A Compendium of early season match reports 26 April - 17 May

First published on https://www.pitchero.com/clubs

Wednesday 17 May

THE SUN SHINES AND FONTHILL WIN AGAINST HORNINGSHAM

By John Grinstead

Fonthill's 147 puts Horningsham behind the black ball and cues another victory!

Proceedings at The Park opened with a Minute's Silence as a sign of respect for Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, one of our Vice Presidents, who died on 13 May, aged 89. A politician of some repute - former Chairman of the Conservative Party and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland under Margaret Thatcher - Peter was a keen supporter of Fonthill Park CC and donated a significant number of his cricketing books to the club, which forms the core of our library.

Put into bat on a sunny evening, Fonthill Park lost Will Scott-Masson in the third over with the score on 16. This brought together Harry Walker and Matt Janes who proceeded to score freely, adding 45 for the second wicket in just 5 overs. Matt Janes was then given out, LBW, on 16 and was followed back to the pavilion by Harry Walker the very next over for an excellent 43. Leigh Godfrey and Tim Jones then frustrated the Horningsham attack for 5 overs with skittish running between the wickets and extravagant playing and missing adding 10 runs in the process, before Tim Jones ran himself out setting off for a run that was never there. Arthur Webb was unfortunate to be given out caught behind to one that passed between bat and pad and Leigh was eventually out for a dogged 6. Ed Hobbs and Finn Edwards meanwhile set about amassing quick runs in the closing overs. Ed Hobbs fell for a swashbuckling 32 and Finn made a very handy 11* in even time. At the fall of the seventh wicket, there were just 2 balls of the innings remaining. Facing just his fourth ball of the season, John Grinstead tried to launch the next delivery towards the Beckford Arms but only succeeded in fanning the 'keeper as the ball clattered into his stumps. On debut, John Reed appeared to have nothing to lose facing the final delivery...but to the joy of the Horningsham bowlers was pinned to the crease LBW, presenting Cal Widdows with a rare hat trick. Fonthill Park closed their innings on 147 for 9.

In response, the Horningsham openers went about their task steadily, fending off some aggressive and accurate bowling from Ed Hobbs (2-0-8-0) and Ewen Moore (4-0-18-2) whilst cashing in on the inexperience of John Reed (2-0-18-0). After 7 overs, they were nevertheless very much in the hunt at 42 without loss. It was then John Grinstead's turn to have a sniff of an illusive hat trick with two wickets in two balls to slow the run rate temporarily. The erstwhile Shepton Montague opener, Ed Read was joined at the crease by Robbie Pownell and, whilst they were together the opposition still had some hope but, in failing light, Matt Janes (2-1-2-1) trapped Ed Read LBW (26) and Ewen Moore bowled Pownell (25) and the game was all but won.

Another good, all round team performance set a respectable score and followed it up with some tight fielding and bowling.

Man of The Match: Harry Walker (43)

Sunday 14 May

EAST SUSSEX TOURIST WALDRON CC ENTERTAIN BUT CANNOT HALT A RAMPANT FONTHILL

By John Grinstead

Ashley 'The Fish' Major takes 4 for 14 in Sunday Thriller

Fonthill Park CC welcomed the tourists from Waldron CC for their final game of 3 in an entertaining 35 over fixture at The Park. After failing to chase down gettable targets in their previous two matches of their tour, the visitors won the toss and elected to bat first on a warm and, initially at least, sunny afternoon.

John Grinstead made an early breakthrough in the second over with one that nipped back down the slope and Charlie Nicoll added a second shortly afterwards to leave the visitors 33 for 2 after 9 overs. Henry Comyn then found the under-edge of skipper Quintin Soucek's bat to make it 43 for 3, before R Dean and Jerome Soucek staged a recovery, adding 91 for the fourth wicket. Just when it looked like the batters were starting to dominate, Captain Tom Mitchell brought on Ashley Major, who succeeded in taking a wicket with just his second ball (pie) - a top edge that fell into the safe hands of a retreating Ed Hobbs. The cat was then firmly amongst the pigeons as, just two balls later, Ashley bowled the next two batsmen in consecutive deliveries to swing the game back towards the hosts. Narrowly missing out on his hat-trick (a full toss that was clubbed to backward square leg for four!) Ashley eventually went on to add a fourth and looked odds-on to make the Honours Board for the first time. Sadly, it wasn't to be and with a final flurry in the final three overs against the by now creaking opening combination of Nicoll and Grinstead, Waldron managed to get themselves up to a respectable, if slightly below par, 188 for 7. Special mention must go to Tom Kenyon-Brown who fielded magnificently, seemingly attracting the ball like a magnet and to Charlie Prior, whose youthful athleticism also saved a good many runs.

