NEC Representative XIs
NEC Representative Cricket 2011
2011 NEC REPRESENTATIVE XI’s REPORT
The NEC Under 15 XI fired away as early as the 25th April, would you believe, when they entertained a New Forest side and managed a neat little win. A great start. The only snag was that our next game, Under 12’s v. Bromley & District was not till mid-June when the weather had become distinctly unseasonal ! Nevertheless a 6 wicket win was expertly achieved.
Again we had another sizeable break until 9th August when the Under 12’s and the Under 13’s travelled to Bournemouth to challenge Dorset B teams. The older colts won well, our first ever victory over a Dorset side, whereas the younger lads were second best. Nevertheless it was an excellent day out by coach and parental support was admirable.
Our next fixtures were against Surrey B, Under 13 and Under 14. As was to be expected the county lads collected on both occasions, but, our performances were commendable and Surrey will be in the 2012 fixture card, and against three or four of our sides. Not just the two from this year. That shows a mark of the respect we achieved in those two games.
Just over two weeks after our Bournemouth trip we were rushing down the M3 again this time to Romsey and once again on our travels we shared the spoils, a win for the Under 12’s but a loss for the Under 14’s against the New Forest youngsters. At the end of August the Under 15’s entertained Bromley & District and won handsomely. Hoping to emulate that success in early September their hopes were dashed by the rain and a trip to the New Forest failed to get off the ground. Alas.
Throughout the season the managers were very impressed with the attitude of the youngsters who played. They were highly competitive in a commendably motivated fashion and all the games were played with the Spirit of the Game adhered to willingly. An attitude that all those from the NEC management are keen and proud to promote.
In all seriousness a highly promising season for all four sides as we sought to re-establish the NEC Representative XI’s on a wider stage. 2012 is when we intend to expand a touch and to hopefully unearth a few youngsters who are worthy of stepping up to the next level, but have yet to do so, as we did this year.
Should there be anyone reading this who believes they can add firepower to our armoury then the writer would be more than happy to discuss the outline of the 2012 programme and explain what is involved for anyone able and willing to come aboard. There is a lot of talent in the NEC Leagues and we intend to prove that again in 2012. I look forward to hearing from you !!!
And finally, my thanks have to go to Bob Jordan {Sutton}, Stewart Ireland {Tadworth}, Asad Butt {Old Whitgiftians} and Nick Moreno {Spencer} who managed the four sides and performed admirably. Their commitment and efforts were outstanding as the colts who played under them will testify.
RESULTS :
- NEC Under 15 248 -9 ; New Forest 210
- Bromley & District Under 12 : 129 – 4; NEC 130 - 4
- Dorset B Under 13 127 : NEC 130 – 6
- NEC Under 12 115 ; Dorset B 116 - 1
- Surrey B Under 13 159 – 8 : NEC 112
- Surrey B Under 14 - 122 : NEC 77
- NEC Under 15 221 – 4 : Bromley & District 132
- New Forest Under 14 202 : NEC 137
- New Forest Under 12 114 : NEC 115 - 8
Chris Whitehouse
Organiser NEC Representative Cricket
September 2011
(Scroll down for match resports.)
A varied selection of games have been organised for this Season, including a couple of “longish” journeys into the countryside, and there is considerable optimism for a successful run of matches. This is due to the fact that four enthusiastic managers have volunteered to manage and coach the youngsters in their inimitable way!
They will admit to not knowing exactly who should be selected so, if any manager or coach or parent believes there is a colt worthy of consideration, then do not hesitate to make contact with the respective manager. The oft heard one liner is that “Jimmy Smith should be playing”, well that remark is no longer valid. Get in touch NOW Jimmy!!!
