England League and Cup Discussion

[spark]

M. Rorke (rfs) 8-0-50-1, C. Schwartz 40 (30b), T. Ames 1 (1b)
End of over 40 (10 runs) - Ruff Royals(206-6) RR 5.15

A pretty good effort on an uneven pitch although I thought we might have been able to score even quicker as we had only lost 1 wicket in the first 28 overs or so. Durham scored 66, Obuya 47, and Schwartz 40 not out.

The bowlers are doing excellently so far.

G. Pithey (lf) 2-1-1-3, E. Regent 0 (2b), G. Tsakiris 0 (0b)
End of over 4 (maiden) - Sledgingshire(7-4). 200 runs required from 36 overs. RR 1.75 RRR 5.56

Pithey is still 16.

[spark]

Sledgingshire Ruff Royals
Batting - Top Order 6,571 7,398
Batting - Middle Order 4,301 6,802
Batting - Tail 3,444 4,761
Bowling - Seam 6,152 (24) 6,172 (24)
Bowling - Spin 6,619 (16) 7,289 (16)
Fielding/Keeping 8,252 8,455
Overall 110,274 129,548

Ruff Royals won by 67 runs

Delap took 4-29 but that was batters in the number 7 postion or lower so I think the star of the bowling was 16-year-old Pithey with 3 wickets for 7 runs in his 4 overs.

[spark]

J. Westerveld (rfs) 10-0-88-3, A. Hyland 1 (1b), C. Hardgrave 131 (92b)
End of over 50 (13 runs) - Inchigeela Angels(357-6) RR 7.14

Flat pitch and we were rubbish with the ball.

A. Hyland (rfs) 5-0-31-1, W. Mills 56 (50b), R. Schneider 0 (8b)
End of over 19 (1 run) - Ruff Royals(113-5). 245 runs required from 31 overs. RR 5.95 RRR 7.90

Arguably, we've been even worse with the bat. It's going to be a huge loss and a blow to our net run rate which we might not be able to overcome. Relegation is that little bit more likely now with the size of this defeat.

[spark]

Inchigeela Angels Ruff Royals
Batting - Top Order 14,477 13,873
Batting - Middle Order 13,798 11,642
Batting - Tail 6,089 4,336
Bowling - Seam 13,633 (30) 14,022 (30)
Bowling - Spin 14,356 (20) 13,256 (20)
Fielding/Keeping 17,622 17,237
Overall 253,849 235,364

Inchigeela Angels won by 105 runs

In the end we did well to get it as 'close' as it was. It was only Mills who dragged our batting up with a fantastic 152 which was his highest total yet. More of that kind of batting from Mills would be appreciated.

I'd like to think that'll be our worst defeat of the season. It drops us into the relegation zone.

[eagles123]

Bathaloner v South London's Number One CC >> Match Ratings
Match Ratings
Bathaloner South London's Number One CC
Batting - Top Order 14,222 13,639
Batting - Middle Order 12,136 10,764
Batting - Tail 9,067 4,736
Bowling - Seam 13,196 (40) 13,736 (30)
Bowling - Spin 13,746 (10) 12,711 (20)
Fielding/Keeping 16,305 16,387
Overall 248,082 227,618

Really wasn't expecting anything from this one, but even still it was a truly hopeless performance. Managed only 120 on slow/cloudy, and Bathaloner chased that down just after drinks for the loss of one (run out) wicket. A pretty dismal effort, hopefully we can put on a better show next week against Snakey in what seems like a crucial relegation battle even at this early stage of the season.

[spark]

O. Delap (lfs) 2-0-11-0, C. Herbert 35 (25b), M. Dundas 72 (48b)
End of over 12 (5 runs) - Oxhey Players(108-0) RR 9.00

This is a crumbling pitch so it's not going great and, effectively, we've already lost. Just the 4 drops so far to reliable+ fielders and I would expect us to rate about 2k more in fielding than they do.

[spark]

Oxhey Players won by 56 runs

Oxhey Players Ruff Royals
Batting - Top Order 8,792 7,048
Batting - Middle Order 7,347 6,919
Batting - Tail 3,964 4,727
Bowling - Seam 7,366 (8) 6,172 (12)
Bowling - Spin 8,089 (12) 7,436 (8)
Fielding/Keeping 6,313 8,450
Overall 134,390 128,791

I guess our fielding makes the ratings look like we were more evenly matched than we were. Superior bowling and the superior top order were the real difference.

Sadly, despite our fielding they still caught more and dropped less than we did. We did marginally better on the great fielding and misfields but only by about 1 or 2.

[wolfberries]

wolfberries Captain Speccy's Muppets
Batting - Top Order 5,173 5,679
Batting - Middle Order 4,030 4,984
Batting - Tail 3,182 3,219
Bowling - Seam 6,095 (12) 6,647 (20)
Bowling - Spin 3,446 (8) 0 (0)
Fielding/Keeping 7,963 6,601
Overall 95,427 105,353

Result: Captain Speccy's Muppets won by 8 wickets

Another loss, as expected.

