15th September - away v. Swindon
Following last week's title triumph, there was something of an 'after
the Lord Mayor's show' about this final league match of the season.
Skipper for the Day David Potts won the toss, and on a warm golden day
that only September seems able to provide, and an artificial track to play
on, he decided to bowl. The power crazy Potts decided to open the bowling
himself with Stewart Gill at the other end. The results of this initial
strategy were not pretty as a tricky outfield, too many fielding errors, and
some distinctly average bowling saw Penn get clattered all around the
ground. Thankfully, Skipper Potts saw sense and replaced the opening bowlers
with Chris Rudge and Glyn Martin. At the start of this next spell, Penn
would have been happy to keep the score below 250 but Rudgey's two wickets
and spinmeister Glyn's four, hauled things back to respectability. Two fine
run outs later (including a miraculous effort from Stewart Gill. That's
miraculous for actually hitting the stumps at all) and Swindon were
dismissed for 191.
The by now despotic Potts opened the batting too, with 13 year old son
Edward at the other end. Potts Senior's 25 years of experience were clearly
an advantage as he was dismissed for 8, and Edward went on to hit the third
highest score of the innings with an exciting 24. Glyn Martin hit a classy
unbeaten 65 and there was a brutal mid-innings 35 from a fired up Chris
Haynes. Penn reached the victory target with 10 overs to spare. Naturally,
Potts took most of the credit and immediately resigned the captaincy. Potts
also pointed out that as his one and only occasion captaining the side had
resulted in victory, this 100% record meant that he had instantly become
Penn's most successful captain ever.
8th September - home v. Aldridge
A very BIG day for the Fourths. Ten points were needed to secure the
Division 3 title and Aldridge were traditionally tricky opponents. They did
not disappoint. The Aldridge bowling was accurate and steady and the slow
Gamesfield pitch made runs hard to come by. Ghazi Zaki determinedly fought
his way through the first fifteen overs before perishing for four runs. His
opening partner, skipper Steve Tranter managed to open up after a bowling
change and hit an invaluable 70. 13 year old Michael Hingley played a
masterful innings and was unluckily run out on 37. Glyn Martin hit a swift
24 not out (including an audacious flick over his shoulder for 4 to fine
leg) and Penn posted a total of 190.
For once, the Penn bowling response was not up to scratch. Both openers,
Chris Rudge and Stewart Gill, struggled to find their rhythm and Aldridge
looked to be in little trouble. Fortunately, the Penn bowlers came good.
Stewart ended up with 2 for 56, Rudgey also bagged a couple and spin king
Glyn Martin weaved a web of magic to capture 3 for 16. A special mention is
also due to 13 year old Zak O'Neill who bagged his first league wicket and
bowled superbly.
In the 48th over Aldridge were dismissed for 122. Penn won the day,
collected 25 points, and secured the title.
From a personal point of view, I have to say that the flying corks, the
photos, and the handshakes in the post-victory celebrations will live with
me for a long time and will be amongst my most treasured cricketing
memories. It was a long and difficult season but we stuck at it, we never
gave up, and we ALWAYS believed we could get a positive result. Only 11
players were there to enjoy the final victory, but the contributions of so
many others had built the foundation throughout the season. They should all
take a bow. Read through the match reports below to see how ALL the players
that represented the Fourths played a part in this season's triumph.
See the Fourths in post-match
victory poses in The
Gallery
I've written all of the match
reports so far this season, so it is possible that some have sounded alike.
This week, we were fortunate enough to have spectators and one of them (Mr.
Kevin Drew, our Club Nutritionist who clearly believes the Fourths have a
weight problem) has provided an alternative 'View from the Boundary'. His
report appears below:
Penn fourth team steam rolled
their way to the third division of the Staffordshire League in more ways
than one. The weight of expectation was lifted when Aldridge lost their
last wicket in the final few overs to see hugs and kisses more appropriate
at at a sumo wrestlers convention. Chief supporter and occasional
controversial umpire in last week's Express and Star unfairly described as
"anorexic" in comparison was over the moon but disappointed there were no
left overs for the supporters after the sumptuous feast strangely
described as 'tea between innings'. The team did well despite missing some
big players Scott Turner and Chris Astbury, who had turned out for the
seconds to replace Martin Zaki.
