Walsall Healthc CC 228-5 (40 overs) beat. Old Doms CC 152 All Out (38.3 overs) by 76 runs

The Elf were away this week making the relatively short trip down the M5 to Bromsgrove cricket club to face Old Doms.

The Elf were surprisingly asked to bat by the home side who had two players, apparently doctors arriving at 4.30 which seemed bizarre having a 1pm start, something the Elf lads relished.

Andy Gorton and Ian Chuck opened up for the Elf, Gort fresh from his 49 not out from last week was unfortunately triggered by JP for two and was the first man back in the hutch.
Gary Fitzpatrick was in at three, another man who scored runs the previous Sunday was out sooner than he’d like when he spooned a catch to leg slip and the Elf were 27-2.
In came, the man the myth…the legend on his 2017 debut Rich ‘Trig’ Fell and he acted as if he’d never been away. Smashed his first scoring stroke to the boundary and produced a fine partnership with Chuckie, both men 35 not out at drinks to build a solid platform for the Elf.
Chuck made his way past the half century mark but Trig unfortunately chipped  a catch to a man on the rope and was gone three short of what would have been an excellent return to Elf colours.

The middle order of Rob Hewlitt and Greg Phillpott added 10 between them to the total before Nathan Martin joined Chuck at the crease in the 31st over with the game delicately poised on 169-5.
However, the man from Friar Park produced an excellent partnership with Chuck to see the Elf post 228 from their allotted overs, Martin finishing 15 not out.
A word must be said here for Chuck who brought his ton up in the last over in a flurry of boundaries. The man from South Africa now owns the record for most tons made for the Elf – five! BIG HAND.

With the well prepared tea demolished, the Elf set about the defence of their total in the late afternoon sun.
Dan ‘two plates’ Armstrong and Nath Martin opened up for the Elf and limited the home side to minimal scoring options but neither man could break through in their opening spells.
The first wicket came after an excellent fielding change by skipper Hewlitt, saw Gary Fitzpatrick swoop on the ball at mid-on and run out the opening bat who was well out of his ground for a direct hit.
Hall & Davies came on at 1st change and did what they do best, take wickets. Hall picking up the number 3 batsman after Rich Fell took a top drawer catch running in at mid-on to grab Chorley his first of the day.
Tom Davies picked up the third wicket with a stereotypical LBW appeal and it was LOUD. Davies was backpeddling with both arms aloft screaming ‘HOWZAT?’ at the umpire who eventually was scared into raising the finger in fear of what Davies might do if he shook his head.

Greg Phillpott and Jonny Preece came on at a time when the Doms had to go for it and got a bit of tap but not before JP got the number five batsman stumped by Gort with the score edging towards the 70s.
With the score past 100 after a good fifth wicket partnership and the Doms giving themselves an outside sniff of a win, Rob Hewlitt produced the run out of the season. A mix up between the batsman saw Hewlitt swoop on the ball at mid wicket and fire a direct hit straight at the stumps at the bowler’s end, top fielding.

With the Old Doms’ opener looking unflustered and eventually making his way past 50, the other end could not keep up their end of the bargain with Dan Armstrong and Nath Martin picking up a wicket each, both bowled.
Davies and Hall returned to complete full Janitor roles of mopping up at the end by getting the eighth, ninth and tenth wickets between them. Chall finishing with 3 for and Davies with a two for.

The Elf are in seriously good knick so this season having only been bowled out once so far this campaign they are really in good form going into facing always competitive Sportsman CC next week at Rushall.

Drinks review

Drinks this week were in unwashed small plastic cups with warm squash. Village. 3/10.

Tea review

As average as the drinks were, the teas certainly were not. An array of sandwiches and savouries especially the Brie & Pickle numbers going down particularly well. The only thing that stopped a 10 was the rice had no cutlery so the lads had to go back to pre-historic times and eat with their hands. 9/10.

Love Island Update

Usual watchers Fitzy and Dan gave an update: apparently Jess has been voted out and pied a fella off by sleeping with someone else an hour after she left? Doesn’t sound like the girl you want to bring home to your mama. Chall has also admitted he ‘caught a bit of it’ translated – ‘I watched an episode and am hooked’

Shower Club.

Well, after the lads made it up to the main clubhouse they were not disappointed by the showering facilities.
Four showers with more than adequate space between them, each shower head on a wall fixture so each showering Elf could take off and rinse in peace. Every shower had its own temperature gauge too. Sublime.
There was even some excellent shower gels on offer and some conditioner passed around by Gary Fitzpatrick. Bliss. 9/10.

 

Written by Tom Davies

Batting		Runs
Gorton, A	lbw b Bhanji	2
Chuck, I	not out	116
Fitzpatrick, G	c Morris b Bhanji	6
Fell, R	c Laught b Amir	47
Hewlitt, R	b Amir	7
Phillpott, G	b Brass	3
Martin, N	not out	15
Hall, C	dnb
Davies, T	dnb
Preece, J	dnb
Armstrong, D	dnb
Extras		32
Walsall Health		228

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Martin, N	8	2	22	1
Armstrong, D	8	2	26	1
Hall, C	7.3	0	22	3
Davies, T	8	2	16	2
Phillpott, G	4	0	30	0
Preece, J	3	0	24	1

Walsall Health 111-3 (28.1 overs) beat Beaumont CC 109-9 (40 overs) by 7 wickets.

