8th September -
away v. Aston Unity
The 1st team
travelled to Aston Unity this weekend; they needed points to
avoid relegation and we wanted to get back to winning ways.
We lost the toss and
were asked to bowl. After the early loss of Jimmy Grosvenor,
Sandeep Dhillon (33) and Richard Bradford (35) put on a
valuable 68 partnership. The good work was continued in a 118
partnership between Jimmy Handley (45) and Brandon Lawlor
(100*). Brandon in particular displayed maturity in his
innings and never really gave a chance.
Depesh added a quick
16* and we finished on an imposing total of 253 for 4.
Early wickets meant
that Aston Unity slumped to 23 for 3 and from this point they
never really threatened to get the total despite a good
innings from Nicholas (73). They finished on 171 for 8; the
wicket takers for Penn being Depesh Patel (3 for 45), Danny
Smith (2 for 36) and Richard Bradford (2 for 42).
1st September -
home v. Fordhouses
The Fordhouses match
is always and eagerly anticipated game; it is a local derby
and this year there was the extra spice of them having to win
to stave off relegation for another week and us still with a
chance of promotion.
Remarkably the toss
was won by Penn who elected to bat. This at one point seemed a
bad decision when we were 80 for 7. However good batting from
Arvinder Bhogal, Danny Smith, Richard Norgrove and Steve
Harris meant that a decent total of 171 was set.
We started brightly
with Danny Smith claiming 2 wickets in his first over and
Fordhouses slumped to 20 for 3. A win looked on the cards;
however a magnificent 91 from Guy Cheema steered them to
victory with 5 wickets remaining.
A very disappointing
result if you are a Penn follower or player.
27th August -
away v. Tamworth
After victory against
Bridgnorth we travelled to Tamworth full of confidence; this, in
my opinion, created complacency.
Again the toss was
lost and we were asked to bowl. After quick wickets we had them
27 for 2 after 11 overs. We then dropped 2 catches; 1 off their
overseas on 10 who made 109 and the other off Stuart Burrows, on
5 who then got 69.
They amassed a score
of 242 on a big ground which I believed we could have chased.
However no batsmen showed the application required to win, or
even draw the match and we slid to our first defeat in 7, being
bowled out for 95.
Penn 2 pts
25th August - away
v. Bridgnorth
We travelled to
Bridgnorth in high spirits after winning our last three matches.
Again the toss was lost and they asked us to bowl. This again
gave us the opportunity of gaining 24 points.
After 2 quick wickets
from Richard Norgrove and Depesh Pate,l Bridgnorth were
struggling at 7 for 2 after 6 overs. However the next wicket to
fall was 30 overs later. Despite this they never got away from
us thanks to some good bowling from Richard Norgrove and Brandon
Lawlor.
Thanks to good
fielding and bowling we restricted them to 158 for 9 after their
55 overs; the pick of the bowlers was Brandon Lawlor and Richard
Norgrove who finished with figures of 5 for 38 and 2 for 47
respectively.
In reply Olly Wright
(47), Jimmy 'Handlebars' Handley (41) and Richard Bradford (20)
got the majority of the runs. It was a tense finish however with
the 'fast feet' of Richard Norgrove scampering to take a quick
single which resulted in 4 'buzzers' and a victory for Penn.
24 pts
11th August - home v.
Evesham
After winning the
previous two matches against the supposed better teams in the
league many people were expecting an easy win against an Evesham
team who had lost 4 out of their last four. However we had lost
against them earlier in the year and we did not want a repeat
performance.
Again the toss was
lost and their captain decided to bat. We didn't get the early
wickets that we wanted and they reached 75 for 1 after 18 overs.
The pitch was playing beautifully and at this point in time a
score of around 250 looked about par.
The experienced
bowling of Richard Norgrove and Steve 'Chopper' Harris then
worked in tandem and Evesham began to struggle. Richard Norgrove
was the star man and deserves many plaudits. He finished with
figures of 23.4 - 5 - 57 - 4. Chopper returned very decent
figures of 10 - 1 - 26 - 2. Evesham finished 186 all out. In our reply we lost 3
early wickets and were 22 for 3 in the sixth over. Nick Hudson
(24) and Sandeep Dhillon (65 not out) batted expertly and got us
to 65 for 4 after 13 overs. Nick Hudson's demise brought the
immensely talented Lee Nightingale to the crease with Sandeep.
