REPORT ON CB FINAL (NEWCASTLE V CHELTENHAM PLAYED AT ST ANNE’S ON SEA
CRICKET GROUND, TUES 2 SEP 08
Both teams arrived at the ground and were ready to go ahead of schedule. With a threat of rain at some
time during the day it was agreed an early start would be the thing to do.
Sunny and chilly day, wicket reasonably firm with a little green coming through. Outfield fairly good in view
of heavy rain over the past few days.
Umpires Bob Vetch and Steve Holden from the local leagues. Scorers Imram Mohammed and Mike Turner.
Cheltenham and Newcastle skippers Eddie Baker and Geoff Stewart respectively. Cheltenham call correctly,
NELSC (Newcastle) inserted. 10.41 hrs ‘haway the lads’ and off we jolly go.
Alan Worthy, Phil Taylor opening against left arm fast medium Stephen Bridge and right arm fast medium
Matthew Barratt.
Solid start three fours moves the score to 25 off the first 5 overs. Worthy survives an lbw appeal but despite
some keen fielding with the keeper standing up the score trogs along to 38 in 8. Surprise, therefore, in the
12lth over Taylor comprehensively bowled off stump by Barratt for 20 runs, 47 f 1. Big Mick Nicholson
strolled in to great expectations but 1 run later found himself strolling out bowled Bridge for 0, 48 f 2. A rare
failure for Mick. Worthy still there 27 no. 48 f 2. Enter Graham Wright who having got to 5 in even time
miscues and goes caught and bowled by Bridge, 55 f 3. Good bowling. Worthy, a spectator at the other end.
Chelts cock a hoop didn’t expect this. Skipper Geoff Stewart to the crease. Need a bit of backbone and
application to steady the rocking ship. Off the mark with a 4. At the other end Worthy 36 no and off strike
for a while gets a faint touch but the ball is on keeper Edge before he can adjust, the chance goes down.
Worthy and Newcastle breathe again. A turning point? 63 f 3 in 16. Worthy celebrates with a leg pull for 4.
71 f 3 in 18. Stewart straight drives Barratt four 4 then just survives a confident lbw call. 76 f 3, drinks taken
at 11.56 – 1200 hrs. Worthy 45 no, Stewart 14 no. Bridge and Barratt bowled out 10 over’s each. Both did
well to contain the Newcastle batsmen. 10-0-40-1 (4.0 per over)and 10-1-46-2 (4.6) respectively. 1st change
introduced right arm fast medium John Winwood, left arm spinner. Worthy greets him by straight driving
him for a mighty 6. Back garden job, lost ball. Splendid way to reach his 50. Tried to repeat the stroke next
ball and up into the heavens it goes. Deep mid off area. Three fielders converge alas no one gets there.
Debate follows as to who should have done the business! Worthy 55, Stewart 15 playing second fiddle. 91 f
3 in 21. A little on the slow side but Chelts quite happy with this. Second spinner into action, slow left arm
spinner Rich Robinson. Stewart revs up a bit, fancies the slower men as they say, crashes 12 off one over.
Now 125 f 3 in 27 with Stewart 28 and Worthy not seeing much of the action on 57. Shower of rain stops
play at 12.25 for 10 minutes. Back to the action with the score accelerating some what. Leg glance brings
Stewart a well deserved half century. 150 f 3, Worthy moves on to 69. Chelts losing their grip? Worthy
smashes a rasper to mid on. John Winwood attempts the catch, misjudges, injures hand, leaves field in pain
and is taken to Blackpool Victoria hospital for treatment. Substitute Dave Wells on field. Chris Hill right arm
medium into the bowling attack.150 f 3 in 30, 95 run partnership in even time. Now going Newcastle’s way.
