Walsall Health beat Yoxall by 9 wkts.

It was nice to visit Yoxall again, for the first time since the 2012 season. Always a lovely welcoming ground….so lovely in fact, it encouraged Rob Hewlitt to be punctual for the first time in 100 appearances as suggested in a lively fines committee. Making his debut on 19th August 2012 against Highwood Park, Rob joins a list of 18 players to complete 100 games for WHCC. Well done Rob.

Skipper Alex Nunns lost the toss, so Yoxall elected to have a bat. Not a bad toss to lose, as it soon became apparent that the deck wasn’t exactly a batsman’s paradise. Nathan Martin and Dan Armstrong opened the bowling, both men producing high quality spells. It feels like Dan Armstrong’s favourite Sunday pastime is breaking records (more on that later) After last weeks 104, Dan steamed in to wreak havoc amongst the Yoxall top order. Clean bowling Tom Reynolds with an absolute peach for 3, with the first ball of his spell. Dan then removed Gale and Turner for ducks to leave Yoxall struggling on 4-3. With the shine on the new ball, Dan was pretty much unplayable at times, so the left handed opener Gareth Lewis did really well to survive, whilst others perished around him. Nathan Martin had one of those days, bowling really well for no reward, and i think its only fair we hold a minutes silence for his water bottle, which had absolutely no chance of surviving the violent beating dished out to it on the fine leg boundary.

Its fair to say Yoxall never recovered from their bad start. Chris Hall came on at first change, to team up with Dan for combined figures of 16 overs 9 maidens 7-15. The pitch didn’t get much easier to bat on, with bad balls in very short supply. JP, who had already displayed tremendous courage, turning up dressed as the pink panther, entered into the action. Two more wkts were deposited into the bank on his road to 100, clean bowling Asghar 0, then dismissing Maczkowski 7, courtesy of the safe hands of Nathan Martin. Josh Butler, who had fielded really well, then came on to wrap the Yoxall innings up. Taking his 10th wkt for the club, with Rob Hewlitt poaching another dolly land snaffle to mark his 100th appearance. Gort deservedly gets the final mention, keeping on that pitch wasn’t easy. Taking a sharp blow on the grill, plus 2 excellent catches summed up a solid all round effort…..Yoxall 87 all out.

The WHCC Guv’nors, Rick Jarrams and John Nicholls had strolled around the boundary enjoying the game. It really shouldn’t surprise anyone that Jonty made full use of the nets over the far side of the pitch, in preparation for his return at Lapworth on the 16th May.

After tea, we set about the chase of a tricky low total. But it didn’t take Dan Armstrong long to remove any doubt about the result with a quickfire 29 off 20 balls. As mentioned earlier, it was another day of milestones for D.Arm, taking his 50th wkt, and scoring his 1,000th run in the same game. At the age of just 20 years and 343 days, by far the youngest WHCC player to achieve this feat.

Meanwhile, Ian Chuck who announced his only priority for the day was a red inker, stood firm to finish on 31 not out. Quietly negotiating a path past his 3,500th run for WHCC, still at average in excess of 50. A superb effort from Chuck, who also raised a few eyebrows at tea, with a masterful display of carb loading to rival Sam Stephens’s 27 sandwiches at Didcot in 2009. Talking of red inkers. Skipper, Alex Nunns 11* joined Chuck to take us over the line, to maintain his 100% record. Another strong all round team effort, played in a positive spirit against our friendly Yoxall hosts. So friendly in fact, that Greg Philpott and Dan Armstrong kindly offered to help out with a spot of early evening ground maintenance. Greg, who earlier in the day, had shrewdly offered to wear all the bowlers jumpers to combat the chilly wind, suggested a solid hour of heavy rolling. #spiritofcricket. I get the feeling the Yoxall square will play nice and flat next weekend.

See you at Much Wenlock.

https://yoxall.play-cricket.com/website/results/4607535

Walsall Health beat Sportsman by 8 wkts.

Welcome back everyone to the WHCC 2021 season…..

