If you were not selected this week please contact the match manager with your availability for next week.(The match manager is listed under fixtures or in the fixture card)
1st XI - 12.50pm meet @ Woodies Ground
2nd XI - 12.30pm meet @ Woodies Ground
Sunday XI - 2.00pm meet @ Woodies Ground
Please be prompt
What a brilliant game of cricket.
It was so good to see such an impressive team batting performance chasing down such a challenging target. As Steve has commented on, great batting from Joe Crossman, Tim Knibbs, Charlie Gellert & Steve who all performed superbly.
Top Work Guys
With the First's game at Dymock cancelled it was down to the Seconds to get Woodpeckers cricket started for this season. They didn't disappoint.
After winning the toss and electing to field Woodies spent a largely luckless 45 overs restricting AIW 2nds to 211 for 6 with Martin Ruxton returning with figures of 4 for 33 off eleven overs.
When the chase began after tea it was obvious that one batsmen would have to make a significant contribution with other batsmen chipping in around him. This was precisely what happened. After Martin was run out by a direct hit early on, Tim Knibbs and Joe Crossman put on the best part of 100 runs for the second wicket. When Joe was fourth out for a superb 94 the score was 150 and the required rate was an achievable 5 an over. After which Charlie Gellert and Steve Handley put on sixty odd to get the scores tied with 3 overs left. Unfortunately both got out with one run needed to win but Chris Shaw and George Phelps safely saw us home for a four wicket and 20 point opening win.
Overall a great start to the season and to chase over 200 in the opening game of the season suggests it could be a good year for the seconds.
Something to do with the dew!!
The first XI vs Dymock to meet @ The Travelers Rest, B4215 Newent Road. 12.50pm
The second XI vs AIW to meet @ the Woodies ground 1.00pm
Please be prompt!!
Woodies Vs Churchdown - Selection to be confirmed
If you have missed out on playing this weekend, please notify the match manager of your availability for next week!!!
Weekly match managers can be found on the fixtures page.
The merchandise available is listed below
Woodpeckers hoodie c/w clubs logo and your initials. (cost £20.00)
Woodpeckers leisure sweatshirt c/w clubs logo and your initials. (cost £20.00)
Woodpeckers shorts c/w clubs logo and your initials. (cost £10.00)
Woodpeckers tracksuit bottoms c/w clubs logo and your initials. (cost £15.00)
All Price include VAT
The order needs to be placed A.S.A.P Don't miss out!
Please phone Andy W or Andy R to place your order.
50 Bird Re Entry & Pool Shoot - All Welcome
Another chance to test yourself with a gun!!! Saturday April 12th 2008, 10.00am - 3.00pm @ the Longridge Shooting Ground, Bromsberrow Heath. Barbaque Breakfast & Light Refreshments Available.
For further details please contact Chris Biddlecombe 07739224058
For further details please contact Andy 07891062454
What a day for the Woodpeckers - First Trophy of the season and didn't we deserve it!! An all round solid performance by the peckers, Laurence diving all around the boundary, Martin & Robby with solid bowling performances, Tyson the rocket and seventh fielder behind the stumps & Top opening batting by Wattsy & Rucko. Once again the Woodies had the most and certainly the loudest supporters on the day. (Thankyou)
The website is back and being updated again. Since the last update we've had a lot of rain. The first's finally got promoted, by 0.03 points per game! Bring on Div 4. A Woodpeckers side won the six a side tournament at Birdlip and Brimpsfield. The firsts have got into the final of the Tewkesbury Hospital Cup. There will be more to follow both in terms of the Cup and of the rest of the season.
Woodies seconds unfortunately couldn't keep up their winning start. A lost toss meant batting on a damp pitch and no Woodies batsman really dealt with the conditions. We were bowled out for 89.
A spirited bowling perfomance ensured that the run chase was not easy. All six bowlers used bowled miserly spells forcing Aston Ingham to take 43 overs to chase down the runs for the loss of 6 wickets.
After being put into bat on a sticky wicket Woodies lost a wicket first ball and then subsided to 10-3 from 7 overs. It was here that the rebuilding job began. A superb 66 from Greg White in partnerships with Tyson, Andy and Rob C took the score towards 150 after around 33 overs. An eighth wicket stand of around 60 from Josh and Steve then got us to over the 200 mark. The innings closed on 219-9 after our 45 overs.
With maximum batting points secured we took the field to try and do the same with the bowling. Two early wickets each from Rob C and Lawrence gave us a good start but by the end of their spells there was still work to be done. A double bowling change brought about a lowering of the run rate with both Greg and Matty bowling very tight spells. As wickets continued to fall at fairly regular intervals we were treated to two very rare sights. The first was Earl Davies making up for his earlier aberration with the bat. Fielding in the gully region, he set off like a steam train after a ball that was always odds-on to beat him to the boundary. Not only did he haul the ball in but he also turned and missiled in a flat throw which practically obliterated the stumps. The third umpire was not required and the Newent batsman trudged off muttering something about random drugs testing being required! The second treat was not nearly as exciting but was a rare event none-the-less. With Chippy bowling at the death a shot was mistimed and the ball looped up into the leg side straight at a Woodpeckers fielder. An uneasy silence fell about the ground when we realised that the fielder in question was none other than 'Safe Hands Ben'. The look on his face changed from pure fear to pure relief when he realised he'd held onto one and he was subsequently mobbed by his teammates.
The Newent innings finished on 144 all out with all of our bowlers getting wickets. The margin of victory was 75 runs which earned us 20 points. With every player contributing to this win things look bright for the rest of the season.
Had Sir Alex Ferguson been watching our firsts instead of wasting his time at the City of Manchester stadium yesterday he would have said that it was squeaky bum time as the game neared it's conclusion.
Woodies began in the field with only ten men due to an extremely late call up being drafted in from the seconds! On a good wicket with a quick outfield, the bowling was extremely disciplined in restricting Cirencester to 191 for 7 from their 45 overs.
The batting was not quite as disciplined as the bowling was and Woodies subsided to 127-8 on a pitch offering little to the bowlers. The fightback began with Josh Steele and Steve Handley needing around four an over from the last twenty. Josh anchored the 9th and 10th wicket partnerships with Steve scoring 27, perhaps making up for his late arrival and dropped catch, and Matty scoring a flamboyent yet technically correct 18 to get us across the line. The tenth wicket partnership was full of incident, we almost lost when Matty had a fairly simple chance put down when we still needed 5 to win and his aerial approach to the run chase left all bystanders with hearts in mouths.