 

Loss? What loss?

The Elf were back at Aldridge this week and back on the ‘top pitch’. No such excuses this week of a weakened line up or sore fast bowlers moaning about ‘travelators’ just a professional performance against the always friendly lads from Beaumont.

The Elf were more or less at full 2017 strength but skipper Hewlitt (who arrived in a shirt and tie presumably reminiscing about uni days) lost the toss once again the Elf were asked to field in sweltering summer conditions.

It didn’t take ‘Social Media Manager’ Nathan Martin long to get his first wicket.  Bowling his left arm swingers the Beaumont opening bat’s bails were sent flying in the Elf paceman’s first over.
Greg Phillpott picked up the second wicket when the opposition went for a quick single but the 2016 fielder of the year showed why he is the current owner of that trophy and swooped on the ball, fired in a superb throw and Gort did the rest, 12-2.

Usual tandem 1st change bowling partnership Tom Davies and Chris Hall came on and turned the screw with some accurate bowling, Davies picking up the dangerous looking number three batsman when Nath Martin took a fantastic reaction catch at short extra cover.
Gary Fitzpatrick then showed that anything Greg could do, he could do better when he ran out Dan Grainger before the score had reached 40.
Tom Davies, in his fifth over picked up the Beaumont Skipper ‘Jake’, after he feathered one behind to Gort and the Elf were half way there (Livin’ on a Prayer).
Nathan Martin took a similar catch to the one that got Davies his 1st wicket for his third to see Beaumont slump to 61-6 just after the half way mark.

A good partnership developed between Ross & Krishnan before Kolpak player (and hairiest chest at the Elf) Ian Chuck came on and bowled Ross in his second over.
This paved the way for some mystery spin at both ends when Greg Phillpott with his right arm leggies and sherriff of Dottingham ‘JP’ Jonny Preece with his left arm leggies picked up a wicket each to limit the final scoring from Beaumont.
A nasty injury on the last ball of the innings saw the Beaumont number 11 pull his calf going for a quick single and the Elf doing the sporting thing and not running him out but helping him off the field instead.
Once the teas were deavoured in the blazing heat, the hosts set about their run chase.
Things were looking perilous when Greg Phillpott triggered Chuck for 5 (Chuck obviously walked off smiling and 100% accepted the umpire’s call) and then Alex Nunns got out for a quack and the Elf were 17-2.
Gary Fitzpatrick entered the fray, fresh from an in-depth discussion at tea with Dan Armstrong about all things ‘Love Island’ despite ‘not knowing a lot about it’ and really settled the early nerves with an excellent 60 run partnership with the ever solid Gort at the other end.
Both men really contributed with the bat, Fitz hitting 29 before being bowled by Khrishnan.
Rob Hewlitt was in at 5 and he and Gort steered the Elf home with plenty of balls to spare, the skipper finishing with a quick fire 14 and Gort the unfortunate man to be left 49 not out in a chase of 110 but it really was a steady knock from the Elf legend on Father’s Day showing son-in-law Al how it’s done.

A strong performance from the Elf after losing their first game of the season last week but they responded in the only way they know how – victory.

Drinks update

As many as four drinks breaks in the blazing summer sun, all provided and expertly poured by two jugs Rach. 9/10

Tea review

The always wholesome Aldridge tea was back again today although not many lads went for the cuppa that was on offer, surely it should have been jugs of lager? 8/10.

Shower club update

More lads in the showers this week then there was out of them, the only black marks would be Nath Martin showering before the game was over #village and Gary Fitzpatrick forgetting his towel and having to borrow one #seriouslyvillage

The lads head to Old Doms next week for what could be a tough fixture.

 

Written by Tom Davies

Batting		Runs
Gorton, A	not out	49
Chuck, I	lbw Johnson	5
Nunns, A	ct b Johnson	0
Fitzpatrick, G	b Ash	29
Hewlitt, R	not out	14
Phillpott, G	dnb
Hall, C	dnb
Armstrong, D	dnb
Davies, T	dnb
Preece, J	dnb
Martin, N	dnb
Extras		14
Walsall Health		111

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Martin, N	6	0	9	1
Armstrong, D	6	0	20	0
Hall, C	8	1	29	0
Davies, T	8	1	18	3
Phillpott, G	6	0	18	1
Chuck, I	2	1	5	1
Preece, J	4	2	7	1

Walsall Health 88 All Out (30.1 overs) lost to Lichfield Nomads 139-8 (40 overs) by 51 runs

The Elf played at their second home this week, at Rushall against annual opponents and great lads Lichfield Nomads.

