Wallop get Walloped

The task was made more difficult when skipper Nathan Young lost the toss and was put in to bat on an 'interesting' wicket. The experiment of opening with Matt Guilfoyle ended after only 2 balls as he was clean bowled by a ball that didn't bounce.

John Jakeman followed shortly after when he top edged one that jumped off a good length. Thankfully Dave Langford managed to steady the ship in a string of productive partnerships, first with Craig Beckingham (11), then later with Alex Gladwyn (24), and the quick scoring Nathan Young (38). Eventually Langford was out for 55 trying to push the score along, this allowed Stuart Norridge to come to crease and fire a rapid 12.

154 looked to be a fairly decent score on this lively wicket, and so it proved with wickets falling at regular intervals. Mark Pettman bowled a very good line and length to finish with (10-3-13). Guilfoyle (10-1-24) and Norridge (9-2-34) also made great use of the facilities before Young (7-3-19) brought himself back to restrict Wallop to 127 for 9.

The win sees Wherwell move to joint top in the table and puts even more importance on next weeks clash with local rivals Longparish.

Wherwell tame Shrewton

Wherwell entertained mid table Shrewton on Saturday and following recent strong run chases Nathan Young had no hesitation at the toss when he elected to field first. He immediately showed the decision was right as he removed the opener for 2, with Mark Pettman sidelined through injury Craig Beckingham took the new ball and showed the kind of control that saw him top the league averages 3 seasons ago. Wherwell picked up regular wickets and only a spirited 57 not out from Ross Wilson-Harris enabled the visitors to post a below par 151 for 9. Wherwell showed a much improved fielding performance capped by a fine run out from Scott Blackmore and a stunning reflex catch at slip from Ryan Young. The bowlers all shared the wickets with Nathan taking 2 for 21 from 8 and Stuart Norridge 2 for 28 from 7.

In reply Wherwell agin lost an early wicket but John Jakeman came in at 3 and batted well with Adi Holdway before trying to pull a short ball and lobbing a catch for 8, this brotught in Dave Langford who picked up from his previous weeks 45 not out and started to chase Holdway between the wickets. Holdway survived being caught off a no ball but was finally removed for 48 with the pair having put on 100, this dismissal gave Alex Gladwyn the chance to finish the innings and with Langford safely past 50 Gladwyn accelerated the end with his customary flurry of boundaries to end 20 not out and with Langford 58 not out the home side ran out victorious by 7 wickets.

On the back of other results in the division Wherwell now find themselves 2nd just behind local rivals Longparish, these 2 meet at Wherwell on Saturday 31st July and this is shaping up to be a big macth.

Farley Vs Wherwell

Wherwell travelled to Farley hoping for an early finish to enable them to watch the world cup final. Wherwell started poorly though by losing the toss and were asked to bat first. Matt Guilfoyle and Nathan Young opened the batting, Young was searching for some form, however his stay didn’t last long as he looked like a rabbit in headlights, Alex Gladwyn joined Guilfoyle and they gradually settled down. Runs started to flow almost at will untill Gladwyn succumbed to full toss. This brought the inform Taylor to the crease and he really didn’t hang about scoring a quick fire 54 from 42 balls. Guilfoyle 44 supported him brilliantly. The Sunday run machine that is Mark Pettman held the tail together scoring 41, getting out in the last over. Wherwell finally reaching a competetive 244 all out.

Quick and brief teas were taken and Taylor and Beckingham opened the bowling, Beckingham took 2 wickets but after some heavy appealing it looked like 2 days running Wherwell were not going to get the luck they worked hard for, 4 or 5 drops later the skipper turned to the spin of Gladwyn and Ryan Young, this slowed down the run rate and proved to be a masterstroke as the run rate went down from 9 a over to 5, But once again further drop catches made it hard work. A couple of wickets from Gladwyn and one from Young made it seem like Wherwell could just about scrape a win. Beckingham came back into the bowling and first ball produced a moment to remember, a short rank long hop got drilled straight to Robbie Gladwyn at short cover and he showed the rest of the team how to catch. This sparked a massive Wherwell comeback. Farley needed 24 from 4 overs and could only get 6 runs from the 4 overs.

Wherwell do it the hard way, Again...

They say you should avoid a wounded dog, Wherwell travelled the short distance to Penton who this season have not had the best of times. Having been bowled out for 18 2 weeks ago by the team beaten by Wherwell the previous weekend losing the toss on an apparently flat dry strip seemed not to unduly worry Nathan Young. The dog decided to bite back and the opening exchanges were won by the bat, the ball pierced the field and raced to the boundary as both J. Hunter (30) and M.Gibbs (67) made solid starts, both survived regular appeals but once again it was the change to spin that got Wherwell involved. Alex Gladwyn on his return to Penton made the breakthrough when having Gibbs well caught at slip, not to be out done Holdway clean bowled Hunter then had the number 4 for a 3 ball duck. As the “spin twins” twirled away runs gradually dried up and having looked likely to post over 200 it was thanks to Adam Cooks late flourish that the home side made it to 170 for 5 at the close. Gladwyn finished with 2 for 30 from 8 and Holdway 3 for 18 from 10.