Overall the most important thing was that the win was secured, but you feel that to challenge for promotion this season lessons need to be learned from today.
After being put into baton a green wicket after losing the toss, Woodpeckers compiled 211 for 7 from their 40 over allocation. Earl, Ginge, CJ and Tyson all making contributions to get us to around 100 for 4 after 24 overs when Dave Cockburn joined Josh Steele at the wicket. This pair then put on around 70 runs in 11 overs with some spritely running between the wickets and a few boundaries for good measure, setting the scene for some lower order cameos to boost the total at the death.
In response the Looseners never really got going. Four bowlers each took two wickets, including a superb spell of two overs, two for 18 from the skipper!! Woodies fielded and held their catches superbly, the only effort to go down was a sharp caught and bowled attempt from Mr Nicholls senior. In a total of 95 all out extras top scored with 36 and only one wicket, when Richy had their opener clean bowled, would the opposition have been comfortable about losing. The others fell from either rusty batting or the batsmen being so suprised by having a ball that he could hit that he hit it straight at a Woodpecker.
All in all a positive start for us, a good win and some strong positives to take forward into the upcoming season including a rare spell of bowling from Mr Davies showing us young 'uns the merits of bowling straight!!
CHAMP OF THE DAY: Dave Cockburn: Took two catches and batted really well for his 44, propelling the innings on towards 200.
CHUMP OF THE DAY:Stephen Handley: A bit harsh really but a lost toss, a pretty dismal bowling display and the fact that nobody else did anything particularly stupid gave the skipper this dubious honour.
The total sum raised from the fundraising day was £752.40. Thanks to Chippy for the original idea and to everyone who was there for their hard work during the day. Special thanks goes to Martin Ruxton for, as ever, going the extra mile to make the day a success for the club. The money raised is vital to the development and maintence of the club as a whole - thanks again to everyone involved.
This years season is sure to kick off with a bang thanks to Mr Biddlecombe organising a shooting day for the club to raise much needed funds. It will be held on 31st March so keep the date free. We need everyone to pitch in and help out so please get in touch with Earl and offer your services. It's going to be a great day so get involved and help make it a huge success.
Cricket nets
Net practises begin on Sunday 11th March. Once again they will be held at Crypt School between 7-9pm. Bring a positive attitude and some money!
At this time of year it is just nice to get a game of cricket in yet alone one this tense. Batting first Churchdown posted a good total of 205 for 9 and in reply Woodpeckers were left only nine runs short when time ran out.
Having elected to bat first Churchdown were delighted with their start. Both Scales and Fredricks looked in the mood for big runs. Scales fell for 34 but his partner went on to smash an impressive ton. It seemed that where ever the field were moved to he would still find the gap. The team’s innings was very much based around this individual whose batting coped well with the pressure. Only in the 48th over did he fall gloving a reverse sweep behind off the bowling of S.Knibbs. Captain Watts and spin king Steele also bowled well in a precursor to their batting performances.
The Woodies quite rightly felt this total was gettable. Watts placed his three ‘big guns’ in the top four in order to do the job. But T.Knibbs, E.Bowe and R.Cockburn all failed in their bid to stake a claim for the Sunday averages trophy; between them scoring only 12 runs. Bowe walked away with his first duck of the season. All of this left Woodies 30 for 5 off fifteen overs. Step forward Watts and Steele who again combined to add frowns to the visitor’s faces. At first they consolidated but as time past their confidence increased and before long both were firing the ball to all corners. Watts was eventually caught for 79 having put on well over 100 with his partner. Steele likes batting against Churchdown and brought up his second fifty of the season against them with an exquisite straight drive for four. Whether his pre-match batting class with tutor S.Knibbs had helped him who knows? In the end he was dismissed for 59 and once this pair had gone so had the game. To even get close to winning was a great effort after the dismal start.
With winter drawing in a tired Woodpeckers’ team suffered a rare Sunday loss. But even after a long, hard season the fighting spirit is still there and that is a credit to all involved.
The Sunday friendly after tour is usually reserved for some rather weary cricket shots viewed through some rather hazy eyes. But not this time. Woodpeckers visit to Corse & Staunton last sunday saw them score the highest total in the history of the club.
Batting first the side scored 328 for 7 with Andy Ruxton amassing a season high of 135*. Every batsman contributed at a healthy strike rate and this along with Ruxton's ton enabled the Peckers to post a daunting target for their hosts. Credit to Corse & Staunton as they did attempt to chase the runs down. Such was the pressure of the required run-rate though that wickets tumbled and in the end it was only pride they were left to play for. Woodpeckers winning by 142 runs.
Perhaps most encouraging is that the average age of this history making team was just 18 years old. The future is clearly bright for the cricket club and it seems that this record may not last very long at all.
Good game, good game! Just a shame we are on the end of another loss. Not enough runs as usual. Most people got a start but no-one went on the score 50+. This meant on a drying wicket we only had just over 150 to defend but what a fight of it we made. After a tight start from Rusty and Laurence Richy proved again how well he has been bowling all year taking 6 for 44. Laurence could have and should have had more than his one wicket but for poor hands from Mr Misfield. Showing us how to do it was Rusty taking a good slip catch off Richy and in the same over took a blinding catch, going like a steam train, good job otherwise he would not still be a good stud!
Laurence bowled tightly at the other end without much luck then Rusty came back and took 2 wickets in 2 balls. Just too late and too few runs which meant we lost by one wicket.
Let's hope for a good win in the last game on Saturday
Earl
What a contrast to the week before. This was never going to be an easy day but we made it harder by not batting well. Saying that it could have been a lot worse if Matty and Rob had not made 32 and 47 not out respectively.
Then the fielding and our luck was set from the first ball. It popped up in the air between fielders and after that we had not one piece of luck or clear decision given our way. Earl
Although we lost it is great to say it was a pleasure to play Sheepscombe. There are not many games that are played in the spirit that this game was and it was nice to hear from the boundary that Sheepscombe were complimentary about ourselves also.
