Welcome to this week’s Wizzy News – our weekly roundup of news and events at Wisborough Green Cricket Club. If you missed last week’s edition of Wizzy News, please click here

Junior cricket training

Just a quick reminder that Junior cricket training has officially finished for the season but there will be training for the under 8 – under 14 age groups as usual for those who are still around.

Senior league matches on the Green

For the next 3 weeks we will be playing our Senior league home games at alternative grounds because of the condition of the outfield. The decision to do this was taken with a heavy heart and was made in the interests of player safety which is our main consideration. We will be reviewing the situation in the next couple of weeks and are hoping to return the Green before the end of season. Please watch this space for further details.

Please click here for directions to Warnham Cricket Club for our First X1 ‘home’ game against Barns Green.

Pitch inspection

Hugo March sent us a video of his pitch inspection of this ground in Bermuda. The wicket needs a bit of work but we’ll take the outfield all day every day. Any volunteers to go out there and prepare the wicket for our remaining home games for the rest of the season ? …

Click on the video below

Commonwealth Games – T20

The Commonwealth Games T20 semi finals and finals will be live streamed on the BBC channels on Saturday and Sunday. Please see the match schedule below and click here for the BBC Commonwealth Games page for more information

Honours Boards

Congratulations to all those who made it onto our Honours board this week

Match reports

First X1 vs Horsham

Winning ways at the ‘Wisborough Bowl’ last week, the Green had a big game away at Horsham, where it was the second vs the third team in the table. With a strong side travelling down the road, we were hit with the late news that our top run- scorer Ashley Clarke, had been struck down by the dreaded C19. We wish him well in his recovery.

So for the seventh game in a row, it was no surprise that Farmer lost the toss and Wisborough were asked to bowl. James (Jnr) Rainford was back to full fitness and he opened the bowling with Will Dixon – both bowled well, but Horsham opener Gallagher punished anything off line. Jnr created the first chance, which Nick Klein could only put down. A few overs later and Jnr was back to his best, swinging one away and nipping it off the seam which cleaned up one of the openers: 49/1.

Gallaher, a former Premier league opener, moved on to 33 after his earlier lifeline before Will trapped him in front – a sigh of relief for Mr Klein: 62/2 – which then became 70/3 as Will got another with the safe pair of hands of Jnr taking a good low catch. Wickets were falling, however Horsham were scoring freely. Farmer turned to his two spinners to try and slow the rate: Newman and Sizzey-Carter (JSC) were tasked with this job, but, as we know, the Horsham outfield is extremely quick and the Green’s fielders were put to work on a warm afternoon.

The score ticked along to 125 before James caused the error and Farmer caught the chance at slip. JSC then created the next chance, only for James to get a nail on it, however, luckily for Jimmer (JAmes Newman) , he had Steve on the receiving end of the next delivery off his bowling and SCS gobbled up his chance. (It was tough for Steve as he was being followed by a wasp for the afternoon; it must have been the Sex Panther aftershave that he had on!)

With the score on 143/6 the game was in the balance when the Horsham Captain Haines came to the crease. He batted with great control, picked his gaps and put away any loose balls. Nick Klein was on and took a good caught-and-bowled with the score on 178/7, but it was then the Haines brothers who took control of the final overs and the score ended on 241/8, Nick getting Haines on 77. Jimmer and Will were the pick of the Green’s bowlers.

With a mad rush to Sainsburys for the team lunch, everyone kicked back and were planning on how we were going to chase down the total, the quick outfield was noted and patience and good stroke play would have to be the approach.

There was a new opening partnership with Alan Law making his return to the side. He walked out to the middle with a focused James Newman, eager to start strongly. With a couple of quick boundaries James fell to a good catch at cover and the Green were on the back foot early at 12/1.

Rich Wilson and Lawsy then took it to the two Horsham quicks and the score raced on to 40/1 before Rich misjudged one and left the ball alone, only for it to clatter into his off stump. Just like the Wisborough innings, spin had a large part to play, and Horsham had some up their sleeves. They tied Alan and Steve down, and the score was on 62 when Alan was bowled by a ball that turned sharply. Steve swept well, but again found it tricky to score as freely as he normally would, and the score was then on 80/4.

