Today is Wednesday and, as ever on a Wednesday, it’s a game from 2017 to look back at as well as other season going over the years. Today is 17th June – and it was Sarisbury Athletic away for Mark Lavelle’s double chasers.
There is one big change to the team from the win over Ventnor seven days previously. Tam Goodrich was back in the side and he returned at the top of the order with the captain taking the decision – probably rightly so after scoring 37 runs in six innings opening up – to drop himself down to number eight. Goodrich was only back for one week (he would appear again in late August) but his 37 gave us a stability that was lacking for much of the campaign – Tam did have two of the top five scores by our openers all season! His second wicket stand of 81 with Ben Johns, who made 50 gave us a good platform from which Ben Perry (32), Jimmy Manning (36) and a late charge from Lavelle (16*) and James Rose (11*) would allow us to reach 221-7.
A 102 opening stand between Ricky Rawlins and Sam Floyd put us under serious pressure. As you would expect from a Calmore side, it was the spinners that made the difference, especially Manning (2-23) who removed both – Rawlins first for 37 and then Floyd seven runs later for 61. Jack Rutter then got involved taking the next three (3-35) and then seamer Daniel Croft nailed the lower order with 4-34 as they crashed from 134-2 to 165 all out to give us a 56-run win. Played 7, won 6 – still not safe yet but making serious strides to being so!
Meanwhile, back at Loperwood there was something very special taking place, not that his mum Dot and dad Ray saw it as they were watching the 1s at Sarisbury but they were hugely proud when the news broke! It had been something of a necessitated experiment moving Allan Hurst up to open the batting for the 2s and three innings in, he had scores of 20, 0 and 5 so there wasn’t any real sign that this knock was coming. But it did and with some aplomb too, sharing an opening stand of 150 with Tom Perry who made 62. Allan hit 16 fours and two sixes in his 137 ball stay in reaching a fantastic 107 which led us to an imposing 240-3 in our 45 overs. But if scoring a superb century wasn’t enough, he came on first change and took five of the first seven Gosport Borough wickets to fall in returning outstanding figures of 5-24. A century and a five wicket haul in the same game – a feat only achieved once previously for the club by Kurt Donaldson against Longparish in 1995. Dave Blake chipped in with 3-2 at the end to dismiss the visitors for just 94, but it was absolutely Hursty’s day.
Allan wasn’t the only club centurion that day as the whole club celebrated another of those epic Saturdays where all four sides returned victorious. The 3s had a, thankfully, home game with Hungerford 2s in Regional 2 North-West. A decent bowling effort restricted the Berkshire side to just 149-9 as Ryan Lomax (3-22) and Storm Anning (2-30) kept them at bay. It wasn’t nearly enough once Callum Stanton got in full flow. With 11 fours and six huge sixes, he smashed an unbeaten 102 which drove us to the four wicket win with 15 overs in the tank.
And the jugs were in high demands that night in the clubhouse (that’s beer jugs!!) when the 4s captain Paul Jewer came back from Hunts Farm with his sides 45 run victory over Michelmersh and Timsbury 3s. He cracked 14 fours in his superb 119 not out and with a nice 21 from Max Bailey reached 215-5. The eight Calmore bowlers were enough to see off the home side for 170 with 2-19 for both Bailey brothers Max and Calum as well as 2-13 from Josh Ellis and 2-9 by Jack Stuttard.
It is quite unusual that a player smashes a ton in the Border League but still manages to be on the losing side with three overs to spare! That is exactly what happened to East Tytherley’s captain Will Edwards on the Tuesday night visit to deepest West Hampshire in 2014. Edwards smashed 118 not out, taking a particular liking to Ben Perry (1-46) and Mike West (1-52) as he almost single handedly took his side to 164-2. Was it enough – not even nearly! The game was over in 15 overs when Darren Vann with 55 not out and James Rose an unbeaten 45 blitzed the target after Ben Johns had made 28 opening up.
Do you remember when we said that you have to take the rough with the smooth in these pieces? Here comes some serious rough from 2006 – not only the 1st team but the 2s as well both taking a right royal walloping! The 1s were in SPCL Division 3 home action against our nearest local rivals Paultons and, as with most things this season, it didn’t go well. Paultons won the toss and lost Colin James retired hurt with just a single on the board. It didn’t affect them too much as Alistair Barrett made 55 and Andy Darnton 56 which allowed a typically brutal 36 from Tony Richman to ease the total to 243-6. The pick of the bowlers were Steve Brandes with 2-45 and James Rose 2-54. When Simon Ennew and Mark Archer put on 37 for the first wicket, everyone was hopeful of a sustained challenge. It didn’t happen once Jamie Cooper (5-40) and Pete Lamb (4-40) came on and turned our 37-0 into 92-8 and subsequently 120 all out.
