TC5 Match rpts

24th April Frinton Vs Boxted – Boxted 277-7, Frinton 70 all-out

Boxted elected to bat and after a cautious first few overs Ian Evans in particular was soon into his stride despatching a number of early boundaries. As the partnership progressed Justin Rishworth also started to strike the ball well. Evans who had made 53 was the first out with the score 93. This brought debutant Paul Tongue to the crease who added 33 with Rishworth before the opener fell for a fine 55. From there on in Tongue dominated the innings although a little fortunate to survive an early stumping chance, he made the hosts suffer with 4’s and 6’s stroked to all parts of the ground. Wickets fell at the other end, but Tongue pushed towards his century found support with Jon Wilson 13 and Mike Booker 12, as 200 and then 250 came and went. The penultimate over brought Tongue his debut century and an eventual 114 not out off 70 balls including 6 sixes in a total of 277-7.

Frinton to their credit sprinted out of the blocks and were 27 in the 5th over before a diving Evans at slip held a catch of Booker. The next over brought two wickets clean bowled in successive balls to Jon Wilson who proceeded to rip through the home side’s top order. His 6 over spell brought him career best figures of 5-23 which included 4 clean bowled and a well judged catch from Tongue. Booker had chipped in with his second wicket in a spell of 2-27 from 9 overs, before Jason Wilkins (2-11) claimed a wicket first ball to leave the score 54-8. Wilkins then bowled the next man and finally took an excellent sharp catch at 3rd slip of Rohan Khaira (1-1) to put the hosts out of their misery at 70 and a crushing 207 run defeat. The most comprehensive of victories to start the campaign.

1st May – Boxted Vs Achilles – Achilles 174-6, Boxted 178-6

The visitors elected to bat and soon lost an early wicket as the accurate Mike Booker was rewarded with a catch behind by Mike Pearce. A slow total was put together and it was not until the 22nd over that the 2nd wicket fell to Paul Harris with the score at 60. Tight bowling was backed up by good fielding and another wicket fell to a good catch by Jon Wilson of the bowling of Ian Evans with the score at 105 in the 34th over. Achilles did then accelerate but found few boundaries with only a couple of 4’s and one 6 in the final 15 overs. Booker (2-34 from 13) claimed a 2nd wicket and with a couple of run-outs the innings closed on 174-6.

Boxted got off to an electrifying start as Evans and Justin Rishworth in particular dined on a mixture of full tosses, half volleys & long hops. The 50 was reached in the 8th over and the 100 in the 17th over as both batsmen reached 50 before Evans fell for that score with the total on 117. From there on in Boxted stumbled towards victory as wickets fell at regular intervals. Rishworth went for 72 as did Ed Whybrow 13 and Jon Wilson 14 before victory was achieved by 4 wickets with 9.2 overs to spare.

3rd May – Boxted Vs Harwich – Harwich 143 all-out, Boxted 144-4

On a green wicket freshened by regular showers and in extremely cold conditions Boxted chose to field and after a missed early chance Richard Sexton claimed the first wicket caught by Mike Pearce behind the stumps. A brief stand developed interrupted only by hail before Jason Wilkins started to run through the batting line up. Taking wickets with the score at 51, 60 & 79 the latter caught by Sexton. Ian Evans (2-12) replaced the unlucky Rohan Khaira and took two wickets in one over with the score at 102 with catched by Pearce and Khaira. Wilkins (5-50) claimed the next two taking his tally to five the first time he had achieved this performance. Jon Wilson superbly ran-out the 9th and in the final over Sexton (2-31) claimed maximum bowling points, as Harwich were dismissed for 143.

After tea Boxted were immediately in trouble as both openers (Evans 11 & Rishworth 0) were dismissed by the time the score had reached 17. With the bowlers making use of the conditions runs were initially hard to come by until Khaira 16 hit 3 boundaries in an over before he was out with unluckily down the leg side with the score at 56. By now though Paul Tongue had played himself in and soon took complete control of proceedings smashing boundaries to all parts. Richard Springett 21 especially good on the short ball added 74 in only 13 overs to effectively win the game. Tongue finished unbeaten on 76 with Sexton not out 9 as the target was passed with 9.5 overs to spare.