So after the break Wherwell needed to start well, unfortunately Holdway had a rare failure but Craig Beckingham looked set and in partnership with John Jakeman the runs began to flow. Jakeman fell for 24 with the score on 58, this brought Dave Langford to the crease and after a few settling in nerves had cleared he started to show the kind of stroke play that was regular in the previous season, Beckingham though was not prepared to play second fiddle, he passed 50 with a 4 and then to make sure the scorers had it right hit the next 2 balls also for 4 to bring up the Wherwell 100. Wherwell pressed on and with a run rate of over 5 an over were soon close to completing a comprehensive win. With 2 runs required Beckingham decided he’d rather walk off alone and get an early shower so chipped a simple catch to cover which ended his innings on 84, this left Langford with the honour of the winning run and he obliged with a beautifully timed cut through point for 4 to finish 45 not out and see his side to a 7 wicket win.

	Dave Langford on his way to 45

Wherwell Old Guard take on League Leaders

Breamore travelled to Wherwell as unbeaten leaders for a 1st versus 5th encounter, having had a strong start to the season the home side were hit by unavailability and dug deep into the squad to find a team that included 4 players with more playing experience than the remaining 7 had been alive. So when Nathan Young won the toss and elected to bowl a few limbs creaked their disapproval but got into the old routine as a matter of instinct.

Mark Pettman and Young opened the bowling and Mark was rewarded with an early wicket when a flashing edge was plucked from the air by the ever youthful Holdway at 2nd slip. The batsmen briefly tried to take control but by bowling tight lines they were restricted to only the occasional boundary and rarely looked to be generating momentum, patience finally ran out and the wickets started to fall. Pettman bowled his 10 straight through taking 3 for 40, his spell over lapped that of Adi Holdway and after much discussion his bowling produced the stand out moment of the day when he positioned the skipper in the line of fire at short cover to face the visitors most destructive bowling, The ball was placed invitingly outside off-stump and the batsman filled his boots for a split second it was a 4 then the hands of young ended this hope with a 2 take reflex catch. From here on Wherwell were on top, catches were held notably the skipper with 3, and with only 3 batsmen making notable contributions all falling in the 30s it was a disappointment to the home side when they allowed the visitors to make 162 before wrapping up the innings off the penultimate ball.

In reply Colin Hitchings and Adi Holdway started well, the timing was good but a misjudgement and a dropped bat lead to Hitchings being run out by a tremendous throw from the deep. Beckingham in at 3 steadied the innings with Holdway but with half the runs in the bank both went in quick succession for scores of 33 and 31 respectively, and with the returning Simon Roberts falling for 0 Wherwell were suddenly 4 down and still needing 70 runs. Ryan Young though looked solid and with Alex Gladwyn looked to steady the ship, they took the score to 120 before Gladwyn fell, Nathan Young then pulled out of a big shot and with Stuart Norridge falling for cheaply Breamore sensed an unlikely victory. Paul Whyton joined Ryan Young and with 6 overs to play and 28 needed it looked like being a tight finish, some strong running in the penultimate over left the home side needing 6 from 6 to win, Young took a single first ball and when the next was floated up outside off stump Whyton accepted the gift and directed it to the cover boundary, the field came in with the scores tied but this was now Wherwells game and the honour of the winning run went again to Whyton with a straight driven 4.

So for the second week running Whewell had chased well and held their nerve, half way through the season and it’s 7 wins and 1 defeat. The captain is still smiling, “good teeth thanks to the insurance!”

Sun shines for a great day

This Sunday saw the 51st annual Brecknock match at Wherwell, now played as an all-day 20-20 double header.  Jamie Brecknock’s team lost the toss and went into the field in the morning when the temperature was already hitting 30 degrees. Wherwell came out to the batting crease with John ‘The Rock’ Jakeman who quickly reached his retirement limit of 25, but the Brecknock team replied with some great bowling from Ed Johnston 3 for 24 of 4 overs, limiting the Wherwell side to 119 all out. In reply the Brecknock team took to the bat and looked in control all the way with Ryan Young knocking off 26 in short order; they then went on the reach 120 with an over to spare.

After stopping for tea and football, the Brecknock team’s Number one bat Richard Rowles and number three bat Harry Trebert put on an impressive partnership both retiring on 25. Wherwell replied in the field to restrict the batting side to 108-6 using the awesome bowling of Mark Petman (3 for 6 off 3 overs). As the Brecknock team took to the field the Wherwell batting side always looked in control this time, with a few cheap Wherwell wickets (esp. Nathan Young) giving hope to the opposition. But despite some amazing action in the field (notably Richard Rowles with the catch of the day at silly mid-off) it wasn’t to be, and on their last wicket and with 2 overs to go Scott Blackmore came to the bat and scored an emphatic four through long-on to win.

