Marlborough Cricket club 1st 11 finished the 2014 season with a hard fought victory against close neighbours and rivals Great Bedwyn in the match kindly sponsored by Whatley and Co (Pewsey) Ltd on Saturday.
Batting first Marlborough scored 214 for 6 off their 50 overs thanks mainly to a quality knock of 78 by the ever improving and confident James Richardson who received vital support from Tom Palmer 44 and Will Langton with a swash buckling 40 not out.
In reply Bedwyn started well with openers John Palmer 40 and Richard Bosson 39 putting on 76 for the first wicket.
Middle order wickets then fell including star man Rob Palmer for 1 thanks to a great catch from Langton. Big hitting from Neil Maycock 22, Ashley Perry 32 and Joe Blundy 21 always kept Bedwyn in the hunt but the Trees bowlers stuck to their guns and Bedwyn were bowled out for 189 to ensure a 25 wicket victory for Tom Norris's men with George Fox 4-38 and Ben Head 3-48 the danger men with the ball for Marlborough.
Summing up the season in general Marlborough skipper Norris told this reporter "It's been a decent season considering we lost our overseas player early but it could of been better had we beaten the 3 teams we would normally expect to win against. The youngsters are coming on nicely so the future looks good for Marlborough Cricket Club"
Marlborough Cricket Club1st XI (184/7) lost to Marshfield (189/5) by 5 wickets.
The 1st XI lost a very frustrating performance by five wickets to Marshfield on Saturday. Having won the toss and electing to bat, Marlborough got off to a slow but steady start.
It was not easy for the openers as the Marshfield bowlers gave Nick Crabbe (21) and Ben Head (9) nothing that they could get away.
The first change bowlers carried on as the openers left off, yet they didn't look too threatening to Tom Norris (69) and James Richardson (41) who both batted very well with 'Chucky' hitting the bad ball for a boundary and the in-form James playing in his aggressive style. James was then dismissed by a very good caught and bowled.
With Marlborough at 137-3 off 38 overs, they were set up nicely for a big push in the last ten overs with seven wickets in hand. However only another 50 runs were able to be put on by the tail before the rain eventually came.
Marlborough finished on 184-7 off 46 after a frustrating shower meant that Marlborough lost their remaining overs and the game was reduced to 46 overs a side.
Marlborough's bowlers were not able to apply the pressure that they had done for the majority of the season and Marshfield got off to a quick start, even losing a ball that went down the drain - as one member commented: “A little bit like our performance. “
However even with Will Langton and George Fox picking up two early wickets, Marshfield still managed to get to 50-2 off seven overs.
With Marshfield's intentions clear (bat with freedom) it was difficult for any of the bowlers to gain any rhythm and sustain pressure with the batsmen playing aggressively and hitting the ball sweetly, however both Ben Head and Tom Jacques (2 wickets) were able to gain some sort momentum and managed to pick up a few wickets in the process.
Marshfield were at 124-5 at drinks and it looked as though Marlborough were still in the match if they were able to get a few wickets after play re-started.
However a disappointing few overs proved that the task ahead was too big even for 'Vinny' to handle. Marshfield eventually knocked off the runs in 32 overs. A very disappointing result . The team must now turn its attention to the local derby.
Marlborough Cricket Club 2nd XI (157 all out) lost to Chippenham (159/4) by 6 wickets.
With their place in the league assured, Marlborough 2nd XI (having won the toss) elected to bat first but struggled to build a position of strength in the game as they stumbled to 157 all out.
Raghu Tupurani top-scored with 37 with good support from Rob Atkinson who struck 27. Chippenham ripped through the Marlborough lower order as they lost their last five wickets for 24 runs.
In reply Chippenham lost only four wickets as one of their opening batsmen made an unbeaten 68 to give the visitors victory within 27 overs. Rich West was the pick of the bowlers for Marlborough, returning figures of 2 for 36 from his 9 overs.
Marlborough Cricket clubs first team bounced back from defeat last week with a vital victory away at Calne which leaves the Savernake Forest based outfit just 2 points off 3rd place Marshfield in the league.
After losing the toss and being asked to bat Tom Norris's men reached 188-9 of their 50 overs thanks mainly to vital middle order contributions from Norris himself with 33 and James Richardson with 31 while opener Ben Head chipped in with 28.
Marlborough's tail them wagged with Mike Bush scoring a vital 32 not out to put Marlborough in a strong position over tea.
Calne's bowling charge was lead by the impressive duo of Julian Kearney 4-32 and Matthew Richards 3-42. In reply Calne were bowled out for 143 with Marlborough Vice-Skipper Will Langton taking 4-49 ably supported by Paul Smith 2-25 and teenage spin sensation Fraser Gordon 2-24 while Head got the vital wicket of Calne star man Sean Adams for 37.
