V Peopleton CC (10/05/15)

10th MAY 2015

WHCC v Peopleton CC

Walsall Health lost to Peopleton CC by 49 runs

The ‘Elf’ travelled to Peopleton based in the holy lands of cricket – Worcestershire.

Welsh Wonder Dai Preece steps in to save the day.

It was a late call from Fitz who had pulled a Fetlock in conspicuous Sunday AM activities, so the mighty Dai Preece stepped up to make the XI complete.

So we followed the skipper into the middle with some short boundaries and a thick cut outfield. Sam and Dave Stephens opened the bowling. DS with another solid shift tying up an end and keeping the score board low; while the super charged Sam claimed three wickets and took 2 caught and bowled chances. One which was like getting through for a touch down in the red zone rather than a cricket match.

Richard Fell standing in for the physical wreck Andy Gorton… After deciding to list his injuries it was determined just to say the eyelashes on his left eye and his right ear lobe are injury free…

It was the introduction of the ‘King of Spain’ the undisputed Welsh Wizard JP who took charge with a wicket first ball! A 3 wicket super spell saw an extensive selection of bamboozling balls beating batsmen beautifully! A caught and bowled being the highlight. However, great concern that we could lose the star man while retrieving the ball from a neighbouring field containing a couple of sheep, but being a true team player, his teammates came before a potential hot date.

Dai running from one side of the field to the other between overs was a sign that Preece Snr is still active in many ways! He covered that much distance at one point Stuart Slater thought he might need to sponsor him. Added to this were some excellent stops on the boundary.

Matt Wright took one wicket in a 6 over spell. Thanks to Rob Hewlett catching a rocketing drive with lightening fast reactions.
Rob added to the catch with two wickets of his own mopping up the tail.

Slater turned over the Malinga style arm surely to be developed into a dangerous bowling weapon.

This was after Iron Man Chris Hall playing his first game of the season opened his account with 2 wickets. One of which was Peopleton’s star man who was just 7 runs short of his century. Great to have the PSB back in action!

Strong words from the skipper were required to keep us focused to the end of our time in the field. ‘Anonymous’ quipped, Dave had finally found a use for his redundant hair dryer.

Chasing 197 after a very mediocre tea, the batsman set about our reply. The Gort smashing 45 and sending one of the opposition to hospital with split webbing, while the skipper managed 27 gallon victim to some erratic bowling. A couple fully tossed over his head followed by a screaming Yorker!

Sam Stephens with 17 added to the early total, but then a collapse ensued. Only Richard Fell with 19 off 34 balls and Not Out stemmed the flow. this was a superbly stubborn effort from the former skipper who just refused to be beaten.

Slater, D Stephens and J Preece chalking up positives for the duck trophy award.

Chris Hall unlucky not to build on a good start while Matt Wright batting at 9 did well against their premium bowler.

A little highlight in defeat was Dai hitting a 4.

So, the Invincibles’ dream is over for this season, but the Golden Generation remain strong onwards and upwards to next week.

Batting		Runs
Gorton, A	b Deeprose	45
Preece, D	b Rigby	27
Stephens, S	c b Thompson	17
Hewlitt, R	b Deeprose	1
Fell, R	not out	19
Slater, S	st	0
Hall, C	c b Thompson	6
Stephens, D	c b Mason	0
Wright, M	c b Mason	4
Preece, J	b Billington	0
Preece, Di	b Billington	4
Extras		24
Walsall Health		148

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Stephens, S	8	0	42	3
Stephens, D	8	0	30	0
Preece, J	8	0	25	3
Wright, M	6	0	30	1
Slater, S	2	0	23	0
Hall, C	5	0	31	2
Hewlitt, R	?	0	2	1

AOB
Disappointingly…Some arrogance and snide comments from the opposition left a bitter taste in the mouth when were gracious enough to field for them after they lost a player.Fines was one of the funniest for some time. Elloner Rigby, Sheep Bothering, Wrestling and the first ever mid session toilet break!

MAN OF THE MATCH
& TOP BOWLER

JP with three wickets and the most economical of the bowlers who had the full compliment of 8 overs.

TOP BATSMAN

Andy Gorton just shy of his 50
Rich fell a close second for his pure determination.

TOP FIELDER

Dave Preece led by example and gave us a kick up the arse when we flagged.

DAI WATCH
The great man played and stepped up to bail us out. Rolling back the years and just brilliant. A Class act.

RACHEL GORTON’S – POP SCENE
With a week off work Rachel wearing a rather nice scarf and big sunglasses set about demolishing two bottles of wine.
Yet still had the good grace to assist with refreshments where the opposition fell short.

Written by Mathew Wright

V Sportsman CC (26/04/15)

26th April 2015

Walsall Health CC v Sportsman CC

Walsall Health beat Sportsman CC by 3 wickets.

