Welcome to this week’s Wizzy news

Lots to report on this week including the President’s X1 squad for the game on Sunday and news about who would be crowned Champions of North Sussex as the Under 16’s took on Lingfield.

Friday night training

Just a quick reminder that our Under 5, 6 and 7, under 8, under 9 and all girls age groups have finished their training for the season. All the other age groups will continue their informal training sessions on Friday evening as usual.

President’s Day – Sunday 6th August

Sunday is President’s Day and I’m delighted to say that since last week a Women’s’ game has been organised. This is fantastic and will be a great prelude to the match v Kongonis. The match will start about 10 and will feature a Wisborough Green team playing a Barbarians team made up of players from other local teams. It will be great to see the newest part of the club represented on the day and am pleased it is happening.

The team to play Kongonis is below. As it is my last year as President, I wanted to put together a team that represented the club and my association with it over the last 20 years. It’s a bit like something old, something new etc …… The team and reason for selection is outlined below and I look forward to the weather being kind and a game taking place. We need Andy Zaltzman to confirm whether this is the tallest team that has ever represented the club but I believe it is.  If the weather is less than clement, please come down as lunch has been bought and it would be great to celebrate the club and meet with supporters of it, old and new.

Name	Cricketing Skills	Reason for inclusion
Hugo March	Left arm opening bowler and impressive batsman if his girlfriend is watching	We all remember Justin Grant who was our first overseas player. Hugo was a young lad at the time, but his joy of cricket was fostered over those two years where he was regularly seen in the nets with Justin and the senior team.  Great to have him playing .
Will Dixon	RH batsman and right arm bowler. Destined for greater things on the cricket field	The Dixon clan is the backbone of the club with all 5 members of the family representing WGCC. Will is destined for greater cricketing things. He is a former Karn Smith award winner and scored his first senior hundred earlier in the year. Perfectly suited for Bazball, so your opportunities to see him may be limited as he gets better and better, and new cricketing avenues open up for him.
Chris Douglas	RH bat / right arm bowler	Great addition to the club this year. The only player who has consistently performed this year with the bat in the Firsts. Good fielder and solid bowler as well. Hopefully, he will be the core of the side for many seasons to come. An instant hit and a good bloke to boot.
Junior Rainford	RH bat/ RH bowler. First team captain	One of the good guys. A fantastic bowler who routinely beats the bat and an underestimated bat. Scored a 100 when I was his skipper and I think I have returned the favour. I have had the honour of playing with him for the last few seasons, shining the ball to his liking and chatting tactics with him which occasionally come off.
Nick Klein	RH bat/ RH bowler – Ifold’s finest.	Nick was one of the junior group I looked after on a Friday night which was my introduction to WGCC that led to me playing cricket again. He has been a junior Sussex player and went to Horsham for a while, but his heart has remained in Wisborough. He regularly makes the trip back from London to play. Head of the banter brigade and an explosive bat on his day
Jonny Farmer Captain	RH Bassetts bowler, RH bat aka “the wall”   A legend in his own lounge	Farms and his father have been associated with the club for many years. He was in the team the first year I played. I have captained him when he was the “best bowler in West Sussex”, and he has captained me when I was top run scorer for the firsts. Ex neighbour and all round WGCC enthusiast. Real reason for inclusion; Sammi and Sofia will come along too.
Matt Watts	RH bat and RH bowler	Matt has been part of the club for the last few years and an incredible supporter of it. His business is one of our major sponsors, and as president I thank the sponsors who allow our club to flourish. A hard-hitting batsman who unfortunately fell one short of his first hundred for WGCC earlier this year and a capable bowler. I batted with Matt in his first match on the green.
DJ Dominique	Wkt/ RH bat / RH bowler	Another of the original U10s team I was involved in who has batted every position for the 1s, has bowled and has kept wicket. A fantastic fielder and another member of the banter club.
Tommy Colbran	RH bat/ RH bowler	Even more variety of slow balls than farms and a good bat. Glad to see him back playing a few games this year. The Colbrans have been fantastic supporters of the club, Andy has been fantastic a tour de force particularly  the major charity events we have run and Joel and Tommy have both played for teams I have captained.
Josh Dixon	LH bat/ RH bowler	A regular player for Sussex and one of the most popular people in the cricket club. I coached him as an U10 and he made his senior league debut when I was captain of the 2s . Always full of enthusiasm and never short of an appeal!
Dan Vickery/ James Newman	Off spin and RH bat (both)	Both come from recent WGCC cricket clubs’ dynasties with fathers who were stalwarts of the club. I played with both fathers and Ken was my first captain. I captained both Ken and John later in their careers and memorably Johns last game – where he responded to a desperate plea to play; I think at Bognor. Jimmer and Dan have been regular opening batting partners over the last couple of years. So, we have met in the middle of the wicket to offer each other useless advice many a time. The decision rests on what happens on Saturday as to who will make the cut
12th men Harry Hunter/ Ash  Perry	RH bat and RH bowler (both)	Harry hit the winning runs last year in Presidents Day and is a former Karn Smith trophy winner. He is now regularly playing for the senior sides and Ash is a new player this year who is a real team player. He bowls off spin with one or two mystery balls and can hit powerfully as a batsman

