Annual Dinner & Dance

When: Saturday 17th October
Where: The Hilltop Hotel

Tickets at a very reasonably priced £15 are available from either Russ or Geoff

News Flash

Reports have been received that The Club are in negotiations to secure the return of a much loved son to the fold. Details are scarce but the player in question is set to guest appear for us on 20th June. Watch this space.

The Sun Came Out And We Got Thumped

Cudham – Away – Lost

Thats no good, second game of the season and no skipper , was Rickiiiieeee resigning after 1 game and leaving with a one hundred percent record ? No ‘The Boy Rickiiie’ had double booked himself with a manicure, and wanting to keep himself in accordance with ” Captains Rules ” he had a sun spray and manicure instead of playing ! Anyway after a bit of persuassion Stacy agreed to step in as make shift commander .

Oh dear 1st mistake the sun came out and i mean came out ! 400 degrees and not a cloud in the sky ( you’d think this was’nt a mistake but wait ….)

2nd mistake Cudham did’nt have an umpire ! ( therefore we win the toss automatically )

3rd mistake Stupid Stace sticks Cudham into bat

4th mistake Stacy Captain der

Ok its 4 hundred degrees and out stroll 11 legionaires across the sands of the Sahara until they reach the 22 yards of destiny, by now Stacy feels as if a sniper has a crosshair firmly etched on his back, ” bowl first” is muttered from the back .

The games underway and Stewie Stu strikes early , its a great start but Cudham stood firm and rattled their way to 78 before New boy Lister comes up trumps with a perfect ball, trapping the batsmen LBW , the sun kept beating, ” bowl first! why would you do that cried Graham Kingpin “, the sun was relentless, 20 overs had arrived and out of the oasis came a belly dancer bearing jugs of juice, ok slight exaggeration it was one of the oppo with refreshments. Cudhams’ score kept climbing but wickets kept falling at regular intervals, by the end of 40 overs 217-9 had been posted, a daunting score to say the least. As the weary troops crawled back to the pavillion for much needed ’ jugs of juice ‘ Stacy relised a batting order was required and that his legion was in need of encouragement, not being the best at this he asked who would like to bat 

 

 

 

   a deadly silence fell as a tumble weed rolled by . Prompting Nasty Nick to join him at the top of the order they strode to the crease with intent of chasing down the score, Ward and Buss struggled with the pace of their enemies , Ward fell ’ shaking his head and muttering i did’nt see it ’ Wrotham were up against the wall already, being short in the batting department Buss wielded his bat like a light sabre and took the fight to the dark side, wickets kept tumbling but Buss stood strong, finally departing for 48, a brief glimmer of joy was given, Butler of the J kind played sensible for a while scoring 22 and Klondike scoring his first runs for the club … 2 . It was all over out for 117. 

Moment of the Match

Kingpins ” 2 catches … well he caught the second , the batsmen unleased a shot that sent the ball tracer like at Graham in which he could’nt get out of the way of, so instinctively he used his cat like agility to let the ball hit him in the ribs Ouch!!! About an hour later another batsmen did the same , but this time his cat like relexes aloud him to catch the ball between his arm and stomach after the ball struck him in exactly the same place double Ouch !!

Man of the Match

It has to be the team for not stringing Stacy up for bowling first

!! END OF SEASON DO !!

Saturday 27th October, St George’s Hall, Wrotham. 

Our annual end of season do is approaching us quite quickly and we only have a fortnight left to call upon all cricketers / friends to book your tickets …

 The evening will start around 7.30pm with the presentations and speeches and following on from that will be the disco until around 12 ish, we will be stopping at some point throughout the night to hold the raffle which we will be selling tickets on the night for ….. top prize so far is a portable DVD player …. please feel free to bring a prize along !!

We will be having a curry / chilli with rice and french bread, some cheese and biscuits and a few desserts for all those with a sweet tooth … that’s me taken care of!!

Tickets are a mere £10 per person, any profit will go towards the cricket club and as we haven’t had much fund raising this year (Rick’s leg waxing is the only 1 that springs to mind) its also a good time to show our support to keep the cricket club up and running!!

Please feel free to bring along friends / family, the more the merrier!! We do have a licensed bar for the night and will be selling wine / beer / soft drinks / some basic spirits at very reasonable prices !!

Could all players please contact me if you are happy to donate a small prize for the raffle, wine etc normally goes down quite well too, you can even donate last years unwanted Christmas gifts, I have already so anyone winning the hands free kit can they thank Stace as he bought that for me last year ……

Seriously though, we do not seem to get enough support from the players at this evening and it really would be good if we could have everyone making a show even if it is only for an hour or so, alot of hard work goes into running the club and i think it only fair that the players show a bit more support on the night … take that as a telling off if you feel that way or merely as a request for you to show some support!!

Tickets can be requested via email, racheldavies30@btinternet.com or by phone 07815 067051 …

Look forward to seeing you all there ..