So this year’s game was a draw, great cricket all round and over £800 raised for the Brecknock Hopsice. Wherwell now prepares for the Sid Rowles Charity Match on the 1st August and if the weather stays like this what a fantastic game that should be.

Holdway and Jakeman make hay in the sunshine

A tough trip to Hungerford on a hot day promised to be a major challenge for Wherwell. Having returned to winning ways last week they needed to produce a solid performance against a dengerous side to consolidate their league posistion. So having the pleasure of feilding first under a near perfect sky Wherwell looked initially unable to find a breakthrough as a true bounce and fast outfield returned value for shot making. Mark Pettman managed to get the first wicket with a leading edge well caught by Nathan Young but the scoreboard rattled along much due to the impressive stroke play of 15 year old J Rowell who contributed 61. Wherwell showed though that they have the adaptability to change tactics and the introduction of Adi Holdway once again chokedd the batting side, bowling 10 overs un-changed he took 2 wickets for only 10 runs as the home side moved from what had appeared to be a charge towards 250 to a last few over dash thanks to 31 not out from lloyd Ponsford that got them to 193 for 6 at the close.

Wherwell's run chase was hampered from the start by the inability to bat through injury of Craig Beckingham, his replacement as opener, Ed Marsh fell in the 2nd over and at 7 for 1 John Jakeman joined Holdway for what turned out to be a game changing partnership. Similar in stature if not style! the 2 jogged some long singles and punished anything wayward to keep Wherwell in touch with the run rate of just under 5 per over. Both players passed 50 to record the 100 partnership and when Jakeman eventually mis-cued a pull shot for 76 the pair had put on 155 together and Wherwell were in a strong position. Holdway decided to hit out and finally fell for a fine 89 but the contribution made left the pairing of Gladwyn and Langford to finish with a flourish and they certainly accepted the responsibilty as Langford placed the first ball of the penultimate over in the long on hedge to complete a 7 wicket victory.

Wherwell next face divisional leaders Breamore at home this Saturday

Wherwell Outclassed by men from the Manor

A young and inexperienced Wherwell side travelled down to Langley Manor on a glorious sun-filled day. Skipper Nathan Young won the toss and put his side into bat. Wherwell's openers started strong before S Taylor was caught and bowled for 17 This brought Adam Cook to the crease and he started hitting the ball to all areas of the pitch with a quickfire 31. The star batsman of the innings was Craig Beckingham who held the innings together with a fine 54 A late flurry of runs in the latter stages, notably from Robbie Skeates, pushed Wherwell to a respectable 205 off 40 overs.

After tea Wherwell started brightly and a tight opening spell from Mark Pettman and Nathan Young, with a wicket apiece (including a contender for catch of the season from S Taylor), ensured Wherwell were in with a fighting chance. Unfortunately Langley Manor were always on or above the required run rate and despite 2 wickets for Craig Beckingham in one over, their strength in depth was obvious and overpowering. A late wicket from Ollie Dodson was a small consolation for Wherwell, but Langley Manor reached the total of 206 with 9 overs to spare.

Wherwell Back on track

Following the disappointing performance of the previous week Nathan Young issued a call for improvement and from the moment he won the toss against Damerham he showed he meant business. Bowling first in tandem with Mark Pettman the visiting batsmen seemed unsure where they could score and this was made evident when a Young Slower ball cut through the defence and had enough pace to neatly remove the bails, this set a tone and Young attempted the same ball to subsequent batsmen during his painkiller supported spell of 8 overs 2 for 11.

With the introduction of pace off the ball Adi Holdway again showed the best policy is to aim to hit the stumps, in tandem with Ryan Young, Holdway turned his arm over for a 10 over stint returning 3 for 8 and as the final 6 overs approached the visitors had limped to 84 for 7 only a final blast from captain Mark Colborne with 33 got the total up to a below par 118 for 8.

In reply Wherwell started steadily but never looked in trouble as Beckingham (30) and Holdway (27) found loose balls plentiful and both looked set to reach 50 before impetuous shot selection saw them return to the pavilion early. Dave Langford looked comfortable and was middling the ball well before he too fell for 30, but unlike other games Wherwell weren’t going to let the wobble stop them and Alex Gladwyn having played a couple of uncustomary forward defensives appeared to have decided that an early night was needed and suddenly produced 5 boundaries to finish the match in style 20 not out. Wherwell ran out winners by 6 wickets.

Wherwell entertain Esso Fawley

Mark Pettman was this week’s captain and managed to lose the toss, but was asked to bat first. Wherwells’ batsmen strode out to the middle with a new opening partnership of Adam Cook & Nathan Young. Both managed to survive the first over something that hasn't happened for a while on Sundays. 2 overs later Young toed one in the air and was caught. Wherwell all looked around at each other wondering who was going to score the runs this week. But each batsman stepped up and did his part. Taylor scored quickly whilst Cook rotated the strike, Taylor went for one shot to many and sent a ball into orbit only for it to be taken at Mid on. Horne then joined Cook at the crease and this partnership was the backbone of Wherwell’s total. Horne played with style and grace something not seen regularly on Sundays, and raced into the 30's, Cook soon departed for a career high of 30 when he played all around a straight one. Wherwell’s tail wagged in style as Robbie Skeates hit boundaries, Horne was ticking at the other end and tried to bring his 50 up in style but chipped up and was caught by the bowler for 46. Wherwell managed to get 200 for the second day running.

