Ashby St Ledgers vs MCC

18/06/08

This was not the sort of ground we were expecting to play on after having such a wonderfully prepared pitch the week before. Clumps of grass still littered the out field. It looked as if there was only one way to play this…. Over the top!

The MCC won the toss and chose to bat. Middz Middleton and Rob ‘launchpad mcquack’ Hensby…. Refer to picture…..



Captain Rob Hensby

had just started to get settled with a few well placed shots. Just after this they tried to open up and were found wanting, both getting caught off of Marsh’s bowling.

This brought a potentially lethal pair of big hitters to the crease in the likes of James ‘now only smouldering’ Marney and Andy ‘fetch that’ Thorney. James had assured us that after his below par performance the previous week he was going to put the Flaming back into James Marney!

He wasn’t lying! After a sluggish start the pair started to open up their shoulders. Flaming James destroying the bowling of Clarke with a 6,4,4  and another 6 in succession, scoring 20 from the over!

Both Thorney and Marney went on a rampage that saw the 100 up in no time, with both of them amassing 50’s. Marney in another attempt to clear the boundary ended up holing out on 57. Scott Whyment and Yousef Damash fell for just one run between them. This meant that John ‘sexy cricket’ Simmonds would have the task of seeing out the last over whilst trying to get as many runs as possible. This wasn’t going to be easy for someone who has no end of technical ability, yet struggles to hit the ball! His first ball he faced went straight passed his sublime looking cover drive. Strike one. The next delivery saw what must have been the first ‘slog forward defensive’ I have ever seen…. He charged down the wicket only to block the ball. SEXY CRICKET had never looked so good! The MCC finished up on 154 for 5.

Kolpak was given the task of opening the bowling with Dave ‘mr accuracy’ Whyment taking the second. Kolpak having his first bowl in over a year didn’t disappoint. A bad delivery hit hard and low saw him diving at full stretch to hold onto what could be the catch of the season so far….. he ended up in a heap on the floor, arm between his legs appealing! Fist blood for the foreigner!

Things then started to flow for the Ashby batsmen as they got into the swing of things. Their No 2 & 3 getting 44 and 36 respectively before both falling to the aggressive pace bowling of Thorney. The pressure then swung onto the Ashby lads with some tight fielding producing a well worked run out. Thorney finishing up with 3 for 14 off 3 overs.

It was an uphill struggle from then on with Kolpak picking up another wicket before ending his spell. In the end a good all round performance from the MCC saw them finish up 39 runs clear. Another win for the MCC.

MCC vs. BT Telecom

25/06/08

With the half way mark in the season reached, we find ourselves looking rather peachy at the top of the Division 4 league table, 6 points clear of second place West Haddon. With that in mind we wanted to make sure we continued to keep the results going our way.

The first time these two teams met it was a hard fought affair…. Would this time be the same?

The one thing all our players had noticed on there arrival though was that this was a much younger and fitter looking team. Telecom wanted this win! Our work would be cut out for us.

Winning the toss we chose to bat. Midz ‘middo’ Middleton and David ‘watto’ Watson opened up for us. Middo took the first ball, a quick single, followed by a brilliant drive for four, two balls later; this looked to set him in the right frame of mind. Unfortunately that was it from the big guy as he was caught next ball scoring only 5 runs. Not the best of starts!

This was far too early though to think about pushing the self-destruct button as James ‘flaming’ Marney, having scored a fine 50 last week, was taking his time to make sure he got set. He wanted a repeat of the week before, that’s for sure. The two saw us through the 50 mark with relative ease, before Watto fell to a great catch from Bentley off his own bowling. Kolpak came to the crease looking to see out the opening pair of bowlers with the help of Marney. No sooner had he done this, he fell to the first delivery of the new bowler for a paltry 8 runs.

This was it…. Collapse! Poor bowling meant the lads were going for it and inevitably wickets fell cheaply. Jabba added 29 before the overs were bowled out with 127 on the scoreboard. This was the lowest score the MCC had set all season. It was going to be tough to keep the Telecom lads at bay on such a good batting track.

This was a time for the MCC bowling attack to fire on all cylinders, and boy did they fire! Neal ‘bullet’ McGrath and Dave ‘aggro’ Whyment were amazing to watch. The Pure speed and aggression from these two was stifling the batsmen. Kolpak had his work cut out for him making sure he held on to everything. Bullet cut the batsmen to shreds with one delivery that skimmed his gloves on the way through to Kolpak. The whole ground shuddered as the appeal went up, only to be denied by a stubborn Jim ‘not out’ McGrath. Determined not to let it faze him the Bullet returned for another go. An almost identical ball beat the batsmen again, this time there was no doubt. Neal picking up his first of two wickets that saw him close out with figures of (5-0-19-2).

