Moulsford Cricket Club

A warm afternoon saw Moulsford lose by 75 runs whilst chasing an imposing target of 185.

Bradenham started steadily, although held at bay initially by tight bowling from Ben Ralphs (0-17 off 7 overs) and Ben Goss (1-34). However Bradenham increased the tempo with A Ghafoor scoring 66, C Farrah-Hockley 27, S Ali 41 and S Macellan a rapid 19 at the end. Jonnie Stevens bowled well (1-24) and the skipper Andy Moss had good returns with 4-46.

There were 5 catches including 2 by Ben Ralphs, 1 each by Nick Page, Andy Moss and Phil Hopkins. Wicket keeper Will Perry looked sharp taking 2 stumpings and one run out.

Moulsford’s innings never really took off apart from an excellent 44 by Ben Ralphs and a steady 18 by Will Perry. Nick Page started well and hit a resounding 6 in his brief 12. It should be noted that it was D Farrah-Hockley who ended the Moulsford early stand of 59 by dismissing first Ralphs and then Perry within a few balls. Match lost by 75 runs.


Full details here

CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS – 25^th June 2011

Would the weather hold out after waiting 100 years for this occasion? Yes – against all odds a very cloudy day turned into a hot afternoon and the sun finally shone over the village.

A large crowd turned out to enjoy the day’s activities.

The pavilion setting was a wonderful backdrop to a superb game of cricket. Children made full use of the bouncy castle, a game of rounders was later played by all ages and Mick Ralphs and his rock band finished off the day’s entertainment. Children danced on the stage provided by Darren Jones. Ray Parks of Cholsey provided a terrific hog roast.

Special thanks go out to the tireless ladies who prepared the tea and later served drinks etc.

The Match !! – Moulsford ‘Kites’ v Moulsford ‘Beetles’

The Kites (A Allen, T Moss, Rich Davey, D Pickering, B Ralphs, W Musk, P Gilmore, B Davis, P Welsh, J Garner, J Coleman and N Clarke).

The Beetles (J Swain, O Smith, P Hopkins, D Jones, M Casey, A Moss, B Goss, N Douglas, S Coleman, R Iswariah, S Pearce and M Singh).

Simon Coleman came up with an intriguing set of rules which pitted the two sides in a limited over match. Each player could not be out in the first four balls received, freeing everyone to ‘have a go’ from the start. However there was a sting in the tail in that anyone getting out in the four ball sequence was penalised by - 6 runs.

The Kites reached 105 all out with top scorer Ben Ralphs hitting 32. Ben Davis scored 23, including two towering sixes, before Phil Hopkins took a superb one handed catch to dismiss him. Adrian added 14 and James Coleman 9 (cgt Douglas, bowled Simon Coleman). The Kites used 9 bowlers (Andy Moss, Steve Pearce(1 -18), Ben Goss, Simon Coleman, Darren Jones, Phil Hopkins (2-4), Jon Swain, Rohan and Niall Douglas (1-17). 3 catches by Mark Casey and 3 run outs restricted the Kites to 105. Entertaining cameo knocks were provided by Dean Pickering, Warren, Jon Garner and Nick Clarke.

In reply, the Beetles reached 108 for 7 with the winning six smashed by man-of-the match contender Niall Douglas (18 N.O.). Jon Swain made 6 (including a crisply driven four), Ollie Smith (4) smacked a fine four, Phil Hopkins 20 (incl. 2 big sixes) – stumped off the bowling of Rich Davey. Jon Garner bowled well (2-13) as did Nick Clarke (1-4), Paul Welsh (1-12) and Dean Pickering (1-15). Paul Welsh took a good catch.

Despite the all round efforts of Ben Ralphs, Niall Douglas and Phil Hopkins, the man of the match goes to guest Mark Casey who made 28 N.O. and took 3 great catches tipping the balance in the Beetles’ favour.

The winning Kites team were presented with a superb new Centenary Trophy, donated by former Chairman Bryan Parkes, who also officiated on the day.

It was with great pleasure that we saw Bryan and Anne Parkes, plus Allan Newman, Nick Clarke and Maurice Elvin – all long standing club members. 

Many thanks go out to all who helped prepare for this event in the run up to the day, all those who helped in setting up, serving and clearing away.

The club is very grateful to those who support our cause from VPs, raffle prize donors and others behind the scenes. Once again Darren Jones worked extremely hard to produce a pitch despite difficult conditions due to the earlier rain.

In conclusion it was a lovely occasion attended by around 120-150 people, shared by cricketers, many villagers and their families.

Highlights of the Day

• Seeing a big crowd in a great  setting
• An excellent formula for a cricket game
• Simply just a great day from start to finish

Adrian Allen

Chairman

June 2011

NB. PHOTOS TO FOLLOW

Match Report. 8^th May – Home v. Cholsey. Won by 4 Wickets

After heavy rain on Saturday the match went ahead on a breezy sunny day – the pitch was slightly damp but drying quickly in the windy conditions.

Our skipper opened with Ben Ralphs bowling into the wind and taking a wicket in his first over. Andy introduced spin at the other end resulting in another wicket leaving the visitors on 1 for 2. All seven bowlers used took wickets with Ben Ralphs taking 2 -24 and Johnnie Stephens 2-15. Moulsford bowled out Cholsey for 147 with all Moulsford players contributing, including sharp catches by Niall Douglas, Paul Welsh and Adrian Allen. It was good to see Malcolm Singh bowling again after a year off and also Paul Gilmore take the last wicket, ending with 1-3.

It was going to take a special batting performance for Moulsford to overhaul Cholsey. That special performance was duly delivered by Ben Ralphs hitting a match winning 85 Not Out. So dominant was Ben’s display that the next highest score was 11 by the returning Niall Douglas who supported Ben at a crucial stage. Further support came from the steady Malcolm Singh battling hard for 4, but giving Ben time to move the score along. Extras (over 30) contributed to Moulsford’s cause. Ben hit thirteen 4s and one 6 in his outstanding knock.

Highlights of the day:

• An excellent running catch by the athletic Paul Welsh (his first for MCC).
• A very sharp reflex one handed catch by keeper Niall Douglas
• A steady debut match for Nick Page.
• A great team fielding display by all, plus good captaincy
• The assured commentary and advice from Malcolm
• The winning 4 whipped off his legs by Ben Ralphs