The first team played in senior league division 3 his year. They finished 8 / 10 and the expectation is to get relegated. On a positive note they reached the quarter finals of cup.
Milton 175 all out, Barley 176/4
Martin Charlesworth 37, Jez Major 44, Jack Nayar 26
Buster Harradine 3 wickets
Another disappointing defeat caused by a sub-par batting performance and failure to get early wickets when bowling. The disappointment was somewhat abaited though by the lovely sunny day and picturesque setting of the Barley ground.
Soham 168/7, Milton 143 all out.
Jon Sanders 3/43
Sandeep Mohanraj 47
The first team's season reached a low point as they failed to get a low total to win this match against fellow relegation candidates Soham. Buster and Jon opened the bowling and got the early breakthroughs as Soham were reduced to 42/3 and then 81/5 and Milton hoped to bowl Soham out cheaply. But a long, slow parntership of 60 for the next wicket helped them bat out the overs and finish on 168, still a very gettable total.
Milton had a bad start as openers Martin and Ben went cheaply, but then Jez and especially Sandeep started to dominate the bowling as they raced to 76/2 off 15 overs. The skipper was out for 20 in the next over and Sandeep fell next for 47 but with the score at 108/4 Milton needed just 61 runs from almost 20 overs. However the batting order proved to be pretty fragile as the last 7 wickets fell for just 35 runs with only John Amphlett (16) and Jack (19 not out) able to occupy the crease for any length of time.
Milton 223/5, Madingley 224/5 in 38.5 overs
Martin Charlesworth 55, David Ball 40, Dave Clark 32 not out, Jez Major 31
Buster Harradine 3/46
Despite setting a competitive total batting first Milton were unable to defend it as Madingley cruised home with 6.1 overs to spare and their number three made an unbeaten century. Martin and Jez opened the batting and Martin had an early let off as he was called back by the keeper who admited the ball had touched the ground as he appeared to take a catch from a fine nick. Martin went on to top score with 55 as the openers put Milton is a solid position with an opening stand of 124 in 23 overs. Milton then had a mini collapse as they slipped to 133/4 but Dav Ball and Dave Clark managed to build the score to 200 before Dav was bowled for 40, and eventually Milton reached 223.
Milton got a good start as Buster dismissed Madingley's openers in his first spell, the second being a spectacular caught and bowled as he reached back with his left had and grabbed the ball which already seemed to have gone past him. A 70 run stand for the 3rd wicket was dominated by the Kiwi Morgan who went on to get 109 not out, but at 105/3 off 20 overs Milton still has a chance if they could take quick wickets or slow the run rate with tight bowling and fielding. Unfortunately neither happened and the run rate accellerated as Morgan and another Kiwi, Davis got into their stride and knocked off the runs with plenty of overs to spare
Abington 290/3; Milton 62/5 - Match abandonned, Abington win on run rate.
Jon Sanders 1-58, Jon Dann 1-60, Mark Barton 1-60
Jez Major 30
Abington took full revenge for their narrow league defeat the previous day with a crushing win which was technically decided on run rate after a heavy deluge turned the pitch to mud. This time Abington elected to bat after winning the toss and Earl showed his class by hammering 120 in 32 overs before surprisingly being bowled by a full toss from first team debutant Jon Dann. By that point Abington already had 192 runs on the board and Milton's fielders were demoralised. They went on to rack up a massive 290/3, with the other opener, Duquemin bringing up his century near the end before an error by the scorers cruelly reduced it to 99 not out!
Milton's innings started badly when Ben ran himself out without scoring in the second over. Jez came in and pulled 2 huge sixes into the stream running alongside the ground before he also ran himself out for 30. By the time the deluge came after 21 overs Milton had slumped to 62/5, and after over an hour of waiting the umpire abandonned the match as the pitch was unplayable.
Milton 182 all out; Abington 180/9
Jez Major 42, Sandeep Mohanraj 33, Dav Ball 36
Mark Barton 4-39
Milton pulled off their best win of the season against top-of-the-table Abington in another nailbiting finish. After being put in by Abington Milton made 182 with the main contributions from Jez (42), Dav (36) and Sandeep (33). Abington's openers started confidently, racing to 58 without loss in 14 overs. Then Johnny struck, nipping out former Saffron Waldon player Earl for 37 with an excellent seaming delivery.
