Barford Cricket Club

Barford Cricket Club

A friendly cricket club based in Warwickshire

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Winter nets are back!

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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. 

MONDAY 11th MARCH. 

MONDAY 18th MARCH.

 MONDAY 25th MARCH. 

MONDAY   1st APRIL. 

MONDAY   8th APRIL. 

MONDAY 15th APRIL. 

2019 Barford Quiz

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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.

*Your definition of everyone may differ from ours

2019 Tour – recce report

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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.

Snitterfield triumph in 2018 sixes

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Snitterfield’s elite six-a-side unit came out on top in a closely contested tournament, played under the hot sun on Barford’s King George’s playing field. A total of 9 teams battled it out in a very enjoyable contest, with great support from families and village residents – the bar and the barbecue did good trade throughout the day. Many thanks to everyone who took part and all those who did so much behind the scenes to make it happen. Same time next year?

The winning Snittefield side.

To the victor go the spoils

Barford Whippets, the defeated finalists. Bloodied but unbowed.

In the pleasure dome

Like a young Alan Donald

Did I tell you about my innings for Mickleton?

A masterclass in running the bat in

International men of mystery

The hapless home side

A man who KNOWS he will be first to 500

The business end of things

Lynn: You’ve… You’ve popped out again!
Alan: That wasn’t deliberate, I promise you. It’s not a cry for help. I’ve had these shorts since 1982. They did have an underpant lining, but it’s perished. They’ve taken a bit of a pounding over the years. Can you get me some new ones please?

 

 

 

Timms the Destroyer

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Barford notched up a good win against a touring Upton side, who had beaten us comprehensively last Sunday (match report to follow in time I hope). The seeds of our victory had been sown then, when we recommended they visit some of Leamington’s less salubrious drinking establishments. Their team had a look of regret about them. Following a precedent set last weekend, Captain Stacey offered the opposition the chance to bat first, which they gladly accepted.

I’ve often said that only a psychopath would mention themselves in a match report so, with that in mind, let’s draw a modest veil over the first 12 overs and return to the game with the opposition already 4 wickets down with about 40 on the board. Captain Stacey shuffled his bowling pack regularly in the stifling heat – Tom Hase kept things tight with two maidens followed by another over that was not. Richard Jones picked up a wicket but that bought in Upton’s big hitting (and grumpily hung over) number 7, who smashed the ball all round the ground for 39 before finally holing out from the skipper’s bowling, to a catch taken by a surprised Will Morgan.

Mike Ireland was offered the ball but had to go and change his shoes, at which point the captain turned instead to club powerhouse Tony Timms, who then took a central role in cleaning up all four remaining wickets; one stumped and one bowled, one excellent catch and then the coup-de-grace in the form of a run out. The Upton batsman smashed the ball into the ground at cover where it leapt up into Tony’s outstretched hand. In one smooth motion he threw it at the stumps at the bowlers end, where the story was slightly ruined by Ben Cook gathering the ball in front of the wickets and taking the bails off himself – it would certainly have hit without. The batsman was miles out off his ground. As far as I’m concerned, this season’s champagne moment was packaged and wrapped, with a bow placed on top.

Upton were all out for 130, at which point we broke to watch some other sport for a couple of hours, after which there was a notable lack of enthusiasm for continuing the game from the tourists. Nevertheless we got on with it and Kevin Tobin soon set about the bowling, with Mark Warner anchoring the other end. Kev continued to smash the ball through an increasingly packed leg side field on his way to a run-a-ball(ish) 50, whilst Mark accelerated too. After several balls were lost and spongey replacements found, the scoring rate slowed and Mark was finally out for 35 with the score on exactly 100. Kev followed soon after for 62 so it was down to Tom Hase and Ben Cook to see things home.

With the overs counting down things started to get tense when Tom was out, but Alex Warner strode to the crease and saw us home with a well made 2 not out (helped out a bit by a few boundaries from Ben).

Kev’s innings took him to 494 career runs, with Simon Morgan still on a mere 488. Who will be first to 500? Kev. But in the interest of making it sound more exciting, I’d like to suggest that in the next match both of them open, with Simon taking the first ball.

Meanwhile, without any of the fuss, Tony T himself has glided past the 500 mark in the last few weeks, whilst Richard Jones has also overtaken Pete Romyn in the all time standings.

 

Morgan’s Platform

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After previous games, the Morgan twins had applied pressure on the skipper to bat higher up the order and he responded by putting them in to open, with a remit to go big or go home. Simon started with a fabulous array of strokes all round the wicket, none of which made contact with the ball. On the fourth ball of the first over he #drove classically# / #round arm baseball clubbed# (delete as appropriate) the ball down the ground for four. Unfortunately it was his last contribution because soon after he was caught, having been tricked by the terrible variable bounce that no one else experienced.

Will dug in to support PJ and was unlucky not to score more than 7 – all his best shots seemed to go to fielders. Meanwhile Paul was at his imperious best with shots all around the ground and, batting in partnership with Ben Linfield, the scoreboard started to tick over nicely. A big score looked on the cards, but after drinks Stoneleigh’s spin bowlers were able to assert more control.

Hendocam

PJ was finally bowled for 63 and Kev batted without the fireworks that he’d shown last week. Meanwhile Ben pushed on, benefitting from a couple of drops and at the start of the final over he was on 90. Captain Drage was on strike and was able to scamper a single off the first ball, allowing Ben to get to his century with some big hits down the ground. We ended on 208-4.

Stoneleigh’s reply never really got started and they were soon in deep trouble at 28-8. Hugh Robbins bowled very well without getting a wicket but there were two each for Hendo, Paul Robbins and Rob Davies who bowled his best spell for the club. Meanwhile Kev grabbed 3 catches behind the stumps.