31 runs purloined in next 4 over’s brings up 181. Worthy goes to his century with a belter over the sight
screen, out of the ground, another cry from over the wall ‘mind my b....y greenhouse’. Worse still we don’t
get our ball back. What a way to get your hundred. Minor calamity, Stewart misses, bowled by Robinson for
54 including 9 fours. Good innings. 188 f 4 in 34. Tony ‘Tonto’ Claughan strides to the wicket. A few runs
later departs for the dreaded quack bowled hands down by Hill, 193 f 5 with 4 and a bit 5 over’s to go. Must
have missed his erstwhile partner ‘The Lone Ranger’! Worthy soldiering on, 109 no. Graham Angus now on
the job and not pussy footing about. Agricultural mode being put to good use. Bang and away, another over
the sight screen! Top edge 4 more. Heave to mid wicket, dropped. It’s all happening now. 215 f 6 in 37. Over
the sight screen, 6 more and another lost ball. Problem here as it seems we are running out of ‘balls’. Angus
shoots like a ferret up a drainpipe into the forties. It’s all go now, Chelts running round the field amid the
mayhem. 235 f 5 in 38. Angus almost stumped but manages to leave one large foot on one long leg behind
the line. 247 f 5 in 39. Worthy on 113, unlucky for some but not for him. Angus subjects himself to another
stumping chance but survives. Worthy slashes to deep mid off, good attempt to take but it drops to the
ground. Innings closes at 13.20 hrs, 250 f 5 in the 40. Byes 5, leg byes 4, wides 4. Very acceptable large score.
Worthy 115 no includes 6 sixes and 12 fours. Angus 43 no in short sharp time. 3 sixes and 5 fours. Support
bowlers Winwood before injury, 5-0-34-0 (6.8), Robinson 10-0-61-1(6.9) and Hill 5-0-52-0 (10.4). The latter
two suffering some tap bearing the brunt of the Newcastle acceleration.
An enormous lunch then was then spread before the assembled throng. One could not envisage running
round the field after such a tasty treat. Home made lasagne in immense portions, lovely salad and vast
quantities of crispy chips. Oh lor.
Players take the field at 14.00 precisely. Eddie Baker and Gordon Want facing right arm fearsome and fast
Angus and Lee Aunty right arm medium., a swinger by all accounts? Baker nurdles a couple of fours in the
first over in a slow solid un spectacular start. 21 f 0 in 9 tells the story. Rises to 30 f 0 in 9 and on to 39 f 0 in
12. At 2.7 per over on the slow side but 10 wickets still in hand against two bowlers giving it their all! both
Angus and Auty Baker 26 no and Wint 13 no. Nicholson a bowler for all seasons replaces Angus. An
immediate result as Baker attempting a cut is bowled on 26 containing 5 fours. A good little cameo. 40 f 1 in
12.4, Wint 14 no. Ben Nichols at the wicket greeted by a Nicholson wide. Nichols replies with two fours.
Score now 50 f 1 in 15. Scoring rate upped slightly. Wint ups the ante by rapping 3 fours. Wint survives a
stumping attempt off Auty. At the other end Nicholson continues to serve up a selection of deliveries, you
could say of the Heinz variety. Worthy right arm medium replaces Auty. 73 f 1 in 20. Wint 29 no and Nichols
17 no. Rain arrives and all off at 15.10 hrs. Grounds man assisted by players rush to put the covers on. Skies
grey, weather looking ominous. One young lady obviously not acquainted with the finer arts of the game
innocently enquires ‘could one continue to play on under the covers’..........! On looking crowd stunned but
sufficiently aware to advise accordingly. Young lady crept away suitably chastised duly embarrassed.
Meanwhile back at the ranch signs of an improvement in the weather causes the umpires to come out of
hiding for an inspection. Sticking heads out of door and with rain drops dripping of noses advise the obvious
‘no play yet’. Hurrah clouds away and lightening up, play recommences at 16.20 hrs.
Comparable scores at this stage, Newcastle 97 f 3 in 21, Chelts 72 f 1 in 20. Still to be played for. Big Mick to
Nichols, a unusual field day, 14 runs off the over. Rapid upping of scoring rate. Surprising what a few fours
and the odd six can do to the scoring rate. 107 f 1 in 22 over’s. Nichols 33 no and Wint 42 no. Newcastle for
the first time looking a trifle uneasy. Worthy to Wint who launches a huge six out of the ground to move to
48. A cheer goes up as some person behind the garden fence throws the ball back. Meanwhile with 50 in
sight Wint attempts to reach the half century but goes badly astray as he sees his wickets clatter to the
ground. Worthy the master of that little duel.116 f 2 in 24. 142 runs to win, 102 balls to go and eight wickets
to play with. Gerald Baker in at number four off the mark with a single. The chase is on but Chelts letting
themselves down by not converting singles in twos. Loud shout for lbw against Wint who replies with a four.