Abington progressed to 90/1 until Mark took two crucial wickets in the 24th over, one being an incredible one handed diving catch by Dav Ball at mid-wicket. Then Mark and Jack bowled well in tandem and slowed the run rate and the game became finely balanced. When Martin caught Hamper in the deep for 59 Milton were well on top as Abington needed 23 off the last 2 overs, and despite making slightly hard work of it they hung on for a well deserved victory.
Milton 164 all out; Bottisham/Lode 165/7
Sandeep Mohanraj 70, Jack Nayar 38 not out
Buster Harradine 2-43, Hersh Nayar 2-35, Mark Barton 2-29
Milton were left feeling cheated at the end of this game which was decided by extremely dubious umpiring by the home side in the final over. Needing 3 runs to win off the last 2 balls of Gert's over their umpire called the next two balls wides to the disgust of Milton's players who could see the balls were legitimate. On the second one the batsmen even went for a run even though the ball was with the keeper and there was a run out at the bowlers end, but celebrations turned to anger as the umpire put his arms out to signal wide and hand the win to his team.
Earlier a fine 70 from Sandeep was the main feature of Milton's innings as the rest of the top order failed to contribute. However an excellent rearguard action from Jack (38 not out) and Buster (22) boosted the score to 164 all out with almost 6 overs unused. Several of Bottisham/Lode's batsmen got starts but Milton were able to get wickets and restrict the run rate with tight bowling by all 3 slower bowlers and a memorable overhead catch by Buster right on the boundary line. In the field Milton fought well and took the match right to the wire and should ultimately have been successful.
Milton 103 all out; Histon II 107/4
Dav Ball 45
Gert Roets 4-43
Another below par performance by the batting order in difficult conditions gave Histon an easy win in this game. In an inning interrupted several times by rain, youngster Dav Ball was the only batsman to get going, making a stylish 45. Martin (13) and Phil (11 not out) were the only others to get into double figures as Milton were skittled for 103 in 36.2 overs. Despite 2 firey spells from Gert in which he took 4 wickets for 43, Histon cruised home in 23.2 overs in golden evening sunshine to take the 20 points.
Thriplow 247/7 (36 overs), Milton 148 all out
Buster Harradine 4/61
Martin Charlesworth 40, Jez Major 47
In a match reduced to 36 overs a side due to threat of rain Milton put in a poor all-round performance and were soundly beaten by a Thriplow side lying second in the league. Thriplow's batsmen took advantage of too much short bowling on a pudding of a pitch and some very short boundaries to rack up 247/7 in their 36 overs including 11 sixes. Buster was the only bowler to make an impresson taking 4/61 in his 9 overs, despite Dan unleashishing his full repertoire of trick balls.
Needing nearly 7 an over Milton started brightly after Ben was out for 2 Martin and Jez took the score to 80 off 15 overs before Martin was bowled for 40. After that nobody managed to support Jez as Milton subsided to 148 all out in just 30.1 overs, Jez top scoring with 47.
Milton 251-8, Cherry Hinton 213 all out
Jez Major 79, Rudolf Roets 65
Dan Coston 4-52, Mark Barton 4-30
Milton's good run of form continued with a hard-fought win over Cherry Hinton based on another good batting performance. This time the main scorers were Jez and Rudolf who shared a superb 144 partnership in exactly 20 overs for the 3rd wicket after Martin (18) and Phil (7) were out. Jez reached his 50 just before Rudolf and went on to make his best ever score of 79 before edging to the keeper just after Rudolf was out for a classy 65. After John (4) and Dave Clark (0) were out in successive balls Milton's lower order batted well to boost the score up to 251-8 with Gert making 11, Bob 19 and Graeme 18 not out.
Gert (6-0-44-1) and Dan (12-1-52-4) again struck with early wickets reducing Cherry Hinton to 51-4 after 11 overs. However the opener, Brierly, was still there and punishing any loose balls, as John found out, conceding 36 runs in 4 overs. As the innings went on it became clear that to win Milton had to get him out as Cherry Hinton were well on top of the required run rate. Jez brought Mark on to bowl and it proved to be the turning point as he took 2 wickets before getting the big one, finally bowling Brierly for 134. Mark finished with excellent figures of 6-0-30-4. Dan then returned and after a bit of niggle with Martin Livermore he wrapped up the innings for 213 all out, and everyone dashed to the pavillion to watch the England-France game at Euro 2004.
