2nd XI Cricket 2008

Date	Opposition	Venue	Result
23/4/08	Swanbourne House	Home	Won
26/4/08	Bilton Grange	Home	Won
30/4/08	Beachborough	Home	Cancelled
07/5/08	Wellingborough	Away	Lost
10/5/08	Spratton Hall	Away	Won
14/5/08	Oundle	Home	Won
17/5/08	Bedford Prep	Away	Cancelled
21/5/08	Stoneygate	Away	Won
25/6/08	Great Houghton	Home	Won
28/6/08	S. Anselm's	Away	Won

Match Reports

V Swanbourne House

Maidwell 179 for 6 off 30 overs
won by 154 runs

Swanbourne 25 all out

This match was a great way to start the new season and I was delighted with all aspects of our game. Having been put into bat, we compiled a beautifully paced innings with the tone for the afternoon set by a terrific opening partnership between Patrick Bullard and Henry Pratt. Due to an unfortunate clerical error, we do not have the exact figures, but we think that when Henry finally succumbed, he was just shy of his fifty, an innings which included the first six of the year! Patrick continued to anchor the innings with great maturity, performing just the job of an opener. Wickets in hand meant that despite the cheap losses of Nat Shirley and Hal Bicket, who was superb as captain, Jasper Upton and Sam Whitbread were able to come in and accelerate the scoring rate with some aggressive but sensible stroke play.

After tea the side came out all guns blazing, and it soon became clear that we could bowl Swanbourne out quickly. Charlie Rogers-Coltman and Jack Francklin bowled with controlled aggression and by the time they had both finished their first spell, the visitors were five down, three to Jack and one to Charlie, the fifth a run-out. The fielding was excellent and I was very pleased with the team spirit and the manner in which each wicket was celebrated. Hal was organising the troops with great efficiency. Henry Pratt and Edward Buxton then bowled straight and picked up two wickets each. I was also happy with Henry Chamberlayne who bowled a couple of tight overs.

A promising season lies ahead but we can expect tougher matches along the way.

V Bilton Grange

Maidwell 161 for 6 off 30 overs
won by 41 runs

Bilton 120 all out

Another very good performance, another good result. This really was a team effort, with every boy contributing runs, wickets or catches. I was once again delighted with all departments of our game and the tremendous togetherness of the players.
As in our first match, we batted first and put together a nicely paced innings and posted a competitive target of 162. Patrick Bullard, Nat Shirley and Jack Francklin all scores 30s at the top of the order meaning we could cope with the cheap losses of Hal Bicket (run out again, this time not his fault!) and Sam Whitbread and still have wickets in hand. Tom Pease (16) and Jasper Upton (11*) pushed the innings along nicely at the end.

Bilton’s batsmen proved more stubborn than Swanbourne’s and they got off to a flying start. I thought we did brilliantly in the field, effecting a good run out and taking all aerial chances – there were catches for Jasper, Edward Buxton, Jack, Henry Chamberlayne and a smart take behind the stumps from Sam. By about the 24 over mark, it was becoming clearer that the visitors were not going to reach their target and we had them all out in the 29th. Nat took 3 for 30, Henry 2 for 6 and Frank Sale 2 for 14. Long may this run continue.

V Wellingborough

Maidwell 101 all out

Wellingborough 102 for 8

This close encounter of the frustrating kind was our first defeat of the season. Wellingborough scored the winning run with only two balls to spare but, in truth, they should have had the match in the bag sooner. We simply did not put enough runs on the board in the first innings to enable us to put their batsmen under pressure. Being bowled out with two overs to spare ultimately proved crucial since those twelve deliveries were thus allocated to our opponents.

Missing three regular players, I was pleased to call up Alfie Stephenson, Jack Weatherby and Ignacio Morenes who all contributed. In fact, Ignacio top scored for us with 24. Nat Shirley and Sam Whitbread also gained 'starts' but were unable to make them really count. Sam is a fine batsman, a lovely timer of the ball and a quick run scorer but, unfortunately he played on just when he was really motoring. His departure initiated a collapse with not one of our last five batsmen troubling the scorers.

The fact that we came as close as we did to forcing an unlikely draw or even a victory speaks volumes for the spirit of the team. Edward Buxton again bowled well, taking two wickets, as did Nat. We managed two more run outs as well. In pushing for wickets we used up our front line bowlers’ quotas before the end and so Ignacio and Jack stepped into the breach, both doing very well under extreme pressure, Ignacio taking a wicket and Jack bowling an amazing nine successive dot balls.
We must learn from this and bounce back quickly as the fixtures come thick and fast, with a tough one at Spratton on Saturday.

V Spratton Hall

Maidwell 110 for 7

Spratton 106 for 9

Bowling first, we soon had the hosts 24 for 4. Jack Francklin and Charlie Rogers-Coltman were bowling as well as they had done so far this season, but more importantly, we were taking our chances in the field, proving the old adage that catches win matches. Jasper Upton took the first catch, Hal Bicket the second, a smart take at slip and, best of all, Charlie held onto one that really fizzed to him at square leg. I feel, looking back, that we won the game in that first hour but there was much more work to be done. Spratton put on an impressive, rebuilding partnership for the fifth wicket and we had to remain patient, but two run outs (both effected by Henry Chamberlayne) and three more catches (Jasper, Edward Buxton and Frank Sale) looked to have set us up for a win.