The eagerly awaited first game of the season was ON; after the office of Mr Andrew Gorton Esq had predicted monsoon conditions. However, the weather gods provided Sunny yet brisk conditions, as ‘The Elf’ were put in the field after losing the toss.

Sam & Dave Stephens opened the bowling. The father / son combo controlled the scoreboard from the off. The blistering pace of a not fully fit Sam was too much for the opening pair. An early opportunity for
A chance of a catch rocketed to the dynamic Lyndon Billingham on his ‘dayboo’ from the the bowling of DS! Saving a certain four runs the ball did not quite stick. And that would set the tone of valiant efforts with Nathan Martin diving high and to his right, Sam Stephens with a difficult effort diving backwards, John Preece dropping a sharp chance off his own bowling and the skipper Dave Preece lunging heroically and taking two bites of the cherry before the ball was grounded.

6 time fielder of the year Richard Fell was watching from the side lines no doubt thinking they were all easy takes!

Good energy in the field as always, but Stuart Slater & Lyndon Billingham arguably the star men. Stuart with a couple of diving efforts to save certain boundaries and one improvised football skill again to save 4 runs. While Lyndon proved to be ‘Johnny on the spot’ mopping up ball after ball.

Wickets needed to fall and it was Sam Stephens with the break through. With pace an precision as he skittled over the first wicket of the day. Nathan Martin bowled a tight line and length with arguably one of his best spells for the club and deserved to get a wicket.

Enter 2014 player of the year Ian Chuck; who with his first over of this campaign delivered the good with a Wicket Maiden. The excellent all rounder proving his worth once again. JP showed signs of having a formidable year as ‘The Elfs’ own ‘King of Spain’ was teasing and tempting his opponents with some height and flight on with a selection of bamboozling left arm deliveries!

‘The Don’ Lyndon Billingham now made his bowling ‘dayboo’ amongst his efforts were a couple of teasing deliveries and one that was edged tantalisingly slightly out the reach of Super Andy Gorton.

Not bowling a single ball during 2014, The reigning Batsman of the year and our daring skipper Dave Preece turned is arm over with a useful spell taking 2 key wickets and proving that he leads by example whether it’s with the bat, the ball or in the field!

Birthday Boy Matt Wright celebrated the start of a new season with 3 wickets in 3 overs. Greatly aided by the magnificent Gort behind the stumps whipping off the bails for 2x stumpings.

The innings drew to a close with 178 the target set. D Bhopal top scoring for the visiting team with a very well played knock of 65 runs!

With 179 needed to win, Gort and Chuck took the field. And it was Chucky who was again proving his player of the year credentials top scoring with a patient and critical 75.

Sam Stephens looked set for a big score from number 3. However, despite a solid start, was undone by a viciously turning ball.

2014 Fielder of the Year – Rob Hewlitt made a quick fire 19 runs off 16 balls that gave the charge to the line some momentum.

Dave Stephens and Lyndon Billingham both opened their accounts to stake a claim on this seasons duck trophy.

Dave Preece, unusually in a middle order birth, steadied the ship. Nathan Martin with brave running throwing his bat in a way other than into a tree, falling over but picking himself up to make it into the crease.

Dynamic running, grit, guts and an iron nerve saw us get over the line with three balls to spare.

Walsall Health open the season with a hard fought victory hopefully the first of many.

Batting		Runs
Gorton, A	c b Nasser	3
Chuck, I	b Wiseman	75
Stephens, S	b Hallam	24
Slater, S	b Hallam	2
Hewlitt, R	lbw Hallam	19
Preece, D	not out	25
Stephens, D	lbw Nasser	0
Billingham, L	c Nasser	0
Martin, N	not out	9
Wright, M	DNB
Preece, J	DNB
Extras		18
Walsall Health		180

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Stephens, S	7	2	15	1
Stephen, D	8	0	29	0
Martin, N	8	3	32	0
Chuck, I	3	0	8	1
Preece, J	5	0	23	0
Billingham, L	2	0	30	0
Preece, D	4	0	13	2
Wright, M	3	0	24	3

RACHEL GORTON’S – POP SCENE
With two jugs leaving last seasons student life behind Sunday hang overs are a thing of the past. So this season we look at ‘The Elf’ refreshment technician or ‘Pop Girls’ match day fashion sense.This week saw skinny jeans with a converse foot ware option. A layered approach with a cammy top, cricket sweater and denim look oversized shirt.

DAI WATCH
The Welsh wonder was frozen on the sidelines as the afternoon temperature plummeted on the sidelines. The Bronx hat donned by Dai was more Compo-esque last of the summer wine tribute.

A.O.B
The hottest thing of the day proved to be Rob Hewlitt lulling people into trying a chilli scratching that were hotter than Dai in his speedo’s during the 1970’s.Rachel (x3) & Andy G both fell down a pot hole by the benches to comedy effect!Music in the changing rooms this season was well received. And shower club is back!

