Pre-season nets are underway. It’s the perfect opportunity to blow off the cobwebs before the season begins, or to just come along and give it a try.
Sunday February 9th, 10.30 until 12, Aylesford School. Sunday February 16th, 10.30 until 12, Aylesford School Sunday February 23rd, 10.30 until 12, Aylesford School Sunday March 1st, 10.30 until 12, Aylesford School.
Monday March 2nd, 8.00 until 9.30, Kenilworth Wardens CC. Monday March 9th, 8.00 until 9.30, Kenilworth Wardens CC. Monday March 16th, 8.00 until 9.30, Kenilworth Wardens CC. Monday March 23rd, 8.00 until 9.30, Kenilworth Wardens CC. Monday March 30th, 8.00 until 9.30, Kenilworth Wardens CC. Monday April 6th, 8.00 until 9.30, Kenilworth Wardens CC. Monday April 13th, 8.00 until 9.30, Kenilworth Wardens CC. Monday April 20th, 8.00 until 9.30, Kenilworth Wardens CC.
Equipment is supplied and the cost is just £3 for adults and £2 for juniors/unwaged. Contact barfordsec@gmail.com for more info.
Now that two net sessions have burnt off the festive excesses it is time to look forward to the summer months and this year’s tour.
We will be returning to Cambridge over June 26th-28th and once again staying at The Arundel House Hotel.
Friday 26th evening vs. Philanderers
Saturday 27th vs. Grantchester
Sunday 28th vs. Chatteris (Exning & Burwell had agreed to have us back but found they were double booked-Chatteris very kindly stepped in at short notice)
Unfortunately accommodation costs have increased to £80 per person, per night but hopefully those who toured last season will confirm that Cambridge is a great place to spend a weekend.
To secure a place on the tour I will require a deposit of £10 per night you wish to stay (e.g. if you want to stay Friday and Saturday you pay £20 deposit). I require these by Saturday February 15th.
You can make a direct payment to the club account (Phil Morris can provide details) or pay Phil directly, but please let me know via email if you have done this. Alternatively you can send a cheque, made payable to Barford Cricket Club, to me at
31 Birch End
Warwick
CV34 5GQ
Finally a big thank you to Phil Harvey, Steve Wilson, Sam Ludford and Julie Pope for providing us with fixtures.
Will Morgan starred in an outstanding team performance, as a 10 man Barford overcame Great Alne.
Skipper Drage won the toss and cannily elected to bat, knowing from past experience that the setting sun would make batting tough late in the day. The captain biffed his second ball for 6 before settling into a more sedate rhythm against very accurate opening bowling on a wicket with variable bounce. Sandy was stoic in defence and the pair moved to 21 before Simon played on. Enter Kev who played watchfully before pulling out the big shots, including another enormous six out the ground. The ball was never found.
Neil Forrest looked good for his 13 before being caught and bowled and Rob Davies played with aggression but couldn’t stick around. Kev was finally out for 36 and Paul Stacey, Jon Lambdon and Will Morgan all failed to bother the scorer much. With the score less than 100 and 12 overs of the innings remaining the final pair of Hawkins and Jones were left to mount a rear guard action. Richard was in sparkling form and we managed to marshal the score to 128, using all of the 40 overs.
Although it’s a small ground, the outfield was incredibly slow and, over tea, the opposition were adamant that it was defend-able total. We felt it was probably 20 or 30 short.
Paul Stacey opened the bowling and was accurate and hostile without much luck (as usual). At the other end, Will was on fire and soon amongst the wickets. He bowled 8 overs straight and gave nothing away, ending with the outstanding figures of 8-1-9-4. All 4 of those wickets were bowled, each hitting middle and leg. That was all forgotten however, when he went spectacularly arse over tit when chasing a ball down in the uneven outfield. Thanks for coming Will.
Rob Davies bowled an excellent spell without reward and, by that point, the situation had Jon Lambdon written all over it. Jon tossed up 8 overs of deliveries that came out the sun like Stukas and was very unlucky to claim only one wicket. Neil Forrest was outstanding fielding in the covers and Great Alne were running out of batsmen.
