On Saturday 19th August, the Wilcot 6-a-Side competition made a welcome return to the Old School Ground after a 16 year hiatus.
On the day there were three teams from Wilcot CC and one visiting side from Collingbourne & Avon Valley CC. The format was such that all teams would play 4 games, starting with a round robin format where all teams would play each other once, followed by a knockout stage with the two top teams playing a final and the other two teams battling it out for 3rd place.
Rules as follows: no LBW or Leg Byes allowed; Wides and No Balls each counted for 4 runs, 5 overs per innings where all players excepting the wicketkeeper had to bowl one over of no more than a 6 pace run up and with the last batsman able to bat on his own.
Game 1: C & AV Young Guns (+Coach) 37 for 1 beat Wiltshire Baa Baa’s 36 for 1
The initial game was played under sunny, blue skies but with a very slow and damp outfield restricting boundaries. The Wiltshire Baa Baa’scaptained by Wilcot’s Luke Morane-Griffiths v C & AV Young Guns (+Coach), captained by Owen Sheppard, who had kindly brought his U15’s team over from Collingbourne & Avon Valley CC.
Late arrivals meant a couple of players from the other teams had to pad out the BaaBaa’s ranks. Wilson Saraj opened with Lance Weaver filling in and posted a tidy 15 before retiring due to excessive running between the wickets! With no LBW’s allowed, only one wicket was lost, though it’s arguable any LBW’s would have been given as the smoke from the SSB umpire appeared to be obscuring his vision. With Lance finishing on 9, the second highest score of 12 came via ‘extras’ and gave an early indication of how important accurate bowling was to be. For the YG’s, Hubbard scored a solid 9 runs and although the first 3 overs from the BaaBaa’s went quite cheaply, the 19 extras they eventually conceded proved too much and the first match was a great result for the U15’s of the C & AV YG +C team!
Game 2: Stanton St.Bruno 50 for 1 beat Wilcot Legion 47 for 1
This was an internal club match, with the teams captained by two of the U9’s coaches, Stanton St.Bruno, captained by Charlie Allen (+pipe) and the Wilcot Legion, by Rod Scott-Donaldson.
The Legion won the toss and chose to bat. With the Carkeek brothers sent out to open, by way of London and Mallorca, Matt made a rapid 9 before being caught by Charlie Corbett off Charlie A’s bowling and the Legion eventually finished on 47 – Sean Carkeek, not out on 13 and Roddy Chisholm Batten on 20 with a 5 meagre extras added to the tally. William Allen then opened with Jamie Watherston, Wilcot’s captain of the Sunday team, and they swiftly took 13 off the first over before Will was bowled by Roddy CB (his first wicket in 45 years), Jamie W then ran up 21 runs before taking obligatory retirement after passing 20, Charlie Allen scored a quick 10 and ended the match paired with nephew Magnus Allen, the Legion shipping 13 extras and an over to spare.
Game 3: Stanton St.Bruno 30 for 1 beat C & AV Young Guns (+Coach) 29 for 4.
With the two remaining undefeated teams facing off, the Young Guns batted first but some very tight bowling from the father and son duo of Will and Magnus Allen restricted the YG’s to less than 10 from the first two overs and at the cost of one wicket. The third over saw Jamie W going for just 3 and a further wicket falling. However, the YG’s regrouped and Angus and Harry managed to push the shoreline along to finish on 29. Although Ben from the YG’s was able to snatch one wicket, the 15 extras conceded were to prove too costly for the YG’s and SSB advanced to their final pool game with 2 wins from 2 under their belt.
Game 4: Wilcot Legion 53 for 0 beat Wiltshire Baa Baa’s 52 for 2.
The fourth game saw the two teams without a win fighting it out for a chance to make the end of day final. The Legion won the toss and put the BaaBaa’s into bat. A brief rain shower didn’t prevent Luke MG from running up a solid 18, which plus a rather generous 23 extras from the Legion saw the BaaBaa’s reach 52-2, with Shaun C taking the 2 wickets. In a confident reply, Roddy and Jacques opened and scored 23 and 11 respectively before Roddy took obligatory retirement but again extras were a big factor and 16 of them from the BaaBaa’s helped the Legion reach 53 after 3 overs.
