St Swithins Day....

Big day tomorrow...

'St. Swithin's day if thou dost rain
For forty days it will remain
St. Swithin's day if thou be fair
For forty days 'twill rain nae mair.'

Cricket weather....

Half a Century....

Lets get the birthday thing out of the way first, AT was 50 today so much celebration with cake and champagne for tea ! (I think our visitors were impressed !). Anyway managed to draw a wonderful crowd for sun, cricket and refreshment. On to the cricket....

OJ won toss for 36 over game against neighbours Great Staughton. This is first of a 2 match series played for Staughton Ashes, instigated by GS chairman Frank....great idea. LSVCC batted first on flat track. Clive Shaw hung around long enough to receive stinging blow to thigh (ouch!...nice bruise, where was the thigh pad ?). AT out for 9 to a shocking cross-bat slog, so left eventually to Hoppy (98 out) and Andy Corner (40 something not out) to build a very good score for home team. Fortunately GS capitulated to a good bowling effort from LSVCC, Nick and Conor particulary should be applauded. Andy tried to catch a ball with his nose/teeth at gulley (Ouch again ! use hands next time)...get well soon ! AT bowled 4 overs of champagne fuelled leg-spin...but pitch wasn't taking any turn. Umpire almost sent AT off for abuse, but is it normal for the umpire to tell the bowler what he is doing wrong ? Jason moving up in the umpiring world and now off to officiate for Great Staughton !....I wonder whether he will make it to Lords, although he is quickly developing tv-friendly Billy Bowdenesque eccentricities ! In contrast Roy at the other end was the epitomy of chillaxing....

Comfortable win for LSVCC, and trophy happily accepted by AT....we look forward to return down at Great Staughton in a few weeks !

Special thanks as always to K and M at The Crown for unrivalled refreshment, and also to my wife, children, and friends, for making my 50th birthday so much fun. Even better, Olly Thrasher away on U13 county duty, was man of the match as he captained Northants to comfortable victory against Norfolk.

CHURCH versus VILLAGE Ashes next week !

A.

Photos here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/athrashe/LSVCCVGreatStaughton2012?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Great Barford....

Evening friendly for rare LSVCC touring side to Great Barford. AT flew in specially from Philadelphia and was asleep for most of game. LSVCC elected to bat...Clive Burchett toiled to an ugly 6 off 30 balls (16 over game), Olly J hit some, Olly T ran nicely, AT cleared the ropes once, Jake Cain pick of the bowlers, Connor also bowled nicely and picked up a good clean bowled wicket. Quickly to the end...quote from last match report agains Paxton: 'With 3 to win off the last over LSVCC captain James H agreed to continue and somehow LPCC won through'

This time, they needed several more to win, but 6 and 4 off 2 dreadful deliveries from the Captain in last over sealed LSVCC fate. Next time.....

Retired to Golden Cross for refreshments...

April showers !!....

I'm now so lazy that we borrow match reports from opposition sites...but LP don't really count as they are soulmates and I'm sure won't mind !


Hail to the new season or just, hail, the weather?

By the Field Correspondent

Hail to the 2012 season, hail to a 4^th season of cricket in Little Paxton with the prospect of matches against some familiar faces – none more so than Little Staughton Village Cricket Club – our erstwhile barometer of performance and most importantly enjoyment.

The 15^th April maybe the earliest start to the season so far and for those who stayed indoors yesterday you will understand why various faces were pulled at erstwhile correspondent when explaining that cricket started for the club this weekend (or is that how British Airways cabin crew normally look?)

Team wise Paxton assembled a motley crew – again – a mixture of guile, experience, enthusiasm – with a very slight dash of youth.  LSVCC lined up with two County players and their full throttle of main players – more later!

Paxton decided to call in their overseas player – straight from Heathrow – Senhor Huttly – a little tested player with a dodgy tan and still looking like a caravan was in tow…

Still at least the Amazonian rainforest that surrounded the car park had been cleared – although now the way was clear for any cricket ball of note to strike the parked cars.  Senhor Huttly noted all the decent (i.e. safe) car parking spots were well and truly taken.

LSVCC were already 10 overs into their innings with two interruptions for foul weather (never!) when reporting begins… also note there is no scorebook to recite from at this time!! – with 44 on the board and no wickets down.  Finding Ollie and Jody still waiting to bat did not augre well!  Mysteriously the home side tracked the late arrival with the promise of beer and, just to detain further, ensured that Adrian T was out and therefore available to catch up on even more matters.

Burkey enquired whether Paxton were going to be upto full strength some time this decade at which point the full force of the British spring unleashed itself as a bitter rainstorm drove across the pitch again.