The game: Some very tight bowling from Laurence and Rich kept Sheepscombe for 20 overs but with no luck. As sometimes happens a change of bowling can help albeit not to the same standard but we gained the break through we needed. Then again Matty bowled with great skill to take 4 wickets and we kept Sheepscombe to 229 for 7. Special mention again for another Pingu "parry" catch in the deep and a super display behind the stumps, including a stumping and very good catch, from Josh Steele.
We now have a very stable, capable opening pair in Ben Richardson and Sam Knibbs. Following up on last week's 50+opening stand they put on 115 this week. Unfortunately for Woodies Sam cramped up at the wrong time and the run rate slipped. Credit must be given to both Ben and Sam for getting us in a wining position but although myself and Andy put on 70 in 9 overs we just ran out of time.
We are definitely moving in the right direction and I can only be happy with our efforts on the day.
Earl
Having put Highnam in to bat the first XI hoped to keep the opposition's total low and then with a strong batting line up chase down whatever necessary. Part one went to plan with all bowlers performing well. Special mention should go to Josh Steele and Ben Ruxton. I am sure they will be great club members for the Wooodpeckers for many a year. Penetration, however, came from Chippy and especially Matty who did real damage to limit Highnam to 189 for 8. The bowlers were very well supported in the field for a example a stunning stumping from CJ and an even more stunning catch from Pingu.
In reply we had a very solid start with Ginj and Pingu opening up. Unfortunately after this, with the exception of the skipper, the middle order failed to deliver. The tail wagged slightly but too much had been left for them to do. Highnam winning by 51 runs.
Earl
For the first time this season Woody's had the new ball and we could use the pace attack of Rusty and Rich. This proved to be our match winning partnership as between them they took 7 wickets. Rich especially bowled very well and finally gained some wickets that he has deserved from his consistent performances all season. Nine Elms made 103 all out. The last three wickets coming from a little less pace between Laurence and Matty.
Andy Watts then set off in the run chase and looked as if he had some where to be. He was the dominant partner making 73 with Gail providing great support in almost a 100 run opening partnership only for both of them to fall just short of completing a superb victory.
Earl
After an enjoyable day at West Malvern we returned to HQ with what could be described as a winning draw under our belts. The game was a timed affair which made for an interesting change from our limited overs cricket. After being put into bat, the first wicket was down at the end of the first over. It was merely a blip in what could be described as a Woodies runfest which the skipper ended when he declared four balls before the tea interval with the score at 258 for 6 from only 38 overs. Tyson and Gail continued their good work form Saturday with a second wicket stand worth in the region of 150.
Taking the field after tea, we knew that it was essential to get an early breakthrough and that was duly provided when Tom Benfield had their opener clean bowled in the third over. There then followed a lengthly second wicket partnership which at times looked capable of reaching the target set by our batsmen. Then, after an inspired bowling change, Marc Nicholls offered up a juicy half volley outside the off stump and the batsmen duly replied by belting a flat off drive which having never got above six feet off the ground was attacked in a kamikaze fashion by Tyson fielding at long off. Amazingly, the ball was taken about an inch off the ground by Tyson, who had dived full length towards it. An brilliant catch and a real lift for the side. Unfortunately for us, the track was too good to be able to bowl the opposition out and the game petered out into a draw with the innings closing at 175 for 5.
CHAMP OF THE DAY: Ed Bowe: One of three batsmen who performed superbly, but his total disregard for his own safety in taking what must be the catch of the season set him above the rest.
CHUMP OF THE DAY:Sam Knibbs: Played a loose-ish shot and got out to a good catch in the first over of an innings where the remaining batsmen feasted on runs.
Whitefriars & Charlton Kings vs Woodpeckers 2nd XI
Woodpeckers lost by five wickets on Saturday to top of the table Charlton Kings. Batting first on a bowler friendly wicket the Woodpeckers just couldn’t find runs. A 40+ second wicket partnership between Sam Knibbs and Tom Bradburn had given them a bright start. But Bradburn was run out for 14 and Knibbs suffered a similar fate misjudging a run on 30. Unfortunately this opened the gates for the league leaders who took advantage. Chris Smith’s aggressive 32 did add a deserved respectability to Woodpeckers’ total: all out for 104.
In response Charlton Kings struggled. Martin Ruxton bowled 12 superb overs, seven of which were maidens, taking 2-22. This stability put pressure on the home side who lost wickets at regular intervals. Chris Smith was menacing at the other end continuing his good day with 3-55 with the ball. An explosive 38 by T.Perkins was enough to see the hosts past the target though. And Will Mansfield’s excellent catch to dismiss the danger man was in vain as the five wicket victory was secured with time to spare.
Woodpeckers 1st XI vs Cheltenham Saracens
A solid batting platform was built by CJ and Ben Richardson, however, they both fell in quick succession. Earl then applied acceleration at just the right time with a Captain's knock that put real heart into the innings with an excellent 54. This set the stage for big guns Tyson and Gail to put in powerful displays in a crucial partnership that set a total of 195 for 8. A target worth more like 250 in view of the slowish pitch and outfield following recent rain.
We started well in the field with Ginj taking a smart catch off Richy's bowling. At one point Saracens were 80 something for 6 however a solid stand was put together and it looked as if we would lose the game. But we stuck at it and Matty performed superbly with the ball and took a crucial catch to break the 7th wicket stand. Woodpeckers comfortably crossing the winning line by 23 runs.
CJ
Sam Knibbs won the bragging rights at home with a 54 run victory over Tim in the annual Knibbs vs Knibbs showdown on Sunday. The two evenly matched Woodies’ sides locking horns in Caribbean conditions with plenty at stake.
Having won the toss and elected to bat Sam watched on proudly as Phil Ruxton and Edmund Bowe started strongly. But when Phil fell L.B.W. to John Lee it was the start of a fight back. Both Burton and Pingu went without troubling the scorers. The banter was too much for the younger skipper who was castled for a squeaker. Luckily for him Andy Watts came in and steadied the ship. At the other end Tyson was still working hard reaching 76 in a powerful innings that including six 4s and six 6s. Wattsy’s departure stone dead L.B.W. on 37 was the beginning of the end for the batsmen who went on to reach 205 all out. Thought to be 20+ runs shy of par on a good batting wicket.