Things were looking good until some good clean hitting from Telecom and some shoddy fielding got them right back into the game. With just a few overs to go the required rate had climbed to 12 an over. A decisive call from the captain saw the bowling changes made. Jabba and John ‘diamond’ Linell came off to make way for the pair that started the game off for us……we all knew how their batting partnership had failed to flourish. Would the bowling partnership be better? We certainly needed it to be, and we were not disappointed. Watto closing down the game, and picking up the last of the tail enders in the dying overs, finished with (1-0-7-2).

All in all a great game of cricket that pushed the MCC to the limit. Dave ‘aggro’ Whyment picking up the man of the match award for his remarkable figures of (5-2-14-0). He definitely deserved a wicket. Maybe next game Dave?

MCC vs. Raglan XI

11/06/08

The day we said farewell…

Glorious sunshine awaited the visitors to Caldecott in this vital grudge match between the two pub teams.  After winning the toss the MCC chose to bat and got off to a flying start.

Alex ‘my farewell party’ Sedgefield went about his task of going out on a high in fine style. Big hits were the order of the day, whilst at the other end things were a little on the slow side. Dave Watson going to a delivery that kept low for 13. James ‘flaming’ Marney was only starting to smoulder when he was run out on 18.

Step in Andy ‘smash about’ Thorney. This dynamic duo went hell for leather after the bowling attack, knocking ball upon ball to the fence. The score rattled past the 150 mark in no time.

Sedgey felt that he wasn’t going to have enough time to reach his ton so started pushing for quick singles in order to keep the strike. Of course what he didn’t know was that he was already on 93 with 3 or so overs to go. A soft push shot saw the pair set off on what was to be a suicidal single that concluded his final innings for the MCC on 93. Well batted son!

With a quick flurry from Yousef we looked set to break the 200 mark for the first time in the MCC’s short history. Yousef went with only ten or so balls to go…… enter Barry ‘Kolpak’ Taylor.

His orders were clear: MAKE SURE WE GET TO 200! Quick single put ‘smash about’ on strike. A couple dot balls spaced between two fours meant it was crunch time.

Two to go……. Thorney on strike…….. All was looking good for the MCC……. Si Nicholls sent one in, Thorney charged it and with an almighty swing of the bat, MISSED……clean bowled. Thorney finished on 35…. All our hopes were on Chris ‘do something amazing’ Le Poe……d..e.v…. JABBA! One ball to go one run needed. Kolpak let the big guy know that no matter what happened they were going to run. It wasn’t necessary. Jabba had got a thin edge that raced away for four. Cheers all around. We had done it! 203 was the final score. Defendable.

Entering the field we were full of confidence. It was a great start by the opening strike bowling partnership of Watson and Jabba. The pair were on top from to put the pressure on the Raglan. Watson bagging a wicket in his first over. Jabba bagged a couple shortly afterwards to leave The Raglan stumbling with just five runs on the board and already three wickets down.

Watson ended his fine spell picking up the wicket of Styles with a great catch off his own bowling. ( 5-0-10-3) Jabba finished his spell with a superb maiden over and deserved more for his efforts. (3-2-2-2)

Enter the dazzling bowling of John ‘the diamond’ Linell…….. this is when the game became more of a comedy show than anything else…… consistently beat the bat, only for Kolpak to miss chance upon chance to bag his first stumping for the MCC. He dropped sitters, dived all over the place, broke the bails before the ball was even in his glove…… it goes on and on!

Linell picked up a couple, before Thorney finally helped Kolpak pick up his elusive stumping after the umpteenth attempt. Scadoosh! He had his man!

Capt Si Nicholls ambled out to the crease with just one over left. The scene was set… old captain vs new captain…. Scott gave the ball to none other than our secret weapon, John ‘are you sure’ Simmonds. With mutterings from Si, Simmo began the final over by deceiving everyone on the pitch with an enormous wide! He had done his bit…. Lulling Si into a false sense of security….Would it work?

Oh yes it would! The next ball was flighted like a professional, luring Si into the big hit. Big it was…. Powerful it was not! The old Captain had done no more than heave the ball towards the long off boundary with just enough height on it to allow the new Captain time to scramble yards and make a fantastic catch to finish the game. What a result. Perfect. The celebrations erupted from all over the ground! Well played MCC.

Thanks to Alex Sedgefield who won the man of the match award in his final game for the MCC. You will be missed mate. I’m sure the lads will be up for a tour to Geneva to catch up with you and see how your new club stands up to the Might of the MCC!

MCC News

Well it had to happen sooner or later, after 4 attempts the MCC finally toppled the giant known as The Rugby School Old Guard. The Old Guard strolled in full of confidence and could only manage 72 for 10 with Dinnesh being their top run scorer with 11. The MCC replied with a score of 76 for 4 with Dave “Get On With It” Watson scoring 31 not out. With the bowling finesse of Neal “Sidebottom” McGrath who took 3 wickets , 6 runs and 1 maiden.

