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MATCH
REPORTS FOR 2010
Sunday 5th September vs Hinton Charterhouse CC. Won by 76 runs.
The folk at Hinton believed on
the Saturday that it would not rain and so all would be well with the
pitch. In fact it did rain and so when the Queries began to
arrive, a strip was being mown - a strip that had not been covered -
and so this track was always going to be interesting as well as sticky! The Queries
won the toss and Tom Grant, making his debut as a match manager,
elected to bat first. It was to be a declaration game, with batsmen
retiring at 50 runs but being allowed to return in the event of all the
other wickets falling.
Guest David Russell and Will Langton opened the batting and after some
early scares caused by a damp pitch, put on 39 before Will was caught
at deep mid wicket. Harry Farley came in at 3 and they pushed the score
on to 86 when Russell had to retire having scored 50. He was replaced
by Simon Campbell who was in smash and grab mode as he scored 55 in
very quick time and only 25 balls. He retired with the score at 160.
Harry Farley was on the brink of his half century when he was stumped
on 47, with the score at 174. David Haywood came and went for 7, Chris
Sloane was bowled for 8 and Iain Kiy had got to 4 when the skipper
declared at 4.15pm with the score of 198. Courageous - or generous -
some thought!
After a cracking good tea, back went the Queries into the field and Tom
Pike and Neil Clark took the new ball. Clark got the first wicket at 35
and thereafter there was a steady procession to and from the pavilion
as no two batsmen could make a partnership. The Hinton Charterhouse
side was all out for 121 runs and the Queries had won their final match
of the season by 77 runs. Tom Grant took 5 for 33 from 12.5
overs, Iain Kiy got 2 for 23, and Neil Clark and Chris Sloane got one
apiece.
Saturday 4th September: President's XI vs the Secretary's XI at Great Durnford CC. The President's XI won by 53 runs.
Brian Thompson had done
sterling work putting this event together and with the help of his
wife Christine who presented a marvellous tea, and Peter Robinson from
GDCC who prepared and organised the ground and the facilities, we were
in for a good day. Despite all the trials and tribulations caused by
players who had to pull out, two teams were organised and play started
with the President's XI batting first and opening with young Wiltshire
star Kit Patrick. Opening bowler Piers Foster, playing on his home
pitch, then clean bowled Kit first ball of the game with a ball that
swung away and then nipped in! However the other opener Chris Downham
quickly mastered the conditions and reached 54 when he was caught.
After that only Tim Law (32*), James Macey (21) and Martin Butler (30)
managed to make some runs, other than extras which totalled 24, and
after 40 overs David Haywood's team finished with a score of 184.
For the bowling side Jordan Butler and Ian Perry had taken two each,
but William Leachman took 3 for 18 from 7 overs with his leg spin.
The Secretary's XI, skippered by Simon Campbell clearly enjoyed their
tea and although the top three bats made it into the teens, only Piers
Foster put some shots together and made 40 not out. Perhaps he
understood the pace of the wicket better than the others. Barry
Aitken's finger and the lbw law put paid to 4 of Simon's team - Harry
Farley for 13, Tom Grant for 6, Peter Robinson for 2 and William
Leachman for a duck. There were rumours of match-fixing in the
pavilion! Anyway the batters were eventually all out for 131 with about
5 overs left, with Tim Mynott (6-2-111-4) and James Macey (6-1-24-3)
being the pick of the bowlers. The President's XI were the victors in
what had been a very enjoyable, lighthearted and often very amusing
match.
Special mention should be made of Tom and Rory, sons of Tim Law, who
both played and did very well in the field: to Brian Thompson without
whose herculean efforts this match would not have happened: and to all
the players and spectators who combined to make it such an enjoyable
afternoon's cricket.
Thursday 2nd September vs the Hampshire Wayfarers CC at Devizes. Won by 8 wickets.
When the Queries had to take the field with only 9 players, the Wayfarer batsmen seized their opportunity
to try and score as quickly as possible. This proved the downfall of
the opening bat who was bowled by Will Langton for 4 and Vaughn
Williams clean bowled the next batsman with the score at 9. There then
followed a stand of 81 runs when it seemed impossible to stem the flow
but the introduction into the bowling attack of Chris Stock changed all
that as he took 3 wickets in his first 3 overs and the Wayfarers were
in trouble at 108 for 5. Sam Ramsey had the 7th batsman caught by
Freddie Coupe at square leg almost on the stroke of lunch, and the
Queries were happy to finish the first session with the Wayfarers at
130 for 6.
Lunch must have been too good, for the second session started by going
strongly in the favour of the Wayfarers who advanced 43 for the 7th
wicket and then 89 for the 8th. A run out and a clean bowled saw
the Wayfarers all out for 277. Chris Stock had taken 3 for 41 in 9
overs: Simon Campbell took 2 for 41 in 9; and Will Langton, Sam Ramsey,
Vaughn Williams and Chris Downham all got one apiece. We should also
mention the catches held by David Haywood, Vaughn Williams, Sam Ramsey
and Freddie Coupe
Tom Grant and Chris Downham opened the batting for the Queries and Tom
immediately established his authority on the bowlers. After 10 overs
they had put on 71 runs and 154 after 20. The Wayfarer bowlers could
not handle this onslaught and the score reached 184 when Chris was
runout for 45. David Haywood joined Tom who was in imperious batting
mode and together they took the score on to 222 when Tom was caught
behind for the marvellous score of 137: it was a superb effort. He
scored 20 fours and one 6. He was replaced by Vaughn Williams who
seemed eager to finish the game in quick time and had scored 54 runs
when the target was reached. David was not out on 18.
The Wayfarers had taken 51 overs to achieve their total. Thanks
to Tom, Chris, Vaughn and David, the Queries won the game in 37 overs
averaging almost 7 1/2 an over.
Wednesday 1st September vs Valley End CC at Chobham. Won by 71 runs.
Despite some late player
changes, forced upon skipper David Haywood by - amongst other reasons -
Joe Dorgan breaking a finger - the Queries were still able to assemble
a strong XI at VECC where we always expect a strong game. James Young,
also a Query, orchestrates the VECC XI and so we are always guaranteed
an enjoyable and testing fixture. The Queries won the toss and batted
first and Tom Grant and Phil Wise set off at an impressive rate. Tom
was bowled in the 4th over by a jaffa for 20 with the score at 27 and
then Ray van Schoor joined Phil and together they powered the score
along to 114 in the 19th over when Phil was brilliantly caught and
bowled. Ray looked well set for a century until he too got a jaffa of a
ball that cut back from well outside the off stump and he was bowled
for 89. The pace slowed a little after that which helped the skipper
delay the declaration a bit, but each batsman made a good contribution:
Vaughn Williams scored 30, James Hopton 29, Will Langton and Will
Thomas carried their bats for 16 and 14 respectively - and the
declaration came in the 47th over at 300 for 6. This total included 15
extras.
VECC is a small ground so field placing and accurate bowling are
essentials of the game. Queries lacked the latter in the opening stages
as VECC stepped off at about 7 an over but the first breakthrough came
in the 5th over when the batsman gloved the ball to keeper Will Thomas.
Evenso opening bowlers Tom Davies went for 15 in his first 4 overs and
Will Langton 16 from 3. Then spinners James Hopton and Sam Ramsey came
on to bowl and almost immediately James got a batsman lbw. Whilst Sam
went for 5 an over, James bowled a second wicket and had a third caught
by Will Langton and took 3 for 43 in his first spell of 10 overs.
Meanwhile Ray van Schoor had replaced Sam and he took 2 for 28 in 7
overs - so Ray and James had removed 6 wickets of the middle order and
VECC were at 142 for 6 and in trouble.
With short boundaries and time on their side, David Haywood needed to
keep the pressure up and the next partnership of 45 runs frustrated him
a bit as catches were dropped. he had turned to Tom Grant to take
control of one bowling end, and Tom responded with the 8th wicket,
clean bowled. Tom then trapped the 9th wicket lbw with the score on
193. Now we had the VECC South African overseas player and James
Young at the crease and the former wanted to hit his way out of
trouble. He had put on 33 when skipper David Haywood took a one handed
catch at 1st slip of the bowling of James Hopton, to remove him - and
the VECC were all out for 229, the Queries had won by 71 runs, and
James Hopton had taken 5 for 85 from 14.2 overs.
After the match there was a great bar-b-que and the VECC hospitality
was admirable. We thank them for an excellent day's cricket.
Monday 30th August vs The Frogs CC at Devizes . Won by 32 runs.
Funny game cricket! Queries
batted first and set off with Tom Grant and Neil Clark at a tremendous
pace of about 8 an over. Then Tom ran himself out for 35 and David
Haywood replaced him although the scoring rate was slower. When the
Frogs brought on their leg spinner, - and he was very useful - he
bowled Neil for 39, Will Thomas for 4 and David H for 31. Kit Patrick
held his end and powered on towards his ton until they brought back
their 13 year old schoolboy who had Kit caught behind for 97! The
disappointment of being so close and yet so far from one's first
century was there for all to see, as skipper Nick Lind chose this
moment to declare the innings at the same time. 238 for 6 was the score
and the target.