With the crowd wetting their feet in the paddling pool and Bob Marley blasting out of the stereo T.Knibbs’ XI perhaps got a little caught up in the carnival atmosphere as they began their innings. Rob Cockburn’s attempt to get off the mark had all the flamboyance of Notting Hill and he duly missed the ball and waddled off for a duck. As captain Tim walked out on 0 for 2 he hoped everything was gunna be alright. A partnership between Steele and himself did provide encouragement but it was another younger brother who was taking control. Dave Cockburn got 4-22 in his five excellent overs that all but secured the victory for his team mates.
Yet Ollie Mansfield had other ideas. Having switched sides the young batsmen set out on an 80 run partnership with Andy Ruxton in a display that threatened to turn the result on its head. Unfortunately he was let down by his partner who left him stranded on 0 not out playing a rash shot to older brother Phil. The cheers from the outfield marked the 54 run win.
John Lee brewed his tea as the two teams lapped up the sunshine resting weary bodies in the pool. And in the Knibbs household Mrs Knibbs dusted down her photo of Sam and put it right above the fire place.
A superb all round performance again from the Sunday side ensured a comfortable victory over Churchdown. After winning the toss and batting first, the innings got off to a flying start with Tim hitting 12 off the first over. After thirteen overs the score was 53 for 3 and it looked like we may have been in for a usual Woodies innings of 100 all out from 20 overs. However, up stepped Mr Knibbs and with the able assistance of Josh Steele a solid platform was laid with an 106 run partnership that lasted 20 overs. Tim was eventually out for a superb personal best of 61 when chasing for runs towards the end of the innings. Josh went on to make 67 and Woodies finished on 210 for 6 from their 40 overs.
The Churchdown innings started with a bang and it looked like they may have ideas of chasing the runs down until the first wicket fell off Darren Beeton's bowling. After that is was the fielding side who dominated with good catching, excellent fielding and tight bowling that was like a small Jack Russell constantly nipping at the heels of the batsmen. Although all bowled excellently John Lee with 3-19, Marc Nicholls with 2-9 (off 8 overs) and Tiff Buckland with 3-16 were the star performers. Churchdown were bowled out in the 37th over for 97 and a thoroughly well deserved victory was secured to the tune of 103 runs.
CHAMP OF THE DAY: Tim Knibbs: Was the mainstay of the Woodpeckers innings and laid the platform for the big score
CHUMP OF THE DAY:Stephen Handley: Shouts of 'Well batted Tim' when he was only on 49 followed by two extremely nervous overs waiting for him to get his 50!
A good all round team performance from the Woodies put the first 'W' in the box for the season. A lost toss put us in the field where tight bowling and good fielding restricted Malvern Looseners to 120-9 from their 35 overs. Josh Steele's excellent spell finally rewarded with a wicket from the last ball of his fifth over when Tim decided to hold onto one!
Mr Knibbs and Rusty set out to bat needing to keep up with a run rate of 3.46 runs per over, but Rusty was in no mood to hang around. He hit the winning runs from the last ball of the 16th over after denying a single off the previous ball to ensure that the skipper didn't face a delivery!!
CHAMP OF THE DAY: Andrew Ruxton: Dominated what could potentially have been a tricky run chase.
CHUMP OF THE DAY:Tim Knibbs: Dropped an absolute sitter and two half chances in the space of a dozen balls.
Starters:
Main:
Afters:
£19 per Head
21st – Sunday
With great anticipation Tim, Richie and I left for Cornwall early Sunday morning. Our arrival three hours later at St Breca Bed and Breakfast signalled the start of something special. Within the hour the first pint was in and within two the first game of cricket was being played, this one on the beach. A diamond duck for Tim was not an ideal start to tour for him but was greeted with great cheers. Throwing Laura into the sea proved a lot harder task in comparison. Back to the B+B and it became clear that the owners weren’t expecting a D.I.Y. bar in their dining room: Woodpeckers taking the idea of ‘bring your own booze’ to a new level. Apparently the look on the landlady’s face when Tiff walked in with a keg on both shoulders was quite a picture!
Woodie’s spirit continued to rise at the local Wetherspoons. Richie and Reneé were conned in to doing a ‘traditional’ initiation: a bottle of wine each in less than ten minutes. When Reneé reached for a straw Richie knew he was in trouble. Thirty three seconds later and it was all over and Reneé was slightly worse for wear. For the record Richie finished his in exactly one minute, again looking slightly dishevelled. Returning to the ‘Woodies bar’ and Earl and Laurence got the Finesmaster duties underway and afterwards the tour shirts were handed out. Tim took over proceedings with ‘cartoon characters’ the theme. Amongst my personal favourites were Buzzo being called ‘Pink Panther’ and Andy Ruxton ‘Shrek’.
By this stage everyone was far from sober and we were off to The Beach nightclub. It was great fun and at the end of the weekly ‘Foam Party’ the sight of 20 Woodpeckers with their T-shirts off went down well with the women; unfortunately they didn’t follow our lead. The group returned home in staggers, both in terms of time and walking ability- most were back by 3-30 a.m., some later.
22nd – Monday
It was a struggle to get up for breakfast on the first official day of tour. Well worth it though. It’s amazing what Coco Pops can cure. A few of us had the day off cricket so we did a bit of shopping before heading off for a pub lunch at The Fort Inn. It gave us the energy for a footy match against some Yorkshiremen. Judging by Phil’s ability at football one imagines they don’t teach the game at public school. Tim, a product of government schooling, injured an opponent quite badly (!) and then I bagged a glorious goal to win the game, even if I do say so myself.
We’d had a long lie in that morning so it was time to go to Gerrans and see how the lads were getting on in tour game one. It took an excruciating two hours to get to the game through a previously unheard of Cornish ‘rush hour’. With a sense of relief with arrived to see that Woodies had posted 231 from their 40 overs. Rusty scoring 70 and Chris ‘Chippy’ Biddlecombe getting 56, including a memorable 30 runs off one over that would win him champagne moment for the day. A fair few roof tiles lay shattered across the village after the assault. Earlier on Rusty had shown his form and an equally aggressive intent by middling a practise stroke plum on to the forehead of the unsuspecting Steph. It was, of course, an accident- he had meant to hit Reneé. Her head was nicely swollen by the time Woodpeckers had secured an untroubled 72 run victory. CJ was delighted to win at his favourite touring ground. The wonderful sea view was the only thing to take his full attention away from the action all day.