In reply Esso started brilliantly hitting boundaries all over the park and even 2 bowling changes couldn't break the 80 run partnership from 9 overs. Pettman called on Young to break this partnership and he duly obliged with his first bowl taking a LBW, this was to be the start of Youngs best bowling spell for a long time, Pettman introduced himself at the other end and the 2 bowlers bowled well together. Young ended with 4 wickets, Pettman with 1. But it was thier control of the run rate that stopped Esso getting close to the total. Some smart fielding from the team even saw Robbie Gladwyn take a catch over his head, from the celebrations you would have thought he'd just scored the winning goal at the world cup. Wherwell restricted Esso to 190-9 from 40 overs.

Bowlers Show their form on the back of good batting

The sun returned for a weekend but the holiday season took toll on the Wherwell squad, with many regulars not available for the visit of Great Durnford Nathan Young was forced to call in a few favours. So with working commitments swapped it was a relief when the toss was won and the  home side elected to bat.

Things got off to a poor start with Colin Hitchings going LBW to the first ball of the day, this brought Craig Beckingham to the crease and with Adi Holdway struggling in the heat runs came slowly. The score edged along to 30 of 10 before Holdway fell swinging for 18. His wicket saw the introduction of Rory Stewart-Richardson playing his first game for the village, he set about the bowling with the intent of a man in a hurry. With good support from Beckingham the scoring rate quickly rose and at 24 overs Wherwell were well placed at 140 for 2. Beckingham fell LBW for 31 and Stewart-Richardson shortly after for an entertaining 66, What followed would have been cause for concern in previous seasons as wickets fell regularly to what must be noted as some good catching, Matt Guilfoyle with 17 and Stuart Norridge with 14 got the total toward the 200 run expectation and the 200 came up with cheers from the boundary prior to the final wicket falling.

In the field though Wherwell are a much improved unit, despite the attritional conditions the opening bowlers raced in, With bounce in the pitch both Young and Mark Petman tested the openers resolve and they were soon found wanting as they attempted a quick single to get off strike and were last seen shaking hands at the same end. The batsmen having survived the opening burst were relieved to see the first change until Guilfoyle ripped his first ball past the batsmans nose. Bouyed by this sight he steamed in and watched as the batsmen jumped and ducked in self defence.

But wickets were not coming as the batters failed to make contact with anything that was sent their way, so the introduction of Holdway with his slow left arm must have been a relief, Guilfoyle finally got his reward ripping through the defense of number 3 before being rested. This brought C Breeze to the crease, his first act was to straight drive Holdway for 4, a rarity itself, and followed this with a slog sweep. He then became becalmed by some tight bowling and 5 overs later Nathan Young bowled him with a full ball that took the inside edge before knocking over middle stump. This then heralded the beginning of the end, as P Foster went after a battling 42 well stumped by Nigel Horne off Holdway and Durnford subsided from 60 for 3 to 97 all out with Guilfoyle finishing off the innings with 2 wickets for 16 whilst Holdway returned 4 for 25 from his 10.

So, on goes the Wherwell band wagon for another week.

Winchester University get their revenge

Following a successful T20 match, Wherwell hosted Winchester University again last Sunday. The day started well winning the toss and electing to bat first, unfortunately this was the only thing Wherwell did correct all game. Guilfoyle and Young opened the batting, in the second over Guilfoyle succumbed to a ball that got a bit higher than he thought and gloved to first slip.

After a few quick wickets Young thought that this was going to a similar story to last week and somebody would stay with him, However more wickets fell as young set about a counter attack, passing his 50 by the 12 over whilst Wherwell were at 72-5. Young looked set for the ton he thoroughly deserved but after drinks break he began to worry about the remaining wickets and was caught for 71, a little wag at the end from the tail seen Wherwell to 117 all out from 25 overs no other batsman got double figures.

In reply Winchester Uni never really looked in trouble, a few smart wickets from Taylor and Guilfoyle at least made it look like Wherwell stood a chance but Winchester uni chased down the small target within 22 overs only losing only 5 wickets.

Let's hope this is the only blemish in the remainder of the season.