The Queries opening bowling attack was all over the place from Dan
Jackson (3-0-18-0) and rather steadier from Tom Grant (1 for 18 from
6). Tom Ainger bowled some good balls but went for 40 runs from 6
overs. Chris Golding and William Leachman couldn't get it right and
were expensive and so after tea Nick Lind turned to Neil Clark - who
had been feeling decidedly unwell all day - and Tom Grant and what had
been 79 for no wicket after 14 overs became 123 for 3 after 20 and 170
for 7 after 40. These two bowlers were responsible for taking all
10 wickets between them - Tom got 6 for 59 from 20.2 overs and Neil got
3 for 37 from 15. Helping them, Nick Lind had a timely stumping and
there were good catches by David Haywood, Chris Golding, Kit Patrick
and William Leachman. Frogs were all out in the last over of the game
for 206 runs and the Queries had won by 32 runs. Phew !!
Sunday 29th August vs All Cannings CC. Won by 9 wickets.
There had been much to-ing
and
fro-ing of players which eventually left skipper Chris Sloane somewhat
short of bowlers. The toss was lost and we had to field first with Dan
Jackson and Will Thomas taking the new ball in this 36 over match. Dan
bowled quite well in his allotted 6 overs, taking 1 for 24 but Will had
difficulty finding his form after his summer holidays. Paul Kelly's
figures
were similar to Dan's, at 6-1-25-1 and Sam Ramsey had difficulty
bowling into a stiff breeze but thereafter Chris Golding (3-0-27-2)
Chris Downham (6-0-22-3) and Tom Palmer (4.1-1-16-3) came on to clean
up the tail and ACCC were bowled out for 157.
The Queries, opening with Chris Downham and Jon Moore, set off at 5 an
over and had reached 68 when Chris missed a turning ball and was bowled. Richard
Millard-Smith then joined Jon and together they took control of the game.
There were a couple of wobbles along the way but essentially the result was a
foregone conclusion and the Queries cruised to a 9 wicket victory with
Jon unbeaten on 79 and Richard on 29.
Sunday 22nd August vs The Grannies CC at Devizes. Match drawn.
On paper Simon Campbell had
assembled a side strong in both batting and bowling departments.
Overnight rain cleared and clouds gave way to bright sunshine. The
Queries won the toss and elected to bat, opening with Tom Grant and
Vaughn Williams and they had put on 41 by the 9th over when Vaughn was
caught having scored 11. Then Neil Clark and Chris Sloane were
out in quick succession, followed by Tom Grant for 38. Tom Pike
showed a lack of practice being bowled for a duck. Will Langton and
Iain Kiy then enjoyed a stand of 31 before Iain overbalanced and was
well stumped. Dom Moger joined Will Moger for a stand of 76 when Dom
was caught behind for 28. Dan Jackson came and went for a duck, and
then Will was caught and bowled for a creditable 51: it was his innings
that got the Queries to a reasonable score of 220 after 51 overs when,
after Simon Campbell was caught, they were all out.
The Grannies reply started badly for them and brilliantly for the
Queries when Simon Campbell at slip took a catch off the second ball of
their innings. Very good bowling by Dom Moger (10-2-26-2) kept the lid
on their innings and when they were 6 down for 69 in just 27 overs the
shutters went up and they went into survival mode. Skipper Simon
Campbell used 8 Queries bowlers but they could not take any more
wickets and the game was drawn. Tom Pike had bowled 8 overs for
12 runs: Sam Ramsey took 2 for 31 from 9 overs; and Simon got a wicket
himself in 7 overs for 16 runs. The other bowlers figures were all
rather flattering and the score of their No 3 batsman was an
indication of the Grannies game plan as he batted for 47 overs and
scored 46 runs. The Grannies ran out their 47 overs with 149 runs
on the board. Nonetheless the match was enjoyed and it was good
to see old friends again.
Thursday 12th August vs Collingbourne CC at Collingbourne Ducis. Lost by 18 runs.
Chris Sloane had assembled a
young side but one which had next to no bowlers! Paul Kelly tried
to bowl seam up but found it much harder than his usual spin. Ru
Bunday, 6th oldest player in the side, took 1 for 30 from his 8 overs,
but it was candidate leg spinner Chris Golding and Tom Shaw who did the
damage and took 3 apiece. On a small ground with short boundaries on 2
sides, scores were always going to be big, but the 222 scored by
Collingbourne was bigger than it should have been. Evenso the
Queries were confident of being able to chase it down.
Tom Shaw and Matt Jamieson opened the batting on a sticky sort of
wicket and it wasn't long before Matt didn't go through with his shot
and drove it back into the bowler's hands. Dan Gibson was always going
a bit aerial and was soon caught for 16 - and then the remaining
batsmen only managed to score 14 runs between them! Tom Shaw toiled
away, hitting 6s and 4s all around the ground and it looked as though
the only way we could win the day would be down to him. Sadly in the
35th over he chased a ball well wide down the leg side, nicked the ball
on the back of his bat, and was caught by the keeper. He had
single-handedly got the Queries within sight of the winning post, and
was then out in this most bizarre fashion for 141.
Queries were all out for 202. Tom had scored 141 and extras amounted to
27. Nevertheless the numbers of Queries playing for Collingbourne meant
that this contest was played in good, noisy spirits and truth be told,
they deserved to win.
Monday 9th August vs The Incogniti CC at Devizes. Won by 2 wickets.
The Incogs won the
toss and elected to bat. Skipper Simon Campbell gave the new ball
to candidate Dan Jackson and Tom Grant. In a pre-lunch session in
bright sunshine, the Incogs were wary and careful and scoring was
slow. Dan bowled 9 overs for 37 runs and Tom Grant bowled 11 overs
taking 1 for 25. In all Simon used 6 bowlers before lunch, including
Chris Downham, Hugo Tilney, Nick Lind and himself and even though they
bowled almost 40 overs in the morning session, Incogs barely had a 100
on the board at lunch with 2 wickets down. Queries fielding had been
less than impressive. After lunch the bowling improved and 2 more
wickets fell before a slightly early tea was taken as the rain fell.
During tea, the Incogs declared at 214 for 5, with one wicket
apiece to Tom Grant, Chris Downham, Nick Lind and Simon Campbell.
After the tea break, play was delayed for almost 15 minutes before Phil
Wise and candidate Harry Farley opened the Query innings. Phil was well
caught on the 4th ball of the game for a duck and the dressing room
fell quiet! Harry Farley and Nick Lind moved the score slowly on to 51
when Harry [18] was caught off the leg spinner and that score had not
changed by the time Nick Lind [25] and Henry Wakefield [0] had joined
Harry "in the hutch" as Bumble would say. This brought Chris Downham
and Iain Kiy together at the crease and their stand of 86 took the game
to the Incogs. Iain was judged lbw for 45 and 9 runs later Chris was
bowled for 47. The task of finishing the match looked reasonable as
long as someone could stick at the crease. Hugo Tilney scored 10 before
he was bowled. Tom Grant scored 27 from 11 balls and had the
victory in his grasp when he holed out to deep mid wicket, and this
left skipper Simon Campbell to steer the side through to a victory with
Oli Williams as his partner. Simon was 21 not out, and Oli 5 \and the
Queries had won by 2 wickets.
Well played candidates Harry Farley and Dan Jackson, who both have Query games under their belts now.
Sunday 8th August vs Seagry CC at Seagry. Won by 18 runs
Seagry had had difficulty
raising an XI for this match and the Queries were able to lend them 3
players on the day. So there were 2 candidates playing for Seagry and
one for the Queries - and they all played an impressive part in the
match. The Queries batted first and William Leachman and Chris Sloane
put on 61 before William was bowled for 29. Chris was joined by David
Haywood, and Chris himself was bowled 36 runs later with the score on
97. Candidate Simon Slabbert joined David and immediately made his mark
at the crease with a glorious cover drive. David was eventually caught
for 22 leaving Nick Bunday and Simon to see the Queries through to the
end of their 40 overs. Simon never looked uncomfortable with the
bowling and reached his 50 in 31 balls and his maiden unbeaten Queries
century in just 54 balls. He hit 13 fours and six towering 6s as he
steered the Queries to a total of 237 for 3 and carried his bat for 108
not out. Nick Bunday meantime was 8 not out. What a great start
for a candidate!
