EMCC 2004 The full seasons coverage 

Mynthurst - AGM 2004 – Stat. Summary

The traditional end of season game at Mynthurst ended with the traditional result as EMCC put up a brave fight before losing comprehensively. In the disappointing total of 78 set by EMCC only Richard “the arm” Darke batted with any fluency to score 24 runs while those around him struggled and invented new ways to get out. Our bowling was much better however as imaginative captaincy from Tom “Gilchrist” Hill, and superb bowling from Geoff “the cat” Morris restricted the normally free flowing batsmen to less than three an over.

 

Calypso Collapso
Date:	5 September 2004
Opponent:	Bec Old Boys
Result:	Lose
Scores:	Bec 188-8 & EMCC 53 All out
Report: After a huge amount of hard work in the heat of a scorching Sunday afternoon’s fielding, EMCC’'s batsmen engaged in a collective impersonation of the Muppets to throw away this game.  The match began well for EMCC with Simon “Stella” King and Gary “angry” Knapper bowling well on responsive wicket which offered considerable seam movement.  Gary grabbed the first wicket with a lovely seaming delivery and used all the knowledge of his senior pro status to bowl six overs for only 23 runs. The star of the show for EMCC was Mike “shane” Darke who bowled his leggies and googlies to great effect, with none of the Bec batsmen ever being able to pick his variations. In a marathon spell of 13 overs he took three wickets for just 36 runs. Mike was supported by some excellent fielding, and at the other end Giffiths, Grant and co. all bowled with admirable composure; before Simon returned to the attack late on to take three well-deserved wickets. Chasing 189 on a turning wicket was always going to be a struggle, but a mixture of poor shot selection and inspired bowling skittled EMCC for just 53 runs. Only three batsmen made it to double figures, and four ducks indicated that EMCC batsmen failed to really dig in and fight for the draw, as the innings only lasted 21 overs.  A strong performance against Cuddington next week is a must!! Fez Moment: A collective award to all the batsmen who mistook their bats for boomerangs and are probably still sitting at Gibraltar Rec. waiting for them to come back, after they were thrown away in disgust.

 

W.G. Grace is Alive – and plays for EMCC!
Date:	28 August 2004
Opponent:	CC Gas
Result:	Lose
Scores:	CC Gas 138 – 5 & EMCC 135 – All out
Report:  After the weeks rain the EMCC players (and Tim Pitt’s biggest fan) were just glad to get a game in against CC Gas, on a bright and breezy Saturday afternoon. The soggy wicket meant that for the first time this year Gibraltar Rec. did not look like a 200 run per innings ground, and when CC batted first they made a positive start seizing on anything over pitched by the opening bowlers Simon King and Gary Knapper. Gary struggled for rhythm early in his spell but struck back to take the wicket of the opening batsman caught by Simon King in the deep. The introduction of Geoff Morris had an immediate effect as he snared a wicket in the first over with another of his many variations, and Jim “DJ“ Yelland also picked up two wickets by swinging the ball both ways. A tight late spell from Tim Pitt and a superb catch off the bowling of Mike “Shane” Darke restricted the visitors to 138 for five in their 35 overs. The EMCC reply got off to a disappointing start with Simon King hit the sixth ball straight to the cover fielder, but an exciting 41 run partnership followed, with Chris Ash in fine form taking the attack to the bowlers. When Chris fell going for one too many big hits, Colin “the crab” Smith took over the reigns driving well down the ground and testing the fielders catching ability. A mini collapse followed mid innings and a win looked beyond EMCC until Will “WG Grace” Baldwin strode to the wicket. His recent trip to Peru (a hot-bed of cricket excellence) inspired him to crash the ball to the cover boundary repeatedly in 39 exciting runs which had EMCC needing 6runs off the last two overs to secure an unlikely boundary. It wasn’t to be however and EMCC ended up just four runs short, bowled out for 135. Fez Moment: A team fez is awarded, for the collective realisation that there is in fact more than one Bob Prescott, and he was umpiring for the opposition. No ball!

