31st May 08

Captains report

Lowdham II V Balderton II

We lost the toss and were put into bat.

This was a good move by Balderton who had us all out for 63 runs.

Although we had not posted a large score, I was pleased to see that the Lowdham spirit that makes playing cricket a joy was not down hearted.

With a rally cry from all the team we set about fielding and started with Damo’s demon spin. Damo bowled well but with only 63 runs to defend didn’t produce an early wicket.
With Balderton witling down the score we changed the bowling and brought out Sal & Dale. They both produced a wicket each with catches from Rob & Steve.

We played to the end and it was good to see that even in defeat the team was still in good spirit.

A team is defined by how you play the game and Lowdham II’s this year have played as a Team.

Fielding and bowling are very good, but we need to improve on our batting.

Cheers
Tony

24th May 2008

Captain’s Report
Lowdham II V Plumtree III

Tantalisingly close.

I won the toss and decided to field.

Fielding
The edge of the square was marked out for our game making the boundary very close on the village side looking as though a high score was possible.
Sal started the bowling well and was very controlled. He bowled for 12 overs at a run rate of 3.2/over and took 2 wickets. An excellent spell.
The other end started with Dale who once again bowled well from the start. His first wicket was an amazing caught and bowled removing there opening batsman.
It was now Laurie’s turn to bowl. Runs at this point were hard to get and Laurie kept the pressure on. Bowling at less that 4/over. Plumtree tried to up the run rate and hit out. This resulted in two catches. Laurie continued to bowl well and removed another with an LBW and another with a clean bowled. This was an excellent spell of 10/overs taking 4 wickets. Well done.
Our Spin bowler was Tom our youngest player who was not fazed by playing a senior game. He took an excellent caught & bowled to give him his first senior wicket. Well done Tom.
The fielding was faultless and almost all catches were held.  At the end of Plumtree’s innings I was pleased we had taken 10 wkts for 140 runs.

Batting

With a target of 140 we only had a run rate of just over 3 / over.
Plumtree started with two good bowlers who bowled good length and line. Runs were slow to come. Our first wicket fell for 3 runs and out went the Captain. A slow partnership of 25 followed before our second wicket fell. We were still in control with wickets to spare and the runs were hard fought. With the run rate moving to 5/over the Captain started to hit out with some success. The game was still there to be won. Then my luck ran out with a total of 38, caught by the wicket keeper.
The bowling remained tight and the run rate meant that we had to score 5/over. The next batsmen came and went with few runs scored. The game had started to swing in Plumtree’s favour. With 6 runs/over needed it was Gordon’s turn to bat. He started with a positive attitude and started to make a last stand. Plumtree replied by bringing on there opening bowlers. Although Gordon was scoring well he didn’t face enough and we ran out of overs.
We finished at 123/9   17short.

An excellent game.

Cheers
Tony

10th May2008

Lowdham 1st XI v Snibston Grange 1st XI

A warm and sunny day saw the Lowdham 1st XI take on a well traveled Snibston Grange 1st XI.

Lowdham won the toss and decided to ask Snibston if they would bat first. For the second week running Simon (3 - 24) opened the bowling an took a wicket with the first ball of the opposition's innings. This was surely a sign of things to come. The pressure was maintain by all the Lowdham bowlers, but it wasn't until captain, Jim Blacknall (4 - 10), decided to have bowl that Lowdham made real in roads into the the Snibston batting line up. A Snibston mini revival was short lived as Ross Miller came on to mop up the tail. Snibston all out for 110.

Lowdham never really looked in trouble chasing the low total and despite the lose of three wicket went on to win in a convincing manner. Andy Seager, the batsman in form, adding a 67 n/o to his impressive start to the season. The Lowdham 1st XI will hope to continue there good run of form when they travel to Beeston Sycamore on the 17th.

2nd XI Captain’s Report

Lowdham II V Fiskerton II

Phew what a scorcher.

On the hottest day of the year so far we went to Fiskerton with a full team. The ground was amidst the countryside and was well prepared. The square was green but dry and hard. First impressions from our bowlers were that it would be good to bowl on with the ball shooting through. We lost the toss and Fiskerton decided to bat. I was happy with this decision as I knew that we had a good bowling side.

We started well with Mike P bowling his usual controlled length and line with a little swing and after 8 overs had bowled well for only 23 runs. Dale “DFS” bowled from the other end starting well and taking the first wicket with an edge to the Keeper. In strode Mr M Fish and the game suddenly became a bats man’s dream. To be fair Mr M Fish was a very skilful player who put our bowlers one by one to the sword. The fact is that we bowled well but just didn’t trouble him. There was one half chance from Sal’s bowling that edged through to Rob’s feet at a very rapid pace. I think that he had only scored 50 at this point. The run rate was getting high and we had only one wicket when it was time for a gamble and to play the wild card. In walked Big John C, who marked his run up and bowled a wide. This was a start of something special as every ball in the first over was different. Just what was needed to unsettle the batsmen? John bowled a low full toss to gain his first wicket and to break the deadlock. Well done John. Laurie (Eddie) followed with a good spell taking 2 wickets. The score however was climbing. 
Mr Fish had by now scored over 120 when in walked the Captain with his own version of Spin. It’s wasn’t pretty but with a high off spin Mr Fish surrendered his wicket for 123 runs. At the end of the first innings Fiskerton scored 233/9

With High hopes we started our batting with Jamie scoring 41 before being bowled, (well done Jamie). Unfortunately the middle order could only add 13 runs with two ducks. Heads were starting to drop when in strode Steve R who offered stiff resistance supported by Paul C, both of whom scored over 20 each. Paul C was caught and out strode Big John. Not wanting to let the bowler know which line he was going to bat, John poised ready for battle. As with his unique bowling John bamboozled the bowlers with his special batting technique. Well done John who was second highest scorer with a well fought 25.