Milton team: Phil Bone, Martin Charlesworth, Jez Major, Rudolf Roets, John Sanders, Dave Clark, Gert Roets, Bob Newton, Graeme Newton, Mark Barton, Dan Coston.
Milton 266-7, Granta III 183-9
Martin Charlesworth 137 not out
Gert Roets 5-46
After electing to bat Milton's latest opening pair of Martin and Phil shared a solid stand of 67 for the first wicket in 17 overs before Phil was bowled for 21. Sandeep then came in and hit 26 before chipping the ball to mid-on. Meanwhile Martin's 50 had come up to be greeted by the ringing of Dan's fire bell. Peter was out for 2 then John, Jez and Ian Jackson all got started before all being out for 11 runs. However Martin was still there at the other end and after being dropped a couple of times his century duely arrived in 134 minutes, the second fify coming much quicker than the first in 49 minutes. After an early tea due to a rain shower Buster was out for a golden duck as Milton completed their innings on 266-7. Martin carried his bat, eventually finishing with 137 not out including 22 fours and 1 six.
Granta fell behind the required run rate of almost 6 an over right from the start of the innings as openers Dan and Gert got the important early breakthroughs as Granta stumbled to 55-4. Gert went on to get a deserved first 5 wicket haul for the club, his figures were 12-2-46-5. John took 2-24 and Dan and Buster picked up 1 wicket each as Granta were never allowed to threaten Milton's total, and the innings petered out on 183-9 and Milton claimed their second successive victory.
Milton team: Phil Bone, Martin Charlesworth, Sandeep Mohanraj, Peter Stoehr, John Sanders, Jez Major, Ian Jackson, Buster Harradine, Gert Roets, Nick Gray, Dan Coston.
Barley 129-9, Milton 130-4
Buster Harradine 5-25
Martin Charlesworth 58, Dave Clark 36 not out
Milton 1st team finally got off the mark for the season with a convincing 6 wicket win over Barley at a warm and sunny Sycamores. After winning the toss Barley chose to bat but could only manage a total of 129/9 in their 45 overs as Milton's bowlers and fielders kept things really tight. After good opening spells from Gert (12-2-24-1) and Johnny (12-1-35-1) the star of the bowling was Buster who took 5 wickets for 25 in 11 overs including 4 maidens and all his victims being bowled. Buster also took 2 catches, one being a spectacular catch diving forward to get Mark's only victim, and Corne also bowled well, taking 1/27 in 8 overs. Phil kept wicket well in his first appearance behind the stumps this season with only 3 byes conceded and took a regulation catch off Gert.
Chasing a low total, the Milton openers, Martin and Ben, started cautiously before Ben was dubiously given out LBW for a duck. However the scoring rate soon increased as stand-in captain Sandeep got off the mark with a huge six into the trees at the Tesco end. Martin was also getting into his stride and hit 11 boundaries as his 50 came up with Milton in a very strong position at 96/2. By that time Sandeep had played on for 7 but Dave Clark (36 not out) shared a 56 run stand with Martin that took Milton to the brink of victory before Martin was out LBW for 58. John was disappointed to be given out for 10 off what looked to most people like a bump ball. However the victory was not delayed for long as the winning runs came up rather unsatisfyingly with 2 byes, and everyone went to the pub to share in a bout of jug-buying.
Milton team: Ben Sanders, Martin Charlesworth, Sandeep Mohanraj, Dave Clark, John Sanders, Phil Bone, Gert Roets, Corne Grobler, Buster Harradine, Mark Barton, Jack Nayar.
Milton 202-9, Soham 203-8
Jez Major 64, Jack Nayar 32
Rudolf Roets 3-39
Milton were once again disappointed to lose a game they felt should have been won against a team containing several junior players. Milton batted first and posted a competitive total of 202, Chris Easley hitting a 4 off the last ball of the innings to take the score over the 200 mark. Jez hit an excellent 64 and the other main contributers were Jack (32) and Rudolph (20).
Milton took the field knowing they had a good chance of a first win of the season but it was not to be, and they only had themselves to blame as a series of dropped catches eventually cost very dearly. Gert once again bowled very tightly as the batsmen struggled to deal with his pace. However despite finding the edge several times in the early overs every time the chances went to ground. It was not until much later in the innings that Rudolf held a tidy catch at 2nd slip to give Gert (2-29) his first wicket. Rudolf himself was probably the best bowler on the day with figures of 3-39. John Sanders took 2-48. A flurry of late wickets meant that nerves were getting frayed at the end, but Milton left themselves with to few runs to defend as Soham reached their target with just 2 wickets in hand.