Having taken a fantastic catch behind the sticks, Kev passed the keeping duties to Jon and came on to bowl. In addition to picking up the final wicket he also took an excellent catch in the outfield. Simon D did an excellent job of keeping the pressure on with his field placings and Great Alne were finally out for 111 in the final over. A very good win.
The 2019 season is now in full swing and we have Sunday and Midweek fixtures all the way through to September.
We are a friendly crowd and always welcome new players, including those who are new to cricket or haven’t played for some time. All of our matches are friendlies, played in good spirit and the Sunday games include a tea! If you fancy giving it a try, please contact our secretary Paul Johnstone on barfordsec@gmail.com
Tourmeister Ireland has used his customary blend of tactical insight, intuition, witchcraft, guesswork, desperation, smoke, mirrors, wishing it would all just go away and existential dread to come up with the following tour teams:
Friday 21st June vs. Philanderers
Kenny G (Captain) Ben Cook Tom Baker Chris Prince Rob Davis James Beaven Tony Timms Andy Hawkins Paul Henderson Tim Jolly Simon Morgan
Saturday 22nd vs. Grantchester
Kevin Tobin (Captain) Ben Cook Chris O’Reilly Chris Prince Rob Davis James Beaven Tony Timms Richard Jones Simon Hawkins Paul Johnstone Sandy Peirson
Sunday 23rd vs. Burwell & Exning
Simon Morgan (Captain) Ben Cook Tom Baker Kevin Tobin Andy Hawkins Kenny G Simon Hawkins Tim Jolly Chris O’Reilly Paul Johnstone Sandy Peirson
The Barford cricketing community was left reeling on Sunday with the discovery that Jon Lambdon has purchased a smartphone. It’s thought that the previously vocal refusenik finally succumbed to the decade old technology some time over the winter.
“It’s alright” said Jon, whilst gently stroking the shiny case. It’s believed that the occasional offy and future club batting legend will mostly use the device in trying to access Bebo, MySpace and Friends Reunited.
When approached for a comment, club chairman Sandy Peirson replied “What’s a smartphone?”
In other news, don’t forget that nets continue for the next three Sundays at North Leamington School, before switching to Monday nights at Wardens. New players are always welcome; we hope to see you there.
It’s that time of year when seasoned players shake off the Christmas excess and get back to it, whilst we hope that new players come along to help pick up the slack. Our net sessions (and our team) are open to people of all ages, abilities, genders and waist size, so come along if you fancy giving it a try. We have a bowling machine (AKA Doris) and all equipment is provided.
Dates, times and locations are listed below. The cost of each session is £3 for adults and £2 for juniors and the unwaged. To find out more contact Paul Johnstone on barfordsec@gmail.com
Our Sunday venue has changed this year to North Leamington School,Sandy Lane, Blackdown, Leamington Spa, CV32 6RD. 10.30am until 12.00.
SUNDAY 27th JANUARY.
SUNDAY 3rd FEBRUARY.
SUNDAY 10th FEBRUARY.
SUNDAY 17th FEBRUARY.
SUNDAY 24th FEBRUARY.
SUNDAY 3rd MARCH.
SUNDAY 10th MARCH.
Our Monday night venue remains Kenilworth Wardens, Glasshouse Lane,Kenilworth, CV8 2AL. 8pm until 9.30pm.
The Warwickshire quiz that everyone*’s talking about is back. Quizmaster Beavan is again weaving his question-setting magic for the event, which will held on Saturday 16th March at the village hall, Barford.
The entry fee is £8.50 per person, including a two course hot meal, and there is a licensed bar. The quiz is open to everyone and is an important fundraiser for the club.
To enter a team (ideally of four) please contact Simon Drage on: 07851 122333 Email: simonxk8@hotmail.co.uk. If you;d like to come but can’t raise a team contact Simon anyway – he is an excellent match maker.
Once again and with no thought for their own safety, Barford’s brave band of outriders have headed on up the trail to scout for watering holes, identify battle grounds and pacify hostile natives. Chief Scout Mike Ireland has composed the following missive, which should provide an invaluable guide for when the main caravan sets off to Cambridge in June 2019.