Rob Hewlitt came second in the toss and was asked to bowl first. Two members of the Rushall ‘youth’ (not a football firm) Dan Armstrong and Dan Dunn bowled the first 12 overs exceptionally well, both picking up a wicket a piece and restricted the visitors to 27 runs.
Usual first change bowlers Tom Davies and Chris Hall came on and Davies got a dolly of a caught and bowled in his first over to keep the pressure applied.
Davies picked up another wicket and by the time the two seasoned campaigners came off in the 24th over the Elf had Nomads 49-4, then, the wheels came off.
JP, the ‘sheriff of Dottingham’ got a bit of tap from the best batsmen the opposition brought with them ‘Hutton’ who managed to get himself a 50 with a couple of big sixes to boot.
In amongst that, Rushall regular Nick Denant kindly helped out with 6 overs of right arm medium, Denant picked up two wickets for 23 runs in a good debut effort.
Davies and Hall came back on with Davies getting Hutton and a lower order batsman to finish his eight overs 4-19 although it was not enough to restrict Nomads to a chaseable total, their 139 looked a little out of reach.

After the lads devoured a fine tea put on by Rach, Gail and Mrs Gort (seriously, it was good) Alex Nunns and Gary Fitzpatrick opened the innings and really set the tone in the wrong way by scoring eighteen between them, Fitz getting out to a top catch at short fine leg. Nick Denant scored eight on debut but Rob Hewlitt, Nath Reeves and Euan Neale managed 3 between them in the middle order leaving the bowlers exposed after the score had barely reached thirty.
Chris Hall smashed a boundary before leaving a straight one (a la Simon Jones to Michael Clarke in the 2005 Ashes) and the Elf were staring down the barrel and 37-7.
Tom Davies came out and batted like a Theresa May lead election campaign, a shambles, and was out for his first quack in Elf colours.
The bright spark of the afternoon then happened in a top partnership between Dan Armstrong and Dan Dunn who put on 35 for the ninth wicket until Armstrong unluckily played on for 9. JP came out and got another red inker before Dan Dunn nicked off for 32 very well made runs.

The first loss the Elf have suffered in nine games which is something not to be sniffed at but the boys were certainly not very upbeat in the bar after.
They were all certainly looking forward to nets commencing this Thursday to get some extra practice before Beaumont visit Aldridge next week.

Drinks review

Drinks this week were made (and brought out I hasten to add) by Nunns junior and Nunns junior junior to keep the lads refreshed in the early summer wind.

Tea review

Teas this week were certainly of the higher class. A top effort from Rach, Gail and Mrs Gort. An abundance of sandwiches on white and brown bread, chicken nuggets, pizzas, quiches, scotch eggs, the lot! Essentially, it was a bostin tea finished off with an exceedingly good Victoria sponge.

Shower club update

Along with not batting, Tom Davies committed the most village of errors by forgetting his towel and wash bag which certainly ruined his mood after getting a quack. On past experience the showers at Rushall are usually warm but cosy at the same time, something the lads would never usually moan about.

Written by Tom Davies

Batting		Runs
Nunns, A	c Westwood b Moss	5
Fitzpatrick, G	c Moss b Hutton	13
Dennant, N	lbw b Hutton	8
Hewlitt, R	c Rolph b Westwood	1
Reeves, N	b Westwood	2
Neale, E	b Westwood	0
Dunn, D	c Ralph b Brannigan	32
Hall, C	b Hutton	4
Davies, T	c Westwood b Brannigan (dnb)	0
Armstrong, D	b Fearon	9
Preece, J	not out	2
Extras		10
Walsall Health		86

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Armstrong, D	8	2	19	1
Dunn, D	6	1	14	1
Davies, T	8	1	19	4
Hall, C	8	3	22	0
Preece, J	4	0	38	0
Dennant	6	1	23	2

Walsall Health 66-3 (24 overs) beat Blackwood 65 all out (25.5 overs) by 7 wickets

 

Everyone’s favourite Sunday club Walsall Health travelled the short distance over to Yardley this week to take on Blackwood at the quaint Sheldon Marlborough cricket club for their first game in the summer months.

Skipper Rob Hewlitt lost the toss and the Elf were asked to bowl first in overcast conditions.  Dan Armstrong and Tom Davies opened the bowling; Davies once again left bitterly disappointed when his first delivery clattered into the opening batsmen’s pads but the umpire said ‘not out’ which led to the usual ‘double teapot’ from Davies.
Opening partner Armstrong dismissed Craig after a lollipop of a caught and bowled came his way.

Chris Hall replaced Armstrong and quickly got two wickets in his second over, the second of those became his 300 victim for the club (big hand….imagine one of those foam fingers that used be on Gladiators, yeah one of those, except bigger). Chuck took the first catch at square leg and Gary Fitzpatrick took a catch at mid-on that came down with snow on it.
On for Davies at the ‘net end’ (which Nathan Reeves got caught in) was the icon that is Jonty Nicholls. The Elf legendary bowler came in and did what he does best, eat batsmen for breakfast. Nicholls picked up ‘Jack’ who looked dangerous on 14 and then dismissed ‘Dec’ (no sign of ‘Ant’) in similar fashion with a jaffa that would have gone through the Brandenburg Gate, let alone a batsman from South Birmingham.