We aim to make this a season when NEC Representative cricket strikes back: please make sure we have your backing!! And, once again we will be awarding caps to those who regularly appear in our colours. The Management structure for 2011 reads :
Under 12 : Bob Jordan
Under 13 : Stewart Ireland
Under 14 : Asad Butt
Under 15 : Nick Moreno
Organiser: Chris Whitehouse
Fixtures
25th April : Under 15 : New Forest {H} 19th June : Under 12 : v Bromley & District {A} 9th August : Under 12 : v Dorset ‘B’ {A} 9th August : Under 13 : Dorset ‘B’ {A} 11th August : Under 13 : Surrey ‘B’ {H} 12th August : Under 14 : Surrey ‘B’ {H} ?? August : Under 15 : Surrey ‘B’ {H} 21st August : Under 12 : New Forest {A} 21st August : Under 14 : New Forest {A} 11th September : Under 15 : New Forest {H}
RESULTS
- New Forest Under 12 - 113 : NEC Under 12 - 114 – 8
- New Forest Under 14 - 202 : NEC Under 14 - 137
- Surrey B Under 14 - 122 .. NEC Under 14 – 77
Sam Wright & Ollie Sitch in top form with bat & ball!
NEC Under 15’s 248 -9 ; New Forest Colts 210
On April 25th the NEC U15 Representative XI beat a strong New Forest U15 team relatively comfortably, to get the season off to the best possible start. Playing at home at Spencer CC, NEC lost the toss and had to bat first on a warm day but got off to a great start with a stand of 54 from openers Sam Wright and Joe Moreno. A middle order collapse then saw us sink to 88 for 4 before a bonanza of late hitting saw NEC to a slightly above par 248 for 9 off the 45 overs, with top scorers being Rahul Patel (53), Sam Wright (53), Ollie Sitch (43) and M. Khan (35).
In reply one of the New Forest openers (who scored 91 last time we met!) departed for 0, nicking a super fast ball from Joynal Ahmed to keeper Charlie Stuart. Wickets fell steadily after that, with medium pace doing most of the damage, and NEC coasted home with New Forest all out for 210 in the 43rd over. There were excellent bowling figures for Sam Wright (6.2-1-30-4), Ollie Sitch (8-2-16-3) and Harry Parker (9-0-47-1), with M. Khan and Joynal Ahmed claiming a wicket each.
Nick Moreno
First Game, First Win!
Bromley & District U 12’s 129 – 4; NEC 130 - 4
On 19th June the NECSC league under 12 representative team played their first ever game against a Bromley & District side at Petts Wood CC. The boys also managed to mark this landmark event with a victory, which while not the main purpose of the match, did make the whole event a little sweeter for players and supporters alike.
The NEC boys assembled on the first sunny June day for weeks, in most cases having never clapped eyes on one another. After a hurried set of introductions, and an even more hurried set of instructions, they set about bowling against their slightly more corporate looking foes (they had shirts with badges). Captain Sam Dukes marshalled his bowlers well at the start and took advantage of early hesitancy in the home ranks and a boundary that disappeared into the horizon for the smaller lads. Humza Tahir, Tim Ridler, Josh Glanville and Stef Nayar all bowled mean spells that kept the home side under pressure and never able to get above the 4-an-over mark. There were no early breakthroughs but at 48 for no loss after 13 the advantage was marginally still with the NEC. The introduction of spin in the shape of leggies Blake and Dukes, brought immediate rewards with a wicket apiece, and Neale-Smith picked up another as Bromley continued to be pegged back in mid innings, finishing finally on 129 for 4 off 30 overs; a decent but gettable score. Reluctant bowlers Edgar and Russell also bowled tidy 2 over spells to keep Bromley in check and in truth had NEC held their catches the total could have been somewhat less – at least 5 tough chances went down, but by the same token the ground fielding was pretty good throughout.
The NEC response was controlled and clinical, or at least that’s the way it looks in the scorebook a week after the game. Neale-Smith and Blake chipped in with solid 20’s to set the base for the victory, pacing their innings perfectly. However, Edgar, Carty, Tidmarsh and in particular a dogged Henry Russell (16) all made telling contributions that kept the scoreboard ticking at the 4-an-over mark until some late acceleration allowed Tidmarsh the opportunity to finish the game with a “Dil-scoop” single to leave NEC victors by 6 wickets with 2 overs to spare.
