Chairman's Report 2007

2007 Season Review

With the daffodils blooming, day light getting longer and the weather warmer NOT it must mean that the new 2008 season is upon us. I thought it was time to give everyone a reminder on my thoughts of last season.

If 2006 was a season of consolidation then 2007 can be described as progression. The first team went from finishing 3rd from the bottom the season before to 3rd from the top and missing out on promotion on the last day of the season. The 2nd team also had a good season finishing in a very respectable 7th place only 7 points behind the team in 4th which would have been different had a club not resigned mid season.

The first team once again started the season off well with the exception of the first game where they were thrashed by East Cowton, before they went on a 7 game winning run racing to the top of the league before the enforced mid season break, too many strong performances to mention but particular praise must be given once again to Colin who once again averaged well over 100 after the first half dozen games, Jeff had a few good knocks and Chris Peacock hit a fine 81 at Raby Castle. On the bowling side Michael Lunn and Neil Wilkinson continued to pick up wickets at regular intervals and Steven Allenby started to make an impression with his move from the 2nd team. When the rainy season started results didn’t quite go to plan with the team having 2 matches abandoned after getting started a close defeat against top of the table rivals Middleton In Teasdale by 10 runs and another thumping against East Cowton were the team were dismissed for a very disappointing 26 after dismissed the opposition for 65 with Colin taking very impressive figures of 6-5. Another rained off match was followed by a disappointing defeat against Rockliffe Park before the team got back to winning ways with a good victory against Dales with excellent bowling by Neil, Michael, Colin and Dave. 2 more victories got the team moving in the right direction again with particular mentions to Sam who hit a fantastic 91 at Cliffe and followed that up with 54 at Witton le Wear in a game were Steven took 4-19 and scored 37, a heavy defeat by Spennymoor was followed with a hard fought win against Trimdon CCA before the team played the best match of the season, a cracker at Middleton Ties. Davey Edwards bowled through the innings taking 5-74; Danny scored his maiden half century and was well assisted by Gary before Davey smashed the ball in all directions scoring 53 in about 20 balls to see the team over the line by 1 wicket. Unfortunately the winning way ended there with 2 defeats against the teams that eventually got promoted meaning the team finished in 3rd place.

In the cup competitions the team had no luck with the draws and were knocked out early on in all the entered competitions.

The 2nd team season started as it always seems to with a heavy defeat against Barton 2nds, the team dismissed for 37, this was followed up with 2 fantastic victories away at Barningham and at home to Aldbrough, Dave was the hero at Barningham hitting an unbeaten 25 to see the team home by 1 wicket but the heroes against Aldbrough were Matthew Brown and Jamie Irvine who shared an unbroken 8th wicket partnership of 93 to see us to victory. Defeats then followed against Raby Castle away were Norman, Reidy and Dave stared with the bat and a very heavy defeat at Catterick within 2 hours. A narrow defeat by 1 wicket against Cliffe followed before winning ways were restored with a hard fought win at King James, the bowling of Steve Allenby, Matthew Brown, Martin and Adam Weatherburn the feature in this excellent team victory. Another victory followed, an easy 9 wicket win against Trimdon CCA 2nds before the weather interrupted the season with 3 games lost to the weather to end the first half of the season. A close game was then played against Barton before we lost by 9 runs in a close game before the return game against Barningham was played in a somewhat frosty atmosphere. The game didn’t disappoint with yet another 1 wicket victory, this time Martin was the hero crashing a boundary in the last over, this meant that we had beaten the team who came second in the league and only lost 3 games all season twice. Another good win against Raby Castle followed with Craig hitting an aggressive unbeaten 45 before yet another heavy defeat by Champions elect Catterick followed. Cliffe away also resulted in a defeat with luck just not on our side until winning ways were restored against King James, old timers Dave and Richie stared with the bat with 33 and 37 respectively and the young ones did the damage with the ball with Fez taking 5-18, the season ended with 2 conceded games, a close defeat against a strong Lands team and a defeat at Cockerton played in the true spirit of the game. A good performance overall for the season and hope that with new players Andrew Sturgeon, Craig Rennie and Ryan Lawrence as well as emerging players Sam Newton Steven Reid and season players Dave, Paul, Martin, Craig, Fez and Richie that the 2008 season could be a very good one.

In the cups the 2nd team performed well, loosing the semi final against Aldbrough in the FB Howell cup after 2 good wins against Cliffe and King James, we were though heavily beaten against Heighington in the B Division cup.

The 2008 season is now upon us, fixtures have been produced, cup draws are taking place, indoor nets are in full swing and with hopefully 1 or 2 more new players the season could be a good one.