With the opposition five down, Chris Hall smelt blood when the lower order took their guards. Chuck took his second catch of the day and then two more wickets swiftly followed at the expense of the Elf’s fourth man to get past the 300 wicket mark and they fell in typical ‘Chall’ fashion, stumps and bails everywhere.
Jonny Preece or the ‘Sherriff of Dottingham’ as he has became affectionately known, replaced Jonty and took the final two wickets for 2 runs and Blackwood were skittled out for 65.

With the relatively low opening target to chase the Elf did not ‘change the batting order’ and kept Gort and Chuck at the top, Gort unfortunately chopped on for a solitary run but the Elf legend had already played his part with an excellent sting behind the stumps earlier in the day.
Gary Fitzpatrick was in at 3 but only managed 5 runs off the excellent bowling of ‘Sly’ and ‘Carl’ before Chuck ran him out (who else?) with the score on 20.
Nathan Reeves was in next and biffed a few lusty blows to the boundary before being bowled for 9.
The score was on 41 when always reliable Alex Nunns entered the fray and within 6 overs the game was finished, Chuck finishing on 26 and Nunns on 17 to keep the Elf unbeaten so far in 2017.

Chuck has now became the first name in Elf History to pass 2,000 runs in their Elf career at an average of over 50 which has never been seen before in the history of mankind. Chris Hall has also equalled the record of most five-fors on 8 and Tom Davies has surpassed the most plumb LBWs not given on  nine thousand or so.

Drinks update

Strong drinks this week, the taste was certainly there for all to savour going into the 21st over. 7/5 out of 10.

Tea review

A very good spread this week with a choice of white or brown bread along with mini pizzas and chicken nuggets making their way onto the buffet for the first time this season. Dessert wise the chocolate log and tarts were certainly to T.Davies and C.Hall’s liking. 8/10

Shower club

 

Everyone’s favourite time of the week was slightly marred this week when the showers were very cold for the majority of their stay until Chucky realised the middle shower lowered the temperature of the other two. Even though he was first in, he was almost last out again (weird) until Nath Reeves had an injury time shower after Chuck had left. Still only 5 this week, noticeable absentees were R.Hewlitt, G.Fitzpatrick and A.Gorton. It would be nice to see those fellas back again under the showerheads to bring the number of members closer to double figures.
The one bright spot of the showers was when Tom Davies found some Mango Original Source lying around which the lads appreciated and it certainly made things a bit ‘fruity’ at the end of a long day.

 

Written by Tom Davies

Batting		Runs
Gorton, A	b Sly	1
Chuck, I	not out	26
Fitzpatrick, G	run out	5
Reeves, N	b Lucas	9
Nunns, A	not out	17
Hewlitt, R	dnb
Armstrong, D	dnb
Davies, T	dnb
Hall, C	dnb
Preece, J	dnb
Nicolls, J	dnb
Extras		8
Walsall Health		66

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Armstrong, D	5	1	13	1
Davies, T	6	0	20	0
Hall, C	8	3	15	5
Nicholls, J	4	0	12	2
Preece, J	2.5	1	2	2

 

 

Walsall Health CC 91-4 (34.4 overs) beat Lapworth 90 all out (34.2 overs) by 6 wickets

This week the Elf made their third successive away trip, this time down to the Solihull region of the West Midlands against usual May opponents Lapworth.

With only 10 men the Elf were in the field first and got off to a quick start when Dan Armstrong bowled a bouncer (on a slow deck) and somehow the opening batsmen spooned a catch to Chuck at first slip.

Opening partner Nath Martin/Larkin picked up two wickets, the first one being an absolute peach to remove the batsman’s middle stump out the ground for a full pint!

Martin bowled with 8 overs straight through and only went for 13 runs including a top edged six which deserved a BIG HAND. The Friar Park express is already in contention for player of the season for some excellent bowling and fielding displays early doors.

Tom Davies and Chris Hall came on at first change bowling nine overs between them, Chally picking up a wicket through the gate and only going for five runs off his five overs. Tom Davies got an LBW (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?) after he screamed at umpire Tim Fell until his finger was raised after having a close call turned down the previous over. Davies was seen googling for ‘DRS’ equipment at the interval.

With the hosts 40-5. captain Chuck turned to everyone’s favourite left arm spin bowler JP. On 46 wickets for his Elf career, JP needed four to reach the fifty milestone and that’s exactly what he did by spinning the Lapworth middle to lower order in knots, JP got the next four wickets and Lapworth were staring down the barrel at 68-9 but a good last wicket partnership between Carter and Long saw the hosts get up to 90 before spin demon Greg Phillpott came on and got the last wicket, the second of his season.

After the lads loaded up at tea due to no fielding required after, the Elf knew batting on this pudding of a track would not come easy so Alex Nunns and ‘pinch-hitter’ Dan Armstrong strode out for the visitors.
It wasn’t long until the experiment was over, Armstrong getting a good one from McCormick and went back to the club without really using his new £250 bat.
Gort came out at 3 and saw off some good deliveries off the dangerous McCormick until Nunns cheaply chipped him to cover and was out for 15. Greg Phillpott was in next fresh off some runs the previous week but all he could do first up was nick off to the keeper and the 10 men of the Elf were staring defeat in the face at 20-3.
Captain Chuck then entered the fray and had to produce a captain’s knock to see his side home and remain undefeated as skipper.
In McCormick’s last over, Gort chipped him to a close catcher and the away side still needed 59 for victory when Josh Butler came in at six and produced one of the best single figure innings in Elf history.

