Penn CC First XI

Saturday 30th August 2008 v St Georges (away)

Unfortunately it looks like our promotion push for 2008 has come to a hault with a display that showed many of the inadequacies that have plagued us for the second half of the season.

On a used St Georges wicket we knew that a score in the region of 150 would have probably seen us win the game. John Homer played a poor shot early on and the loss of Richard Kimbberlain shortly after meant a partnership was needed. Nighty (40) and Vikul Lal (22) obliged and put us in a decent position.

What was to then follow belonged on a school play ground. We went from 71 for 3 to 79 for 9. Our weak centre was again shown and meant that a lack lustre score of 94 was set.

We went out to bowl knowing that a defeat would mean our promotion hopes would be almost over; this brought out the best in us in what has been our strongest suit this year. Danny Smith was again excellent taking 3 for 34, well supported by Richard Brooker (2 for 35). At one point it looked as though we were going to snatch a surprising victory with St Georges 30 for 5. Alas, the score could not be defended despite a strong fielding display.

We lost and must now try and win all of the last games to make this season finish with any of the potential with which it started.

Sat 16th August 2008 v Water Orton (away)

The toss became the most important action of the day, to lose it would mean having to face a very good opening bowler on a very dodgy wicket and to win it would mean unleashing our opening bowlers (who are arguably the best in the league).

The toss was lost and we were asked to bat. Col Sandeep Dhillon was removed without troubling the scorers and this brought Bradford and Homer to the crease. Bradford rode his luck but stuck in for a valuable 44 and Homer ground a well deserved 44. The platform was set at 80 for 2 to set a very good score. Our batting line up faltered and we went from 103 for 2 to 108 for 8. This on any wicket was not good enough and we eventually ran out of steam on 123.

We still thought we had a chance of victory but the wicket had been able to dry during our innings and when we started to bowl there was hardly any movement at all.

Water Orton took full advantage and chased down the total with the loss of four wickets. Only Richard Brooker came out with decent bowling figures and he finished with 2 for 22.

A poor display - 2 points.

2nd August v Ombersley (home)

We were at home against an Ombersley team who stood second in the league without captain, Richard Bradford, who was best man at a wedding. Richard Brooker was skippering the team and was asked to bat on a wet green wicket.

Hard work was required from openers Col Sandeep Dhillon (29) and Vikul Lal and they duly obliged batting time and seeing off the new ball. All the batsmen contributed with Dr Pepper Nightingale scoring a valuable (26) and Nick 'strawberry blond' Hudson (20) chipping in. The plaudits must however go to Depesh Patel (53) who celebrated his promotion up the order with an impressive half century.

Penn reached a very competitive total of 179 which we knew could be defended on a track that still helped seam bowlers.

Danny Smith and Depesh Patel were there normal excellent selves. Depesh was incredibly unlucky not to get a wicket and had excellent figures of 11 overs for 5 runs.

The star bowler again was Danny 'GHD' Smith who removed all of the top seven Ombersley batsmen and at one point it looked on the cards that he would collect all ten. It was not to be, however, and he finished with 7 for 35. Richard Brooker picked up the other 3 wickets and Ombersley were dismissed for 104.

It must also be mentioned that this was the best fielding display of the season meaning the bar has been set for the rest of the games this season.

Penn 24 points.