LSVCC were busy accumulating runs despite the precious wicket of Ollie – derived from a belter of a ball from James O – which didn’t play ball.  However Jody took early doors in the sixes stakes and pummelled a well deserved half century.  As the innings reached a frenetic conclusion Chris B chipped in with a few wickets courtesy of some outlandish stumpings from Dave Perry (to make up for the outlandish futile dives for catches!).  Andy King popped up to take a well deserved wicket as LSVCC finished on 174 off 30 overs.

Tea coincided with an almighty downpour as hail prevailed.  Pork pies and delicious home make cakes didn’t distract.

LPCC opened with Mike K and Burkey.  The LSVCC bowlers struggled to find any footing but agreed to play on.  Mike K slowly but surely took the bowling apart and, together with Chris B, who played some terrific ground strokes, (Mike was busy pummelling the ball beyond the hedges!) took Paxton comfortably towards the total.  A result looked assured as Mike reached his second century for the club and correctly gave way to spend time with his boys – who had fortunately survived an aerial assault from Chris!

However Paxton had other ideas and, in rapid succession, JP, Dave P, Tim and Andy K departed – mostly as a result of the mud patch that the wicket had turned into.  James O got one that rolled on the ground and so it remained that El Senhor and Lee were left to chase down what now looked a daunting score. 

Lee tickled a no ball that should have provided an extra run – he tells me that the direct hit was unbelievable – unfortunately he was viewing from outside the crease!

With 4 to win – Mike donned the pads again and, on cue, the hail returned with a vengeance.  With 3 to win off the last over LSVCC captain James H agreed to continue and somehow LPCC won through.

Well played Mike – a great innings and without any doubt the only innings that put us within touching distance – thanks for the jug – it only took Dave Perry several hours to sort out what we needed (only jesting Dave)

A great game, in frankly, awful conditions – as usual our hosts were terrific – their county players, by the way, were 11 and they both the undoing of our side – but they bowled beautifully and will go on to credit the game of cricket – well played Olly and Ed.

A start – and as always – a very friendly side to play.

The league starts next week – you will remember this weekend with fondness!!!!!

Juniors section 2012....

JUNIOR CRICKET at Little Staughton Playing Field

Commencing Wed. 18^th April 2012, 6-7pm

For the 5^th consecutive year since being refounded, LSVCC is running weekly junior cricket coaching sessions throughout the summer months. Jem Price and Rory Richards are kindly helping with coaching this year. As with last year, there is a charge of £10 per family (cheques please payable to Little Staughton Village Cricket Club). We hope parents will understand that this contributes towards annual costs of essential insurance, equipment and prizes. Please could parents/carers complete a membership form and return it with their remittance to Richard or Roy. The club policy on Safeguarding Children and Child Protection is on the club website. Whilst we look forward to a busy season, occasionally it is necessary to cancel a session unexpectedly due to adverse weather etc. In that circumstance, it is our intention to contact parents/carers by text message as soon as possible.

Contacts:

Richard Smith richard@cherrytrees.demon.co.uk Tel. 07981 002889 / 01234 376171

Cherry Trees | High Street | Little Staughton | Bedfordshire | MK44 2BH |

Roy Palmer roy@artofperformance.co.uk Tel. 01234 708777

Please check the LSVCC website for updates http://lsvcc.blogspot.com/

AGM 2011....

Little Staughton Village Cricket Club

5^th. Annual General Meeting

To be held 24th January 2012 8pm

At The Crown Little Staughton

Agenda

1. Apologies
2. Notes of last meeting and matters arising.
3. Election of Officers
4. Captains report.
5. Junior Section report.
6. Treasurers report.
7. Playing Field Update.
8. Matters Arising
9. Fund Raising

To be followed by prize giving.

Merry Christmas to all from Glenn Down Under !!....

End of Junior Season 2011.....

The LSVCC Junior cricket season ended on Wednesday night (28th Sept)
with a pairs cricket competition held on the main wicket. The winners
were Jake Richards and Neve Palmer (14 runs off 2 overs) with joint
second place on 13 runs taken by Luke Manning partnering Benjamin
Smith and Joseph Bates batting with brother Tommy.

The evening concluded with annual prize giving with trophies awarded
to James Price (Year 4 and under) and Sam Edgeley (Year 5 and over) as
the most improved cricketers of the year, as voted for by the junior
members. Congratulations to all players for another great season and
thanks to the parents for their ongoing support. Coaching sessions
have run for over 5 months this year, with an average of 25 children
attending each week......remarkably only one week lost to rain !! Some
of the juniors have represented the village team so congratulations to
them and watch out you senior members!