Rachel

Club Colours

Sunday team captain, Peter Fleming, has come up trumps and set up an account with an on-line cricket clothing vendor Custom Cricket so that we can all get new whites emblazoned with the Wrotham CC logo.

If you are interested in purchasing items from this site then please contact Pete as we get a discount based on the number of things bought.

Cricket Club in Danger of Collapse

The title may seem somewhat extreme however the reality of it is 100%  …

 As I am sure most of you are aware however for those of you that are not the Saturday team has so far this season had to forfeit 2 fixtures due to a lack of players, this we did not think was too much of a problem only to be informed that if we make it a 3rd we would be thrown out of the league …. in the next breath we are informed that our next fixture falls upon the same day as England's 1st group match in the world cup, now don't get me wrong I do think that teams should have been able to reschedule their fixtures to suit, unfortunately for us our fixture was more than happy to play, as were 5 of the regular Saturday side … Gary, Steve, Neil, Stacy and Jim however we were left with a gap of 6 players and a huge thank you must go to Richard Barker, James and Alex Evans, Jack Wicks, Sam Davies and Reece (Jack's friend who happened to provide everyone with entertainment throughout the afternoon), without their help then we can only assume that we would have been kicked out of the league and then I am not entirely sure what would become of the club …

 I do know however that there are a handful of people that put a whole lot of effort into keeping the Saturday team going and they all wish to continue doing so and playing cricket once a week and all that is asked in return is a little bit of commitment, sure there are occasions that cannot be avoided and there are always going to be times when people cannot play certain matches that is not even questioned, my worry is that people know they are needed to play with the situation as it is at the moment and they feel that it is their right to treat the club with little or no respect whatsoever which is why I am asking anyone whether they currently play for Wrotham or if you're just someone reading this and not yet associated with the club yet serious about playing on a regular basis to speak with Gary – 07854 986360 and commit to play regularly, maybe then Wrotham might be in a position to continue with the successful streak they had in 2004!!

The above was not meant to offend anyone I have only written this as I live with one of the above mentioned regular players and I know for a fact that he would be devastated if the club were to fold as would many others, of that I am 100% sure.

The Cook Report

Wrotham Vs Bromley 3rd XI
Saturday 27th may 2006

 

 
Wrotham were very unlucky not to win this close encounter, losing with just an over and a bit to go and fielding just 10 players.

On an overcast and damp day, the conditions were always going to play a factor. Bromley 3rds won the toss and elected to bowl first. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that with all the week’s rain, the pitch would be nice and juicy for any pace of bowler.

Wrotham openers Evans and Cook strode out to do battle and were more than equal to anything the talented Bromley opening bowlers could throw at them. Going was difficult but there were no real scares within the first 8 or so overs. Whilst attempting a drive, Cook twisted his right knee and was forced to hobble around more or less on one leg. The injury is an old occurrence of a freak base jumping accident in which Cook’s parachute didn’t open and he somehow managed to survive the 15ft drop from his first floor bathroom window.

Cook decided to retire hurt and rest his knee rather than waste his wicket. This brought the well inform Jim ‘ Jimmy ‘ Alexander to the crease. Going was still tough for Evans and Alexander but both looked comfortable and were looking to open up their shoulders. As soon as it looked as if these two would strive forward the innings, disaster struck. Alexander was bowled whilst trying to clip one to mid wicket. Alexander was disappointed with himself and spent at least a good hour or so shaking his head in disgust with himself saying,” Rupert, you idiot, I said last week not to play that shot. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. “

This brought Stacy Buss to the wicket. The ex Captain was quick to find his feet and started playing some fine shots to support Evans and help build a solid foundation for Wrotham. Around this time the rain began to fall lightly and the pitch was starting to aid the bowlers even further. It was this extra advantage that helped Bromley gain the wickets of first Evans, and then Butler of the Wayne kind also looked comfortable and was unfortunate with his dismissal. This brought Cook back to the crease after some rest and some vitamins. Cook went out to unsettle the consistent spinners. It kind of worked although almost immediately the rain became harder and the players trudged off for shelter.

After the break and tea, Buss and Cook continued to push the score up. Conditions at the wicket were very difficult and it wasn’t pretty out there. Buss’ excellent reverse sweep drew gasps from the 5 strong crowd. Cook was run out by Buss deliberately. Knowing he had a dodgy knee, Buss called a second run that was never there. Enter Davey ‘Woody Wood Woody Woody’ Wood to the crease. Woody didn’t last long and was caught out after skying one from the edge of his woody bat made from wood from a woody oak tree in a large wood in Forest Wood, near Petts Wood. Woody was ‘barking’ mad! He was told to ‘leaf’ it out.

Enter into the fray the entertaining Jason Butler and Stevo Burton. These two certainly lit up a gloomy day and shots were frequent and it helped unsettle the Bromley bowlers. Basher Burton helping himself to 3 magnificent shots to the boundary.