On arrival at the RCG, and after a quick assessment of players and spectators, its fair to say that if Rushall ever fancied an upgrade on their heavy roller, a few people at yesterday’s game would comfortably fit the job criteria. One man who had no chance of making the first interview stage was new skipper Alex Nunns, who won the toss and elected to bowl. Rushall’s pitch and outfield looked in excellent shape. A lot of time and effort has gone into this over the last few weeks/months, so a big hand to all the lads at Rushall and the Elf who have put the hard yards in.

The Sportsman innings was a tale of two halves. The first club record of the season was broken after just nine deliveries, with the new ball that Dave Stephens had kindly brought over for us, disappearing into another stratosphere. A Nathan Martin full toss was smashed halfway to Pelsall by Waqas Ahmed. Talking of Pelsall, that was exactly where debutant Ashley Clifford (Player Number 220) found himself, just an hour before the game. Turning up at the wrong ground, has happened before, and will no doubt happen again. But maybe our newcomer knew something we didn’t. Because he could have taken a half decent catch if he had stayed at his initial destination.

Nathan Martin (3-38) was the pick of our bowlers, settling down into a nice spell, just as his grandparents were arriving. The Friar Park Express showed all the right signs to suggest he could be in for a very good season. Nath began the perfect comeback, clean bowling the dangerous Waqas and Calvin cheaply. Then finding the edge of Vishual’s bat, well taken by Gort…. Well bowled. Club Pro Dan Dunn, who left work early to open the bowling, strived hard at the other end without reward. On a fast scoring outfield, the Elf were in a good position after 25 overs. Until John Helmsley 89 and Lee 53, started to accelerate the scoring.

For any rookie cricketer who is keen to learn the finer arts of bowling at the death, I would advise watching the last 10 overs of the Sportsman innings very closely….then do the exact opposite. Ian Chuck had more steam coming out of his ears than a scene from the Severn Valley Railway. Chuck was tonked over cow corner a few times, then had to endure the nightmare scenario of John Helmsley switch hitting him for yet another boundary. JP picked up a couple of wkts at the other end to take him two steps closer to his 100th wkt milestone, as Sportsman’s innings closed on a challenging 230-7.

Pick of the fielders had to be Rob Hewlitt, busy as ever, and the instigator of the run out of Abdul, with Nathan Reeves matching Rob’s energy, stopping every ball that came his way in a typical whole hearted display.

After tea was taken we set about the chase of 230. A seriously pumped up Ian Chuck, immediately set the tone. Batting in the style of AB de Villiers, Chucky smashed anything short to the boundary, with a scoring sequence of 4,4,4,4,1,4,1,4,4. It was looking ominous for Sportsman until our Saffa copped a Jaffa for 39. However, this 53 run opening partnership from the first 6 overs with Dan Armstrong was just what the Doctor ordered.

As Chuck trudged off, pondering whether he has a weakness against left arm seamers, Dan Armstrong took centre stage. What an innings this was, 104….including fifteen 4’s and two 6’s. Dan deservedly joins a select group of multiple WHCC centurions. It was the classic Armstrong innings. A blend of power ball striking, and some lovely timing. One shot in particular that stands out, taking a couple of steps forward, clipping the ball off his legs to the square leg boundary. All timing and skill. Dan’s innings was a historic one for the club too, being the 30th Century since the reformation in 1987, and only the second occasion where we have witnessed a ton during the first game of a season. It also takes him to within just 2 runs of his first 1,000 runs for the club. So after a cool down lap of the pitch and debrief with the Club Pro, Dan simply said “Tell DS to get my cap ready for next Sunday”….well batted mate.

The partnership of 143 for the second wicket (no its not a record) with skipper Alex Nunns, effectively took the game away from Sportsman. Despite facing a barrage of vociferous lbw appeals, Alex batted really well, finishing unbeaten on 65. His 8th fifty for the club, which included ten 4’s. A composed Captain’s knock, providing the perfect support to Dan.

It was left to Rob Hewlitt to close out the game, with a cameo 17 not out, but again, another top order batsman who looks in very good touch. This was a really good win to start our season, and the highest successful run chase since we hunted down 236 at Swynnerton back in 2011.

See you at Yoxall.