Vimps at the Crease
  • Latest News
  • Southern Premier League
    • 2022 Champions
    • 2021 Champions
    • 2020 Champions
    • 2019 Champions
    • Weekly Awards
    • Cricketer of the Month
    • SPL Tables
    • Play Cricket Website
  • Hants CL/Island
    • HCL News
    • HCL Results
    • HCL Tables
  • Gallery
    • Premier League Action
    • Team Photos
    • Dave Vokes Photography
    • Robert Franklin Photography >
      • 2016 Season
      • 2015 Season
    • Roy Honeybone
    • Terry Nash
    • Golden Oldies
  • Contact
  • Links
  • History
    • Test & County Cricketers
    • Championship Winners
    • Award Winners
    • U16 Indoor League >
      • News
      • Fixtures
      • Results
      • Table
      • Statistics
      • Honours Board
      • Gallery

STORM IN TEA CUP BREWING AT HAMPSHIRE LEAGUE TEA TABLE

31/5/2017

0 Comments

 
"Vimps at the crease” website is delighted to reproduce this quite brilliant and highly amusing article by Giles Smith which appeared in The Times on 27 May 2017 taking a sidewise glance at Fair Oak chairman Tony Oxley’s proposal to scrap Hampshire Cricket League teas.

We are grateful to the chairman of Fair Oak cricket club near Eastleigh in Hampshire for loudly sounding the alarm this week about the future of cricket teas. With people less and less inclined to bring homemade food to the table, Tony Oxley says that his Hampshire Cricket League outfit are spending up to £2,000 per season that they can’t easily afford on pre-prepared comestibles for the afternoon interval. “Cricket teas cost so much money,” Oxley said, “that getting rid of them could actually help the league.”
Obviously, this is a dire emergency for cricket — and a slightly surprising one. After the success of The Great British Bake Off, one had blithely assumed that club cricket would find itself in a sickly surfeit of lemon drizzle cake, rather than lamenting their absence. But maybe the influence of Mary Berry penetrates less deeply into the culture than we have been led to believe.
Still, taking Mr Oxley at his word that the will simply isn’t there for home baking, after doing an extensive cost-analysis and running the figures through computerised models, our hearteningly positive conclusion is that clubs, could in fact, continue to afford teas and to keep this tradition alive by the relatively simple expedient of making savings in other areas.
A set of three Slazenger Select willow stumps, with bails, costs £25.49, which means, according to our costings, that by removing the stumps at just one end of the pitch, you would generate enough money for 13 packets of eight Mr Kipling French Fancies, making a total of 104 in all, or perhaps three whole teas-worth, depending on who’s at the table. The club could then replace the stumps with the plastic crate that the bread rolls came in Job done.
Or what about balls? The ECB-approved Readers Sovereign Special County A cricket ball has a retail price of £35. That translates, our research shows, into two M&S Classic Sandwich Selections, or 60 quarter-sandwiches in total, all conveniently arranged on an easy-serve platter and to include not just prawn mayonnaise but also British smoked ham and mustard, and chicken and bacon. It seems clear that massive benefits would accrue to teatimes if clubs could just commit themselves to using each ball for longer. True, the complete absence in due course of a seam is going to represent a drawback for the spin bowlers and seamers alike. But it’s surely a sacrifice they would happily make on the understanding that a full range of savoury sandwiches (and from a leading purveyor) was still on offer, mid-afternoon, as a consequence.
Then, of course, there’s upkeep of the grounds — rolling, mowing, etc. There are simply hundreds of pounds to be clawed back here over the course of a summer. True, players would be unhelpfully up to their thighs in dandelions a lot of the time, but at least they would know that a Bakewell Slice still awaited them at about 4pm.
It’s not just about money, though. There’s also the suggestion that time is an issue. People are apparently struggling to fit club cricket into their busy schedules and a leisurely teatime in the middle of everything isn’t helping. In which case, might we propose a new, quicker format? You could scale back from the full, sit-down, Mike Gatting version of tea, to a grab-and-go arrangement, with some of the more elaborate and time-consuming items, such as scones with jam and cream, or unsliced sponge cakes, replaced by grazing items, such as Haribo and cans of Red Bull, thereby simultaneously speeding things up and keeping the game relevant to the younger generations. We could call this new, zippier format Tea20. They could continue to use their mobile phones while they ate it, too, we would have no problem with that.
Whatever the solution, let’s not be guilty of downplaying the nature of the threat here. This actually is a storm in a teacup. What matters, over and above everything else, is that teatime survives, because, without it, people will feel at liberty to ask, “What is the point of cricket?” And then the club game really has a problem.
* Hampshire League chairman Denis Emery has asked us to point out that the HCL is not in favour of scrapping teas but is actively involved in discussing the future shape the competition should take, ie overs per match/per bowler and start times.






