rusty which, given the matches ahead, needs to be much sharper.  Let’s hope they can catch the white ball better than the red one!!!

A good start to the twenty20 season saw Maidwell bat first against Lutterworth CC under 13 team.

Both openers scored half centuries Barrow 55 and Francklin 65.  They were backed up with some good finishing by FitzRoy Newdegate 48 not out and Whitbread 38 not out.  Most of the bowlers got onto the wicket takers list with Harvey again taking another major haul of 4 wkts for 7 runs. Am I a grump to suggest the fielding is not up to scratch with some fierce twenty20 matches ahead? The answer is 'No'; just a realisation that the boys need to lift this area of their game next week.

In this twenty20 match with a good sized crowd Maidwell were disappointing. Far too many nerves were evident during the batting and this always had the home side under pressure. Barrow 61 and Wright 53 not out were the main players.

But then the game was turned and with a only three overs to go Maidwell looked to be winning. Conceding 16, 31 and 20 in three of the last four overs certainly left a few amazed players wondering what had actually gone wrong.  The fielding was strong and I was happy, but in general the team were far too nervous in the encounter!!

 
Maidwell batted first and what a night for FitzRoy Newdegate; 116 not out in his final innings here. Watching both him and Barrow 44 set up the total was a pleasure. To be in front of a large crowd was intimidating but also so rewarding for these two accomplished and senior batsman. In reply Swanbourne made a good fist of it but the sheer weight of runs was always going to add extra pressure .  A great night and end to a fantastic season.