Wellington Cricket Club

Taunton St Andrews retained the Three Counties League Division One title with this three wicket win at Wellington on Bank Holiday Monday, but not after been given a real game by a Red and Blacks side who fought tooth and nail to deny TSA their prize in what was an excellent game of cricket from start to end.

Thom Trott opted to bat first on winning the toss and Rob Moysey and Rupert Green repelled an accurate opening spell from Wadham and Vickery to post 22 for the first wicket, a stand that was ended when Wadham dipped one under Green’s bat.
Two more wickets were lost by the time score had reached 28 and Wellington were in a spot of bother as overs were running out as well, but things were assisted by a 47 run fourth wicket stand between Julian Smit and Paul Short who took the score into the seventies with some excellent running between the wickets and good shots as well.
Smit was looking dangerous, but was out in bizarre circumstances when TSA keeper Pavey stumped him from a rebound off of his pads for 20.
Short was still there though, but 75-3 became 93-7 as TSA turned the screw once again and Wellington were in trouble again, but a fine unbroken 47 run stand for the eighth wicket gave Wellington something to bowl at as Short and Thom Trott took the attack to the visitors in a way that had not occurred so far.
Short played the anchor role to make an effective 47no and Trott hit a rapid 28no to add these runs in seven or so overs.
TSA bowled a disciplined line and length, but were somewhat thrown off course by Short and Trott’s late onslaught.
T.Poole took 3-21 in 8 overs to record their best figures.

A large band of TSA supporters had gathered to see if their side could achieve the sixteen points they needed to be sure of keeping the league title and from the way that Alley and L.Poole started it was going to be a short innings as they laid into some wayward bowling to have 42 on the board within six overs, although a simple catch by Kevin Crout at extra cover gave Phil Nicholls a wicket.
Thom Trott kept it tight at the other end and removed Alley for 31 with a brute of a ball that re-arranged his castle.
Wellington then found their range as Bob Trott kept one end quiet in terms of letting only 21 runs go in 8 good overs of off-spin, whist son Thom kept the pace going at the other.
A simply great reflex catch from James Dyke behind the sticks saw the back of Wadham and with Berryman going LBW first ball TSA were now in some trouble of their own.
The partnership that settled their nerves was one of 41 for the fifth wicket between Jennings who played a fine knock of 30 that adhered his side’s innings together and TSA skipper Dimond who made 17 priceless runs as it turned out.
Julian Smit replaced Thom Trott and, in his last home match of the season, took 2-18 in 8 brisk and accurate overs.
He removed both Jennings and Dimond to rekindle Wellington’s hopes of a famous victory.
Ben Green bowled his leg-spinners to good effect once again and he was rewarded by a fine boundary catch from Phil Nicholls to render TSA 132-7 and still needing nine to win, but Pavey and Brice were good value for their short, but crucial stand of 12 that saw TSA over the winning line by three wickets with 4.3 overs to spare.
TSA took 16 points to Wellington’s seven.

Wellington completed their Sunday league programme for 2006 with this match and have taken 73 out of a possible 120 points from the six matches played in this competition, finishing with two wins, one tie and three losses from these six fixtures.

Their final position is to be determined after the last round of matches which take place on Sunday 3rd September.

Wellington 2nd XI need thirteen points from their last match of the season to be sure of promotion to Division One of the Somerset League’s Reserves competition following this eight wicket win over basement side Ilton 2nd XI and Bridgwater 3rd XI’s win over Butleigh 2nd XI, a win for the Bridgwater side that secures them the divisional title for the 2006 season.
Wembdon 2nd XI take over in third place on 434 points and can secure a maximum of 469 points with a win of their own over Ilton 2nd XI, thus meaning that James Dyke’s side need 13 points to be sure of finishing second as they have 457 points currently.