15th May – Tuddenham Vs Boxted – Boxted 369-2, Tuddenham 246 all-out

Mathew Francis elected to bat and new opening pair of Ian Evans & Ed Whybrow soon set to work on building a solid foundation, although Whybrow was fortunate to survive a chance before scoring. With short boundaries and a fast outfield the pair raced past 50 in the 7th over and 100 by the 14th with Whbrow reaching his 50. Evans soon followed before Whybrow departed for 81 with the score 147 in the 21st. Evans joined by Paul Tobgue accelerated before he too was dismissed for 81 with the score 195 in the 29th. From there on in Tongue and Rohan Khaira after a cautious start smashed the bowling to all parts taking the team past 300 and up to 369 with Tongue unbeaten on 114 for the 2nd time this year and Khaira unbeaten on 62.

A tight opening spell by Mike Booker (2-34 from 11) as well as an aggressive one by Jon Wilson (1-34 from 6) brought the team 3 wickets (catches by Whybrow & Booker) and put the home side well behind the run rate. Soon a run-out by Whybrow left them 79-4 off 18, but then a fight back started and runs flowed in particular straight down the ground as Boxted tried to buy wickets to gain maximum points. Evans claimed his first with a catch by Tongue at slip, but runs just kept coming. Evans (4-62 off 10)kept plugging away and was rewarded by another 3 wickets including a stumping by Pearce. By this time Tuddenham’s Cross 122* had compiled his hard hitting century, but soon ran out of partners as Paul Harris clean bowled the last man as Boxted won by 123 runs with 4.3 overs to spare.

22nd May – Boxted Vs Gt Bromley – Boxted 326-5, Gt Bromley 232 all-out

Inserted on a baking hot day, Boxted nearly lost a wicket first ball, but then prospered as Ian Evans & Justin Rishworth in particular punished a number of poor balls in reaching 50 inside 10 overs and the 100 inside 17. Rishworth has already passed with 50 by this time, but Evans fell3 runs short with the score at 146 in the 22nd over. Paul Tongue soon clicked into gear and smashed a 22 ball 45 to take the score above 200. Rohan Khaira joined the tiring Rishworth and helped him reach a fully deserved first ever century before he was out for 118 in the 38th over with the 250. Khaira 65* then proceeded to dominate the rest of the innings supported by quick 12’s from Ed Whybrow and Jon Wilson as we closed on 326-5.

The visitors started strongly despite the loss of an early wicket to Mike Booker and reached the 100 mark in the 17th over like Boxted had before a flurry of wickets reduced them to 144-5. Paul Harris (3-58) claiming three of them one caught in the deep by Wilson and Evans the other a diving caught & bowled. It was then a case of trying to take the remaining wickets, as more attacking fields were set. Khaira claimed a caught & bowled and the returning Wilson (2-23) and Booker (3-37) claimed the final 4, with catches by Pearce (3 in total), Evans a stunning slip catch and Whybrow the final one in the covers to wrap up maximum points with 16 balls to spare.

29th May – Abberton Vs Boxted – Boxted 91-0, Match Abandoned Rain.

Unbeaten Boxted were thwarted in their efforts to add a further victory as the rain came down after 17 overs in a match already reduced to 35 overs because of rain prior to the start. In the play possible Boxted with Ian Evans 55* in particular set the base for a late assault making use of the short boundary, as did Steve Philpott 33* after a slow start.

5th June – Boxted Vs Ipswich – Boxted 207-9, Ipswich 209-7

Acting skipper Ian Evans soon regretted his decision to bat first as within 13 overs Boxted had been reduced to 45-5 against some useful swing bowling, with only Ed (in a hurry) Whybrow 20 making double figures, with at least 3 of the dismissals self inflicted. Rohan Khaira set about rebuilding the innings with Mike Booker and they both protected their wickets and kept the board moving slowly as the partnership continued to grow. They added a club record 6th wicket stand of 115 before Booker went 42 just as he was accelerating. With overs running out Khaira was out for a fine 89 before Jon Wilson 18* and Matt Wilson 17 from 9 balls took us to 207-9 and at least maximum batting points.