We celebrated the successful start of tour at Sailors. An eventful night, it was too much for Richie Lewis who made a mess of our bathroom floor before passing out on my bed.
23rd- Tuesday
Woke up in a different bed, unfortunately it was Richies, fortunately he was alive and in mine. Again it took two hours to get to the cricket, this time at Boconnoc. Phil’s Satellite Navigation took us to the middle of nowhere. At one point we were off-roading on a dirt track that was more akin to a Kenyan Safari than a cricket tour in Cornwall. Luckily for my Renault Clio we abandoned technology and just asked a local for directions, soon after we arrived in the deer park that holds the host’s ground.
The game itself was perhaps the greatest ever on tour. With 3 non-cricketers in the team, young Will and none of the Woodies ‘big guns’ we had been labelled ‘the weakest team in Woodies history’ by none other than our Captain Phil. It was, however, a tag we were destined to lose. 20-3 was not the ideal start to our innings but luckily myself and Will, and then later Stu Boote, managed to get partnerships together. I brought up my fifty with a straight drive for four over the bowlers head. The chants of ‘Woody Woody Woody’ were the cue for a big smile. Booty went on to get an important 62* and a late 22* from Buzzo got us up to 180. Not bad, we thought.
At lunch the team decided that if we won the game we would name ourselves ‘The Boconnoc Bears’, a throw back to the Celtic team that won the European Championship against all odds many years ago who went on to be nicknamed ‘The Lisbon Lions’ after where their success took place.
A victory seemed unlikely as Boconnoc came out strongly, but we took wickets at important times to keep us in touch. Our fielding was exceptional. An example of this was a diving, left-handed, catch by Will that even Jonty Rhodes would have been proud of. With overs and runs running out Reneé was called upon to bowl the penultimate over. Yet more drama followed as he injured himself in the field- forcing Chris ‘Chubs’ Hughes to bowl. He drew on all his mettle to concede only five runs (three wides) to leave the hosts needing six runs from six balls with only one wicket in tact. Even the deer were nervous.
Ed Bowe, a wicket-keeper by trade, bowled the last over. The first two of his whippy leg spinners went for singles leaving four needed from four balls. As Tyson rolled his wrist over for the third time the young Boconnoc batsman stepped forward and heaved the ball towards the mid-wicket boundary for six. My heart was in my mouth standing at mid-off, but then, out of nowhere, Booty leapt like a salmon and plucked the ball from the sky. We’d won! The celebrations were fantastic and Booty was lifted up on our shoulders like a Roman Emperor. Thumbs up to a game that would have graced any Colloseum.
It was truly a victory for team spirit and togetherness. Everyone contributed; everyone was delighted with what we had achieved.
For one day only the Woodpeckers were Bears. That night in Berties the beer tasted as sweet as golden honey.
24th- Wednesday
The heavens opened the morning of the Pencarrow game and unfortunately the match had to be cancelled. The lads didn’t really need an excuse to carry on celebrating yesterday’s success. A brief flutter in William Hill was an indication that we had used all our luck up in Boconnoc, pretty much everyone left the bookmakers with empty pockets.
Forgetting about our losses we moved the hundred yards down the road to the Central Bar. It was only two o’clock and we began playing drinking games. By five everyone was somewhat merry. The game ‘21s’ became increasingly complicated, and empty glasses soon filled the tabletop. Reneé, poor Reneé, was responsible for many of these glasses- a consequence of his poor performance at the game. His prize: a ‘champagne moment’ bottle of cider to down for his many dismal attempts at counting.
The festivities were interrupted on several occasions. Most notable of which was a visit by a group of female pub golfers. A shout of ‘Can I putt one in your hole?!’ by an unnamed tourist brought the house down, lots more innuendoes followed. By early evening almost the entire tour party were in the pub and there was a lot of banter flying around. Great times.
It wasn’t long until the desire to dance the night away took over so we stumbled off our bar stools and hazily walked through town back to the B+B. Richie seemed particularly keen to get out fishing for women; it was only a shame that at the end of the night the one he caught was too big to throw back!
25th- Thursday
The day of the last tour match at Lanhydrock. The golf players left very early in the morning. It came as a relief to me as I woke up on the floor and managed to get in to Chris Shaw’s bed as he left. It came as an even bigger relief to Tyson who was let in to the B+B by the golfers as they left at 6 a.m.
We met the players at the golf club around mid-day for a steak breakfast. Slightly unconventional but it helped to relieve the hangover. The bar staff also provided a welcome distraction from feeling ill.
The cricket club itself boasted a refurbished interior, including a new bar, a welcome sight to any tourist. Woodies fielded a strong side in attempt to finish the tour with a 100% record. The wicket was a little wet so batting first was difficult. Lanhydrock opened the bowling with slow bowlers and it was a tactic that reaped dividends. Wicket after wicket tumbled, including a duck for Buzzo. I managed to scrape together nine runs and Chippy got twenty with a not too healthy wrist. 92 all out: the product of a week of booze and some rash strokes.
Our bowling suffered a similar fate. Although we got a couple of early wickets it only took 14 overs for an eight wicket defeat to come our way. Captain Laurence Buckland went for 26 off 2 overs. The boundary rope was about twenty yards too far when we batted, and about twenty yards too short when we bowled. Not ideal. I suppose two out of three wins ain't bad.
Later more drinking games began. Yesterday’s practice in the Central Bar came in handy as Woodies restored some pride with victory in all three contests. Wingers won the keg throwing contest and Tyson walked further than anyone else on beer cans. The highlight of the day was a game of stumps that saw Chippy, Tyson, Phil, Richie and Jazzer racing against Lanhydrock in drinking, running and spinning. Jazzer was like a bowling ball as he careered back towards the pavilion, almost knocking himself and half the opposition out in the process.
We chose Sailors as the final destination for tour. It was really busy and a great way to see the tour out. Next day’s drive home was put to the back of everyone’s mind as we got as much drink into the body as possible. A kebab was also forced down. We became favourites of the kebab house owner with renditions of Jay-Z’s ‘Girls Girls Girls’. A fitting end to a fantastic holiday.