After the fall of Burton and Butler of the Jason kind, stalwart Neil Harvey and rookie Sam Davies frustrated Bromley who were looking to gain extra overs by bowling out Wrotham before the 46 mark. Buss made a brilliant 50 to give Wrotham a respectable total.

So, Bromley were chasing 145 for victory and the rain had stopped and the pitch began to dry, apart from the sogging outfield. Wrotham’s bowlers had to keep it at around 3 an over if possible with a slippery ball. Harvey and Butler of the Jason kind began our defence. Both were doing well but the conditions didn’t help Butler of the Jason kind. Skipper Evans then brought himself on and this gave the Bromley openers cause for concern. Wickets started to fall through some brilliant and hard working bowling by Evans, Harvey and Buss. The fielding within the side was also a highlight. There was the odd lack in concentration but overall, considering the wet conditions, Wrotham were excellent in the field and kept Bromley at the 3 an over mark more or less all innings. Stevo Burton came on to bowl and was causing problems for Bromley. Wrotham were unlucky on many occasion not to take wickets.

A bit of tail wag from Bromley looked to have taken the game away from Wrotham. An excellent one hand stumping from wicketkeeper Cook gave Wrotham some hope and then Buss came up trumps more than once with 2 wickets from full tosses and 1 from a long hop. The wicket from the long hop brought the moment of the day. A top edge saw the ball loop over the keepers head towards young Sam fielding at short fine leg. The ball went quite high in the air, with Sam steadying himself and looking up at the heavens, he caught the ball waist height to give Wrotham a chance of victory. The shear look of amazement on his face at the realisation of his catch was priceless. He was immediately mobbed by his team mates and the biggest, broadest smile you are ever likely to see on a cricket field, lit up the place with the light fading. You could have said Wrotham had 9 plus young Sam, but the rookie didn’t put a foot wrong all game.

Unfortunately Bromley held out and gained the victory with an over or so left. A brave effort by Wrotham and although a defeat, it was seen as one of our better performances in the field. Pick of the bowlers was Neil Harvey who went for just 19 off his allotted 12 overs, gaining 2 wickets. Excellent stuff. Everybody contributed in some way and can take great pride in their performance.

Players Needed

Are you at a loose end and finding Saturday’s hard to fill ???

Enjoy playing Cricket???

Why not come along to our cricket club and try out for the Saturday side, we are always looking for new members, maybe you would just like to support us, either way we would love to see you .. you can get details of nets dates and times from the Saturday captain Gary Evans on 07854 986360 ……. Hope to see you all there!!

Flicx Pitch installed

I got a txt this morning from Stacy – "Flicks pitch is going down a treat". Now this brings up two painful points. The first,  I was not aware that the Flicx Pitch was being laid this weekend but since I left the club I've been slightly out of touch and I guess that is fair enough. The second is that since I left, loads seems to have been achieved. Was I holding them back?

At this point I should explain what this pitch is and how we came by it. It is essentially an artificial batting surface made up of over 6000 interlocking plastic tiles to form one continuous flat surface to create either a portable cricket pitch or (as in out case) a permanent practice area. The surface consists of small hexagonal holes. The roughened area provides a surface for the cricket ball to grip and bounce, ensuring one of the most versatile cricketing surfaces on the market. It is fully endorsed by the English and Wales Cricket Board although it is not certified for use in our league fixtures. It was decided to install it on the edge of the square for use as nets. 

Anyhow, the txt was an hour old so I grabbed a camera and the dog and headed off to the ground to be greeted by four good men – Stacy, Gary, Neil and Dave Evans. My timing was perfect – they'd just finished.

And what a job they'd made of it. It looks great. With a Herculean effort Stacy managed to stay awake throughout the excruciatingly dull video that accompanied the pitch and all the correct procedures had been followed, the time of year was right, the heavy roller hired, the pitch was laid out and rolled into the very earth itself.

How did we come by it? Well, a couple of years ago Sport England were persuaded to provide it for quite a bit less than cost and and very nice man from Honda UK (take a bow Mr Jeff Dodds) came up with the readies – everyone should buy a Honda. It sat in the equipment shed for the last couple of seasons gathering dust and generally getting in Tim's way. It was time to do something about it.

Anyway, this is a smashing way to kick off the season. Well, done to all those involved in making this happen.

Great stuff from the new groundsman

Since the start of the year Dave Evans (yep, Gary’s dad) has been tasked with the daunting and somewhat thankless challange of preparing the square. And what a great job he’s doing. Already a heavy roller has been applied and I swear it hasn’t looked this flat for years. He’s even rolled the outfield to leave us gentle undulations to sprint over rather a 3D map of the Himalayas.

The perennial problem of a mossy wicket has been eradicated thanks to a couple of Saturdays of hard work with a scarifier (and a little help from number one son) to leave a track that is going to be a pleasure to bat on.

Anyhow, well done Dave.