Milden Cricket Club September 2024 update
The end of season fixtures for Milden CC have provided good moments, but ultimately challenging outcomes against some strong opposition. Finishing our home fixtures with a match vs Stowmarket on 11th August, Milden were on top reducing the opposition to 15-3 through good early seam bowling. However a fourth wicket partnership of 142 laid the platform for the visitors to post a challenging target of 222 from 40 overs. Against good bowling from the buoyant opposition Milden were not ever in the chase, losing wickets regularly and falling well short of the target. A trip to the outer edges of Suffolk at Mildenhall’s East Anglia Premier League ground was the challenge the following week. A depleted Milden side batted first and fought to post a target to bowl at. Stand-in captain Alex Lomax scored a brilliant innings of 64 taking on and scoring freely against the home side’s quick bowler, David Willis supporting Lomax well in a partnership of 70. Milden posted 111 which was chased by the home side comfortably, but spirit had been shown by Milden in adversity which was noticed and appreciated by the hosts. No league cricket for Milden the following week on the Bank Holiday weekend, but something a little different: an orange ball, whites not compulsory, matches of 5 overs per side! Taking part in a 6 per side tournament at West Bergholt, Milden caused a shock in a group match beating one of the favourites, which set up a decisive final fixture. Batting first meant Milden didn’t have the advantage of chasing and our opponent reached the required score with a few balls to spare; it was disappointing to lose but a good day out was had by all at our excellent hosts. To September and the conclusion of our league season. First, a trip to Ipswich CC to play Copdock & OI, a team full of promising young players, several of whom will likely play high level cricket before too long. Fielding first, again Milden took 3 early wickets with Aqeel Sayed bowling excellently … But again a large fourth wicket partnership, this time of 188 runs, propelled the hosts to 246-6 in their 40 overs. Milden looked to bat positively against some excellent quick bowling and at 98-1 with captain Cunningham (44 runs) and Sayed (35 runs) going well the game was balanced, Milden behind the rate needed but with wickets in hand. Unfortunately that partnership was soon broken and pressure told chasing the game; with few contributions from the middle and lower order Milden fell short of the target. Our hosts provided warm hospitality post-match though, a credit to local cricket. On 8th September it was a relatively short trip to Long Melford to conclude our league season. As was becoming the norm, fielding first Milden took 3 early wickets (Sayed 3-39) leaving Melford struggling at 23-3. However Melford’s number 4 Hoadley had arrived at the crease and made full use of familiar home conditions to dominate his team’s innings, smearing boundaries at will around the ground. Hoadley finished 211 not out, a standard of batting rarely seen at this level, dominating the total of 301-6 where the next highest batter’s score was 21. Not disheartened on what they knew was a high-scoring ground where Milden themselves had scored 320 just last year, Milden flew out of the traps in reply. Simmons and Sayed brought up the 50 in just 6 overs and put Milden well above the required run rate until the partnership was ended with 111 runs on the board in just the 13th over. Sayed continued to attack, but when he was dismissed for an excellent 66 runs Milden struggled to keep pushing on. Melford’s change bowlers had taken control, and unfortunately a collapse ensued as the reality of chasing the huge target told, Melford winning by a large margin of 153 runs. At the time of writing, it looks likely Milden will finish 2024 in 7th place in the league. AS Milden Cricket Club – August 2024 update July brought mixed fortunes for Milden CC. Sadly some much hoped for dry and warm weather still had not materialised at the start of the month, and rain denied the opportunity to play at the excellent Woolpit CC, which hosted a Suffolk vs Essex full county fixture two weeks later. A challenging fixture at home to league leaders Battisford followed. Batting first Milden struggled to score runs against the strong opposition bowling attack, and despite several batters occupying the crease for a long time only Alex Lomax could make double figures (24), and Milden were 69 all out. The opposition openers took little time to overhaul that target, C Bull making 50 not out as Battisford won by 10 wickets. A scheduled mid-season break allowed Milden to re-group before hosting Elmswell on 28th July, and a much stronger performance ensued. Milden won the toss and chose to bowl first, and a disciplined performance in the field saw 5 bowlers contribute with wickets as Elmswell were bowled out for 96, David Willis the pick of the figures with 6-3-11-4. In reply Milden’s batters were confident, and despite losing an early wicket Paul Ferguson (31 not out) and Alex Lomax saw Milden home with an unbroken partnership of 80 runs, Lomax again top scoring with 46 not out. A fine Milden win, by 9 wickets. A match then followed at home to second placed team Nowton which was re-arranged from April. Batting first against some good quality bowling Milden were in a decent position at 51-1, Neil Barkham contributing