Wellington Cricket Club

It was a mixed weekend for Wellington CC’s senior teams as league action was sampled on both days; the 1st XI finally got underway, but lost at home to Chew Magna, the 2nd XI kept up their 100% record with a crushing win at Burnham-on-Sea and the Sunday XI started life in Division One of the Three Counties League with a 79 run defeat at Sidmouth.

Next Week’s Fixtures

Saturday 21st May
1st XI – Away to Taunton Outcasts in a Somerset League Division One fixture. Depart from Courtland Road Car Park at 12.45pm for a 1.45pm start.

2nd XI – Home to Wembdon 2nd XI in a Somerset League Reserves Competition Division Two fixture sponsored by The Cleve Hotel and Country Club with match ball **sponsorship from Wade and Perry**.
Meet at Pavilion by 1.00pm for a 2.00pm start.

Sunday 22nd May
Sunday XI – Home to Holford in a friendly fixture sponsored by The Cleve Hotel and Country Club with match ball **sponsorship from CA Trott and Sons**. Meet at Pavilion by 1.30pm for a 2.30pm start.

Monday 23rd May
1st XI – Home to Taunton in a Baker Cup Quarter-Final fixture **sponsored by The Cleve Hotel and Country Club**.
Meet at Pavilion by 5.45pm for a PROMPT 6.15pm start.

A tense last over finish for Wellington U13′s saw them lose, away from home, by just 12 runs to Minehead U13′s, in what turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable match.

Batting first the Wellington boys played well. The best partnership was between E.Carson and M.Capaldi who top scored with 35 which included six hard hit fours, one of which caused his father to take evasive action by jumping out of his seat! A.Jordan was the most improved batter.

The bowlers C.Last, A.Cameron-Rose, B.Green, Captain T.Baycock and M.Capaldi shared the wickets with one each. C.Sharp caught a good catch.

Wellington Sunday XI tasted defeat in the Three Counties League for the first time when they were well beaten at Sidmouth last weekend in what was their first game in Division One of this competition.
Sidmouth opted to bat first on winning the toss and Adrian Lee and George Coate opened up well for Wellington with a probing spell from both ends. Lee was tight on line and had a couple of good LBW shouts turned down, but there was not much in either of them.

Richard das Neves bowled with great flight and guile and trapped the first wicket for Wellington when he got J.Bess to come down the track only to find George Coate at mid-off and he held a good catch.

Sidmouth skipper Griffiths made the best innings of the day as he cracked 87 in a knock that took some time to get going, but that picked up momentum as the overs ran out. Twice he put the ball into the croquet lawn beyond the boundary. Andy Mitchell took another great boundary catch to remove him as Kevin Symons got his reward having changed ends. He took 4-34 in 7 overs.
Mitchell himself did good work from the same end as Symons finished at as he took 2-37 in 6 overs.
John Paine – skipper for the day – worked up some fierce pace from the sea end and was so unlucky not to take a few wickets, but his pace is a potent force.
Sidmouth scrambled to 200-7 in 40 overs to secure maximum batting points.

Wellington were looking to Rob Moysey and Richard das Neves to get them away in pursuit of the 201 needed, but das Neves was too early into the drive and popped one to cover. Chris Kitto played bravely to support Moysey, but both were out within 2 runs of each other and at 25-3 Wellington were on the back foot.

Thom Trott looked in prime form again and welcomed the introduction of Gommersall into the Sidmouth attack with a pull for four of disdainful quality, but in going for the same shot next ball speared it high into the air and Munday held a good catch. Trott was out for 13, Wellington 49-4.
John Paine and Andy Mitchell added some much needed stability to the Red and Blacks innings as Paine took the lead role with Mitchell giving super support. Munday’s left-arm spin did Mitchell as he got one through his defence.

Paine had made it to 26 by mixing solid defence with controlled aggression, but he tried to lift Gommersall out of the ground and was bowled for the highest score of the Wellington innings.
Kevin Symons played a pleasant knock of 17, but the game was gone by this time and although Grant Davey played solidly from his position at number nine the end came when Barlow returned to bowl Adrian Lee and Sidmouth had a 79 run win to their credit and with it seventeen points to Wellington’s nine.

Wellington next play in this competition on Sunday 26th June when they travel to Ilminster.