Farmer and Will Dixon had the task of trying to re-build but at the same time getting the rate up, and at this point the Horsham spinners had settled and were bowling with great control. Farmer tried to kick on only to be caught in the deep, and this was the same for Nick and Jack: 131/7 – the game was drifting away from the Green. A valiant effort from the tail saw Will Dixon end with a fine 46, DJ with 27 and the Green finished on 204. With some earlier sharper fielding this total might have been 20 less, and more achievable for the Green.

MOM – To our youngest member Will Dixon, some brilliant bowling against some top batsmen, the same with his batting trying to keep us in the hunt. Great to watch and see this young talent develop.

Jonny Farmer

Click here for the full scorecard

Second X1 vs Horsham Trinity

A warm but cloudy day welcomed Horsham Trinity to the hallowed meadow.

Skipper Vickery won his first toss of the season and decided to have a bat against top of the table Horsham Trinity.

Green got off to a good start but lost Jack duck Dixon and Oscar Warmington fairly early.

Ran Dawson steadied the ship with some fine batting and taking his chances after some poor fielding gave him a lifeline. Jimmy Francis made a welcome return to the crease in his customary game against Horsham Trinity. He played some great shots and hit numerous boundaries before finally being caught behind on 31.

Juan Vorster came to the crease with his usual burst of energy hitting some massive sixes in the process. Juan and Ran pushed the scoreboard on quickly before Ran finally fell on 81 – his highest ever score – after trying to take one too many runs. Juan pushed on and was uncharacteristically bowled a few short of his fifty.

Wickets fell quickly thereafter and the Green ended on 215 in the 39th over.

After a solid BYOT, Trinity went out to knock off the runs

Ollie and Oscar Warmington got the Green off to a great start with the ball by dismissing the openers in quick succession with the next two following quickly thereafter. Trinity were in trouble on 26 for 4 after 6 overs – and the Green smelt bood…

Skipper Vickery sportingly called back Trinity’s number 5 after he was given caught at slip. He went on to form a solid partnership with the number seven batsmen and was finally dislodged after a straight one from Frank Vickery.

A great first senior catch from Xander saw him remove the Trinity middle order and the final resistance finally started to crumble. Fair play to their number 7 who fought on doggedly and hung on to the end but ran out of batting partners. Frank Vickery dislodged the tail ender to wrap up the game.

A solid team perfomance by the Green against the top of the table team.

Onwards and upwards on the table and off to Ifield next …..

Click here for the full scorecard

T20 vs Ebernoe

Dominant performance from all gives T20 win in 3rd/4th playoff

With a mixture of youth and experience in the side, Captain Jnr took the T20 team to the unusual if not picturesque ground of Ebernoe.

Mistaking the road running through the ground as the wicket Jnr won the toss and elected to bat.

The welcome return of veteran Alan Law and fellow veteran, Ollie Stott opened. Both quickly reminding the fans watching their quality with lusty blows and guile.

Aptly the veterans retired at 50, albeit Stotty rode his luck being dropped three times by the same fielder. Rumours of match fixing have yet to be quashed.

Will Dixon and DJ took on the challenge and advanced the run scoring further. DJ getting 34 and an extraordinary display of 6 hitting from Will meant that he accelerated to his 50.

The Green reached a total of 213 without losing a single wicket.

A large total but with short boundaries, an important start would be important for the home side. Fortunately an array of bowlers were available to defend the score for Wisborough.

Opening the bowling was young Rafferty Finn, who showed great quality, restricting the batters, and unfortunate not to get a breakthrough. He was abely supported by honorary overseas Juan Vorster.

The wickets were to come, leading the way was Josh Dixon who took 3 wickets from 3 overs. Harry Hunter also taking a wicket when Jnr took a smart catch.

The home team were struggling to keep up with the rate and the struggle would continue as Xander Boyce bamboozled the batters with his leg spin often turning it square.

Frank Vickery, Alan Law and Rafferty tidied up the innings leaving Ebernoe 89 runs short and 8 wickets down.

Great performances from young and old

James Rainford

Click here for the full scorecard

Sunday Supplements vs Kirdford

Wisborough had a rare Sunday outing this week in a local derby game with Kirdford. As the Green is out of action, Kirdford took on home responsibility. Getting a Sunday side out has proved tricky this season, and with a few hours to go, we still only had 8 players. However, a few texts in the right direction and an unexpected call from former 1st Team captain and legend of the game, James Sadler – we suddenly had a team. 12 even.