Milton team: Phil Bone, Ben Sanders, Sandeep Mohanraj, Rudolf Roets, John Sanders, Jez Major, Dave Clark, Jack Nayar, Martin Charlesworth, Gert Roets, Chris Easley.
Madingley 201 all out, Milton 175 all out
Dan Coston 5-?, Jack Nayar 3-31
Sandeep Mohanraj 44, John Sanders 32
A poor batting effort by Milton's top order on an excellent wicket at Girton College saw them lose their second league match of the season. Madingley elected to bat first and eventualluy made 201 all out, a score which seemed well within reach at tea. Dan was the main man getting 5 wickets despite a mixed spell of bowling. Gert bowled fast and accuarately and even Madingley's top batsman, a Kiwi who made a sylish half century, found it difficult to score off him, but only took 1 for 26. Jack also bowled a tidy spell of 8 overs taking 3 wickets for 31.
Milton's innings started brightly as Phil hit a few quick fours before being caught for 17. After that no-one managed to really get going apart from Sandeep who scored 44 and Jez (21) as wickets fell at regular intervals. At 134-8 things were looking pretty desperate for Milton when Buster went out to join Johnny at the crease. However some powerful and well-timed strokes from both players gave their shivering team mates something to cheer about at last as the score reached 175-8 after 41 overs. Unfortunatly both players were eventually out in the next over (John for 32, Buster for 23) and the game was over.
Milton team: Phil Bone, Ben Sanders, Sandeep Mohanraj, Peter Stoehr, Gert Roets, Jez Major, Martin Charlesworth, John Sanders, Jack Nayar, Buster Harradine, Dan Coston.
Over 66 all out, Milton 67-9
Gert Roets 3-3, John Sanders 3-14
Milton almost embarrassed themselves by failing to get 67 to win this match but eventually scraped through with a 1 wicket win. On a hot day at the Sycamores, the bowlers had put Milton in a very strong position after bowling Over out for 66. The top bowlers were Gert who took an excellent 3-3 and John Sanders also took 3 wickets for 14. Over's top scorer was extras with 19.
Perhaps the batsmen thought it would be a walk over but the early wickets tumbled at an incredible rate: after 10 overs Milton had lost 5 wickets for only 8 runs! The tension mounted as the scored crept up excruciatingly slowly at under 2 runs an over and further wickets fell. Finally Johnny Sanders stepped up to be the hero and smashed a glorious six back over the bowlers head to win the match to much relief from the rest of the team and Dan at the other end.
Milton team: Phil Bone, Peter Stoehr, Jez Major, Gerhard, Rudolph Roets, Dave Clark, Gert Roets, Jack Nayar, Hersh Nayar, John Sanders, Dan Coston
Abington 214/6, Milton 168 all out
Rudolf Roets 41, Dave Clark 42 not out
Jack Nayar 3-14, Dan Coston 2-48
Chasing 215 runs to win, Milton fell well short as they were dismissed for 168 in the first game of the season. Dave Clark top scored with 42 not out despite batting at number 9. Rudolph made a classy 41 and Ben made 29 in his opening berth, but too many batsmen fell cheaply. Jack was the best of the Milton bowlers taking 3-14, Dan (2-48) and Hersh (1-54) were the only other Milton wicket takers in Abington's 214-6.
Miton team: Phil Bone, Ben Sanders, Gert Roets, Rudolph Roets, Hersh Nayar, Peter Stoehr, John Sanders, Jack Nayar, Dave Clark, Buster Harradine, Dan Coston.
Forum :: Bulletin Boards :: Match Reports 2004
You cannot create new topics in this forum
You cannot post comments in this forum
This forum is locked
Unregistered visitors cannot post in this forum
cbparser BB code is on
Smilies are on
[IMG] is allowed
HTML tags are on
Profanity is not allowed
jon
First Team Match Reports
jon
7/8/04, Milton v Barley (at Barley)
Milton 175 all out, Barley 176/4
Martin Charlesworth 37, Jez Major 44, Jack Nayar 26
Buster Harradine 3 wickets
Another disappointing defeat caused by a sub-par batting performance and failure to get early wickets when bowling. The disappointment was somewhat abaited though by the lovely sunny day and picturesque setting of the Barley ground.
jon
31/7/04, Milton v Soham (at Soham)
Soham 168/7, Milton 143 all out.