The Reserves had an afternoon that will go down in the club record books for so many reasons as they kept up their 100% record and top spot in Division Two of the Somerset League Reserves Competition with this crushing 159 run win at Burnham-on-Sea as the team that came up from 2nd XI Division Three South were simply brushed aside on their own patch.

To give you some idea of the magnitude of the performances with the bat that Rupert Green (140no) and Marc Holloway (123no) gave you have to look at the stats of their time in the middle together.
They added 263 runs in an unbroken second wicket stand – this is the highest ever Wellington CC partnership for any wicket in either league or friendly matches, the score was statistically the highest ever score that Wellington 2nd XI had posted since entering the Somerset League Reserves competition back in 1975 equalling the 284 made against Evercreech 2nd XI in 1994 when four wickets were lost, Green missed out by one run on equalling the 2nd XI individual innings record and Holloway has the fourth highest individual innings for the team.

The game itself was not subject to any rain interruptions as the 1st XI were. James Dyke won the toss and opted to bat first, a wicket fell at 21 when Bob Trott flashed at a wide one and was caught at slip, but from then on it was one-way traffic as Green and Holloway dictated things on their own terms.

Holloway was dropped before he had scored and how Burnham-on-Sea rued this chance. The week before Butleigh 2nd XI had taken 334-3 off them and this total means that they have leaked 618 runs for only four wickets in two games.

Burnham-on-Sea had to protect the boundaries at all costs which meant that singles and twos were always available, but when the bad ball came along it was severely dealt with as Holloway played exquisitely on the leg-side and Green cut the Burnham attack to ribbons.
Seven bowlers were tried with Williams with 1-45 having the only success before the run fest that Green and Holloway served up.

Burnham-on-Sea at least had some fight with the bat as Penfold and Lefrere added 22 quick opening wicket runs,but Penfold stepped too far over to the off-side and lost his leg bail to Adrian Lee who took 1-49 in seven overs. Richard Short was a little too short in his length, but when he did get this right he posed problems.

Burnham-on-Sea had made it to 67-1 with Lefrere and Walker playing nicely, but the introduction of Chris Rudd and Bob Trott into Wellington’s attack brought the home side’s innings crashing down.
Rudd’s mixture of off-spinners and leg-cutters was too much as he returned career best figures of 6-26 in 8 overs, he floated the ball under the bats of both Lefrere and Walker and was just too good for the lower order.
Trott used good loop and flight and induced the home side to loft the ball with two of his three wickets for nineteen runs coming through catches.
James Dyke, Matt Colman and Marc Holloway were the trusty fielders that backed up Rudd and Trott’s efforts with the ball.

Wellington took 35 points to Burnham-on-Sea’s seven and it looks like being a long season for the seaside team.
Wellington 2nd XI are riding high after two excellent wins and will be looking to make it three when they take on relegated side Wembdon 2nd XI at home next Saturday.

The 1st XI finally took to the field for a league game in 2005 and were soon in business against old rivals Chew Magna as Stuart Turner reduced the Bristol -based side to 25-2 as he removed both Witcombe and Roberts cheaply.
Gatton made a steady 45 in good time as Wellington pushed hard in the field, but found wickets hard to come by.

Only Gary Tillett was successful with the ball after Turner’s initial burst.
Four dropped catches hindered Wellington’s chances of picking up any more than a commensurate number of bonus points from their time in the field.
Mondair, who added to his reputation of being a thorn in Wellington’s side, made a round 50no and King made 38no as the pair shared a fifth wicket stand of 77 that took Chew Magna to exactly 200-4 in 45 overs. Tillett and Turner had taken 2-28 each for Wellington by tea.

Rob Moysey and Mark Salter added 26 runs for Wellington’s opening wicket before Salter was caught for 11.
Moysey had made it into the 20s when he too was caught and at 38-2 Wellington had lost both openers.
Richard das Neves and Thom Trott pushed the score to 77 before Trott was bowled by Yates, one of seven wickets for this bowler on the day as he took 7-52 in 12 overs. Trott made 23.
das Neves had posted his half-century when he became the third Wellington batsman to depart the scene caught and from then on it was downhill for Wellington as the score subsided from 98-3 to 149-9 as the middle order was blown away by Yates.

