Garboldisham Cricket Club

Match summaries for Saturday 29 August

The 1sts final game of the season was at home to Horsford A. It was a game that Danny Cash and the team had to win if they wanted to leave themselves in with a chance of finishing as champions at the top of Division One of the Alliance. Horsford batted first and were trotting along just a bit too niceley with well over a hundred on the board and only one wicket down. But once the partnership was broken, the visitors wickets tumbled in a flurry, their runs dried up and they finished on 212 for 9 with Jack Buckmaster taking a fifer.

With bat in hand, Garboldisham started well enough, but a mid innings wobble saw a couple of wickets given away cheaply and the prospect of a batting collapse suddenly hung ominously in the air. However, cautious batting from captain Danny Cash and Alex Hogg saw Garby safely over the line and they finished on 213 for 5.

North Runcton, who are battling for the top-of-the-table position with Garboldisham, had an astonishing win against Beccles, bowling them out for just 28 runs… The day finished with Garby on 304 points and North Runcton just 10 points behind on 294. Of course, North Runcton still have a game in hand against Topcroft which they’ll play tomorrow on Bank Holiday Monday.  We’ll all be praying for either a Topcroft win, or rain, in order to win the league…

The 2nds had their final game last week and finished 6th in their league.

The 3rds were away to Saxlingham who batted first and scored 261 for 6. In reply Garboldisham found themselves bowled out for 162. They finish their first season in division two of the NCL in a very respectable mid-table position in 5th place.

The 4ths powered to a must-win victory at home which sees them avoid relegation. New Buckenham batted first and managed to clock up only 125 before they were bowled out. Young Tommy Ling took four of the Garby wickets. In reply, Neville Kemp and Johnny Wyatt blasted out the runs for the 4ths and they finished on 127 for 1. This win, plus the fact that Old Catton B were unable to put out a team for the second week running (which meant another 24 points deducted for Catton) ensured that the 4ths avoided the relegation zone and remain in Division 4 of the NCL West league.

Tommy Ling takes four wickets for the 4ths to help them avoid relegation

Here’s a reminder of today’s final league fixtures (Sat 29 Aug) and next weekend’s end of season party and U19s finals day

Sat 29 August

1sts play Horsford at home. A win could mean the difference between first and second place in Division One of the Alliance although current second placed North Runcton have a game in hand which is scheduled for bank holiday Monday so the final top of the table positions will remain unknown until then.

The 2nds played their final game last week and finish the season mid table.

The 3rds are away to Saxlingham

The 4ths are at home to New Buckenham in a must-win game to leave themselves in with a remote chance of avoiding relegation

Sun 30 August President’s Day. The President’s XI v GCC First XI

Sat 5 Sept End of season party! Fish and Chips and The Muppits band at Ling Barn. More details here

Sun 6 Sept U19s t20 finals day at Manor Park, Horsford. First semi-final at about 10.30 between Swardeston and Ashmanhaugh. Second semi-final at about 1.00-1.15 between Garboldisham and Fakenham. Final at about 4pm…

Picture shows last year’s junior presentation evening

Don’t miss the end of the season Junior Presentation evening this coming Friday 28 August when we’ll be presenting our annual GCC junior awards for ‘Best batter’, ‘Best bowler’, ‘Best player’ and ‘Most improved player’ amongst others. Friday evening junior nets will finish early at 7pm and then we’ll go straight in to the presentations.

Tickets are £4.00 and include BBQ and a drink. Everyone welcome. We hope to see you there!

Sarah McGahan

Match summaries for Saturday 23 August

The 1sts travelled to East Norfolk to face Acle who were placed fourth in the league and in with a chance of promotion – so Danny Cash and his side knew that they’d have a tough fight on their hands. Garby batted first but could only manage to accumulate 167 before they found themselves bowled out, and in reply, the hungry Acle team chased down the total for the loss of just 3 wickets. Garboldisham’s 31 point lead at the top of the table at the start of the day was slashed to just 12 between them and second placed North Runcton (who won their game at Horsford). But despite the loss, and even if the 1sts lose next week in their final game against Horsford, it looks as though they’ll still gain promotion to the Premier League – which is fantastic news – but any celebrations won’t start until next week when it’s in black and white and the last games of the season are played out which will mark the difference between first, second and… third places…

The 2nds were at home to Stow A who batted first and clocked up 256. Garby struggled to get close and were bowled out for 142.

