Wellington Cricket Club

A depleted Wellington 2nd XI put up a gritty and hard-nosed performance at Watchet in Division Two of the Somerset League’s Reserves Competition and came away with twenty points – the maximum tally that can be gained without actually winning a game – but the match will, sadly, be remembered more for the rancorous way that the home side conducted themselves whilst in the field than for the actual cricket played after tea.

James Dyke won his fifth toss out of five, but opted to bowl first for the first time this season and the action started from the very first ball as Richard Short bowled Watchet skipper Manley off of a no-ball. Manley then hit a four, but Short cleaned him up later in the over as he fell to the off side and lost his leg-stump. Andy Mitchell took a wicket in his first over as Rupert Green accepted a soft chance at mid-wicket. Watchet batted in the style of a ‘Twenty20′ match as they romped away at over five runs per over, but lost the cream of their batting at the same time.
A great piece of glovework by Julian Jones saw the back of Wookey as he lunged forward and lost his balance to be stumped for 26 off of Rupert Green.
Saddington with 44 and A.Milton with 25 added 48 for the sixth Watchet wicket, but this stand was broken by Richard Short who bowled manfully to take 4-64 in 12 overs as he shouldered much responsibility with the ball on the day.
Andy Mitchell took 2-42 in 12 overs as he also got through a heavy workload.
At 173-8 Wellington were looking to wrap the Watchet innings up with time to spare and a gilt-edged chance came their way when number ten batsman Strong looped one up first ball, but this was spilt and Wellington were made to pay as Maddock and Strong added 62 for the ninth wicket as they did everything to evade the field set. They were each dropped again and this compounded Wellington’s misery as the stand rose in size. Fifty-five extras were conceded by the Red and Blacks second string, but there was more than a hint of over-zealous wide calling at times.
Bob Trott wrapped things up with two wickets in three balls to end with 3-47 in 9.5 overs, but Wellington had paid dearly for their profligacy in the field.

Wellington had to bat well if they were going to chase down 236 to win and Matt Colman and Rupert Green looked in no danger at all as they posted a first wicket stand of 74 that took until after the drinks break to part. Green was adjudged LBW to off-spinner Maddock for a well made 29.
Alex Sparks cracked a superb 23 as he played some very wristy shots to the leg-side, he was one of two victims for A.Milton who took 2-41 in 12 overs.
Julian Jones made a typically feisty 48 as he swung the bat hard and collected runs all round the wicket. All the time Colman showed the qualities that have made him one of Wellington’s best batsmen down the years as he steered the innings, making 75no and being on the field of play all match.
Richard Short ensured that Wellington collected full batting points as the 200 mark was passed and the pair saw out time quietly making sure that there were no more than four wickets lost and thereby denying Watchet bonus points.

However the general conduct of the home side when Wellington were batting was less than desirable with much banter going on, some of it not really being the sort of thing that should be heard on a cricket field.

Wellington 2nd XI now face the bottom sides – Temple Cloud and Peasedown St John – in successive home matches and will view these as games that they could and should win and so consolidate and rise up the table.

The 1st XI’s twenty run Somerset League Division One win over Minehead was all the more remarkable when you consider the selectorial backdrop to the game as there was some unavailability compared to those who had played the week before against Evercreech.

Rob Moysey opted to bat on winning the toss and he and his vice-captain Mark Salter started the Wellington reply off on a positive note with a stand of 24 that was ended when Moysey was adjudged LBW to Hartgen, leaving him needing 24 runs to top 10,000 runs for the Red and Blacks.
Salter was joined by Richard Das Neves and a 48 run stand was put together by this pair. Das Neves scoring in his usual quick paced way for 28 before he was caught.
The real run injection in the Wellington innings came from Salter who was powering to his second half-century in successive weeks – he top scored with 77 containing 10 fours – and Marc Holloway who added 68 for the third wicket.
Stuart Currall was with Salter when he was out at 167-4, but this precipitated a Wellington collapse as seven wickets were lost for just 24 runs as the home side’s innings ended with two balls to go.
For Minehead Stevens with 5-29 in 8.4 overs had done the damage.