26th- Friday
Early morning is not the most welcoming time on tour, especially with a long drive ahead. Tidying the room was somewhat rushed. It was nice to see the floor again! Soon followed a frantic search for the room key, I think at one point pretty much the whole touring party were looking for one key or another. Reneé found his in his pocket about half an hour after we had left.
The ride home was tired and stuttered. Traffic problems forced us the long way around. The old Renault Clio had finally had enough. Junction 18a will forever be in my memory as the place Tim swung across five lanes with smoke pouring out of the bonnet. The A.A. provided a tow; in all it took six hours to get home. Back by seven o’clock and in bed by nine. The state of the Clio’s engine mirrored the state of my own body; we’re both booked in for an M.O.T. at the end of the month.
This tour diary is abridged due to the ruling ‘What goes on tour stays on tour’. For full information of unmentioned events either steal my notes or get a Woodie drunk and start him talking…
Andy 'Rusty' Ruxton was at his sensational best to guide Woodpeckers to a 111 run victory over old rivals Redmarley. In his first game as Sunday Captain after stepping up from Vice Ruxton smashed a chance-less personal best of 165 not out. So dominant was his display with the willow that the Redmarley bowling attack are sure to wake up in cold sweats for weeks to come; that's if they can sleep at all.
Despite the overcast conditions Ruxton was not too disappointed when the visitors won the toss and chose to field. And if he was he hid it well. Ruxton lead from the front by opening the batting. On a slow wicket he punished any thing short, and most deliveries were just that. Although over confident shots lead to the loss of wickets at the other end Ruxton stood fast; breaking his brother's bat in the process. Matty Watts (26) and Stu Boote managed to offer the support necessary for their skipper. In fact running Boote out on 47 was the only mistake Ruxton would make. Had it not been for the limitation on overs he would have batted all day, instead at the end of 40 he walked off the field with his side closed on 265 for 8.
It was a total too big for Redmarley to challenge; they barely tried. Darren Beeton opened from the Pavillion end and was Woodies best bowler: recording figues of 4-21. He showed no signs of his visit to the Haw Bridge inn the night before, a pub he didn't leave until three thirty that morning. Indeed his time there was well spent. Two of his wickets were catches taken by drinking partner C. Buckland at Silly Mid-off, a fielding position they had discussed using over a pint or two of cider the night before. Both players were unsure how they remembered their conversation, but were glad they did. Smiles replaced hung-over grimaces.
In truth, the visitors never came close to winning. Their attempt was like a malfunctioning sparkler when compared to Ruxton's Guy Fawkes' night fireworks. Only C. Williams threatened to ignite for the opposition, making 55 resistant runs. But in the context of the chase his innings was too slow. In all Ruxton used nine bowlers in an effort to dismiss the determined Redmarley lower order, but the wickets never came. After 40 overs in increasing heat Woodpeckers were more than happy when the final ball was bowled and victory was secured. Redmarley closing on 154-9.
It was a momentum building win for Woodpeckers, who, after three weeks without a game, were desperate for a good result before their tour of Cornwall. The journey on the M5 South will be particularly relished by fire cracker Captain Andy Ruxton.
Follow the highs, the lows, the not-so-latent alcoholism, and the inevitable incarcerations of any successful tour both on the main News page and also in a separate news section entitled, wait for it, Tour Diary (available from the drop-down menu as always). I have no doubt that we shall all enjoy his missives as much as ever :)
Woodpeckers suffered only their third Friendly loss of the season on Monday in a crushing defeat to Leicestershire Teachers. It took the tourists only 29.3 overs to bowl their hosts out and secure a massive 162 run victory without ever really breaking in to sweat.
Prior to the match both captains agreed to have twelve men a side and the honour of being Woodpeckers' first ever 'Supersub' fell to Chris Biddlecombe, who promptly chose to spend his time off the field in the bar. Yet the bartender barely had time to pour Chippy a pint before a wicket had fallen. Rich Nicholls' first ball of the game bowling the Teachers' opening batsman off his stomach, knee, toe, and then, almost in slow motion, off-stump. Yet this was false hope.
Woodpeckers were placed firmly on the back foot as a second wicket partnership of 87 runs between young batsmen Lees and Cross set the tone for the day's proceedings. As the fielding team's confidence dropped, so did their energy levels. And despite a fine example set by Captain Matthew Watts many of his team looked tired from a long weekends cricket. Mis-fields and dropped catches punctuated the performance in the field. D. Beeton did stand out with the ball however. His spell of 8 overs, 1 wicket for 43 runs brought some control, but this was brief. A 100 run third wicket partnership between Lees and Leicestershire Teachers' Captain Miller moved the tourists into a powerful position. Gifted Lees' fall nine runs from his century was the biggest injustice of the afternoon. Two wickets from Matthew Watts constrained the visitors to 250-8 at the close of the innings when they should have had many more. Watts must have been wondering why he didn't bring himself on earlier.
Unfortunately for Woodpeckers their batting suffered as much as their bowling had previously. The host's innings was as poorly constructed as a South Korean car, and with none of the style. Slow left arm bowler T. Crompton took all six of the Woodpeckers' upper order. His seemingly gentle bowling looked tantalizing to the increasingly well lubricated players in the Pavilon, batsman after batsman strolling confidently to the crease only to return moments later with a bemused expression on their face. In spite of this, opener Tim Knibbs stood fast, offering the only sustained resistance to the tourist's attack, eventually falling for 22 runs. Number eleven D. Beeton was the team's next highest scorer. His late flurry of 19 runs made a woeful total look slightly less embarrassing and capped off a brave all round individual performance. But the damage had long since been done.
The fall of the final wicket signalled the start of the celebrations for the Teachers. However, victory and defeat were put to one side as the two teams enjoyed an evening of friendly banter in the bar. And after a day of being out-classed at cricket Woodpeckers were more than happy to find an even playing field at last.
Ed 'Tyson' Bowe put in a Man of the Match performance to help Woodpeckers to their first win under new friendly captain Matthew Watts in Ashleworth last friday.
St Andrews couldn't have wished for a finer day to take to the field for the second match of their five day annual tour of Gloucestershire, yet an early breakthrough eluded them. An opening stand of fifty eight between T. Knibbs and P. Ruxton was just the tonic for the host's early nerves. But wickets soon fell. The opening pair departed in quick succession as they paid the price for lazy attacking strokes, holing out in the deep.