The Seagry reply opened with Query Mike Fernley who scored 9 before he
was caught off the bowling of Declan Lyttle. Seagry had little answer
to the opening attack of Jeremy Wilkins whose opening spell of 5 overs
1 for 4 put them well behind the rate. At the other end, Ru Bunday was
a little more expensive and he went for 19 runs from his first 5
overs. Declan bowled 6 overs for 9 runs, with the wicket of Mike
Fernley. Paul Skelly was wicketless for 37 runs from his 6 overs. Simon
Slabbert went for 25 runs from 4 overs and Jake Bunday got 2 for 30
from 4 overs. William Leachman also got in on the bowling act with 2
overs for 17 runs but just as some folk began to believe that Seagry
might just pull it off, the skipper Nick Lind brought on Nick Bunday
who took 2 wickets in 2 overs and effectively put the match beyond the
reach of Seagry who ended 7 wickets down for 219 runs.
Candidate Dan Gibson played for Seagry and proved to be the backbone of
their innings scoring a fine 95 before falling c & b to Nick
Bunday. The other candidate Dan Jackson, who earlier had bowled 7 overs
of medium pace for 38 runs, was in at the end with time only to score 4
runs.
Queries won by 18 runs but more importantly saw three new candidates
strutting their stuff and liking what they saw. Dan Jackson will play
again tomorrow and Dan Gibson is playing again on Thursday so we are
delighted with their enthusiasm for the Query game. Hopefully Simon
Slabbert will also give us another game before the season's end.
Between the three of them they scored 207 runs and looked very eligible
candidates.
Wednesday 4th August vs the Glamorgan Nomads CC at Corsham CC. Lost by 133 runs.
Skipper Brian Thompson was not
able to find a full side and fielded first with 10. Opening with Dom
Fry and Jeremy Wilkins the batting side made relatively little
progress, - 10 overs for 33, 20 overs for 43 - but then they 'took
off'. After 30 overs they were 154 and they closed at 45 overs with 276
on the board. Jeremy Wilkins had bowled 12 overs, 1 for 74. Dom
Fry bowled 10 overs taking 3 for 50. Tom Grant took 1 for 58 from
10 overs. Candidate Kit Patrick had conceded 29 runs from 4.2 overs
when he injured himself and had to come off. Vaughn Williams bowled 3
for 24, and Tim Mynott 5 overs for 28.
Brian Thompson decided to let candidate Harry Farley and Kit Patrick
open the batting and they were acquitting themselves quite well until
Kit missed a full toss and was bowled for 6. Harry stayed around to get
a creditable 28 and was top-scorer, but the remainder of the top,
middle and lower order all failed to put runs on the board. Vaughn
Williams stubbed his bat into the deck and spooned up a catch: Tom
Grant, who seemed to be in decent touch, inexplicably missed a straight
ball; Richard Buxton was lbw for 3; Tim Mynott was caught for 12; Dom
Fry charged the bowler, missed the ball and was bowled; Jeremy Wilkins
popped up a catch for 4; Brian Thompson was adjudged lbw for a duck and
that left David Haywood to carry his bat for 4.
We seemed to fail at all the hurdles: we dropped catches, didn't bowl
as well as we can, were fielding with less than a full side, and didn't
bowl very straight. With the bat, we seemed to choose the wrong option
- and the Nomads were clear winners. Next year we need to do better!
Monday 2nd August vs the Gloucester Gipsies at Stowell Park. match drawn.
There are no covers at Stowell,
and the track was dry and dusty and the outfield was fast. The Gipsies
batted first, set off at a brisk pace and then got bogged down mainly
by James Hopton's off spin. James bowled a first spell of 11 overs for
16 runs, including 7 maidens. His second spell of 7.3 overs produced 1
wicket and conceded 33 runs. After 20 overs Gipsies were 59 for 1;
after 40 overs they were 114 for 2 and after 60 overs they were 194 for
6. Bowlers Tom grant, Iain Kiy, Simon Campbell and James H all got one
apiece, and Phil Wise got 2. 221 was the total set.
The game plan of the Gipsies was to take the pace off the ball as the
track became more dusty, and to invite the batsmen to make the play.
Patience would be important, and patience was missing in many cases.
Phil Wise set off well, made a half century, and then was caught off
the back of his bat for 52. Debutant candidate Henry Wakefield worked
hard and well for his 43 before getting bowled; and Freddie Coupe
coming in at 9 tried hard to edge the score closer to the total,
scoring 26 on the way. However the other batsmen failed to master the
conditions and all fell quite cheaply. Queries ran out of overs -
they faced 52 - at 193 for 8 and the match was drawn.
It was good to see Derrick and Richard Beer, and Tom and Ed Richardson
playing for the Gipsies and we hope that Ed, who is coming to live in
Marlborough, will come and play Queries cricket next season.
The Tour to Yorkshire
Monday 26th July vs Yorkshire Gentlemen's CC at Escrick Park. Won by 8 wickets.
Despite all the indications to
the contrary the weather was rather overcast when we arrived at Escrick
to the customary warm welcome from the YGs. Skipper David Haywood won
the toss for the Queries and inserted to home side. Jeremy Wilkins and
Vaughn Williams took the new ball and it was soon apparent that there
was not much in the well-used track for them. The YGs had half a
century on the board before the breakthrough was made by Quentin Sear
with some leg spin and he continued to make the ball talk as he bowled
12 overs, 3 maidens and took 3 for 45. The other bowlers to make
an impact were Tom Grant who hit the seam well and took 2 for 25 from
10 overs, and Ru Bunday who took 3 for 26 from just 7 overs. An injury
to a diving Ray van Schoor gave him difficulty keeping, so Jim Langan
took over as reserve keeper - and then later 2nd reserve keeper Tom
Grant took over from him!
YGs were bowled out for 183 after 47 overs. For the Queries Namibian
guest Ray van Schoor opened with Jim Langan. Ray found the pace and the
bounce of the pitch difficult to gauge and popped up a catch at 18 and
Queries were 41 for 1. Then Quentin Sear joined Jim and together began
to completely dominate the game with a marvellous stand of 118 before
Quentin was judged lbw for 53, with the score at 159 for 2. Tom Grant
replaced Jim at the crease and 25 runs later the match was over with
Jim unbeaten on 91. Jim's half century came in 60 balls faced, and in
all he hit 14 fours. Quentin's half century came in 47 balls faced.
We were grateful to the YGs for their excellent hospitality and
welcome. When they say it is a pleasure to welcome the Queries to
Escrick Park, they always look as if they really mean it - and we
always enjoy playing there.
Tuesday 27th July vs The Saints CC at Harrogate CC. Won by 7 wickets.
The forecast was not good, and we expected
rain: however surprisingly and happily we got a full days cricket in on
the old Yorkshire county ground at Harrogate. The time skipper Nick
Bunday won the toss for the Queries and elected to bowl first and the
sight of Jeremy Wilkins cart-wheeling the stumps of one of the openers
was a wonderful start to the match with the Saints on 9. Despite that
one wicket Jeremy was quite expensive, going for 75 runs from his 12
overs, whilst the other opener Vaughn Williams was wicketless for 35
runs in his 8 overs. This was to be a day for spin, so step up Quentin
Sear and Ru Bunday and between them they took 5 wickets. Quentin's
opening session of 13 overs, 7 maidens, 2 for 41 was something of a
masterclass for watching bowlers and batsmen. meanwhile Ru from the
other end was just even more successful taking 3 for 37 from
12 overs. At 123 for 6 The Saints tried to force the issue and get
some runs on the board at they successfully pushed the score up to 240
for 7 when they declared. Noticeably, with Ray van Schoor having a very
good day with the gloves and with some accurate bowling, there were
just 4 extras, all byes, in the innings. An excellent performance.
However more excellence was to come. Guest Matt Pickles opened with Ray
van Schoor and it was soon apparent that we were in for something of a
treat. Although Matt was caught at 15 (35 for 1), and then following
batsmen Tom Grant (20), Matt McCann (26) and Neil Clark (33*) all gave
super support, the crease belonged to Ray van Schoor who drove, and
swept and glanced and hooked with complete confidence. His half century
came in 37 balls, his century in 93 balls and when the game was won he
was unbeaten on 134, including 14 fours and two 6s. The Queries has
reached the target and won the match in the 37th over and with 12 overs
of the last 20 yet to come.
Despite our domination at the crease, this had been a fine all round
performance by all the players and it was a pleasure to see such a high
standard of batting and bowling in such a magnificent venue. Next year
the Saints will almost certainly be stronger and determined to get
their own back!
Wednesday 28th July vs Ilkley CC at Ilkley. A 40 over match. Won by 85 runs.
Vaughn Williams was 'really up for' skippering
his first Queries match and despite a strained side, was determined to
do the job as professionally as possible. It has been a very wet
morning, but the track was dry although the outfield was not. To make
matters worse it rained quite heavily at times throughout the Queries
innings, but to their credit the Ilkley side never came off the field.