Jon Sanders 3/43
Sandeep Mohanraj 47
The first team's season reached a low point as they failed to get a low total to win this match against fellow relegation candidates Soham. Buster and Jon opened the bowling and got the early breakthroughs as Soham were reduced to 42/3 and then 81/5 and Milton hoped to bowl Soham out cheaply. But a long, slow parntership of 60 for the next wicket helped them bat out the overs and finish on 168, still a very gettable total.
Milton had a bad start as openers Martin and Ben went cheaply, but then Jez and especially Sandeep started to dominate the bowling as they raced to 76/2 off 15 overs. The skipper was out for 20 in the next over and Sandeep fell next for 47 but with the score at 108/4 Milton needed just 61 runs from almost 20 overs. However the batting order proved to be pretty fragile as the last 7 wickets fell for just 35 runs with only John Amphlett (16) and Jack (19 not out) able to occupy the crease for any length of time.
jon
24/7/04, Milton v Madingley (at Milton)
Milton 223/5, Madingley 224/5 in 38.5 overs
Martin Charlesworth 55, David Ball 40, Dave Clark 32 not out, Jez Major 31
Buster Harradine 3/46
Despite setting a competitive total batting first Milton were unable to defend it as Madingley cruised home with 6.1 overs to spare and their number three made an unbeaten century. Martin and Jez opened the batting and Martin had an early let off as he was called back by the keeper who admited the ball had touched the ground as he appeared to take a catch from a fine nick. Martin went on to top score with 55 as the openers put Milton is a solid position with an opening stand of 124 in 23 overs. Milton then had a mini collapse as they slipped to 133/4 but Dav Ball and Dave Clark managed to build the score to 200 before Dav was bowled for 40, and eventually Milton reached 223.
Milton got a good start as Buster dismissed Madingley's openers in his first spell, the second being a spectacular caught and bowled as he reached back with his left had and grabbed the ball which already seemed to have gone past him. A 70 run stand for the 3rd wicket was dominated by the Kiwi Morgan who went on to get 109 not out, but at 105/3 off 20 overs Milton still has a chance if they could take quick wickets or slow the run rate with tight bowling and fielding. Unfortunately neither happened and the run rate accellerated as Morgan and another Kiwi, Davis got into their stride and knocked off the runs with plenty of overs to spare
jon
18/7/04, Milton v Abington (Walker Cup quarter final) (at Abington)
Abington 290/3; Milton 62/5 - Match abandonned, Abington win on run rate.
Jon Sanders 1-58, Jon Dann 1-60, Mark Barton 1-60
Jez Major 30
Abington took full revenge for their narrow league defeat the previous day with a crushing win which was technically decided on run rate after a heavy deluge turned the pitch to mud. This time Abington elected to bat after winning the toss and Earl showed his class by hammering 120 in 32 overs before surprisingly being bowled by a full toss from first team debutant Jon Dann. By that point Abington already had 192 runs on the board and Milton's fielders were demoralised. They went on to rack up a massive 290/3, with the other opener, Duquemin bringing up his century near the end before an error by the scorers cruelly reduced it to 99 not out!
Milton's innings started badly when Ben ran himself out without scoring in the second over. Jez came in and pulled 2 huge sixes into the stream running alongside the ground before he also ran himself out for 30. By the time the deluge came after 21 overs Milton had slumped to 62/5, and after over an hour of waiting the umpire abandonned the match as the pitch was unplayable.
jon
17/7/04, Milton v Abington (at Milton)
Milton 182 all out; Abington 180/9
Jez Major 42, Sandeep Mohanraj 33, Dav Ball 36
Mark Barton 4-39
Milton pulled off their best win of the season against top-of-the-table Abington in another nailbiting finish. After being put in by Abington Milton made 182 with the main contributions from Jez (42), Dav (36) and Sandeep (33). Abington's openers started confidently, racing to 58 without loss in 14 overs. Then Johnny struck, nipping out former Saffron Waldon player Earl for 37 with an excellent seaming delivery.