[wolfberries]

Home Camberwell Carrots
Away wolfberries
Ground Camberwell Carrots CG
League Twenty20 2.1
Date 04 Jul 23 10:00
Crowd 12,733
Weather Hot
Pitch Uneven

Toss: wolfberries won the toss and elected to bat.

[spark]

Home Ruff Royals
Away Ffoh
Ground Ruff Royals CG
League Twenty20 1.1
Date 04 Jul 23 10:00
Crowd 18,559
Weather Hot
Pitch Slow

It's unusual for me but I actually wanted to bat first in a T20 game. Of course, I lost the toss so I'm bowling first.

Edit: Apparently, I can't read as we won the toss and are batting first.

[spark]

Ruff Royals won by 36 runs

Ruff Royals Ffoh
Batting - Top Order 13,732 14,463
Batting - Middle Order 11,453 13,097
Batting - Tail 4,309 8,397
Bowling - Seam 13,923 (12) 13,215 (12)
Bowling - Spin 12,957 (8) 12,743 (8)
Fielding/Keeping 16,914 16,388
Overall 232,097 249,729

That's a very pleasing win. 38 for McCall and 49 not out for House saw us to a decent total of 161.

We kept it tight with the ball and then took some quick wickets fairly early on to take control of the match. Schneider picked up numbers 4-7 to finish with figures of 4-28. We didn't manage to bowl them out but had them 8 down with more than 4 overs left.

The aim this season is to avoid relegation but we somehow find ourselves top of the league. 8 points clear of the relegation zone but I still think we need another 4 wins.

[eagles123]

If theres grass on the Wicket v South London's Number One CC >> Match Ratings
Match Ratings
If theres grass on the Wicket South London's Number One CC
Batting - Top Order 13,991 12,611
Batting - Middle Order 9,520 10,383
Batting - Tail 5,180 4,665
Bowling - Seam 12,313 (16) 12,908 (16)
Bowling - Spin 12,701 (4) 9,266 (4)
Fielding/Keeping 14,834 15,710
Overall 216,046 214,006

won the toss and had a bowl on Uneven/Hot. Opps posted 138/7 in their 20, which seemed about par for the conditions, Olise being our standout bowler with very economical figures of 4 - 0 - 12 - 2. Fortunately we always seemed to be in control during the chase, half-centuries of Van Den Bergh with 54 (39) and captain Dann with an unbeaten 73* (54) saw us to a fairly comfortable 7 wicket win with 10 balls remaining.

Hopefully some of our more important players can recover fatigue in time for a crucial one day game on Friday!

[spark]

Ruff Royals Castle Rock CC
Batting - Top Order 7,482 6,947
Batting - Middle Order 6,962 5,575
Batting - Tail 5,276 3,410
Bowling - Seam 6,373 (24) 6,534 (30)
Bowling - Spin 7,610 (16) 7,549 (10)
Fielding/Keeping 8,522 7,440
Overall 133,514 116,578

Ruff Royals won by 6 wickets

Slow pitch and I thought we might have let them get too many when they scored 202. Delap celebrated getting into the 30-man Ireland U20 squad with 3-25. 67 not out for Schwartz and 48 not out for Bennett meant we chased down there total with less than 2 overs to spare.

We're still 4 points of top spot.

[spark]

Ruff Royals Trevor Francis Tracksuit
Batting - Top Order 13,767 14,450
Batting - Middle Order 11,483 13,154
Batting - Tail 4,190 6,215
Bowling - Seam 13,844 (30) 14,780 (30)
Bowling - Spin 12,965 (20) 13,048 (20)
Fielding/Keeping 16,872 17,940
Overall 231,651 253,319

Ruff Royals won by 6 wickets

These are the sort of wins we'll need to keep getting if we are going to save ourselves from relegation.

Westerveld picked up 4 wickets on this slow pitch, Roberson 3 and Schneider 2. Whitehead scored a battling 39 but it was a 99 run partnership between McCall and Clarke that got us the win. McCall ended 52 not out and Clarke 46 not out.

We're 4 points clear of the relegation zone.

[eagles123]

South London's Number One CC v Snakey's Kent Stars >> Match Ratings
Match Ratings
South London's Number One CC Snakey's Kent Stars
Batting - Top Order 13,575 13,610
Batting - Middle Order 11,352 12,289
Batting - Tail 4,865 5,195
Bowling - Seam 12,964 (50) 14,184 (30)
Bowling - Spin 0 (0) 13,225 (20)
Fielding/Keeping 16,453 16,190
Overall 228,483 236,758

felt like something of a must-win today if we're to stand a chance of avoiding relegation. Won the toss and opted to bowl on uneven/sunny. Looked like a poor decision when opps openers racked up a 178 run opening stand (3 dropped catches didn't help), and their 266/3 they ended with certainly felt above par. However in reply our keeper Whitworth played a blinding knock, hitting an unbeaten 123* (132). Ably supported by most of the other bats, it meant we emerged with a 6 wicket win with 2.2 overs remaining!

Certainly wasn't expecting to win after the opps mammoth opening stand, but a wonderful innings from Whitworth saved us, and gets us our second win of the season. Still a long way to go, but 2 wins out of 4 is a good start to the season and gives us some hope that a miracle could occur in terms of survival this season!