More Hendocam

Led by former Barford legend Neil Carter, Stoneleigh’s tail wagged but it was too little too late and they were finally all out for 86.

As a perfect summer’s day drifted into evening, we adjourned to the Stoneleigh Social Club to enjoy our reflections of the game – an experience only slightly ruined by someone constantly crapping on about having laid a platform.

Lapworth match report

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The skipper writes:

On a lovely sunny afternoon skipper International won the toss ( for a change ) and decided to bat. The opening pair of Drage and Boyce were pegged down a little at the beginning by some very nifty and accurate bowling. Cheaply Boyce lost his wicket for 4 to a brilliant catch by the keeper and In came Ben Linfield who soon started about his job. Drage was Incredibly unlucky to get himself out by playing on. The sixth different way to be out this season already. How many
others are left ?, ha ha. This bought Kevin Tobin to the crease with the score on 40 for 2. Linfield ( wow that boy Is fit and can run ) added 35 which didn’t Include any boundary’s, whilst his batting partner, now half a stone lighter with all that
running In the heat, ha ha, was doing It his way. Smash boundary, smash boundary smash boundary, you get the Idea. Hadley and Cook played superbly In batting around and supporting Kevin and he was desperately unlucky to be finally bowled on 94. To be honest I don’t think he had anymore strength or energy left to be able lift his bat up and was totally exhausted when walking off. Well played mate, that
was a superb Inning’s especially In that heat. Phil came to the crease with a few to go and added 4 before being caught off the final ball of our Inning’s. That along with Kev’s magnificent knock helped push us over the 200 mark for the first time this year.

Chasing 217 to win Lapworth came out to bat and Drage opened the bowling with Will Morgan and Tim Jolly. What a great start as Tim sent one of the openers back to the pavilion without troubling the scoreboard. James Patterson replacing young Will
took one and Ben Linfield replacing Jolly bowled superbly In taking 3 for only 15 runs. Although Lapworth had lost a few wickets their opener was still there and scoring well and they were certainly still In this game. Something had to be done to either break or contain the partnership that was beginning to build. The skipper had a cunning and devious plan and then right on cue the sun reappeared from behind the clouds and It
was time to Introduce the day’s tea maker Into the attack. Enter Jon Lambdon. The slow bowling, donkey dropping, pie chucking, self declared spinner ( tosh ) utilised the
sun to maximum effect and totally put the breaks on Lapworth’s run chase. He even managed to pinch a wicket for himself as the batsman clearly couldn’t see It falling out of the sun, ha ha, and finished with figures of 8-0-18-1. Well done Jon and an excellent tea as well mate, many thank’s. Now whilst Jon was holding up one end Hadley, Cook and Tobin nicked a wicket each from the other and at the end of Lapworth’s Inning’s they had reached 160 for 9. In all fairness I should just mention that Phil Morris took a brilliant catch whilst standing up to Kevin Tobin, It was the closest thing to real cricket that happened all day. There you go Phil, your BIG SHOUT, ha ha.

Well that’s how I remembered how everything happened.

Come on you Hares!

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Barford dominated a strong looking Ashorne side to record our first Sunday win of the season.

Batting first, our opening pair of Alistair Boyce and Chris O’Reilly weathered a storm of accurate bowling combined with variable bounce. Alistair picked off the occasional full ball with a series of crisp drives down the ground whilst Chris played a more traditional anchor role (at least I think that’s how the spectating Simon Morgan described it). Alistair was out for 34 in the 15th over, with the score on 58 so a solid platform had been laid. Ben Linfield batted aggressively from the off, with continued support from the sticky O’Reilly. Chris eventually came unstuck for 31 in the 28th over, but Ben pressed on with the help of cameo performances from Simon International, Tom Hase, Ben Cook, Paul Robbins and, to a very much lesser extent, Alistair Cutler. Our final total was 174-6, with Ben 64 not out.

After an excellent debut Cutler tea we were straight back out and Alistair C soon nipped out Vijay (formerly of this parish, now blessing Ashorne with his talents). After a period ruminating his food, Tim was bought into the attack and struck with his first ball. It was the first of 4 almost identical, classic TJ yorked wickets which knocked the stuffing out of Ashorne’s chase. Ben Linfield chipped in with a wicket and there were two for Paul Robbins and one each for Tom Hase and James Paterson. Ashorne were never able to build the partnerships that we enjoyed and were finally all out for 95.

It felt like a really strong team performance with everyone chipping in at some point.

2018 6-a-Side Tournament

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Plans are already afoot for this year’s 6-a-Side tournament which will take place in Barford on 14th July. The cost is £30 per team, with a minimum of three games guaranteed for each team. We will also be operating a bar and a barbecue so please do pop down to support the club if you can.

Please be warned that the elite batting group from the Warwick Beavers side are already practicing pinching quick singles:

Barford CC Quiz Night

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This year’s quiz will take place on Saturday 17th March in Barford Village Hall, starting at 7:00pm. It’s our main fund raiser and we welcome teams from within the club as well as the wider community, so if you fancy coming along you will be very welcome. We are ideally looking for teams of four or five, although we also offer a match making service if you can’t muster a full team.

The Quiz master will be James Beavan, ably assisted by the glamorous (and soon to be Mrs Beavan) Ola, so get brushing up on your Yorkshire rivers and Polish cities.

The cost of entry is £9.00 per person which includes a superb two course, home cooked meal. If you have any special dietary requirements please let us know in advance. There is also a licensed bar with beer, wine and probably something dodgy from the Skipper’s drinks cabinet.

If you would like to take part, please contact our Social Secretary Simon Drage on simonXK8@hotmail.co.uk  / 07851 122333.

 

 



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