Sat 21st June 2008 v St Georges (home)
We entertained St Georges on our presidents day at Mount Road and due to unfavourable whether the day looked like being a washout. However the rain stopped just long enough for the ground to dry and play to commence.
The toss had been lost and St Georges had inserted us. Col Sandeep Dhillon and Richard "Viper" Bradford opened the innings and started well with an opening stand of 34. However we lost Sandeep (14) and John Homer (10) in the space of 9 overs and a good partnership was required. A stand of 150 was duly put on between Nick "strawberry blond" Hudson (56) and Bradford (116*). On a good pitch this was a very impressive, controlled partnership showing that this team is more resolute than 1st XI's of previous seasons.
We finished on a very strong total of 212 for 3 off our reduced 42 overs.
For once our bowling was not up to its usual high standard for the first ten overs and St Georges got off to a flyer. After 10 overs they were 56 for no loss and we realised that we were in a very tough game. Rich Kimberlin got us the breakthrough and is showing why he has been a constant in the first team this year. He finished with good figures of 1 for 21 off 5 overs. Depesh then removed their dangerous opening batsman and the control of the game was again firmly in our hands. Depesh had worked up a good pace and their batsmen did not fancy the challenge when sprinkles of rain came and the light slowly faded.
Flashbacks of England v New Zealand at Edgbaston now came to mind. We needed to bowl 25 overs to constitute a game and after 24 overs St Georges needed 11 runs to get the winning draw and we needed to bowl one over for less than 11 for the winning draw. Depesh ran in and bowled a bouncer which the batsmen played badly and after a few dramatic actions from St Georges the light was offered. They took it and the match was abandoned with us needing to bowl 5 more deliveries.
We ended up with 9 points as opposed to the 12 we would have gained with a winning draw.

Sat 14th June 2008 v Tamworth (away)

When the fixtures are produced you know that Tamworth away is going to be a real hard challenge. They are always a tough team to break down and full concentration is required in order to gain a positive result on their own patch.
We won the toss and decided to bat first in an attempt to negate the effect of their spinners on a track that was obviously going to crack, wear and explode in the second innings. Amit (Snakey) and Col Sanders opened the innings and got off to a decent start against a pretty ordinary opening attack. Sandeep was the first to fall having made 17.

Their spinners enetered into the attack from the 15th over and would bowl unchanged for the remaining 40 overs. Batting was hard on a slow track that started to explode off a length from the 30th over. John Homer (10) and Dr Pepper Nightingale (16) played lazy shots and a solid partneship was required. Amit (49) and Richard Bradford (24), aka Viper, put on a solid stand of 50 thanks to a lot of hard graft and it was left to Depesh Patel to smash a quick 44 off 38 balls to get us to a very competitive total of 189.

Discipline was required from the bowlers and fielders in order to defend the total. Depesh, Danny and Brooker took the mantle and bowled with great control and confidence and should take a lot of credit for the final result. Depesh bowled a marathon spell of 24 overs getting 3 wickets for 69. Danny took 2 wickets for 32 off 12 overs and Richie Brooker (RB) took 2 for 54 off 19 overs. This saw Tamworth pegged back to 170 for 9 from their 55 overs meaning we obtained a winning draw and a very welcome 14 points.

Sat 7th June v Aston Manor (away)
A highly confident Penn team travelled to Aston Manor in the realisation that we were going to play our hardest match so far this season, against a team who were playing in the division above last campaign.

Our preparation and warm up was exceptional and we were ready to bat or bowl dependant on the outcome of the toss. The toss was won and we decided to bowl in an attempt to skittle them for as little as possible.

Danny Smith and Depesh Patel produced a fine display of seam bowling and Aston Manor never really got going. Wickets kept falling and "The Manor" eventually petered out on 103 all out. Depesh finished with figures of 4 for 36 off 16 overs and Danny 'GHD' Smith finished with 6 for 39 off 16 overs.
Again with a low target to reach it was important for the top order to finish the job without exposing the middle order. After the early loss of Amit Sharma and John Homer, Sandeep Dhillon (36*) and Lee 'Dr Pepper' Nightingale (41) got us to within 4 runs of the total and it was left to Nikul 'bottletops' Lal to finish the match with a majestic cut.

Another win for Penn.

20 points.

31st May - v. Water Orton (home)

We were blessed with a sunny, warm and cloudless day at Mount Road and realised that we would have a tough contest with a team who were in division 1 the previous season. Water Orton won the toss and decided to bat; this enabled us to gain the maximum 24 points available should we win the match.

Danny Smith proceeded to have one of those days; the ball came out perfectly from the start and their batsmen we highly uncomfortable with every delivery he bowled. The first wicket fell to Danny in the second over with a fine ball to remove their captain. Depesh picked up the wicket of their number 3 in the third over and so the trend continued.

