Match Reports03

Batting first, Maldon were quickly into their stride scoring freely with Ruth smith (25ret) and Jan Eva (17ret). Jannet Austin (12-1) and d Lavender (9-0) off 4 overs were he only Colchester bowlers of note.

In reply Colchester got off to an excellent start with openers Frances Mower (25ret) and M Benn (25ret) ably supported by Sue Davies (11). A final flurry of successive boundaries by Carole Warren (8no) saw the home side win with 4 overs to spare.

In a close and exciting game Police scored steadily with Taylor (18), Mead (12) and Rose (11) despite the bowling of D Poole (14-1), L clement (14-3) and F Hitt (14-2).

in reply Gt. Waltham openers D Pool (26ret) and Becky Wilde (25ret) gave a magnificent start supported by L Clement (18no) reaching their target with 2 overs to spare.

Batting first Abberton punished a below par Wivenhoe attack with Sally Cade (26ret), L Struth (25ret), S Goldring (25ret) and Jenny Manley (23).

In reply Wivenhoe struggled against an acurate Abberton attack. Chris Petman (1-1), Jackie Wooton (8-3) and Tizzy Leary (14-2) were the best of the bowlers with Zoe Gould (10no) and a final flurry from Michelle Halls (6) saw Abberton home by 73 runs.

A hot and sultry evening at the Prom saw Maldon lose the toss and visitors, Copford, decide to bat. Captain, Michelle Snow, opened the batting for Copford in her usual defiant way, putting on 8 runs in the first over. However, Maldon's wicket machine for the day, Ruth Smith (4 for 5 runs from 2 overs!), soon put paid to Snow's efforts, who was caught magnificently for 8 by Emily Broadhurst who had to change direction and snatch the ball from high behind her head! Copford's remaining bats fell cheaply, although C. Keen (2 not out) did very well to hold her ground against the Maldon Ladies who were on fire in the field with Jen Eva, Holly Scrivener and Audrey Mitchell all taking their catches cleanly,(Jen, diving to her left to claim hers!) All seven bowlers were spot on with a wicket a piece for E. Broadhurst, S. Smith and a stunning caught and bowled for 13year old birthday girl Megan Creasy :) Scivener and her skipper Mitchell did their bit by bowling a maiden over each!

With only 30 to reach, it did not take Maldon long to hit their target, although Snow took 3 wickets for Copford in the process. R. Smith (6 n.o.) and J. Eva (8 n.o.) hit the winning runs in the 9.4 over!

batting first Police found runs hard to get with sharn Taylor (15) and Kate Mead (13) top scores. For Colchester the bowling was very tight with Kara Toleman (14-20), Sue Davies (14-20) and Janet Austin (13-2) the wicket takers.

In reply Colchester were never under pressure with openers Birgit Keller (23) and Frances Mower (24no) giving the Home team an excellent start. Sab Saadi (5-10) was the only police wicket taker.

Waltham started off well by winning the toss and chose to bowl first. Waltham got some very early wickets by D. Poole and B. Wilde. C. Keldy had a good bat with 21 for Wivenhoe, but Waltham's bowling and sharp fielding were able to keep Wivenhoe under pressure. At the end of Waltham's 25 overs we had to chase a score of 71. Waltham started comfortably with some early boundaries. However, their good start came to an end with D. Poole being bowled. But B. Wide managed to continue her good form with reitreing at 25. Wivenhoe kept Waltham on their toes with some excellent bowling, Chris Jones (9-2), tamsin Middleton (12-2) and Michelle Harris (11-2). But Waltham were able to withsatnd the pressure and successfully get the runs required with 3 overs to go.

Abberton opened batting and Maldon bowled well getting a total of 8 wickets with 3 taken by Katie Broadhurst. However, Abberton batted strongly throughout and gained 112 runs, with best score from L. Eves with 22.

Maldon replied, losing 2 wickets in first 3 overs, both taken by Jan Newstead. Maldon then only lost total of 4 wickets but Abberton's consistent bowling and fielding kept them down to 66 runs, despite Emma Webdale 19 not out and Emily Broadhurst 14 not out.