a solid 24 at the top of the order. However the frequent loss of wickets in attempting to accelerate the score meant that Milden reached just 97-8 from their allocated 32 overs. Not a huge total to defend, but Milden are always competitive in the field and this proved to be the case. At 46-1 the visitors were in control, but three quick wickets from Willis (8-1-25-3) and a run out left Nowton at 61-5 and the match finely poised. However some big hitting by the Nowton number 5 Noe (41 not out) settled the match decisively, Nowton winning by 5 wickets. With results elsewhere in their favour there was double delight for Nowton as this result took them to the top of the league. Milden sit 5th in the table with four matches remaining. AS Milden Cricket Club July 2024 update It has been a mixed five weeks for Milden CC since our previous update, in which we were able to give “stop press” news of a victory at home to Woolpit on 9th June. Some further details of that win: Milden batted first and posted a strong total of 191-6 in 40 overs, captain Alex Cunningham scoring 69 and some strong late hitting from Will Ward (25) accelerating the total to a challenging target. At 90-2, Woolpit were behind the asking rate but had wickets in hand to launch a strong chase, but all 6 of the Milden bowlers applied pressure and wickets tumbled after top scorer McLennan was dismissed by Robinson, who would take 4 wickets for 27 in his 10 overs. Woolpit finished on 130-9, a fine victory for Milden by 61 runs. The following week Milden had a challenging fixture away at league leaders Battisford (who to date have won all of their fixtures played). Milden posted 171-7 in 40 overs; Alex Lomax anchoring the innings and scoring a fine fifty from number 3, Harry Leitch added a quickfire 22 runs and David Willis finishing the innings well with 44 not out. In reply Battisford were soon ahead of the asking rate, opener Marriage batted through the innings (68 not out) and was well supported by others as Battisford chased the target down to win by 6 wickets, with 7 overs to spare. Despite that defeat Milden were confident ahead of a home fixture with Mildenhall, the continuity of matches actually taking place finally giving the feeling that the season was well underway. An excellent performance in the field against a very aggressive batting line up saw Milden dismiss visitors Mildenhall for 148, some great catches were held with Willis (3-19) and Robinson (5-13, including a hat-trick!) leading the attack, the other bowlers supporting well but not getting the luck. Milden felt in a good position at Tea but sadly a very poor batting performance saw us dismissed for just 54 and fall to a heavy defeat, the young Mildenhall bowlers doing well to win a match comfortably despite the low total they posted. Unfortunately since that match Milden have been frustrated again in consecutive weeks with no cricket, firstly by opposition Stowmarket conceding the fixture on 30th June and then several hours of rain arriving just before the start of the match at Woolpit on 7th July, the match abandoned without players getting on to the field at all. With half of the league season now elapsed, Milden CC sit 5th in the league table with 2 wins and 3 defeats from just five matches completed. We have only two remaining home fixtures, both in early August. Please come along to Milden and support us if you can, we play at a beautiful location and if the weather is even half-decent it’s a great place to socialise on a Sunday and support your local club. You will be very welcome! Remaining 2024 fixtures: (home matches in BOLD) Sunday 4 August 1:30pm MILDEN vs NOWTON (re-arranged from 28th April) Sunday 11 August 1.30pm MILDEN vs STOWMARKET Sunday 18 August 1.30pm Mildenhall vs Milden Sunday 1 September 1pm Copdock & OI 2nds vs Milden Sunday 8 September 1pm Long Melford 2nds vs Milden Milden Cricket Club June 2024 update Finally, some cricket to report on! With wet weather meaning three postponed matches in April and May, Milden have taken to the field only twice this season at the time of writing. Two decent performances given our relative lack of playing time have resulted in one defeat, and one win. Away at Nowton on 12th May a solid batting performance saw Milden post 217-5 in 40 overs, captain Alex Cunningham (78 not out) and David “Tabs” Willis (50) top scoring. In reply, Milden reduced Nowton to 55-2 (including a caught father, bowled son combination – both on debut!) but the brisk scoring of the opposition captain (106 not out) who Milden were not able to dismiss meant that despite some late wickets, Nowton won with 3 wickets to spare. With 3 weeks between matches, Milden were keen to get back into action and secure a victory away at Elmswell on 2nd June. Winning the toss and putting the opposition in to bat, Milden had to remain patient as the Elmswell opener made light of the challenging pitch, scoring freely. However Joe Smith took 3 quick wickets and Alex Lomax dismissed the opener for a well-made 73 runs, which left the door open for Milden at 109-4. It was an opportunity well and truly taken; Richard Robinson bowling excellently to take all of the remaining wickets and finish with fine figures of 6-19, Elmswell ending 124 all out. Milden were cautious in reply on what had become a difficult pitch to score runs freely, but captain Cunningham anchored the innings well and was determined to see