 

EMCC at Sea on Alexander Rec.
Date:	30 July 2004
Opponent:	Croydon Spinners
Result:	Lose
Scores:	Croydon Spinners 236 – 5 & EMCC 213 - 8
Report: On the hottest day of the year it was a run feast at Alexander Rec. as both teams clattered along at close to six runs per over through out the contest. A lightening fast outfield and a serious shortage of bowlers hampered EMCC in the field. Richard “the arm” Darke, modelling his new action, bowled with admirable pace and bounce but with all the luck of Frank Spencer in his first spell. Two costly drops and poor umpiring saw his first spell go undeservedly wicketless, while Gary “iga” Knapper plugged away at the other end, conceding only three boundaries in his eight overs and taking the wicket of the Croydon opener. The Croydon batsmen ruthlessly exposed the missing fourth and fifth bowlers for EMCC, with only Andy Grant really performing above himself to take one wicket for 27 in a five over spell of canny off spin. The eventual total of 236 looked way beyond EMCC when Griffiths hit the first ball of the innings straight to deep backward square. However Colin “the crab” and Andy “winter nets” Grant consolidated with a thirty run partnership, and Andy carried on with a another 30 runs partnership with Miller. Without ever dominating the Croydon bowlers EMCC batted with considerable energy and the positive running between the wickets was serious thorn in the side of the Croydon fielders. A partnership of 66 runs dominated by Richard “the arm” Darke was not quite enough to see EMCC home the deficit at the end of 40 overs was 23 runs and a win for Croydon Spinners.

 

Double Header Marathon Weekend Part One – Morden Parish The sun shone on a comprehensive victory over a weakened Morden side. For the second week running the EMCC bowling removed the heart of the opposition batting to ensure a minimal score to chase. Gary “I ya” Knapper opened the bowling down the hill with the admirable control to only concede 11 runs in 6 overs. At the other end Jay Durrett found extravagant movement taking four wickets including an unplayable ball to remove Morden Parishes best batsman clean bowled through the gate. The change bowlers Allkins, Morris and Seary, each grabbed a couple of wickets each and Morden collapsed to 60 all out. Buoyed by the excellent fielding and bowling, the batsmen knocked off the runs with admirable speed in only ten overs. This included 26 not out for Andy “winter nets” Grant and 28 for Stuart “ave it” Griffiths, before Mat “the boys got talent” Grant pulled for four through midwicket to seal the win.   Part Two – Waverley Farnham In a significantly closer and more exciting match EMCC took on Waverley Farnham in the second game of the weakened. Against the talented batsmen of Waverley EMCC fielding superbly and held every catch saving twenty or more runs. An early injury to Gary Knapper meant heavier bowling loads for others, and Jay responded to the skipper’s request for more overs to take 4 wickets for 52 runs in 19 overs. Mike “shane” Darke found his rhythm and bowled with no luck, while Geoff “the cat“ Morris took four wickets for 44 runs in a ten over spell. The ground fielding of Steve “little” Darke and Colin “the crab” Smith was excellent and just about kept the chase to a manageable level. Despite a slow start to the EMCC reply the key to the successful chase was two key partnerships. The opening partnership of 55 was dominated by Colin “the crab” Smith and was studded with his trademark cover drives and excellent running between the wickets.  Once Collins wicket fell a mini collapse emphasised just how tough the batting conditions were before Rich “the arm” Darke came in to bat and stamped his authority on the situation. His 48 runs came in quick time and was full of effortless timing and trademark drives in a 102 run partnership. By the time Rich was run out EMCC only needed 6 runs to win, which Tom “chops” Hill delivered for the team. In many ways this was a highly successful one for the team and the spirit the games were played in an excellent advert for the church and its reach out programme.