0 Comments

COUNTY 1: ONLY THREE CLUBS STILL UNDEFEATED

25/5/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Newly promoted Longparish and title favourites Portsmouth & Southsea were the only clubs able to boast a three-match winning start to the Hampshire League season going into this weekend’s fourth round of matches.
The unbeaten pair both bowled their round three opponents out for less than 100 – Hythe & Dibden being skittled for 89 by Longparish and New Milton II 97 at Portsmouth & Southsea.
The Watersiders have experience a tough start since last season’s third place promotion finish in County 2, with demanding away matches at Hook & Newnham Basics and Lymington II on the card before Longparish’s visit.
Losing the toss did Hythe no favours as they were rushed out for 89 in 30 overs at Jones Lane, where Jack Levy’s good form continued with a 4-16 return.
The former Locks Heath all-rounder now has 12 wickets from Parish’s three wins.
Fourth last term, Portsmouth & Southsea are already taking up their title prospects.
After whipping New Milton seconds by eight wickets, skipper Kieran Dunstan said: “There is a real buzz in the club at the moment and a feeling that we are going places.
“The quality of cricket being played is the best since I have been here
“The team are going out there at the moment thinking about nothing but winning the games.'
P & S had few problems against New Milton, rushing the Green & Golds out for 97, with Jack Peach (3-33), Jonathan Willey (3-13) and Chris Turrell (2-14) doing the damage.
Jack Davies (69) led the Portsmouth & Southsea charge to victory securing his fifty off 68 balls in exactly one hour.
Ropley, third last year, are also unbeaten, but they were one of last weekend’s three weather casualties alongside Bishops Waltham (v St Cross Symondians III) and Hook & Newnham Basics III, who were due to host United Services.
Lymington’s two-match winning start ended at Harding Shute, where Ryde – beaten by arch island rivals Ventnor the previous week – inflicted a five-wicket defeat in a slightly rain affected affair.
Adie Hunt (53) and Dimitri Adams (46) top scored for Lymington, who rallied from 96-6 to post 201 – but it wasn’t enough to prevent Chichester University bookworm Josh Proctor from firing Ryde to victory.
Proctor put his studies to one side to flay an unbeaten 87 after Ben Wadmore (36) had given the islanders a sound start.
Ventnor II made it an island double when they chased down OTs & Romsey’s 218 to win by six wickets.
Despite a half-century by Stu Shapland (53), OTR were struggling at 114-6 against Hugh Calloway (2-35) and Sam Reed, who finished with 4-46.
Lewis Allen’s timely 57, with handy support from Danny Mogg (31), lifted the total to 218, a total Ventnor chased down, despite going from 64-0 to 93-4.
Tom Stafford (34) and young John Buckman (35) gave Ventnor a decent start, but it needed an unbroken 127-run stand between Calloway (70) and Alex Horton (56) to pick up the pieces after a mini-collapse.
Tom Kent,pictured above, batted almost the entire length of the innings for 83 to ensure Fareham & Crofton got off the mark at the third attempt with a three-wicket win over visiting Burridge II, who tried hard to defend 205-5.
Simon Bevis batted all 50 overs for his 61 for Burridge, but Kent saw six partners come and go before Fareham got over the line.
He batted 124 balls and enjoyed a key 81-run stand with 17-year old Reece Abrams (38), from the WACA Grade club Bayswater Morley, who is spending the summer at Bath Lane.
Ben White made a handy 23 not out to secure victory for Fareham.
Shrewton’s 280-8 against Rowledge II was comfortably the highest total of a rain affected round three programme.
Dan Bingley (87), Sam Gillot (69) and Will Sleeman (40) all made runs for Shrewton, who bowled Rowledge out for 169.




