Dear Friends and Members of Portsmouth Cricket Club,
Training Continues as per normal on Monday, Tuesday and Friday Until Further Notice
Portsmouth Ladies Win Women's Soft Ball Cricket Festival held at Bedhampton CC
Written by Patrick Walters
The omens were not good on Friday (11th August) as many of the Ladies were on holiday and the only rain forecast for the weekend was due to coincide with the tournament, but 8 Portsmouth Ladies arrived at Bedhampton to be greeted by cloudy skies and a glass of Proseco! They were asked to choose a colour and were all given a bright pink T-shirt as well as a well-stocked kit bag to take away. After a Zumba-like warm up, the serious business of 8-a side pairs cricket began!
First up were Emsworth and we started batting well, Sarah Ghassemi and Sarah McKay especially hitting some lusty shots. Then disaster struck as Caroline Walters pulled her calf muscle again taking a quick single, but, fortunately, her daughter Gwen grabbed a pink T-shirt and took over batting and keeping wicket! We then bowled and fielded well, especially Emily McKenzie and Pauline Ndhiro, to win comfortably.
Next up were Havant and we again batted first and scored well and the same good performance in the field led to a second victory. The planned gap for food before the last game was cancelled as the sky had become very dark and the forecast rain did not seem far off!
The final game was against Rockley, who we thought must be very good as we had heard them cheering a lot in their first two games on the other pitch. We won the toss and decided to field, and it turned out that Rockley were not as good as we thought; they just cheered every time a ball was bowled or a shot was hit! We fielded very well, considering how dark it had become! We kept them down to a low score by taking lots of late wickets, Julia Holt taking a couple of sharp catches close to the wicket in the dark! We struggled to score many runs as it got darker and darker, but our closing pair of Fiona Lunn and Mary Howells steered us to victory as the fielders found it difficult to see where they had hit the ball!
So, three victories from three games meant that Portsmouth Ladies won the tournament and a bottle of...you guessed it...Proseco as the awards ceremony took place as the heavens finally opened! This victory showed how far the Ladies have come over the past couple of years and how regular training has turned them into a tournament-winning team!"
All three senior teams played last weekend
The following is from the Portsmouth News Website written by Kevin Ricketts (Published 13 Aug)
(source http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/cricket/premier-cricket-league/portsmouth-handle-pressure-to-get-important-win-1-8100953)
RICH LOCKE praised the way Portsmouth handled the pressure to come away with a vital Southern League division one win at Rowledge.
Portsmouth eased themselves over the line for a three-wicket success but not before enduring some tense moments. With just seven points separating four teams in the relegation dogfight Portsmouth still have it all to do to stay up. With their final three games all against top sides Locke knows his side must be at their best.
‘We handled the pressure really well considering we knew that this was a must win game for us,’ said Locke.
‘It is good to see us step up and maintain our skill levels despite the pressure.
‘This should stand us in good stead in our remaining games.
‘We have shown we have the ability to get over the line in tight situations.
‘It isn’t good for the old ticker though.
‘There is no reason why we can’t get the results we need in our final games.
‘We have already beaten Basingstoke and Calmore this season but had a bit of an aberration against Hook.
‘Our main problem has been inconsistency and we have to make sure we put in the performances from now on.’
Locke won the toss and invited Rowledge to bat first. Aussie, Fraser Hay bowled well up top and soon removed both the home openers. Rowledge were in big trouble at 61 for seven but their overseas player batted through for an unbeaten century helping them to 204 for nine.
‘With so much on the game we knew that it wasn’t going to be easy,’ said Locke.
Portsmouth lost Locke early on but James Christian (22) and Jordan Palmer-Goddard (29) led the fight back. It looked comfortable all the time Hay (68) was at the wicket but when he was caught out it triggered a mini collapse. At 164 for seven Portsmouth still had plenty of work to do but fortunately the experience of Vikram Dawson (28 not out) came to the fore.
‘Vikram and Prad Baines produced a really mature partnership to secure the win,’ said Locke.
‘It was a terrific all round performance from Vikram.
‘He is one of our senior players and that showed.’
Locke also praised the move of bringing in club stalwart Rick Marston in as team manager.
‘There is a lot of admin and other things needing doing before a game,’ said the skipper.
‘Rick was able to take some of those things away from me.
‘He has also been around many years and seen and done it all.
‘There are few eventualities he hasn’t come across.
‘It was good to be able to have him there to bounce a few ideas off.’
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View From Silly Point
A Contribution by Jamie 'Mitch' Mitchell
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After a month of nearly zero cricket, Pompey 2s resumed Hampshire Div 3 South hostilities with an inhumane beating of a depleted Woodgreen side at St Helens.
From last week’s rain-ruined trip to Suttoners, the Unicorns welcomed back Tom Wallis from an extended holiday, Henry Farrant, and Will Smitherman – who brought his own unique brand of enthusiasm (complete with penchant for a pie chart) behind the sticks, in place of sun-seeking Martin Ballard-Collins.
The upper hand stayed with the home side from the moment Joma-clad skipper, Nicky Wyatt, won the flip and inserted the visitors. Youngsters Joe Kooner-Evans (2 for 26) and Harlan Randall (2 for 10) made inroads into the Woodgreen top-order from as early as the 2nd over, and were ably backed up by Raz Havell (1 for 12) and the jug-avoiding Farhad Ahmed (4 for 13).
Despite the dropping of a couple of scandalously straightforward chances (and the offender’s erroneous, yet adamant protests that one of said chances was a bumped ball), and the run out nearly so hilariously botched with the stranded batsman literally sat down in the middle of the pitch (berating his non-running partner), Pompey managed to dismiss the New Forest-based outfit for 71.
The chase provided few problems for the Pompey’s willow-wielders, chief among them being Mitchell and Farrant getting caught up in the haste of knocking the required runs off too quickly. However, Wyatt’s assured 34 not out, and a blitzkrieg of straight-driven singles from Matt Shaw (9*), saw the new league leaders home before 12 overs were completed.
An early finish led to the consumption of mind-altering Double Vs (vodka & an energy drink known as ‘V’), before Smitherman glass-eyed everyone through his imminent relocation to seaside-less Woolwich.
This Saturday will see Pompey 2s grace the hallowed turf of St Helens for the final time this summer, as they host Follands.
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Portsmouth III's welcomed Netley II's to St Johns. Batting first Portsmouth reached 103 all out, Netley reached the total losing 7 wickets on te way.
Fixtures
Saturday 19th August
The 1st XI travels to Basingstoke & NH
The 2nd XI welcomes Follands to St Helen's
The 3rd XI travels to Havant III
The clubhouse at St Helen's will be open.
As per usual training for u9's and younger will be on Friday as will the 'TCIF Social' when all are welcome!!
Thank you for your continued support
Portsmouth Cricket Club