Trees skipper Norris was pleased with the bowling and fielding from his side "Langton bowled with pace and bounce and Smith started excellently and Fraser bowled well. There was some good catches by myself and Nick Crabbe and a great run out by Smith".
Marlborough 2nds lost ground in the promotion hunt after defeat at home to 2nd place Chipping Sodbury in the game kindly sponsored by Steve Offer.
Marlborough's title hope received a blow at home to Devizes on Saturday in the match very kindly sponsored by Peter Stirland Ltd garage of Hungerford.
Poor weather in the morning meant that the game was in jeopardy but amazing work from skipper Tom Norris and committee member Martin Smithers who both sopped up gallons of water off the outfield meant that the game went ahead with both sides reduced to 40 overs per side.
Winning the toss and electing to bowl Marlborough's bowlers found the Devizes batsmen in an attacking mood as Devizes reached 153-5 off their 40 overs, with star man Joe Wookey top scoring with 37 while Tim Saye 36 and Jonathan Skull 31 provided excellent support, with trees bowlers George Fox, Ben Head, Alex Cox, Mike Bush and Mark Wingfield-Digby all taking a wicket each.
In reply Marlborough opener and super star Head set out about the task with earnest and when joined by skipper Norris the trees looked to be in a strong position. But after losing Head for 43 and Norris for 25 Marlborough slumped to 92-6.
Young wicket keeper Archie Wheeler with 29 and vice-Captain Will Langton with 19 got Marlborough back in the game but both went and Marlborough fell an agonizing 6 runs short of victory finishing on 148-9 off their 40 overs.
Trees Skipper Norris was gracious in defeat "Overall the best team won, we were sloppy in the field and didn't put the ball in the right areas. We lost two early wickets had a slight recovery but losing 5, 6 and 7 killed us though Wheeler and Langton showed a lot of character to almost get us home".
Marlborough 2nd game away to Biddestone fell victim to the weather.
Marlborough Cricket club are still firmly in the title hunt with a dramatic 11 win away at Winsley.
After losing the toss and being put in Marlborough scored 144-9 of their 50 overs with master stroke man Peter Day top scoring with 38 while Gorge Fox and young wicket keeper batsmen Archie Wheeler made sure the tail wagged with 18 and 17 respectively with Winsley bowlers Kegan Smart, Ben Strange, Simon Orchard and Stuart Hammond sharing 2 wickets each.
Winsley began their innings firmly expecting victory but tight and inspired bowling from Marlborough meant that the Trees bounced back from last week's defeat to near rivals Burbage in style.
Alex Cox took 3-27 while the spin duo of teenage spin sensation Fraser Gordan 2-24 and superstar and trees legend Ben Head 2-19 helped to dismiss Winsley for 133 ensuring a vital victory for the Savernake Forrest based outfit.
Speaking after the game Trees skipper Tom Norris was full of praise for his bowlers" It was awesome bowling from everyone and Alex Cox bowled his first 5 overs for no runs, Peter Day ground out some runs for us and the tail wagged".
Marlborough 2nds were also involved in a dramatic game at home to Rockhampton in the game very kindly sponsored by P A Matthews and Co ltd. Marlborough set 180 to win scraped home to win by just 1 wicket. Nick Down's men look firmly on course for a shot at a 2nd successive promotion.
Marlborough's 3 game winning streak came to an end on Saturday at the hands of fierce local rivals Burbage as Marlborough lost by 8 wickets at Burbage.
Marlborough won the toss and elected to bat scoring 141-8 off their 50 overs.
Opener Nick Crabbe continued his excellent season with 28 while middle order stroke man Peter Day chipped in with 22. George Fox 21 and vice-Captain Will Langton 31 not out ensured that Marlborough had a decent total to defend while Darren Freegard with figures of 4-44 was the star man with the ball for Burbage.
In reply former New Zealand test star Michael Papps 54 not out and Daniel Wooton 50 not out ensured that Burbage reached their victory target in the 29th over for the loss of just 2 wickets.
Speaking after the game Marlborough skipper Tom Norris said "We didn't bat very well but they bowled well. We bowled ok but they had Michael Papps who has scored 9500 first class run!, it was a bad day at the office but on to next week and we are still confident of doing well"
Marlborough's 2nd 11 game at home to Dumbleton very kindly sponsored by OJB Plumbing fell victim to the heavy rain
Marlborough Cricket club 1st 11 finished the 2014 season with a hard fought victory against close neighbours and rivals Great Bedwyn in the match kindly sponsored by Whatley and Co (Pewsey) Ltd on Saturday.
