FIND EMBERTON   CRICKET GROUND

TOTE  WINNERS

2014 Reviewed

Although the summer turned out to be one of the best in recent years the weather still had an influence on the season and a total of seven games were classed as “No Result” due to waterlogged pitches. The Third Eleven had the misfortune to encounter four rained off, the First Eleven two and one for the Seconds. In fact, due to a re-arranged fixture and a wet Saturday, the Thirds actually played their first game on May 17^th and the following week endured another lay off when rain washed out the game against Heyford. A strange and disjointed start to say the least!

It’s fair to say that all three senior teams got off to a slow start in 2014, and at one stage very early on all three were propping up their respective divisions.

PREMIER DIVISION FINAL TABLE 2014 

DIVISION THREE FINAL TABLE 2014

DIVISION TEN FINAL TABLE 2014 

Our First Eleven won their fourth fixture at home to Saints, and came very close after declaring at Burton Latimer, but it wasn’t until July 5^th (and halfway through the season) that the second victory was achieved away at Brixworth with the wickets and runs shared around.

Another win eventually came towards the end of July with a great alround team performance at high flyers Rushden Town. A strong batting card was led by David Shelford with 83 off 85 balls and was followed up by a great bowling display which saw Steve Musgrave and the Perry brothers ripping through the home side’s line up to ensure an emphatic 54 run victory.

August saw two more victories, which eased us out of the relegation zone, and instilled confidence into a squad who now realised they were capable of beating anyone on the day. The first of the two was against fellow strugglers Stony Stratford and was not routine. After being 34 for 4 our late-middle order rose to the challenge and eventually posted a handy defendable total of 183 off 55 overs. After tea Stony also wobbled early on but unlike Wollaston they could not turn things around and were all out for 90 in just 25 overs with Steve Musgrave picking up five wickets.

 The second August success came with the very rewarding win away at Finedon. We set a modest 153 all out in 47 overs which no doubt left the home side supporters on the North Bank very confident of a home win and an early plate of burger and chips. But cricket is never predictable and with James Coutts on fire the hosts were skittled out for a meagre 115 in 39 overs with the Man from Sydney finishing with 5 for 29 off 9.2 overs and the home supporters rather quiet.

September brought a hard earned draw against Oundle, a surprising defeat at relegated Burton Latimer and an uplifting win at home to Brixworth in the final game. (Brixworth 111 all out in 29 overs Wollaston 112 for 6 in 33 overs.

PREMIER DIVISION FINAL TABLE 2014 

                                                                           BATTING

FIRST ELEVEN FIFTIES 2014 

FIRST ELEVEN PARTNERSHIPS 2014

 FIRST ELEVEN  BOWLING 2014

                                                FIRST ELEVEN FIVE WICKETS IN AN INNINGS  

FIRST ELEVEN FIELDING 2014

                               Wicket Keeping Dismissals: Mark Carter 23  (20 catches  3 stumpings)

FIRST ELEVEN PREMIER DIVISION RESULTS

Hevey NCL K.O Twenty Cup 2014

June 16th  Brixworth CC 156 for 3 in 20 overs, Wollaston CC 140 for 9 in 20 overs.
 
Wollaston's poor trot of form continued in the 20/20 competition, with the hosts ending up 16 runs short, chasing Brixworth's first innings total of 156.
 
Wollaston worked hard with both the ball in hand, and in the field, but the combination of some clean striking and good running between the wickets, saw Brixworth reach 156 in their allotted 20 overs, with John Pike 3-0-18-1 and Steve Musgrave 4-0-29-1 the pick of the Wollaston bowlers.
 
When big guns Musgrave and Jimmy Hart were both dismissed cheaply at the top of the order, Wollaston saw themselves behind the eight ball early in their reply, but knowing how this format can change quickly, particularly with a couple of good overs Wollaston knew they still had the fire power in their line up to compete. Matt Jones (39) and Mark Ralph (34) both went at a run a ball respectively, but the run rate continued to increase for Wollaston the longer the innings went on, and a succession of quick wickets made life even more difficult.
 
Some good hitting from Coutts (23) and Carter (16 n.o) gave the innings some respectability, but with 24 needed off the last over, off the bowling of ex Northants bowler Lee Daggett, things were never going to be an easy, and Wollaston eventually ended 16 runs short.
 
A disappointing result, but the players must take the positives from the game, and transfer this to our efforts on a Saturday, where the First Team travel to Oundle Town, for another tough encounter.

Please note however that Wollaston progress to the next round of the Cup by virtue of the fact that Brixworth contravened a registration rule.  We now play Northampton Saints in the next round.

Tuesday July 1^st 

WOLLASTON V NORTHAMPTON SAINTS TWENTY/20 CUP  at Wollaston

Wollaston 197 for 3 in 20 overs   Northampton Saints 133 for 6 in 20 overs       WOLLASTON WON BY 64 RUNS

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WOLLASTON  THROUGH TO FINALS DAY AT COUNTY GROUND

THE WIN AT EAST HADDON SENDS US THROUGH!

