From

Message

Julian

Posted : 03/07/2007 14:32

Subject : Message from the 1st Team Captain

Well June was certainly a forgettable month!

The one league game we did manage to play we managed to lose on a shocker of a wicket at Walmer. This loss was the first of the season and followed an unbeaten run of league games that had seen us top the table from day 1. Especially pleasing was the manner of the victories, with convincing wins against Rainham, Linden Park, Gravesend and Wickham Park. Even the draw against Old Stacians saw us playing the lion's share of the cricket with a great batting performance.

However, the weather has shown us how lucky we are at Ashford CC to have a top quality, full time groundsman and proper covers. The 1st team has witnessed, over the last few weeks, clubs whose facilities are distinctly lacking (Walmer and BOCA) to the degree that we have lodged a complaint with the league secretary about the lack of preparation of both of these clubs pitches. Notwithstanding this, we are still well positioned in second place in the table and will be looking to regain our top spot over the coming weeks.

The attitude and team spirit have been excellent this year (despite me being my usual grumpy self!) and with a few players not being available, special thanks go to Nigel Crannis, James Rodway, Luke Harcourt and Ollie Bartlett who have all stepped into the team and performed admirably. Theirs is a thankless task at times as they seldom get the chance to bat or bowl, but all have given 100% to the cause and are great to have around.

This week sees the return of Stuart Paine, John Brazier, Ed Spencer and Gary Sutton giving me the opportunity to field a first choice XI for the first time this season. With Craig Buckham also returning in two weeks, selection could now be interesting. With this in mind, I owe a debt of gratitude to the 2nd XI skipper, Darran Wood, for his support and for allowing me to 'nick' players at the eleventh hour. With both sides now entering the 'second half' of the season, a good list of available players means that from will start to dictate which sides people play in.

It goes without saying that we intend to get promoted this year and we have the players to do just that. The batting has been good with 7 of the top 8 scoring half centuries, the bowling has a new edge with up to 3 spinners backing up the trusty seam trio of Watson, Taylor and Campbell and the fielding has shown a marked improvement in it's intensity.

As I write this, I'm looking out of the window at even more rain, but let's all hope it brightens up for Saturday so we can get back on the winning trail at Rainham.

Thanks to all the players for their efforts so far.............we are only half way there.........…