Timetable for the day :

• Please arrive from 11.30 to mix and mingle
• There will be a relaxed bbq lunch from midday for players
• Cricket will start at 13.00
• All to enjoy their lunch from 13.00 onwards
• Cricket tea will be provided for the players and our Kongonis guests
• BBQ will be available for purchase of food throughout the day
• Game will finish at 19.00

During the day there will be the third Century Club draw of the year so for those who aren’t involved please click on the following link and join in the fun : Century Club info

We look forward to seeing you and your families on the day

Steve Calder Smith

Club President

Honours Boards

Congratulations to all those who made it onto the Board this week

Match reports –

First X1 vs Broadwater

Blues and Twos of Broadwater not enough to revive leaving Wisborough leaving them feeling blue with two points

Wisbrough Green won the toss and batted first.

Chris Douglas batting at 4 came to the crease early and batted well throughout the innings scoring 63. Wickets would fall at the over end with no one else getting into double figures. There were ducks for Will Dixon, Ash Perry and Ran Dawson and 6 a total of 6 people bowled. Another comedy runout between Douglas and the skipper and before you knew it Wisborough were all out for 99. Tim Dent left stranded without partners at the other end.

In response Jnr and Chris failed to take any early wickets. Ash Perry and Matt Ritchie both bowled well. Ash teasing out three wickets with guile and spin. Matt Ritchie kept it tight at the other with good pace and took one wicket when Tim Dent took a blinding catch at third man.

Unfortunately it was not enough as Broadwater knocked off the runs 4 down, just as secret weapon DJ was gonna come on to bowl spin.

Another loss for Green. Can it get worse? Find out next week.

Please click here for the full scorecard

James Rainford (who’s looking forward to writing a more positive match report … )

Second X1 vs Worthing

The Second X1 hosted Worthing with a much improved forecast. The Summer of 23 becoming quite the one to forget!

The Green had a good mix of experience and youth, and it was a pleasure to have Tom & son Freddie Jenkins appearing on the Green for the first time – a long time in waiting. Also a debut for young Monty Palmer who rolled out of bed ready for action and Mark Wadey who had made the correct move over the Bridge from Billingshurst.

Top Tosser Farmer yet again lost the toss and Worthing elected to bat. Sitting top of the league they wanted to put a total on the board and apply the pressure on The Green.

The score was on 18 when TJ (Tom Jenkins) struck – the opener getting struck on the glove which then made him strangely hit the ball up in the air to Mark at Mid On, but a wicket is a wicket. Raff opened up the hill, and was unlucky on multiple occasions not to remove either of the batsmen.

Farmer brought himself into the attack and struck removing the other opener caught behind – a strange scene as the batsmen started to walk, but Peter K shook his head as if to say not out. Dan behind the stumps thanked the batsmen as he tried to come back in, to which he turned back around and headed to the Pav. Good sport. PK not wanting to be in the game I hear you say…

Farmer then followed up by bowling the number 4 without scoring. 55/3. Worthing didn’t panic however – especially their number 3 Beresford, who was scoring freely and putting the bad balls away.