In reply, Fonthill lost a couple of early wickets (Edwards - 12 and, making his first runs for the club, Tom K-B - 5) shortly followed by Charlie Prior (0) and Mark Mikurenda (5) but in the intervening periods good partnerships between Henry Comyn (41) and Ed Hobbs (57) and then Ed and Charlie Nicoll (45*) made sure that the target was reached with overs to spare. It was left to Charlie Nicoll and Nick Jennings (0* from 17 deliveries) in an unbroken partnership of 20 to see us home.

Man of The Match: Ashley Major 4-0-17-4

Friday 5 May

NARROW DEFEAT IN THE GLOOM

SWW Hunt 117-4 FPCC 97- 7

Adapted from Skipper Sam Peters' report on WhatsApp: Many thanks to all who played in our narrow 20(ish) run defeat to the South West Wilts Hunt on Friday 5 May.

Special mention must go to Bexi and Jane for making FPCC history as two ladies appeared in the starting line-up for the first time. Both made highly creditable contributions - with Bexi opening the batting and getting her first runs for the Club - while Jane showed she will fit in perfectly by breaking down injured after her first delivery after an injury earlier that week. She did however insist on completing her over.

The Hunt batted first and definitely had the better of the conditions making 117-4 from 20 overs, with Jonnie Power the pick of the bowlers, taking one for seven in four miserly overs.

We ended up batting in near black conditions and, bizarrely, under a plague of mosquitoes, falling just short despite decent knocks from Charlie Nicoll and Freddie Power. They "offered us the light", but our batsmen heroically insisted on completing the final three overs in the murk and relied on sound and instinct to miss the ball.

A fun game played in excellent spirit and thanks especially to those who volunteered to umpire, which is never an easy job. Thanks also to Mark for prepping the ground after a very wet week. Onwards!

Sunday 7 May

FONTHILL PARK RECORD A CONVINCING WIN AGAINST HINTON CHARTERHOUSE

By John Grinstead

In an unbroken partnership, Declan Morrison and Ewen Moore chase down 135 in under 20 overs

On what turned out to be a warm and sunny afternoon, tight bowling and fielding restricted Hinton Charterhouse Veterans to a miserly 135 for 9 in their 35 overs. Managing just 21 for 1 from their first 8 overs (Nicol 4-0-11-1 and Grinstead 4-0-10-0), even more parsimonious bowling from Malik Kudmany (4-3-2-2) and Ewen Moore (4-2-0-3) applied further scoreboard pressure to the Hinton batters. Only subsequently was the pressure relieved with the visitors accumulating 83 for their fourth wicket in the middle overs. With the return of Kudmany and Moore, order was again restored and Nicol and Grinstead further frustrated the Hinton progress towards a competitive score. The Fonthill Park opening quartet all returned excellent figures on what was an admittedly sticky wicket where batsmen struggled to score from anything pitched up. The pick of the bowlers were Ewen Moore (7-2-9-1), John Grinstead (6-1-11-3) and, hot on the heels of his 5fer in the previous game, Kudmany (7-4-13-3).

Following a highly-praised, sumptuous tea, it was therefore a confident Fonthill Park that took the field for their innings. Declan Morrison and Howard Smith were making steady progress before Howard popped up a simple catch with the score on 15. Arthur Webb fell just 2 balls later and, making his debut for the club, the unfortunate Tom Kenyon-Brown, joined the Primary Club when he got through his shot too early as the ball gripped the surface, popping up yet another chance that was gratefully snaffled by the opposition. At 15-3, it looked like the wheels were coming off the Fonthill innings. When Ewen Moore joined Declan Morrison at the crease, however, the tide quickly turned. After a couple of streaky shots, Ewen eventually found the pace of the pitch and his rhythm and proceeded to knock the ball around with his usual aplomb. At the other end, Declan Morrison was in belligerent mood and, hefting his 3lb of fine English willow, proceeded to smite the ball to all corners of the ground. Racing to 50 in short order, he eventually closed the innings 90* with Ewen Moore on 51*.