Josh nudged and nurdled his way to 9 out of the 59 run match winning partnership with captain Chuckie who made his fifth score of fifty or higher of the season already to lead the Elf home. It really was a top knock from the Kolpak player who is looking in imperious form so far in 2017.

The Elf are still undefeated so far in 2017 and have the next week free until they face Blackwood in June for a new fixture.

Drinks review

The drinks this week were certainly strong and slightly on the refrigerated side to keep the lads going in the early summer heat. Solid 7/10.

Teas review

The teas this week were certainly of the ‘good variety’ lots of sandwiches on offer both white and brown bread. An abundance of sugary treats to choose from too which went down nicely with the brewed tea in a proper tea pot, once again 7/10.

Shower club update

Due to the Elf batting second it was only the not out batsmen, Tom and Alex in shower club

(presumably the others showered once getting out, if not…dirty b*stards). Decent showers once again, lovely temperature and they even provided a curtain to keep the boys’ athletic physiques out of the public eye. (Unless you’re Chuckie and you sit waiting to bat with your top off, anyone got some immac?)

 

Written by Tom Davies

Batting		Runs
Nunn, A	c ? b Carter	15
Armstrong, D	b Carter	0
Gorton, A	c ? b Carter	5
Phillpott, G	c ? b Carter	0
Chuck, I	not out	51
Butler, J	not out	9
Hall, C	dnb
Preece, J	dnb
Martin, N	dnb
Daves, T	dnb
No 11th man
Extras		11
Walsall Health		91

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Martin, N	8	2	13	2
Armstrong, D	4	0	9	1
Davies, T	4	0	16	1
Hall, C	5	2	5	1
Preece, J	8	1	38	4
Phillpott, G	4.2	1	6	1
Butler, J	1	1	0	0

Walsall Health CC 161-4 (40 overs) drew with Highwood Park CC 161 (39.5 overs)

 

On a breezy afternoon, Highwood Park welcomed The Elf to Himley, for a fixture that was first played back in August 2005 and has been an ever present part of our fixture list since then. So it was fitting, that a man who played in that first game, was still here today, to play his 200th game for the club. And like so many times before, kindly stepped up to hastily arrange us the game, after Willow cried off for the 57th time. A big hand to Andy Gorton, for all his efforts over the years, both on and off the pitch, the other 8 players that turned out for the game, were determined to give Gort a memorable match.

Captain Ian Chuck, won the toss and elected to bat, on a decent looking wicket. It was a steady start from Gort and Chuck. Both men mindful that we were effectively starting the innings 0-2. Highwood bowled some tight lines early on, and were lively in the field, keeping the pressure on for the first 20 overs.

After another 50 partnership between the two openers, Gort departed for 28, followed by Alex Nunns who was trying to force the pace after drinks. We needed to increase the run rate. No better man for that job than Nathan Reeves. Looking more confident than in recent weeks, Nath smashed three 4’s, and scurried a rapid 3 in a hand time of 0.32 secs. His quickfire 19, gave the innings the impetus it needed.

With the score past the 100 hundred mark, Chuck registered his 4th consecutive 50 plus knock. Another club record.  In doing so, passing the 300 run mark for the season. When Chuck was out, enter Greg Philpott, who employed the see ball-hit ball tactics. Plundering four 4’s and a career best 38 not out, well supported by Nathan Martin, we finished up on 161. A score we felt would be competitive.

After being introduced to post war rationing at Peopleton last week, the Highwood boys supplied the best tea of the season. Plenty for everyone, and a good selection that we all appreciated. Even Dan Armstrong’s stomach was soundly defeated by the feast that was made for the players.

With tea nicely digested, Captain Chuck unleashed Dan Armstrong, and Nathan Martin on the Highwood openers. It was Chuck who struck the first blow, running out the luckless Olly with a direct hit. Then, Nathan Martin continued his imperious form, with a “ball of the century standard” delivery, to clean up Ralphs. Trudging off the pitch, Ralphy proclaimed..”I couldn’t have hit that with 2 bats”

Dan Armstrong had listened to mentor Chris Hall, adopting the mentality that charity only belongs at Dr Barnados, certainly not on a cricket field. Even having the audacity to predict to Hall, when he would bowl an off cutter to bag his first wicket. The opening bowlers did a superb job for the team. Then when Chuck got the dangerous Nai Duncan, it looked like we were in the ascendancy.

Chris Hall came on and continued to apply the pressure, getting Craig, who was caught by another Nathan Martin catch. A one handed nonchalant grab. His 5th of the season. But then Captain, Shaun Allsopp and M.Turner joined forces and began to steady the Highwood ship. From a precarious position of 50-6, the two batsmen batted cleverly. Always looking to expose the gaps in the 9 man field, and steadily increasing the run rate, picking off any short balls that came their way. JP and Alex Nunns tried to break the deadlock, but the two batsmen were giving no chances.

