"the voice of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire cricket" in association with
Pure Cricket, - 'supplying cricket equipment to the professional amateur'
Pure Cricket, - 'supplying cricket equipment to the professional amateur'
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"the voice of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire cricket" in association with Pure Cricket, - 'supplying cricket equipment to the professional amateur' |
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'the follow on' defeated in first friendly Langley Mill have beaten 'the follow on' XI in our first ever friendly match. Despite going under by two wickets, our representative side didn't seem too concerned as they enjoyed the chance to meet each other, have a beer or three, and tuck into those famous Millers teas. The weather was overcast and drizzly early on, and the Langley Mill groundstaff worked wonders to prepare a playable pitch. The outfield was damp, but the promised heavy rain held off with only a couple of brief showers falling in the early afternoon. The match even had the novelty of being interrupted by the strong sun setting over Heanor. Play had to be suspended for 15 minutes as batsmen were unable to see the ball, and bowlers couldn't pick out the wickets in the glare of the evening sun.
Langley Mill skipper Rich Davey won the toss and had no hesitation in asking 'the follow on' to bat first. This was probably where the match was lost by the visitors as they were never going to be able to resist the temptation of over-indulging with the beer and tea before going out to field. This was obviously the Langley Mill game plan. 'the follow on' started their innings badly as Andrew Ball bowled Rob Stewart in the fourth over. Two balls later, Ball had Simon Widdision caught behind by Kimberley's Karl Widdowson, guesting for the Millers. In the sixth over, things went from bad to worse when Ball clean bowled run machine Andy Brear for just 5 runs. Three down for 17 and 'the follow on' were looking for something special from the middle order.
Skipper Richard Adams and Nigel Turner put the visitors back in the game despite some tight bowling from Paul Richardson and John McCulloch. Adams was batting superbly with balls despatched to the boundary on eight occasions, one of which was a mighty six which clattered into the nearby factories. Turner fell in McCulloch's final over after surviving a caught behind appeal, only to be caught in the slips next ball by Chesterfield skipper Simon Lacey, another of the Millers guest players. Turner contributed 19 runs.
Adams batted fluently at the other end until he holed out to Aaron Tullett off Dan Lacey for 39 (7 fours and a six). 'the follow on' were reduced to 87 for 5. When the score had reached 93, Luke Rowley had Andy McCarroll brilliantly caught in the slips by Dan Lacey for two. Adam Harchuk (21) was caught on the boundary by Tullett who made a difficult catch look easy. 95 for 7 and the visitors were on the ropes and looking very shaky.
Eighth to go was Steve Woodward, bowled by Dan Bramhall for 8, whilst Gary Edgington was spectacularly run out by Dan Lacey without scoring. Some lofty blows from Langley Mill's Ryan Esson, who chose to play for 'the follow on' in preference to his own side, saw the visitors score on to 167 all out. Esson showed no respect for ex-Derbyshire spinner Simon Lacey as he repeatedly tried to hit him out of the ground. Rich Davey had the final say when he bowled his colleague in the penultimate over. After an extended tea interval, both teams took to the field to hold a minutes silence in memory of Claypole's John Andrews, who collapsed and died during the game with Magpies last Sunday. Although many of the players didn't know John, they were all eager to show their respect to a fine club cricketer.
Langley Mill opened with Aaron Tullett and Dan Bramhall going at six an over. They raced on to 28 before Steve Woodward struck three times in two overs. Tullett fell first caught by Adams for 12, Bramhall went soon after caught by Esson for 20 and Jordan Sisson was bowled without troubling the scorers. The Millers were reeling on 36 for 3. At this point, the Millers reply virtually ground to a halt as McCulloch and Paul Richardson were tied down by Adams, Esson and Harchuk. Esson's figures were particularly impressive as he bowled five straight maidens.
When drinks were brought out after 21 overs, the Millers were tied down on 56 for 3. No orange juice here as the jug contained the Mill's finest lager. Maybe it was this lager which resulted in McCulloch's downfall as he was caught soon after drinks by Turner off Widdison for 11.
After the sun set, conditions started to deteriorate, so Langley Mill began to throw the bat. Richardson fell for 17, leg before to Widdison in the 29th over. The hundred came up in the 30th over with five wickets down. 68 were needed from the last 10 overs. Before the game, the Millers had drawn the batting order by selecting playing cards. This meant that batsmen 7, 8 and 9 were all first team batsmen with all rounder Simon Lacey in at 10. Davey and Widdowson (24) soon started to pick off the weaker bowlers and they took the score to 135 before Adams caught his Kimberley colleague on the long on boundary off Nigel Turner.
Davey continued to blast the bowling hitting 6 fours and a six before Adams bowled him for 36. The skipper had taken his side to within 32 runs of the target. Dan Lacey was bowled by Adams for 4 to leave the home side on 143 for 8 with five overs remaining. With the experienced Ball and Simon Lacey now at the crease, the odds were very much in the Millers favour and these two safely saw the home side through to victory. Ball finished unbeaten on 14 and Lacey on 10 not out. Langley Mill had won by two wickets. Despite the defeat everyone adjourned to the bar for a few beers and a chance to get to know each other. It had been a successful and enjoyable day and talk was of making it an annual event. New friends were made and a good time was had by all. Here's to 2005. The full scorecard can be found on Langley Mill's site - click here. 
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CHARLIE FRENCH BATS  |
John McCollum (left), fired up by a bottle or two of Owd Rodger, threw the bat at everything and looked to have bludgeoned the visitors out of trouble. His magnificent innings of 44 not out included 7 fours and 2 sixes. At the other end, however, wickets continued to fall.
After 25 overs, the setting sun made it impossible for play to continue. Gary Edginton looped one up from the Heanor end which had batsman and keeper covering their heads as they lost sight of the ball. Umpires Terry Dorr and Trevor Harris (pictured right) decided that play should continue with all bowling taking place at the church end. This idea was short lived, as Edginton had to pull out of his run-up when he lost sight of the stumps in the sun. Play was held up for 15 minutes to give the sun chance to dip below the trees.