Our reply of 139 was well short of the 233.

Final word.

The game was played in very good spirit and everyone gave 100% in hot conditions.

Cheers
Tony

3rd May2008

Mixed Fortunes

On a Lovely warm May Saturday afternoon, Lowdham 1st XI travelled to short distance up the road to local rivals Epperstone. Despite Andy Seager (32, score not age) "Burning up the turf" (his own words), this would be a close low scoring affair. Some dogged late inning batting from Sam Blacknall (28 n/o) saw Lowdham stumble to a gettable total of 108 for the loss of all wicket.

You would hope that when you are defending a low total that you have a very good bowling line up, and that's exactly what Lowdham have. Some good pressure bowling from the opening bowlers saw the first change bowlers (Ross Miller 5/16, Waqas Nazar 3/21) reap the benefits. Epperstone only managing a meager total of 77 for the loss of all their wickets. Well done lads, a great start to the season. "The sweet smell of success."

Meanwhile, Lowdham Cricket Ground hosted its first official game in over 10 month with Radcliffe upon Trent visiting for the first game of the season. Having lost the toss Lowdham 2nd XI were asked to bat. This was initially seemed to be a struggle on a slow low wicket. It wasn't until later in the innings, when the wicket had dried out, that Lowdham were able to gain any momentum. Skipper Tony Meats and Laurie batted well to see Lowdham reach a respectable score of 165/8 from their 45 over.

Taking advantage of the better conditions, Radcliffe were always in control. Despite the loss of an early wicket some excellent batting from Radcliffe's young members saw them reach there target with the loss of only 4 wickets with plenty of over’s remaining.

The game was always played with a great spirit, which is nice to see back at Lowdham. Despite the loss Lowdham will be very happy with the effort shown and attitude taken.

Oh.....and nice teas Rob.

26th April 2008

Bingham - friendly

The first warm dry day in a long while saw the Lowdham 1st XI take on a Bingham team, in 45 overs per side match, at the Lowdham cricket ground. This was the first game at Lowdham since the village was devastated by the floods back in June 2007.

Bingham won the toss and took the surprising decision to bat first on a a slow a low pitch. Some excellent bowling from each of the Lowdham bowlers saw Bingham restricted to a meager 71 run all out. In response Lowdham lost just the 1 wicket in getting the total. Andy Seager showing some early season form, scoring 42 n/o.

A good result for Lowdham, and with more players available for selection, the signs are promising for us this year.

11th August

MIXED FORTUNES

A rare, very hot Saturday in this season of cancellations saw mixed fortunes for Lowdham Cricket Club.

Lowdham 1st XI played and lost a home match against a strong Hoveringham side, at Car Colston. Despite a good bowling performance from Ross Miller and another good batting performance from Waq, Lowdham were never in a game that saw Hoveringham a mass 258.

Lowdham 2nd XI on the other had gained another win against Newstead Abbey. Lowdham bowled Newstead out for 123 and knocked the total off easily.

Both team remain in contention for promotion.

4th August

GOOD WINS FOR BOTH TEAMS

Saturday the 4th of August was perhaps the best day we have had for cricket in the entire cricketing season so far, and both teams made good use of the conditions.

There was a good convincing win, as the firsts traveled to Gotham. A well prepared Gotham wicket meant that the Lowdham bowlers had to be on form. John Noall the pick of the bowlers take 3 wickets for few runs. A slight lapse in concentration towards the end of the innings saw Gotham get 30 more runs than perhaps they should of.

In reply a confident batting performance by Lowdham saw them reach the total with 3 wickets and 4 over to spare. WAQAF NAZIR 65 N/O and KASHIR SHAH 42 the pick of the batting. All in all a job very well done.

Meanwhile Lowdham II were playing one of their home matches at East Leake, against Newstead Abbey III. (Many thanks to East Leake for accommodating us.)

On a pitch that gave mainly low bounce, Lowdham II struggled to a modest 151 All out. REHAN IQBAL 36 the pick of the batting. Some excellent bowling and fielding meant that Newstead where restricted to just 121 for their 10 wicket. SALIM YASIN 3/43 and man of the match REHAN IQBAL 3/28 the pick of the bowling.

Congratulations to both team. Both teams are knocking on the door of promotion.

28th July

CLOSE WIN FOR 1ST XI, AS 2ND XI CALLED OFF AGAIN

Despite recent weather, Lowdham 1st XI continue their run of decent form with another win.

Another rainy week saw a low scoring game close game, as Lowdham traveled to Kinoulton. Lowdham were ask to bat first and could only manage 134/9 from there 45 overs. Andy Norris the pick of the batting scoring a much needed 40 runs.

In reply kinoulton pushed Lowdham right to the finish and at times looked as though they were going to sneak a win. But some good bowling especially from Ross Miller and excellent fielding saw Lowdham past the winning line.

Although Lowdham 1st XI remain in the same league table position (3rd), this puts pressure on the two teams above.

Meanwhile the 2nd XI game against Plumtree was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch.

Lowdham 2nd XI remain top of division N, but have only played 6 from their 11 games so for this season.