NORFOLK V YORKSHIRE at Clifton Alliance CC, York

August 26 2014

Norfolk lost a tight match against unbeaten Northern Group leaders Yorkshire by 6 wickets.

Norfolk inserted immediately struggled when England opening bowler, Martin Ivill removed John Lund’s ( 1) off stump several feet. Then England spinner Micky Kenyon had Ritchie Davies lbw for 9 to reduce the visitors to  30-3 in the 11th over. Martin Pearse had the fielders struggling with quick singles  and it wasn’t before long that Yorkshire had sweepers at square leg, mid wicket, long off ,  long on and cover, as he and Clive Bennett put together a stand of 97.  Yorkshire have six bowlers in the top 100 with economy rates  ranging from 2.19( Kenyon) to Ivill @3.50—which is why they are unbeaten, so far after 13 matches in 2014.

Pearse perished on 67 in 106 in the 34th over,, his 10th play off  50, and Bennett was unbeaten on 66 in 110  as Norfolk closed on 167-4 in 45.

Yorkshire are a steady batting side and after a fruitful start against some four balls, Jackson and  change bowler Shales tightened everything up, to the extent Yorkshire were worried. Ivill on 8 survived a sharp chance to mid wicket who dived and dropped it as he hit the ground. However despite all this, when Shales was bowled out with excellent analysis again of 9-3-20-2, the wheels started to drop off  somewhat, and eventually Yorkshire eked their way to victory in 40.5 overs.

Ivill’s 75 in 107 balls won the day,  with Phil Taylor, another England regular on 24* and Alan Steers on 19*

Martin Pearse




Final League Match v Warwickshire

August 19th 2014

An easy victory over bottom of the table Warwickshire was, in effect, a waste of a day as Northamptonshire’s refusal to play Cambs  on the Thursday (our rivals for 3rd spot) landed Cambs 14 points on a plate and sent us into 4th by one point....  and on the Tuesday, Cambs 0 Northants 22 points when they played for their first match...........

Warwickshire inserted on a very green wicket at Premier Club Dorridge CC struggled badly against Colin Jackson and Trevor Shales. However, the last 20 overs elicited 130 runs, to make their score 190-3. But, Norfolk only had ten men and Joe Perry fielded really well and caught a good catch. Shales only conceded 16 in his 9 overs.

Norfolk’s openers, Martin Pearse and John Lund found Slade a handful and he replicated Shales in his figures and accuracy. But Lund fell in love with the other opener and his replacement, , repeatedly smashing them  through the offside and square leg.. Despite  a couple of lucky breaks, one a sitter at slip,  and with Pearse content to give him the strike, Lund flourished, four after four,  in a superb display of batting and his 100 came up in the 26th over with 147 on the board. After 37 overs, Norfolk were 193-0, Lund 127*, Pearse 43*.

Next week, Yorkshire, difference between chalk and cheese. Three current England bowlers and Norfolk the underdogs. But so we were in 2009 when we played Cheshire. And Sussex. And Hampshire...............








Norfolk v Northamptonshire

5th August 2014

Tas Valley

Norfolk 60 gained the points they needed for the play-offs, but another performance like that from some of the bowlers will see them depart at the first hurdle.

At Tas Valley, the wicket was hard but worn and at one end, a bowlers paradise. Colin Jackson and Trevor Shales had Ray Swann and Chris Thomas in shackles. After 12 overs the visitors were 24.0. A literally stunning catch on the boundary by Jackson saw the dangerous Thomas depart, but then he pulled a hamstring.

And the carnage began. Four good balls and two four balls every over is not to be recommended. Swann took full advantage and advanced his score accordingly. His 101 in 117 balls with 16 fours was the stand out performance as Northants scored 235-5. Shales with only 15 conceded from his 9 overs was a magnificent effort

Norfolk’s opening pair had no such luck. Every ball arrow straight, up the nose or on the floor. Lund, at 14, departed to another stunning one handed catch and only really Pearse with  50 in 80 looked at home. Norfolk were ahead of the game at 77 in 22 but then Pearse rather stupidly ran himself out and the wheels came off. Bennett, Roper and Hughes all succumbed and again, Lofthouse (31 in 29) and Davies (20 in 26) got Norfolk seemingly back on track. But apart from one bowler, the 70 year old England player, Ray Waite, who was quickly removed from the attack, leaking 18 in 2, Northants bowling was deadly accurate with Swann 3-23, Edwards 28-0 in 9, Ingham 0-18 in 9, Robinson 23-1 in 9, backed up by a phalanx of others. Norfolk ended on 185-9, a fair reflection on the difference between the 2 sides.

Again, Shales and Jackson were the stand-outs. Three more of them and Norfolk would have won.

 




Norfolk v Suffolk 60

22nd  July 2014

Chantry Park, Ipswich

A must, must win match saw the visitors gain a fair amount of luck as Suffolk capitulated quite easily to 102 all out, only John Gallant with 38 and Steve Bulger looking all at ease on a tricky wicket, Andy King  9-2-21-4 and Clive Bennett 9-0-37-4 did the bulk of the damage, whilst the ever reliable Trevor Shales, the best bowler in the ECB 50’s as well, pulled in a 8-1-16-2 analysis. Norfolk’s prolific opening pair saw John Lund (27) claim his 2000 runs for Norfolk  60 as he and Martin Pearse put on 50 in 10 to effectively seal the deal, Pearse (19) taking three fours off Alan Burt in five balls. Clive Bennett 23 and Liam Hughes 25 not out, saw the visitors through in 33 overs.

Now in reality Norfolk need to win 2 out of 3 v Herts (no 1), Northants (no 2) and Warwickshire (bottom) to guarantee the play-offs.









Norfolk v Cambridgeshire 15th July 2014 Dereham

A bad, bad result for Norfolk in a must win match. Norfolk started badly, John Lund bowled for 0 but recovered to 80-2 in 21, Martin Pearse 40 and Clive Bennett 20. However, a lull for ten overs was rather restricting before Geoff Roper 53 and Randolf Lofthouse 38 totalled 208-8 in 45.

Cue for a somewhat unusual Norfolk bowling and fielding performance, as 14 overs went for 105 runs and after dangerman Ketteridge was dropped on 0, his 88 made sizeable inroads. But Cambs were through in 39-1 and their first ever victory over Norfolk, to go with their first ever 50 ECB success.

Not a good day, as this was effectively a 4 pointer, with Cambs, Beds and us all vying for 2 places for the play-offs. 

Randolph Lofthouse takes the aerial route on his way to 38 against Cambridgeshire at Dereham on 15th July 2014

Geoff Roper drives through the covers on his way to 53 against Cambridgeshire at Dereham on 15th July 2013