MAN OF THE MATCH & BEST BAT
Ian Chuck
A wicket maiden and top scoring with the bat 75 runs.

BEST BOWLER

Take your pick between the skipper Dave Preece who got two crucial wickets of high order batsmen, Sam Stephen tight spell while injured or Nathan Martin with arguably his most controlled spell of bowling for the club.

BEST FIELDER
Stuart Slater or Lyndon Billingham both put their bodies on the line for the cause.

Written by Mathew Wright

Wrighty and Welsh Tom prove Elfers are multi-disciplined athletes

The first Walsall Health Cricket Club end-of-year mini golf and darts competition brought predictable and not-so-predictable results as Tom Davies scooped the darts trophy and Matt Wright cruised home in the golf.

With all competitors kitted out in festive jumpers and headwear (with everyone particularly impressed with Hewlitt Jr’s Sunderland hat), some bookies were speculating that the Welsh Wizard could complete a historic double of both trophies.

It was fair to say that Ed Sherran and Michael McIntyre had let themselves go a bit over Christmas.

As it was, Matt Wright overcame the field at Star City with a superb round of 87 across the two courses in his first appearance in a WHCC golf tournament, etching his name on the trophy alongside Rob Hewlitt, Nathan Martin and Tom Davies.

Bad teds.

This put our hero two shots ahead of joint second placed Rich Fell and Tom Davies (both on 89) followed by Ian Chuck on 90.

Slates forgets to breathe in as Andy Gorton begins to feel the pace of keeping up with the young uns.

Sojourning to the New Talbot in West Bromwich, the gallant troops continued to showcase their sporting prowess, overcoming a less than punctilious approach to catering by the kitchen staff that saw Matt Wright come perilously close to slipping into a hunger-induced coma.

Mat Danks – in his first ever games of darts – saw off experienced players Rich Fell and Nathan Martin to win his group after a sudden death shoot out to win a group also featuring Ian Chuck.

Meanwhile, Charlie and Freddie Hewlitt dominated their group with the former ousting his brother, Andy Gorton and Stuart Slater to go through to the final.

And in the third group, Tom Davies swatted aside Shannon Simmonds, Nathan Martin and Matt Wright to secure his spot.

Davies made short work of the final, winning in some style in the three-way clash to secure the trophy for the valleys.

With such an impressive turn-out (in addition to a pretty great get together the previous night to say hello to Steve Fell during a festive return from the Iberian peninsula), it’s probably fair to say the lifeblood of The Elf is alive and well.

Let it also be said that in small huddles during the day hushed and excited chatter was turning already to next season and our hopes, dreams and aspirations….

It could be a blinder.

Chuck rules the roost as player of the year at The Elf P.U.

Super Skipper Dave Preece

Batsman and bowler extraordinaire Ian Chuck was the big winner as The Golden Generation celebrated a tremendous 2014 season at the Lyndon House Hotel in Walsall.

Chris ‘Ironman’ Hall – winner of the Tim Oliver bowling trophy

Chuckie, who was devastating with both bat and ball all season and enjoyed a crescendo that saw him finish the season with his first century, was awarded the trophy by new Elf chairman Rick Jarrams.

Skipper Dave Preece said: “2014 was the season when Chuckie became the player we all knew he could become.

“He has always been an amazing bowler but this year his batting improved tremendously and he has been instrumental in the club’s success this year.”

Preece himself won the batsman of the year having pillaged more than 450 runs this season including record-breaking back to back centuries.

The Bowler of the Year trophy – now named in honour of Tim Oliver – was fittingly won by Chris Hall whose season – despite being interrupted by illness – was littered with devastating bowling performances.

Legend Jonty Nicholls receives his award

Jonathan Preece, winner of the coveted Duck Trophy.

Rob Hewlitt took another step closer to holding the record for most wins of the Fielder of the Year trophy after another brilliant year in the field.

Rob Hewlitt – heading ever closer to Rich Fell’s record.

Clubman of the year was won by Mat Danks for his efforts with the club’s website and promotions and Jonathan Preece proved he was the ultimate team player, winning the Duck Trophy after losing his wicket trying to get Chris Hall his first half century.

Club legend John Nicholls received a trophy for taking 250 wickets for The Elf during an illustrious career with the club.

The coveted Brian Stuart Dressing Room award for most iconic moment of the season went to Nathan Martin who – it has been mentioned – threw his bat in a tree during a game against Lichfield Nomads.

The legends, players and fans also enjoyed the premiere of the Walsall Health 2014 movie which you can watch here.

Nathan Martin – famously threw his bat in the tree.