In reply Ipswich made full use of some wayward early to reach 40 in the 7th over before Richard Sexton claimed a caught & bowled in his first over. Jon Wilson took a wicket next over well caught by Richard Pickford to even the game up. Sexton clean bowled the next and when Evans took the 4th the score was 95 for 4 in the 22nd over. As the conditions darkened and with occasional drizzle a stand took the score past 150 before Khaira claimed two quick wickets and then Booker his first with the score at 180 for 7 in the 41st over. A few big shots meant that 5 were needed from the last over, which were recorded as the first ball went for six, to condemn us to a first defeat of the season in a hard fought but well mannered game.

12th June – Boxted Vs Hadleigh – Boxted 210-8, Hadleigh 211-4

After a cautious few early overs, openers Justin Rishworth 51 & Ian Evans 66 set to work on a track offering a little encouragement to the bowlers. Just as the pair appeared to be in total command having reached 100 in the 22nd over Rishworth was bowled bringing run machine Paul Tongue only to depart 2nd ball. Evans was joined by Rohan Khaira 25 and the total was taken smoothly to 146 in the 31st over before Evans was well caught on the cover boundary. Unfortunately his demise started a mini collapse of 4 wickets for 8 runs and a rebuilding effort was needed which came through Mike Booker 16, Jon Wilson 11 and a spirited unbeaten 23 from skipper Mathew Francis. A final total of 210-8 was a little under par after the position we had been in.

The visitors although a little lucky early on made a solid start and had reached 83 in the 21st over before Booker claimed 2 wickets in successive balls the 2nd caught behind by Mike Pearce. Unfortunately Boxted could not press home this double break and although the bowlers were rotated progress was comfortably made towards the target although Khaira had a catch well taken by Tongue and a good spell by Jason Wilkins was also rewarded with a wicket, but ultimately too few runs cost us as the target was reached in the 44th over.

19th June – Boxted Vs Kelvedon – Boxted 192-9, Kelvedon 193-6

In useful bowling conditions Boxted were soon 39-2 in the 11th over. Justin Rishworth 75 was joined by Rohan Khaira 25 and the pair took the total past the 100 mark before Khaira was caught. Another stand started to develop as Richard Sexton joined Rishworth. However when Rishworth was finally out with the total 136-4 in the 31st over it heralded the start of another middle order collapse as the total slipped to 163-9 in the 40th over. A useful unbroken last wicket stand of 29 by Mike Pearce 26* and Jason Wilkins 7* just showed what could have been possible.

With a lower total than normal, but still in helpful conditions, Boxted needed early wickets, but got a mishmash of deliveries which allowed the Kelvedon openers to make hay. The introduction of Khaira & Ian Evans did at least stem the flow a bit, but then a severe case of the drop the ball followed as some 7 catches some difficult, but a couple of easy ones as well went down. The first wicket fell at 117, and then a steady stream, followed as Khaira 3-62 from 15 & Evans 2-62 from 15 inched Boxted back into the game despite the dropped chances. Good catches were held by Rishworth & Evans, and a returning Sexton claimed a 6th wicket, but the target was reached in the 44th over for the 2nd successive match.

26th June – Boxted Vs Witham – Witham 210-6, Boxted 212-7

Boxted deprived of an early run-out, soon had an early wicket as Paul Tongue took an excellent diving effort off Jon Wilson. A second followed as Rohan Khaira had a direct hit, and when Ian Evans took an easy return catch the visitors were 53-3 in the 14th over. Mike Booker plugged away for 15 overs (1-41) and claimed the next wicjet at 70, before a large stand took the total to the 44th over and over 200 before Paul Tongue claimed his first wicket for the club and then Khaira claimed a vital extra bowling point in the last over.

A good start by Justin Rishworth 30 and Evans 28 took the total to 53, before Tongue joined Evans and was soon into his fluent best. Evans departed at 103 and then Tongue dominated the attack bringing up his own half century and looking well set for a ton before he was stumped for a 69 ball 82. However by this time a few others had departed and at 200-7 another defeat was a possibility, despite 23 from Mike Pearce. Eventually the experience of Booker 9 not out saw us home by 3 wickets with 21 balls to spare.