Big thanks again to Roy Palmer and Richard Smith who have run the Juniors this year, and also to the many parents and young helpers. We all look forward to next season !!

It's just not cricket....

But anyway, rain meant that the ASHES were cancelled on the day. Clive Shaw from the Church side decided that an alternative game of petanque could be played instead.....he should have considered where the strengths of his team lie. Sure enough the Village team strolled to victory with limited opposition from a Thrasher duo. Fun had by all, though somewhat soggy end to the season. President Hopperton cleverly sloped off without awarding trophy, and was last heard muttering that it wasn't cricket...also difficult to make ashes from a petanque ball. I think grudgingly we have to acknowledge a defeat of some sorts to the Village side and congratulate them on a well earned (and hopefully Pyrrhic) victory....until next year. Many thanks as ever to Kevin and Maria who provided excellent refreshments throughout the day....watch out for AGM date later this year.

Northants U12's victory in Shrewsbury Festival....

LSVCC player Oliver in action for Northants U12's in Shrewsbury Festival...(including teams from Lincs, Cheshire, Staffs, Hunts, Shropshire)...comfortable win against strong Derbyshire side in final. Exhausting but fun for all !!

Crown defeated.....

Inaugural match played mid-season between The Crown and LSVCC....despite blanket secrecy in weeks leading up to game, usual suspects appeared (some quite reluctantly) for game. Played in good spirits, and after some fine cricket, the Little Staughton team emerged as worthy victors. Plentiful refreshments during day, and afterwards of course at The Crown. Many thanks again to Kev and Maria (shown here putting brave face on managerial duties). Also a note to record that the Juniors had an excellent game beforehand on square timed perfectly to miss heavy shower at end. Well done to Roy, Richard and Nick for organising....

Press Release......

Press Release Press Release Press Release Press Release Press Release

The Crown Defeats Bertie’s Burger Bar

Following the successful Cricket Dinner on Saturday evening, Kevin and Maria are pleased to advise all of their patrons and customers that Bertie’s Burger Bar will not be making an appearance at any time in the future. They would also like to add that at no time were any negotiations in progress with Trust House 30. We also wish to make it very clear that at no time did Dotty Barking stay at the Crown, or even indulge in her less salubrious past times on the premises. “We are pleased to feature in any positive publicity” was the quote from Kevin Late on Saturday evening.

We are pleased to advise that our current developments centred on the refurbishment of the restaurant and development of the new improved menus will continue as planned. This is in spite of any upset or implied change that may have been apparent from events on Saturday evening.

Why not take advantage of our current offer for Sunday Lunch (no bear meat is used in the making of the lunches!!).

Maria and Kevin

Sunday 8^th May 2011

Whodunnit...

Well I can't remember....but that doesn't matter as the first CC dinner was a huge success. Murder Mystery enacted by the St Neots Players assisted medically by Dr Rege, and in inquiry by Mr Shaw. Have to say they contributed very little.....knife wound to hepatic artery through axilla very unlikely and obvious murderer not detected by one of the MET's finest. Excellent food, wine, service, and entertainment. Many thanks to the many people involved in this event....we raised over £2000 for LSVCC.

Hot !!....

Not only the weather (and certainly not the tempers on display last week), but LSVCC form is hot !!....good toss to win on unseasonably warm Easter saturday allowed large total batting first against Great Barford. James Bidddle guesting again scored almost flawless 100, but worthy contributions also from AT (also hitting by far the biggest six of the day....authors privilege), JA (interesting style on occasion, see photo), OJ, and Hoppy. Charles and OM tied opposition down so total never really in danger of being reached...OT again bowled well for 10 overs taking a well deserved wicket thanks to Stokesy skills behind the stumps. Nice to see the level to which the adults are inspiring young supporters to take up the game......ablycoached (??) by Daddy Edwards, while Mummy Edwards buries her head in the complexities of scoring. Two wins out of two....can it continue ?....

Olly, Ollie, Olli !!......

First game of season started in glorious sunshine against Caldecote XI. LSVCC batting bolstered by James Biddle, Kym captain and guest for the day (47 runs on a track with some variable bounce !). Good contribution also from Hoppy. The writer of this blog then had to leave for radio interview in Cambridge while the sparks flew....story of the day was reported to be that of the 3 Ollies who bowled tightly and accurately to mop up the opposition wickets just short of the target. Charles and Jake also chipping in. Great start ! Thanks to the newly qualified officials who presided over the match....they have introduced new complexities into both pitch and scorebook marking !