0 Comments

HAMPSHIRE LEAGUE TO DISCUSS FUTURE PLANS

21/5/2017

0 Comments

 
The future of local cricket was discussed at the HCB’s Stakeholder Day at The Ageas Bowl last week and major restructuring proposals are set to be presented to the Hampshire League’s February 2018 AGM.
Since last September the HCB, HCL chairman Denis Emery and other local cricket organisations have been asking players what they want at a series of workshops across the county, through Cricket Unleashed, a nationwide ECB initiative to increase participation launched last year, writes the Daily Echo's Senior Sports Reporter, Simon Walter.
“We need to be giving people what they want not what we think they want,” said Tony Oxley.
“As a result of the surveys we’ve come up with a few absolute must-dos; games start and finish too late, they take too long and there’s too much travel.
“We’re talking to players during this season and asking them what their ideal Saturday would look like.
“What we’re hearing is that players don’t want a choice between playing cricket or attending an event in the evening - they want to be able to do both.
“Finishing games at 8pm is putting a lot of people off.
“We’ve suggested starting at 1pm instead of 2pm and reducing overs, especially at lower levels.
“Kids are having to make the jump from 20-over to 42-over matches and not getting as much involvement.
“No wonder they are turned off!
“My focus would be the bottom division, because that’s where we’re losing most teams.”
Of the 30 teams that have dropped out of the HCL in the last 12 months, 13 were in Regional Division Four.
“At that level I think games should be reduced to 35 overs-a-side and increase in increments of five as you go up the pyramid, with County One matches being 50 overs,” continued Oxley.
“I would also regionalise all of the HCL with no more than ten teams in each division to reduce travel.
“Organising such a restructure would be an administrative nightmare but it would help solve these issues.”
The HCL has two new men’s teams so is 28 down on last year overall.
Teams that have dropped out of the HCL since May 2016
County Two: Hobos
County Three North: Flamingo, South Newton.
County Four South: Bidbury, Peartree.
County Four North: Hurstbourne Priors, Old Alresford.
Regional One South: Friends.
Regional One West: Exbury.
Regional Two West: Alderholt, Winton III.
Regional Two South: Bosham.
Regional Two NorthUpper Clatford.
Regional Three North: Overton III.
Regional Three West: Camelot, Lytchett.
Regional Three South: Old N & Highfield IV.
Regional Four NW: Ampfield & North B III, Otterbourne II, Shrewton III, Wherwell II, Winterslow II.
Regional Four SW: Dorset Cricketers, Ellingham IV, Fawley IV, Suttoners III.
Regional Four NE: St Cross Symondians VI, Whitchurch II.
Regional Four SE: Portchester III, Sarisbury Athletic VI.
*
What do you think ? Please email mike.vimpany@btinternet.com with your thoughts. The 'crease' will be happy to publish constructive ideas and open a dialogue - all vital to the HCL's future planning.



0 Comments

CREAM TEAS COULD BE SCRAPPED UNDER RE-ORGANISATION

21/5/2017

0 Comments

 
SCRAPPING the traditional cricket tea could help slow the decline of the Hampshire Cricket League (HCL).
That is the left-field view of Tony Oxley, a non-executive director of the Hampshire Cricket Board (HCB) and president of Fair Oak CC.
The provision of sandwiches and cakes by the home side has been a feature of village cricket since time immemorial, writes Daily Echo Senior Sports Reporter Simon Walter.
But Oxley argues that doing away with the popular tradition could be in the long-term interests of the HCL, which remains the world’s biggest cricket league, despite losing 28 teams in the last year.
“It sounds outlandish but cricket teas are a pain in the a**e to organise and cost too much money,” he said.
“We pay £2,000 a year for our four teams’ teas, so let’s ask players to bring their own food, instead of taking half an hour between innings.
“When I first mentioned it at our club a lot of the youngsters – and by youngsters I mean 25 to 32 year-olds – didn’t like the idea.
“They grew up with their mum and dads doing their teas, but we have to bring in outside caterers.
“Not providing teas would be radical but it would save time and money.”