Abington progressed to 90/1 until Mark took two crucial wickets in the 24th over, one being an incredible one handed diving catch by Dav Ball at mid-wicket. Then Mark and Jack bowled well in tandem and slowed the run rate and the game became finely balanced. When Martin caught Hamper in the deep for 59 Milton were well on top as Abington needed 23 off the last 2 overs, and despite making slightly hard work of it they hung on for a well deserved victory.
jon
10/7/04, Bottisham/Lode (at Bottisham Village College)
Milton 164 all out; Bottisham/Lode 165/7
Sandeep Mohanraj 70, Jack Nayar 38 not out
Buster Harradine 2-43, Hersh Nayar 2-35, Mark Barton 2-29
Milton were left feeling cheated at the end of this game which was decided by extremely dubious umpiring by the home side in the final over. Needing 3 runs to win off the last 2 balls of Gert's over their umpire called the next two balls wides to the disgust of Milton's players who could see the balls were legitimate. On the second one the batsmen even went for a run even though the ball was with the keeper and there was a run out at the bowlers end, but celebrations turned to anger as the umpire put his arms out to signal wide and hand the win to his team.
Earlier a fine 70 from Sandeep was the main feature of Milton's innings as the rest of the top order failed to contribute. However an excellent rearguard action from Jack (38 not out) and Buster (22) boosted the score to 164 all out with almost 6 overs unused. Several of Bottisham/Lode's batsmen got starts but Milton were able to get wickets and restrict the run rate with tight bowling by all 3 slower bowlers and a memorable overhead catch by Buster right on the boundary line. In the field Milton fought well and took the match right to the wire and should ultimately have been successful.
jon
3/7/04, Milton v Histon II (at Histon Rec)
Milton 103 all out; Histon II 107/4
Dav Ball 45
Gert Roets 4-43
Another below par performance by the batting order in difficult conditions gave Histon an easy win in this game. In an inning interrupted several times by rain, youngster Dav Ball was the only batsman to get going, making a stylish 45. Martin (13) and Phil (11 not out) were the only others to get into double figures as Milton were skittled for 103 in 36.2 overs. Despite 2 firey spells from Gert in which he took 4 wickets for 43, Histon cruised home in 23.2 overs in golden evening sunshine to take the 20 points.
jon
26/6/04, Milton vs Thriplow (at Thriplow)
Thriplow 247/7 (36 overs), Milton 148 all out
Buster Harradine 4/61
Martin Charlesworth 40, Jez Major 47
In a match reduced to 36 overs a side due to threat of rain Milton put in a poor all-round performance and were soundly beaten by a Thriplow side lying second in the league. Thriplow's batsmen took advantage of too much short bowling on a pudding of a pitch and some very short boundaries to rack up 247/7 in their 36 overs including 11 sixes. Buster was the only bowler to make an impresson taking 4/61 in his 9 overs, despite Dan unleashishing his full repertoire of trick balls.
Needing nearly 7 an over Milton started brightly after Ben was out for 2 Martin and Jez took the score to 80 off 15 overs before Martin was bowled for 40. After that nobody managed to support Jez as Milton subsided to 148 all out in just 30.1 overs, Jez top scoring with 47.
jon
19/6/04, Milton vs Chatteris (at Milton)
Match report will appear here.
jon
13/6/04, Milton vs Cherry Hinton - Walker Cup (at Milton)
Milton 251-8, Cherry Hinton 213 all out
Jez Major 79, Rudolf Roets 65
Dan Coston 4-52, Mark Barton 4-30
Milton's good run of form continued with a hard-fought win over Cherry Hinton based on another good batting performance. This time the main scorers were Jez and Rudolf who shared a superb 144 partnership in exactly 20 overs for the 3rd wicket after Martin (18) and Phil (7) were out. Jez reached his 50 just before Rudolf and went on to make his best ever score of 79 before edging to the keeper just after Rudolf was out for a classy 65. After John (4) and Dave Clark (0) were out in successive balls Milton's lower order batted well to boost the score up to 251-8 with Gert making 11, Bob 19 and Graeme 18 not out.
Gert (6-0-44-1) and Dan (12-1-52-4) again struck with early wickets reducing Cherry Hinton to 51-4 after 11 overs. However the opener, Brierly, was still there and punishing any loose balls, as John found out, conceding 36 runs in 4 overs. As the innings went on it became clear that to win Milton had to get him out as Cherry Hinton were well on top of the required run rate. Jez brought Mark on to bowl and it proved to be the turning point as he took 2 wickets before getting the big one, finally bowling Brierly for 134. Mark finished with excellent figures of 6-0-30-4. Dan then returned and after a bit of niggle with Martin Livermore he wrapped up the innings for 213 all out, and everyone dashed to the pavillion to watch the England-France game at Euro 2004.