They were being lead again by the charismatic and personable Alex
Bailey who won the toss and decided to field. Matt Pickles and
Vaughn Williams opened for the Queries and they both set off at apace
which must have alarmed the Ilkley lads. When Matt was bowled for 78
runs in the 13th over, the score was 83. He faced 46 balls for his 50
and 89 balls in total. Vaughn went on to score 53 before he was caught.
Neil Clark batted briefly for 10, but Tom Grant crafted a fine half
century. Jim Langan was run out for 4, whilst Quentin Sear scored 35
before he was bowled. The sight of Ray van Schoor coming to the crease
gave the fielders cause for concern but he departed just as quickly for
a duck, caught at mid on. The rest of the tail made sure they batted
out the 40 overs, and we left the field having scored 240 for 9
including a whopping 37 extras.
The Ilkley innings was to stumble at 29 and then again at 46. Matt
Pickles caught an opener with the score at 29 and this was followed by
Jeremy Wilkins bowling the number 3 with no more runs scored.Then, with
the score at 46, three wickets fell: one caught at extra cover by Ray
van Schoor off Neil Clark's bowling: the second caught by Jim Langan
with a wonderful one-handed catch at deep backward cover point again
off Neil Clark's bowling; and lastly a stumping from keeper Tom Grant
off the bowling of Quentin Sear. Ray van Schoor then showed us his off
spin and he took one wicket; there was one runout; another catch
behind, this time their skipper, from Tom Grant off Jeremy
Wilkins' bowling. Then Neil Clark got his 3rd wicket clean
bowling the number 10 bat and finally our skipper trapped one of their
final pair lbw and Ilkley were all out for 192. Queries had won
convincingly by 85 runs. Neil Clark had the best bowling figures of 6
overs, 1 maiden 3 for 28: jeremy Wilkins got 2; and Quentin Sear, Ray
van Schoor. Vaughn Williams and guest Andrew Brewster all got one
apiece.
Tour Statistics
Courtesy of Jeremy Wilkins, here are the batting and bowling stats:
| Name |
Innings |
Out |
Highest |
Total |
Average |
| Van Schoor |
3 |
2 |
134* |
152 |
76 |
| Langan |
2 |
1 |
91* |
95 |
95 |
| Sear |
2 |
2 |
53 |
88 |
44 |
| Clark |
3 |
1 |
33* |
53 |
53 |
| Grant |
2 |
2 |
50 |
70 |
35 |
| Pickles |
2 |
2 |
78 |
93 |
46.5 |
For the bowlers:
| Name |
Overs |
Mdns |
Runs |
Wkts |
Econ |
Avge |
S/R |
| Wilkins |
32.2 |
6 |
142 |
5 |
4.39 |
28.4 |
38.8 |
| Williams |
14.5 |
1 |
64 |
1 |
4.31 |
64 |
89 |
| Grant |
19 |
2 |
61 |
2 |
3.21 |
30.5 |
57 |
| Sear |
33 |
11 |
91 |
6 |
2.76 |
15.17 |
33 |
| R Bunday |
19 |
2 |
63 |
6 |
3.32 |
10.5 |
19 |
| Van Schoor |
7 |
0 |
30 |
1 |
4.29 |
30 |
42 |
| Clark |
6 |
1 |
28 |
3 |
4.67 |
9.34 |
12 |
Thursday 22nd July vs The Free Foresters CC at Devizes. Rain stopped play - match drawn.
The forecast was never very
good for today and it was a wonder that we got as many overs in as we
did. Queries won the toss, and skipper Brian Thompson elected to bat
first, opening with Nick Bunday and candidate Chris Downham. Nick
fell, clean bowled by the 3rd ball of the match and we were 0 for 1. In
came Tom Shaw fresh from a couple of centuries in other cricket for
Gloucestershire and Devizes. He played crisply and quite cleanly and
soon got to his 50. Chris seemed less sure of his ground and was
especially vulnerable outside his off stump. Chris was caught for 13 in
the 12th over and Tom was caught at slip for 60 in the 16th over. Tom
Grant replaced Chris Downham and, fresh from an unbeaten century
earlier in the week, went about his business of scoring runs. Meanwhile
Richard Thompson came and went for 8 and Tom was joined by candidate
Dominic Fry. Dom and Tom decided that their skipper's declaration
number was too low, and set about scoring as many runs as possible
quickly. Their 5th wicket stand was 141 made in 17 overs. Tom
eventually retired "exhausted" for 110, Dom was run out for 44, Simon
Campbell was stumped for 10 and with jeremy Wilkins and Oli Langton at
the crease, skipper Brian Thompson declared at 260 for 7 after 44.3
overs.
With the sky looking even more menacing, the Queries went in to the
field, opening with Dom Fry and Jeremy Wilkins. Jeremy got the
breakthrough in the 8th over, getting one of the openers caught at
gulley by Nick Bunday. Then the skies glowered, the rain came, tea was
taken early and the teams never got back on the pitch. At 46 for 1 the
match was abandoned as a draw. - the second time in 2 years that this
has happened!
Monday 19th July vs Oxford Downs CC at Standlake. Won by 9 wickets.
The hosts won the toss and
elected to bat on this bright and sunny day. Jeremy Wilkins opened with
Yasir Irshad and Jeremy got the breakthrough in the 7th over clean
bowling an opener.An excellent run out throw down from Jeremy Wilkins
brought the only other wicket before lunch, by which time ODCC had
pushed the score along to 151. Query fielding was at times careless and
sloppy and the nearness of the road boundary didn't help either!
After lunch however - and after the customary glass of port from
our excellent hosts - the Downs lost 8 wickets in 75 minutes with Tom
Grant getting 5 and Simon Campbell 3. ODCC was bowled out for 234 in
the 53rd over - 5 catches, 3 bowled and 1 run out.
Thereafter the day belonged to Tom Grant and Phil Wise who opened the
batting, had scored 68 by tea 13 overs later, and were at 196 after 30
overs and at the start of the final 20 overs. Tom hit 4 sixes and 15
fours whilst Phil hit 11 fours and a single 6. Phil was suffering from
a strained groin but still carried on until he was bowled for 80, with
the score at 220. Ollie Wilkinson came in at 3 for a cameo appearance
of two boundaries and a 2: Tom finished the game with a 6 and the
Queries had won by 9 wickets. Tom's century came in 79 balls. For
his century and his 5 fer, the skipper Joe Wookey presented him with a
Queries tie.
Wednesday 14th July vs SOA CC at Radley College. Match drawn
Jeremy Wilkins had the comfort
of a strong XI around him when he led the Queries to Radley College. He
won the toss and elected to bat first, opening with Matt Jamieson and
Vaughn Williams. The pair set off at a good pace and the first 50 was
reached in 10 overs - and the first wicket, that of Vaughn - followed
almost immediately as he was bowled for 30. This brought Raymond van
Schoor to the crease and the tempo increased noticeably. Neither
batsman really gave any chances and a stand of 150 followed with a
mixture of quick singles and powerful drives. Their half centuries came
in almost consecutive balls. Then Matt miscued one and was caught for
89, leaving Raymond to power on with candidate Jack Mynott who quite
quickly settled down to some very correct cover driving. The
skipper declared at 257 for 2, with Ray unbeaten on 103 and Jack on 19.
The day was spoiled to some degree by showers but thankfully the final
session was uninterrupted. Joe Dorgan spearheaded the attack for the
Queries, with skipper Jeremy Wilkins taking the second over.
Joe's first spell of 8 overs, 5 maidens, 3 for 15 set the SOA
back on their heels and they got little help from Jeremy who bowled 7
overs for 16 runs.
The middle period of Queries bowling saw Hugo Tilney and Ninian
MacGregor bowling in tandem but the run rate hardly shifted up a gear.
When the opening attack came off after 15 overs, SOA were 44 for 4.
After the next 13 overs of slow bowling they were 102 for 4. They
couldn't get the ball off the square but neither were the Queries
taking wickets. So Jeremy Wilkins brought on Jack Mynott and Simon
Campbell to try and get the game moving again. Jack got one, Simon
bowled 3 overs for 4 runs - and then Vaughn Williams came on and took 2
wickets in his 4th over. SOA were139 for 8, only batting 10 batsmen,
and the Queries could not dislodge the final pairing. The match was
drawn in the SOA 48th over at 154 for 8.
Joe Dorgan bowled 13 overs, 8 maidens and took 4 for 21: Hugo Tilney 7
overs 1 for 19: Ninian 6 overs for 33 runs: Jack Mynott 5 overs 1 for
31: and Vaughn Williams 7 overs 2 for 16. Raymond van Schoor took
one amazing single-handed diving catch and 2 others behind to go with
his accomplished batting performance. Despite the rain breaks, it was
an enjoyable day out at a great venue for cricket and we look forward
to repeating the match at the same venue next year.
Sunday 11th July vs UEA Old Boys XI. Lost by 5 wickets.
Batting first, the Queries made
hay as the OBs waited for their opening bowlers to reach the ground.