At one point we had them in all sorts of trouble at 19 for 6 and believed that we could go through them for under 30. However a good knock of 37 from their number 4 lifted them to 71 all out. The stand out effort was Danny 'GHD' Smith who finished with brilliant figures of 7 for 33; he is now showing what an important player he is and is going to be for Penn CC.

Chasing a low target is never easy as you are unsure as to whether to bat time and accumulate or hit out to the total. Col Sandeep Dhillon played a majestic innings of 45 not out and got us their after 21 overs with the loss of 2 wickets.

Another highly efficient and pleasing performance. 24 points

Mon 26th May v. Newport

Newport arrived to Mount Road looking to kick start their season by securring a win against top of the table Penn CC. Skipper Bradford lost the toss and Penn were inevitably asked to bat with a gale wind roaring and rain in the air.

Penn made a good start with a 50 opening partnership due to good knocks from Col Sanders (27) and Bradford (18). John Homer again showed his class and ended up 78 not out and Penn ended up on 195, a very good score taking into account the conditions.

We were eager to get out a bowl at what seemed a weak Newport batting line up with the potential of another 24 points available. Alas the heavens openened and we we were left with 20 overs in which to bowl Newport out (not a realistic ask). They finished on 77 for 1, most of the runs a result of very attacking fielding positions and big gaps in the field being left vacant.

The game petered out into a draw - Penn 7 points

Sat 24th May v. Ombersley

We travelled to Ombersley knowing that it would be our hardest test so far; they were top of the league and on a good run of form.

We won the toss and made the bold decision of batting first in an attempt to counter their strong spin attack. Richard Bradford saw an eventful innings end early after being struck on the helmet and a good partnership was required to make the decision to bat worthwhile. Sandeep Dhillon (Col Sanders) hit a majestic 73 and John Homer scored a well earned 67 to put us in a strong position.

A brilliant innings from Lee 'Dr Pepper' Nightingale (75) and Depsh Patel (44*) saw us to am imposing 292 for 4 off 55 overs.

We started bowling knowing that early wickets would put us in a very strong position and Danny Smith (2 for 64) showed what a prize asset he is. He bowled with pace and accuracy and caused their batsmen a lot of problems, as did Depesh Patel (1 for 28).

Richie Brooker had their batsmen playing very rash shots and he finished the game with brilliant figures of 5 for 13. Rich Kimberlain again showed that he has a lot of promise and took 2 for 18.

Ombersley slumped to 129 all out and Penn picked up another 24 point win.
See Pictures from this match in The Gallery

Sun 18th May 2008 v Shifnal (National Knockout)

We travelled to premier league Shifnal on Sunday, eager to play some cricket after a rained off Saturday.

Captain Lee Nightingale won the toss and decided to bat on what was a well prepared, hard Shifnal wicket.

The loss of three early wickets left us struggling at 40 for 3, however good knocks from Amit Sharma (40) and Nick Hudson (32) put us back in a good position. A mature 34 from Jimmy Grosvenor and explosive 26 not out from Arvinder Bhogal left us on a decent total of 168 off our 45 overs.

In order to defend this we needed a few early wickets. Danny Smith duly provided with a wicket in the 8th over of their innings; but for a dropped slip catch later in his spell his figures would have been outstanding. Sunil Bange (2 for 36) bowled a fiery spell, but the pick of the bowlers was Amit Sharma (2 for 23).

We took them very close but just lacked the sufficient cutting edge in the end and they struggled to knock the target off with 6 wickets down.

A very spirited performance showing that there is quality and strength in depth at Penn CC.

Sat 17th May 2008 v Smethwick

Match abandoned due to rain - 5 points

10th May v Aston Unity (home)

The visit of Aston Unity to mount road was an important step in our season; in previous years we had found it difficult to string two positive results together and new that another win would, following our opening day success, would put us in a very healthy position in the league.

We lost the toss and were asked to field, a move that enabled us to gain the maximum 24 points should we win.

Richard Kimberlin was entrusted with the new ball due to Danny Smith being absent for this weekend and produced another fine spell. He removed their opener and was unlucky not to add to his wickets tally; he eventually finished with figures of 1 for 24 off 6 overs.