Stevens took up where he had left off before tea as he and Cameron opened the Minehead innings with a 43 run stand as they played Wellington’s pace attack pretty well, but it was becoming increasingly evident that the wicket was breaking up and was going to accept spin, so Gary Tillett was pressed into action and he came up trumps as he caught and bowled Stevens for 23 and combined with his skipper to remove Minehead keeper Jones.
Minehead were then dismantled by Rob Moysey, who was bowling in a ‘serious’ mode for the first time this season.
With Richard Das Neves at the other end it was a dual spin attack that brought about the downfall of the league leaders. Das Neves kept things tight with a spell of off-spin that cost only 40 runs in 10 overs. This allowed wrist spinner Moysey to wreak havoc at the other end to the tune of 5-24 in 9.4 overs as Mark Salter gained two stumpings and a catch from the skipper.
Add to this some fantastic ‘dead-eye’ fielding that saw Thom Trott, Paul Saunders and Jason Paine strike the stumps to make three of Minehead’s line-up return to the pavilion run out, Wellington had won the game with their fielding and some excellent spin bowling.
Minehead were dismissed for 171 in 44.4 overs and Wellington gained 34 points to the visitors 18. Wellington are rising the table while Minehead stay top over Ilton, but with a much reduced majority. Wellington travel to play Ilton this coming weekend to take on a team that has been assembled to do one thing and one thing only – win the Somerset Cricket League this season – but if this quality of performance can be duplicated then they could be the hat-trick of wins for Rob Moysey’s charges.

Match ball sponsorship for this match came from LJ Irvine and Sons Ltd – The club are extremely grateful for their support.

The Sunday XI’s friendly fixture with Somerset League Division Three side Langport was washed out by the morning rain that swept through and left puddles on both the wicket and the outfield.

Wellington 1st XI secured their first league win of the season when they won their basement battle with Evercreech last Saturday, but the 2nd XI lost for the second successive week, losing another local derby this time against Taunton Deane 3rd XI.
Sunday’s match with Langport was washed out without a ball being bowled due to the poor weather on the morning of the match.

Next Week’s Fixtures

Saturday 11th June
**1st XI** – Home to Minehead in a Somerset League Division One fixture **sponsored by The Cleve Hotel and Country Club** with **match ball sponsorship from LJ Irvine and Sons Ltd**.
Meet at the pavilion by 12.45pm for a 1.45pm start.

**2nd XI** – Away to Watchet 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 12th June
**Sunday XI** – Home to Knapp in a friendly fixture sponsored by The Cleve Hotel and Country Club with **match ball sponsorship from Webber’s Estate Agents**.
Meet at Pavilion by 1.30pm for a 2.30pm start.

And don’t forget, Friday is the Summer Ball at the Cleve Hotel. 7:30pm onwards, see the home page for other details.

Wellington were asked to bat first in this Somerset League Division One basement battle and were soon on the back foot with Paul Short – having just rejoined Wellington from Taunton St Andrews – finding the short fine leg fielder in the second over.

Mark Salter and Richard das Neves got the Wellington innings back on track with a superb stand of 96 for the second wicket as they took the score to exactly 100 before been parted.
Salter made an excellent 59 which saw him ply his trademark cutting and pulling game to excellent effect. He complimented this aspect of his game with some crisp drives when the Evercreech bowlers overpitched.
Das Neves made 40 in 49 balls as he pinched many a quick single and kept the strike rotating throughout the stand.
But 100-1 became 116-4 as Satterthwaite made inroads to the tune of 3-34 in 12 overs for the team from near Shepton Mallett, who have struck hard times since finishing third last season.
But Stuart Currall with 63no and skipper Rob Moysey with 23 ensured that any Evercreech optimism was short-lived as they added 80 for the fifth wicket in under 15 overs.
Currall worked the ball well into the gaps and took full advantage of the unattended leg-side field to score valuable late runs for Wellington.
Moysey – who is just 35 short of 10000 runs for Wellington – played his part in a stand that propelled the Red and Blacks to a score that they would have gladly settled for at the time of losing the toss.
John Paine made a brisk 10 late on and Wellington settled on 213-7 in 45 overs.