Openers Tom Grant and Jim langan raced away from the off, until the 9th
over when Tom was bowled for 29 with the score at 75. Chris Sloane
joined Jim langan and made the most of his back foot drives until he
was caught for 27. Matt Jamieson was slightly surprised by a full toss
and was caught for 13 and eventually Jim langan also succumbed to a
catch for a very useful 60. Joe Wookey tried to keep the innings
together but ran out of partners. David Haywood was caught for 20
and the tail end collapsed leaving Joe to carry his bat for 56.
On paper the Queries were short of bowling, and so it proved. Toby
Mullins went for 38 from his first 4 overs and Yasir went for 15 from
2. Tom Grant was to prove to be the steady eddy, and finished with 3
for 53 from 12 overs, but other bowlers proved largely ineffective and
wild. Jim Langan went for 43 from 6 overs: Matt McCann for 58 from 8;
and Rhys for 20 from 4. Matt Jamieson's fielding should have been an
inspiration to the others as he heroically tried to defend the short
tennis court boundary but it was i vain as the Old Boys cruised to a 5
wicket victory with 15 overs to spare.
Wednesday 7th July vs Marlborough Blues CC at Marlborough College. Won by 7 wickets.
Skipper David Haywood had assembled a
strong XI for this match - not without his difficulties - and they set
to their task from the first ball bowled. Joe Dorgan was bowling quite
quickly and getting some movement off the seam, and from the other end
Vaughn Williams was getting some swing. Joe took the first 2 wickets,
one clean bowled and the second well caught behind by guest keeper Ray
van Schoor. The 3rd wicket was a lively piece of basketball off
Vaughn Williams' bowling, between Toby Dorgan who palmed the ball and
Ian Kiy who caught it. Joe Dorgan then bowled the opener who had looked
in quite good touch throughout, and then Simon Campbell got an lbw.
Another caught behind off Joe's bowling before lunch and the Blues were
going in to lunch 6 down. The spell after lunch was little different as the
Queries continued to remove wickets. After 63 overs the Blues were all
out for just 158 runs. Joe had taken 4 for 27 from 19 overs:
Vaughn had taken 3 for 36 from 11 overs: Toby Dorgan, Simon Campbell
and Ian Kiy all had one apiece.
John Waters and Ian Kiy opened for the Queries and 8 minutes later Ian
dashed down the wicket for a single but John moved less speedily and
was runout for 4. Nick Bunday was clean bowled first ball and the Blues
were cockahoop. However a partnership of 46 between Ray van Schoor and
Ian Kiy calmed them down until Ian was bowled by a ball that never got
above ankle height. Toby Dorgan then came to the crease and both
batsmen scored freely all around the park with Ray finishing with 69*
and Toby 36*. Queries reached their target in 29 overs, 30 minutes
before the final hour, and won by 7 wickets.
Ray is coming to Yorkshire on the tour and will fit in well. Hopefully
Ian Kiy may make it as well. Either way it looks to be a promising
squad with lots of all round strength - and we are looking forward to
the challenge of the three matches.
Sunday 4th July vs Hampshire Hags at Warnford. Match drawn.
With
only 9 to field, the Queries were on the back foot going out to field
first but a spell of great bowling from Piers Foster and Ru Bunday kept
the scoring to an unbelievably low rate. After his first 6 overs, Piers
had taken 1 for 10 and Ru had conceded just 9 runs. Ru then clean
bowled the no 3 and the Hogs went in to lunch at 1.30pm, after 30
overs, with under a 100 runs on the board. Phil Wise bowled well
conceding just 15 runs from 7 overs: Sam Palmer took 1 for 23 from 5
overs: Joe Wookey conceded 33 from 6: and Jake Bunday bowled an over.
It was an amazing performance from just 9 fielders, increased to 10
after lunch by Nick Bunday who had been 'sent for' by his sons!
Hogs declared just before 4.00pm after 60.3 overs with 259 for 3
on the board.
Joe
Wookey and Nick Bunday opened the batting and immediately set about the
business of scoring runs. At tea, after 14 overs, there was 72 on
the board. Nick got caught of a top edge for 22, passing the baton to
Phil Wise and they made quick progress until Joe got suckered into
playing a wide slow ball and was caught behind for 78. Phil went on the
score 48 as Sam Blake was run out for 16 and guest Paul Watt was also
run out for 14. Matt McCann tried to force the pace but lost Ru Bunday
to the most unlucky of run outs as the bowler dropped a driven ball and
it landed on the stumps with Ru out of his ground. Piers Foster,
perhaps exhausted after bowling over 22 overs, only lasted a couple of
balls and then Matt was clean bowled attempting to hook a ball that
stayed low. This left Sam Palmer and Jake Bunday to survive the last 4
overs or so which they did without any major scares, and the match was
drawn with the Queries having scored 208 for 8.
Not
having a full side was a major faux pas and if Nick Bunday had not
answered the call, things would have been worse. But there were some
positives to take from the game: Piers Foster's early bowling session
when the batsmen couldn't get a bat on the ball: Ru Bunday's bowling,
up the hill and into the wind: Joe Wookey's innings, followed by Phil
Wise's innings. We didn't come out of the game smelling of roses, but
we did come away from it in reasonable shape.
Thursday 1st July vs Warminster School at Warminster CC. Won by 62 runs.
David Haywood
had assembled an XI which looked really strong on paper but was
followed was rather bizarre! The Queries won the toss for this
afternoon declaration game and batted first. The pitch looked a belter
and with Vaughn Williams and Tom Grant leading, confidence was high.
The score board told a different story as first Vaughn was caught at
deep backward point off a rising ball for 14: then Tom Grant popped one
up to mid on for 19, followed by Neil Clark 8 minutes later to the same
fielder. 28 for 1, 35 for 2 and 38 for 3! This brought Joe Dorgan
to the crease who, with a succession of partners, played confident
strokes all around the ground for his 66 runs when he was caught at
deep mid wicket. Freddie Coupe stayed with Joe, looking more
confident as the strokes began to flow, and scored 21 before getting
caught and bowled: and Simon Campbell joined him for a 32 not out.
After Joe's departure, Simon called for too many quick runs and Brian
Thompson, who had scored 11 at this point, found his muscles didn't
want to play any more. David Haywood was clean bowled for 4 and
Jeremy Wilkins had scored 8 when David Haywood called them in.
Queries declared after 36.4 overs for 191.
With
Joe Dorgan opening the bowling, the slip cordon would not be a place
for the faint-hearted! Sadly Brian Thompson's muscles were not up
to the bending and reaching and he had to leave the field, passing the
wicket keeping responsibilities to Tom Grant. Then a very fast
top-edge chance ricocheted off Tom's gloves, dislocating a finger on
the way, and very nearly took David Haywood's head off at 1st slip. So
Tom left the field to be taken to hospital by Brian Thompson, and Neil
Clark stepped up to take the gloves. After this long-ish
interruption, we got on with the game! Joe took 3 wickets in a 4
over spell, with 2 maidens and conceding 12 runs. He later returned
bowling slower to take one more wicket. Jeremy Wilkins struggled to
find a good length and the openers and top order punished him. His 6
overs went for 38 runs for 1 wicket. Vaughn
Williams, bowling down the hill from the top end, conceded
only 19 runs from his 5 overs, during which he took 3 wickets. Later he
also took a good catch running in from mid off. Ru Bunday did not
have a good spell by his own standards and went for 26 from 5, and Sam
Ramsey also went for 26 but managed 1 wicket in his 3 overs.
Throughout
all this action, the opener Nick Bourne had been playing a competent
and determined innings, whilst losing partner after partner. He was on
62 when Simon Campbell came on to bowl and bowled him 4th ball.
Warminster School were all out for 129 and the Queries had won by 62.
The School XI had shown lots of skills, determination and team spirit
and the Queries enjoyed the match. A very pleasant bar-b-que
after the match provided lots of opportunity to chat and, perhaps, to
try and persuade some of the boys to come and play Queries cricket.
Our thanks to Head Master Martin Priestley and Cricket Master
Chris Knight for a very enjoyable afternoon's cricket.
Sunday 27th June vs The Rifles CC at St Cross, Winchester. Lost by 138 runs.
This
had all the hallmarks of being a very difficult match. Despite all his
huge efforts, Jeremy Wilkins struggled to name 11 players on the day
before the match, and on the following morning 2 players dropped out.
Luckily one of Vaughn Williams' brothers dropped in - and the
other was already playing - so we had 10. Then one player failed
to make it to the ground - so playing with 9 was always going to be an
uphill struggle. Then Jeremy lost the toss and was put in the field,
and The Rifles took every advantage of bowling which was often short of
a length, and the gaps in the field. The Rifles raced away for 10
overs, then lost 3 quick wickets and eventually went in to lunch at
1.30pm 6 down for 157. After lunch they piled on the runs and declared
at 268 for 8. Vaughn Williams was not on top form in his first spell,
but returned to achieve figures of 4 for 66 from 12 overs. Will Hopton
toiled away at the pavilion end for 10 overs and took 3 for 47; Jeremy
Wilkins clean bowled one batsman; and Dom Moger and Matt McCann were
wicketless.