With Shaun reaching a classy 50, the game seemed to be slipping away, Highwood were within 10 runs of victory, with 4 wkts in hand and 4 overs remaining. However, when Shaun was given lbw for 57, to man of the moment Greg Philpott, there was still a glimmer of hope. Chuck returned to the action, and runs were suddenly hard to come by. With Turner stranded at the other end on 45 not out, the 8th wkt fell to Chuck with Highwood still 6 runs short of victory.

But in the penultimate over, Chris Hall couldn’t save a blow that flew to the boundary.  So Chuck took the ball for the final over, a quick single from Turner brought the scores level, but exposed the Highwood tailenders. The Captain pounced on his opportunity and in dramatic fashion, took the last two wickets to tie a superb contest, and take 5 for to add to his 50 in the same game. An exceptional performance. Both sides battled really hard, right to the end, arguably one of our best contests in 12 years, definitely the closest, and a memorable one for Gorts 200th game.

Big thanks to Highwood for stepping in with the fixture, to Dai for scoring both innings, and all the spectators who came to support.  We move on to Lapworth this week, and will see Highwood Park again in August for back to back fixtures.

Written by Chris Hall

 

Batting		Runs
Gorton, A	c ? b Bennett	28
Chuck, I	c ? b Stamps	52
Nunns, A	b Turner	2
Reeves, N	c ? b Turner	19
Phillpott, G	not out	38
Martin, N	not out	3
Armstong, D	dnb
Preece, J	dnb
Hall, C	dnb
No 10th man
No 11th man
Extras		19
Walsall Health		142

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Martin, N	8	2	14	1
Armstrong, D	8	2	30	1
Chuck, I	7	3	15	5
Hall, C	8	2	26	1
Preece, J	4	0	26	0
Nunns, A	3	0	36	0
Phillpott, G	2	0	9	1

 

Walsall Health CC 195-7 (40 overs) beat Peopleton CC 145 all out (34 overs) by 40 runs

 

The Elf made the longish trek down the M5 to leafy rural Worcestershire this week to play Peopleton, a side they lost to last season in the same fixture.

The Elf welcomed back Sam Stephens, Gary Fitzpatrick and Greg Phillpott all for season debuts in the glorious early summer sunshine.

Rob Hewlitt won the toss and chose to bat with Tom Davies licking his lips at the new iPad scoring app which brought the Elf right into the 21st century instead of using the more traditional pencil and paper.

Usual opening pair Andy Gorton and Ian Chuck did their thing and saw off the new ball and also created a steady base for the Elf to post a decent score, It was the 24th over and the score well past 100 before the Elf lost their first wicket.
Not before slapping the rather pacey ‘L Deprose’ over his head for a straight six to bring up his second consecutive 50 and his 250th run of the season (already) Ian Chuck was triggered by Sam Stephens for exactly a half century.

Alex Nunns  came out to bat and joined future father in law Andy Gorton in the middle but Gort fell one short of notching his first score of the season, serious jug avoidance after he was triggered by JP for 49 (VILLAGE).

Rob Hewlitt came in at four and a rather miniature collapse ensued for the Elf. Hewlitt was out to Shah for 9 and Nunns was shortly to follow for 17.

Sam Stephens steadied the ship with a handy 24 off 18 balls in good time but the rest of the Elf batting line up left a lot to be desired; solitary runs for Fitzpatrick and Phillipott, 3 not out for Nathan Larkin and JP saw off the final over for a red inker in rather bizarre fashion.

After the players had what was on offer for tea (more on Rachel’s blanket and Gail’s bag of tricks to be honest) they gave a warm guard of honour to fan favourite ‘JP’ Jonathan Preece who was playing in his 100th game for the Elf and he did not disappoint with the ball either.

Sam & Nath opened the bowling and delivered 14 of the most sumptuous overs of seem bowling you’re ever likely to see. Sam chipping in with two superb deliveries that took out two of the Peopleton’s batsmen’s off pegs and then his third was a catch by Greg Phillpott that will live long in the memory. Running in from long on, he took a catch inches off the ground, almost taking Gort out with him. It really was a top snaffle.

Nath Martin bowled his 8 overs right through and picked up two wickets for his superb efforts, the Elf had Peopleton 33-5 at the end of the 16th over.

However, the left handed ‘Shah’ who spun his way to two wickets whilst bowling dug in and got a few runs along with Azeez at the expense of wily campaigner Chris Hall who watched his bowling land in the cow field at the back on more than one occasion (cue monkey). Tom Davies also chipped in for a decent spell for no reward having bowled at two of the home side’s better batsmen.

 

 

Ian Chuck came on and produced a large appeal first ball after the batsman had trundled down the wicket  and it clattered into the pad, not out Chuck.

Chuck got his man a few balls later with a real ‘decibel level raiser’ he screamed the umpire into raising his finger and the Elf knew they only had to get Shah and they could celebrate victory.
This did not come until Chuck’s fifth over when Shah smashed a straight drive right into the path of fielding lothario Greg Phillpott’s waiting arms for his third snaffle of the game.