Depesh Patel toiled, on what was a batsmens wicket, and picked up 2 wickets. But for a dropped catch, off their batsmen who finished on 94, this would have been 3 wickets for 'the big dipper'.

We constrained Aston Unity, who were finding runs hard to come by, thanks mainly from a fine spell of bowling from Richard Brooker and 'new boy' Mani Patel. Rich finished with figures of 1 for 37 from 15 overs and Mani 3 for 42 from 12.5 overs. We also later found out that Rich is a gun when it comes to dowing a pint, bottle and shot in succession; something that will hold him in good stead this season.

Unity came to a halt on 203; a decent, competitive score but on a good wicket we always fancied our chances.

Openers Sandeep Dhillon (39) and Depesh Patel (23) gave us a steady start however we needed some impetous into the innings. Lee 'dr pepper' Nightingale (whats the worst that can happen) obliged and promptly scored an effortless 57, solidly supported by John Homer (32). However both batsmen got out at the wrong time and a mini collapse saw us still needed more that 20 off the final 5 overs.

A clinical innings from Nick 'strawberry blond' Hudson (23*) and a breezy 14 not out from Nikul Lal saw us to victory with an over to spare, prompting celebration around the ground.

Penn 24 points

p.s no man can drink a yard of dr pepper. Kids please don't try it

Sun 4th May 2008 v Ludlow (Cup)

Sunday saw us having to make the long journey to Ludlow with the fear that a ball wouldn't even be bowled due to the rain. When we arrived the clouds promptly cleared and the game was underway.

Captain, Nick Hudson, won the toss and Penn were bowling first for the second time in the weekend. A run out and 2 wickets for Danny Smith saw Ludlow slump to 14 for 3 and they never really recovered. Good bowling from Andy Reynolds, Richard Kimberlin and Richard Brooker saw Ludlow dismissed for 139.

Nick Benwell hit a breezy 24 and Richard Kimberlin (14) showed class and promise with the bat. Lee Nightingale bludgeoned a no nonense 40 and it was left to Andy Reynolds (38*) and Arvinder Bhogal (6*) to steer us home with 7 wickets and 17 overs remaining.

Another good result and we go through to the second round on May 18th away to Shifnal.

Sat 3rd May 2008 v Berkswell

Our First Birmingham Leahue match of the season took us away to Berkswell, a ground on which we had suffered a heavy defeat, the previous season. We were looking to start with a positive result but knew that this would be a tough ask with many key and influential batsmen missing. It did however give a chance to other players to show that they have what it takes at our clubs highest level.

Stand in captain John Homer won the toss (2 out of 2) and decided to bowl. The first victim of the season came from the bowling of Danny Smith after a fine piece of swing bowling. Penn were firmly on top and Berkwell stuttered to 65 for 3 from 27 overs until the first bowling change was made. Particular credit must firstly be shown to Depesh who bowled for 19 unchanged overs and Danny who bowled 13 overs without a break.

The first change bowlers of Richard Brooker and Richard Kimberlain bowled exceptionally well and the pressure was never released throughout their entire innings. Particular praise must go to Richard Kimberlain who firstly dismissed the highly dangerous Dominic Oslter and finally finished with figures of 3 for 5 from 5 overs, whilst Richard Brooker claimed 2 for 37.

New acquisition Andy Reynolds claimed 2 wickets for 11 runs and the Berkswell innings ended 144 all out.

Chasing a low target we got off to a bad start losing our openers (Depesh and Lee Nightingale) and number four and five (Brooker and Jimmy Grosvenor) in quick succession. Overseas player John Homer (53) looked determined to stick around and needed someone to fight with him. Arvinder Bhogal proved to be the turning point for Penn. Having been bowled off a no-ball he went on to score a majestic 60 and put us in the position to claim our first win of the season.

However a mini collapse left us needing 7 to win with 1 wicket remaining and the atmosphere was tense when Danny 'deckchair' Smith glided to the wicket. He duly carressed his second ball through mid-wicket for 4 and then 'placed' his third ball between 1st slip and the wicket-keeper for another 4 to win us the game.

A great start to the season - Penn 20 points

26/4/08 - 1st XI Home v Fordhouses (Friendly)