A bright and clear evening at Maldon Prom, saw Wivenhoe win the toss and put themselves in to bat. Chris Jones(25) and Julia Brinkley(11) were first to face the Maldon openers Ruth Smith (0 for 9 from 4overs) and Claire Bulman (0 for 5 from 4 overs) who did very well, giving away only 14 runs in 8 overs! Chis, the only Wivenhoe bat to make any use of Maldon's bowling, went on to retire and Julia Brinkley(11) was soon to fall to the very neat bowling of Emily Broadhurst (1 for 13 from 4 overs). Unfortunately, Wivenhoe's remaining bats struggled to make an impression on the total, but Max Harris (6 not out) and Zoe Bennet (5 not out) managed to wag the tail a little!! The remaining wickets were taken by Holly Scrivener (1 for 16 from 4overs), Jen Eva (1 for 4 from 2 overs) and Megan Creasy (1 for 6 from 2 overs). Maldon Ladies can be very proud of their tight fielding and the two excellent catches taken very neatly by the mother and daughter act of Shirley and Ruth Smith!

Facing 55 runs to win, Audrey Mitchell,(determined not to produce another 0) walked to the crease with Ruth Smith and together they took some very nice quick singles before Ruth fell to Max Harris for 10 (including two superb 4's). Claire Bulman then joined her skipper and together put more runs on to the total when Mitchell was caught, quite stunningly behind, by Brinkley for 7! Bulman followed (12) having been caught and bowled by young Diane Jay! And the cool, calm batting of Jen Eva (12 not out) and Emma Webdale (13 not out) soon brought about Maldon's win in the 14th over! Jay was Wivenhoe's best bowler with 1 for 5 from 3 overs (including 1 wicket maiden), well done! Bennet and Harris took the other two wickets!

Batting first, Police got off to a slow start against the accurate bowling attack of Abberton finding it difficult to score runs. Sharn TAYLOR (8) was the first Police wicket to fall to a controversial run out decision in the 6th over with the score still on only 20. In the next 4 overs, a further 2 Police wickets fell, those of Min PATEL (13) and Amy CLARK (1), for the addition of only 9 runs. Michelle MAUGER had other ideas though. Supported mainly by Lorraine HUGHES (13), she raced to 24 off only 10 balls before being bowled by Tizzy LEARY (2-0-20-1). By far the best bowling for Abberton came from J. WOOTEN who bowled 4 overs, 3 maidens, and took 1 wicket for 2 runs.

In contrast, Abberton needed only 15 of their allotted 20 overs to reach the target of 82 to win set by Police. Sally CADE opened the batting and retired on 25. Sarah CULLIS (16) was caught by Sharn TAYLOR off the bowling of Min PATEL (4-0-19-1). Jamie SEXTON (1) was the only other Abberton wicket to fall, magnificently caught behind one handed by wicket keeper Kate MEAD off the bowling of Lorraine HUGHES (2-0-13-1). Sue GOLDING (19 not out) and L. EVES (11 not out) saw Abberton comfortably home to an 8 wicket win.

Abberton continued their wining ways by comprehensively beating Gt. Waltham. Batting first Gt. Waltham were all out for 41 off 8 overs with Abberton bowlers Jamie Newstead (7-3) and Jacquie Wooton (10-4). In reply Sally Cade (23no) was the chief run maker.

In another close game (the last game was a tie) Wivenhoe finally came out on top. Batting first Wivenhoe made slow progress against the Police attack, however Julia Brinkley (27ret) and A Finbow (12) held the innings together with Max Harris (10no) and Zoe Gould (10no) pushing the run rate at the end. Michelle Mauger (18-2) was the best of the Police bowlers.

In reply Police were well up with the rate , Min Patel (27ret) and S Taylor (17) scoring well but their departure slowed the rate after D Jay (11-3) restricted Police in the final overs.