Kirdford clearly enjoy a relaxed start to their Sunday games. The whole Wisborough team were at the ground before any of the home side. They quickly rolled a rope around the perimeter (with a contraption that makes our “rope wheely bins” seem old school), stuck a few stumps in the middle and we were good to go.

Toss lost, we were put into bat. A youthful opening pair of Will Dixon and Harry Hunter set off like the clappers. 31-0 off the first 4 overs with Will on 28 and Harry yet to score. To be fair Harry had only faced 2 balls and would spend the rest of the innings carving the ball to all corners. Will’s short sharp knock came to an end when he played on, bringing Oscar Warmington to the crease. Oscar looked suitably comfortable until he skied one to mid wicket on 9. Tim Dent hung around nicely, supporting Harry with a hard grafted 12 before being given out LBW.

Enter the main event. James Sadler strode out to the middle, Botham-esque like a gladiator at The Colosseum. An illustrious career behind him, his only innings in recent years was a fine knock on Wittering beach, that ended when the ball was lost at sea. A few swing and misses while he adjusted from sand to a grass wicket, and then he was off. Rolling back the years, Sadler caressed, stroked and hoiked the ball past the awestruck fielders. Still nimble on his feet, he was eventually stumped for 27, so far out of his ground he’d nearly crossed with the non striker.

**James Sadler – still got it after all these years …**

**The master caressing the ball to all parts of the ground ….**

**The face of a man who enjoyed showing how its done ..**

At the other end Harry Hunter was quietly amassing his top score in Wisborough colours. A relatively slow start accelerated into a swashbuckling innings. A beautiful misfield on the boundary rope turned a single into the 4 he needed for his first ever half centrury. Bat raised to acknowledge the crowd he had a smile visible from space. A richly deserved 54 not out from someone who trains and makes himself available more than anybody.

**Harry Hunter acknowledges the crowd after reaching his maiden half century**

**We suspect that Harry may have enjoyed his knock ….**

167 seemed a fair total to defend in 30 overs. After a BYO tea, Wisborough walked out to field only to realise we hadn’t assigned a wicketkeeper. Kami Witheridge immediately put his hand up to wear the gloves (borrowed from the opposition) – much to the disgust of his son Kit, who would be opening the bowling to him. Kit needn’t have worried as his old man proved to have a super safe pair of hands. He took a fine caught behind later in the innings. Special mention to umpire extraordinaire Peter Klein who took the opportunity to don his whites. Always busy in the field in his trademark black Wisborough cap, he resisted the urge to give anyone out from short extra cover.

**A determined Kit Witheridge in action with the ball**

**Kami showing some great skill behind the stumps**

A flurry of early wickets from Kit (3) and Oscar Warmington (2), suggested Kirdford wouldn’t get anywhere near our total. However their middle order proved stubborn and gradually the runs crept up. A number of balls flew into the hedges, never to be seen again. Will Dixon and Ollie Warmington tightened things up along with a few overs from batting hero Harry. With 8 runs needed off the final 2 overs, it was nail-biting stuff.

**Will Dixon in action under the watchful eye of James Sadler**

**Oscar Warmington in his Baggy Green – looking like a young Pat Cummins**

**Oscar about to unleash another unplayable ball ..**

**Fresh from his 4 wicket haul on Saturday where he took wickets for fun, Ollie Warmington pictured toying with the ball …**

**Great fielding from Tim Dent as usual …**

**As happy as ever on a cricket field and the cap still fits. Justsaying ….**

However, wickets kept tumbling, and with two run outs in the penultimate over – Wisborough brought home the bacon. A tight finish to a fantastic game played in a great spirit. Sunday cricket is alive and kicking. There are far worse ways to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Click here for the full scorecard

Photos and report by Chris Marshall

Team selections

Please click here for our senior team selections for this weekend’s senior games.

Spotted at Wembley stadium

Whilst most of us watched the Ladies Euros final on our TV screens on Sunday, one of our under 15 players Jasmin Johnston-Jones was lucky enough to be there in person. Jasmin, who is an accomplished footballer herself and has trained with Brighton and Chelsea, was a flag bearer for the England games at the Brighton stadium.

Perhaps you could come and watch all our Wisborough Green Cricket club games in future Jasmin ? Justsaying ….