Youth, Young and Pettman Shine in the Sun

The Sunday friendly season continued away to Portway Pirates whose new home pitch is at Amport. This was a first for several Wherwell players as they had not seen a flat dry dusty pitch and assumed that things would be easy. After winning the toss Wherwell decided to bat, something 3 of the top 4 batsman would regret. Nigel Horne opened the batting with Nathan Young. Young watched from the non strikers end as Nigel hit the 3rd ball of the innings straight to first slip, Gladwyn then strode out to the crease only to depart 2 balls later playing a wild shot and also being caught. Young who was yet to face a ball seen 2 batsman depart early and decided to drop anchor and value his wicket. Rob Skeates batting at number 4 soon followed the 2 senior batsmen back to the hut after going back to a full ball. Mark Pettman sauntered out to the crease and joined Young at 11-3 after 4 overs. Young & Pettman started playing some delightful delicate shots, along with some big shots and Young soon reached his fifty. In the heat, anything other than a single was really hard work. Young finally departed for 57 after a fantastic outfield catch which brought skipper Beckingham to join Mark Pettman to the crease But he was soon edged the ball to the slip fielder. Pettman played like Young, aggressive with classy shots and soon reached his half century as well, he had good support from youngster Harry Trebert and Adam Cook and Wherwell set Portway 180 to win from 40 overs with Mark Pettman finishing 79 not out.

After a quick sun bath and some food the players came back on to the field Robbie Gladwyn and the skipper were opening the bowling, both bowled well with the skipper taking a rare catch of his own bowling to remove the opening batsman. The stars of the bowling were Harry Trebert And Ollie Dodson, both youngsters took three and bowled with real control. Robbie Skeates and Ed Johnstone another two youngsters took a wicket a piece. Dodson and Johnstone both took smart catches in the field. Sensing a victory the skipper turned to his senior spin bowler Alex Gladwyn, who took 2 balls to finish the game and took the last wicket to give Wherwell the win bowling the opposition 110 all out. A massive to take away from the game was Wherwells fielding as they all worked hard and never gave up in the sunshine.

Local Derby Heralds a run fest in the sunshine.

It was hot and sunny for this league game against Upper CLatford! That was a start, Nathan Young won the toss and opted to bat much to the relief of his team. Matt Guilfoyle was asked to open the batting with Alex Gladwyn, Gladwyn fell cheaply to the spin of Andy Cattle (10-3-25) but this brought Craig Beckingham in and he immediately looked set for a long stay. Guilfoyle played some crunching drives and pulls but was finally out done by Christian Nicel. The returning Bertie Redhead joined Beckingham and they immediately set about the bowlers. Anything that was not bowled perfectly was treated with distain and the score started to race along, Redhead was finaly dismissed for 46 sweeping cattle but Beckingham continued to complete his first 50 of the season finally reaching 70. The wherwell middle order chased quick runs against some tired fielders with Ed Marsh returning with 32 not out as Wherwell closed on 247 for 7.

In reply Clatford started slowly against some accurate bowling. Mark Pettman struck early which brought Christian Nicel to the crease, he looked to get on with it immediately taking on the bowlers when they pitched short. A second wicket allowed Andy Cattle to join the fun, together he and Nicel plundered the bowling with good shots to all parts of the boundary. Cattle reached his fifty  and was shortly followed by Nicel but a sharp peice of fielding from Scott Blackmore broke the partnership with Cattle run out for 59, Nicel followed shortly as Matt Guilfoyle returned and attacked the stumps. With the asking rate rising above 10 per over Wherwell scented victory and looked to get more wickets, Guilfoyle and Redhead both claimed victims but eventually Upper Clatford managed to withstand the late onslaught and closed on 198 for 6, Guilfoyle was the pick of the bowlers with overs 3 for 31.

That’s 3 from 3 in the league and the best start any one can remember for many seasons.

Wherwell v Andover IV

Wherwell made the short trip to London Road to play an Andover side that they had struggled to beat over the previous seasons. With blue skies finally allowing jumpers to be left in the bags it looked set for a good day, the wicket appeared solid and the outfield as rough as ever!

Wherwell made first use of the conditions with the ball, Young and Pettman running in and happy to see the ball carrying well to the keeper at waist height. It was young who made the breakthrough in his 3rd over getting the batsman to feather an edge. Pettman struck twice in 2 balls to reduce the home side the 26 for 3, but it was the experience of Adi Holdway who again choked the middle order. Rarely bowling a loose ball he took 3 wickets in his 10 overs left the Andover batsmen bemused as to how they missed the ball. Alex Gladwyn also bowled a tidy spell including 2 wickets as Andover struggled to 115 for 9 at the close of their innings.

In reply, Gladwyn and Holdway again started well, both were playing confident shots as the pitch started to lose a bit of it’s earlier pace and bounce. Gladwyn was bowled by a good ball that came back enough to clip his off stump, Holdway batted on but was eventually defeated by straight ball that struggled to get above his boot laces and was adjudged LBW. A couple of quick wickets fell as Wherwell batsmen tried to finish the game in a hurry, but it was the calm head of Ryan Young who guided the side home with 14 overs and 5 wickets to spare.

Wherwell v Winchester University T20

Wherwell hosted their first ever T20 game on Thursday with a mixture of sunday players and some youth players. Wherwell were up against a young and athletic Winchester University side.
 