Game 5: Wilcot Legion 42 for 1 beat C & AV Young Guns (+Coach) 41
The final pool game for these two teams saw the Legion win the toss and put the YG’s in to bat – due to an excess use of charcoal on the BBQ, lunch was delayed by 30 minutes and the first innings was played before the lunch interval. A great undefeated opening partnership from Hubbard (17 n.o) and N.Snow (16 n.o) saw the YG’s reach 41 for no loss but the surprising lack of extras from the Legion (8) was the only thing restricting the visiting team from posting a big score. Unfortunately, the 26 extras from the YG’s proved too expensive and those, along with a tidy 10 from Lance Weaver saw the Legion home to finish with 2 wins from 3 and the Young Guns, 1 from 3.
Game 6: Stanton St.Bruno 65 for 0 beat Wiltshire Baa Baa’s 31 for 3
The last pool game saw boundaries flowing as the outfield dried up and both Jamie W and Charlie A posting retirement scores of 20 and 21 respectively. Someone thought they saw one W.Saraj, the SSB wicketkeeper, bowling an over with his pads on but considering he went for just 4 runs, the least expensive of their 5 overs, this seems unlikely. With some very tidy bowling from the SSB team, conceding just 18 runs in the first 4 overs, plus 2 wickets from Charlie Corbett and only 4 extras, the 65 that turned out to be the highest total of the day, proved too much for the BaaBaa’s to chase down. This left SSB undefeated with 3 from 3 and the BaaBaa’s unlucky on 0 from 3.
3/4th Place Play Off: C & AV Young Guns (+Coach) 39 for 3 drew with Wiltshire Baa Baa’s 39 for 3
The bronze medal match was a repeat of the opening fixture with the YG’s put into bat. A rapid 18 from Snow, just 7 extras and 2 wickets from Jude York in the final over restricted the YG’s to 39. The BaaBaa’s lost 3 quick wickets but a flurry of extras, a 7 from Cyril York and 12 from Matt Carkeek (seconded from the Legion) saw the BaaBaa’s match the YG’s with identical figures of 39 for 3. It was suggested that the keeper’s from each team bowled a deciding over but both captains agreed that a draw was a fair result!
FINAL:
The final match of the day saw the Wilcot Legion seeking a reversal of their opening match defeat and after winning the toss, SSB were put in to bat. Unfortunately, a legion stalwart, Jacques du Toit had to depart early and Magnus Scott-Donaldson, resplendent in salmon shorts and pink t-shirt, was called to play (at 9, the youngest player of the day). SSB loaded the batting order and sent out their highest scoring players, Messrs Watherston and Allen. C, who were both visibly relaxed after the extended lunch and watering break and batted to the end of their innings, scoring 14 and 17 respectively. Unfortunately, the lunch break appeared to have the reverse effect on the Legion players, likely due to the very reasonably priced ‘1664’ and the Legion’s bowlers contributed an additional 27 extras to SSB’s score of 58, the second highest total of the day. A wicket in the first over from Will Allen slowed the scoring and although Roddy CB was again obliged to retire on 23, Shaun C managed to add a valuable 14 extra runs before being run out. Going into the final over, all was to play for, with 18 required. Though Magnus SD and Lance Weaver added a further 6, these were all the runs that Charlie Corbett conceded and with SSB giving up just 7 extras in total, the Legion fell 8 runs short.
Stanton St.Bruno 58 for 0 beat Wilcot Legion 50 for 2
Congratulations to SSB who were thoroughly deserved winners, going undefeated with 4 wins from 4, posting the two highest scores of 58 and 65, and with the 2nd and 3rd highest run scorer’s in Jamie Watherston 59 and Charlie Allen 48.
Wilcot CC 6-a-side Winners 2017:
Charlie Allen (c)
William Allen
Magnus Allen
Francis Allen (w)
Jamie Watherston
Charlie Corbett
I would like to extend my thanks to all the players that supported the event and raised over £250 for the club, with special mention to Owen and his U15’s from Collingbourne & Avon Valley CC, who played exceptionally well and in the best spirit of the game and again to Owen for umpiring so many of the games, Luke M-G for agreeing to captain the BaaBaa’s at incredibly short notice; Cyril York and his grandsons for coming on board last minute to ensure we had a full complement of players; Peter for his time in preparing a perfect wicket and lastly to all the family members who helped with the BBQ and drinks.