The Cup game, well erm, lets not talk about that, The MCC was toppled but bear in mind Long Buckby A are in the 1st division and The MCC took this one to the wire, it now just means all focus is now on the league and winning promotion.

14/05/08

MCC V West Haddon

This fixture had the makings of a great game from the outset , from the picturesque setting of Caldecott , the superb batting track , sunshine in abundance , it was like something out of the IPL .

Winning the toss , the MCC promptly got off to a flier , Dave “Elegant” Watson rode his luck early on before finding his stride with a flurry of boundaries , his batting partner , Yousef “Mistiming” Dahmash , struggled to get going and was quickly removed ( Caught behind ) for 10.

Entering the crease was last weeks big hitter , James “Flaming” Marney . It was clear from the start of his innings that he wanted to get on with it . Watson was looking good for a 50 until Tom “Curse The Batsmen” Middleton hexed Watson’s day , falling short of his 50 by just 4 runs ( 46 ) .

Thorney saw out the first few balls before “Flaming” Marney was caught going for the big one . Alex Sedgefield strode out to the middle with great gusto …. Boy did the two of them decimate the bowling , it was like Guy Fawkes night as boundary followed boundary . Thorney raced to his 51 not out , with Sedgey on 32 not out at the end of the innings . 181 for 3 was the score set by the MCC , “ I think we can defend this lads” echoed out from Barry “Kolpak” Taylor.

With those immortal words still ringing in there ears , they set about skittling the opposition out . A tight spell from Middo put the pressure on , whilst Sedgey picked the batsmen off with remarkable ease . A special mention must be made of Dave Watson’s spectacular ( if not somewhat TV style ) catch in the slips to earn another wicket for Sedgey .

Sedgey then went on to claim a fine wicket haul that was just inspiring to watch . Thorney and Neal went about cleaning up the rest of the tail , in what was a truly fantastic all round performance , Alex “Five Far” Sedgefield pipped Thorney to the man of the match award with a classic all rounder display.

Our thoughts go out to the fielder from West Haddon who appeared to get hit by a sniper during the game …… The search still continues for the gunmen.

West Haddon were all out for 55 , giving the MCC it’s second win of the season .

Thanks to David “Scott Junior” Whyment for scoring, our ever increasing band of supporters , Piper , Builder , Meeks , Pimms Paco , Cath and co . Plus a special thanks to John Linnell for umpiring.

Match Report

MCC vs. Telecom
Away at Telecom – Rugby CC AstroTurf

In a shocking start to the season the sun was shining, everyone was smiling and there were more than two teams worth of players to pick from. In a more than unprecedented move, after winning the toss, Telecom elected to field and thus gave the MCC the advantage of the glorious summer sun as they walked out to bat.

Opting to give the debutants a chance, Scott “Captain Picard” Whyment, placed 6 new players into bat. Opening up, Dave “Freddie “Watson partnered Alex “Birthday Boy “Sedgefield, who succumbed to a tricky high bouncing astro. Fortunately he was replaced James “Fireman Sam”Marney who with Freddie got the innings off to a flier. Freddie finished with on a 28 and Fireman Sam top scored on 39. Two other new boys, Neil & Rob, succumbed to Neil “Trigger” McGrath and the bouncy pitch (clearly not their fault). A great burst by Yousef “Playboy” Dahmash and Traitor Mido (28 & 20 Not out) Saw the MCC finish on 141 off their 20, a good score for the first outing of the year!

In reply, Junior tried to help out Telecom by serving up a fantastic Astroturf buffet, but thankfully the Traitor bowled well at the other end. Ad then IT happened, Junior was replaced by Freddie and to (slightly wayward) whirlwind ensured, Of 5 overs he took 4 for only 15 runs .Abley supported by the Traitor and the Birthday Boy at the death and the surprise package of Hendo “Nickname Needed”, Telecom finished 47 short on 94 for 8, Freddie surprisingly pipping Fireman Sam to Man of the Match. The evening improved drastically when we got to the pub ……. Oh and well done Jabba for passing your driving test.

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MCC Fixture List

4th June – MCC V Walcotte (Home)

11th June – MCC V The Raglan Arms (Home)

18th June – MCC V Ashby St Ledgers (Away)

25th June- MCC V Telecom (Home)

2nd July – MCC V West Haddon B (Away)

9th July- MCC V Dunchurch & Bilton (Home)

23rd July- MCC V Walcotte (Away)

30th July- MCC V The Raglan Arms (Away)

6th August – MCC V Ashby St Ledgers (Home)

Anybody wishing to play,
please contact Barry or Scott on 01788 571119.