After losing the toss Wherwell were asked to bat first. Ryan Young and Alex Gladwyn were given the task of opening the batting, unfortunately big hitter Gladwyn went early leaving Wherwell with 2 batsman who were made for Test cricket rather than T20. However Horne and R.Young tried to keep the scoreboard ticking in the power play with ones and twos. In the 9th over Young decided to try and free his arms only to find mid on with a simple catch, going for just 12 runs. This brought his brother N.Young out to the crease. The T20 format has been designed for Nathan and he started as he meant to go on, hitting a four from the first ball. Out of form Horne was out in the next over for 11 and sparked a middle order collapse, losing 3 wickets within 2 overs. Thankfully N.Young was still at the crease hitting the ball to the boundary, Beckingham at the other end was finding singles to try and give Young the strike. Young got to his 50 in the 19th over and remained 53 not out at the end ably supported by Beckingham's 21. Wherwell posted 145 from the 20 overs.
 
After a very quick turn around Wherwell took to the field. Pettman opened the bowling and produced a fantastic spell within the powerplay overs. He bowled with pace and accuracy and returned with figures of 4 overs 1 wicket 19 runs. The introduction of spin from both ends from Alex Gladwyn and R.Young really slowed Winchester Uni down keeping them to 4 or 5 a over. Alex returned with figures of 4 overs 2 wickets for 16 runs, a brilliant T20 return. After some good bowling spells Wherwell had gotten themselves in to a great position. This allowed the skipper to rotate the bowling, much to his surprise this paid off better than he could imagine. Great bowling from H.Trebbert, R.Skeates and R.Gladwyn finished the game off with Wincheter Uni falling 15 runs short from the 20 overs.
 
In all it was a good experience and something Wherwell will look to do again in the near future.

Cook serves up a treat but Wherwell fall short

Wherwell got the prize draw in this season village knockout against a team who were only 9 leagues above them. Captain cook lost the toss and was asked to field first on a bitterly cold afternoon. Pettman and Young tried to make the break though but with chances regularly going down it was never going to be there day with the ball. After a couple of bowling changes the skipper decided to bring himself on a and this proved to be a masterstroke as Cooks line length and swing paid off with great effect. A brilliant 7 over spell seen Adam return his best ever figures of 7 Wickets for 35 runs. He was assisted by a safe pair of hand from Gladwyn, who took 5 catches. But Paultons had racked up a massive total at the other end scoring a impressive 243 from 40 overs.
 
In reply Wherwell never really got going, after losing the first 4 wickets to some smart catches and brilliant fielding, Wherwell decided the only way forward was to start hitting the ball as far as the could, Young did this in style until in typical fashion tried one to many and got stumped for 22. This however brought the inform Pettman to the crease also choose the big hit route, but had more control and managed to hold the innings together. Some lower order support enabled Mark to get his score up to 40 not out and the team total to 117 all out.
 
Wherwell were outclassed in every department but dug in deep and made a fight of it right up till the end, never giving there wicket away cheaply or giving easy runs away.

Season Finally underway with a rare opening day win

Wherwell v Hursley Park VI

With the season off to a damp start Wherwell travelled to Hursley Park on a drizzly Saturday hoping that the weather would allow a full match for the first time this season.

Traditionally Wherwell have proved poor starters but buoyed by the early season availability of players not injured from a winter of Football and Rugby confidence was rising rather than high. Nathan Young, in his first league game as club captain, won the toss and elected to field. What followed was a steady rather than electric start, runs were given up slowly but the skipper made a breakthrough when the Hursley opener decided to use pad rather than bat and was adjudged out Leg Before.  Trevor Fordham, Hursley Park captain, looked solid as ever in the face of some tight bowling. Wherwell looked to have wintered well as each bowler found rhythm and line quickly.

Matt Guilfoyle was the pick of the bowlers returning 2 for 27 from 9 overs but it was a team effort and credit to Stuart Norridge 4 overs 1 for 5 and Adi Holdway 10 over for only 16 runs choked the home sides middle order. A fine direct hit run out from Mark Pettman was a real highlight as Hursley ground their way to 137 for 6 from 42 overs thanks mainly to an unbeaten 54 from Fordham.

A welcome tea in the warm consumed Wherwell sported a new opening pair of Adi Holdway and Alex Gladwyn, unlike previous seasons there was a positive feel in the middle and both Holdway and Gladwyn punished any loose balls. Gladwyn playing in his new role was looking set for a big score when he gave his wicket up to a veteran spinner  for 37, this brought John Jakeman to the crease who like Gladwyn prefers the option of “if it’s there to hit then hit it hard”, with Holdway keeping up with the youngsters Wherwell pushed before Jakeman fell for 42, Holdway (22) soon followed adjudged Leg Before, would have been close had he been left handed never mind, and it was left to the brothers Young to finish off the match with 16 overs and 6 wickets to spare. Ryan Young had the honour of hitting the winning runs to complete a fine personal day which included 1 wicket, 1 catch and 26 not out (including a steepling 6!).

So Wherwell start with a win, tougher games will come in the months ahead but this was a solid though subdued start to the season.