The match lasted another 21 overs. Nighty finished on 79 not out
off 72 balls and Sandeep 65 not out off 92 balls.
Another excellent win
and 24 points. It must also be noted that it was a very
enjoyable and pleasant game and credit must go to a very well
led Evesham team.
4th August - away v.
Old Elizabethans
We travelled to Old
Elizabethans in good spirits after a good performance the
previous week and we were looking to continue the good work
shown in the Newport game.We lost the toss again
and were asked to bat in lovely conditions in the sun and on a
hard deck. Sandeep Dhillon was in irresistible form getting to
50 in the 17 over of the game. He was out after a dubious
decision and Nick Hudson (40) and Jimmy Grosvenor (14) batted
well to get us to 167.
We went out to field
and again showed the great team ethic that we now have in the
first team. Old Elizabethans got to 60 for 2 off 30 overs; fine
bowling from Depesh Patel (4 for 27), evergreen Richard Norgrove
(4 for 23) and Danny Smith (2 for 40) meant that top of the
table were eventually all out for 103.
A particular mention
should go to Sandeep Dhillon who scored 57 and took 4 catches,
one of which was outstanding.
Another fine display
- 24 pts
28th July - home v.
Newport
After a week of rain
it was 50/50 as to whether we would be able to get a game in at
all. After good work by our groundsman a full game was possible
after changing wickets and bringing the boundary ropes in 20
yards.
At the time the toss
was regarded as a 'must win' and true to form it was lost; their
captain smiled and said, "we'll have a bowl". Sandeep Dhillon
and Olly Wright laid a decent foundation, but it was Brandon
Lawlor (39) and Lee Nightingale (39) who put us into a position
where a win was possible.
We started well and
Newport luckily found themselves at 60 for 2 with the win in
sight. However quick wickets from Depesh Patel and Richard
Norgrove left them 90 for 8. With the rain looming it looked
that all our hard work would be undone and a losing draw would
be our reward. However Steve 'Chopper' Harris came on and took
the last 2 wickets in 2 overs for no runs.
Penn 24 pts and the
best performance so far this season.
7th July - away v.
Dorridge
The last game of the
first half of the season saw Penn pitted against what many
believe to be the best team in the league.
Penn won the toss and
decided to restrict and knock off the total. They started well
with 4 quick wickets, leaving Dorridge 30 for 4. This then saw
the emergence of the Dorridge overseas player. He made a
flawless 155 not out and guided them to 290 off 55 overs.
Penn started their
innings with the early losses of Sandeep Dhillon and Olly
Wright; however good batting from Brandon Lawlor and Richard
Bradford took the score to 90 for 2 after 18 overs. At this
point they were still in the game. The wickets of Bradford and
Nightingale fell in quick succession and any ideas of victory
were lost.
Penn did bat out
the remaining overs to secure a losing draw; special praise
should go to Brandon Lawlor who ended with 81 not out.
Penn 7pts
23rd June - away v. Fordhouses
After an abandoned match
the previous week against Tamworth Penn were keen to play against Fordhouses. Penn arrived at the
ground to find that 3/4 of the wicket was soaking with the other
1/4 as dry as the Gobi desert. This seemed beneficial for the
hosts
considering that they had a very good off spinner to bowl into the
Lahore like conditions.
Skipper Richard Bradford
lost the toss and Penn were put into bat, which made him quite
happy with as he speculated that the wicket would only get worse.
On what was the most
difficult wicket of the year to bat on Penn had the best opening
partnership of the year (63). Olly Wright battling for 65 balls
for 17 and Sandeep Dhillon getting 42 off 100 balls.
Lee Nightingale got 17 and Richard Bradford 29 not out to get Penn
to a very decent total of 139.
At tea we heard the
comment from a Fordhouses player that they had it in the bag which
unluckily for them fired the Penn bowlers up. A fine bowling display
saw Fordhouses bowled out for 75. This included a fine caught and
bowled by the elastic like Richard Norgrove. Danny Smith Finished
with figures of 15 - 9 - 23 - 5; Despesh Patel 12 - 5 - 13 - 2;
Richard Norgrove 8.4 - 3 - 15 - 3.