 

The Anger Management Tour 2004
Date: 9 July 2004	10 July 2004	11 July 2004
Opponent: North Curry	The weather	Upper Clatford
Result: Lose	Lose	Lose
Scores: North Curry 172 – 1 & EMCC 101 -5	Weather – Wet & EMCC – Umbrellas	Upper Clatford 116 All out & EMCC 106 All out
Friday Our team of intrepid explorers set sail for the rain forests of Somerset on Friday, with a mix of youth, experience and waterproofs. The traditional first game of tour took place at Hogwarts (other wise known as Taunton School), but unfortunately all the magic came from North Curry batsmen. Curry amassed the mammoth total of 172 runs in 20 overs, including a brutal 109 from Chilcott, scored in true twenty20 style. All the EMCC bowlers took some hefty blows, fielders were put under pressure, and only Jim “DJ celebrations” Yelland took a wicket. The chase was too great for the EMCC batsmen and despite a valiant 20 from skipper for the day Stuart “ave it” Griffiths and Chris “fag” Ash’s first 50 for the church since his first game two years ago, EMCC only managed 101 in their 20 overs. Only the excellent hospitality of our hosts in the Bird in Hand compensated for a disappointing start to the tour.   Saturday The only bowling on Saturday was of the ten-pin variety, as the rain came and washed the game out. Like all true professional the EMCC players immediately made the most of the hotels gym and sports facilities, while the teams intellectuals (1 GCSE and above) enjoyed a game of Universally Challenged with host Bob Prescott and his book on the laws of cricket.   Sunday After having had an intellectual and physical work out the day before EMCC took to the decidedly wet field of play in Upper Clatford with great expectations. Richard “the arm” Darke and Jay “’s fluid” Durrett opened the bowling, but the extra bounce of these bowlers seemed to make the ball sit up on the slow surface, and it took Jim “DJ celebrations” Yelland’s fuller length to take wickets. His combination of length and in-movement slowed the scoring rate and rewarded him with three wickets to make him leading tour wicket taker. Stuart “ave” it Griffiths bowled well at the end of the innings grabbing a couple of wickets and Upper Clatford were restricted to 116. The EMCC batting did not play up to expectations and some carefree shots from the top order cost them dearly. Only three players made double figures in the EMCC innings with Colin “the crab” Smith scuttling his way to 19 but it was the all round performances of Jay “’s fluid” Durrett (43) and DJ Yelland (12) that caught the eye. Jay played through considerable pain for his 43 and DJ Yelland hit a superb pull stroke in a final spurt but the early wickets cost us and we finished up 10 runs short.   Fez Moment: Overall fez award goes to Chris “fag” Ash and his anger management coach James Prescott. A marriage made in Taunton!

 

Griffith's Innings in Vain
Date:	3 July 2004
Opponent:	Weybridge 4ths
Result:	Lose
Scores:	EMCC 148 – 9 & Weybridge 149 - 6
Report: Unlike many of the other games at EMCCs home ground, this was a low scoring affair, in which bowlers had the upper hand for substantial periods. Losing the toss, EMCC were put into bat by Weybridge 4ths , and openers Andy “Caribbean” Grant and Stuart “ave it” Griffiths, were immediately tested by some accurate and genuinely quick bowling. Additional movement from the surface, tested both batsmen’s skill and courage, while the opening partnership of 87 should have set a valuable launch pad for the middle order. However once both openers had departed the remainder were blown away, with only one other player reaching double figures. Only some good running between the wickets ensured a total of 148 was set for Weybridge. With spirits lifted by another superb tea, (thank you Joan), EMCC bowled well to start with but without reward. Gary “iga” Knapper made the best of the conditions and created a couple of chances but these fell just short of the fielders. It was the introduction of spin which seemed to surprise the batsmen, and both bowlers found plenty of turn in the wicket. Geoff “the cat” Morris made the first break through and went on to take two further wickets, while Mike “Shane” Darke bowled without luck and flashes of his googley. However a wicket for Baldwin’s occasional legspin was not quite enough and Weybridge smashed their way to victory. Fez Moment: Will “WG” Baldwin for his leave alone shot and retort to the bowler – “I don’t do legside.” Only a player of WG Baldwin's class could get away with a comment like that.