Chris Marshall was called upon and it was Raff who took the catch of the day as the batsman launched a huge blow into the outfield and Raff calmly set himself and took a great grab. A wicket and lifeline for The Green, but the Worthing batsmen kept on coming, and the ball landing in multiple gaps/ruts/trenches.

Mark Wadey on debut removed Beresford for a well made 88, and Raff the other set batsmen. Worthing finished the innings on 245. Special mentions to Mark for avoiding a ball that looked set to the face off the Wisborough dodgy outfield, (JF wobbles his head in disgust)

A Cricket Tea was had…the end of that report.

Wis then headed out to the middle. Dan V and Chrissy F, rolling back the years, set off with a plan to ‘smash the ball to all parts’. This plan was so good, that when Farmer looked up to the scoreboard, it was on 8 after two balls, Vickery’s stumps were then on the floor… Bazball fail. D Vicks claiming a huge 1 foot jag backer. The reality maybe inches, but he’s always struggled with those sorts of measurements …

Chris Marshall was then sent in as number three to steady the ship but sadly the ship was moored. Worthing bowled with great control and both Chris’s struggled to score freely. Franny hit a few boundaries before departing.

Captain Farmer had a mountain to climb with the score on 36/3, and it was the youth who had to dig in too, with Dexter, Raff, Monty and Freddie all doing their bit – each hitting some fine strokes. The Worthing bowlers were just a bit too good on the day.

Farmer managed a few hefty blows before falling for 43, and it was TJ who managed to smash a quick 19 on one leg with the 2s managing to finish on 134 all out.

It has to be said that Worthing were a very young side who look to be walking to the league title. Congrats to them and good luck to them for the rest of the season.

Please click here for the full scorecard

Jonny Farmer

Women’s team vs Slinfold

The Women’s team welcomed a fired up Slinfold team fresh from their victory in the tournament on the Green a couple of weeks prior.

With many of the Wisborough ladies on holiday, a number of younger players were drafted into the fold.

Skipper Fiona Green won the toss and elected to bat.

Olivia Boyce and Natalie Ayling got The Green off to a good start with some great shots and quick running between the wickets. Natalie had her own ‘Jonny Bairstow moment’ after she had a wonder out of the crease at the non strikers end – only to be spotted by the eagle eyed Slinfold bowler. Cricket can be a cruel game sometimes ….

Tessa and Fiona continued the good work by keeping the scoreboard ticking along with Tessa in particular effortlessly playing some really good looking shots onto the offside. Bella Boyce and Nadia came in next and it was clear from the outset that Bella wasnt in the mood to mess around, hitting some wonderful cover drives.

Mum and daughter Jackie and Ellie Foster finished off the innings with some quick running between the wickets. Wisborough posted a respectable 315 on the board – the highest score by a Wisborough Green team.

Slinfold came in to bat sensing that it was a tough ask. Olivia Boyce opened the bowling with a great display of fast and accurate bowling that Slinfold skipper Keri Murrell, a prolific striker of the ball, struggled to put away. The Wisborough fielders did a great job of keeping Keri off strike to ensure that that the runs were minimised.

All the Wisborough bowlers stuck to their task diligently as they bowled with great accuracy trying to avoid the inevitable wides. Wickets tumbled as the bowlers found their mark and the Slinfold innings petered out as the batters struggled against a good Wisborough bowling attack.

Pick of the bowlers were Ellie for her pace bowling and Nadia for her accuracy and use of the crease by bowling around the wicket.

Special mention must go to Ellie for some outstanding fielding as she sprinted across the field like a young springbok across the African bushveld. The picture would have been complete had she worn her Springbok rugby jersey. What a shame she prefers playing golf. Sigh ….

A really good perfomance by the ladies team who were convincing winners by 90 runs and who improve with every game. Even better was seeing everyone playing with a smile on their face. To think that many of the ladies just wanted to come along and give it a go for one week. Whoever said that cricket was a boring game …

Many thanks to Bex for getting the team together and bringing some food and drink for the players even though she wasnt playing. Thanks to all the ladies for their contributions to the food which was enjoyed by all and a big thank you to Playcricket scoring expert Fiona Boyce.