Ilton, who have pretty much propped up the division all season were expected to be easy pickings for Wellington, but it did not prove to be so for a while at least.
James Dyke won the toss and inserted the home side and when Martin Short accepted a regulation chance at mid-wicket from Richard Henwood it looked as if a side whose batting has been suspect all season would once again fold, but a fine knock of 67 from Goss and 39 from Ilton skipper Matravers gave Wellington more than headache or two as they took Ilton’s score towards 100 with only one wicket down.
Good fortune came Wellington’s way when Martin Short bowled Matravers with a dipping full toss that he lost sight of and this was Wellington’s way into the Ilton order.
Short picked up another wicket in another good spell of left-arm medium pace that got better as the spell developed.
Bob Trott picked up the wicket of Goss who slapped a full toss to James Dyke at short cover.
This was the end of Ilton’s chances of making 200.
Andy Mitchell mopped up the tail with the fine figures of 4-6 in 4 overs. Simon Rudd took a wicket late on too as Ilton were despatched for 151 in 43 overs.
Wellington had recovered well from a rather turgid passage of play mid-innings.

Wellington had the game won with over 20 overs to spare as Phil Nicholls and Julian Jones laid into a weak bowling attack from the off.
Nicholls made a capital 28 and looked set to go on from this, but he slapped a short wide ball straight to the point fielder and was gone with the score on 59.
Jones then really opened his shoulders and totalled 75no from only 61 balls and was the main reason that Wellington won with such ease.
Another wicket was lost just after the hundred had been posted, but this was the last alarm for the Red and Blacks second string as Simon Rudd too laid into some friendly bowling to the tune of 28no in quick time.
Wellington had won by eight wickets and importantly had realised 35 points from this win to Ilton’s nine.

The scene is set for a party like atmosphere at home to Butleigh 2nd XI next weekend with the prize been promotion provided that at least thirteen points can be secured during the course of the match.

After bowling Peasedown St John out for 38 the week before Wellington were on the receiving end this time as Ilton posted the second highest ever league score conceded by the Red and Blacks first team, just one run short of the all-time record of 276-6 by Bishops Lydeard back in 1993.
Wellington opted to put Ilton into bat and early inroads were made as Thom Trott and Kevin Symons prized out three of the visitors top four, but Wellington were in for a nasty surprise as Mason clubbed 134 from his position at the top of the order.
Aided and abetted by Tarr’s 64 the ball went to all parts and Wellington were struggling to keep up with the tempo that Ilton were batting at.
To their credit Wellington stuck to their task and Julian Smit’s analysis of 12-2-37-1 was outstanding in the circumstances.
There were two wickets apiece for Kevin Symons, Rob Moysey, Gary Tillett and Paul Short.

In all when it came to Wellington’s turn to bat they were not looking at the 276 required to win, but to ensure that they made it to 200 and thus collected a full set of batting points to go with their full haul of bowling points.
This was done with no hassle or fuss as Wellington totalled a more than respectable 220-6 in their 45 overs and thus made sure of 20 points from the match.
Rob Moysey with 38 and Mark Salter with 31 gave their team a solid base to go on from and Matt Colman continued this work by making 23 before he was run out.
Paul Short made a league best of 61 in a knock that was pleasing to watch.
Julian Smit and Mark Saunders ensured that 200 was passed and Smit was at the crease with Kevin Symons when the match came to an end with Wellington having restricted Ilton to only eleven more points out of the game despite their recording a 55 run win.
Wellington are fourth on 417 points and end their season with a trip to relegation haunted Butleigh.
They are the only side who can do the double over Rob Moysey’s charges and they will be keen to avoid conceding such a statistic for the first time in two seasons.

The match ball for this fixture was sponsored by Misterton Garage (01460 72997), the club are most grateful.

