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July 7th 2007

Stanford le Hope Match Reports 7^th July 2007

1^st XI at Billericay

Stanford 187 – 7 (52 overs)                                    Billericay  191 – 9  (40.5 overs)

Michael Gray 41, Robert Page 37                     Ian Letch 34, Steve Roberts 48

Ross Poulton 53                                            Greg Barr 4-54

So near yet still elusively out of reach, as Stanford’s first league win of the season slipped agonisingly from their hands. Having been put in by the home side, Stanford made an ideal start, as Michael Gray (41) and Robert Page (37) added 80 for the first wicket. 3 wickets then tumbled in quick succession, before Ross Poulton (53) grabbed the initiative back. He added 55 for the 4^th wicket with Peter Gray (24), before another flurry of timber prevented Stanford from pushing the total over the 200 mark.

Billericay began soundly enough, as they began their run chase after tea. Openers !an Letch (34) and Peter Southgate (24) added an untroubled 50. Greg Barr (4-54) then struck in each of the last 4 overs of his opening spell and with Ross Poulton  (2-71) also picking up an early victim, Bills looked to be struggling at 84-5. However, Steve Roberts (48) played a crucial innings as he guided his team towards the target, with good support from the lower order. He became Poulton’s 2^nd victim and a couple of run-outs had the game poised. Billericay’s last pair kept their nerve to see off the battling visitors, with one wicket and one ball to spare.

Stanford  9 points            Billericay  18 points

2^nd XI at home to Buckhurst Hill

Buckhurst Hill  234-8  (51.5 overs)              Stanford  136ao  (37 overs)

H.Khan 47, A. Patel 37, D. Thankey 48no   Sean Barker 37, Mark Nuttall 32

                                                                        H.Khan 5-25

Despite a couple of early strike from Daryl Woodford (2-52), Buckhurst Hill made steady progress. Whilst none of their batsmen made a fifty, their were plenty of decent contributions. Khan (47), Thankey (48), Patel (37) and Nadeemuddin (36) all weighed in to set Stanford a daunting chase.

Things began well enough after tea, as Sean Barker (37), Mark Nuttall (32) and Mark Knight (13)  combined to put Stanford at a comfortable looking 64-1. Thereafter however, no batsman made it into double figures as the team folded to the spin wiles of Khan (5-25) and never posed a serious threat to the visitor’s total as they won by 98 runs.

Stanford II  4 points             Buckhurst Hill II  20 points

3^rd XI at Old Southendians

Old Southendians III  209-7  (48 overs)            Stanford III  157ao (46.5 overs)

Dean Smith 106, Ken Johnson 31                Peter Victory 71no, Tony Sanders 7-22

Jon Fuller (3-42) and Adrian Page (1-56) picked up early wickets, to see Old Southendians struggle at 46-4. However, a good recovery, based around a century partnership between Dean Smith (106) and Ken Johnson (31), put the old boys back in the driving seat. Stanford were to rue two or three early chances to dismiss Smith and he made them pay with a hard-hitting knock that allowed his team to declare early on 209-7, despite the best efforts of Dennis Wheatley (3-50).

Stanford began disastrously, with 3 of the top 4 back in the hutch with only 17 on the board. Tony Sanders (7-22), took most of the blame as the Stanford batsmen struggled to cope with his swing bowling. However, opener Peter Victory played heroically for his 71no, as he carried his bat through the innings. Stuart Surridge (24) and the hard-hitting Jon Barr (28) helped him boost the total, but the return of Sanders, saw him left stranded as the innings closed 52 behind.

Stanford III  5 points                     Old Southendian III  20 points

4^th XI at home to Old Southendians

Old Southendians IV  246 – 6 (40 overs)            Stanford IV  36ao  (22.4 overs)

A. Thomson 82, K.Wilson 45                                R.Stevenson 4-13, D.Giles 4-7

This one-sided affair saw Stanford’s 4^th string crash to a defeat by over 200 runs. The home bowlers were unable to stem the flow of runs, as Thomson (82) and Wilson (45) helped themselves. 246 was always too much for the home team, but they collapsed painfully as Stevenson and Giles collected 4 wickets apiece.

Stanford IV  2 points                     Old Southendians IV  20 points