Mildenhall Cricket Club match reports for July 23rd and 24th2016
Mildenhall 1st X1 travelled to Coggeshall where they had early mixed fortunes. Steve Taylor took the quick wicket of Lloyd Edwards (2) before he was forced out of the attack with a leg injury after just 3 overs.
Rob Jagger and Jimmy Rees then set the home team up with a partnership of 103 at a rate of 5 an over. Tom Allen then dismissed Jagger (71) as he offered Adam Trett a catch. Allen was then involved in the next wicket when he caught Rees (40) off Ziaf Kulasi. Spin then became the order of the day with Ben Shepperson getting Jack Simons (4) caught by Matt Allen and Jack Bowman caught and bowled Charlie Green just 3 runs later. Liam O’Connor and Rob Cross dug in to add 41 and bring up the 200. Shepperson brought back his death bowler Kyle Morrison and with him claiming two wickets and Shepperson a further three, Mildenhall took the last five Coggeshall wickets for just 22 runs. Eight of the Coggeshall batsmen had fallen to catches. Coggeshall claimed maximum bowling points in being dismissed for 223 and Mildenhall had maximum bowling points in the bag. Ben Shepperson was the stand out bowler with 4 for 27
Steve Taylor’s day could hardly have got any worse when he was bowled for 0 after just 5 balls. With two of their front line batmen absent Mildenhall’s task was going to be tough. Ryan Clark (8) was then bowled with the score on 11. Luke Youngs and Shepperson fought back getting the visitors to 94 before Youngs(40) saw the umpires figure raised following an lbw appeal by Edwards. Shepperson reached 43 but then was then adjudged caught by Rees off Cross. Mildenhall lost their 5th wicket when Adam Trett was bowled by Cross for 15 and Mildenhall were 128 for 5. Brothers Matt and Tom Allen worked hard and appeared to be taking their team to victory when they eased passed 200 in a 78 run partnership. There was however another twist as 4 wickets went down for just 3 runs, Tom Allen (33) was given out lbw to O’Connor, while Matt Allen was bowled by George Blackwell for a well-made 52. Kulasi (2) was bowled by O’Connor and Morrison was run out for 1 in the 48th over. Mildenhalls’ last pair Ashley Clark and Jack Bowman still need 15 off 13 balls. Two boundaries from Clark and a last one pulled by Bowman saw the visitor’s home with five balls left and a one wicket win secured. Mildenhall were able to claim the full 20 points.
Meanwhile at home Mildenhall 2nd X1 took on a strong Clacton side who are pushing for promotion. The away team won the toss and batted. Opener Scott Facey lead the way making 61 and Ryan Chamberlain finished one short of a half century. Muhammad Asgar made 22 and Lewis Kirk was not out 22. Clacton scored 214 for 7. Jon Allen took 2 for 43. Mildenhall reply looked woeful as wickets fell regularly and the runs dried up. Imran Sheikh ripped out the middle order taking 4 for 21 and the remainder showed little resistance. The home team were dismissed for 117. Standing out like a beacon was opener Jon Allen who remained unbeaten at the end on 56.
Mildenhall 3rd X1 suffered the ignominy of a 10 wicket defeat at Walsham le Willow. Playing away they batted first and made just 127 for 5 in their allotted overs. James Taylor faced 95 ball to top score with 67 not out. Walsham made light of their task with Liam Bryant (60*) and Steve Owston (57) knocking off the runs in the 26th over.
Mildenhall 4th X1 were the third team to play away for the club when they visited Woolpit to play their 3rds. Batting first U 15 player Gabe Jones score 57 batting at three. Lou Handy held the middle together with 59 not out and was well supported by youngsters George Franklin (12), Harry Parker and finally by a more senior in Steve Bone (24). Mildenhall finished on 205 all out. For Woolpit Lee Thompson took 5 for 51. Mildenhall then found bowling much harder than batting as the home team got home for the loss of 3 wickets, although they needed 38 overs to overcome Mildenhall’s mostly teenage attack.
On Sunday Ashley Clark dominated the Mildenhall2nd X1 score against Nowton at Wamil Way. He made 132 out of an all-out total of 184 made in 34 overs. His contribution helped give Mildenhall the edge as they restricted Nowton to 147 for 8. For Mildenhall bowlers Matt Heywood, Ewan Kingdon and Tom Heywood took two wickets a piece.
The 2nd X1 game followed an earlier U15’s match that saw Mildenhall (Suffolk Champions) defeat Harpenden (Hertfordshire Champions) and go through to the next stage of the National Competition. Mildenhall made 130 for 6 and then restricted their opponents to 97 for 7. For Mildenhall Harris Lister top scored with 29, Cameron Francis made 25 and Reuben Handy 20. Pick of the Mildenhall bowlers was Alex Cruickshank who took 4 for 18 (See team photo at top of report)