CTCC 1st XI vs Hadleigh

CTCC 1st XI Match Report 7/06/2014
CTCC 1st XI travelled to Hadleigh on Saturday and as the rain fell things did not look promising. However arriving at Hadleigh all fears were dissipated, as the sky was clear and the covers on. George Blackwell won the toss and decided to back the solid record that the team has amassed batting first. Things did not start promisingly with two wickets in quick succession. This brought overseas Dane Cleaver and former overseas Byron Ovenstone to the crease. The pair worked well together with Ovenstone taking centre stage as he hit a superb 97. The partnership surpassed the 150 mark before Cleaver fell cheaply for 64. This brought Will Blackwell to the crease and although he hit a lofty blow down the ground for 6, wickets were falling around him and he only managed 11 before being caught on the boundary. The loss of Ovenstone on 97 was the catalyst for a collapse that consisted of 7 wickets for a paltry 20 runs. Included in this was some poor running and ultimately some unintelligent cricket. The team was bowled out for 213 in the 48th over and there were some stern looking faces as the team were left to ponder what should have been at 190 for 3.
After a satisfying tea the second innings rolled around and George Blackwell and Lloyd Edwards were charged with the task of taking the new ball in the absence of Robert Cross. The innings started well with Edwards coercing an edge out of the opener in his first over that was snaffled at first slip by Cleaver. George Blackwell then followed up with a ball that angled into the batsman and caught the edge, again snaffled by Cleaver at first slip. Two early wickets were exactly what the doctor ordered although they were marred slightly by a steep hill at Edwards’ end making it very difficult for him to find any rhythm. Dale Bailey replaced him due to this fact and early on he also struggled with rhythm as the steep gradient of the hill impacted on run-ups and delivery stride. At 2 for 30 things were in the balance before Bailey made the vital breakthrough of Haleigh’s overseas player with a sharp caught and bowled. From there Coggeshall really asserted dominance with two fantastic run outs from Robert Jagger and Will Blackwell respectively. Will Blackwell delivered the killer blow with a bizarre spell of bowling where two of his first three deliveries were hit for 6 amounting to twelve runs. He then finished with an outstanding 4-13 off 5 overs - including a wide!! Among his wickets were a very sharp caught and bowled and Cleaver’s third catch at first slip. The result of another clinical bowling display for CTCC 1st XI was that Hadleigh were dismissed for 89 in approximately 30 overs and the disappointment of another below par batting performance was washed away by a maximum 20 points!
The result puts CTCC 1st XI into fourth spot in division one, only 21 points behind leaders Sudbury and only 7 points behind third placed Wivenhoe. A big game against Worlington this week could see Coggeshall jump to third or even second depending on other results.
D Cleaver