3rd July – Harwich Vs Boxted – Harwich 339-7, Boxted 290-7

Harwich elected to bat and rode their luck early on as the ball flew regularly in the air, but never to hand, although a regular serving of poor deliveries did not help our cause. Two wickets fell by the time the score had reached 72 in the 15th, both caught behind by Dave Applin off the bowling of Mike Booker and Richard Sexton. From there on in the Boxted bowling gave little resistance, backed up by some shoddy fielding runs flowed everywhere. A solitary half chance went down, and the skipper even bought himself on, but to no avail. Only the returning Booker came away with any credit and in the final carnage finished with 5-96 from his 15 overs, including a sharp caught and bowled and a good catch by Matt Francis. The other wicket fell to Michael Dell well taken by Ian Evans.

Faced with a daunting target Evans 39 and Paul Tongue 49 added 74 in 15 overs, before Tongue was bowled. Sexton with a quick 50 ball 65 added some acceleration and when he was out the previously watchful Richard Pickford put his foot down and in a 4th wicket stand worth 89 with Booker 22 put us in with a slim chance. However once Pickford departed for a 71 ball (6 sixes) 88, the chase was effectively over and our spirited reply finished on 290-7.

10th July – Boxted Vs Frinton – Boxted 272-9, Frinton 273-2

Boxted were inserted on a hard track and quick outfield and soon lost Ian Evans 12 to a debateable LBW and Paul Tongue 20 bowled. The innings was partially rebuilt by Richard Sexton 23 and Rohan Khaira as the total was taken to 89 before Sexton was out. Khaira was then joined by Will Stairmand and the pair after a watchful period soon got on top of the bowling with both of them passing their 50’s. The partnership was worth 146 before Stairmand was caught in the 40th over. Mike Booker added a quick 11 before a now limping Khaira brought a well deserved century before also being caught. A late flurry of wickets saw us close on a par 272-9.

An early wicket raised our hopes as Tongue held a catch at deep cover of Jon Wilson, but despite a few early play and misses, there was little control again from the home seamers, as Frinton raced to 74 in only 11 overs. The early introduction of Evans (0-56 from 10) slowed the scoring at one end, but little support was coming at the other and the batsmen were scoring at will adding over 200 for the 2nd wicket before Evans took a stunning catch at cow corner looking directly into the sun off Sexton. It made little difference as Frinton coasted to victory without further loss in only the 35th over.

17th July – Achilles Vs Boxted – Boxted 215 all-out, Achilles 61 all-out

Stand in skipper Ian Evans chose to bat and watch in admiration as Justin Rishworth started like a house on fire on a spongy wicket showing early signs of indifferent pace & bounce. Evans went for 11 with the score at 54, which triggered a collapse to 72-4 including Rishworth bowled by a low ball for 48. Rohan Kahira and Mike Booker rebuilt the innings adding 77 before Khaira was defeated by the wicket for 42. Booker upped his pace and with Matt Wilson 19 added a further 41. Booker was finally out for 68 and despite a late flurry of wickets mainly due to crazy running a final all-out total of the last ball of 215 was an excellent return.

After the best tea of the season so far, Boxted soon got to work as both opening bowlers Jon Wilson & Paul Harris took a wicket 2nd ball, with Matt Wilson taking the catch of Harris who should have had a wicket 3rd ball, had the juggling skipper not dropped a slip effort. However with accurate bowling & the pitch still tricky the runs were hard to come by. Jon Wilson (2-20) bowled another and Harris (2-22 from 12) took his second caught by the resting Booker at square leg. The introduction of Khaira swept through the lower order, well backed up sharp catches from Paul Tongue and Rishworth. Matt Wilson nipped in with a wicket as well caught by a moving Richard Pickford before Khaira took the final wicket and his 5th (5-9) in all as an easy catch went to Tongue as a comprenhensive victory and first double of the season were recorded.