Stuart Turner and Gary Tillett added 26 for the last wicket making 15no and 12 respectively, but Filer came back into the attack and bowled Tillett to leave Chew Magna as victors by 25 runs and with their fourth win in the last five over Wellington at 1st XI level.
They took 35 points to Wellington’s 12 and the team have work to do when they travel to Taunton Outcasts this Saturday for a local derby.
Thanks go to **The Mount Veterinary Hospital** for their generous match ball sponsorship of this match.

The bat was certainly mightier than the ball last Thursday evening when Wellington Midweek XI lost heavily by eight wickets to a Wellington School Staff XI at the School’s ground despite posting a hefty total of their own.

David Derrick opted to take first knock on a hard, dry pitch and Thom Trott and Kevin Crout got the Red and Blacks going in the right way with a stand of 23 in under 3 overs, Crout timed the ball well in his brisk innings before being bowled for 12.
Kevin Symons then joined Trott and this heralded the best part of the Wellington innings as they added 62 in six overs with a string of excellent shots – Trott pulled and drove as he laid into some wayward Staff XI bowling, one straight drive split long-off and long-on despite the fielders been no more than a few feet apart and one perfectly hit straight six hit the sightscreen on the full. Trott made 51 before been bowled as he tried to push Wellington’s scoring rate even higher.
Symons made a fine 31 as he used his feet well to the spinners.

Chris Kitto and Danny Addicott made 19 and 12 respectively and Stuart Turner’s rapid 17 ensured that Wellington had a good total to play with at the close of their innings.

The Staff XI needed eight runs an over to win and they were never in any real danger as they cashed in on some poor Wellington bowling that was too short and too wide too often.
Guy Murray was the pick on the day as he claimed 1-43 in his five overs and should have had another couple of wickets as he bowled well, but Stout with 47 and Carr with 42 laid the base for a Staff XI win and although Kevin Symons claimed a second wicket late on Wellington were well beaten with the Staff XI having nearly 4 overs to spare when the winning runs were hit.

It was a good weekend for Wellington CC’s senior sides as all matches that were played were won and won well, having got over the disappointment of the cancellation of the 1st XI’s match at Whitchurch towards the end of the previous week, a matter that is still not fully resolved at the time of writing.

Next Week’s Fixtures

Thursday 12th May
Midweek XI – Away to a Wellington School Staff XI in a friendly fixture. Meet at Wellington School for a 6.15pm start.
Please contact David Derrick for details on this fixture.

Saturday 14th May
1st XI – Home to Chew Magna in a Somerset League Division One fixture sponsored by The Cleve Hotel and Country Club.
Meet at Pavilion by 12.45pm for a 1.45pm start.

2nd XI – Away to Burnham-on-Sea 2nd XI in a Somerset League Reserves Competition Division Two fixture. Depart from Courtland Road Car Park at 12.30pm for a 2.00pm start.

Sunday 15th May
Sunday XI – Away to Sidmouth in a Three Counties League Division One fixture.
Depart from Courtland Road Car Park at 12.45pm for a 2.30pm start. Please contact John Paine or David Derrick for details on this fixture.

The 1st XI finally tasted competitive action for the first time in 2005 when they progressed to the quarter-finals of the Baker Cup by despatching Taunton Deane 2nd XI by 30 runs at the Playing Fields on Monday evening.

Deane 2nd XI – who play their league cricket in the WECCC Premier League Two Reserves competition – strangely opted to ask Wellington to bat first when they won the toss, thus knowing that they would be batting in the fading light, not normally the modus operandi of evening based cup cricket matches.

Wellington got away to a positive start with Rob Moysey and Mark Salter putting on a 33 run opening stand, this was ended when Moysey was adjudged LBW for 17.
Salter was joined by Richard das Neves and they got the score through to 67 in 9 overs with some excellent shots as well as hard determined running, turning ones into twos and so on. Thom Trott with a useful 15 made an impact as well with the bat.
Salter top scored for Wellington with 36 and das Neves weighed in with 22 in 15 balls.

As the overs ticked by wickets fell with some regularly, but Bradley Field, returning to cricket after a couple of years out pursuing his rugby career, made a useful 14 from number six. Taunton Deane’s Squire returned the excellent figures of 6-14 in 4.5 overs to go with his league based 8-17 against Ilminster 2nd XI on Saturday, but Wellington still had a competitive total to defend despite the run rate dipping as time went on in their innings.