EAG having won the toss, elected to bat. Their opener, S. Lee, did not have achance to get off the mark,falling at the first hurdle for a duck to a superb catch by Shirley Smith off the bowling of Claire Bulman. Maldon felt this could be their chance against EAG! But the remaining bats had other ideas! Three of whom came in, smacked the ball around for a bit, then retired: R. Barnes (25), C. Pinch (26) and N. Baynham (25)! Ah well,Maldon bowlers,Jen Eva (1 for 24) and Holly Scrivener (2 for 21) had to be content with their efforts.

Having picked up an injury during fielding, Mitchell put herself down the order and Bulman and Eva went in first and both fell for 0 to the fine bowling of Aylward. Ruth Smithwas Maldon's only bat who could do anything wiht EAG's bowling and retired on 25. The remaining bats collapsed behind her, with the exception of Debbie Guppy who, coming in at 9, hit a coulple of beautiful fours before being bowled by Aylward for 12. Ruth returned to the crease, but could make no addition to her score.

Batting first EAG were quickly into their stride with Lyn Gunn (17), Helen Barnes (27ret), S Lee (28(ret) and a final hard hitting flurry from captain Cheryl Pinch (22no) with Tamsin Middleton (27-1) the sole Wivenhoe wicket taker.

In reply Wivenhoe were no match for the accurate EAG bowlers fully supported by some excellent work in the field. Only Max Harris (12) and Tamsin Middleton (9) offered any resistance while Debbie Aylward bagged 4 wickets for 1 off 3 overs supported by Linda Dye (5-2).

On another glorious summer evening at The Royal Grammar School, Colchester, Police batted first. The openers, Min PATEL and Sharn TAYLOR, got off to a bit of a flyer scoring 24 off the first 4 overs. TAYLOR(10)was the first of 2 wickets to fall to Jen EVA (4-0-24-2). The loss of this wicket, quickly followed by the run out of Amy CLARK (0) and a short time later the run out of Michelle MAUGER (6), slowed down the run rate. Min PATEL made 19 before becoming Jen EVA's second victim of the evening. Kate MEAD (11) and Natalie MACKINTOSH (11) helped Police along to a total of 84 all out off 18 overs. Ruth SMITH (4-0-12-3),Claire BULMAN (4-2-13-1),and Holly SCIVENER (3-0-7-2) were the best of the Maldon bowlers.

Maldon's innings very closely mirrored that of the Police. Claire BULMAN top scored (23) before being trapped LBW by Natalie MACKINTOSH. Ruth SMITH was the only other Maldon player to reach double figures (11). In a very close and tense finish, with two overs to go, Maldon needed 13 runs to win. Some tight bowling from Min PATEL and Natalie MACKINTOSH and excellent fielding by Police, ensured that they fell just 8 runs short of the target when their 20 overs were used up. Min PATEL (4-0-6-3), Sab SAADI (4-0-11-3) and Natalie MACKINTOSH (4-0-16-2) were the best of the Police bowlers.

Great Waltham made a good start by winning the toss! Colchester's batting was excellent with 4 of its members having to retire. Beck Clout took two good wickets early on but Colchester's batting was just too strong. Even with some excellent fielding by the Great Waltham ladies. Great Waltham's batting was much too eager, trying to chase such a big lead. Becky Wilde had a fantastic spell, batting at number three. Daryl Poole made batting history for the club, scoring the first six for the ladies. But unfortunately Great Waltham's determined effort did not allow them to produce the runs needed in the remaining overs.

Fielding a much weakened team (a Majorcan hen night(s) got in the way) Wivenhoe batted first and were quickly reduced to 6 for 5! A resolute performance from Max Harris (27 ret) supported by a Finbow (8) and Sue Harwood (6) saved some face. A Richmond (5-2) and Michelle Snow (5-1) both off 4 overs were the tightest of the bowlers.

A quick fire response from Copford saw Snow (25 ret) and T Puntschat (9) put on 38 for the first wicket. Despite a mid innings

On the hottest and brightest evening of the season so far, Audrey Mitchell won the toss for Maldon and invited Great Waltham to bat.