Disaster, Nicholson still trundling away bowls Nichols, an excellent 49, 4 fours and a 6. One short of course.
148 f 3 in the 28th. What’s the strength of Chelts remaining batting? Can they cope, keep chasing? Don’t
know. We expect to find out soon. Skipper David Carter joining Wint gets a single but finds himself all at sea
against Worthy, bowled for one. 151 f 4 in the 30th. Newcastle sense a break through. Baker still there at the
other end 14 no. Is it up to him, we wonder. The answer is ‘wait and see’. 155 f 4 after 30. Baker 20 latches
onto Nicholson, ball up, up and away. Six all over it. Hold it, long off right on the boundary’s edge in the
shape of Angus leaps high into the air and claws the ball out of the sky. Brilliant catch much to Bakers
disgust, out for 20. 155 f 5 and one gets the impression Chelts are about to run out of steam. Barratt joined
by Bridge who nobbles four to keeps the score ticking over but only just. An attempted single ends in
disaster, Barratt with six to his name run out, direct hit by Angus. 166 f 6. Newcastle on the charge, Chelts
wilting. Nicholson bowled out, 10-0-60-3 (6.00). Angus recalled to the fray on his shorter run but sufficiently
fast enough to have keeper Ian Archbold standing back. Score now just tottering along. 172 f 6 with six and a
bit over’s to go. Phil Edge 4 no, Bridge 7 no. Surely Chelts cannot manage 78 runs off the next six overs. A
herculean effort required but who could provide the impetus? Worthy continuing at the other end breaks
through Edge’s defence, bowled for 6 runs. 174 f 7. Six runs later Bridge 8 trudges off to the pavilion bowled
Angus, middle and all that. 180 f 8 in the 35th. The writing is on the wall as had been for the last few overs.
Robinson fails to connect with the bat bowled Angus for a dreaded duck. 180 f 9 in 35.2 over’s. Innings
closed as the injured Winwood unable to bat. Aunty 10-0-46-0 (4.6), Worthy 7-0-52-3 (7.2) and Angus
bowling with menace and aggression, 8-2-20-2 (2.5).
An interesting final which at one stage might have gone either way. In hindsight the two partnerships
between Worthy and Stewart for the 4th wicket 133 and the 6th wicket between Worthy and the belligerent
Angus of 55 put only left Chelts with a glimmer of hope. However it could be said that the dropped catches
by Chelts particularly those offered by Worthy at 36 and 51 proved extremely costly run wise. 65 f 3 at that
time might have been 64 f 4 and then what. There you go.
On the day Newcastle had more fire power than Chelts but congratulations to both teams. A real show and
if there had to be a man of the match it would probably have gone to Alan Worthy for his titanic 115 no and
his 3 f 52, but make no mistake it was a real team day for both sides.
Good news for Chelts. John Winwood returned from hospital right hand all bandaged up. Split fingers, six
stitches and a double dislocation. Still smiling and as cheerful as ever despite the pain he was suffering. Well
done John.
The presentation followed with Duncan Farrer, Chairman CSCA thanking the St Anne’s Cricket Club and all
the volunteers from the club who put in the time and effort to make sure the CB Final went off without a
hitch. Continuing he also praised the players, umpires, scorers, their supporters and spectators for their coordinated efforts as well to ensure the day went well. Not to mention the well intended good humour and
banter.
The Crusader Cup went to the Cheltenham as the losers and the CB Shield to the winners, NELSC
(Newcastle). Medals to both sides, umpires and scorers. The presentation concluded, all parties repaired to
the bar to celebrate or commiserate. A good day’s work done and enjoyed by all in the true spirit of the
game.
16/09/08