So a first game and a first victory, but more importantly an enjoyable game played in great spirit against sporting hosts who looked after us well. Of course there was some good cricket and fine performances, but perhaps the most pleasurable moment was finding most of the team having an impromptu team meeting in the changing room (ie whinging about decisions, the pitch, the opposition bowlers, teammates, the usual stuff) and a bit of banter, having only met 2 hours before. As much as the win, that made the day. Thanks to all of those who helped on the day, and to Sam Dukes for captaining a side of strangers – no mean feat for a 12 year old. There are a two more games to come later in the summer – watch this space!
Bob Jordan
NEC triumph over Dorset for first time !
Dorset U13 : 127 NEC 130 -6
Well after the early start, leaving the riots of Surrey behind us, the NEC side wearing their new white caps arrived at the Bournemouth Sports Ground. Playing a Dorset side that have never lost to an NEC side it was going to be a tough ask but what a team we turned out to be.
Fionn McManus won the toss as Captain and decided to put them in and what a good choice it was.
Curtis Rose and Matthew Kingdom opened the bowling and made scoring runs difficult; Matthew’s first ball catching an edge to William Ireland at first slip after a juggling act removed the opening batsman, and 4 for 1 was a start we could have only dreamt of. This set the tone for our bowling and our first change bowlers kept the pressure; Aaron O’Sullivan ending up with figures of 3 for 24 off his 8 overs, one of which was an outstanding stumping by Cory Nelson whilst Toby Greenwood at the other ended with figures of 3 for 24 off his 7 overs.
At drinks after 20 overs, 64 for 6 was fantastic and credit must go to the whole team for coming together as a team so quickly; so could we get them all out for 100? The next six overs belonged to Dorset and it was the only time they looked the better side moving the score along to 95 for 6, and then an outstanding piece of fielding by Toby with a direct hit from the boundary running out their best batsman for 31.
Then the pressure mounted again with our opening four bowlers coming back, assisted by two good catches from Harry Wright, whilst Fionn McManus at the other end ended a 6 over spell with figures of 2 for 13. Dorset ended up all out for 127 in 33 overs due to strong bowling and fielding from all.
At tea, their manager pointed out they are a strong bowling side trying to offset our strong display in the field!
NEC only needed three an over but we struggled early and were 38 for 4 very quickly due to some strong bowling and three good catches. Freddie Freeman was out to a good catch in this period and scored a useful 13. Luckily, Ben Robinson, our opener, was not going to give his wicket away and kept his end solid for 24 overs, scoring 23 runs before being LBW around his waist!
This innings by Ben, allowed Fionn McManus to get his eye in and when joined by Curtis Rose, ending up 11 not out, Fionn gained momentum and confidence to end the his innings 46 not out and scoring the winning runs with 7 overs to go.
A solid team performance resulting in a four wicket victory, with Man of the Match being awarded to Fionn McManus, by their manager, with mentions to Ben for his batting and credit to our strong bowlers Toby and Aaron.
A titanic struggle
Surrey U13 B : 159 -8 NEC : 112
Two days later, NEC had a tougher challenge against a supposed Surrey B side with 5 A team players at Mill Lane, Tadworth. William Ireland won the toss and again put the opposition into bat, and this looked a poor decision as Surrey started strongly. Until, Toby Greenwood got the opener for 5, with a great catch by Ben Robinson at gully which encouraged Ramesh Fernado at the other end to bowl consecutive maidens.
NEC needed Michael James removed as he looked a threat but it was not to be, he went on to score 58. We managed to keep the runs down at the other end and take a few wickets along the way; Toby got another wicket and Fionn McManus bowled tightly with figures of 1 for 17 off 8 overs including 4 maidens. Ben Robinson took a further 2 victims and William Ireland ended his spell with 3 wickets. Surrey ended up on 159 for 8 off 38 overs which should have been 200 as they had 90 runs at 20 overs, but the NEC side fought back well after the drinks break.
A target of 4 an over, looked within our grasp, but the quality teas by Annika Robinson and Sarah Ireland must have slowed our boys down as we had two run outs early and very quickly we were 24 for 5 after 7 overs. Two strong partnerships followed and it looked like the total was back in our grasp; Freddie Freeman, 13, and Fionn McManus,19 put on a strong stand before the next wicket fell at 66. Fionn was caught 12 runs later and then William Ireland, 21, and Giles Baker looked to be in control before a mix up caused a run out.