Junior Cricket......

For all junior cricketers of Kymbrook school age, there will be KWIK-cricket sessions on Wednesday evenings on Little Staughton playing field at 6:00 pm ....there will be a nominal charge of £10 per family for the season to cover costs of equipment, insurance, prizes etc. Sessions start on 27 April and are expected to run until October subject to weather. 


Contact coaches Roy Palmer (roy@artofperformance.co.uk) or Richard Smith (richard@cherrytrees.demon.co.uk) for more details...

LSVCC Dinner May 7th 2011....

End of Year AGM....

Minutes of AGM will be posted shortly as a link in sidebar. Notable though were the awards for 2010 for contributions to another successful season. Best bat, Olly Jordan; Best bowler, Clive Burchett; Cliff Hopperton Cup for most improved player, Richard Smith; Clubman of the year, Pete Pullan; family award, The Moss family.....congratulations to all.

Special thanks again to all supporters of the club, and particularly to Kevin and Maria at The Crown who have supplied wonderful refreshment throughout the season.

Little Staughton Ashes 2010.....

First up LSVCC Juniors, of which up to over 30 have been turning out on the playing field each week under the watchful eye and skillful instruction of Roy Palmer and Richard Smith. Richard writes...

'We were again really lucky with the weather and had a fine day for the return match against Little Paxton this morning. Both the younger and older junior teams were looking to even things up after the matches earlier in the season in May.

The older juniors team captain, Joseph Bates, won the toss and elected to field first. A combination of tight bowling from Alex Wasilewski, Neve Palmer, Emma Edgeley and Jake Richards, and some good fielding including two well taken catches by Sam Edgeley restricted Little Paxton to just 22. The total was easily reached after a good partnership from Chris Feneley and Seb Wayles, and contributions from Tommy and William Bates. The team had learnt from the match in May and did well to keep the ball down and avoid being caught out and losing runs.

The younger juniors had a tougher game on their hands against a Little Paxton team who were warmed up and keen to get a victory after their first defeat. Captain, George Miller, kept up the 100% record for Little Staughton and won the toss, again electing to field first. Some good bowling from Laurie Stothard, Luke Manning and Ben Richards with contributions in the field from Luke, with a quick stumping, and a brilliant catch by Ben managed to keep the total down to 40. It was always going to be a big ask for the younger members of the team but a solid start by James Price and good batting by Joseph Smith with runs also coming from Joel Cain, Jack Squirrell, William Brightman and Benjamin Smith and at the end from Archie Tomblin and Tommy Bates brought them to a respectable total of 34.

So honours even at the end of the season .'

On to the (supposed) main event, Church versus Village...AT writes,
'Extraordinary scenes as Tony Moss's Village team (not to be confused with LSVCC) disintegrated to a score of one for eight (that is one run for eight wickets !!)...thoughts of Little Staughton entering the pages of Wisden were briefly entertained until recovery led by Nick Monsell with a detrmined score of 2 runs (extra credit for hitting the ball before it hit the stumps), Nick Cain with a massive top score of 8ish, and a few extras. Still, 18 all out was probably a bit light on a slow flat track....special mention of the athletic Richard Finch who caught a fast moving ball from the middle of Noels bat just inches from his face. Fired up by this wonderful piece of self-preservation, Mr Finch continued fearlessly  to throw himself after the ball....chiropracters, osteopaths, and physiotherapists who are short of cash should contact him directly. Church team soon strolled to their first victory with only a couple of wickets down. Tony Moss graciously presented the Ashes Urn to the victorious captain Bernard Hopperton. As most of afternoon still remained, sun was shining, and drinks flowing, a new 20/20 game was played, mixed teams captained by Jake Cain and Oliver Thrasher....Jakes team in the end victorious (lasted a lot longer than the first match !). Cake stall manned by Lucy Newell and Ben Thrasher who managed to sell a huge number of wonderful cakes at inflated prices ! So thanks to all the village bakers, and also again to Kevin and Maria who very kindly provided (and donated) a splendid paella for cricketers and loyal supporters through the afternoon. A lovely day....

The Ashes will be kept in The Crown to remind everyone of these momentous annual occasions....

Finally, many will Remember Ginny Lumley's remembrance service earlier this year, after which her ashes were placed temporarily behind the bar while her friends and family enjoyed fish and chips in The Crown. A break in the cricket allowed Matt and Rebecca Brightman the opportunity to unveil a fine bench dedicated to her.....many villagers and friends gathered in front of the pavilion to once again raise their glass in memory...'