Clubman of the Year: Mat Danks

The Golden Generation: the story of Walsall Health Cricket Club 2014

Ok, film fans… it’s here. The story of the 2014 season. Hope you enjoy. Please do comment here or on Youtube or on Facebook.

v Lapworth (17/9/2014)

Walsall Health beat Lapworth.

The last match of the season saw the mighty Walsall Health take on Lapworth.

ALL HAIL IAN CHUCK, CENTURIAN!

With the rumour mill grinding with talk of Lapworth bringing a strengthened side since being skittled out for a meagre 28 runs in May, apparently their worst defeat for over four decades. With the highly rated youngster Reuben Arnold going through a structured warm-up pre-game, and a succession of six-foot-plus players arriving one by one, it certainly looked a strong team, but would the sum of its parts be greater than the spirit of ‘The Elf’?

With the record books suggesting the team may have enjoyed its most successful in the club’s history, an epic end-of-season match was to unfold.

Walsall opened the batting, with the superb Andy Gorton and mercurial Ian Chuck. And in true Super Gort fashion, the seasoned opener got the scoreboard more than ticking over, hitting 42 runs off 43 balls.

The returning Sam Stephens – so instrumental in May’s demolition – was less destructive with the bat today. But Sam’s eventful afternoon was far from over. The skipper entered the fray. And, as usual, he delivered a fine batting performance.

David Preece unleashed his classic arsenal of attractive stroke play amassing yet another 50. All the time Ian Chuck, our South African Superstar, was chipping away towards his maiden century. In recent weeks iChuck has put in some brilliant performances with the bat, however, this was truly the embodiment of saving the best until last.

With the innings coming to an end it was the bold running and unselfish play of Rob Hewlitt keeping Chuck on strike and Commando Rolling and diving to safety after running a single only the athletic Hewlitt could deliver.

So the imposing Lapworth attack was roundly despatched for 235. And of that total 32 extras and a measure of petulance gave us a chance to shine as a Team.

Although this was a home fixture the game was being played at Rushall rather than Aldridge due to pitch availability. And our back room team delivered another unbeatable performance.

The Greatest Tea ever? Part one

Shannon Simmonds: Opening the teas with a strong shot selection of sandwiches. Refined skills with the crusts cut off. And an enviable repertoire of ham, cheese, tuna and salmon.

Rachel Gorton: The star performance in the middle order. A bold and expansive selection of pizza, samosas, spring rolls and chicken nuggets to name a few of the tasty treats. In summary belly-busting brilliance from this catering all-rounder who is just as skilled with a jug as she is with the buffet table.

Siobhan Preece: The skipper’s wife finished off a sterling tea performance with a hat-trick of butterfly cakes, scones and lemon cake that bowled us all over.

The Greatest Tea Ever? Part two

Surely a call up to the Great British Bake Off is pending!?

So the very full Walsall Health take to the field, to be confronted by young rising star Reuben Arnold.

Our opening bowlers went about their task to contain the scoreboard and duly did. Nathan Martin – the coolest Angry Man – delivered his best bowling performance of the season and, although there were no wickets for Martin or fellow opener Sam Stephens, chances were created and after 16 overs they relinquished a miserly 52 runs.

Every member of the team excellent in the field. Prepared to put their bodies on the line to stop runs on a bobbly and bumpy pitch, there will be some no doubt nursing some, bumps, bruises and grazes this week. And by the end of the game our skipper and Ian Chuck could barely walk, yet never once did their efforts wane in the field.

It was century man Chuck who got the breakthrough wicket and saw the end of Lapworth’s danger man, although Richard Fell’s patented ‘Moon Ball’ came very close to this honour after some challenging overs.

Jonathan Preece – three wickets for Champ to end the season on a high!

Jonathan Preece, The Elf’s King of Spain, graced us with his regal slow left arm trickery. JP bagged a glorious three wicket haul, frustrating his opponents to the point of a bat and glove throwing hissy fit in the case of Lapworth’s Davies!

Rob Hewlitt has a claim to the throne as the King of Swing containing the opposition despite the short boundary while Stuart Slater, took time out of his International Man of Leisure duties to chip in with a wicket, turning the screw on a Lapworth side that were feeling the scoreboard pressure.

Matt Wright was unable to keep his wicket taking streak alive despite a couple of half chances. The middle order more like a WWE encounter of The Big Show and Batista set about stemming the tide, but they were no match for the Excellence of Execution, Chris ‘The Hit Man’ Hall removing three of Lapworth’s heavyweights.

It must be noted that Sam Stephens took arguably the catch of the season, diving and taking a marvellous left handed catch only for the umpire to claim he never had it under control. It was 100% held and, after a few heated words, the game continued. In fairness, at this level you would like to think the players word would be good enough.