Chasing 107, then, Patrick Bullard and Nat Shirley set about giving us a good platform with an opening partnership of 28. I was pleased with the number of singles they pinched after working on that in practice the day before. Nat and Jack then put on 36 for the 3rd wicket and the finishing line was in sight. Jack’s was a match-winning innings of 36, in front of a large Francklin contingent, including some lovely cuts, pulls and drives.

However, 71 for 3 soon became 98 for 7. Cue the alarm bells. It was down to Jasper to see us home with a most mature 17 not out, under increasing pressure. This was another good all-round team effort and a very satisfying result to boot – well done, boys.

V Oundle

Maidwell 274 for 4

Oundle 42 all out

As the scoreboard suggests this was by far our most comfortable match of the season to date. I would like to credit the Oundle boys for playing the game in a good spirit despite the disparity between the sides.

In the first innings I asked our boys to bat properly and play their natural games and I was pleased with their level of focus and shot selection, on the whole. Henry Pratt scored a quick-fire 68 before retiring and it was good for skipper Hal Bicket to spend some time out in the middle, helping himself to 50 (retired). There were also scores for Ignacio Morenes (32) and Sam Whitbread (24*) as we amassed a huge total off our 30 overs.

We dismissed Oundle comfortably enough and it was satisfying that everyone had a bowl and did well. Ignacio, Hal, Henry and Jasper each took two wickets.

The fact that we can call upon all the boys to bowl and have the likes of Sam and Jasper as far down the order as 7 and 8, I feel illustrates the strength in depth of this squad. Saturday’s match at Bedford will surely provide us with more of a yardstick.

V Stoneygate

Maidwell 135 for 5

Stoneygate 80 all out

This was an ultimately comfortable win but the match could hardly have started off worse for us. Batting first on a poor pitch of variable bounce, 6 for 3 soon became 17 for 4 as, for the first time this season, our openers failed to give us a platform for the innings. A serious repair job was required and it came in the form of another splendid and man-of-the-match performance from Jack Francklin (53*). His was an innings of great maturity, under pressure on a slow outfield, and I was impressed with the way he got forward to counteract the state of the pitch and blocked the straight ball. Much credit is also due to both Ignacio Morenes (23) and Sam Whitbread (24*) who gave him support with excellent innings of their own. Those two partnerships added 118 – well done, you three.

We have bowled better in previous matches, but this team possesses the handy knack of taking wickets by all means. Our catching was again superb and Jasper's fantastic throw down of the stumps from square leg to run out the hosts' danger man was a key moment. Edward Buxton continues to impress me with his consistency and he took two more wickets. There were also two for Henry Pratt and Hal Bicket.
So we head for the break with a record of won five, lost one – testament to the strength in depth of the squad and the spirit of the boys.

V Great Houghton
Maidwell 228 for 3	Great Houghton [1st XI] 195 for 7
A pleasing turnout of spectators was treated to a veritable run fest in this our sixth win out of seven. With such a short boundary still in place from the 20/20 match on the previous night, it was a batsman’s paradise. Batting first, Maidwell compiled what seemed a massive and unassailable 228 off 30 overs. Henry Pratt and Patrick Bullard saw off the swinging new ball allowing the middle order to ‘fill their boots’. There were terrific innings for skipper Hal Bicket (52), Jack Francklin (42) and, notably, Nat Shirley (67) - well done, you three. At tea, the Great Houghton boys’ body language and gallows humour gave off an air of resignation and Maidwell were perhaps a little guilty of complacency, forgetting one of cricket’s maxims that you should not judge a pitch until both sides have batted on it. The visitors were never out of the game, despite at one point needing 15 an over for victory - this was probably because they were going at 15 an over! Edward Buxton was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets. Our opponents deserve much credit for their gutsy batting display. For the first time this season the Maidwell boys were silent in the field, rattled by the wave of boundaries, and a few catches went down. The experience will stand them in good stead.

V St. Anselm's

Maidwell 103 for 6

St. Anselm’s 100 all out

This victory capped a splendid season for the 2nd XI whose record this summer reads ‘won seven, lost one’. Under a bruised Derbyshire sky, Maidwell lost the toss and were asked to bowl which they did with efficiency. Fergus Wright spearheaded the attack, picking up the first three wickets. Henry Pratt then ripped through the middle order, also taking three. I was pleased to be able to bring Alfie Stephenson on to bowl, on his old stomping ground with his family in attendance, and it was he who finished off the hosts’ innings, dismissing numbers nine and ten. St. Anselm’s were not happy with their own batting display but the Maidwell boys deserve credit for snaffling all aerial chances, with Jasper Upton taking three good catches.

This being a timed match, Maidwell had about three hours to make the target of 101. The visitors would thus win comfortably provided we kept wickets in hand. The final scoreboard should really make the victory look more comprehensive since we were 99 for 3 at one point. There were good knocks for Patrick Bullard (15) and Nat Shirley, controversially given out, caught behind, when going nicely on 21! It was Fergus, though, who anchored the run-chase beautifully, playing a mature match-winning innings of 49 not out. I think his team mates were so conscious of trying to help him reach his half-century that we endured a funny five minutes, losing 3 wickets in four balls! Milo Smith, who deserved a chance at this level after some swashbuckling performances for the thirds, came in to hit the winning boundary.
What a fitting end to a terrific season. Very well done to all the boys who have played for the 2nd XI this term – it’s been a pleasure for their coach.