CTCC vs Frinton on Sea

The anticipated seaside trip to Frinton on Sea for Bens Boys on Saturday was a slight misnomer as they were directed to Kirby Cross Cricket Ground the home of Frinton 3s!
Fortunately the Kirby Cross ground was a delightful place and a new location for even the older members of the “boys”.
With Frinton just one place above CTCC in Div 8 South and having lost to them by 115 runs earlier in the season it was going to be a tough afternoon for CTCC. Skipper Smart made it even longer for the youthful CTCC side by winning the toss and inserting the opposition. A brave decision given the temperature but as it turned out a very wise one.
Coggy opened with U15 pair Rory “The miser” Miller and Lorcan “Mean” McCabe. The wicket was responsive to their probing seam up bowling and the experienced Frinton openers had to treat the boys with the utmost respect. Lorcan made the breakthrough with a rare loose ball and as the opener Oram’s eyes lit up he kindly deposited the ball in the hands of a CTCC fielder. Miller continued his miserly line and length and just as the opener Newland was seeing off his opening spell Rory enticed him into a loose shot again to be caught. At this stage CTCC were looking good. Spirits were high, runs were being limited and wickets taken. Even the sweater of shame was rarely being passed around which was unfortunate for U13 Louis Gibson. Frinton began to put a stand together as left hander Williams took his time to get used to the pace and erratic bounce of the wicket and it took some guile from Jonny Girling’s leg spin to tempt his partner out of his crease to be stumped by the current (harshly awarded by L Gibson!) sweater of shame wearer Alex “wicki” Wickens. At this stage Jonny “Shane” Girling was still finding his rhythm and although causing problems was bowling regular “boundary balls” that were not being missed by the batsmen. However after some stern looks and another bold decision to keep him on from skipper Ben Jonny came good, found his line and length and began to make inroads into the Frinton bats.
Jonny was ably supported at the other end by Fergus Wishart (U15) who had continued where Lorcan had left off bowling a tight spell without reward. Next on to bowl was U13 Louis Gibson who immediately picked up a wicket thanks to a fine catch (no names to mention here!!). Louis then bowled left hander Williams who had reached his half century. At this stage Jonny G had taken 5 wickets, Frinton were 141-8, CTCC were in the driving seat and Wickens was still wearing the SOS! Frinton managed to bat out the 45 overs losing their last wicket in the last over but without conceding any overs to CTCC. On a wicket that had improved but continued to show inconsistent bounce the target of 161 was going to be a challenge. The young bowling attack had been superb for CTCC as their figures showed; Rory 1-20 off 11 overs, Lorcan 1-26 off 7, Fergus 0-17 off 7 and Louis 2-10 off 5 but the stand out was Jonny G with his 5-73 from 15.
CTCC needed 161 to win and knew they would have to concentrate and be patient to achieve the total. Wickens and Wishart opened the innings and were put under immediate pressure as the FOS bowlers hit their lines. Wickens went early too a superb gully catch and D Gibson came to the crease. Gibson was under pressure to score runs after a string of failures and was keen to repay the faith of skipper Ben. Wishart left soon after Wickens having looked in good form for his 9. In came Chris “the mature twin” Girling. Having seen his brother bag a 5’fer Chris was keen to continue the family success. New bowler Hobbs came on as CG took his guard and proceeded to bowl 2 unplayable deliveries in succession. The first took Girlings edge and flew to first slip who spilled the chance, the second took the edge again and went via the wicket keeper on to slip before hitting the ground. CG; a, couldn’t believe these 2 balls had been bowled and b, couldn’t believe he was still in! Naturally the “chirp” from FOS grew louder from this turning point but the 2 G’s slowly went about the business of gathering runs and they knew that time at the crease would be crucial. Runs continued to come and the “banter” from FOS turned more aggressive (not in a bad way…. well not quite!) clearly indicating CTCC were getting on top. Gibson eventually reached his 50 as did CG (in much quicker) time as the “love” from FOS grew. Eventually Girling was out having reached a fine 62 and setting CTCC up for victory if they could just continue to bat sensibly. Skipper Ben came out and looked in fine form as he gracefully drove through the covers for four but was then undone by the irregular pace and bounce when he popped one back to the bowler. Gibson (Snr) was joined by son Louis who showed the difference in confidence when after just 2 balls he nonchalantly swept the bowler for 4. Gibson senior wrapped up the game in the next over as CTCC won by 6 wickets and with 9 overs to spare.
A fine win by CTCC set up by the bowlers and seen through by the batsmen underlining the team approach and strong leadership in this team. The 3s are now 2nd in the league and could be in with a slim chance of promotion.