25.05.25
Alrewas CC (111-2) beat Walsall Health CC (109 AO) by eight wickets
After two consecutive wins away at Wellington and home against Lichfield, Walsall Health travelled over to Alrewas for the annual late May bank holiday fixture to participate in the Tim and Andie Oliver Memorial game. The pitch was set, the teas were magnificent and the weather played ball. The question was ‘Were the Health going to end the run of defeats against Alrewas or was it going to be a routine victory for the home team – again’? After a bit mix up to begin with, the Health decided to have a bat, with what was a fairly settled top 6. With only 10 men captain JP had to do some re-organisation (albeit slight) to give the Health the best opportunity for victory.
- Jack Stenson (47) – After a confident 50 he scored against Lichfield the week before, Jack started
off his innings really well batting with intent and getting off the mark making quick runs and
spraying the ball to all parts of the ground. Every couple of balls, all you could hear was Jack’s
loud and clear voice with a ‘Yes’ or ‘There’s one there”. He managed to get settled at crease and
you could see confidence oozing in him through his shot selection and his quick thinking. Was this
going to be the knock that set up his season? He looked so assured, it felt that it would have to
take a brilliant ball to dismiss him, but unfortunately he was caught off the bowling of Collins in
the sixth over. A great knock and hopefully, more of this to come as the season progresses.
Amongst all this, Jack must be pleased to have passed 1000 run milestone for the Health and
before we know it, we’ll be celebrating him passing 2000 runs. - Mac Perager (21) – Mac was given an opening spot for the first time since the end of July 2024
and looked as though he was a natural opener. Playing with the composure and level-headedness
that was required by the openers in order to build a steady score. After scoring in 1’s in the first
few overs, Mac began to get more adventurous and with it came confidence to go for the
boundaries and 2s. It seemed as though up until Jack’s wicket (when the score was on 60) there
pair looked as though they had been batting together for a year. The telepathy they had between
one another suggests it won’t be the last time they open together. Unfortunate, Mac’s innings
was prematurely ended when on 21, he was judged to be out LBW. A very calm 21 that had set
the innings up nicely for the incoming batsmen to prosper from. - Will Tomlinson (13) – Will has become a very dependable batsman and bowler for the Health this
season so far with scores of 34, 28 and 28 with the bat and 7 wickets with the ball this term. He is
very quickly becoming a multi-talented cog in the Walsall Health side that can be called at any
time, no matter the situation. Here against Alrewas, it was Will the batsman that was called upon
to restart the innings after the fall of the first wicket. He and Mac went about their work to
increase the run-rate to what it was with the openers. He was just getting into his stride when he
was caught off the bowling of J. Burrows for 13. He also made a good contribution with the ball
finishing with 2-27 off 7 overs in doing so became the leading wicket taker this season. The
question is will he be able to carry this encouraging on , especially with so much going on at the moment and make it a season to remember? Keep up the good work Will and the rewardseventually come. - Dave Hill (3) – In at number 4 was the increasingly more confident Dave Hill. Having been given
the chance to bat at number 4 a few times this season, he has been able to get himself in, assess
the situation and go from there. However, the Alrewas attack did not give Dave any room and
made it difficult for him to get any shots away to relieve the pressure. Unfortunately, this
pressure told and when he was on 3, Dave was bowled by the bowler of the day, J. Burrows who
would go on to take five wickets. In the field, he made a valuable contribution stopping nearly
everything that came his way. Another top performance in the field and very dependable. - Ryan Addis (1) – This was Ryan’s season debut for the Health, so it was not known what was to be
expected. When he went out, the first couple of balls suggested that he looked as though he was
going to be out there for a while. But before he could set himself for a long innings, he was
caught for 1. So soon after the dismissal of Mac, it needed both players a bit of time at the
crease, but unfortunately, J. Burrows was in that zone where everything he bowled turned into
wickets. Unlucky Ryan. Better luck next time. - Dan Dunn (1) – The resident opener was placed further down the order for this game with the
intention of using his bowling ability to support the Health and support the tail with the batting.