The
Query batting reply never really got off the ground. Sure, the
track was getting very unpredictable with length balls leaping up into
visors and causing all sorts of problems, but handle the conditions, we
didn't. James Melhorn top-scored with 38; Will Hopton and Matt McCann
got 27 and 29 respectively; Alex Wilkins edged the ball for 17 - but we
were always behind and it was little surprise that we lost 8 wickets
for just 130 runs and lost the match by 138 runs. Not a good day
at the office and a particularly tough one for skipper Jeremy Wilkins
who had toiled for hours trying to raise a side and , just as all
seemed reasonably well, lost 2 players on the morning of the match.
On
the brighter side, England beat the Australians at cricket and lost to
the Germans at football, and who knows what happened at
Glastonbury!
Thursday 24th June vs Dauntsey's School at West Lavington. Won by 1 wicket.
It
has been a long time since the Queries won this fixture and this year
skipper Simon Campbell was determined to reverse the trend.
In the weeks leading up to the date he had 19 players
volunteering to play but come the day before the match he had 9 and was
left to scratch around to find an XI. Nevertheless he did, the School
won the toss and decided to bat. For once Vaughn Williams was not on
form with the new ball and his first 5 overs went for 40 runs. At the
other end however Jeremy Wilkins was finding some inswing and secured
the wicket of an opener on his 5th ball. Query candidate Will
Thomas and opener Nick Hargreaves then enjoyed a super stand of 93 runs
before Tim Mynott found the edge and Hargreaves was well caught by
Simon Campbell at slip. 30 runs later, at 131, Will was trapped lbw by
a slow ball from Simon Wells and at 181 Tom Grant clean bowled the no 4
batsman. In the next 29 runs, the remaining 6 wickets would fall and
the School was all out for 236 which included 8 extras.
Jeremy
Wilkins had taken 1 for 24 from 6: Tim Mynott in his first match for
the Queries took for for 28: Geoff Ramsey took 2 for 36 from 9: Tom
Grant took 2 for 32 from 7: and Simon Wells, Ru Bunday and Hamish
Horton took one apiece.
I
think it is fair to say that the School always had the upper hand
during the Queries innings right up to the 8th wicket. They bowled well
for the first 10 overs, quite well for the next 10 overs and after that
things began to slip away gently. Tom Grant was first out for 6,
being well caught at square leg: and Tim Mynott was caught off the last
ball of a 9 ball over and J Taylor sprayed it around. Paul Clark was
trapped lbw for 12, but throughout all this Vaughn Williams was
virtually faultless as he scored 50 runs from 49 balls - and was then
bowled trying to pull a ball that stayed low. Queries were 101 for 4.
Their
next 4 wickets fell for just 40 runs and the School was rightly
confident. famish Horton was caught for 8: Geoff Ramsey was caught and
bowled popping a lifting ball straight up: Simon Wells and Jeremy
Wilkins were bowled. The constant threat to Dauntsey's throughout this
spell was Simon Campbell who could not be budged. Freddie Coupe
partnered him for a while before getting caught by an athletic and
wonderful catch by Jack Mynott at gulley, and then he was joined by Ru
Bunday whose job was to keep the ball out. Simon pressed on with
15 fours until eventually the scores were level in the 48th over. sadly
the match was decided by a wide and the Queries had won by 1 wicket.
Dauntsey's
skipper James Duckworth had taken 4 for 36 from 12 overs, leading from
the front, but perhaps he was not helped by some of his colleagues who
leaked 37 extras. It got quite tense in the closing overs and
what was needed was a cool head, steady bowling and intelligent field
placing. The Query batsmen also needed to stay calm and take their runs
where they could - and luckily they managed to do this.
A
good tense and competitive match, excellent hospitality, a good track
and a great relief for the Queries to be back in the winers circle
after so many years as underdogs.
Sunday 20th June vs Chilmark CC at Chilmark. Match won by 19 runs.
Another
inaugural match, this time at the very picturesque ground at Chilmark.
Matt McCann was skippering the Queries, won the toss and elected
to bat. despite an early departure by Chris Sloane for 1, and Jim
Langan being caught for 26 in the 5th over, Tom Grant and Joe Wookey
then made hay and put on 146 before Joe was bowled. Tom followed soon
after and apart from guest Adam Croutear and Hamish Horton adding 35,
the tail end collapsed. In their allotted 35 overs the Queries scored
243 runs for the loss of 8 wickets.
What followed next will be remembered by many - tea. Apparently it was "the best tea ever"!
The
Query bowling attack of famish Horton and Stephen Underwood soon had
Chilmark in trouble as 2 wickets fell for 8 runs. Then there were 2
massive stands, with the 3rd wicket falling at 92 runs and the 4th at
183 however after that it was a bit of a procession as the next 6
wickets fell for just 41 runs. Chilmark were bowled out for 224. famish
Horton took 3 for 33 from 6 overs: Adam Croutear took 3 for 20 from 7:
Josh B-D got 2 for 31 from 4 overs. Stephen Underwood and Tom
Grant chipped in with one apiece.
Saturday 19th June vs the Royal Household CC at Frogmore, Windsor. Match drawn.
Again
the Queries top order collapsed, in this inaugural fixture, as Will
Hopton and Matt McCann were dismissed for 8 runs. Fellow regimental
officers Jon Moore and Tom Palmer calmed things down and advanced the
score to 48 when Jon was bowled and then 67 when Tom was bowled. David
Haywood and Simon Campbell picked up the baton, but again only briefly
as they fell for 11 and 17 respectively. It was left to Vaughn Williams
to play a masterful unbeaten innings of 67 helped latterly by a 25 from
Quentin Sears and the Queries skipper Jeremy Wilkins was able to make a
reasonably confident declaration at 181 for 6.
It
was noticeable how some balls never seemed to bounce and this caused
problems, and this fact was exploited by the Household who bowled the
opening bowler unchanged for 19 overs as he took 4 for 55.
An
iffy track is of course iffy for both sides and the Household were
quickly in trouble and remained so from the 6th to the 25th over,
losing 7 wickets. Vaughn Williams took 3 for 32 from 10 overs: Quentin
Sear took 2 for 35 from 14: Ru Bunday took 3 for 26 from 9 overs;
and skipper Jeremy Wilkins took 1 for 23 from 8. However the Queries
could not dislodge the final pair and the Household ran out of overs
and scraped the draw at 121 for 9 after 41 overs.
Sunday 13th June vs London New Zealand CC at Devizes. Match drawn
A
Queries skipper should never underestimate the strength of a London NZ
side. Sometimes they might look like journeymen cricketers, but
they are never without strength in all areas of the game. Today
was no exception. With Joe Dorgan and Yasir Irshad opening the
bowling, 46 runs were piled on quite quickly before Yasir bowled the
opener. The 2nd and 3rd wickets fell to Ru Bunday, having the other
opener caught and bowling number 4. Tom Grant was the other effective
bowler, taking 2 for 27 from 11 overs as the Kiwis climbed steadily to
a declaration of 227 for 5 after 44 overs. Joe had bowled 5 overs for
28: Yasir 8 overs, 1 for 55: Ru took 2 for 43 from 8: Rupert Bagnall
bowled 7 for an economic 17: Tom bowled 11 overs for 27 runs and took 2
wickets and Jake Bunday conceded 42 runs from his 5 overs.
The
Queries reply with the bat did not get off to a good start. 20 for 1,
20 for 2 and 21 for 3 and the top order (Will Hopton 11, Nick Bunday 7
and Joe Dorgan 0) were back in the hutch. The middle order faired
a little better as David Haywood made 13 and Hamish Horton 31, and
it seemed that Tom Grant would have it all to do. He went to a lovely
half century and then was out next ball! Ru Bunday did very well for 34
runs and was then bowled, partnering his brother Jake for a longish
spell - and eventually it was left to the skipper Rupert Bagnall and
Jake Bunday to cling on for a draw. Queries ended at 204 for 9.
Friday 11th June vs Erlestoke CC at Erlestoke. A T/20 match. Won by 7 runs
This
was a fixture arranged by Freddie Coupe and we thought it would be
interesting to play a T20 in the walled garden that is the Erlestoke CC
ground. Queries batted first and 17 runs in the first over by Will
Hopton (38) and Jim Langan (33) set the tone! After they were out
caught and bowled respectively, guest Neil Clark held up one end whilst
Tom Grant (lbw 1), David Haywood (17 retired out) and Simon Campbell
(6*) kept him company. The local rule is "6 and Out" if the ball is hit
over the garden wall, and this is how David H concluded his innings.