0 Comments

JACK OF ALL TRADES SPEARHEADS WINNING PARISH START

21/5/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Jack Levy bowls against Hook & Newnham Basics [Chris de Cani]
Former Locks Heath captain Jack Levy is proving quite a capture by Hampshire League County Division 1 new boys Longparish.
He underlined his all-round talents with a debut making 75 and 3-20 return against New Milton II. 
Levy followed it up with a match winning show against fancied County 1 side Hook & Newnham Basics, scoring a key 75 down the order and then taking 5-19 with the ball.
Earlier, both Will de Cani and Tom Trinder made 34 as Parish’s 219 proved well beyond Hook, who were never at the races once Alex Coetzee (2-11) and Levy began to make inroads.  They were 125 all out.
Newly relegated Lymington have sprung from the traps in style – with Australian Billy Quigley making 102 as they chased down Hythe & Dibden’s 201-9 (Tom Richards 84) to win by six wickets.
Ventnor, who came under a relentless assault from Lymington’s double-century making Kiwi Terry Crabb (204) a week earlier, bounced back by taking the bragging rights in the all-Island duel with Ryde.
It did help that former first team captain Ian Hilsum was on the Island supporting the wonderful Walk the Wight charity event in aid of the Earl Mountbatten Hospice.
Hilsum marked his return with a 14-boundary 102 which, with support from Mark Price (47) and Hugh Calloway (46), sent Ventnor on their way to 249 all out.
Ben Wadmore, with a 4-43 return, and 83 with the bat did more than his fair share, but Ryde could only manage 167 in reply.
Alex Stogden clearly believes in leading from the front in his new role as Ropley captain, following up his unbeaten 123 against Burridge II with a rapid 78 off 45 balls in the 34-run defeat of St Cross Symondians III.
Ropley didn’t start terribly well, but Tom Wood (74) and Alex Spencer (55) put on 83 for the third wicket.
The next 13 overs produced 131, Stogdon smashing his quick-fire 78, with 26 runs coming off one over !
Pranay Rathod (4-47) and Tom Fay (3-29) clawed it back for St Cross, who were asked to better 276.
Ropley weren’t so good in the field, an erratic display of out-cricket coinciding with Steve Berryman (76) and Fay (57) responding well and making it a tighter contest than they anticipated.   St Cross Symondians closed 242-9.
Title favourites Portsmouth & Southsea thought they were in for an easy ride when Jon Willey (4-13) and Kieron Dunstan (3-15) rolled Rowledge II out for 104.
But with their reply in tatters at 41-6, P & S pair Tom Benfield (41) and Jake Peach (23) turned the tide and eased their side to a four-wicket win.
Bishops Waltham lost seven wickets chasing down a modest Burridge II total of 146 (Dan Wheeler 3-33), the hosts being 17-3 at one stage.
Suji Wickramasinghe (31) and William Candy (36) led a middle-order recovery, but Andy Wakeley (3-26) ripped through the tail.
Adam Wymbs (35) top scored in BW’s reply, which was aided by 36 sundries.
Burridge have now lost twice, so today’s match up with winless Fareham & Crofton promises to be significant as the three-time losers will have an uphill survival scrap on their hands.
Fareham (158) are having difficulty in scoring runs, with only Sam Stoddart (53) making any impression in the eight-wicket defeat by OTs & Romsey II, for whom Paul Longland (51) and Ian Woodall (71) led the way.
United Services were front runners in CD1 last term, but their poor end of season form has continued, with a second consecutive defeat by New Milton II.
Gary Hounsome (51) and Tom May (49) shared a decent middle-order stand, but New Milton eased past the US total of 217-8 by five wickets with Ollie Nichols hitting an unbeaten 63.