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It’s Raining Runs at Gib. Rec.
Date:	26 June 2004
Opponent	Ambassadors
Result:	Win
Scores:	EMCC 221 – 3 & Ambassadors 116 All out
Report: The frustrations of two recent defeats were swept away by Saturdays comprehensive 100 run win against the Ambassadors. Winning the toss and choosing to bat first, the new opening partnership of Stuart “ave it” Griffiths (47) and Andy “winter nets” Grant (33) savaged the new ball attack by going for their shots from ball one. The pressure on the bowlers told and forced errors that both batsmen punished at 8 runs per over for the first 10 overs. When Griffiths finally holed out steady accumulation followed at 5 runs per over, as Steve “little” Darke and Andy eased the ball around as the rain fell. When this partnership was broken the final 10 over assault began, which effectively broke the Ambassadors challenge, as Richard “the arm” Darke launched the ball out of the ground, across East Street and into the garden, scaring the gnomes who were previously enjoying the game. The final 50 runs of the EMCC total came from just 30 balls and EMCC enjoyed the half time cuppa all the more for it.Buoyed by the earlier fire works EMCC took to the field and repeated the feat with the ball. Jim “celebrations” Yelland found his line, length and Gib. Rec. form, to take three top order wickets including two clean bowled. Even the rain failed to put a dampener on the performance as superb ground field, notably by “W.G.” Baldwin, creating a run out and the pressure forced the Ambassadors leading batsman into a wild slash at a Mike “shane” Darke leg break that hit middle stump. The Ambassadors were never in the hunt for the impressive EMCC total, and late wickets for Griffiths and Morris were the icing on the cake in a good all round performance. Fez Moment: Jim “celebrations” Yelland for the celebration of his first wicket as he search in vain for the England badge on his shirt to kiss. It’s a good job his radar found the stumps more easily

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Near and Yet So Far
Date:	19 June 2004
Opponent:	Croydon Spinners
Result:	Lose
Scores:	EMCC 167 – 3 lost to Croydon Spinners 168–7
Report: The return to Overton Rec in Sutton did not quite return EMCC to the winning ways of the first game of the season, but the Spinners were made to work for every run in their victory. As is traditional, Geoff “the cat” Morris returned to his Overton Rec opening batsman slot, with a gutsy knock and season’s best score of 51 runs. Accumulating his runs gradually, Geoff first saw of the new ball and then set about carrying his bat through the innings, with three partnerships of over 25 runs, and a third wicket partnership of 90 with Mark “sick note” Johnson. EMCCs steady accumulation put together a solid score of 167 runs but they were unable to break the shackles of the experienced Spinners attack. Minus a number of key bowlers EMCC started well in the field and took two vital early wickets to set them on the way. Jim “celebrations” Yelland clean bowled one of the Spinners opening batsmen and Geoff “the cat” Morris completed his man of the match performance by taking two wickets in an unbroken 8 over spell, which conceded only 15 runs. When Richard “the arm” Darke found considerable wind assisted inswing in his bowling and yorked the spinners star turn Murali in his final over, EMCC were still in the hunt for an unlikely victory. However the strength in depth of the spinners batting, and a weakened EMCC attack combined to see only one further wicket fall. Without such high quality ground fielding EMCC would have lost the match sooner, but led by Tom “chops” Hill and Chris “fag” Ash the spinners were forced to take the game into the 37th over before hitting the winning runs. Man of the Match: On the field of play for the whole of the game, Geoff “the cat” Morris bowled and batted with great concentration for 77 overs. (Well played Geoff and I hope you don’t regret it in the morning!!)

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29may

The Badger Parade
Date:	29 May 2004
Opponent	Badgers C.C.
Result:	Lose
Scores:	EMCC 198 – 8 & Badgers 201 - 0
Report: All good things come to an end and the EMCC run came to a halt on Saturday with a 10-wicket loss. The Gibraltar wicket was the best looking of the season, but freshened by an early morning rain shower and some excellent new ball bowling saw EMCC firmly on the back foot. The early losses of openers Mike "Shane" Darke and Chris "fag" Ash to Gordon's pace, was followed by a gritty 100 partnership dominated by Andy "winter nets" Grant, who drove and swept the Badgers bowling attack. Andy was forced to retire hurt on 75 but Richard "the arm" Darke reiterated his class with the bat to hit 44 runs including consecutive sixes. With a season high total of 198 on the board EMCC went into the field hopeful of a first positive result against a traditionally strong Badgers side. However the Badgers then set about the EMCC attack with some classical batting, which included on and off driving of the highest standard. Their batting was almost faultless and only two half chances were created despite the valiant efforts of Gary "Iga" Knapper and Tony "one more over" Blakeburn. Simon "use the force" King was the only bowler to troubled the batsmen, and on another day and against another team he would have had a five wicket haul. I’m sure his GCSEs will not be anywhere near as difficult an examination. Fez Moment: Awarded to the miserable gentleman in the crowd (!) who left the ground complaining the game was too noisy. We were evidently keeping him awake and promise to try and hit the ball a bit quieter next time.