Milton team: Phil Bone, Martin Charlesworth, Jez Major, Rudolf Roets, John Sanders, Dave Clark, Gert Roets, Bob Newton, Graeme Newton, Mark Barton, Dan Coston.
jon
12/6/04, Milton vs Granta III (at St Catherine's College)
Milton 266-7, Granta III 183-9
Martin Charlesworth 137 not out
Gert Roets 5-46
After electing to bat Milton's latest opening pair of Martin and Phil shared a solid stand of 67 for the first wicket in 17 overs before Phil was bowled for 21. Sandeep then came in and hit 26 before chipping the ball to mid-on. Meanwhile Martin's 50 had come up to be greeted by the ringing of Dan's fire bell. Peter was out for 2 then John, Jez and Ian Jackson all got started before all being out for 11 runs. However Martin was still there at the other end and after being dropped a couple of times his century duely arrived in 134 minutes, the second fify coming much quicker than the first in 49 minutes. After an early tea due to a rain shower Buster was out for a golden duck as Milton completed their innings on 266-7. Martin carried his bat, eventually finishing with 137 not out including 22 fours and 1 six.
Granta fell behind the required run rate of almost 6 an over right from the start of the innings as openers Dan and Gert got the important early breakthroughs as Granta stumbled to 55-4. Gert went on to get a deserved first 5 wicket haul for the club, his figures were 12-2-46-5. John took 2-24 and Dan and Buster picked up 1 wicket each as Granta were never allowed to threaten Milton's total, and the innings petered out on 183-9 and Milton claimed their second successive victory.
Milton team: Phil Bone, Martin Charlesworth, Sandeep Mohanraj, Peter Stoehr, John Sanders, Jez Major, Ian Jackson, Buster Harradine, Gert Roets, Nick Gray, Dan Coston.
jon
5/6/04, Milton vs Barley (at Milton)
Barley 129-9, Milton 130-4
Buster Harradine 5-25
Martin Charlesworth 58, Dave Clark 36 not out
Milton 1st team finally got off the mark for the season with a convincing 6 wicket win over Barley at a warm and sunny Sycamores. After winning the toss Barley chose to bat but could only manage a total of 129/9 in their 45 overs as Milton's bowlers and fielders kept things really tight. After good opening spells from Gert (12-2-24-1) and Johnny (12-1-35-1) the star of the bowling was Buster who took 5 wickets for 25 in 11 overs including 4 maidens and all his victims being bowled. Buster also took 2 catches, one being a spectacular catch diving forward to get Mark's only victim, and Corne also bowled well, taking 1/27 in 8 overs. Phil kept wicket well in his first appearance behind the stumps this season with only 3 byes conceded and took a regulation catch off Gert.
Chasing a low total, the Milton openers, Martin and Ben, started cautiously before Ben was dubiously given out LBW for a duck. However the scoring rate soon increased as stand-in captain Sandeep got off the mark with a huge six into the trees at the Tesco end. Martin was also getting into his stride and hit 11 boundaries as his 50 came up with Milton in a very strong position at 96/2. By that time Sandeep had played on for 7 but Dave Clark (36 not out) shared a 56 run stand with Martin that took Milton to the brink of victory before Martin was out LBW for 58. John was disappointed to be given out for 10 off what looked to most people like a bump ball. However the victory was not delayed for long as the winning runs came up rather unsatisfyingly with 2 byes, and everyone went to the pub to share in a bout of jug-buying.
Milton team: Ben Sanders, Martin Charlesworth, Sandeep Mohanraj, Dave Clark, John Sanders, Phil Bone, Gert Roets, Corne Grobler, Buster Harradine, Mark Barton, Jack Nayar.
jon
29/5/04, Milton vs Soham (at Milton)
Milton 202-9, Soham 203-8
Jez Major 64, Jack Nayar 32
Rudolf Roets 3-39
Milton were once again disappointed to lose a game they felt should have been won against a team containing several junior players. Milton batted first and posted a competitive total of 202, Chris Easley hitting a 4 off the last ball of the innings to take the score over the 200 mark. Jez hit an excellent 64 and the other main contributers were Jack (32) and Rudolph (20).
