End of Season Reports

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2006 Season

[TBC]

2005 Season

[TBC]

2004 Season

It seems only 10 minutes ago I was standing in the musty pavilion changing rooms on a wet afternoon in April, sorting through a bag of cricket kit whose stale odour was testament to the successes of 2003. My head raced with questions. Will my new bat help? Will we get any new players? Will this be John Collie’s last year? Will Vince Ogbourne turn up on time? Will John Rheinberg have bought a new pair of trousers? And finally, will any of us have got any better?

As for the cricket, I will start with our Sunday side. We have definitely suffered through the absence of a couple of regulars, notably Trevor Startup, who we rely on for 8 overs at the start of every innings. Also some people very inconveniently arranging holidays during the cricket season, which is obviously very bad indeed. These problems, combined with many lapses of concentration, resulted in our worst Sunday form for at least a decade, as we lost 4 games, notably to local minnows Winterbourne Basset, and in the first round of the National Village Championships!

The season was not without its highlights. Mine would include the thrashings of Minall and Bishops Cannings (both of whom have caused us problems), John Rheinberg’s 2 centuries against Minall and Lavington, and watching Pete Force-Jones uproot the middle stump of a former Surrey county player now playing for Corsham. Lowlights losing twice to the CS Nomads, playing Winterbourne Bassett with just 9 men, and the embarrassment of Stanton St Quintin where we had to declare at 299-4 after just 30 overs. The finest hour was definitely the away game at Lavington. Batting first, Lavington were undone by our new surprise slow bowling combination of Dave and Keith Scattergood. In reply, our top order failed and we looked in trouble at 63 for 7, but a match-winning partnership of 53 between John Collie and Simon Nash saw us to an unlikely victory by two wickets.

Our Saturday side continued its remarkable form, winning Division 3 outright, and with this promotion to Division 2. We started off with modest ambitions of simply staying up, but in the end we ran away with the title by a whopping 30-point margin. Our form followed that of previous years. After the predictable number of early season cancellations we got to the top of the table with 5 consecutive wins. We had a hiccup at Wroughton, where we lost a rubbish game of cricket in horrible conditions, the had 2 more wins before our second hiccup away to Highworth, where the Captain made the fatal mistake of asking his team’s opinion on whether to bat or bowl first. We let them bat first and score 200, and in reply at one stage were 18 for 4 and never recovered. However, this was just the fillip our season needed, and we responded in fine style by thrashing Wroughton, and winning the final 5 games in a row to secure the title.

Highlights included the game away to Swindon where a pitch invasion by some amorous sheep brought out the best in Andy Blake and Henry Fry, who carefully ushered the bewildered creatures to the safety of the neighbouring field; At home to Highworth, where a good ball from Rob Gater was smashed over the pavilion for six. "Have some of that mate", the batsman sneered at Gater. The following over Gater, who had been a model of silence throughout, removes the batsman’s leg stump with a finely judged yorker; Finally, at home to Cherhill, where the team overcame a tea-time air-raid from an mob of wasps, who had taken a liking to Stef’s lemon drizzle cake, and where Gater produced seasonal best figures of 6 for 15 to hustle the opposition out for 55.

Our school report would read as follows:

Batting: Must try harder. Lose concentration easily, particularly those at the front of the class, who all appear capable but don’t always deliver. The reliable Gater has been a model pupil and carried the class on a number of occasions. Rheinberg suffered a nasty bout of Boycott- it is (notably scoring 2 runs in 11 overs against the Fulham Taverners), but made a full recovery. Dix, Hollister, Frys H and D continue to flatter to deceive. At the lower end of the class it has been a different story. These pupils frequently atone for the failures of others and have done so on numerous occasions. In particular Pete Force-Jones, Vince Ogbourne and Mike Pearce all hung around long enough to cause the opposition genuine irritation.

Fielding: 10/10 for effort. Pupils young and old hurl themselves around with utter recklessness, often to no avail and always to an accompaniment of riotous abuse from fellow classmates. Andy Blake, Mike Pearce and Dave Bradfield have all proved themselves to be dynamic cover fielders. John Collie’s antics behind square leg are a master class in athleticism. The class chatters incessantly throughout the game, sometimes needing to be settled down by their form master.

Bowling: Very good indeed. The best bowling attack in the league this year, based around the pressure exerted by the 3 opening bowlers. Time after time the opposition only reach 40 or 50 runs after 20 overs. Vince Ogbourne produced some of his best bowling, and has become economical as well as a wicket taker. Henry Fry and Greg Dix have played valuable support, usually coming on when the batsmen are starting to dominate. But top of the class this year has been the Master of Disaster, Pete Force-Jones. Nowhere was this better seen than in our game against Heytesbury, where we collapsed to 131ao. At the interval the opposition piled on the misery by producing a shocking tea, combining poor sandwiches with plain biscuits and not even a crumb of cake. They were making slow, steady progress towards our total when Operation Starfish was introduced. This involves bringing Pete Force-Jones on to bowl, putting 5 fielders round the boundary in starfish formation, and watching the ensuing chaos as one after the other the batsmen hoick the ball into the hands of the awaiting fielders. It was fitting that Pete, who statistically is the best bowler in the history of the Club, should take 7 for 34 that day and clinch promotion.