This didn’t dampen the spirit of ‘The Elf’, simply spurring us on to a satisfying victory to wrap up an excellent season. Everyone contributed either with the bat or ball. Magnificent as a unit in the field. Arguably the difference on the day is that we play for each other all of the time. Some are claiming this to be the ‘Golden Generation’. Post-match, skipper Dave Preece said: “This was a really fitting way to round off the season with contributions coming from throughout the team to secure a hard-fought win against strong opposition. “The team spirit this year has been immense and in this game, as throughout the season, every player contributed at one point or other to spur the group on. Ultimately, another genuine team effort. Acarn spake. We all carn spake.”

Batting		Runs
Gorton, A		42
Chuck, I	not out	100
Stephens, S		7
Preece, D		52
Hewlitt, R	not out	2
Slater, S	DNB
Hall, C	DNB
Fell, R	DNB
Martin, N	DNB
Preece, J	DNB
Wright, M	DNB
Extras		32
Walsall Health		235

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Martin, N	8	0	31	0
Stephens, S	8	3	21	0
Hall, C	6	2	20	3
Chuck, I
Fell, R	6	4	7	0
Wright, M	3	0	15	1
Preece, J	3	0	22	3

Slater, S

Wright, M

Man of the match: Ian Chuck – maiden century, took a key wicket and fielded through injury.

Top bat: Ian Chuck – 100 NOT OUT

Top bowler: Tough one: Sam Stephens and Nathan Martin bowled amazingly well, while JP did the damage and Chris Hall had nerves of steel at the death.

Rachel Hangover Rating: 6/10. Due to tea duties Rachel exchanged the booze for a buffet. So not to let the family down Dad, Andy, held up the family name after an indulgent Saturday at the Ludlow food festival.

v Highwood Park (7/09/2014)

Jon Nicholls – 250th wicket for the Walsall Health legend.

Walsall Health beat Highwood Park by 100 runs.

Guest reporter Matt Wright reports back from a red letter day in the history of The Elf.

It was a day for records, milestones and personal achievements wrapped up in a blanket team effort and application as Walsall Health continued the domination of Highwood Park this summer with a third consecutive win against the Himley-based outfit.

But the penultimate game of the season was more than just another 100+ run win for The Elf, it saw two if it’s bowlers achieve the breathtaking feat of taking 250 wickets for the club.

The first landmark wicket of the day saw club legend Jonty Nicholls trap Greenway lbw for just one, sparking on-field celebrations akin to an England Ashes victory to celebrate the marvellous achievement. In all, the big man bowled a spell of eight overs with four maidens for a economical 15 runs.

Like the proverbial double decker bus the second 250th wicket was taken by ‘Iron Man’ Chris Hall, trapping Highwoods Talisman Chris Brownhill (who also took three key wickets for the home side) LBW and the winning wicket of the day, once again sparking wild celebrations for the strike bowlers’ achievement.

Chris Hall – 250th wicket, not bad considering it seems like about 50 of them were this season.

Without question, it was a strong batting performance. Andy Gorton opening with a quick fire 38 and some lusty blows, one of which nearly wiped out his daughter Rachel and cricket WAG Shannon as a mighty six hurtled into the crowd.

This was backed up by the steady Dave Preece keeping the score board ticking over with early pressure.

Chuck, Slater and Hewlitt continued to pile on the the runs. Slater demonstrated that the warm weather Caribbean training was worthwhile as he set about equalling his joint highest score.

Hewlitt – back on form in his preferred number 5 slot – looked like he had rediscovered his early season form and was, as always, a dynamo in the field. Chuck beating himself with shot selection, but only after some sterling work that saw him smash 39, making that three birth his own in recent weeks.

Rich Fell – as ever – proved dynamic with the bat and in the field. His patent Moon Ball was given an airing and he made a fine gesture in turning down overs to allow Hall to bowl for his 250th wicket, a selfless act that is to be applauded and truly demonstrates the ‘Spirit of the Elf’.

Rob Hewlitt – back to his best with the bat

Hall wasn’t just after records with the ball. He also tried to achieve his first ever 50 with the bat. Finishing on 49 not out, he was supported by the dynamic Nathan Martin who played to set up the opportunity. Hall was denied by inches as a one bounce four took him to 48 and with the innings coming to an end he ran out of balls to face as John Preece, dashing between the wickets just failed to make it home after the final ball.

After a mid-season injury it’s been great to have JP back in the fold and nothing is better than calling for his Suduko Ball to bamboozle the opposition, duly tying West in knots for an LBW.

With the landmark wickets taken early and at the end, it was Nathan Martin who softened up the top order with angry pace before Matt Wright‘s introduction set about the collapse.

As Dai Preece wryly commented in a thick Valleys accent: “Matt Wright ripped the heart out of their team.”

Wright grabbed three wickets in a game for the first time, mainly thanks to a smart stumping from Gorton seeing the end of Highwood’s Cox, their highest run scorer on the day with a nifty 36, before a sharp catch from Chuck dismiss their danger man Shaun Allsop for just six.