Wollaston 167 for 6 in 20 overs East Haddon 117 for 9 in 20 overs

July 27^th

Hevey NCL Twenty Cup Finals Day, County Ground

Semi Final

HORTON TOO STRONG ON THE DAY

HORTON 251 FOR 3 IN 50 OVERS       WOLLASTON 93 FOR 9 IN 20 OVERS

SECOND ELEVEN 2014

The Second Eleven had a tough start and the nearest they came to tasting victory in April, May and June was the nail-biting tie against West Haddon. However a better second half of the season eventually saw a top four finish with a total of eight wins over the season.

On May 10^th Marcus Shelton (65) led the batting order to a handy 181 for 8 in 50 overs but the Haddon reply looked on course to win fairly comfortably before our lads fought back and managed to finish with the scores level. Twenty handy points!

Despite 61 from John Pike, May came and went without the elusive first win and the beginning of June continued in the same vein with a heavy defeat against Horton 2^nds with “extras” contributing 28 of Wollaston’s 131 all out. However, a week later our old friends Irchester provided exactly what we needed when they were all out for just 69 in 22 overs chasing our 201 all in 47.5. There were good contributions from most of the batters and on the day Kieran Furniss proved much too good with the ball and finished with 5 for 36 off 10 accurate overs. The momentum continued the following week at home to Corby S&L and although the second win of the season was not achieved, a resilient and fighting batting display saw a well-earned draw reap nine much needed points.

Going into the second half of the season a big win came along at Kibworth in deepest Leicestershire.  Wollaston posted 218 thanks to good contributions down the order, and then Kamran Bahra proceeded to run through the opposition batting line up, finishing with 5 for 39 off 13.2 overs. A long journey, but well worth the effort!

A narrow defeat (just 8 runs) at home the following week against O.N 2nds saw the momentum falter slightly only to rev up in style at West Haddon on the last Saturday in July.

The daunting West Haddon score of 217 in 50 overs was chased by our Boys with relish despite losing the season’s top run scorer Marcus Shelton very early on. A second wicket stand of 105 between Andy Luck (58) and number three Cameron Pike (83 not out)  took Wollaston to within striking distance before Pike and the middle order took us over the line with just one ball to spare.

Marcus Shelton’s 69 was in vain the next week in the 8 wicket defeat at the hands of Heyford but, back on the road again,  Andy Luck (52) inspired a 10 wicket win at Great Houghton followed by a overdue win at home against Old with Marcus again headlining with 60 at the top of the order. A week later a fantastic rear-guard effort at Horton saw Wollaston finish on 199 for 9 in reply to the host’s 200 for 8 with youngsters Kamran Bahra 35 not out and Nathan Healey 8 not out.

Determined to make “August 2014” a month to remember MAS greedily added to his tally with a boundary filled 80 against a struggling Irchester outfit who were all out for 107 in 39 overs. The penultimate month of the season had been a good month for Darren Laughton’s men with the team now ensconced in the top five.

Into the last month of the season and another long journey resulting in a high scoring win at S&L Corby could prompt would-be pundits to examine a possible correlation with regard to distance travelled (approx. 85 miles) and points gleaned (85) in the three games away at Kibworth, West Haddon and S&L respectively ! But whatever the theory - and defeat at Great Oakley away would perhaps spoil the hypothesis -  travelling to the Steelmen certainly suited Marcus Shelton as he proceeded to score exactly one hundred (the only Club century of the season) and put on 157 with fellow opener Andy Luck (52) and set a new record for the first wicket. Despite the next highest score being six, and four ducks in the middle order, victory was achieved with just 2 wickets and 13 balls remaining.

The penultimate Saturday and the high scoring draw at home to Great Oakley saw 471 runs scored on the day with Wollaston making 208 of which John Pike contributed 51, followed by the visit to Earls Barton on the final day.

After being 13 for 5 and 28 for 7 and all the recognised batsmen back in the hutch it looked like an early finish for the Two’s and a disappointing end to an encouraging second half of the season. But with Andy Kowal and Kamran Bahra in our ranks nothing can be taken for granted and between them they put on 144 runs for the 8^th wicket – a record which bettered the 98 made only a week earlier by John Pike and Andy Kowal against Gt Oakley and eclipsed  the the 79 made by Andy Kowal and Adam Tee against Rushden 2nds in 2011. Kamran made 79 and Andy finished 85 not out. A fantastic achievement.

The improved results in the second half of the season ensured a fourth place finish in division three and reflected well on a spirited young team led positively by Darren Laughton who has announced he will be back in the ranks as a foot-soldier next season after two years in charge. Although accepting and understanding Darren’s wish to shed the captaincy, he is held in high regard by his team and they will be disappointed if he follows his wish to stand down.

SECOND ELEVEN BATTING 2014