Please click here for the full scorecard

Peter Klein

Under 16’s – the journey continues

Wisborough U16s show great character to win tightly contested match to top the North Sussex League

The Wiz hosted Lingfield on an overcast Sunday morning with rain expected later that morning. Will won the toss and decided to bat first to avoid batting in the wet.

Ran and Will opened the innings and Wis got off to a flyer with Ran dispatching the opening over with a huge six over mid off (shot of the day). He however fell soon later off a good delivery from the other opening bowler for a quick made 13. This led to Harry coming in to bat. Will and Harry had a good partnership with a good mix of boundaries and pushing the field, adding to a good run rate with some help from some generous bowling. However, the pressure got to Hunter and was caught going for a big one. Will retired on 50 soon after, needing for another partnership to keep the runs ticking. This was provided by Matt Ritchie and Will Reed who both played extremely well all over the ground. This late combination led to a decent score of 170 off 25 overs. The Wis needed to bowl well though to stay in the game.

Lingfield started well and played our opening bowlers well, a lot better than teams in our prior league, leading to a nervous start. This was before Ran came on first change and took a big wicket off his first ball of the day, a jaffer caught behind. Their number 3 batsmen enjoyed guiding the ball behind square and eventually missed a straight one off the bowling of Will Reed, only a matter of time. The opener and number 4 batsmen had a good partnership at one point scaring Wis with them bang on the run rate with wickets in hand. However the retirement of the opener released the pressure a bit.

Number 5 batsman was out first ball due to the combination of Rafferty Finn brilliance and a disputed decision made by one of the officials. An LBW that some thought was middled by the batsman yet the Wis skipper stuck with the appeal, so the number 5 bat departed the field disappointed. We had hit the tail of Lingfield and with tight death bowling we kept the run rate down, winning the game by 18 runs.

A huge win for the Wis against a very strong oppo, the result could have gone either way but the Wis performed when it mattered – huge credit to everyone involved.

Please click here for the full scorecard

Will Dixon (Captain)

Reflections of the journey – under 16 coach and manager Tarnie Dixon

It has been absolutely thrilling to see the progress of the Wisborough U16’s Team this season. The quality of the cricket played and the resilience of the team in tight match situations has been outstanding.

Our first match was against Horsham at home and with limited availability due to exams we had the closest of games with Horsham winning by 4 runs in the final over. Thereafter we have been victorious in every other match beating West Chiltington twice by 22 runs and 7 runs respectively in two very competitive games – the second of which we were bowled out for 97 off 23 overs and we bowled them out for 90 off 22 overs – this could not have been a more exciting game to watch. We beat Horsham away on their main ground by 4 runs with our bowlers at the end containing the batsmen superbly.

We recorded more comfortable wins against Slinfold, Steyning and Ifield and emerged winners of the West division of the North League having won 6 of our 7 games. This is a remarkable achievement considering we were competing with much larger clubs such as Horsham and West Chiltington in the West League. As a result of this success our most recent match has been against the winners of the East division of the North League namely Lingfield which we played last Sunday on the green. You can read the match report however this was another stunning and close contest where either team could have come out on top however with some top-quality bowling at the end Wisborough won by 18 runs.

It has been a real pleasure to be associated with this team and see them all grow as people and cricketers over the years. I have been enormously impressed with the way they support each other especially with younger players who have contributed ably throughout the season such as Buddy Edwards, Hector Dawson, and Harry Maggs. It takes great heart, spirit, and belief to win so many close games against strong opposition. Many congratulations and very well done to you all and we look forward to the Sussex Champions League Semi-Finals.

Tarnie Dixon

Thanks to Chris Marshall for the great pics

Upcoming Fixtures this week

• Our First X1 are at home to at Middleton at 12:30 on Saturday and our Second X1 are away to Ifield at 1pm. Please click here for the team selections
• Our Ladies team are taking on a combined Petworth, Billingshurst and West Chiltington ‘Barbarians’ team at 10am on Sunday morning and the Presidents X1 will be taking on the visiting Kenya Kongolis Team at 1pm in the afternoon.

Spotted out and about

That’s it for this week.

Have a great cricketing week 🏏😊

Cheers

Wizzy