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

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.

v Highwood Park (17/9/2014)

Walsall Health beat Highwood Park by 10 wickets.

The Elf clinched the decider in their three-match series with Highwood Park with a ten-wicket victory spurred on by brilliant performances the flatmate combo of Ian Chuck and debutant Josh Butler.

Ian Chuck – man of the match thanks to brilliant bowling and back-to-back 50s

The win means The Elf take the series by the odd win in three after the defeat in June followed by the series levelling win the following week.

Butler was one of two players making their dayboo for The Elf – along with Shane O’Callaghan – while Dutch import Neil Van Limbeek was making his first appearance in over a year, after he injured his shoulder playing darts.

Winning the toss on a cloudy day which offered up a handful of rainy interruptions, skipper Dave Preece put Highwood Park into bat.

Initially it looked like a decision that would suit the visitors with Park’s dangerman Shaun Allsopp doing what he does best on his way to being the top-scorer in the game with 53.

A string of frustrating dropped catches, edgy appeals and misfields during the opening phases did little to settle The Elf down as Allsopp and fellow opener Owen proved mulish in their opening stand.

Josh Butler – three wickets on dayboo.

The ultra-economical bowling of Chris Hall – now (as if there were any doubt at all) back to the full extent of his extensive powers – Tom Davies and John Nicholls stemmed the flow of runs on what was an awkward track for batsmen. Hall opened his account with four successive maidens followed by two successive overs for one in each, meaning his first six overs went for just two runs. Davies meanwhile was equally frustrating for the Park openers, his opening spell of five overs going for just eight and Nicholls’ six overs included four maidens for just seven runs.

At the 17 over stage, Park had notched up 44 runs without loss before Chucky’s Super Over effectively turned the match on its head.

First, the South African spin merchant clean bowled Owen for an unlucky 13 before continuing his hoodoo over Park hitter Stephen Beattie, luring him into holing out to Preece at mid-off for a second-ball duck.

Andy Gorton – two stumpings and a half century for the main man.

Even then, Highwood Park held firm and it took another ten overs and a 36 run partnership (during which time Allsopp continued to carve himself an excellent innings) before The Elf made another breakthrough, Nathan Martin grabbing the wicket of Allsop leg before wicket.

With the run-scoring threat of Allsopp back in the pavilion, Park crumpled slightly with Tallis stumped by Andy Gorton for nine off the bowling of Butler followed by a brilliant run-out of Cox by Preece for four. Debutants Butler and O’Callaghan combined to dismiss Lapper for nought thanks and Butler then claimed his third wicket – again thanks to a stumping.

And Hall and Davies got the wickets their early spells deserved – Davies first taking Olly Holliday clean for five and then Hall skittling Ralph for two.

Shane O’Callaghan – great catch on dayboo.

The Elf’s pursuit of the 118 needed to win the match and series only looked in threat when the brooding clouds over Aldridge had a tantrum early during the home side’s innings.

But the weather failed to disrupt the tempo too much and openers Chuck and Gorton set about steadily building the response.

For the second successive game, Chuck engineered himself a half-century (albeit thanks to hitting a boundary through mid-wicket for the winning runs, interestingly off the bowling of Beattie) while Gorton added yet another half-ton to his list of achievements.

Gorton’s 51 not out came off just 63 balls (a particularly amazing achievement given the challenging surface) while Chuck’s was a slightly more circumspect, taking 88 balls as the total was reached in the 24th over meaning The Elf could celebrate the series win with ten wickets and sixteen overs to spare.

The Elf’s next outing is in Tim Oliver’s memorial match next Sunday at Rushall Cricket Club.

Batting		Runs
Gorton, A	not out	51
Chuck, I	not out	51
O’Callaghan, S	DNB
Hall, C	DNB
Martin, N	DNB
Nicholls, J	DNB
Van Limbeek, Neil	DNB
Preece, D	DNB
Fitzpatrick, G	DNB
Davies, T	DNB
Wright, M	DNB
Extras		19
Walsall Health		121

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Martin, N	7	1	33	1
Davies, T	7	3	11	1
Hall, C	8	5	10	1
Chuck, I	4	0	11	2
Nicholls, J	6	4	7	0
Wright, M	3	0	15	1
Butler, J	3	0	11	3

O’Callaghan

Man of the match: Ian Chuck

Top bat: Ian Chuck and Andy Gorton (51 not out – tie)

Top bowler: Another tough one – but Chris Hall’s figures against the opening attack were impressive.

Rachel Hangover Rating: 8/10 – although she is claiming a migraine was to blame. Until we see some medical evidence, we’re raising an eyebrow to that one.

Walsall Health Cricket Club

Spirit of The 'Elf

Chris Hall