The 3rds were also playing at home but lost out to Gt Melton B who batted first and scored 193 for 8. Garby came close in their chase but were bowled out 20 runs short on 174. This result leaves the 3rds placed fifth in the table ahead of their final game next week away to Saxlingham.

The 4ths, fighting for survival in Div 4 West of the NCL, travelled to Gt Ellingham. Garboldisham batted first but were bowled out for 145 and despite fighting back hard and taking 7 Ellingham wickets, the hosts chased Garby’s total down. With one game left to play next week against New Buckenham, the 4ths would appear to have an extreme outside chance of avoiding relegation…

As the season starts to wind down (towards a dramatic climax for the 1sts and with the 4ths fighting for survival in their league) all non-league games have pretty much dried up. There may be unplayed junior fixtures left to play so please check with your team manager or with Sarah for details.

Sat 22 August 1sts away Acle, 2nds at home to Stow A, 3rds at home to Gt Melton B, 4ths away to Gt Ellingham

Sun 23 August U13s away to Cringleford Lodge. Check with Sarah

Thurs 27 August  Senior nets

Fri 28 August  Junior nets followed by Junior Presentation evening at 7.00pm

A Q&A session with Peter Barnes, our Fixtures and Fundraising secretary, and one of our longest serving club members.

Don’t miss our end of season party on Saturday 5 September! We’ve got the Muppits, one of the most popular party bands in East Anglia, performing their great mix of covers from the 60s through to the present day. If you want to dress up in fancy dress, then this year, our theme is TV characters! The cost is only £10 per person which includes a Fish and Chip supper. The fun starts at 7.30pm. Contact Peter Barnes for more info and for tickets 07825 351062.

Match summaries for Saturday 15 August

Kieran Pask (80*) and Henry Phoenix (57*) (pictured above) helped the 1sts to an 8 wicket win over visitors Dereham. Earlier in the day, Pask had taken 5 wickets as Dereham were bowled out for 184. This win gives the 1sts 23 points and with both Lowestoft and North Runcton (Garby’s nearest rivals in the league) losing out to their opponents, Garboldisham now have a 31 point lead at the top of their league over second placed Runcton (although Runcton still have a game in hand).

Dereham batted first, but with excellent tight bowling from Pask and Alex Hogg, Dereham were 2 wickets down at the 10 over stage and only had 15 runs on the board. Gavin Barnes and Jack Buckmaster carried on the good work with the ball and Buckmaster took the breakthrough wicket of Dereham’s number 5 batsman to upset what was looking like a rock solid partnership, and from thereon, Dereham continued to lose wickets at regular intervals as they pressed on to up their score. Rob Fuller took their final wicket in the last over and they were 184 all out. A mention must go Dereham’s captain and opening batsman who fought hard to finish on 99 not out.

Kristian Williman and Danny Cash opened the batting for Garby. Cash was looking good and hit a quick fire 13 runs before misjudging a ball and seeing his stumps tumble and he was replaced by Henry Phoenix. Williman and Phoenix were ticking along very nicely until Kristian advanced down the wicket to attack a slower looping delivery only to be stumped as he swung and missed and he was out for 20. In came big-hitting Kieran Pask who cracked away the second ball he faced for a massive six and it was time for spectators to be on their guard and to think about whether they should move their car or not. The Pask/Phoenix partnership proved to be a good one with Henry batting with his usual great maturity and steady head, and Kieran picking off the poor balls to dispatch them with ease to the boundary. They had the game wrapped up in the 30th over and Kieran finished on 80* off 41 balls, including 6 sixes and Henry finished on 57*.

The 2nds were away to Rocklands, batted first and posted 222 for 7 which Rocklands chased down to win by 5 wickets on 223 for 5.

The 3rds had a troubled day at Drayton. The hosts batted first and scored 255 for 7 but in the chase, Garboldisham collapsed and found themselves bowled out for 110.

Back at The Langley, the 4ths were involved in a high scoring game against the visitors Ketteringham Hall A who posted 278. Destructive batting from Eddie Thorne (99) who just missed out on his ton and Johnny Wyatt (133*) saw Garby overtake Ketteringham’s total in 33 overs. A tasty 26 points from the match might just help the 4ths in their battle against relegation.

Picture below: Johnny Wyatt and Eddie Thorne