Wellington made up for their narrow loss at home back in May by securing a six wicket win over Sampford Arundel last Sunday, but they were made to work hard for their victory and Sampford Arundel – who are going well in Division Five of the Somerset League – can be proud of their efforts.
Andy Childs won the toss for the home side and opted to bat, but found his side slumped to 30-5 as Adrian Lee and Grant Davey exploited the damp green pitch well by gaining good movement and action from the pitch.
Lee continued his good weekend with 1-18 in 6 overs and Davey bowled one of his best spells of the season with 3-14 in 5 brisk overs.
Rob Chave played a good rearguard innings for his team, but when he was bowled by Paul Short for 24 Sampford Arundel were in need of something to raise their score upwards.
It came from Wayne Maunder and Seb Coe who added 56 good runs for their side’s sixth wicket.
Maunder played the cut shot well and had made 32 before he was well caught by Phil Nicholls in the gully to a catch that saw Nicholls have to rise quickly to take the ball one handed, this was a vital breakthrough for Wellington.
Coe was still at the crease though and had lifted the ball out of the ground four times by the time he was dismissed by Julian Smit for 41.
He and Barry Manley put on 28 seventh wicket runs and this was another partnership that caused Wellington a bit of bother, but Richard Short’s first ball looped on to Manley’s stumps and he and Smit saw that Sampford Arundel’s tail did not prosper further and the home side was all out for 135 in 31.2 overs.

Wellington knew that to get to the 136 required would take time and was also the sort of total that had proved beyond them back in May, but Phil Nicholls and Julian Smit built a 60 run opening partnership that saw them wait for the ball to hit.
Sean Buttle and Andy Childs proved an effective opening pair for Sampford Arundel and Nicholls and Smit had to be prepared to deal with some tight and accurate bowling, but to their credit Wellington’s opening pair saw them off.
They gave way to Seb Coe and Barry Manley and the accuracy of the Sampford Arundel attack continued and a breakthrough came when Coe trapped Nicholls LBW for 16.
Thom Trott lifted a ball to the boundary for his first scoring shot, but was caught by Andy Childs to give Coe a second wicket.
Andy Perry joined Smit to add what could be considered one of the vital partnerships of the Wellington innings as they got the score close to 100.
Smit bound the Wellington innings together with an innings that eventually totalled 88no and he made a big difference from Wellington’s point of view.
Good late support came from Richard Short and Sam Cook and in the end Wellington won with 5.2 overs to spare and level things up at one away win each in terms of results in this fixture for 2006.

Wellington 2nd XI got their promotion charge out of Division Two of the Somerset League Reserves competition back on track with this 62 run away win over Taunton 3rd XI in a match that saw them claim 34 points, complete the double over their neighbours and at the same time compounded the relegation fears of the county town team.
Wellington were asked to bat first and with rain about throughout the game (although no interruption was ever actually suffered) this was the course that Bob Trott would have pursued, so Wellington were content as Phil Nicholls and Julian Jones took to the crease to open up.
Jones was in blistering form as he hit Maber out of the attack as the fast bowled conceded 28 runs from his three overs – Jones hit the short wide ball to the boundary and then hit over the top for a big six. He was the dominant partner as he brought up his fifty in good time.
Nicholls gave him good support at the other end.
When Nicholls was adjudged to have feathered a ball behind Richard Short joined Jones and they brought up the Wellington hundred and the Red and Blacks second string were looking for a score of well in excess of 200.
But the introduction of Wayne Hitchcott – who plays his football for Wellington – into the attack with his mix of left-arm orthodox spin and seamers off a short run caused a collapse in the Wellington middle order as the score declined from 102-1 to 144-9 and this had undone the good work that had been done earlier. Julian Jones was LBW for 64 and Short was bowled for 28 as Hitchcott took 6-35 in 12 overs
As there were a lot of overs left to bat as well this compounded Wellington’s predicament, but they found salvation in the form of last wicket pair Martin Short and Richard Henwood who added an unbroken 44 runs that raised the score from 144-9 to the final 188-9.
Henwood played the lead role from number eleven and made a pleasant 30no and Short played a great supporting hand of 11no as Taunton could not find a way to split them up.
These runs were vital, but the final total of 188-9 was some way short of what it should have been.