Wherwell finally Beaten

Big game nerves seemed to finally got the better of Wherwell as they faced local rivals Longparish in the Quarter finals of the cup. They lost the toss and were asked to bowl first, after last weeks fielding performance Wherwell felt confident but that soon slid away as some sloppy bowling put them on the back foot. Gladwyn took a lovely caught and bowled but it was Nigel Hornes glovework and a fantastic run out that proved the highlight of the innings as Wherwell let Longparish get 140 runs from there 12 overs. Matt Jackman was Longparishs' best batsman playing cute shots into the corner and running well particuarly with Brad Aldridge.

Then Wherwell stepped out to bat, something they've done really well this season, but for once it failed. Aldridge came charging in and was a little wayward in his first over, Gladwyn hit a couple of lovely shots but was soon out after being caught. Brad got control in his second over taking the wicket of Norridge and almost trapping Nathan Young first ball. Whyton soon followed hitting firmly to the back wall but picking out the excellent Jackman, Young tried to rescue his side again but failed with a smart catch at square leg. Wherwell now needed a staggering 15 a over which was always going to be to much. Horne and Cook started knocking of the runs at a slow rate and Cook felt pressured and played one shot to many and was caught. Horne tried in vain to see out the remaining overs to get us close but his stubborn stay soon ended. Wherwell were beaten by the better team on the night.

Young said it had been a pleasure to skipper the side this season and enjoyed every second of the indoor season. The team spirit was awesome and every game was played in the correct manor and he couldn't ask for anymore from his team.

Easton Rams Humbled by team Wherwell

Much is made of team spirit but little sums it up like a 2nd round cup tie between the winners of the top and bottom divisions. With talk of possible upsets more tongue in cheek than in belief Wherwell, unbeaten through the league campaign, played Easton Uncle Rams who lost only once in the top division this year. Having lost the toss Nathan Young was asked to field first and the drama started instantly as Young opened with a straight Yorker that would have sent middle stump cartwheeling had it not been fixed to the metal base! This is after all indoor cricket and with catches allowed to be taken after the ball has hit the wall/net/ceiling anything can happen, and on this night it certainly did.

Craig Beckingham, in his first over, also took a wicket. His steady left arm over was given the full treatment by the batsman but given the option of catch it or wear it Craig took the safe option and pouched the catch. What followed was pure magic, with an element of luck thrown in all supported by excellent glove work by Nigel “no byes” Horne. Nathan Young produced some special moments taking 3 catches off various roof beams and the off-side netting reward for Adam Cooks steady bowling, Alex Gladwyn also took a catch that hit so many elements in the roof it was more like a game of pinball. But with still 2 overs remaining Wherwell found themselves bowling at the last man and Young successfully removed him to the teams delight with the score 90.

So, 91 to win, a target in the league that would have been seen as academic, this though was after all the league champions, let’s say Man Utd playing Aldershot. Craig and Alex got off to a steady start, the difference in bowling from the league instantly evident as the ball zipped past the bat, however, extras make a big difference indoors, and despite the lack of runs from the bat wides came with regularity. Wherwell meandered along at a run a ball until Beckingham fell in the 6th over trying to push the score. The elder statesman of the team, Paul Whyton, came in to partner Gladwyn and try to increase the run rate, with encouragement and discipline Gladwyn found his timing and started hitting the ball straight he soon reached the 25 run mark and retired, this brought Young to the wicket. A couple of big swings not quite timed meant Wherwell still needed 40 of the last 4 overs. The pressure truly on Whyton and Young rose to the challenge, first they started to take the quick singles, young opened up in over 10 taking 15 runs leaving 13 off the last 2, a quick leg bye with over throws, a booming 4 from young and a scampered 3 meant 2 off the last over and Whyton happily watched as a wide sailed past giving an unlikely win with 5 balls and 5 wickets to spare.

So much to their surprise Wherwells’ season continues into March.

Season rolls on for Wherwell

Wherwell went into the cup competition with no fear after winning the division without defeat and this confidence showed from the start when some tight bowling enabled Wherwell to keep the run rate down. For the first time this year both Whytons were close proximity hovering around the bat stopping quick singles with there athletic sportsman build... Wherwell started to take the foot of the gas and this even resulted in Nathan Young attempting a moonball which troubled the scorers more than the batsman. After 12 overs Wherwell managed to keep the score to 98 which was a good effort. With 4 run outs and a sharp leg side stumping by Nigel Horne.

They kept the usual opening pair, Beckingham went about his business as usual scoring at a rapid rate of 5 a over. Gladwyn had his first failure of the season when caught at mid on first ball, this brought the returning Ian Whyton to the crease 3 balls later he ran himself out. Young then came out to the crease within the second over. He along with Beckingham began slowly but started to up the pace hitting the back wall and getting quick singles, both retired within a over of each other and the game was left to Horne and Paul Whyton to finish off and they did in style!!!! Paul Whyton teed off hitting one over for 18 runs, unfortunately his fun came to an end when he hit the winning runs with 2 overs to spare.