This experiment unfortunately did not work this time round for Dan or for captain JP (who had
hoped Dan’s experience with the bat would add a bit of calm down the order. I cannot imagine
Dan will be batting down the order very often, and those chances will have decreased after what
happened against Alrewas. In all honesty, Dan is a top order player and with hindsight, that is
where he should have batted. However, we all learn something every day, and this is one thing JP
will have to remember next time he leads the Health on the field. Dan also had a stint bowling,
but unfortunately (despite him saying he’d been bowling well), finished with figures of 0-25 off 3
overs. I think next time Dan takes the field for the Health, he will not need to worry about where
he bats and he will be in more comfortable surroundings. - Wyatt Hill (0) – A difficult day for Wyatt who had the misfortune to face just a solitary ball as he
was undone by J. Burrows for the latter’s 5 th and final wicket of the day. Willing to field in a
variety of positions, but did so with the willingness and enthusiasm. With one scare when chasing
the ball towards the boundary, an unfortunate tweak somewhere, caused great concern amongst
the Health players – that is apart from Hill SNR, if rumours are to be believed, but Wyatt quickly
ran the injury off and was preparing himself before coming on to bowl. Unfortunately, this
materialise, but I’m sure he will get plenty of opportunity with the ball before the end of the
season. - Dave Stephens (5) – After a batting collapse akin to that of an England Cricket team saw in the
1990s and 2000s, in walked the opening bowler Dave Stephens, with the hope of playing a few
lusty blows to the boundary that gone missing from the Health innings of Mac Pareger halfway
through the innings. Dave had been able to do it before and in some quarters, there was a sense
he would not miss out this time. His first scoring shot made its way to the boundary with a
powerfully controlled shot. Was DS going to go on and add a quick 10-20 runs. Unfortunately on this occasion, the answer was no as with partners at a premium, he got caught behind off the the end of DS and probably any quick runs. DS also took on the weekly role as opening bowler. He, by his own admission stated “I haven’t bowled as well this year”, but he’s always able to come up with something special. For example, a ct and bowled wicket he took against Yoxall, and the constant spells bowls where he doesn’t get his just rewards. Unfortunately, he was left wicketless against Alrewas, although, a little bit more luck, he could have had a wicket from a dropped catch that might have made all the difference. As it was, he finished with figures of 0-35 off 6 overs. Better luck next time DS. Those wickets will come. - Jonathan Preece (0) – JP was taking charge of his 3 rd game as captain and had plenty to ponder
from the batting line-up (which he made two of) and who to use as his bowlers. It’s a shame he
didn’t spend more time batting and practising running between the wickets. After some good
judgement when facing, it was while he was at the bowlers end that his innings ended. A quick
run was called by the new batsman and while there may have been some confusion as to whose
call it was, JP set off for the run and was halfway down the wicket when the keeper dislodged the
bails to the frustration of the skipper. - John Nicholls (0 n/o) – John was playing only his second game of the season after he featured in
the opening game against Yoxall. After some careful persuading at the start of the day, Jonty in
his favoured number 10 (out of 10) position, hoping he would be able to add to his ever-
increasing DNBs. At wicket number 8, Jonty was padding up (for what seemed to be the
inevitable) when all of a sudden, came the familiar noise of the ice-cream van, followed by the
voice of Club President Rick Jarrams with “John the Ice Cream van is here”. John, reverting to his
10-year-old self at Christmas time, charged out of the changing rooms, headed to the van, ate
what he’d bought and then strolled out the middle. Unfortunately, he did not add to his DNBs
record, but did remain not out (for the umpteenth time). However, he did show his worth in the
bowling department. Despite not taking any wickets, chances were created and on another day,
those chances would have been taken and the game might have had a different outcome. Jonty’s
efforts with the ball saw him finish with figures of 0-23 off 5 overs. A good effort on his comeback
after a short sabbatical. Hopefully, with the weather getting better, we will see a lot more of John
and those wickets (like DS’s) will come.
All in all, another good game played in the right spirit. After all was said and done, a day that would have made not only Tim and Andie proud, but also Andie’s son, Tom, who not only made an appearance, but participated in the fixture even opening the bowling from the church end. Hopefully this time next year, the fixture will be just as enjoyable as it has been over the last few years.
Walsall Health Cricket Club 