Confidently Ed Bowe and Laurence Buckland began to revive the innings. Buckland was like a burley lumberjack as he swang his bat from great heights to thump the ball to all corners. In contrast Bowe played like a master craftsman, with shot after shot of deft precision. Recent form suggested that Bowe is a nervous bat around the fifty milestone: but not on this day. In a style similar to Gordon Greenidge he pulled the ball off a good length to bring up his first ever fifty; calmness beyond his years is a phrase that will be much used to describe this young man.
Yet Bowe was fully aware of his responsibility to set a healthy target for his captain. His innings went up a gear to that of a Richards or Flintoff as he smacked the next ball over the bowler's head for six. Twenty four more runs came his way before his exuberance cost his wicket: bowled. Meanwhile Buckland's own innings was progressing well, and it was with more than a hint of misfortune that he succumbed three short of a fifty of his own. Cries of 'jug avoidance!' rang around the boisterous crowd.
The men that followed made batting look a lot harder. A desperate attempt for quick closing runs lead to a disappointing collapse from the Woodpeckers, ending 241 all out having been 190-3 at the time of Buckland's departure. Nevertheless the tourists would have to bat well to avoid their second defeat in two days.
Cricket took a back seat during the tea interval. Rob Cockburn's choice of a crisp sandwich was not a fair reflection of the food available. Players with a sweet tooth were not disappointed; one insider was overheard saying that the chocolate digestives were a 'welcome inclusion'. Cockburn strolled up for seconds.
Any signs of over indulgence were well hidden though as the young medium pace bowler kept the batsmen at the Berrow Hill end more than quiet after the restart. The spell of disciplined bowling allowed D. Beeton to tighten the vice at the Pavilion end, taking several key wickets to prevent the visitors gaining any momentum. Mis-fields and a drop catch were perhaps more a sign of the heat than a lack of concentration. However these mistakes did not prove costly. M. Nicholls and a returning M. Ruxton produced marvellous performances with the ball in a period of ten dominant overs that all but secured a Woodpecker's victory. A healthy looking Cockburn had the honour of taking the final wicket and a 72 run win for the hosts. Just rewards for a hard day's toil in the outfield.
But it was Ed Bowe who was the star. And as the promising all rounder wandered off the field at the end of the game, Matty Watts found it hard to conceal a smile at a job well done.
A disappointing afternoon for the Woodies league side.
This was the first and I hope the last loss of the season. Woodies were not so much beaten as beat themselves. Good bowling performances from Matty Watts and Laurence Buckland kept Woodies in the game but too many "four balls" and poor all round fielding let AIW make 206.
This should not have been a problem to chase on a good firm wicket and with a strong batting lineup, but apart from Chippy Biddlecombe (21) and Ollie Davies (74), no other batsman was able to make any significant contribution.
Lots of hard work to be done to remain in the promotion race.
This was a fine team performance to bring the Woodies record to played 5, won 5.
Two major batting partnerships gave Woodies 166 for 9 after 45 overs, although at 108 for 9 Woodies were down and out. However, Laurence Buckland and Stewart Boote put on an unbeaten 58 for the last wicket.
Then all the bowlers made a contribution, leading to bowling Westbury out for 131. Laurence (Senior Man of the Match), took the first wicket and in between Stewart Boote (Youth Man of the Match) bowled a vital spell and also picked up a wicket. Returning from University, Andy Ruxton picked up the best figures of 4-19.
Well done Woodies.
After a particularly tense game on the Saturday those of us who played were hoping for a quieter affair on Sunday. (And those of us who stayed up for the Hatton fight on Sat!)
Another great game and a good win for the Woodies with key perfomances coming from unexpected places. Steve (it's quite weird writing about yourself in the third person!) scored a quickfire 56 down the order after a solid start to the innings was laid by the Knibbs brothers, Tim scoring a fluent 31. Mark and Darren added 40odd very valuable runs for the last wicket.
In the field, Woodies got off to a flyer with Ian taking three early wickets. Corse Lawn then had an excellent 100 partnership for the fifth wicket and it felt as if the game was slipping away from us. Enter young Tom Benfield, he cleaned bowled their opener and had their No 7 lefthander caught by Tiff at midwicket thus ending the Corse Lawn threat. All stand-in captain Mark had to do now was to put the dangerous C. Buckland on to bowl to clean up the tail (1-1-0-2), and Woodies had won by 56 runs to end a superb weekend of cricket.
Great game and a great win.
St Phillips are a strong side and to win this one was a great test of how good the Woodies are becoming. An all-round contribution from Chris Biddlecombe helped in a superb team performance. Chippy made 100 not out which would have been more if not for rain. This was ably supported by Earl Davies, Rich Nicholls and Phil Ruxton.
Chasing 224, St Phillips made good progress although always seeing the run rate go up. Eventually they needed 8 from 4 balls bowled by Man of the Match Chippy. He kept his nerve and Woodies won by 3 runs.
No game next week, but a cup match with Aston Ingham and then another top of the table clash with Westbury-On-Severn the week after.
Despite excellent contributions of 32 and 27 from Ed Bowe and Stu Boote respectively, we were never really in the hunt for this one, completing our innings on 127 all out.
The Woodie's captain can no longer be referred to as a "tosser", as for the 3rd straight game he lost the toss. However Eastington wished to bat first which suited us fine.
Eastington got off to a flying start but were restricted to 165 for 3 with some tight bowling. It was not the desired fielding performance and still left a testing target for us to chase.
The Woodie's openers gave us a solid start, however the loss of both plus Matty Watts at number 3 quickly put pressure on numbers 4 and 5. Chris Biddlecombe (49) and Rich Nicholls (27) then steadied the ship to within sight of the winning post, which left Tiff, Marc and Ed to see the team home safely.
Three out of three - long may this continue.
A couple of small points - if anyone is using the Mac version of IE5, I fear you may have a few problems viewing the site. Microsoft no longer support IE5 Mac, so you should probably try using Safari :D Also, if you're using a screen resolution of 800x600 or lower, things might look a little bit squashed in places. Sorry, I will try and do something about this in the future if it really becomes an issue (Stephen, get yourself a new monitor!)