John Paine and Richard das Neves saw to it that Taunton Deane 2nd XI never got into the game with a tight spell each early on, Paine was swift in his three overs that cost only five runs while, das Neves bowled his off-spin with all the variation that has come to the fore in his short time with Wellington. This broke the back of any real attempt that the Deane reserves could muster.

After this period they opted for some batting practice and to take their place in the Plate competition. Liddle with a patient 37 batted well, but there was no urgency as Deane skipper Jones also batted in a sedate manner for 15no. Gary Tillett and Kevin Symons captured wickets for Wellington as the game rather ran out of steam and was concluded in near darkness with the Deane’s decision to field first still perplexing more than just a few who were present.

WECCC Premier One side Taunton are the likely quarter-final opponents for Wellington and this match takes place at Courtland Road on Monday 23rd May.

The Under 15′s were comprehensively beaten at Churchinford on Sunday by some 80 runs.
The Wellington lads only managed to take one wicket in the match while Churchinford seemed to have several players all firing well on the day.

The team will certainly be looking for a change in fortunes when they play Dulverton U15′s at home next weekend.

Wellington recorded their first ever home win over Dorset Premier League club Weymouth when the Sunday XI recorded a massive 103 run win to make it three successive wins over the Seasiders following nine blanks before May 2003.

Weymouth asked Wellington to bat first on a dry, hard track and Rob Moysey and Thom Trott laid into some – at times – wayward offerings from the visitors. At Weymouth last season they shared a 149 run opening run stand in 20 overs, this time round the same could have happened as they plundered 58 runs at ease, after a testing spell from Puckett who sent down his 10 overs for only 23 runs, a great effort in the circumstances.

Trott was driving the ball with ease and had planted the ball high over the mid-wicket boundary for six when he played an inglorious shot and was bowled, by Puckett, for 28.
Moysey, after a slow start, made exactly 50 that saw him grow in confidence and by the end of his innings he was cutting and pulling with the power and timing he is capable of.

Richard das Neves was playing a steady sort of knock that saw him collect numerous singles early on before he cut the Weymouth attack to shreds as he crashed 106 in tandem with Chris Kitto, who himself made 50no on his season’s debut – a landmark that he reached off the last ball of the innings. Together they added 113 runs for the fourth wicket.

Danny Addicott lashed three consecutive fours in his 14 and later fielded like a greyhound as he made good ground at all times that he had to and Andy Perry got the single that brought Kitto back on strike to give him the chance to get a half-century.
Trotter returned Weymouth’s best figures with 2-66 in 9 overs, but it had been a struggle for the Seasiders.

Weymouth needed to score in excess of 6 runs per over if they wanted to win the game and keep their unbeaten record at Wellington in tact, but the Wellington attack made sure that the efforts of the batsmen had not gone to waste as George Coate and Andy Mitchell made early inroads. Mitchell bowled Weymouth skipper Whyte as he tried to whip the ball to leg and Coate got his man when keeper Hardy, who played with nothing other than abandon, scooped one to Andy Perry at mid-off. Coate got through his ten overs in one go and 1-49 at a time when the ball was flying everywhere was a good effort.

Richard das Neves took over from Mitchell at the Football Stand End and bowled with beautiful variation and flight. He was never afraid to offer the batsman the chance to drive over the top and for a time at least Trotter and Jannoway were equal to the challenge, but das Neves (6-44) snared them in the end as Trotter was bowled by the arm ball and Jannoway was drawn down the track to one that spun sharply and Kevin Crout made a good stumping.
Once this partnership was broken it was a procession of Weymouth wickets as they subsided from 149-4 to 160 all out.

Adrian Lee got the edge of Puckett’s bat and Crout made much ground to his weaker right side and made a great one handed catch.
The game was wrapped up by Andy Mitchell who needed only one ball of his second spell to remove R.Pearce and give Wellington Sunday XI a fine 103 run win.

The teams reconvene at Weymouth in August when Wellington will be after their first ever double in this fixture.
Match ball sponsorship was from Abbey Garage (SW) of Street and the club are grateful to them for their input.