In his 100th game, JP came on and picked up two wickets, getting Azeez caught on the boundary after a great grab by Chris Hall and then the number 11 batsmen who was caught at mid on (who didn’t even take a guard…VILLAGE) to see the Elf home for their third victory out of three so far in the 2017 campaign.

Shower club update

Only three showers on offer this week and they certainly weren’t the best the boys had ever used. Water pressure wasn’t great and the heat, well there wasn’t any. The lads certainly weren’t impressed with such village facilities. Strangely enough, star batsman Ian Chuck was the first man in and the last man out this week. Something worth keeping an eye on for future weeks.

 

Written by Tom Davies

Batting		Runs
Gorton, A	lbw M Deeprose	49
Chuck, I	lbw L Deeprose	50
Nunn, A	c ? b Sharr	17
Hewlitt, R	c L Deeprose b Sharr	9
Stevens, S	b L Deeprose	24
Fitspatrick, G	b L Deeprose	1
Phillpott, G	b L Deeprose	1
Martin, N	not out	3
Preece, J	not out	0
Hall, C	dnb
Daves, T	dnb
Extras		51
Walsall Health		195

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Stevens, S	6	3	10	3
Martin, N	8	3	20	2
Davies, T	7	1	32	0
Hall, C	6	0	58	1
Preece, J	2	0	12	2
Chuck, I	5	1	8	1

Walsall Health 179-9 (40 overs) beat Oak N’ Ash 173 All Out (37.5 overs) by 6 runs.

The Elf played their second game and consecutive home game of the season this week in blustery conditions at Aldridge against usual opponents Oak N Ash.

The Elf welcomed in Alex Nunns for his first game of the season and in at the last minute Josh Butler to keep the Elf at 11 men.

The Elf batted first with solid opening pair Gort and Chuck kicking off the innings for the hosts. It did not take long for the away team to get their first scalp when Gort spooned a catch to cover and The Elf looked like they could be in trouble.

Trouble, what trouble? After surviving a big LBW shout first ball, Alex Nunns and Ian Chuck put on a monster partnership for the second wicket which eventually surpassed 100 runs with the runs that brought up the 100 partnership, Nunns brought up his maiden half century of the season but unfortunately was out caught the next ball to a big hand from the watching Elf faithful.

Skipper Hewlett joined the party and chipped in with 11 before he was triggered by Gort which lead to a miniature collapse, The Elf went from 146-2 to 160-6 when Nathan Reeves was out first ball (with a bat kick to boot…joke in there somewhere!), Nathan Martin/Larkin was out for two and Josh Butler was bowled for four.
Dan Armstrong was in at eight to steady the ship towards the end of the innings, even contributed with a few lusty blows over cow corner to get The Elf to 179 after their batting overs were completed.

The Elf came out the field and the wind decided to die down a lot from the previous innings but it was a usual April overcast afternoon in which the game sprung to life in the dying embers.

Nath Larkin dismissed J Cotton with an absolute peach of a delivery to go through his defences and then opening partner Dan Armstrong got a run out of Sharpe off his boot to keep up Armstrong’s 100% run out record so far this season.

Tom Davies and Chris Hall were on at first change and both men chipped in with wickets. Firstly Davies getting the tidy looking Finn after Gort took a sharp under edge catch and Chris Hall dispatched Gallen’s bails for eight. Davies then got ‘D.Bailey’ who was gone in a flash when he chipped a catch to Hewlitt and the Elf had their opponents 70-6 at drinks, looking to turn the screw after drinks. A mention should be made here as Nathan Martin made a superb one handed catch to give Chall his second scalp, Martin already on four snaffles for the season in a great fielding effort.

JP and Josh Butler combined for eight overs of mystery left arm spin in which JP got the dangerous looking P Cotton who had biffed a few boundaries and Oak N Ash were staring down the barrel at 89-7 in the 25th over.

Sheldon and Parker put on an excellent partnership until Nathan Martin came back on for his second spell and bowled Parker for 23 with the Elf still 60 odd runs ahead with less than 10 overs to play.

The Oak n Ash skipper came in and supported Parker relatively well, both men scoring runs and looking like they could steer them past the Elf’s total until bowling hero Chris Hall came in and got Sheldon for an excellently played 39 with Oak N Ash only 8 runs from victory. Two balls later, it was all over. Going for a big shot Cotton spooned a catch to Alex Nunns who stayed calm under pressure and won the game for his side.

A really hard fought victory for the Elf who proved their mettle in winning a close game when they looked to have lost it. Chris Hall eventually finishing with man of the match figures of 6.5-0-28-4.

The Elf travel to Peopleton next week and will be looking to make it three from three in what’s been an excellent start to the season so far.

Shower club update

About the same numbers as last week for shower club but as yet there have been no ‘fruity numbers’ so far with regards to shower gel and shampoo, hopefully in the upcoming weeks there will be some nice variety for the lads to choose from.