Hall – without question the star man with the bat and the ball – proved his undoubted quality, coming so close to getting a 5-for and 50 runs in the same game.

With individual achievements in this game grabbing the headlines, all of it is made possible by the ethic of the team, embodied by the skipper giving everyone a fair opportunity to contribute and supported by hard work and commitment in the field.

Batting		Runs
Gorton, A	ct b Holliday	38
Preece, D	b Holliday	17
Chuck, I	lbw Brownhill	37
Slater, S	ct b Craig	16
Hewlitt, R	b Brownhill	34
Fell, R	ct b Brownhill	12
Hall, C	not out	49
Martin, N	ct Alsopp	15
Preece, J	run out	0
Nicholls, J	DNB
Wright, M	DNB
Extras		14
Walsall Health		236

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Martin, N	5	0	24	0
Nicholls, J	8	4	15	1
Hall, C	8	2	39	4
Fell, R	2	0	4	0
Preece, J	2	0	8	1
Wright, M	3	0	15	1

Man of the Match: Chris Hall

Top bat: Andy Gorton – got us off to the start we needed and Hall’s head might explode if awarded a clean sweep.

Top bowler: Hall & Nicholls: 250 wickets for the club. Amazing.

Rachel Hangover Rating: 0/10. Pitiful stuff after a virtually tee-total weekend. If this is what working for a living does we’d prefer she went back to doing whatever it was she did before, to be frank.

The Race for the Duck Trophy: update


MARTIN – 3 DUCKS IN 6	PREECE – 2 DUCKS IN 3	STEPHENS – 2 DUCKS IN 8

There’s been some chatter amongst The Elf rank and file about the current situation regarding the prestigious Duck Trophy which has been a permanent fixture on the mantlepiece of Mat Danks for the last two years.

There have even been some borderline libellous suggestions that Rob Hewlitt was in the vanguard in the race for the 2014 title. After a little bit of number crunching, the true standings with only a handful of games to go can be revealed.

As things stand, Nathan Martin is hot favourite to mark his dayboo season with the most prestigious piece of plasticware at the club but Jonathan Preece, Dave Stephens and Rob Hewlitt are breathing down his neck after the game on Sunday, albeit in the case of DS and Rob with large numbers of innings to balance out their ducks which (unless there is major duckage before the season end) should save them.

Sure there will be disputing of the figures and cries of ‘what’s my average’ (as if the ego types don’t already know), but these are the stats as they stand but, as they say…. it’s all to play for!

Name	Ducks	Innings	Quack rate
Martin, Nathan	3	6	50%
Preece, Jonathan	2	3	66.6%
Stephens, Dave	2	8	25%
Hewlitt, Rob	2	9	22%
Slater, Stuart	1	5	20%
Preece, Dave	1	7	14%
Danks, Mat	1	8	12.5%

v Ward End Unity (31/8/2014)

Ward End Unity beat Walsall Health by 4 wickets.

Guest match reporter Matt Wright talks us through a brave effort by The Elf on a troublesome wicket.

Chris Hall – magnificent figures from The Iron Man.

Today’s away fixture saw Walsall Health on a four game winning streak travel to Ward End Unity in Birmingham.

We were greeted by a ground that had a topography that would challenge an A* GCSE Geography student. The boundaries also rather short.

With Stuart Slater constantly moving between time zones and international borders he lost track of the start time, along with the pre-declared tardiness of Mat Danks, the skipper duly won the toss and elected to bat.

Dave Preece and Dave Stephens opened the batting on what was immediately clear would be a challenging surface after the first balls were bowled.

After clean hitting straight to the field Stephens fell to the bowling of Ahmed.

The partnership of Preece and Ian Chuck worked hard and began to eek out a little progress. The outfield was very slow and boundaries hard to come by, running three virtually impossible on the slow compact ground.

The skipper, Preece, nicked an inside edge onto his stumps after facing 51 delivers and top scoring for ‘The Elf’ with 20 runs (alongside guest batsman ‘Extras’ who also scored 20).

Shane O’Callaghan – respectable knock in his batting dayboo for The Elf.

From here on in the score card does not make great reading as wickets tumbled Rob Hewlitt faced a delivery that pitched up by his shoulder, the next kept deceptively low trapping him LBW for a second ball duck.

Shane O’Callaghan actually looking composed at the crease had the potential to salvage things a little making a respectable 6 runs from 10 deliveries. That was until a double appeal when given not given out for LBW but caught behind when the ball hit his pad. Later confessions from the home team admit that it never hit his bat, would have been nice to have seen him called back for the spirit of the game at this level.

Chuck trapped LBW was another key wicket as he had staved off 49 deliveries and again an impressive amount of time at the crease.

