Mixed fortunes for the six Woolpit Cricket Club teams at the weekend

There was mixed fortunes for Woolpit Cricket Club teams at the weekend with two of the six sides winning their games.

The 3rd XI beat Abberton and District 2nd XI by 163 runs and the Ladies 2nd XI won by 7 runs against Felixstowe and Corinthian Ladies 2nd XI, while the 1st XI lost by 9 wickets to Haverhill 1st XI, the 2nd XI lost by 13 runs to Brockley 1st XI, the 4th XI lost by 7 wickets to Nowton 2nd XI and the T20 XI lost by 4 wickets to Haverhill T20 XI.

The 1st XI suffered their biggest defeat of the year at home to Haverhill with a disastrous start to their innings as they found themselves 12-5 after just 11 overs.

The middle and lower order batsmen rallied to give the score some kind of credibility, however despite knocks of 30 by Chris Wells and 37 by Alex Jackson, Woolpit could only finish on 129-9 from their 50 overs.  Pick of the Haverhill bowlers were Singh with 2 for 9 and Boulton with 3 for 21

In reply, it appeared that a shock may be on the cards when Jackson clean bowled Boulton in just the second over. However, this was as good as it got for the home side as Singh and Youngs slowly accumulated runs to take their side closer to their target.  Both of them reached 50 as they achieved their target in the 37th over.

Brockley’s opener Stuart Fisher caused Woolpit’s 2nd XI bowlers some difficulty, scoring 94 before being run out by Adam Coombes. Rich Jones (72) and Tim Huffer (49) both helped Brockley on their way to setting a good target of 248 for 4 off their 45 overs. Danny Reynolds being Woolpit’s most effective bowler taking 2 for 62 in his 15 over spell.

Most of Woolpit’s batsmen chipped in, Harry Gale (36), Marcus West (36 not out) and Adrian Starling (45 not out) all got started on their way to a big score but just couldn’t manage it. Woolpit falling 13 runs short at the end of their 45 overs and Jason Boor being Brockley’s best bowler taking 3 for 72 off 12.

A couple of early wickets fell in Woolpit 3rd XI’s game against Abberton and District 2nd XI but Mark Estall (56) and Will West (51), settled at the crease, and played some lovely shots.

Cam Ritchie, Woolpit’s newest recruit, added a quick 34 to the total too. Abberton’s bowlers worked hard and their most effective bowlers were Mark Johnson (45 for 2) and Kevin Chapman (36 for 2) who bowled in tandem for the last 17 overs of the innings, but they couldn’t stop Woolpit posting a good target of 260 for 8.

Abberton’s batsmen got off to a slow start, as Woolpit’s tight bowling was making it very difficult for them to get the ball away. This led to several of Abberton’s wickets falling close together, until Kevin Chapman (26) came to the crease and he held up an end to keep Woolpit in the field as long as possible. He eventually ran out of partners in the 37th over. Abberton being bowled out for 97. Cam Ritchie also made an impact with the ball on debut, taking 4 for 10 off his 7 over spell.

Woolpit 4th XI lost an early wicket. Sophie Utteridge (35) and Rob Jack (62) had a 94 run partnership, giving the team hope of posting a good total to defend. Nowton took the last wicket in the final over of the innings, with Woolpit finishing on 175. The wickets were spread evenly between the Nowton bowling attack but the most economical was Eamon Baalam, taking 2 for 17 off 8.

Nowton lost an early wicket too, but followed in Woolpit’s fashion with batsmen 2 and 3 staying out in the middle. Olly Day (91 not out) and Jack Noe (49), had a 151 run partnership, leaving Nowton only 24 runs short of the target. The other batsmen managed this easily, and reached 179 for 3 in only 19.4 overs.

In a very tight game Haverhill took an early wicket In the game involving Woolpit T20 XI. Harry Bureau came out to bat at number three and stuck around, retiring not out on 51 off 33 balls. Sam Nicholson was Haverhill’s most economical bowler taking 2 wickets for just 9 runs off his three over spell. Woolpit ended on 148 for 6.

Haverhill’s batsmen kept up with the run rate and their top scorers were Will Bailey (42 notd out) and Sam Hartshorn (29). George Tillbrook took 2 for 13 off his 3 overs but his wasn’t enough. Haverhill reached their target with just two balls to spare.

Woolpit’s Ellie Costin and Jess Board made light work of the bowling of Felixstowe and Corinthian Ladies 2nd XI with both retiring not out on 30 and 31 respectively. Felixstowe’s bowlers found it hard to get through the batting line up and Woolpit ended on 116 for 3 off 20 overs.

Felixstowe fought hard, Lizzie Vincent and Lottie James also retiring not out on 32 and 30 but Woolpit’s bowlers managed to make a break through and Ellie Costin took 2 for 16. Felixstowe falling just short, getting 109 off their 20 overs

Pictured above is Harry Tillbrook (Woolpit 3rd XI) bowling at Abberton’s opening batsman Callum Newland.