It is clear that The Jamie
Oliver effect came too late for this ageing side but the lithe and slender
like figures of 13 year olds Zak O'Neill and Mike Hingley were worried
into producing the goods by threats of being eaten if they underperformed.
Ghazi who is usually inventive
in his warm ups had the majority of his side rolling up and down the
wicket with the dual purpose of injecting pre match movements into his
team and producing a belter of a flat track to bat on.
Captain Steve Tranter was
awarded man of the match for his 70 runs and Chris Rudge presented him
with an extremely large ginger cake sponsored by Mr Kipling who has been
grateful for the revenue this year and wants to renew his sponsorship of
the side for the forth coming season.
Post match celebrations of
copious pints of ale and pork scratchings followed by a massive curry went
on long into the night.
1st September - home v. Wednesbury
Wednesbury were the team that had stuck closest to the Fourths at the
top of Division 3 through the season, so a big clash was anticipated. Steve
Tranter won the toss and put Wednesbury in. The Penn bowling was superb.
Tight, accurate, and mean. Wednesbury could just not get the bowling away
and wickets fell at regular intervals. Finally, they were dismissed for 66
in 41 overs and only hit two boundaries all innings. Stewart Gill (4 for
36), Chris Asbury (2 for 15) and Dev Penn (2 for 11) did the damage. A
special mention too for 14 year old Liam Clamp who kept wicket extremely
well.
The low total posed few problems for Penn. Youth was the order of the day as
the two 13 year olds Michael Hingley (10 runs) and Zak O'Neill (18) opened
the batting. Only three wickets fell as Glyn Martin (12 n.o.) and Liam Clamp
(14 n.o.) steered their side home.
25th August - away v. Bloxwich
The longest outfield grass of this season or any season greeted the two
teams at King George's playing fields in Bloxwich. Genuine cricket shots
that would normally make an easy four runs ended up being scrambled singles
and Penn batting first, found the going really tough. Penn lost opener Ghazi
Zaki in the first over, and when number three Glyn Martin went soon after,
optimism waned considerably. Skipper and opener Steve Tranter ground his way
to 16 before being run out. Thirteen year old Oliver Zaki came in and looked
impressive making a solid 8 runs in a rebuilding partnership with Kurram
Ahmed. After Oliver was bowled by an unplayable 'roller', Kurram took
command and hit an invaluable 41 not out. David Potts also ended up with 41
not out as Penn posted a total of 146 for 6.
A brisk start by the Bloxwich openers promised a forthright reply. However,
this never materialised. Stewart Gill was outstanding and finished with 5
for 15. Spinner Glyn Martin bagged a couple of wickets in consecutive balls,
and Chris Rudge also had a hat trick chance amongst his three wickets.
Eventually Bloxwich were dismissed for 38 and Penn left with 25 points.
11th August - home v. Essington & Great Wyrley
Summer has finally arrived and another sunny day greeted the two teams
at Gamesfield Green. Essington won the toss and surprisingly elected to
field in the heat. Ghazi Zaki (34) and Scott Turner (24) made a good opening
partnership of 62 on a slow wicket and an outfield that really needed
another cut. However, the partnership was ended by a run out and after that,
the going was pretty pedestrian. To be fair, the Essington bowlers were
accurate and the slow wicket meant the ball never really came on. The
innings ended halfway through the 50th over with a disappointing total of
114. Nine wickets had fallen for the addition of just 52 runs.
Penn's bowlers began in spectacular fashion. Stewart Gill took three wickets
in his second over and victory started to look a possibility. The fielding
was excellent too with a juggling catch each from Glyn Martin and Ghazi
Zaki, a direct hit for a run out from David Potts, and a running catch from
Tim Howard. The drinks break came at 25 overs with Essington 5 wickets down
but still only 75 short of victory. Three runs an over did not seem to be
too onerous but the policy decision from Essington seemed to be 'shut up
shop'. Despite valiant attempts from the bowlers, Essington were not to be
tempted and ground their way to a fairly dour 77 for 7 from their 50 overs.
Stewart Gill ended up with 4 for 19 and Penn ended up with a winning draw.
4th August - away v. Wombourne
The best conditions for cricket this season greeted both teams at the
'Express and Star' ground and it was Wombourne who batted first. The bowling
and fielding from Penn was simply excellent. Chris Asbury was pacey and took
2 for 32 and Stewart Gill bowled 25 overs bagging 5 for 65 in the process.