Milton took the field knowing they had a good chance of a first win of the season but it was not to be, and they only had themselves to blame as a series of dropped catches eventually cost very dearly. Gert once again bowled very tightly as the batsmen struggled to deal with his pace. However despite finding the edge several times in the early overs every time the chances went to ground. It was not until much later in the innings that Rudolf held a tidy catch at 2nd slip to give Gert (2-29) his first wicket. Rudolf himself was probably the best bowler on the day with figures of 3-39. John Sanders took 2-48. A flurry of late wickets meant that nerves were getting frayed at the end, but Milton left themselves with to few runs to defend as Soham reached their target with just 2 wickets in hand.
Milton team: Phil Bone, Ben Sanders, Sandeep Mohanraj, Rudolf Roets, John Sanders, Jez Major, Dave Clark, Jack Nayar, Martin Charlesworth, Gert Roets, Chris Easley.
jon
23/5/04, Milton vs Madingley
Madingley 201 all out, Milton 175 all out
Dan Coston 5-?, Jack Nayar 3-31
Sandeep Mohanraj 44, John Sanders 32
A poor batting effort by Milton's top order on an excellent wicket at Girton College saw them lose their second league match of the season. Madingley elected to bat first and eventualluy made 201 all out, a score which seemed well within reach at tea. Dan was the main man getting 5 wickets despite a mixed spell of bowling. Gert bowled fast and accuarately and even Madingley's top batsman, a Kiwi who made a sylish half century, found it difficult to score off him, but only took 1 for 26. Jack also bowled a tidy spell of 8 overs taking 3 wickets for 31.
Milton's innings started brightly as Phil hit a few quick fours before being caught for 17. After that no-one managed to really get going apart from Sandeep who scored 44 and Jez (21) as wickets fell at regular intervals. At 134-8 things were looking pretty desperate for Milton when Buster went out to join Johnny at the crease. However some powerful and well-timed strokes from both players gave their shivering team mates something to cheer about at last as the score reached 175-8 after 41 overs. Unfortunatly both players were eventually out in the next over (John for 32, Buster for 23) and the game was over.
Milton team: Phil Bone, Ben Sanders, Sandeep Mohanraj, Peter Stoehr, Gert Roets, Jez Major, Martin Charlesworth, John Sanders, Jack Nayar, Buster Harradine, Dan Coston.
jon
16/5/03, Milton vs Over - Walker Cup 1st round (at Milton)
Over 66 all out, Milton 67-9
Gert Roets 3-3, John Sanders 3-14
Milton almost embarrassed themselves by failing to get 67 to win this match but eventually scraped through with a 1 wicket win. On a hot day at the Sycamores, the bowlers had put Milton in a very strong position after bowling Over out for 66. The top bowlers were Gert who took an excellent 3-3 and John Sanders also took 3 wickets for 14. Over's top scorer was extras with 19.
Perhaps the batsmen thought it would be a walk over but the early wickets tumbled at an incredible rate: after 10 overs Milton had lost 5 wickets for only 8 runs! The tension mounted as the scored crept up excruciatingly slowly at under 2 runs an over and further wickets fell. Finally Johnny Sanders stepped up to be the hero and smashed a glorious six back over the bowlers head to win the match to much relief from the rest of the team and Dan at the other end.
Milton team: Phil Bone, Peter Stoehr, Jez Major, Gerhard, Rudolph Roets, Dave Clark, Gert Roets, Jack Nayar, Hersh Nayar, John Sanders, Dan Coston
jon
15/5/03, Milton vs Abington (at Abington)
Abington 214/6, Milton 168 all out
Rudolf Roets 41, Dave Clark 42 not out
Jack Nayar 3-14, Dan Coston 2-48
Chasing 215 runs to win, Milton fell well short as they were dismissed for 168 in the first game of the season. Dave Clark top scored with 42 not out despite batting at number 9. Rudolph made a classy 41 and Ben made 29 in his opening berth, but too many batsmen fell cheaply. Jack was the best of the Milton bowlers taking 3-14, Dan (2-48) and Hersh (1-54) were the only other Milton wicket takers in Abington's 214-6.
Miton team: Phil Bone, Ben Sanders, Gert Roets, Rudolph Roets, Hersh Nayar, Peter Stoehr, John Sanders, Jack Nayar, Dave Clark, Buster Harradine, Dan Coston.