Queries finished with a total of 165 for 4.
The
Erlestoke reply opened with Joe Dorgan who threatened to make a big
score but foolishly hit one over the wall and was 'out' for 34!
It was his brother and long-time Query candidate Toby (58) who
scored well and kept Erlestoke in the game but despite all his efforts
they fell short by 7 runs thanks to some good bowling by Neil Clark (3
overs, 1 for 14) and Simon Campbell (4 overs, 2 for 21) and Tom Grant
(4 overs for 22).
After the match everyone repaired to the pub at the bottom of the hill where the Erlestoke side were generous and hospitable.
Sunday 6th June vs the Stragglers of Asia CC at Devizes. Won by 4 wickets.
This
fixture is as old as the hills and is always a popular contest between
the two clubs. In recent years, the Queries have held sway and
skipper Simon Campbell was keen to do so again this time. The track was
firm, the sun was out and everything was set for a good contest. The
Stragglers lost the toss and were inserted, and Simon opened with Tom
Grant and Wayne Egglestone - but this was not to be a seamer's day.
Both were wicketless in their two spells, Tom conceding 40 runs and
Wayne 39. The major damage was done by Quentin Sear's leg spin and
Jonathan Chitty's off spin, with Josh B-D helping to clear up the tail.
Quentin bowled 15 overs, taking 6 for 70: he clean bowled 3, had
two caught and one stumped. Jonathan took just one wicket, but did so
very economically conceding only 22 runs in his 8 overs. Josh took 2
for 31 from 7 overs, and Simon Campbell took 1 for 9 from 3 overs. The
Stragglers had been 58 for 1, proceeded to lose 4 wickets for their next
100 runs, and then lost 5 wickets for their next 60 runs. They were all
out for 220 in 52 overs.
The
Queries opened with Will Hopton, fresh from university finals and eager
for a decent innings, and Club President David Haywood. The Stragglers
opened with Royal Navy opening bowler Jonathan Parker. The Queries
first objective was to get to tea without losing a wicket, and this
they did handsomely. Then the Stragglers brought on their secret
weapon, Query Ru Bunday, who had been loaned to them for the match. He
clean bowled David for 41 with the score at 76, and went on to get 2
more scalps! However the second wicket stand between Will Hopton and
Tom Grant was as confident as it was skillful, and they put on 89 runs
before Tom had a swish at a ball from Ru, and was bowled. 165 for 2.
What had felt like an imminent 9 wicket victory, became an
acceptable 8 wicket win - but then the wheels began to wobble as Will,
Wayne Egglestone and Josh B-D, all holed out and the Queries slumped to
204 for 5. Will had scored a season's best 72, Tom Grant 42. Then guest
Simon Newson was clean bowled and we were 204 for 6.
It
was left to the skipper and Jonathan Chitty to stay calm and knock off
the remaining few runs, which they did with three overs to spare.
Queries finished in the 48th over with 221 for 6 and had won by 4
wickets. Ru Bunday finished with figures of 18 overs, 3 for 87 and
hopefully is bowling himself into form for the next Queries match!
It
was a good and enjoyable match with some memorable moments created by
Tom Grant and Will Hopton with the bat: Jonathan Parker's pacey
bowling, Quentin Sear's ripping turn and Jonathan Chitty's off spin.
Monday 31st May vs Devizes CC. Won by 9 wickets.
Brian
Thompson lead the Queries to a fairly clinical victory over Devizes CC
this afternoon. He lost the toss and was put in the field, opening up
with Yasir Irshad and Tom Grant. Tom bowled the opener in the 3rd over
and Yasir had No 3 caught behind in the 11th. DCC was 32 for 2, and 6
runs later Richard Thompson caught a superb diving catch to dismiss the
other opener.. Jonathan Chitty was very economic and turned the ball
well: he bowled a super 8 overs with 4 maidens and took 3 for 18. Jake
Bunday took one for 23 from 4, and candidate Will Thomas conceded 39
runs from 3. DCC was all out for 161 runs, including 19 extras.
DCC's
secret weapon was a borrowed opening bowler from Chippenham! he had
Nick Bunday caught behind from a steeply rising ball in the first
over of Queries' innings. However guest John Waters and Matt Jamieson
got their heads down, settled in and began to score freely. Their stand
lasted 137 runs before both "retired hurt", persuaded by the skipper to
let someone else have a go! Will Thomas and Richard Thompson were
passed the baton, and saw the Queries home in fine style just after
6.00pm. Will stroked a couple of lovely cover drives in his short
spell and we shall look forward to seeing more of him: and Richard was
beginning to remember how much he loved this game. He particularly
excelled in the field where he has good hands and is very agile. The
victory had taken the Queries just 24.3 overs.
Our thanks to DCC for hosting the match and to Andy langan for organising an enjoyable bar-b-que after the match.
Sunday 30th May vs Old Wellingtonians CC. Lost by 108 runs
At
8.00 o'clock in the morning, the Wellington College groundsman wanted
to cancel this match as so much rain had fallen overnight. With Chris
Potter's powers of persuasion, he relented with the advice that the
start time should be delayed to allow the track time to dry. Queries
skipper Hugo Tilney won the toss and inserted the OWs and from the
12.15pm start it looked like the right decision. An excellent slip
catch by Hugo himself, off the 3rd ball of the first over bowled by
Wayne Egglestone, and then another catch from Vaughn Williams' bowling
in the 6th over had the Queries on a high and the OWs 19 for 2. However
the OWs 3rd batsman Hugo Shepard was looking ominous, and partnered
by Ollie Tilney, 61 runs was added before the third wicket fell to
a ball from Tom Grant. This brought the Shepard brothers together at
the crease, on a drying track, and they helped themselves to runs
assisted by a number of dropped catches. Hugo Shepard ended unbeaten on
150 and his brother was bowled by Simon Campbell for 52. OWs declared,
a little late some felt though that was not to be a factor, on 258 for
4 at 5 minutes to 4.00pm. Either they imagined that their bowling
was weak or that the Queries batting was strong, or both!
The
Queries openers, Matt Jamieson and candidate Phil Wise, set off at an
electrifying pace with quick singles and strong boundaries. However the
ball did beat the bat enough times to remind them to get in line and
play straight. It was a snorter of a delivery that reared up on Phil
that brought the first wicket, caught behind, and the Queries were 47
for 1 in the 8th over. There then followed 5 wickets in 6 overs and the
Queries were done for. Fishing outside off stump, dabbling at swinging
balls, and one run out and the Queries were 79 for 6. Simon Campbell
kept his head but ran out of partners, and eventually he too was caught
behind - and the Queries were all out for 150, a total which included
11 extras, and against a side that only fielded 10 players. It
was not a good day at the office!
On
a brighter note, it was good the see Quentin Sears playing cricket for
the Queries again and it was lucky that he had brought his friend Henry
to the match as one Query failed to show, and Henry donned the
whites. There were many Queries at the match - Hugo Tilney skippered
the Queries, brother Ollie played for the OWs, and parents came to
watch. Will Jelf skippered the OWs, with brother Richard keeping,
and parents came to watch. Peter Dacombe and Ollie Tilney were playing
for the OWs and we really hope they will both come back to Query
cricket when they move to Bristol later this year. Phil Wise looked an
accomplished opening bat and we hope to see more of him - his next
match is the Oxford Downs match at Standlake. And we also must thank
Chris Williams, a master at Dauntsey's School, who stepped up to the
plate when we were looking for a keeper, and we hope he will consider
playing more Query cricket in the future.
Sunday 23rd May vs Somerset Stragglers CC. Lost by 121 runs.
In
many ways this match was doomed from the start. Communications with the
match manager had been very difficult, if not impossible, and come the
day we did not know if we had a side. 9 Queries turned up at the ground
- all competent cricketers - but the Stragglers had 10! This was more
of a pity because we were playing at Dauntsey's School and using
the new pavilion, and it was the best day of the season weather-wise
thus far. The Queries were put in the field with one borrowed player.
After a thrilling initial breakthrough in the first over, when
Vaughn Williams had the opener brilliantly caught at slip by Ollie
Sloane, and another breakthrough in the 3rd over when Vaughn struck
again this time with a catch to keeper Oli Williams, the game then
swung to the Stragglers who piled on the runs. Yasir Irshad was
expensive and conceded 67 runs in only 6 overs, and Ollie Sloane, Matt
McCann, Iain Kiy, Tom Grant and Jim Langan all went in excess of 7 an
over. Although Jim and Iain both took a wicket, Vaughn Williams
was the pick of the bowlers with his 13 overs, 2 maidens 4 for 44.
The Stragglers declared after 46 overs at 303. With only one leg
bye, Oli Williams had used his pink keeping gloves to good effect and
kept tidily, but a number of catches were dropped in the field.