Written by Tom Davies

Batting		Runs
Gorton, A	c b Finn	8
Chuck, I	not out	75
Nunns, A	c b Finn	51
Hewlitt, R	lbw Cotton	11
Reeves, N	c b Cotton	0
Martin N	c b Parker	2
Butler, j	b Cotton	4
Armstrong, D	not out	11
Hall, C	dnb
Preece, J	dnb
Daves, T	dnb
Extras		16
Walsall Health		179

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Martin, N	8	0	31	2
Armstrong, D	8	1	25	0
Davies, T	7	0	21	2
Hall, C	6.5	0	28	4
Preece, J	4	0	22	1
Butler, J	4	0	27	0

Walsall Health CC 176-6 (40 overs) beat Sportsman CC 140-9 (35.1 overs) by 36 runs

 

The Elf played their first fixture of the season against Sportsman CC at Aldridge and came off the victors in a real tight game to kick off the 2017 campaign.

Elf Skipper Rob Hewlitt lost the toss to the opposition captain who called ‘bowling’ which created a re-toss which he won and inevitably put the Elf in.

A slim line Gort and Ian Chuck opened the innings for the Elf and really coasted through the first 15 overs or so, even with Gort running his first three of the season which resulted in a ‘trouser pull up’ . Gort unfortunately was the first the depart after being bowled by a bit of a mully grubber for 22 to begin his season.

Andy Carrick playing his first game of the season got off the mark (with as many as FIVE family members in attendance) but then spooned ‘Keith’ to mid off for a measly two.
This led to a bit of a middle order collapse with Nathan Reeves and Rob Hewlitt going for 1 and 8 respectively, Rob ran out by Chuck……

In came in JP who had seen the Elf go from 72-0 to 93-4 and started to steady the ship with a bit of crease occupancy and almost rivalled Dave Stephens for the longest duck in Elf history before Chucky ran him out (VILLAGE).

Dan Hopley and Nathan Martin added 9 runs between them but the headlines were grabbed by Chuck who apart from running out two colleagues put on an absolute batting master class (say that in a South African accent….MARSTERCLARSS) to bring up his first ton of the season and fell 19 runs short of the club record to score 125* in a total of 176 for The Elf.

After the teas had been devoured, the lads went out for their first fielding effort of the season.
Nathan Martin and Dan Armstrong opened the bowling and both picked up an early wicket to restrict Sportsman to 40-2 with Nathan throwing down a pearler to dismiss Hemsley.

Chall and Tom Davies were on at first change and Martin became super fielder and took two catches, one that came down with snow on it off Chall and a sharp off Davies take to give both bowlers their first wickets of the season.
Gort then took a good chance off Chall and the visitors were 75-5 at drinks, seemingly game over especially as they only had 10 players.

JP then came on and got his obligatory wicket, another sharp chance (again, South African accent for that) taken by Martin who had three snaffles to his name with the season only one match in.

A very good partnership but Abeer Ahmed and Keith Tracy saw the Sportsman go from 81-6 to 137-6 in the 32nd over, which included Gort palming the ball on to the helmet for five penalty runs.

However, Nathan Martin capped a superb all round performance by skittling Ahmed for 40 to settle a few nerves for the home side who must’ve thought it was all over once the sixth wicket had fell.

Tom Davies came back on and got his second wicket of the game, an LBW (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?) this also saw Davies get to his 50th wicket for The Elf, a nice bit of irony for the Elf seemer there.

The final wicket was a run out by Dan Armstrong who lulled the batsmen in to a false sense of security by misfielding and firing in a hammer throw to bring about victory for The Elf.

A really solid performance to start the season at home, all team mates contributing to a good win. Long may it continue!

Shower Club

As many as eight for shower club this week which was very pleasing, even Greg Philipott who had only turned up to watch regretted not bringing a towel to freshen up after the game.

 

Written by Tom Davies

Batting		Runs
Gorton, A	b Tom	22
Chuck, I	not out	125
Carrick, A	cb Keith	2
Hewlitt, R	run out	8
Reeves, N	b Keith	1
Hopley, D	b Abeer	4
Preece, J	run out	0
Martin, N	not out	5
Hall, C	dnb
Armstrong, D	dnb
Daves, T	dnb
Extras		20
Walsall Health		176

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Martin, N	8	2	25	2
Armstrong, D	8	1	35	1
Davies, T	5	0	15	2
Hall, C	5.1	1	10	2
Preece, J	5	0	32	1
Hopley, D	4	0	17	0

This years PU took place at Rushall CC on Saturday 12th of November.

A slight change for the Fielder, Player, Clubman and Bails awards. Instead of being decided by the committee, they were up for vote to the entire team to provide a fairer overview of the performances.

 

2016 Walsall Health CC Award Winners

Player of the Year – Ian Julian
Batsman of the Year – Ian Julian
Bowler of the Year  -Mitchell Johnson
Fielder of the Year  -Greg Phillpott
Clubman of the Year  – David Stephens
Bails Award  – Tom Davies
Duck Trophy  – Greg Phillpott

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inducted Members of the 100s and 1000s Club

30 years of service

 

Entire Gallery