B. Wilde and D. Poole opened the batting but Wilde was soon bowled for 3 by Ruth Smith, who was the pick of Maldon's bowlers with 4overs, 2 maidens, 7 runs for 2 wickets! Poole (retiring on 26) was really the only bat on the night, for Great Waltham, able to hold her own against a beautiful, bowling, barrage from Maldon: H. Scrivener 2 for 10, J.Eva 1 for 14, E. Broadhurst 1 for 8, Shirley Smith 1 for 5 and C. Bulman keeping things very tight with 0 for 11! S. Strutt (6) and L. Green (6 not out) wagged the tail a bit for Waltham, but the lovely fielding and superb catches of Janet Sims and Claire Bulman added to the demise of Great Waltham!

With Great Waltham's bowling something of an unknown quantity, Maldon's openers, Mitchell and Bulman, went to the crease prepared to do battle. D. Poole, however, had different ideas and with her straight fast bowling saw Mitchell off for 0. Undeterred, Bulman, joined by R. Smith (12 not out), went on to hit 28 (retired), which included 4 smashing 4's!. Holly scrivener(6)then made way for Emily Broadhurst (1 not out) who hit the winning run in the 11th over!

for EAG Lyn Gunn, Sue Lee and Cheryl Pinch all retired on 25 the side reaching a score 113 for 1 off their 20 overs. In reply Copford reached 56 for 7. Debbie Aylward pick of the EAG bowlers with 4 overs, 4 wickets for 8 runs.

On an evening which began rather drizzly, Maldon lost the toss and Colchester elected to bat. The opening bats started well, with S. Layzell (11) and Carol Warren (run out 12) taking quick singles, even though Warren carried an injury! Maldon's Jen Eva soon bowled Layzell and Warren was run out after a fine throw in from Katie Broadhurst. The next two wickets fell cheaply to the fine bowling of Ruth Smith and a further run out. Then came Sue Davis to the crease who batted with style and power and retired on 25, having been dropped on 8! Although the remaining bats struggled with Claire Bulman bowling H. Warren out for 1 and another nifty run out by Megan creasy, the total at the end of the alotted 20 overs was 107 due to the number of wides given away!

Maldon's openers, Audrey Mitchell (capt.) and Katie Broadhurst felt ready to take on last season's champions! They found it difficult to get the ball away and eventually K. Broadhurst was bowled for 3 by L. Ainsley and Mitchell was caught at square for 3 by B. Keller. Claire Bulman, who had sustained an injury whilst bowling, was caught and bowled for 0 by Keller. Maldon's next three bats worked hard to build up the total with Ruth Smith(13) taking quick singles and a lovely three before being caught by A Kerr off the bowling of D. Lavender. Emma Webdale (wk) (12 not out) and Jen Eva (8 not out) put on 20 runs in the final few overs, but this was not enough to clinch the match.

Police batted first and scored an impressive 132 runs from their 20 overs with Min PATEL top scoring on 25 and Lorraine HUGHES on 21. Michelle MAUGER (19) and Helen PICKERING (16) added to the total. It was the 15th over before Police lost their first wicket (MAUGER) to the bowling of TAYLOR who also took the wicket of Nikki GANDER (6). TAYLOR finished with figures 4-0-36-2. SCHOLFELT (4-0-29-1) and WILDE (4-0-26-1) took the wickets of HUGHES and SAADI (5) respectively.

In their innings, Great Waltham were always behind the run rate: in the first 10 overs scoring 50 but at the cost of 3 wickets. The retirement of Michelle SCHOLFELT (32 not out) on 25 seemed to slow things down further but the loss of another 5 wickets brought her back to the crease to score another 7 runs before K BRADSHAW (3) was bowled by Sab SAADI (4-0-19-1) to end the innings. B. WILDE (15) and F. HITT (7) helped towards the Great Waltham total. Undoubtedly the best bowling for the Police came from Michelle MAUGER (4-0-19-4) who was also involved with Sab SAADI in the run out of F. HITT. Min PATEL again produced excellent bowling figures of 4-0-14-2.

Abberton opened batting but lost 9 wickets. Highest batsman for Abberton was Jamie Newstead with 20 not out.