The
Queries reply started quite well, but the first objective of not losing
a wicket before tea was not achieved when Jim Langan (29) gave a catch.
Tom Grant was caught behind for a duck, Iain Kiy (13) was bowled by a
slow-ish yorker, Joe Wookey (24) popped up a catch and Ollie Sloane
gave a fielder some simple catching practice. Vaughn Williams
(24) was looking in good touch when he was unlucky to be run out when
very poor throw in ricocheted off the keepers pads and broke the
wicket. Oli Williams was meanwhile persevering and having lost Yasir
Irshad who was run out, and knowing that Matt McCann was injured and
would not be batting, found himself partnering David Haywood and facing
a huge challenge! Sadly the score book is incomplete and details
of the last wicket stand are not known, but the pair set themselves the
objective of surviving till 5.45pm, and succeeded. The next objective
was 6.00pm and the start of the last 20 overs - but sadly David was
bowled by a ball that kept low and clipped his off stump. Queries
- all 9 of them - were all out for 182 and had lost the match by a huge
margin. But for 4 ill-conceived shots when the catch was held, we
could have posted a much more competitive score.
We
were grateful to Dauntsey's School for allowing us to use their 1st XI
pitch, and the impressive new pavilion, which is very smart! Next
season the Stragglers would like to play us in Taunton so we have that
to look forward to. They are a wandering club very much in the same
mould as the Queries.
Sunday 16th May vs Babington House CC. Match cancelled: rain
Sunday 9th May: vs Avebury CC
This
was the inaugural match against Avebury and a strong-ish Queries set
off to find a very smart looking ground nestling in the village.
Skipper Simon Campbell won the toss and inserted the home side and the
breakthrough came in the 4th over when Geoff Ramsey teased a catch to backward
gulley from the No 2 batsman. Four overs later he took 2
wickets in two balls, and Avebury were struggling at 24 for 3. Sam
Ramsey did well to get a hand to a very sharp caught and bowled chance,
hurt himself in the process and had to leave the field. Josh
Ballantine Dykes took his place and almost as quickly took a wicket.
Sam Ramsey returned to get a couple of wickets and Yasir Irshad helped
to clean up the tail with two in two. Avebury were all out for 116. It
would have been less but for a couple of dropped catches, however there
was plenty of time left for the Queries to stamp their authority on
this match.
James
Illingworth opened with Frank Whiting and soon established their
determination to score runs. Although Frank found some difficulty in
'seeing the ball' he was able to give lots of the strike to James who
made the most of it, scoring 53 from 43 balls before he was bowled. Rob
Singleton came out to join Frank and together they took the score to
105 when Frank went for the big one and was caught for 37. The
remaining runs were knocked off quickly by Josh B-D and Rob Singleton
and the Queries reached a comfortable victory by 8 wickets.
Simon
Campbell presented the Club with a Queries shield after the game, and
praised their side for an enjoyable afternoon's cricket - especially
marking the fine bowling of Matt Francis and Ben Gregdix, both of whom
were invited to play some Queries cricket this season.
For
the Queries the bowling figures were: Yasir : 7 - 0 - 26 - 2.
Geoff Ramsey 5 - 0 - 14 - 3: Simon Campbell 0 for 15 from 5: Sam
Ramsey 2 for 14 from 4: Josh B-D 1 for 6 from 5 overs; Paul Kelly 2 for
19 from 5: and Ollie Sloane none for 14 from 3.
Thursday 6th May: vs Monkton Combe School.
The
start of this match will be remembered by those that played in the
match for a very long time! On an overcast day, with quite a green and
slow-ish track, the Queries lost the toss and were put in to bat. Will
Hopton and guest John Waters opened, with Will taking strike. He
shouldered arms to the first ball and was bowled by a ball that jagged
back from well outside his off stump. Hamish Horton survived his first
ball and then played the next one onto his stumps. Then Charlie
O'Kelly dangled his bat outside off stump and was caught behind. 4
balls of the match bowled, and the Queries were three down for no runs!
Richard
Buxton, coming in at number 5 with 2 balls of the first over still to
be bowled, managed two runs before he too was caught behind.
Queries were 2 for 4. However, John Waters and new batsman Geoff Ramsey
then took a grip on the game and advanced the score to 127 before Geoff
was stumped trying to force the pace. He had scored 71, including 8
fours and 2 sixes. Meanwhile John was making steady progress for his 57
before he was bowled. In the final moments before tea, Ollie Sloane and
Simon Campbell managed only 6 more runs and the innings was declared at
161 for 7 after 40 overs.
The
thing about the MCS line-up is that it contains Toby Davies - the
scourge of the Queries who had scored 80 in the first match and over
100 in the second, and whom the Queries had never got out! In he came
to open the MCS innings, only this time to find that opening bowlers
Rupert Bagnall and Simon Cottle were on form. Rupert trapped the number
2 batsman lbw in the 5th over, and Simon had Toby caught behind in the
6th. MCS was 22 for 2. Spinner Ollie Sloane took the 3rd wicket in his
first over, whilst the other spinner, Charlie O'Kelly bowled well but
wicketless from the other end. Geoff Ramsey introduced some medium pace
into the attack but skipper Brian Thompson felt the game was getting
bogged down a bit and wanted to get the batsmen to open their shoulders
- so he brought on Simon Campbell to bowl 2 overs and the batsmen
helped themselves to 20 runs!
2
runouts helped the Query cause and the MCS batsmen were
desperately trying to force runs off the closing overs only to need 6
off the final ball of the match. In front of a noisy and cheering
pavilion, they just failed, and ran out of time at 159 for 6 and the
match was drawn.
We
are told that the MCS XI always look forward to this fixture: we can
tell them that the Queries also look forward to it very keenly. In the
three matches played, we have been hosted very well, enjoyed good
sportsmanlike cricket and been looked after very well. Our thanks go to
all those at MCS who make this so.
Sunday 2nd May - match cancelled.
Queries were unable to raise a side, and in any case the pitch was waterlogged.
Sunday 25th April: vs King's School, Bruton. Report by skipper Nick Bunday
After several
weeks of almost unbroken sunshine it was entirely predictable that the curtain
raiser to the Queries season should be rain affected! The day dawned somewhat overcast and playing
on top of a hill meant that the Queries, who found themselves fielding first,
resorted to more traditional April attire of at least one jumper.
The opening
attack consisted of the seasoned Query Piers Foster bowling with some pace and
venom down the hill and candidate Yasir Irshad earning his spurs working hard
up the hill. It was ‘Yas’ who took the
first wicket with a well concealed slower ball.
Piers then had the School Captain of Cricket caught behind. The School continued to haemorrhage wickets,
Simon Campbell bowling the two stroke makers whilst another candidate Paul
Kelly took his first Queries wicket with a beautifully flighted delivery. At lunch the School were 96 for 5 and in a
little bit of disarray. After a superb
lunch and with a little light lubrication on board, the Queries, through the
ever–green Simon Campbell, picked up another wicket to leave the School reeling
at 96 for 6. Yas picked up his second
wicket with a very sharp caught and bowled and Mark
Cadbury accounted for the tail with the score on 128.
The total never
looked to be sufficient until nature took a hand in the proceedings as the
Queries innings was punctuated with rain, some of it monsoon like. This certainly affected the nature of the
game as the ball slowed quickly across the turf. About an hour and a half in total was lost to
the rain and thus the Queries were left trying to get the remaining 114 runs in
the last 15 minutes and subsequent twenty overs. The School captain sensibly used his slower
bowlers who took the speed off the ball and invited the Queries to try to hit
the runs. It was exactly the right
tactic and with a combination of tight bowling and sharp fielding it worked
very well. The Queries found it
difficult to score: Will Dawe and Freddie Coupe tried to ‘go for it’, Yas tried
to free his arms and Matt Jamieson tried not to use his bat in preference to
his pads – the Queries were suddenly 39 for 4.
Paul Kelly was bowled cheaply trying to get on with it, but The
President David Haywood and Mark Cadbury brought a little decorum to the proceedings and moved
the score onto 79 before Cadbury was out to a fantastic catch in the deep and
The President was forced to retire. Joe
Wookey responding the call of ‘cometh the hour cometh the man,’ promptly
tripped over the picket fence but having regained his composure hit a lively 22
not out. Piers Foster was bowled in the
penultimate over but the requirement of 21 off the last over was too much even
for Simon Campbell’s eye. The Queries
finished 12 runs short with 3 wickets in hand.
Whilst there is
little doubt that the rain had denied the Queries a win, no one could fault the
commitment and dogged determination of King’s Bruton who, with a little help
from the rain, defended a modest total.
After a great game of cricket which ended up being far more exciting
than it at one stage looked, the Queries were left ruminating on what a ‘funny
old game’ cricket can be. King’s Bruton
are thanked for their splendid hospitality and for another exciting game. (There are some photos on the 2010 Photos page).
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