Read Badgers report of the match.................

100% Record Still Intact
Date:	22 May 2004
Opponent:	Modern Parish
Result:	Win
Scores:	EMCC 154 – 5 & Morden 79 All out
Report: Yes it’s nearly the end of May and EMCC are still have a 100% record!! OK we’ve only played two games, but lets enjoy our time in the sun and build on the great start. Put into bat on a green wicket which had the opening bowlers licking their lips, EMCC started solidly and compiled a 76 run opening partnership. Positive running between the wickets was punctuated by the now famous Stuart "ave it" Griffiths (43) pull and the sumptuous Colin "the crab" Smith (38) cover drive. At the end of the partnership the true nature of the pitch became clear as EMCC were becalmed and the run rate dropped. It fell to Richard "the arm" Darke (26) to revive the innings and did so with his customary timing which included three consecutive fours. The eventual EMCC total of 154 gave the bowlers something to work with and they adapted well to the conditions with canny swing and seam bowling. On his return to the side Tony "one more over" Blakeburn blew away the early cobwebs, and then blew away the Morden top order. Bowling figures of 13 overs, 7 maidens, 15 runs and 7 wickets tell their own story, but the fact EMCC did not drop a single catch made a huge difference. Richard "the arm" Darke bowled from the over end with equal control and considerable bounce. His 13 overs only conceding 27 runs and took three wickets, while Tim "trouble down" Pitt also hinted at a bright future in the EMCC attack. Only a late counter attack from Ben S.C. saved the Morden blushes in a score card which included seven ducks. Fez Moment: (Back by popular request) James "Jonty" Prescott’s analysis of the running between the wickets of the EMCC opening partnership. No James Inzimam Ul Haq was not playing but some would argue he might have been watching at the time!

Win Built from Grit and Character
Date:24	April 2004
Opponent	Cuddington Casuals
Result:	Win
Scores:	EMCC 85 All out - Cuddington 58 All out
Report: Tom "chops" Hill’s battling response when he came into bat facing a hat-trick ball, typified the character of the EMCC display which led to the first victory of the season. Responding to adversity EMCC began well with a solid opening partnership, on a pitch and outfield, which ensured bowlers, would dominate.Of the early batsmen only Stuart "have it" Griffiths seemed able to time the ball as EMCC accumulated singles. Geoff "the cat" Morris displayed his trusty stick ability and pull shot, before Marcel joined the game and ripped through the middle order with high quality swing bowling. The tail then hung around long enough (again showing excellent character in the conditions) for EMCC to post a score of 85 from 37 overs. The same character EMCC had shown with the bat then came through in the field, as the bowlers ignored some early and shocking fielding lapses. Three simple drops (sorry Gary!) in three overs would have cracked some attacks, but Simon "use the force" King and a fit again Gary "Iga" Knapper responded by bowling batsmen out instead. EMCC won the key period of the game when the first bowling changes were made and Richard "the arm" Darke took a wicket with his first ball and Andy "Jonty" Grant ran out Cuddington’s most dangerous batsman. Suddenly Cuddington were 19 for 7 and apart from some lusty blows from Cuddington’s Grant, EMCC wrapped up an impressive victory.(For an alternative account try the Cuddington website – I think we all played in the same game but I’m not entirely sure?)

All new talent welcome, please  e-mail Mark Johnson (Captain) CLICK here

OSL is Old Schools Lane
GBR is Gibralter Recreation Ground
ALE is Alexandra Recreation Ground

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Last modified: 15-Apr-2008