EAG then batted and only lost 2 wickets - both of these taken by Abberton's bowler Kirsty Horsfall. Cheryl Pinch from EAG retired at 25 and S.Lee got 21 not out. Down to last over when EAG took the winning run.

Police recorded their first win of the season in their home match against Colchester at the Royal Grammar School, Colchester. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Police set Colchester a target of 126 to win off 20 overs. Top scorers for Police were Katie MEAD who very early on in her innings survived a dropped catch and went on to retire on 26, and Lorraine HUGHES who retired on 25. Sharn TAYLOR (15) and Amy CLARK (15) also contributed to the total. The best of the Colchester bowlers were Danielle LAVENDER (4 overs, 0 maidens, 3 wickets for 25 runs), and Sue DAVIES (4 overs, 1 maiden, 1 wicket for 11 runs).

In reply, Colchester lost two early wickets when Janet AUSTIN was out for a golden duck and Danielle LAVENDER was out for 1, both bowled by Sharn TAYLOR while the total had barely reached 10. Sue DAVIES top scored for Colchester making a quick 28 from only 20 balls faced. Carole WARREN on the other hand took a more measured approach reaching 21 from 50 balls faced before being run out by wicket keeper Katie MEAD. Best bowling for Police came from Sharn TAYLOR (4 overs, 0 maidens, 2 wickets for 18 runs),Min PATEL (4 overs, 0 maidens, 0 wickets for 10 runs)and Lorraine HUGHES (4 overs, 0 maidens, 0 wickets for 14 runs).

Batting first, Colchester were immediately in trouble slumping to 14-4 against a tight Wivenhoe attack. Danielle Lavander (22) and Carole Warren (16no) pulled things around reaching 65 off their allotted overs. Chris Jones (7-2) and Catherine Griggs (10-2) were the best of the Wivenhoe bowlers.

In reply openers Sue Warner (23) and Chris Jones (18no) batted steadily towards the target. despite the loss of two wickets the total was reached with an over to spare. the wicket takers for Colchester were Danielle Lavander (11-1) and Lydia Rose (11-1).

Police batted first scoring 83 with Michelle Mauger retiring on 25. An excellent spell of bowling from Jamie Newstead (9-6) arrested the Police progress! 13 year old debutant Coral Baker scored an excellent 15 in the abberton victory. Min Patel (5-1) off 4 overs was the best of the Police bowlers.

In another close encounter Wivenhoe failed to gain their first win of the season against a determined Maldon side. Batting first in gloomy conditions Maldon, loosing a wicket in the first over. Audrey Mitchell (10), and Rachael Smith (11) put on 48 before a late flurry from Emma Webdale (11) and the undefeated holly Scriviner (14). Catherine Griggs (12-1) and Chris Jones (8-1) were the best of the Wivenhoe bowlers.

In reply the Wivenhoe team kept ahead of the rate with Sue Warner (17) and Julia Brinkley (18) leading the way. The Maldon bowlers retained their composure with S Smith (8-1) and Clare Bulman (7-2) slowing the run rate which left Wivenhoe needing 6 from the last over. Catherine Griggs (7) was again left to score the runs from the final over, this time however Emily Broadhurst (10-2) had other ideas, claiming Griggs off the second ball, conceding only 2 runs with a further wicket to boot!

A match reduced to 15 overs apiece due to the poor weather conditions that had caused other games to be cancelled produced probably the closest and most thrilling finish of the season so far.

Batting first on the Royal Grammar School pitch, Police reached 64 for 8 wickets. Katie MEAD top scored for Police with 21 before being bowled by Max HARRIS. Min PATEL contributed to the total with 14 before being out LBW also to Max HARRIS. In fact, Max HARRIS (4 overs, no maidens, 12 runs, 3 wickets) and Catherine GRIGGS (4 overs, o maidens, 15 runs, 3 wickets) were the best of the Wivenhoe bowlers.