There were few highlights from the lower order totalling nine runs between them. Other than Nathan Martin once again drawing level with Hewlitt in the duck hunt of three each for the season! (Please note: these figures have not been verified and will be subject to a stats update in the next 48 hours) Slater get one of the rare boundaries on the day and Matt Wright achieving his first ever not out at the end of an innings.

69 was the total posted and with a quick turn around ‘The Elf’ went about trying to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.

And – just for a moment – the collapse looked on.

Catches from Wright, Hewlitt and Chuck and a clean bowled all from the bowling of Iron Man Chris Hall had Unity 4 down for only 9 runs. And as Tipton’s Tony Stark steamed in for his hat trick ball, the most unlikely of victories was beginning to look a possibility. With The Elf piling on the pressure, Chuck grabbed the pick of the catches with a sharp diving low one-handed effort.

Dai Preece – brilliant performance by the stand-in Legend.

Great hustle in the field, playing for each other and believing as a team were key, embodied by Rob Hewlitt and seasoned campaigner Dai Preece, making several impressive run saving contributions, proving that class and experience go beyond age!

Nathan Martin also picked up a wicket off some good bowling after settling down after a couple of wayward looseners, notably a first ball beamer, trapping his man LBW.

Ward End Unity can thank Mills for this victory who proved to be the difference on the day, making his way to a match-winning 56 not out with his fellow six batting partners contributing only six runs between them.

This would have been the key wicket, but despite our best efforts we could not get it to fall.

Jonathan Preece – came closest to taking the scalp of the match-winning Mills

Dave Stephens and Chris Hall were valiant in their efforts to contain the big-hitting match winner. Sadly today spin was not the key to unlocking the door. Although Jonathan Preece arguably came closest to taking the prized scalp of Mills tempting him down the wicket and creating a stumping opportunity.

Another winning streak comes to an end on a peculiar wicket, although positives can be taken from the game.

Talking to the assembled media post-match the skipper made these comments: “Good effort today. It’s never ideal to get just 69 on the board and in all honesty we didn’t bat as well as we could, but great determination to drag ourselves back into it (Hall 4-6) and great commitment in the field from the guys, particularly emergency replacement David Preece Snr. Let’s work to improve ourselves for next game.”

Batting		Runs
Preece, Dave	b Idress	20
Stephens, D	b Ahmed	0
Chuck, I	b Idrees	14
Hewlitt, R	b Ahmed	0
O’Callaghan, S	lbw Atkinson	6
Hall, C	st Atib	3
Slater, S	b Barzan	4
Martin, N	b Atkinson	0
Preece, J	ct b Atkinson	0
Wright, M	not out	1
Preece, Dai	b Barzan	1
Extras		20
Walsall Health		69

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Martin, N	2	0	4	1
Stephens, D	6.2	1	22	0
Hall, C	8	5	6	4
Chuck, I	2	0	16	0
Preece, J	1	0	17	0

Man of the match: Chris Hall

Top bat: Dave Preece

Top bowler: Chris Hall (six runs and four wickets off eight overs)

Rachel Hangover Rating: Two Jugs was absent today due to family commitments, however, at a musical festival on Saturday, we like to think it would be at least a solid 7/10.

v Rushall – Tim Oliver Memorial Trophy (24/9/2014)

A Walsall Health Select XI beat a Rushall Select XI by 18 runs to win the Tim Oliver Memorial Trophy (Walsall posted 179 off 35 overs, Rushall replied with 161 off 35 overs)

To read the Express and Star report of the event click here.

To read the Walsall Advertiser report of the event click here.

The first ever Tim Oliver Memorial Trophy was won by a Walsall Health XI (actually, more like 26) who completed a 19-run victory over neighbours, a Rushall XI (more like 20).

The clash between two local cricket sides Tim Oliver – who passed away earlier this year – was an unusual affair applying the ’25 and retire’ rule for batsmen and a rolling substitute rule for a packed field.

Steve Hartshorne – opened the batting for The Elf.

Despite this, the clash between two sides Tim held closely to his heart saw The Elf win what was a narrowly contested game by 18 runs.

However, the match was really a side show to the day which was attended by a healthy crowd and helped to raise £620 for Macmillan Nurses, Pancreatic Cancer UK and Amnesty International.

The Elf lined up with many current and former players with Tim’s brother Andie skippering the side and nephew Tom also turning out.

With The Elf batting first, club legends Steve Hartshorne and Andy Gorton opened and set about starting to build a target for the visitors.

After knocking 10 off the first two overs, Hartshorne found himself dismissed for two, the ever agile Martin Liggins taking a catch off the bowling of Allsop.

Andy Gorton – Elf legend knocked 25 retired not out.

Gorton had no such problems, clattering his way to 27 and retirement in a knock that included five fours.

At the other end, legend Ray Beech added 12 to the total before he was run out and Steve Fell also added a pair before a Gary Reeves catch off the bowling of King ended his run.

