Wellington Cricket Club

Please can players start to think of their choice for Player’s Player for the 2009 season.

There are two awards – the A.W.Scott Cup for the 1st XI and the Fullstone Cup for the 2nd XI – and this is YOUR award for the playing colleague who has made the biggest impression on you over the course of the season. 

Please forward your vote to the Chairman via e-mail to Duncan.Short@towergate.co.uk as soon as possible and certainly no later than the end of September.

Please make sure your vote not only contains the name of player for who you wish to vote, but also contains the team who you are voting for – either 1st XI or 2nd XI – so that votes can be assessed and counted accurately.

This is an important award and is the one that you - the players – make the decision on, so please make sure you cast a vote.

Wellington 2nd XI’s tough season in Division One of the Somerset League’s Reserves Competition ended with a ten wicket reverse at Bridgwater last weekend as the side finished bottom of the division and are relegated to Division Two for next season.

On losing the toss Wellington were asked to bat first on a very green wicket and against a very useful Bridgwater attack I.Hewson with 6-24 in 11 overs did much damage to the Red and Blacks second string.

A spirited fourth wicket stand of 35 between Liam Kubicki (18) and skipper Richard Short (20) got Wellington from 16-3 to 51-3 with Short hitting five fours and Kubicki three as both played well, but the roof fell in on Wellington’s innings as the score dipped to 62-9 before David Derrick and Alex Troake added a spirited 15 runs for the last wicket with Derrick making only the third double figure score of the innings with 10, he was last man out in the 33rd over.

Bridgwater wasted no time in knocking off the runs with Kitch (28no) and Witts (40no) getting the home side to victory in just 10 overs.

By dismantling North Petherton for the second lowest score ever posted against the Red and Blacks, and with Ilton recording a five wicket win over Temple Cloud, Wellington has retained it’s Somerset League Division One status for next season by a nine point margin over the Bristol based side.

Paul Short opted to bat on winning the toss and a number of solid contributions with the bat got Wellington to 176 all out in the last over available to them.

Alex Sparks with 26 and Marc Holloway with 29 got going in the middle order and Mark Salter with 21 later on did good work against a North Petherton side who have had a good first season at this level after gaining promotion last season. Bishop with 3-46 in 10 overs was their best offering with the ball.

Wellington were mindful of other results and knew that Staplegrove had recorded an easy win over already-relegated North Newton and that Ilton needed around 170 to beat Temple Cloud and seal the Somerset League title for 2009.

Wellington took to the field with their own requirements in hand and simply blew North Petherton away as Rowan Varkevisser (4-5) and Adrian Lee (4-9) ran riot with no Petherton player making double figures as they just got past the lowest ever league score against Wellington 1st XI of 22 set by Kilve back in 2003.

Paul Short took a wicket in his only over and Wellington had a thumping 151 run win and 33 points to their credit and had to wait on the result from Ilton before their fate would be known – as it was Ilton won by five wickets and Wellington were safe to the tune of nine points.

As you are all aware the Somerset League season ends this weekend, but we play three more matches after this – against North Curry at home on Bank Holiday Monday, away to Chard on Sunday 6th September and away to Langport on Sunday 13th September.

The side for the North Curry match has been selected already and can be seen on-line.

As far as the other two matches go I would like to offer as many people a game as I can before the season finally ends, so I would like to know what availability there is out there for both the September matches.

Some such availability is already known to me, but I would like to know more if possible – please drop me an e-mail to david230275@googlemail.com if you can play in either or both of these matches and I will sort accordingly.

I will consider all availability that is notified to me and will give as many players as is possible a match in these two end-of-season fixtures.

I look forward to hearing from you.

The tickets for this season’s Dinner and Dance are now available for purchase at the most reasonable price of £25.00 per head and all those who wish to attend are asked to make their intentions known as soon as possible so as to aid the planning process.

Tickets can be obtained from the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Senior Team Captains amongst others.