Take a Punt on Cambridge
A cold, dreich December day saw The Cambridge Five (it was actually four after Richard had to drop out at the last minute, but that ruins the spy pun) head towards East Anglia to, once again, selflessly give up their time and energy to provide the club with a report on the forthcoming tour venue.
Peter Fisher stepped up to the newly vacant role of navigator and guided us with the skill and cunning that was always lacking from his bowling, avoiding roadworks at Huntington, ensuring we arrived at Dry Drayton by late morning. This is the base of St. Giles, our Sunday hosts, and is accessed by a single track alley (that we missed on the first fly-by) that leads to a lovely ground behind some very large houses. Unfortunately we were too early to check out The Black Horse where the team drink, but I imagine they’ll serve myself and Erdsey during the afternoon.
St. Giles
Next stop Grantchester, home of the James Norton/Robson Green TV series and inspiration for a Pink Floyd song. This ground really is a gem with the field bordering the River Cam, sliding unseen beneath the trees, laughing as it passes through the endless summer, making for the sea. One thing that did stand out was the absence of any obvious changing facilities, however the staff at the adjoining tea rooms informed us that marquees are erected on match days to protect the modesty of the players.
Granchester
Fitzwilliam College is where the nomadic Philanderers will host us on the Friday. The open, multi sports field is close to the hotel and according to the plaque on the pavilion has been in operation since 1927, which coincidentally was when Sandy first represented the club as a young lad.
Fitzwilliam College
Lunch was now beckoning and we headed for The Maypole on the recommendation of our club hosts, also endorsed by the affable young receptionist at the hotel. Sixteen real ales and good, basic food fit the needs of any touring side and I suggest taking a walk across Jesus Green to sample for yourselves (although my coffee and vanilla porter wasn’t to everyone’s taste).
A short walk away was The Champion of The Thames, a quirky, cosy ale house with some very friendly staff, even when the chairman included the ‘C’ word in our drinks order. The next proposed port of call, St. Radegund, was closed (possibly after a tip off that Campari drinkers were in town) and the rain was now falling with greater enthusiasm so we opted to return to the hotel and check in. Be warned: Cambridge is full of cyclists who have no regard for pedestrians-if you don’t get out of their way you are fair game!
Back at Arundel House the helpful young man on reception had been replaced by a dour, unfriendly woman who insisted that none of us had bookings. After much keyboard tapping she finally conceded that we were bona fide guests and allocated us rooms. The hotel is beautifully situated, overlooking The Cam and our rooms were good, despite the heating being cranked up to sauna level.
The refusal of the rain to abate meant we abandoned the plan to return to the other side of town and explore all the pubs on our list, so after reducing the barman’s stock of The Macallan we headed to closer venues. I can see why The Punter didn’t make it onto the list despite being the closest as it obviously caters for hipsters (even though Sandy had his flat cap on, he wasn’t ‘ironic’ enough). I also saw a young lady wearing a Mod parka with a target on the back which I haven’t seen since the Mod revival swept across Bishop Bright Comprehensive in 1979 – plus c’est la même chose! The Castle was a pleasant surprise, with a full range of Adnams and even Warwickshire’s Purity as its guest ale.
Hunger was now setting in but the seemingly easy task of finding a restaurant on a Wednesday night without a booking proved anything but-I don’t know if we hit the early Christmas party season or if this is a reflection of Cambridge’s affluence but we had four knockbacks until The Galleria, overlooking the river, managed to provide some room at the inn. After a good meal we headed home to raid our friendly barman’s replenished stock of The Macallan (at least the others did) and called it a night. Breakfast on our inclusive tariff is continental, all very good quality produce, but if you’re after the full English then you’ll have to pay extra.
Cambridge isn’t cheap but the quality of what is on offer, along with the grounds and the friendliness of the opposition contacts I’ve dealt with, suggest this could be one of the best tours in recent years-I hope you’ll join us.
Big thanks to TT for all his driving duties and to Steve Wilson, Phillip Harvey and Pete Ames for all their local knowledge and help.