Modern-day legend Rob Hewlitt joined Gorton in the ’25 club’ with a knock that included four boundaries meaning at the 18 over stage The Elf were 90 for four.

Rick Jarrams fell foul to the deceptively slow bowling of Liggins for five while young Tom Oliver hit 13 before a good catch by Andy Beck off the bowling of Haliwell ended his fun.

This signalled the arrival of a number of current players and Sam Stephens (20) and Dave Preece (19) moved the total on before both fell to the bowling of Delvin King.

Dave Stephens and Matt Wright had cameo appearances at the crease, adding one and two respectively.

Dai Preece – not actually sure where to start with this caption…

The brilliantly talented young George King went about mopping up the extended tail end with Dai Preece (looking for all the world like an extra from a cricketing scene in Downton Abbey) falling for five (including a majestic shot to the boundary), Paul Nicholls stumped for a duck and Stuart Slater going for six.

A superb late knock by Rich Fell (with a six and three fours in his 21) helped make the total more respectable along with a contribution by Dave Atkins of two not out and Ian Chuck of seven not out.

The score of 179-13 after the allocated 35 overs appeared a strong one and the Rushall father-and-son opening pairing of Alan and Dan Dunn initially had problems getting any momentum.

After four overs Rushall were six without loss before the big-hitting ‘Nicka’ began opening up, hitting a 28 retired with six fours in his total, suggesting he might not have wanted to run very much.

Anybody seen my gloves? JP struggles in the world’s most crowded changing room.

Young Dan Dunn batted very well to add four under some intense pressure – including the ever guileful bowling of the returning Jonathan Preece – to the total and at the 19 over stage, Rushall were 89 for 1 and looking impressive.

Dunn’s departure heralded the arrival of the Two Kings (George and Delvin) to come to the fray and put Rushall right back into the game.

Delvin hit a superb 26 retired while George – who won a lot of fans amongst the crowd with his mature and elegant batting having already impressed with his bowling – knocked 16 before falling victim to Slater.

And it was Slater who would also take the trophy wicket of Liggins, clean bowling the former Elf captain for a duck, while Chuck forced Storey to hole out to Hewlitt for 12.

Stuart Slater – two wickets for four runs off two overs. Have a bit of that.

Some impressive mid-innings bowling by The Elf – in particular Chris Hall (who ended 3 for 16 off four overs), Slater (two for four off two overs) and Tom Oliver (one for six off four overs in an outing his uncle would have been proud of) pegged Rushall back and they were only able to stagger from 95/2 at 20 overs to 104/6 at 25 overs.

But Everall (25 retired) and Haliwell (13 before being castled by Hall) ensured Rushall made a decent fist of the chase.

However, Foster and Edwards both went for ducks while Allsop perished at the hands of Hall thanks to a catch by Rich Fell while some brilliant fielding by Atkins helped save precious runs.

Needing an unlikely 23 off the last over, it was appropriate Andie Oliver should step up to bowl it, dismissing Beck with his first delivery and steering The Elf home to an 18 run win to take the inaugural trophy.

Ultimately, the day way a huge triumph and both teams would like to thank everybody for their hard work in making it all happen, in particular Rich (master BBQer) and Steve Fell plus Andy, Kerrie and Rachel Gorton (Two Jugs being especially magical in her sterling efforts to co-ordinate the raffle) as well as Katie’s Castles for the loan of the bouncy castle to keep the kids quiet and Firesec Electrical Limited for sponsoring the match-ball.

A good many people helped to make the day happen, thanks to everyone!

Walsall Health Scorecard

Batting

Gorton, A	retired	27
Hartshorne, S	ct Liggins b Allsop	2
Beech, R	run out	12
Fell, S	ct Reeves b King	2
Hewlitt, R	retired	25
Jarrams, R	b Liggins	5
Oliver, Tom	ct Beck b Haliwell	13

Preece, Dave	ct Liggins, b D King	19
Stephens, S	b D King	20
Stephens, D	b Reeves	1
Wright, M	b Dunn	2
Preece, Dai	ct Storey, b G King	5
Nicholls, P	st Everall, b Dunn	0
Fell, R	ct Millership, b G King	21
Slater, S	b G King	6
Atkins, D	not out	2
Chuck, I	not out	7
Hall, C	DNB
Danks, M	DNB
Extras		11
Walsall Health		179

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Martin, N	2	0	17	0
Oliver, T	4	2	6	1
Hall, C	4	0	16	3
Chuck, I	3	0	12	1
Nicholls, J	3	0	15	1
Wright, M	2	0	6	0
Oliver, A	4	1	24	1

Stephens, S	4	1	15	0
Stephens, D	3	1	12	0
Slater, S	2	0	4	2
Fell, R	2	0	14	0

Preece, J