Overall it was a good performance from the team who will now face the winners of division 1, fortune favours the brave...

Total Class for Top of the table Wherwell

Wherewell travelled to Winchester to play the last indoor game of the league, knowing if they came away that night with a win they stood a great chance of winning the division, but this would prove to be difficult against a strong young Longparish side.

Nathan Young won the toss and decided to bowl first, which was a normality for the team the whole season. After an average start by the Wherewell bowlers longparish had got off to a good start with both openers seeing the ball well, this was until Ryan Young came in to the attack and started causing problems with his leg break bowling. Wherewell fielded well during this spell. Ryan’s three over’s went for little runs and he managed to pick up four wickets in that time which restricted longparish’s total, there was also tight bowling from Craig Beckingham, Nathan Young and Alex Gladwyn, which restricted Parish’s total to 124 from there twelve over’s, Wherewell were happy with this total as they have chased down higher scores on occasions this year.

After a quick drink and the oppositions had swapped places Wherewell’s openers strode out in to the middle. Tight bowling from the start by the Parish bowlers and early nerves the batsmen meant Wherewell got off to an average start. After the score being 16-0 off two over’s Craig Beckingham was run out. This brought Nigel Horne. Horne and Gladwyn batted well together and struck twenty eight of one over which really gave a boost to the run chase. Soon after this Gladwyn was dropped twice and then retired (25).Horne soon followed Gladwyn but he had been caught superbly by the Parish bowler. This brought Nathan young and Adam Cook to the crease Young then struck some lusty blows before charging down the track to the bowler who bowled him leg stump, suddenly Wherewell were looking shaky with Young being the stand out batsman of this years campaign who had just departed. This left the two youngsters Adam Cook and Alex Gladwyn who had come back to bat after retiring.

Cook Batted well with a strong defence and strong punches down the ground which got his runs one of which was a controversial six was which given, (Rightly so!!). With Gladwyn at the other end Cook did not take the single of the last ball which was on offer which was a mature and sensible choice, this left Gladwyn and him the target of hitting 19 of two over’s, Gladwyn stepped up to the mark by hitting a 4 4 then a 6 in consecutive balls needing two off the last ball in the penultimate over, Gladwyn left the balled which travelled wide giving Wherewell the Win which was the deservedly outcome.

The Boys had all put great effort into winning the league unbeaten; everyone deserves credit for the achievement. Well done.

Team: Adam Cook, Craig Beckingham, Ryan Young, Nathan Young, Alex Gladwyn, Nigel Horne.

Indoor Double Header

Wherwell took on Owlselbury in the first part of a double header. Having managed to bowl first the intent was there in the first over with Nathan Young trapping the opening bat on the crease with a superb yorker. This set the tone as the bowlers found their radar and backed up with some excellent fielding, especially from Craig Beckingham, (never thought i'd say that!) Wherwell restricted the batting side to 91 from 12 overs.

The response was equally impressive, both openers batted with discipline, working the angles and running well, having made good starts both Alex Gladwyn and Craig fell short of the target 25. With the winning target in sight it was Nathan Young who had the pleasure of hitting the winning run with 4 overs to spare.

So, off we go to the "dark side".

Compton & Chandlers ford found themselves in difficulty with Nathan once again taking a wicket in his first over well caught by Nigel Horne. Again the radr was in tune and the fielders were well up for it. Once again Nathan Young showed his valuewith 2 catches 1 an absolute stunner, but this was a true team preformance once again with good fielding and disciplined bowling. It showed just how disciplined the bowlers had been when the Opening batsman retired on 25 in the 9th over! with some big hitting in the penultimate over C & CF managed to get to 98 from their 12.

Once again the initial overs were palyed well with push and run a suprise favourite tactic, once again though wickets fell with no batsman making the transistion to retirement. Paul Whyton blasted 22 off little more than 2 overs and Nathan once again looked dominant untill a "freaky catch" off the ceiling ended his run of not outs. It was left then to Craig "sensible cricket" Beckingham and Nigel "winning runs" Horne to see the tem home in the 7th over setting up a possible winner takes all title decider next Sunday at 18:30 against Longparish.

Action at last as the indoor league restarts

following the un-expected cancellation 2 weeks previously due to snow! bare in mind we are playing indoors...? Wherwell returned to action and from the forst ball it was apparent that the bowlers didn't receive Radar or Sat Nav for christmas. Not wishing to be un-giving Wherwell dished out a few freebies in the shape of wides and no-balls as they conceeded 128 in the 12 overs taking only 2 wickets.

So it was set for "Business as usual" with the bat, and sure enough Alex Gladwyn went at the opposistion bowlers smearing a quickfire 21, Nathan Young again though underpinned the innings, balsting a quick 25 and then coming back to inflict more pain on the oposistion as he carved the ball to all walls and led Wherwell to a bum twitching 1 wicket win with 2 overs to spare.

New Years resolution any one? "must bowl straight..."