Wellington got a great start to their time in the field when Martin Short got one to rear up and catch Taunton keeper Dalling all at sea, presenting Rob Hunt with a simple catch at square leg.
Pattemore and Manley settled their side down with a second wicket stand of 34, but the first of three top catches for Andy Mitchell saw the back of Pattemore for 21. This was Adrian Lee’s first of three vital wickets, in a fine spell of 12 overs that went for only 30 runs.
Taunton lost their way as Martin Short was doing the same at the other end, also taking 3 wickets in a tight 12 over spell that only cost 28 runs.
The required rate was rising and the home side were losing wickets as well. Wayne Hitchcott with a feisty 20 threatened to launch an assault that could have taken Taunton out of danger, but he was another of Andy Mitchell’s catches and was an important wicket to get. Mitchell joined the attack and bowled Manley for 32 and that was all but the end of Taunton’s resistance.
Richard Henwood rejoined the attack and bowled some tight overs at the death that saw that the required rate was rising all the time and when Bob Trott joined the attack late on to prise out the tail, he ensured that ten bowling points came his team’s way by taking 3-6 as Taunton 3rd XI were all out for 126 with an over to go.
Wellington’s bowling was back to it’s accurate best after the poor show the week before against Wembdon and, together with the electric fielding display (well most of the time!) on offer as well, went a long way to securing this victory.

With Butleigh 2nd XI being frustrated by the weather and only getting a draw with North Perrott 2nd XI, Wellington are seven points ahead of the promotion rivals and meet tham at home on the last day of the season for what could be the decider.

Before that Wellington 2nd XI travel to Ilton to play a team who are already relegated and they will want to ensure that they collect a good points haul from this match so as to ensure that the Butleigh match is as comfortable as it can be.

Wellington thrashed a hapless Peasedown St John side in Division One of the Somerset League last Saturday by eight wickets in a match that was done and dusted by 4.15pm.
Peasedown, who prop up the division and are now without a win from the fifteen matches they have actually played so far this season (one match cancelled due to rain)having lost the lot, were asked to bat by Rob Moysey who had no hesitation whatsoever in taking first use of a pitch that looked good to bowl on and so it proved as Thom Trott and Kevin Symons dismantled the Bath based side in 21.5 overs of top quality seam bowling.
Trott took 7-27 in 11 overs and Symons was unplayable to the tune of 3-9 in 10.5 overs as PSJ simply did not have the technique to cope with the only bowlers that Wellington had to employ on the day.
Only Wilkinson with 19 made it into double figures.
Excellent catching aided and abetted Trott and Symons and five catches behind the wicket for Tom Carson was the highlight – this equals Simon Rudd’s club record for the most dismissals by a single player in a match for the Red and Blacks – Rudd took five catches as an outfielder against Chew Magna in 1999.
PSJ’s 38 was the third lowest total ever made against Wellington 1st XI at league level

Tea was not ready at the end of the PSJ innings and Rob Moysey and Mark Salter got things going for Wellington, but both fell to PSJ’s Indian import Sil and this denied Wellington full points.
Alex Sparks and Julian Smit saw the game to a conclusion and Wellington to 34 points to PSJ’s three.

If they lose one more match then PSJ will have equalled Kilve’s 2003 ‘record’ of losing sixteen matches in a SCL season, should they lose at home to both Evercreech and Staplegrove then they will have surely recorded the worst season in SCL history.

Wellington have a tough match at home to Ilton over the Bank Holiday weekend and have gone down one place due to Ilton having won their back match with Wembdon last Sunday – a match that was postponed due to the Football World Cup. If Wellington wish to claim third place from Ilton they will need to win this and probably their last match at Butleigh on Saturday 2nd September.

The ball for this match was kindly sponsored by Misterton Garage (01460 72997) and the club are very grateful to them for their support in this respect.