If the 1s losing by 123 runs wasn’t bad enough, the 10-man 2s returning from Sulhamstead and Ufton (a village somewhere between Reading and Thatcham in West Berkshire) with a 197-run loss would not have lightened the mood. All three of the top order batsmen made 50s (although N.Moghal batting at 4 missed the boat c Dunn b Cotton 0) as they racked up 277-6 against our bowling attack of Cook (1-43), Dunn (0-42), Henry (1-62), Hargreaves (1-48), Cotton (1-34) and Dan Green (2-38 in 4 overs, with 11 wides!). We were bowled out for just 80 with the top score honours going to Adam Hargreaves with 19 and Steve Dunn 18.
Let’s move on ……
It was another ‘time game’ in the first year of the Southern Premier League in 2000 when we travelled to Burridge and came away with a winning draw this time. We batted our full compliment of 66 overs and reached 247-7 with ’emerging all-rounder’ – playing his 141st first XI game for Calmore Sports – Paul Draper making 98 before being unfortunately run out for 98 having batted for 200 minutes and 198 balls in a mix-up with Tom Pegler at the other end. Jeremy Goode cracked 62 and put on 121 for the third wicket with Draper but Matt Compton’s 3-70 from 22 overs kept the innings in check. Burridge made a decent start with Neil Cunningham (59) and Tom Caines (37) leading the way but it was the left-arm spin duo of Mark Boston (3-63 in 21 overs) and Draper once again (18-9-23-2) tying the hosts up and restricting them to 166-8 when time ran out.
We were on our way to winning County One in 1989 but, having suffered back to back defeats against Hambledon and Hale, the trip to Bath Lane to tackle Fareham was a nervous one for Steve Brandes’ side at the time. Those nerves were unfounded as the home side were vanquished by 8 wickets with time to spare. Fareham won the toss and made a decent if patient start against Cliff Estall (1-22) and Dominic Newman (1-21) but it was the introduction of Adam Carty, who took 3-31 and Chris Garrett (3-36) that put the slide under the hosts. Carty also actioned a couple of run outs which hastened the end of Fareham’s 123 all out. We lost Bob Wilcocks early but Gary Stinson (41) and Rob Budd (59*) stood firm and the win was secured with over 11 overs to spare.
In 1982, it was the final day of the Dorset tour when we returned to Redlands Sports Ground in Weymouth to play against HMS Osprey – the anti-submarine training establishment which was based at Portland. Being the last day, it was only a 20-over game and we lost by 6 wickets despite Martin Newman’s 43 not out and a couple of wickets each for John Robertson and Tony Archer. Maybe it was a good job that Saturday’s home league game with Fareham was rained off!
Hartley Wintney were the visitors in County One in 1978 and we would record our fifth win from six starts with a dominant 79 run success as, yet again, Calmore’s much vaunted bowling attack gave the visitors no room to manoeuvre. We batted first and it was Billy Sims’ 65 aside John Ennew with 35 that put together 96 for the first wicket. Ben Lyon with 24 gave good support but we lost wickets regularly and closed with 188-8 as Carter claimed 5-62 for HW. It will be no surprise that Ray Hurst and Tufty Taylor did the damage – they did take 56% of our wickets that season. Taylor grabbed 3-20 and Hurst 2-24 although Michael Newman’s 2-7 in six overs was no less valuable as the visitors sank to 109-8 innings closed.
Let’s finish with this one and I am going to call out our former opening bowler Matt Maiden for being mean to his Dad! In yesterday’s OTD, we mentioned a game with Maybush where they were bowled out for just 29 after being 3-7 at one point and Matt’s dad, Dave scored 17, which was described as his batting highlight. Whoa there!!! Well, how about this one? It was South West Division 2 action again, this time at Millbrook Secondary School. Our 2s batted first and Stan Piper’s undefeated 81 batted through the innings as we made 181-6. When Maybush were reduced to 87-6 with Steve Brandes (3-42) and Pete Wakeford (3-56) holding sway, the game looked to be up. However, a stand of 65 between Hayward (55) and …. yes Matt, here it comes …. Dave Maiden who made 36 not out brought them back into the contest. They still fell 14 runs shy but it wasn’t without its scare.