Aside from all that, please contact me if you have any problems, questions or comments.
Another all round performance from what is far from a full strength Woodies, illustrated by key contributions from both ends of the age spectrum - our youngest player Stewart Boote taking two wickets, and the senior management playing an important role to the tune of 51 not out for John Shaw, and 5-31 for Laurence Buckland.
Woodies lost 2 early wickets then a stand between the skipper and John Shaw of 100+ put them in good shape. When Earl Davies went for 45, Andy Watts (35) and Rich Nicholls (28) were able to push the game on in partnership with John and set an impressive total of 215.
This week it was not the pace bowler's turn to do the damage, although Chris Shaw and Rich Nicholls constantly caused problems. Meanwhile at the other end, seasoned campaigner Laurence was chipping away at Wickar resulting in the superb figures he completed his spell with.
22 points gained and a good test at Ullenwood to come next.
This was a typical early season struggle with both sides having had little cricket to date. The pitch was low and slow and therefore causing all batsman problems. Woodpeckers won the toss and elected to field, not a difficult decision. AIW were bowled out for exactly 100 with the pace and movement of Chris Shaw and Rich Nicholls proving difficult to handle. A special mention must be made for Tiff "safe hands" Buckland who pouched two nice catches (A particularly fine performance considering the poor example being set on this front by his captain :D - SF).
The total was always going to be difficult and Woodies regularly lost wickets but a solid stand between Andy Watts and Chris Biddlecombe with Rich Nicholls hitting the winning runs saw us home by 3 wickets. 19 points good start.
Not the desired result, but there were some definite positives from the first game of the season. After winning the toss and putting the opposition in to bat, Stuart Boote's 1-13 off eight, Chris Shaw's 1-5 off 6.2 overs and our illustrious leader turning his arm over to good effect with a return of 3-17 off seven overs were the noteworthy contributions. The final Churchdown wicket fell in the last over of their innings with the score on 109. It might have been different had their top scorer not been dropped twice (by yours truly).
Chasing 110, the Woodpeckers reply did not get off to a good start when in the third over the first wicket fell to an absolute peach of a delivery (how that bowler only got one wicket I'll never know!) Wickets fell at regular intervals afterwards with only Matt Watts, who top scored with 33, and John Shaw providing any resistance at all. Mr C Buckland won the award for most ironic dismissal when, trying to be sensible, he played a defensive shot to his first ball which promptly caught the edge and was superbly taken at slip! Unlucky Tiff! The award for Comedic Dismissal was shared by Chris Shaw, who was run out when he decided that he had to turn back to pick up his hat (which had fallen from his head while turning for a second run) and Andrew Watts who attempted a very complicated Irish jig down the wicket, only to be stranded out of crease with his feet rooted to the spot.
After a tense finish Woodies had lost their first game of the season by a solitary run, a game that was definitely dominated by the bowlers and that will be remembered also for the local lunatics who had clearly been let out for the day!
Saturday unfortunately brought defeat to Woodpeckers, by Westbury-on-Severn. A good batting display was seen from a back in form Andy Watts and there was some good support from the lower order after an early collapse.
Sunday found us in good form and a straightforward win over Haresfield was completed well before the lights on the bar started to shine through the gloom... Fine bowling from Mr. Darren 'Dazzler' Beeton taking four wickets, and there were some lovely wides being bowled by our esteemed Sunday Captain :)
On the cricketing front, the League side has been having some difficult times and haven't managed a win since the last update - 5 more games to go and we could do with getting a couple more wins soon to keep us safely away from potential relegation... The friendly side continues to have plenty of success, and the Under 13's and Under 15's both had good seasons, which I will update on once I remember to get some details.
I'm starting to run out of superlatives for the quality of some of the performances this season; I apologise profusely if I start repeating myself... Batting honours go to Chrissy-boy Smith for 66 at the top of the order, and an as always lovely batting display by the two Ruxtons. And how can I not mention a destructive 37no from Tyson... Good to see the youth performing better than some of the elder statesmen at the club (see below). And last but not least, KnibbsWatch this week is proud to bring you news of 32 whole English runs for the combative Crewe-lover; an emotional moment for all I think you'll agree, and but for an unfortunate top edge would surely have achieved his first 50 of the season. Keep on plugging Mr. Tim.
On the bowling side, birthday boy Gittings got the whole shebang off to a miserly start, taking 3 wickets for a mere 9 runs off his 8 (slightly drunk) overs. And of course the already mentioned, but of course worth mentioning again, hat-trick hero Mr. Tif Buckland... Take a bow if you would.
And one final point of note which I am posting under duress. Certain people (of course they shall remain anonymous) felt that it needed to be highlighted that out of the 504 runs that have been scored by the Woodies this weekend, your humble correspondent achieved 4 of them. Before being bowled by the most extraordinary Muralitharan-like, hand-grenade of an off-break you are ever likely to see - of course. Time to get back in the nets methinks.
However the weekend saw us back on track again in the league with a comfortable win over Westbury; a good all round batting performance to get to 220/9 and then some fast, straight bowling from wonderboy Rusty was the key performance in knocking over Westbury for 88.
I vaguely remember some cricket being played on Sunday - the drunken haze parted a couple of times. I do know that it was another win for the Woodies against Corse Lawn, and that Tif has finally realised the bowling talent that we all knew he had in taking a hat-trick! Well bowled that man... I will post the scorecard as soon as I find out where the Sunday scorebook has run away to.
In fact, 'twas a fine day, imbued with a particularly Carribean flavour by the unique bongo stylings of Mr. Stephen Handley; Tim Knibbs reacted especially positively with some flowing drives that could have been spurred on by nothing else... Surely another Lara in the making.
Yeah, cheers Steve. Last time I let him on my computer...
And before I forget, thanks to all those who have helped me out with the website. Your views, opinions and criticisms have been invaluable. Particular thanks must go to Chris Shaw for his help with the design of the site - cheers mate :) And of course thank you all for your patience - I hope the website will be a useful resource to everyone.
There will be ongoing development of the site, so if things change don't be too surprised. Selection will also be posted weekly - this week's teams have already been selected and uploaded.
If you have any comments/suggestions/questions/abuse please email me and I shall endeavour to help.