In the field, Jack Cooper and Richard Grosvenor were outstanding and must
have saved 30-50 runs between them. After 50 overs, Wombourne had only
reached 131-8 in fairly decent batting conditions.
The Penn response was ruthless. Richard Grosvenor and Ghazi Zaki opened with
a 69 partnership before Richard was run out on 39. Michael Hingley (12
n.o.) came in and lent excellent support to Ghazi as he finished on 65 not
out. Penn finished on 135 in less than 30 overs.
28th July - home v. Quinton
This stop/start season continued at Gamesfield Green on a stodgy wicket
where runs were going to be hard to come by. Quinton won the vital toss and
unsurprisingly invited Penn to bat. Stewart Gill top scored with 37 as Penn
battled to 121.
The Quinton response was patchy but they worked their way up to 87 for 6 and
the game was on a knife edge. Even the late drizzle could not disguise that
there was going to be a result in this game. Eventually Penn prevailed as
Glyn Martin spun the last wicket out. Once again Stewart Gill put in an
excellent 4 wicket spell.
14th July - away v. Highcroft & Great Barr
The perfect drying conditions of a warm sun and a strong breeze meant
that the game in Erdington could go ahead despite yet another 24 hours solid
rain on the previous day. The conditions once again favoured the bowlers and
skipper Chris Rudge was disappointed to lose the toss and face the
inevitable invitation to bat first. A lack of available players throughout
all five Penn league teams meant that six of the Penn side were from the
Youth section, all very willing and very able but perhaps not sharing the
same level of experience of Staffs Clubs League cricket as their more senior
colleagues. The going was understandably slow for Penn as just 11 runs came
from the first 11 overs. However, openers Glyn Martin and Stewart Gill stuck
to their task and made a 67 partnership. Stewart Gill stayed there until the
46th over (kept company notably by Michael Hingley) and was in sight of his
first league century before holing out caught and bowled on 87. A quickfire
follow up of 20 not out from David Potts, and some hard hitting from Simon
Bennett meant that Penn finished on 164 for 9, a fine total under the
circumstances.
Penn's bowlers had to be on their game to defend a very gettable total but
things did not start well with two regulation catches dropped in the first
two overs. The bowlers didn't let this affect them and indeed it seemed to
spur them on. A combination of good, straight, full bowling and rugged
determination saw Highcroft dismissed for just 40 runs. David Potts took 4
for 24, Stewart Gill 3 for 7, Jack Cooper 2 for 2 , and Tim Howard 1 for 7.
Liam Clamp took a debut catch behind the stumps. Giles Pargeter held a fine
catch at cover to set up the chance of a hat-trick for Jack Cooper.
The Youth representatives were all superb. All played a part in the game
whether it was batting, taking a catch or bowling, and they were all
excellent in the field, chasing everything and always encouraging each
other. Much credit is due to them and Penn's Youth coaches.
There are some important lessons to be learned from this match. We had gone
into it nervous of the conditions, the result of the toss, and the
experience level of our side. We came out of it with a maximum 25 points and
increased senior league experience for the players of tomorrow. The main
lesson is that whatever the circumstances in any game of cricket, if you
play together as a team you can always take something positive from the
result, and more importantly, you will always have a good chance of victory.
7th July - home v. Cannock & Rugeley
Another cancellation last week for rain meant another sticky dog wicket
and an important toss to win. Capt. Steve Tranter called correctly and
invited the visitors to bat. Penn bowled tightly in the main and dismissed
Cannock & Rugeley for 93. Stewart Gill bagged 4 for 17 and David Potts
3 for 7. Although it looked a relatively small total, the wicket was going
to make it difficult to achieve. Thanks to the in form Ghazi Zaki (38 no)
and Glyn Martin (26), Penn reached the 94 target with little alarm.
23rd June - away v. Aldridge
Penn were put in to bat on a damp sticky wicket and runs proved hard to
come by. Another 50 from Ghazi Zaki and a 30 not out from Glyn Martin were
the main notables as Penn struggled to 147-7 from their 50 overs. It looked
25-35 under par.
