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First XI Captain's Report, 2009 Season
2009, the club's first ever season playing senior cricket, was overshadowed by one major talking point. That's right . Egg. A severe lack of egg positioned between two slices of Kingsmill's finest at tea impacted upon our performances and as results have now proved, when egg was on the menu, we won!
So there we go, looking forward to 2010, we don't need coaches, winter nets, Friday night practice, power drinks, just lots of egg.
In terms of the cricket, finishing 7th in our first season in bronze should be viewed as a major achievement for the club. There is clearly a significant increase in standard from Hants 1, and although we had sighters of this in our pre season games against Hambledon & Fair Oak, it was at our first league game away to Gosport that we saw how good some of the individuals in this league are. We actually played better cricket in the game against Gosport than at any time in the previous season, yet we lost. Welcome to bronze!
One of the most pleasing aspects of captaining the team this year was seeing the maturity and personal responsibility that the players took. Although we won our next game against Trojans, we then lost 3 on the bounce, but this appeared to make the players even more determined to work on their own individual games and ensure that we all contributed a performance. Our bowlers started to improve with bowling tighter lines (the wides ruling took a few games to get used to) and our batters showed a greater resolve to establish key partnerships. A couple of wins at Totton and at home to United Services showed that working hard on your own game does pay off.
If there was a game in 2009 that demonstrated how far this team has developed, collectively & individually, in such a short space of time, the away fixture at Portsmouth was the one. To play a team with a number of high quality players and not only beat them well, but play some tremendous cricket of a very high standard was incredibly satisfying. Of course it was great to win the game, but the performance from start to finish was excellent, with some great individual contributions (all the stats are on the website).
After a mid season blip, we were then able to put our strongest team out for the last 3 games, which we won with maximum points in each game, and playing as a strong, well prepped unit.
All the players who played contributed, and special thanks go to those who stepped in unselfishly at short notice to help us out (Sean, Phil J, Steve W, Dave Ags, Robbie C). Of course, there were key contributors:-
Matt with his 600 runs, including a ton and 5 50's.
Simon with 400 runs, including 3 50's..
Colin's hundred and his keeping . the highlight being his catch at Fareham.
Peter's bowling (21 wkts) that allowed us to play another batter and gave the side greater balance.
Bondy's stubborn determination in the middle order, and his spin bowling is starting to develop as well.
Jewelly's bowling, often being asked to bowl in short spells and at key moments in games, and usually without a great deal of luck!
Clarky's who has developed into a genuine opening bowler and gets opening batsmen out.
Sammy Freemantle & Jimmy Davies . Didn't get the opportunities to show what they can do with the bat however the side was stronger with both of them in it...or maybe Sam is a bowler now?
And also to Craig, Keith & Otis for their contributions.
My personal thanks to the Chairman, Senior, Penny & Bob for the personal time that they give up and work that they do on behalf of the club, and of course to everybody else who volunteers to put personal time and effort into the club.
Finally, congratulations to the 2nd XI on their success this year, another clear demonstration that this is a progressive club.
Fred