Please can those who won perpetual trophies last season return them as soon as possible so that they can be prepared for use at this season’s Dinner and Dance.

A listing of the trophies required will be posted soon – all trophies should be returned to the Chairman ultimately.

The Club’s outdoor nets will be taken down from 9.30am on Saturday 19th September.

Please bring yourself and any appropriate tools you may have for this task.

We will also clean out the scorebox and the tea cupboard for the close season at the same time.

It is hoped to play this match – between our Under 13s/15s and their Nynehead counterparts – on Friday 28th August.

Further details can be obtained from Mark Salter, Richard Short and Graham Sparks.

Entertainment is planned for the evening and all are welcome.

This was an excellent game of cricket all round as the runs flowed at the Wyvern Club last weekend as Wellington gave an excellent chase of the 229 needed to beat WEPL Premier One side Taunton St Andrews.

There could have been a wicket to the first ball of the game as TSA opener L.Poole struck the ball with such force it rebounded off of Jake Nicol and almost reached Richard Short at mid-on! The Saints openers posted 55 for the first wicket before Scott Davey got his first senior wicket when he bowled Poole for 32.

There was a 25 over gap until Wellington’s next success as Ayshford with 77 and Davies with 65 dominated matters on the field with some crisp strokeplay, although Wellington did bowl really quite well and were not faced with a score of – say – over 250.

Alex Troake got through ten overs and took 2-68, but he did bowl better than this and Richard and Paul Short let only 39 runs go in their combined dozen overs as TSA closed on 228-4 at tea.

TSA won the game – in retrospect – through the fine pace bowling of Brice (1-16 in 8 overs) as Wellington were reduced to 16-2.

Liam Kubicki and Alex Sparks added 40 for the third wicket before Kubicki was stumped and this was the cue for Paul Short and Sparks to have a really game go at the total required. They played powerfully and elegantly in making 83 and 71 respectively and whilst they were together the home side were in danger of losing. Sparks hit eleven fours and Short five fours and a large six and he ran the ball around the field very well.

Steve Symons played an intelligent innings as he ran well and rotated the strike and supported Short throughout their 28 run fifth wicket partnership.

Symons and Richard Short were at the crease for Wellington when their overs ran out and a 25 run defeat was recorded.

With having to concede the match with Frome the week before Wellington 2nd XI went into this Somerset League Reserves Competition Division One match with Cheddar knowing that they are relegated and will be playing in Division Two next season, but the side gave a good account of itself before going down by 36 runs to last season’s Division Two winners.

Cheddar opted to bat first and Adrian Lee and Jake Nicol each got a wicket in their opening spell as the cloudy conditions made swing bowling a good option to practice.

George Coate got rid of D.Stacey who had made 120 in the reverse match back in June and at 51-4 Cheddar were rocking a little, but Greyshon with 62 and Russett with 26 steadied things up for them, but Wellington did not let them get away too far as Sam Murdock and George Hooper bowled their medium pacers well in the mid-innings period.

Richard Short and Alex Troake did a good job for Wellington before Adrian Lee (2-32) and Jake Nicol (3-49) claimed late wickets to leave the home side needing 181  to win.

After a wicket was lost at 13 Trevor Brooks and Kevin Crout added exactly fifty for Wellington’s second wicket and this was a good base to push on from, but when Brooks was bowled for a fine 33 the rot set in and Wellington collapsed from 63-1 to 86-6 with Crout holding firm.

He added 17 for the seventh wicket with Jake Nicol and 21 for the eighth with David Derrick, but D.Stacey with 5-41 in 12 good overs saw that Cheddar prevailed in the end despite Crout’s top innings of 64.

Sam Murdock and Alex Troake added a pleasant fifteen runs for the last Wellington wicket, but the Red and Blacks second string were all out for 144 with 4.1 overs left and took sixteen points to Cheddar’s 34.