Windsor Cricket Club

Cutting Edge Fires Windsor to Victory

Slough 5th XI - 151 All Out (Edge 6-81) - 40.1 overs
Windsor 3rd XI - 153 - 2 (Bullock 62*) - 20.4 overs

An fine all round display, capped by superb individual performances by Chris Edge and Tommy Bullock, enabled Windsor to cruise to victory against Slough, in the opening game of their league campaign.

Once play finally got underway an hour after the scheduled start time,
Windsor were asked to field first and immediately Edge and Kiwi Jordan
Thompson found their rhythm. Both bowlers were moving the ball in the air and off the seam and it was a surprise that it took 13 overs for the initial
breakthrough to come, Edge removing the Slough number 2's off stump with the score on 27. Thompson was quickly in on the act and followed up with a two wicket maiden to leave Slough reeling at 31-3 from 14 overs. A counter attack from Slough saw runs come quickly in the next four overs, Pete Jones in particular suffering at the hands of aggressive stroke play. However, the introduction of the ever-dependable Andy Wigley saw the runs dry up once more, and he soon got amongst the wickets leaving Slough 65-4 after 20 overs. The bespectacled Edge continued his marathon spell at the other end and, after missing out on a couple of wickets due to some very dubious lbw decisions, he finally got his rewards with a two wicket maiden to leave Slough in deep trouble at 86-6. Windsor were firmly turning the screw and when Edge picked up his 5th and 6th wickets in quick succession to leave Slough 9 down, it looked as though it was job well done. However, a savage attack by Slough's number 10 on the tiring Edge saw the ball disappear to all parts and suddenly Windsor were chasing 150. The re-introduction of Thompson saw the Slough innings come to an end as he picked up his 3rd wicket of the innings and, despite needing to chase 40 more than they were expecting, Windsor were still satisfied with their efforts.

After a delightful tea, Windsor were back out and openers Bullock and Dawson set about their target in fine style. A mixture of brutal stroke play and excellent running between the wickets saw the pair bring up their 50
partnership in just 7 overs. Dawson in particular appeared to be in a hurry
and, after a couple of huge blows, he eventually holed out to deep mid
wicket with the score on 77. That brought the talented Simon Rodwell to the crease and he soon made his intentions clear, launching the Slough bowler out of the park. Bullock continued to accumulate the runs at a fair rate and, once he brought up a deserved 50, Windsor were all but home and dry.

With the weather closing in, Rodwell decided it was time to finish things
off. After looking physically sick following an all run six, he smashed two
more maximums to leave Windsor with just three runs to win. One shot too many saw him fall for an entertaining 39 and it was simply left to Bullock to finish things off and remain unbeaten on 62, with Windsor cruising past their target in just 20 overs to seal an 8 wicket win.

Windsor can be very pleased with the efforts in their opening game and,
despite the merry-go-round that is selection, the remaining five players
from Saturday's fixture can take a great deal of confidence into this weeks
game

posted by Windsor at 1:13 PM | 0 comments

Windsor 3’s season starts strongly.

Fulmer 105 All Out (34 Overs)
Windsor 106 for 2 (27 Overs)

Windsor 3’s opened their account on Saturday with a solid performance against under-strength Fulmer side. After losing the toss, Windsor were asked to field and new ball pairing of Rudi January and Jordan Thompson, a new recruit from New Zealand, immediately set into a rhythm with some accurate bowling. Thompson was particularly impressive swinging the ball both ways and should have picked up a couple of wickets but for some poor catching attempts by Windsor's outfielders. Despite the tight bowling from Windsor, Fulmer's openers stood firm and it was only the introduction of old war-horse Andy Wigley that brought the breakthrough, Dawson taking a smart catch at gully to leave them 38-1 after 13 overs. A change at the other end saw young prospect Kabir Bhuller introduced to the attack and he immediately gained the second breakthrough, clean bowling Fulmer's number 3 with a full swinging delivery. From that point onwards, Windsor were in complete control and a steady procession of wickets saw Bhuller end his spell with 4 and Wigley with 2. Windsor's fielding continued to improve in the second half of the innings and the tight bowling was backed up by good catches from Lickley and Noble, and an impressive run out from Haywood. With Fulmer at 88-7 after 30 overs, Thompson was re-introduced to the attack and soon mopped up the tail to collect his first wickets for Windsor, leaving Fulmer all out for 105 from 34 overs.

With Windsor's strong batting line up it always looked like a target of 106 would not pose too many problems and so it proved as openers Huggins and Dawson got the innings off to an aggressive start, moving along at 6 an over for the first 8 overs. Both were looking in good touch and it was something of a surprise when, on 20, Huggins had his off stump removed. That brought Noble to the crease and the run rate slowed as he took time to play himself in. Dawson continued where he had left off from last season and had made a flowing 32 until he chased a wide one and was caught behind. With run rate never an issue Noble and Lickley, batting at number 4, pushed the ball around with ease. With only 30 needed both men opened their shoulders and a flurry of boundaries took Windsor to within touching distance of victory. It was left for Noble to hit the winning runs with Windsor coasting to an 8-wicket win with more than 13 overs remaining.

All in all a very good start for Windsor, who will look to build on this victory with the league season fast approaching.

posted by Windsor at 12:59 PM | 0 comments