In reply, both openers for Wivenhoe (Chris JONES and Max HARRIS) were out without scoring. Some good bowling supported by excellent fielding by Police meant that with 9 of the 15 allotted overs gone, Wivenhoe had only reached 31 requiring another 34 runs off the remaining 6 overs to win. Claire KELLY accelerated the scoring and top scored for Wivenhoe with 25 runs before being run out by wicket keeper Katie MEAD. Amy FINBOW also suffered the same fate. As wickets fell, the scores got closer until Wivenhoe required only 5 to win off the last over with four wickets in hand. Natalie MACKINTOSH for Police bowling in only her second match kept her nerve bowling the last over. The first three balls were dot balls. With the fourth she took the wicket of Zoe GOULD bringing Catherine GRIGGS to the crease. Wivenhoe now required 5 to win off 2 balls. Could Catherine do it? A dot ball! Five runs required to win off the last ball of the match. Catherine hit the ball hard to deep square leg. Two fielders chased it but it eluded them by inches. Four runs scored. Match Tied.

Abberton won the toss and decided to bat loosing early wickets to Becky Wilde (14-2) and accurate bowling from Darel Poole (8-0) off 4 overs.Good batting saw Jackie Wooton saw her early retirement then return for an unbeaten 31. Chris Petman (17no) steadied the ship to enable Abberton to post 98-8 off their allotted overs. Rachael Clout (20-2), Michelle Schlotfeildt (9-2) and Sarah Parkin (14-2) were the other wicket takers.

Despite the early loss of Clout, Becky Wilde (34no) and Darel Poole(28) put the home side in with a chance, each having to retire at 25. Their return to the crease as the final pair saw an exciting finish, ending 6 runs short. Excellent bowling from A Newstead (8-3), Tizzy Leary (17-3) and Jackie Wooton (15-2) saw the visitors home.

New captain Michelle Snow and her sister Rachel took two wickets each as a youthful Copford team held the Abberton side to 109 all out.

Copford replied with solid batting performances from debutants Catherine Keen(8) and Kallie Bladon(12)who supported the inform Michelle Snow(25 ret.) With over 30 runs still required, Anna Richmond(18 n.o.) steered the Copford tail enders to a thrilling last ball victory by 4 wickets.

Batting first EAG got off to a good start with H Barnes (23), Lyn Gunn (9), Cheryl Pinch (25 ret.), Debbie Aylward (18) and Linda Dye (16 no) reaching 103-3 off their allotted overs. Chris Jones with 12-1 was the pick of the bowlers.

In reply the Wivenhoe batters were always behind the clock despite the efforts of Chris Jones (12), Dianna Jay (8) and a stylish 16 not out from Clare Kelly finally reaching 71 for 6 off their overs. Debbie Aylward (9-2) was the pick of the EAG bowlers.

A bright and sometimes overcast evening saw Min Patel and S. Bakewell take their positions as openers for the Police. They put on 11 (Patel) and 21(Bakewell)before falling to the excellent bowling of Emily broadhurst and Ruth Smith of Maldon. Amy Clark performed very well and scored a lovely 15n.o. The remainder of the Police however, collapsed somewhat under a steady barrage from Maldon's bowlers. Ruth Smith, Holly Scrivener and Emily Broadhurst taking 2 apiece with the remaining two wickets being shared by Jen Eva and Claire Bulman. A mention must be made of Megan Creasy, Maldon's youngest member of the team, who bowled very maturely and gave an insight of what to expect in the future!

Facing a target of 100 to win, skipper, Audrey Mitchell and Claire Bulman walked to the wicket undaunted. Putting on 21 runs in the first 2 overs, the opening pair showed what they were made of. Claire went on to hit an exciting 25 Not Out, thus allowing some excellent batting performances from Ruth (12),Holly Scrivener (22 Not Out) and a smashing 9 Not Out from Jen!

Newcomers Gt. Waltham batted first with B Wilde top score with 11. For Colchester Sue Davies (4 - 2) and Daniel Lavender (1 - 1) and Jan Austin (1 - 1) were the pick of the bowlers restricting Gt. Waltham to 35 all out off 18 of their allotted 20 overs.