The more numerate and observant among you will spot that 90 + 51 exceeds the Hinton Charterhouse score on its own. Whether this was down to miscalculation or misattribution by the scorers or a bit of double accounting, we will never know but the scores are in the book for all to see. The result, however, is unequivocal - Fonthill win by 7 wickets in less than 20 overs. A convincing win in anyone's language.

Man of the Match - Declan Morrison (2-0-18-0 and 90*)

Saturday 29 April

FPCC BEAT THE AUTHORS XI

and the first "five-for" of the season

Skipper Nick Jennings reports: FPCC won the toss and elected to bowl on a somewhat damp surface which looked like it might dry and be better for batting as the day brightened up. With tightly controlled bowling and fielding we kept the Authors pinned down and bowled them out for 121 with Henry Comyn taking a good catch in the deep to dismiss their best batsman with the last ball of 35 overs. Malick Kudmany taking 5 for 11 off 5 overs to earn a place on the board in his first full season for the Club.

dwards came in at number 5 with a very careful and controlled performance against tight bowling as he and Ed took us to victory. Finn scoring the winning runs with a 6 and Ed finishing with 41 not out.

A very good result in potentially fraught circumstances given the slow nature of the wicket and the oppo's tight accurate bowling. Man of the Match goes to Malik Kudmany who dutifully celebrated with the traditional jug, and thanks to everyone for contributing to an excellent tea.

Wednesday 26 April

MIDWEEK XI TAKE ON CHILMARK IN THE FIRST LOCAL DERBY OF THE YEAR.

By John Grinstead

In a match restricted to 18 overs a side, Fonthill Park come a close second.

In overcast conditions on a chilly April evening, Sam Peters won the toss and, mindful of the fading light, chose to field. Both teams had already agreed an 18 overs per side format, conscious of it being on the dark side shortly after 8 pm. With Freddie Phillips and Ewen Moore opening the bowling, it looked like being a cagey, low scoring game initially with the Chilmark openers barely breaking sweat and the runs per over hovering around 4 for the first 6 overs. Then things shifted up a gear. Having swung and missed repeatedly for several overs, the youthful Max Allen finally began to connect and ominously began to find the boundary. And he found the boundary. Again. And again.

On an evening not for the faint hearted bowler or for those of a nervous disposition, Allen's swing was unerring, dispatching Sam Peters for 3 successive 6s and punishing each subsequent bowler. Reaching his century in the final over of the Chilmark innings, he eventually finished 101 Not Out including two 4s and eleven sixes, the pick of which went half way to the Beckford off the bowling of John Grinstead. Notwithstanding this onslaught, Fonthill managed to restrict (sic) Chilmark to 159 for 2 from their allotted overs. A substantial but not impossible target to chase.

In response, Fonthill started brightly with the top order of Finn Edwards (6), Henry Smith (41) and Henry Comyn (31) rotating the strike well and keeping the scoreboard ticking over. At the half way point, the run chase was still very much on with the required rate hovering just above 9 runs per over. On the fall of Henry Comyn's wicket, Ewen Moore strode to the wicket and injected a much needed spurt with a brisk 23 in double-time. Chilmark began to look shaky. Unfortunately, in turning for a tight third run, Ewen slipped and fell and, despite scrambling to his feet, just failed to make his ground. Despite heroic efforts of Sam Peters, Gabe Sayles and the ever-youthful Ash 'The Fish' Major (0*), Fonthill required 20 runs from the final over and fell 15 short.

Despite a domineering innings from Max Allen, the game was much closer than it might have been. It could have been even tighter had Fonthill held their catches - admittedly most were steepling chances in the deep - and the 'long barrier' more effectively deployed. It is early in the season and 145 runs from 18 overs was a very respectable effort - a winning score on most other occasions - so there's plenty to build on as we head towards May...and hopefully some warmer weather!