1st Team Season Report
1st Team Captains Report 2009
We started this season in Division C after being relegated last year. As Captain this year it was my intention to lift the team spirit and try and finish at least mid table in the league. I knew things were going to be difficult this year with the loss of a number of regular players from last year. This proved to be the case especially for the first few games as I struggled each week to get a side out. As things settled though I was grateful to the likes of Anton, Dave, Jim, Sut, and Rupert who played each and every week. I felt I let the side down due to my lack of availability, but both Jim and Dave captained the side well in my absence.
Weather wise we were fortunate during 2009 losing only the one game to rain. The covers had a real impact this year and we could well have lost at least four more games to rain without them. We completed a total of 17 games and as intended we finished mid table. The league was extremely close and it came down to the last game of the season to keep our mid table position. We won 5 matches, achieved 3 winning draws and 1losing draw.
Cricket is a team sport and I felt that there was indeed some enjoyment for the team, especially when we won and the sprit in the team was generally positive. This makes a big difference and enhances everyone’s desire to play cricket.
There were some excellent individual performances to note. Batting wise Anton’s 110 not out was a master class. Jims 87 at Wollaton steered us to 201 and a winning draw. Rupert’s top score of 81 opening and his consistency at number 5 could be relied upon. Jake proved himself as a complete cricketer with his 54 top score and his average of 27 for the season. I was fortunate with some regular scores and managed to end up with the best average of 36.4 over 10 completed innings. A special note should go to Ben Baker, it was unfortunate that he only batted 8 times for the first team his average of 45.33 was a superb effort and he could have proved very useful if he had played more games.
On the bowling note praise should go to Dave Warburton who’s bowling was consistent throughout the season he took 33 wickets at an average of 15.97 this included two 5 wicket returns an absolutely superb individual effort. Simon Silverwood played the first few games of the season and regularly took wickets for only a few runs. He had to move back to the 2nd team to captain the side when Joe Ablewhite decided to call it a day, otherwise he may have returned the best bowling average. Jake struggled a little for his first season in this higher division, but proved he was a talented bowler who could take important wickets his 16 wickets at a cost of 21.69 is something to be proud of. Alisdair Culpin struggled to play regularly, but when he did so he bowled wicket to wicket and in his few appearances managed to take 17 wickets. We could have done with him on a few more occasions. Mike managed to obtain the best bowling average with 15.36 as he managed to take 22 wickets to just pip Dave at the post. Alisdair's return of 6 for 27 on the last game of the season was perfect timing for the best bowling performance of the year and to ensure division C cricket for Bottesford in 2010.
Fielding wise its fair to say is not one of our strengths. I tried to inspire a ‘warm up’ session before each game but some ‘older legs’ were not all that willing. The younger guys such and Ben and Jake did well and special note should go to Sut who often found himself on the boundary. He managed to stop numerous runs in that position. Jim took the most catches with 9 for the season closely followed by me with 8.
I would like to especially thank Val Warburton for all her scoring efforts this year. This can be a thankless task, but is so important to the team. Her accuracy is excellent and I relied on her to complete the score sheet returns for the league. Thank you Val.
I should also thank Jayne my better half for the teas this year it was a marked improvement on what we had last year. Certainly a better selection of cakes, some of those thanks to me!
To summarise the season I would have to say getting a full strength team was the most difficult task of the year as Captain. The like of Graham, Tom, Cameron, Sam and Ryan all helped us out to ensure we had eleven players. We however failed to secure a regular team. If Bottesford want to progress and improve we need to attract more cricketers to the club. In my opinion the 1st team should field the strongest team and this should be formed from the best players signed on for Bottesford Cricket Club. Best of luck to us next year.