We ended up all out for 112, 47 runs short of Surrey, three run outs were probably the difference although all direct hits which probably meant the Gods were against us! Richard Bedbrook from Surrey awarded Man of the Match to William Ireland and mentioned Fionn and Freddie for their gutsy partnership.
Overall
We have had two great games and outstanding performances but what I was most pleased about is the way the boys came together as a team; they have been a credit to NEC and their respective clubs, so well done to each and every one of you.
Thanks must go to all the scorers, umpires, our Dorset and Tadworth hosts, tea ladies and the support and encouragement I have had from all the parents with a special mention to Chris Whitehouse. I hope the boys enjoyed it and would be happy to manage next year if they did, so please let us have your feedback. Thanks it has been a pleasure managing this team, have a good summer and see you next year!
Stewart Ireland
NEW FOREST FELLED BY NEC U12 XI
NFJCA 114 all out off 37.3 overs
NEC 115 for 8 off 32.1 overs
The NEC U12 representative XI completed their inaugural three game season with an excellent 2 wicket win down in Hampshire against the New Forest Junior Cricket Association. A side showing eight changes from the NEC’s previous encounter with Dorset performed admirably against the equivalent of a District side which had played several 40-over games during the regular season and were thus much more experienced at this level than a largely scratch NEC side.
New captain Paddy Christy-Parker (PCP henceforth!) sensibly chose to field on winning the toss to take advantage of a wicket dampened by a deluge shortly before the start. His decision paid off as tight NEC bowling, brilliant fielding and a big, slow outfield kept the NFJCA batsmen in check throughout. Opening bowlers Tim Ridler and Ayran Kugathas each bowled tight spells, supported by first change bowlers Josh Glanville and Josh Simpson, to restrict the opposition to 46 for 2 off the first 15 overs with Josh S and Ayran picking up a wicket apiece. Any thoughts of the supplementary bowlers offering respite were quickly dismissed as first Cameron Edgar (3-2-3-1) and then PCP (4-1-12-1) kept the pressure on to keep NFJCA under 3 an over and creating pressure that lead to more rash shots and a rash of wickets late on. Patrick Jordan, the lone spinner, took full advantage with 3 for 21 from 5 overs of leg spin; Stef Nayar chipped in with a nifty 2 for 7 and Reiss de Mesa a miserly 1 for 8 off 4 overs to bowl NFJCA out for 114 off 37.3 overs. That represented a magnificent effort for a side that had largely met on the coach beforehand. The fielding was absolutely top class with Ayran taking 3 excellent catches in the covers where he was a ball magnet all day, and Tim Ridler taking a smart chance at slip off a Jordan leg-break. The ground fielding too was excellent with not a single mis-field of note, and ably supported by smart glove work from Az Sharif and Edgar. PCP marshalled his bowlers and fielders superbly, managing to deploy all 11 bowlers but without letting NFJCA off the hook at any time.
A magnificent tea refreshed the limbs of players unused to fielding for 40 overs and set us up for what should have been a comfortable run chase at less than 3 an over on a drying/improving track. However, the NEC conspired to create a little more tension for spectators than expected, although the result was never in doubt we were assured! Openers Az and Stef were soon back in shed courtesy of 2 good catches to leave the away side at 8 for 2 after 3 overs. However Cameron Edgar (16) and Lekan Ogunlana (19) steadied the ship with a stand of 45 for the 3rd wicket, showing good technique and running well on what was still a testing surface that never really allowed the ball to come on to the bat. Even after the loss of both in quick succession, at 62 for 4 off 15 the NEC were well on track with PCP and Reiss De Mesa by now both showing a Boycott-like appetite for defence and graft but thankfully without the ego of their role model. They added a further 17 before de Mesa was lost leg before for a good 16. PCP held firm and started to play like a captain intent on seeing his side through to victory, fully aware of the match situation in waiting for the bad ball to dispatch and defending the many good deliveries that were coming from a home side that were belatedly putting up a good fight. He and Jordan added another 15 to take the NEC close to victory at 104 for 5, but the rapid loss of the latter and then Ayran and Josh G created a few jitters at 113 for 8. We should not have worried though as Josh Simpson joined Captain Sensible with the skipper quickly hitting the winning runs for a 2 wicket victory with 8 or so overs to spare. PCP finished undefeated on 23 off 48 balls which in the context of this game was a magnificent effort. There was time for nice batting cameos from Josh Simpson and Tim Ridler as they batted out a number of the remaining overs as we waited for the U14 game to finish. They showed they could bat too.