For Evercreech Harding started in blistering form with 25 in 29 balls, but Stuart Turner halted the visitors progress as Paul Short took an excellent catch at second slip as he flung himself full length. Turner took two further wickets to end with 3-12 in 7 fine overs. Paine bowled better as his spell wore on and he removed Chinnock first ball to end with 1-46 in 8 overs.
At 41-4 Evercreech were hoping for the rain and the draw option, but it never came despite the sky going very dark at times.
Holdway and C.Ough played a steady couple of innings as Evercreech realised that they could not win and would try and obtain as many batting bonus points as possible.
Thom Trott enjoyed his first bowl of the season and 21 runs in 7 overs was a tidy effort from the all-rounder.

Richard das Neves and Paul Short bowled off-spin in tandem with each other and went for just 63 runs in 20 overs between them.
Both displayed all the variations and guile going and their stint with the ball was good to watch.
At 137-8 Wellington would have hoped to secure the last two Evercreech wickets for a maximum points haul, but Jones and Caines saw out time and got Evercreech to 162-8 in 45 overs as Wellington took 33 points and Evercreech 15.

Wellington are glad to have got a win in this game and rise two places to seventh, but with the top two sides (Minehead and Ilton) to come in the next two weeks there is still much to do for the Red and Blacks.
Match ball sponsorship for this game came from **CDB Enterprises Ltd** and the club are very grateful to them for this kind donation.

The real winner in this low scoring Somerset League Reserves Competition Division Two match was the Castle School pitch as only 163 runs were scored in 79.2 overs for the loss of fourteen wickets.

James Dyke won his fourth toss this season and opted to bat once again, but the tone for the innings was set when the prolific Rupert Green was dismissed in the first over and not long after the Wellington 2nd XI score was 17-5 in 5 overs.
But James Dyke and Alex Sparks added a valuable 33 runs for the sixth wicket, this only got the score to 50, but was much needed in the context of the game.
After this pair only Julian Jones with 11no reached double figures as Wellington were bundled out for 81 in 38.2 overs.
For Taunton Deane left-armer Eamer took 2-19 in 12 overs and there were three wickets for each of Vaughan and Ponte.

To Wellington’s credit they made the county town team fight all the way to the 82 run target. Indeed Deane opener Hannaford batted through his team’s innings for 20 not out – this took him 41 overs!
Gary Tillett with 2-14 in 11 overs bowled a tight and accurate spell and Chrid Rudd was equally miserly with 2-18 in 10 overs as too was Phil Nicholls with 0-21 in 11 overs, but despite these fine efforts Wellington 2nd XI did not have the weight of runs to stop Taunton Deane and they squeezed home with four overs left and took 35 points to Wellington’s eight.

Wellington 2nd XI now face a trip to the seaside to play Watchet and will hope to get the winning habit back.

Please could as many members as possible made a big effort to come down to the ground for 6pm this Friday to help do some work round the nets.

We’re hoping to get some more turf laid, get the post holes for the gates dug and the holders concreted in place, and mark the creases on the mats, as well as anything else we can think of while down there.

It would really be a great help if a good group of people could come down to give a hand, and bring along a spade/shovel/wheelbarrow for an hour or 2.

Once the turf is laid, we will also be asking for volunteers to come down every evening to water it over the course of about 10 days, to ensure it gets a good start. Please let someone know if you can take a turn or two to pop down over the next couple of weeks to help water it.

Thank you!

Could all people wishing to be members (if you are a player, you must become a member) please note that membership fee’s are due.

Senior membership is £25
Junior (U18) is £5
Youth Member is £2

Anyone who has played and not paid yet should do so ASAP. This can be paid along with a match fee after a game.

Match fee’s should also be paid every game without fail.
Anyone who does not pay on the day of the game will be charged an extra £1.