Wicket keeping: Good, and if not then always entertaining. Neil Hollister has given 100% behind the stumps and is prepared to use any part of his slender frame to stop the ball. He has borne the slings and arrows of this position in a stoical fashion, ignoring the sighs of desperation as yet another chance behind thuds onto the floor.

And finally captaincy Greg Dix’s skill at looking after 2 children under the age of 6 has come in most useful captaining his side this year. Our childish squabbles have been sorted out, and his league record of losing only 7 games out of 54 fixtures in 3 years speaks for itself.

Thanks

I have a number of important thank-you’s to a number of people who have made this such a special season:

First, to Bruce Hinder, Diane Gater and everyone at the Avebury Sportsfield Association, for all the work that has gone into improving the pavilion this year. As with any new relationship, we had a few teething problems early on but I hope that as we have got to know each other better, things have gone really well. We probably don’t say it often enough, but your work is hugely appreciated, especially by anyone who has had to prepare teas this year.
To Dave Scattergood, who continues to play a big part in the Club, helping us get things organised and keeping an ear to the ground on behalf of those of us who live further away. By way of evidence, Dave has told me that he’s still looking for additional promises for the auction of promises to be held at the Club next week, so please do help out if you haven’t already.
To Trevor and Ann Startup, who have been great supporters of the team throughout the season despite Trev’s injury – we hope he is back terrorising opposition batsmen next year.
To David and Gillian Watson, who have also be great supporters, with David consolidating his position as the most capped scorer in the Club’s history.
To John Collie, for his continued excellence in his role as Club Treasurer. We are currently in the process of trying to persuade John to umpire our Saturday games next year, so all players please make sure he is plied with drink this evening.
To Andy Blake, for deciding that he did want to play cricket for Avebury in 2004. Blakey spent the early season in early retirement from the game, but the lure of Avebury’s sweaty changing room was too much for him and he was back with us after 2 or 3 games. I hope he remembers this in April!
To the understanding wives and girlfriends who continue to allow us to spend our weekends indulging in a sport which is surely the greatest waste of time of the modern age. And in particular, to Jo. Jo has spent much of the Summer driving John from Aberystwth to Avebury every weekend for an entire cricket season, covering over 5,000 miles in an estimated 113 hours of driving.
To everyone who has prepared teas this year, for totally overshadowing everyone else we have played, and allowing us to retain our unofficial mantle as the nicest place to come and play cricket.
And finally, to everyone who has played this year. Village cricket is always something of a curate’s egg – we play against good teams on awful pitches, and awful teams playing on good pitches. But we almost always have fun, and I see no reason why we shouldn’t continue to do so next season.

2003 Season

Once again, Avebury Cricket Club enjoyed a memorable season, with plenty of successes both on and off the field. We played fixtures both on Saturdays and Sundays, playing 45-over games in the Wiltshire League on Saturdays, and 40-over friendly games on Sundays.

Having won Division 5 of the Wiltshire Cricket League last year, the team continued their run of success by winning Division 4 of the same league this year, losing only two games and ensuring plenty of excitement in Division 3 next season. The team played 16 games in the league and lost only 2, winning in style with consecutive victories over title challengers Lambourn and Bradford Town at the end of the season.

The Sunday side has also enjoyed a very fine season, and the combination of great weather, relaxed cricket and an abundance of spectators from near and far, made for a memorable Summer. The side lost only two of its 19 Sunday fixtures, and retains its one hundred per cent. home record (it must be something to do with the lay-lines). Performances of note are as always too numerous to mention, but the club is pleased to have unearthed new bowling talent in Simon Nash to support Robert Gater and Trevor Startup. In addition, we witnessed Andrew Blake’s maiden century against Stanton St Quintin, and were royally entertained by Dave Scattergood’s match-winning half century against Haydon Wick

On 24th August, Margaret Scattergood and a team of volunteers served lunches, teas and cakes in the Social Centre, in order to raise funds for the cricket club. With the weather set fair and a wide range of tasty home produce on display, the event was a runaway success and raised in the order of £500. Our thanks go to everyone who contributed cakes, and to the many friends and members of the club for all their hard work throughout the afternoon.

We look forward to the 2004 season with our usual boundless optimism. The wicket is getting better every year (as long as the moles and rabbits stay away), the outfield has been well cut and prepared, the teas are getting bigger and bigger, and the team are still producing entertaining cricket. We are very keen to involve more local people in the cricket team, so if you are interested in playing next season then please email Henry Fry secretary@aveburycc.org.uk