The only fly in the ointment for Wellington’s senior section over the weekend just passed was Friday afternoon’s five wicket defeat to a Sunil Gavaskar Cricket Foundation XI when the Red and Blacks batting did not function.
David Derrick opted to bat first on winning the toss and Phil Nicholls and Rob Moysey kept a hungry Foundation XI at bay by adding 29 runs for Wellington’s first wicket.
The persistent drizzle and damp underfoot conditions did not do either team any favours, but once the Foundation XI had got a way into the Wellington batting line-up they set about things.
Nicholls was bowled by a creeper for 11 and Moysey was caught behind for 14 and this broke up a burgeoning stand.
Alex Sparks made a stylish 24, but helped a full toss to the mid-wicket fielder as he was looking set for a long innings. Richard Short used his feet well to the spinner and launched two great lofted shots to the boundary, but was out trying to do the same thing for a third time.
David Derrick slammed a boundary, but was out embarrassingly just a few balls later as he totally misjudged the length of the ball was bowled.
He was out at 85-8 and this was the final score for Wellington as the Foundation XI got through the tail with more than ten overs left.
Wellington had aided the Foundation XI in their downfall with the bat.

But the game was only just about to start as the Foundation XI dipped to 22-5 as Julian Smit ran in like a man possessed to rip their top order apart to the tune of 4-15 in 8 overs. He bowled fast, straight and with much variety was too much for the Indian tourists.
Charlie Last proved to be a perfect foil for Smit as his accurate medium pacers kept the Foundation XI tied down throughout his five over spell.
Had a Grant Davey catch behind not been called for a no-ball transgression and made the Foundation XI six down for less than thirty then Wellington would surely have won, but Sureka and Basu saved the Foundation XI’s blushes and saw them home with a 66 run stand.
Tom Baycock bowled a better line and length as his spell wore on.

Special mention to Under 11 team member Sam Baycock who fielded very well during the Foundation XI innings as a replacement for Chris Nicholls.

A very special innings by Rob Moysey was the undoubted highlight of Wellington Sunday XI’s 112 run win at Exmouth last weekend in their penultimate Three Counties League Division One fixture – a match that they gained eighteen points from to Exmouth’s ten.
Exmouth opted to ask Wellington to bat first and a wicket was lost with the score on twelve, but then Moysey and Alex Sparks played innings worthy of such a venue as they added 124 for the second wicket.
Sparks made a fine 72 with shots all round the park and with the outfield been so short and void of grass he got full value for his shots.
He was eventually out LBW.
Julian Smit then took to the crease and he was in good touch to the tune of 21 when he too was an LBW victim.
All the time Moysey was playing the kind of innings that you dream about as he showed a great array of shots all round the wicket with powerful shots mixed with some of the deftest glances that you could ever wish to see.
He got to 150no exactly off the last ball of the Wellington innings with an all-run four.
Exmouth had toiled in the field with V.Chauhan’s 2-36 been their best offering with the ball.

The home side had to go at a fair lick to even challenge the Wellington total and they were never really in the hunt after Kevin Symons excellent opening eight over burst that only saw fifteen runs go. He removed both openers.
Grant Davey worked hard in conditions where the ball swung prodigiously.
Ben Green and Bob Trott took up the attack and this mix of finger and wrist spin was a handful for the Exmouth line up.
Green showed some excellent control and variation and 1-43 in 8 overs is a good reward for the teenager.
Trott used good variances of flight and loop and 1-23 in 7 overs represents good control from the 2nd XI vice-captain, currently in charge of 2nd XI matters whilst James Dyke is on holiday.
Thom Trott took three wickets in his second over to end with 3-4 in 4 overs and end any real hopes that Exmouth had of making it to 200 and full batting points.
Julian Smit bowled a varied spell late on that saw that the Exmouth tail did not prosper and two wickets was his reward.
David Derrick joined the attack late on and a regulation catch for Grant Davey was the way he got his wicket.
Exmouth were all out with four ball remaining and this win should see Wellington retain their divisional status for another year at least.