And so the boys hopped back on the coach for a happy but tired journey home, bolstered by a good win with some outstanding performances all the way down the team sheet. A special mention should go to skipper PCP who did superbly well in captaining a side that were introduced to him some 15 minutes before the game - a tough call at 12 years old - and he showed great maturity and a lovely smile in everything he did. The fielding was magnificent all round and there were some good individual performances and a win to boot; however, for me the success of the day was summed up in unsolicited expressions of gratitude from both away umpire and home coach remarking on what a nice, polite, and well behaved group of boys we had. They should be very proud of themselves for that and the performance, as should any parent reading this.
I hope the boys have enjoyed the experience of 40 over representative cricket and that it has whetted their appetite for more next season. Some even asked if there could be more this summer which was a gratifying if daunting prospect. However, given the success of the 3 matches this year, I shall be plotting a more extended season with Mr Whitehouse over the winter, hopefully including some home matches - so watch that email in-box!
Bob Jordan
Another very convincing win for the NEC !
NEC Under 15’s : 221 – 4; Bromley & District : 132
The NEC U15 team played at home (at Spencer CC) against Bromley U15, and after winning the toss we chose to bat on a good wicket. Accurate stump-to-stump bowling and a large outfield restricted the scoring rate at first, and we lost one of the openers early. However a tenacious knock from the other opener, Joe Moreno (Spencer) was the bedrock for an innings where we accumulated runs steadily, with key contributions from Greg Bond (Dulwich) 33, Ed Payne (Wimbledon) 36 not out, Joe Bracher (Cheam) 27, and Ben Henderson (Dulwich) 18 not out. Joe was finally out for 78 to a great catch, but it was a super, well-crafted innings. We reached 221 for the loss of four wickets in our 45 overs, which looked a slightly above par score.
In reply Bromley made a good start, reaching 80 off 20 overs for the loss of just one wicket, but excellent bowling and solid fielding saw wickets tumble after, and we bowled them all out for 132 in the last ball of the 39th over. All our bowlers did well, but special mention goes to the outstanding Dilen Patel (Spencer), 8 overs, 2 maidens, 21 runs, 3 wickets; as well as Ben Henderson (Dulwich), 6-1-18-2; Ed Payne (Wimbledon), 7-1-23-2; and Muhammed Murza (Spencer), 6-2-20-2. There was also a wicket for hard working Harry Parker (Beddington).
Nick Moreno
NEC Under 12 115 Dorset B Under 12 116 - 1
An away trip to sunny Bournemouth provided to be a bridge to far the NEC 12s as our opposition gave us a cricket lesson in every aspect of the game.
Captain Sam Dukes won the toss and decided to bat, caretaker manager ‘Edwards’ disclosed the batting order with two messages, ‘don’t shoot the messenger’ and ‘remember we have 40 overs to bat’, message one was generally excepted, message two appeared to fall on deaf ears.
Careless footwork by Randall and Christy-Parker gave the very sharp Dorset keeper a couple stumping’s, the rest of the batting order managed to chip the ball in the air and the very competent Dorset fielders did the rest, only Jack Hopper with 19 not out showed any resistance and the NEC ended on 52 all out! The Dorset management suggested we bat a second time to use up our 40 overs, Hopper continued his good form, however, the second innings follow the same pattern as the first with only Hopper and Tidmarsh (11) showing any resistance, Hopper ending up with 48, well played young man!
After an excellent tea, Dorset went about chasing a total of 116, the NEC boys bowled ok but only Christy-Parker claimed a wicket as Dorest won by 9 wickets.
All in all a harsh lesson to the NEC boys, who did not play to their potential against a much stronger Dorset side.
Peter Edwards