Milden home. Harry Leitch scored a brisk 21, and Smith joined Cunningham to put on an unbroken partnership of 52 to see Milden to victory by 6 wickets, Cunningham again finishing not out! Milden sit 5th in the table after 6 weeks of the season. AS Milden CC: 2023 in review 10th October, 2023 Despite the early October temperatures suggesting it could still be cricket weather, fixtures are now long completed for Milden CC and we can reflect back on the season. The weather has unfortunately been a major factor in local cricket this summer, with the number of matches cancelled due to rain at the highest number in a decade. Indeed Milden's opening fixtures, a friendly at Hadleigh and the first league match at home to Long Melford were lost due to wet weather. The season eventually started in early May in damp, but playable conditions vs eventual champions Haverhill. Reducing the opposition to 48-6, a glorious victory seemed possible but sadly the Haverhill tail batted well and Milden were unsuccessful in chasing the target of 157. Tough assignments against Mildenhall and Elveden showed Milden to be competitive but lacking the power of our more establish opponents. It wasn’t until a trip to Nowton in early June that the first league victory of the season was recorded, the Evans brothers all contributing: runs for Guy and Stan, wickets for Robbie. Frustratingly, the home fixture vs Stowmarket was abandoned not long after tea (rain yet again, after an earlier delay as bees stopped play) but Milden continued the good form in June with wins vs Elmswell and Nowton to go into the latter stage of the season in good form. Spin was the way for Milden at Elmswell; three wickets each from Keith Gooderham & David “Tabs” Willis set up a modest chase for Milden of 106 which was achieved with the loss of only two wickets. At home to Nowton, contributions all the way down the order saw a total of 187 posted. In the field, Milden bowled and fielded well to dismiss Nowton for a round 100, Joe Smith with outstanding figures of 10-3-10-3 and four wickets for Willis. The remainder of July and August sadly did not bring any further victories despite some very spirited bowling and fielding performances at Elveden and Haverhill (the eventual top two in our division). Milden had given both opponents a fright but found themselves on the wrong side of narrow defeats. A chance to register another win against Elmswell was denied by yet another rain enforced cancellation. This frustration was then taken out on the final day of the season at Long Melford, as Milden dominated the opposition bowling attack to post 316-3. Having not over-indulged in the hearty tea on offer, Milden bowled and fielded excellently and comfortably wrapped up the game in short time to win by a record margin of 278 runs, a fine way to end the season. Milden would finish 6th in the division, a little unfortunate to be the only side in the division to have three league fixtures not completed due to weather. It was very pleasing that availability of players through the latter weeks of the season was very strong, and we’d like to build on that; please get in touch if you want to get involved with Milden CC either as a player or volunteering in any capacity! We’re a small but proud club that has now completed 15 seasons since reforming in 2009, with the volunteer “Groundhogs” team keeping the ground in great condition. We’ll return to action with winter nets early next year, dates and times tba. Most runs 2023: Guy Evans 263, Alex Cunningham 260 Most wickets 2023: David Willis 19, Joe Smith 15, Joe Smith 14 Highest batting score: Harry Leitch 95 not out vs Long Melford (A) Best bowling performances: Matt Archer 4-3 vs Long Melford (A), David Willis 4-14 vs Nowton (H), Joe Smith 4-18 vs Elveden (A). Milden Cricket Club - February 2023 update After the winter break, our players are now back in the indoor nets are looking to sharpen skills and find some form before the season begins. As always, anybody is welcome to join us no matter your age or experience; if you’ve been thinking about playing cricket for the first time or returning to the game after time away then please do get in touch and at the very least you can come along to some net sessions and give it a try! For indoor nets, we make use of an excellent facility at Holmwood House School near Colchester, and we can provide all equipment. Sessions are running on Sundays (usually 1pm start). Full dates & times, as well as our fixtures for the 2023 season can be found here. In 2023 Milden will compete in Division 5 of the Hunts Bats Suffolk League, and there are plenty of new opponents this season for us along with several familiar ones too. We are in a division of 8 teams, playing each other home and away, commencing the league season on 7th May at home vs Long Melford. The 14 league fixtures this summer are supplemented by a few friendly fixtures, and the John Bailey Trophy fixture vs Edwardstone, to be played this year at Boxford. Milden CC is still believed to be the smallest village club in Suffolk playing Sunday league cricket and our ethos is welcoming and social , so we’d love to have you join us, either playing or spectating. If you’re interested in Milden CC and want to come to nets, join the club or get involved in any way, please contact Club Secretary Andrew Simmons on 07951 055643 or [email protected] and we’d be delighted to welcome you along. AS |