Despite conceding a league double for the second week Wellington 2nd XI actually rose one place in Division Two of the Somerset League’s Reserves competition due to Butleigh 2nd XI losing at home to Taunton 3rd XI. Wellington are one point ahead of Butleigh and these teams meet in the last game of the season.
It was a case of not using the advantage that was secured by winning the toss and asking Wembdon to bat that cost Wellington dear in the long run for the Red and Blacks second string conceded a massive 48 extras of which 21 were wides and this is simply too many at any level of the game.
Wembdon cashed in on this waywardness and had 119 on the board after 20 overs as Jenkins in particular with 60 flayed the short ball to all parts.
Wellington did pull things back to a degree later on and the fact that they secured nine out of a possible ten bowling points was of some comfort.
Simon Rudd with 2-28 in 10 overs and the slower tempo of Bob Trott (3-55) and Chris Rudd (3-21) put the breaks on Wembdon as a position of 171-2 in 33 overs only realised another 59 runs in the last 12 overs, so good work was done in the latter part of the innings, but the poor start was what was to blame for the visitors making 230-9 in 45 overs.

Phil Nicholls and Julian Jones added 22 for the opening wicket, but this became 22-3 and Wellington were in serious trouble.
Matt Colman and Dave Hewitt got the score up to over 50 before Hewitt was bowled for 17, this brought Rob Hunt to the crease and he and Colman added 79 fifth wicket runs that gave Wellington a real place back in the game. They made 44 and 42 respectively and had either or both gone on then Wellington would surely have won, built the innings gave way again so as to be 174 when the last pair of Martin Short and Bob Trott came together and they added a spirited 33 runs for the last Wellington wicket that at least meant that full batting points were gained, thus giving Wellington 19 points to Wembdon’s 34.

Wellington 2nd XI will look back on this game as one that was lost due to the nature of the early bowling that was delivered and they know that next week at Taunton will not be an easy match as the county town club are staring relegation in the face and will not want to concede a double to their near neighbours.

The match ball for this fixture was sponsored by Wade & Perry (01823 480268) and the club are very grateful to them for their input in this respect.

Wembdon were asked to bat first and started this Somerset League Division One match well with Puddy and Spilsbury putting on 38 in under 9 overs before Thom Trott made a triple breakthrough – Marc Holloway accepted two chances at mid-on from shots where the Wembdon batsmen tried to loft over the top, but failed to really get to the pitch.
Trott then yorked J.Brockwell and Wembdon were 46-3 and in trouble.
Trott bowled through and took 3-47 in 12 good overs.
Spilsbury was still there though and he and his skipper Lee added 103 fourth-wicket runs and with 15 overs to go Wembdon were looking to add perhaps another 80-100 runs and thus set Wellington a testing total.
But they fell away to be all out for 203 in 42.1 overs.
Gary Tillett wheeled away to good effect as he took 2-53 in 12 overs after initially coming under attack from Lee in particular.
Paul Short bowled better than 1-50 in 9.1 overs suggests and he took the last wicket to fall.
Rob Moysey joined the attack late on and had a big hand in dismantling Wembdon as he took 3-10 in 2 overs.
The home side had fallen away to the extent of been 176-4, losing their last six wickets for only 27 runs.
Wellington had done a good job to get the home side’s innings back on their own terms.

Wellington started their reply slowly as Bingham and J.Brockwell bowled an impressive opening spell and at 26-2 with both openers gone, Wellington needed some consolidation.
It and more came from the bats of Alex Sparks (47) and Julian Smit (59) who added a priceless 103 runs for the third wicket, both played some excellent shots all round the wicket and they got Wellington to within some seventy of the target required and with several wickets in hand it seemed that Wellington were on the right track, but a collapse from 129-2 to 137-6 endangered their position and it took some canny play from Mark Saunders and Paul Short to redeem the Red and Blacks.
This pair added 47 for the seventh wicket and this was what righted a keeling ship. Short played his best knock of the season and saw things through to the end with 32no and Saunders (24) played a steady knock that saw him hit four boundaries as well.
But the rollercoaster was not ready to stop just yet as 184-6 became 184-8 and it took a feisty innings of 15no in nine balls from Kevin Symons to make the win secure and give Wellington 35 points from a two wicket win.
Wembdon took 19 from this match and still have a lot of work to do if they are to avoid a second successive relegation.