Penn 24 pts.
9th June - home v.
Bridgnorth
A Change of Direction.
A win at last! The Firsts faced Bridgnorth in what skipper Richard Bradford had classed as a 'must
win' match. All players turned up on time and had a good warm up
and preparation for the match.
Bradders won the toss,
backing his bowlers to restrict and the batsman to knock the runs
off. Penn started well thanks to an outstanding display of
bowling from Danny Smith and Depesh Patel reducing Bridgnorth to
70 for 7. Penn then let their foot off the peddle and Bridgnorth
struggled to 155 all out in the 45 over.
Then came the loss of
early Penn Wickets; Dhillon, Bradford and Wright all falling
cheaply and a repeat collapse like previous weeks was looming.
However steady batting from Nightingale, Lawlor and Hudson (all
getting to 30) put Penn back in contention.
It
was then left to Depesh Patel and Richard Norgrove to see the side
home in a 10th wicket partnership of 20.
A much improved performance showing that the team have the
character and desire to put a string of positive performances
together. Penn 20pts
2nd June - away v.
Berkswell
Away again this week.
This time at Berkswell. After a very wet week the pitch was damp
which made the toss all important. Unfortunately the toss was lost
and inevitably Penn were stuck in. They stumbled to 88 all out,
which included a fine 52 from Sandeep Dhillon.
Early breakthroughs
meant that they were 30 for 2; then the big moment came when
Dominic Ostler was dropped on 0. If this catch had been held
Berkswell would have been 30 for 4, as the other bat was out
shortly after. However, they eventually reached the target 3 down.
Things must improve. Penn 1 point.
28th May - away v. Evesham
- Lost 4pts
Unbelievably we started on
time and on another wet wicket our bowlers performed brilliantly
with Rich Norgrove getting 6 for 27 and Depesh Patel 3 for 30; we
bowled them out for 89.
However thats where the
party ended; we were bowled out for 87 with only Nick Hudson
contributing (31 not out).
26th May - home v. Old
Elizabethans - Won 24 pts
We lost the toss and were
stuck in. Thanks to 52 from Brandon Lawlor, 50 from Lee Nightingale
and a useful 16 not out from Rich Norgrove we reached 173. This was a
decent total on a difficult wicket.
Thanks to a fine display of
bowling from Depesh Patel, Rich Norgrove and Junior, Old Elizabethans
were dismissed for 162.
19th May - away v. Newport
A game that we felt we could
win turned out to be another bad day at the office. The all important
toss was lost and we were stuck in on a very wet wicket. We never really
gained any momentum and were all out for 147.
After two early wickets the
pitch began to dry and there highly rated overseas saw them home with 7
wickets to spare.
2 pts to Penn.
12th May - away v. Attock
Unbelievably Penn started on
time on a very wet wicket. Penn won the toss and decided to bowl. Our
bowlers started badly and Attock raced to 90 for 1. Rich Norgrove and
Dipesh Patel then found their rhythm and Attock were dismissed for 137.
Dipesh Patel 6 for 53 and Norgrove 4 for 30.
Our batting was really
disappointing with too many players not having enough application for
the job in hand. Apart from Nightingale (47) nobody really troubled the
scorer and we fell to 107 all out (having been 101 for 5).
4
points to Penn.
5th May - home v. Smethwick
Smethwick were the visitors to
Mount Road. Stiff opposition first match as they were relegated from Div 1
last year. They won the toss and elected to bowl.
Penn lost the early wicket of
overseas Brandon Lawlor. Imran Sharrif started the recovery with 26 and
Rich Bradford hit 45. Sandeep Dhillon and Lee Nightingale batted
beautifully to make 62 and 78 respectively. Penn closed on a very
impressive total of 270 all out.
Smethwick started well and were
90 for 1 before Calver Wright and Rich Norgrove joined the fray. Calver
ended with figures of 4 for 53 from 13 overs and Norgrove 2 for 10 off 9
overs. Danny Smith also got 2 for 25 off 12 overs. Smethwick were bowled
out for 127.
24 pts to Penn.
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