Portsmouth Cricket Club - 2024 News story


Newsletter #9 2019

21 Jun 2019

 

 
 

Dear Friends and Members of Portsmouth Cricket Club

Welcome to this week’s newsletter. Unfortunately, the hot summer of 2018 is a distant memory and June 2019 is behaving typically British with rain affecting our fixtures for another week. However, the 1st XI did manage to play their game as St Helen’s, as it often does, dried sufficiently for the match to be played, although our 2’s and 3’s were not so fortunate; details of the 1st XI win is detailed below. However, a bit of rain does not affect our very own wordsmith and 2nd XI opening bat as Jamie ‘Mitch’ Mitchell  writes about watching the wet stuff frustrating the Unicorns in their match against East Woodhay 

On Sunday despite the vagaries of the British summer, St Helen’s hosted a mini tournament of the Ladies W10 format. All of the hard work that the Ladies put into training on Monday evenings was noticeable as they won all of their games – Well Done Ladies!

Edited by PKE

 
SPL Sponsors     

Fraser Hay and Ben Duggan took time out from the Isle of Wight Festival to help Portsmouth maintain their Southern League division one title bid.

KEVIN RICKETTS

Read more at: hhttps://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/other-sport/more-to-come-as-confident-portsmouth-gear-up-for-important-challenges-ahead-1-8970445

              
 

After spending two days at the music event the pair travelled back on Saturday morning for the game against Calmore Sports.

Immediately after their five-wicket win the two of them hot-footed it back to the ferry and went back to the music.

Hay, who was standing in as captain in the absence of the unavailable Jack Marston, was delighted to keep second-placed Portsmouth on the winning track.

He said: ‘The toss was a good one to win and with all the rain around it was good to bowl first.

‘We weren’t sure if we were going to start because it was raining but we eventually got going an hour late.

‘Calmore started reasonably well and the wicket was reasonably okay.

‘Once Calmore lost a wicket, however, they collapsed because a couple of their batsmen lost patience.’

Hay (three wickets for 32 runs) shared the opening bowling duties with Reuben McArdle (three wickets for 35) and both ended up with a three-wicket haul.

McArdle made the initial breakthrough and Hay followed with two quick wickets.

Calmore were reduced to 25 for five before staging a mini-recovery to finish on 125 all out.

Hay felt McArdle was too hot to handle for the Calmore batsmen.

‘Reuben bowled well keeping a tight line and length,’ said Hay.

 ‘He was also getting the ball to nibble around a bit.

‘You know with Reuben that he will consistently put the ball on the spot.’

The strike bowlers were well supported by Vikram Dawson and Andrew Marston.

Dawson returning after a period of absence grabbed two wickets for 21.

Marston produced an impressive spell of spin bowling, conceding just nine runs from his nine overs and taking a wicket.

When Portsmouth began their reply Duggan fired 40 quickly.

‘Ben was very aggressive coming in and whacking the ball around,’ said Hay.

‘I think he was determined to get back to the festival as quickly as possible.’

Portsmouth then lost five wickets for just seven runs but importantly Hay was still at the crease.

He reached 41 not out and with Alex Hammond guided the hosts home.

Jack Marston returns for Portsmouth’s tricky Southern League division one game at Sparsholt on Saturday.

The captain is back from holiday but his brother Andrew is away in Mexico.

Sparsholt are immediately below Portsmouth in third place and the visitors are expecting a difficult challenge from their hosts.

The visitors are in good form, however, and are looking for their sixth-straight win in the league.

Their confidence was also boosted recently by their T20 win against premier outfit South Wilts.

Stand-in captain Fraser Hay was pleased to lead the side to a win in Marston’s absence.

Now he’s hoping they can keep the form going.

He said: ‘The next two games are massive for us.

‘In the past couple of weeks we have won comfortably but we are expecting the next fortnight to prove a lot tougher.

‘Sparsholt got bowled out cheaply last week but before that they posted some big totals.

‘They will be keen to bounce back to winning ways.

‘We have been getting results without yet fielding our strongest teams.

‘These have come without us playing at our best which is encouraging.

 ‘We feel there is still more to come.’

The visitors are also without Sam Collings-Wells who is unavailable.

Teenager Tom Wallis, who has scored a couple of centuries in the second team and Portsmouth Grammar School , gets his chance in the senior side.

 

Unicorns - 2nd XI

   

View From Silly Point by Jamie (Mitch) Mitchell

Whenever playing cricket at Redruth or Camborne, you would often hear (usually in a heavy Cornish accent) “If you can’t see Carn Brea, then it’s raining. If you can see Carn Brea, then it’s about to rain.” Well we can add something along the lines of “If you’re driving to a game of cricket with full headlights on, then your gear is likely to stay in the car.”

By various means and routes, Pompey’s finest had managed the long journey to rural Berkshire, despite Micky H directing Nicky Wyatt’s Fun Bus to an exit that no longer exists, and the wagon carrying the Davis clan finding themselves heading for Guilford - even the Big Cheese (Martin Ballard-Collins) rocked up on time! Their arrival was greeted with light but persistent rain, to accompany the gloomy light - and although there was little wind, and nothing by way of clear sky on the horizon, the home skipper optimistically wanted to wait for an improvement in conditions.

Incidents in the ensuing loitering included Micky H telling anyone within earshot about the quirky Hampshire League rules surrounding rain delays (something about waiting until 3:27pm at the latest, and the toss is decided by the captains competing in a stump race, among other verbal pebble-dashing); Lee Hungerford’s stag do (what stays on the stag, etc.); the youth knocking a football around, then a golf ball, hacking up the outfield in the process; the Big Cheese squeezed in a lap around the ground, and ran some fielding drills among the youth; Nicky Wyatt (incorrectly) questioning the nationality of a certain team mate – all the while, the rain was on and off like and OCD sufferer’s light switch.

 After a couple of hours of watching the afternoon pass by, the East Woodhay skipper finally conceded defeat to Mother Nature, and abandoned the game. The move enabled some of the guys to try and rescue what was left of their Saturday, while others managed to get back to HQ to watch the 1s beat Calmore, and in the process, witness The Great Wall of Southsea become The Great Bawl of Southsea.

 Weather permitting, Pompey 2s will return to St Helens, to host Fair Oak 2s

 

 

 

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/LFFZ2QX

 

Fixtures

You can access all upcoming fixtures on the website at

https://portsmouth.hitscricket.com/

If you would like more detailed fixture information - for a particular team for instance, these are also available on the website at

https://portsmouth.hitscricket.com/fixtures/default.aspx

On Saturday and other selectedhome fixtures

The Clubhouse at St Helen's will be open

 
 
 

You can order your Portsmouth Cricket Club Kit

at

https://teamwear.nxt-sports.com/shop/portsmouth-cricket-club

[link is also on website]

   
 

Volunteers  Required

Like many clubs we rely on the goodwill of members in helping out with the running various aspects. If you can spare time on Friday evening by helping out behind the bar or the BBQ please add your name down on the sheet that can be found in the bar area in the plastic wallet underneath the bell.

   
 
 

Training for U9's and younger takes place on Friday evening, and includes the  '#TCIF Social' with BBQ

All members and guests are welcome