Captain Steve Tranter made the wise move of fielding Glyn Martin at silly
mid-off. With the ball not coming on and batsmen unable to hold on their
strokes, popping chances were the order of the day. Martin took four
catches. Unfortunately, Penn's bowlers could not tie the Aldridge batters
down and runs were coming at a steady rate. However, wickets also began to
flow at a steady rate and Penn started to mine into the lower order. Stewart
Gill was accurate and persistent and bagged 4-44. In the 40th over, Aldridge
were 129-9 and needed just 18 for victory when a wonder catch in the deep
from Richard Grosvenor sealed their fate. Glyn Martin, Chris Asbury and
David Potts all chipped in with a couple of wickets apiece as Penn left
victorious with the 25 points.
9th June - home v. Bloxwich
On a scorching afternoon, skipper Steve Tranter won the toss and put the
opposition in. It looked a bad move. The Bloxwich skipper opened the batting
and set about Penn's bowlers with some brutal strikes. After 14 overs,
Bloxwich were 60 for 0 wickets. Chris Rudge plugged away and finally bowled
the Bloxwich skipper. Then on came Dev Penn with a magical spell of slow
bowling that skittled out almost all of the remaining batsmen. He ended up
with 7 wickets for 21runs as Bloxwich were dismissed for 127.
Penn reached the total with few alarms losing only four wickets. Ghazi Zaki
was outstanding with 98 of the 131 total.
26th May - away v. Essington & Great Wyrley
Penn bowled first and managed to keep Essington & Great Wyrley down to
126 within 40 overs. Chris Asbury starred with a six wicket haul. Yet again,
Penn managed to concoct a tight finish reaching the target with only three
wickets to spare. Glyn Martin was the hero with a patient and well crafted
43 not out.
19th May - home v. Wombourne
Another exciting finish but this time Penn came off second best.
Wombourne batted first and some indifferent bowling saw them reach an all
out tally of 187. Dev Penn (2 for 7) and David Potts (3 for 50) were the
main wicket takers along with a debut wicket for 13 year old Alex Haynes.
Penn started off slowly in reply due to some accurate bowling from the
Wombourne openers. The innings slowly gained momentum and a mid-innings
assault by Glyn Martin (50), Steve Tranter (47), and Chris Haynes (27)
set up an exciting finish where Penn required 12 off the last over. It was
not to be and Penn finished on 182 for 6. A losing draw.
12th May - away v. Quinton
The game started an hour late
due to rain. However, the rain turned the wicket into a 'sticky dog' which
suited Stewart Gill perfectly. He swung the ball and claimed six wickets.
With good backup from Chris Asbury, Quinton were dismissed for 103. Penn
replied slowly but surely and even managed to engineer a tight finish from
their allotted 41 overs. Ghazi Zaki and Steve Tranter were the main
contributors with 24 and 22 respectively as Penn reached the target halfway
through the penultimate over.
5th May
2007 - home vs. Himley
Captain Ghazi Zaki lost the toss and Penn were invited to bat on another
hot sunny day. Himley's bowling attack proved relentlessly accurate and Penn
struggled to gain momentum. Glyn Martin knocked a patient 44, 12 year old
Michael Hingley hit 34 and Stewart Gill offered great support with a
mid-innings 33. However, the 175 total always looked too low and Himley
achieved it with few scares by the 41st over.
28th April
2007 - home vs. Highcroft & Great Barr Unity.
Another Saturday
of beautiful weather and the Fourths hosted Highcroft at the main Mount Rd
ground. Penn batted first and batted superbly. Ghazi Zaki top scored with
55, Scott Turner hit a quickfire 47 and debutante John Homer got 50. Skipper
Steve Tranter also collected 42 valuable runs. The declaration came in the
46th over with Penn accumulating a total of 238. The Highcroft response was
resolute without ever really threatening their 239 target. It took Penn 50
overs to take the required 10 wickets with Dev Penn once again starring with
his 3 wickets for 4 runs. Ghazi Zaki and young Jack Cooper also bagged two
wickets apiece.
21st April
2007 - away vs. Cannock & Rugeley
First match of the new campaign and it turned out to be a
comfortable victory for the Fourths. Captain Steve Tranter won the toss and
elected to field. The decision looked a good one as Penn skittled out the
opposition for 97. The bowling was of a high quality on the artificial
wicket, excepting the disappointing David Potts. The spin twins of Dev
Penn (4 for 11) and Glyn Martin (2 for 9) did most of the damage with good
support from a pacey Chris Asbury and a determined Richard Kimberlin.
Penn's reply took a mere 17 overs with Steve Tranter (26), Ghazi Zaki (25
not out) and James Grosvenor (18) making light work of the low target.
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