0 Comments

AWOL FOR 20 YEARS BUT LONGPARISH RETURN IN STYLE

21/5/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Longparish celebrated their return to Hampshire League County Division 1 after a 20 year absence with a convincing 149-run win over New Milton II at Fernhill.
Man of the match Jack Levy scored 75 and took 3-20 for Longparish, for whom opener Will de Cani (59) made a half-century.
Parish’s 259-9, cemented around a 91-run stand between De Cani and Ben Gardner (28), owed much to Levy and James Bevan (26), who lifted the total from a worrying  mid-innings 120-6 (Steve Tilbury 3-42).  New Milton waved the flag of surrender at 110 all out.
The other two promoted sides from County 2 experienced mixed fortunes.
Hythe & Dibden were dismantled for 89 and beaten by nine wickets by Hook & Newnham Basics II, who are expected to be one of the strong teams.
Colin Lye (3-17) and Kish Parmar (3-16) did the damage for Hook, for whom Nick Willcock hit an unbeaten 51.
United Services, who led the CD1 field for much of last season, posted 255-9 – a total Rowledge seconds surpassed seven wickets down.
Mark Toogood’s 124 not out went unrewarded for US – Ollie Baker making an important 70 in the successful Rowledge run chase.
Steve Berryman, left, who won the CD1 batting award last season, carried off where he left off with an unbeaten 87 as St Cross Symondians III rattled up 276-6 (Pranay Rathod 65) at Shrewton.
Chris Brewer, having taken 3-34, responded with 69 but the Shrews fell well short at 229 all out (Will Sleeman 40), Rathod and Alex Henshaw sharing six of the scalps.
It was a mixed opening day too for the Isle of Wight sides.
Relegated Ryde won at Fareham & Crofton, but Ventnor experienced an afternoon of horrendous proportions at Lymington.
It was pure carnage at the Sports Ground, where domiciled New Zealander Terry Crabb (204) cracked a double century and Oli Kelly made 106 in a 351-run opening stand as Lymington piled up 417-4.
Busiest person on the pitch was Hampshire’s locum PA announcer Tony ‘Golden Gamble’ Wharton, who spent the afternoon signalling fours and sixes.
“I needed a massage after all that,” he laughed.
Ventnor’s torment didn’t end there, Australian Billy Quigley, Trevor Phillips and Southampton University’s Dimitri Adams taking three wickets each as they were bowled out for 104.
Left-arm spinner Morgan twirled away with 5-27, but Fareham got nowhere near Ryde’s modest 175, with only Tom Kent (49) making an impact in a disappointing 125 all out.
Sam Costley, with an unbeaten 83, and Tom George (65) guided OTs & Romsey II to a four-wicket win at Bishops Waltham, who posted 233-9 (Gareth Lovett 73).    
Alex Stogden celebrated his debut as Ropley captain with an unbeaten 123 and shared a big stand with Australian Jack Ireland (89) in the village side’s 327-5.
Simon Bevis (83) responded in Burridge’s 220 all out.
Matt Benfield (59) and Jack Davies (52) scored half-centuries as title favourites Portsmouth & Southsea cantered to an eight-wicket win over Sarisbury Athletic (160).


0 Comments

LYMINGTON OPENERS SHARE TRIPLE-CENTURY PARTNERSHIP

21/5/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Ollie Kelly (108)(left) and New Zealander Terry Crabb (right), who made 207, shared a remarkable 351-run opening stand for newly relegated Lymington seconds against Ventnor II on the opening day of the Hampshire League season.  Lymo ended up on 417-4, Ventnor slumped to 30-6 before being bowled out for 104.



0 Comments

ICONIC HURSTBOURNE PRIORS GROUND LOST TO HCL

21/5/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Hurstbourne Priors [Chris de Cani]
Hurstbourne Priors, the club with the iconic Lytch Gate at the western entrance to their Test Valley ground and featured on many cricket calendars, have withdrawn from County Division 4 North due to a lack of players.
They followed South Newton and, more recently, Old Alresford, by becoming the third club to withdraw from the HCL recently, taking the total number of withdrawals since May 2016 to 27.  Cricket has been played at Hurstbourne Priors for over a century.

0 Comments

    Vimps at the Crease

    Editorial is the copyright of Mike Vimpany.

    Comments are welcome but abusive or critical remarks about umpires, players, officials and other clubs will be reported to the respective leagues who may take disciplinary action.

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015

    Categories

    All

    Powered by

    Cricket-Hockey.com
    The cricket equipment specialists in Downton, Salisbury
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.