Season Review 2009

2009 saw a few additional players to the squad, the leagues were rearranged and suited to both ability and geographically we set the aim of finishing 4th in the midlands league and 5th in the Warwickshire 2020 league. Some hard work over the winter and good commitment at winter nets and early season training gave optimism heading into the season.

Following is a summary of the games played with a selection of notable performances.

Old Elizabethans
First game of the season saw Ashfield ladies travel to Old Elizabethans with 9 players, the pick of the bowlers was Ma who bowled 8 overs and picked up 4-30 including a great caught and bowled. She duly won man of the match award. Set a target of 142, Ashfield were confident to achieve this target. Pick of the batters was Chelle Hughes getting to a well controlled 47 With the return of their opening bowlers they managed to get the final few wickets leaving Ashfield 15 runs short. Notable performances M. Kaur 8-1-30-4, M. Hughes 47

Astwood Bank
Unknown quantity but had one star player capable of scoring lots of runs, we bowled them out for 91 on a very small pitch, with all bar one player failing to reach more than 5 runs each, pick of the bowlers was Vicki A with Sara chipping in too, we reached the target with the loss of 5 wickets, great batting by Kate and supporting by Janet. Notable performances V.Arch of 5-0-19-4, S.Eccleston 7.4-0-28-3, K.Huntington 33*, J.Stubbs 14*. Vicki A winning the man of the match.

Walmley 2XI
Walmley 2nd XI old arch rivals were likely to be a tough game with good young players all of team playing or have played county at some point, we restricted to 79 all out, pick of the bowlers was Manjit and Sara. We reached this total with the loss of only 3 wickets, pick of the batting Chelle 24*. Notable performances S.Eccleston 7.2-2-11-3, M.Kaur 8-0-24-4, M.Hughes 24*. Ma winning the man of the match.

Old Elizabethans
Old Elizabethans struggled to reach 75 with Nemo on debut finishing with figures of 6-0-16-4 a small target to reach and with only 9 players in the field made the job fairly simple we knocked off the runs in 24 overs for the loss of 4 wickets. Nemo claiming the man of the match.

Walmley 2XI
They put out a mixture of players with over half the team of county standard, we were set the target of 129 which was slightly more than it should have been through only having 9 players on the field. We struggled a little with the bat with only one player making double figures however, did managed to bat out the 40 overs Notable performances M.Cole 8-1-23-4. Shell Cole winning man of the match.

Belbroughton
After 14.5 overs they were all out for 29. Notable performances M.Hughes 4-0-7-3, N.Aslam 4.5-0-5-4. Nemo winning man of the match.

Stourport
This game was abandoned after reducing them to 55 all out we were 18-4 when the rain came and game got abandoned M. Cole 7-1-16-4. Shell Cole winning man of the match.

Astwood Bank
Astwood Bank stuck us in and we were 58 all out before the game got abandoned. Kate won man of the match for 20 runs.

Belbroughton conceded

Stourport cancelled

Final league position 3rd

Walmley 160.5

Astwood Bank 142.5

Moseley Ashfield 142

Old Elizabethans 113

Stourport 78.5

Belbroughton 25

Cup competition
Drawn to play Burton Latimer in 1st round of the cup, a young but talented side bowled us out for 100 with Gaynor top scoring with 20. They reached the score with the loss of two wickets in the 32nd over. Gaynor winning man of the match.

We were drawn against Astwood Bank in the second round of the plate competition away. We were stuck in to bat, a poor wicket, Ashfield finished on 28 all out! We had them 11-6 and finished them off 12 AO!! M.Cole 5-3-3-4, V.Arch 4-0-9-3, N.Aslam 0.4-0-0-3.

We were drawn against Oxford ladies in the quarter finals who conceded the game to lack of players.

We were drawn against Shifnal ladies in the semi finals conceded through lack of players so we were through to the final v old rivals Moseley.

Moseley were always going to be a strong side with all their players having played or currently playing county cricket, we were stuck in and reached 88-7 off our 40 overs, this was always going to be a tough score to defend with the quality of their players, they reach the required total in the 20th over with the loss of 2 wickets. Notable performance M.Hughes 26.

Warwickshire 20:20

Five ways 130-5 we were 43 all out

Walmley 164-2 and we were 61 All Out notable performances Vicky Sears 4-1-14-2

Moseley we scored 116-5 and they got the runs with the loss of 3 wickets notable performances Kate Huntington 31 Michelle Cole 4-0-14-2. Kate winning man of the match.

Four Oaks Saints 95-4 bowled them out for 50 notable performances Sara Eccleston 19, Nimmisha Aslam 4-0-5-2. Sara winning man of the match.

Dorridge cancelled

Harborne conceeded

Final finishing 5th

Moseley 77

Dorridge 73

Walmley 69

Five Ways 60

Moseley Ashfield 48

Four Oaks Saints 19

Harborne 10

Overall season was a huge success aims were met and surpassed playing in a final was something we should have all been proud of. The season ended far better than expected at the beginning of the season, we were in contention for promotion beating established teams, gave other teams a challenge. If next year we can get a full 11 out every week starting from the beginning of the season this should make our task easier. Every player this season has shown great commitment and progress and should take confidence from how far they have come this season, and look forward to next season with great optimism with the potential of competing for the title again.

Players winning awards this season are as follows

Player of the season Michelle Cole
Most improved player of the season Vicki Arch
Leading run scorer Michelle Hughes
Leading wicket taker Michelle Cole
Most Man of the match awards with 2 awards each Manjit, Kate, Shell Cole, Nemo

I wish to once again extend my thanks to Chris for his continued support and coaching throughout the season, to Neal and Bridget for their support, to Angela for all the help and support you have given and to Tommo for all his work in getting the ground prepared and supporting us at games.

Squad members 2009
Michelle Cole (Capt), Sara Eccleston (Vice Capt), Chelle Hughes, Kate Huntington, Janet Stubbs, Vicki Arch, Vicky Bentley, Vicky Sears, Manjit Kaur, Puja Kaur, Donna Bennet, Lis Bishop, Nemo Aslam, Gaynor Pollard, Laura Mason, Alice Burridge

Stats

Played 19
Won 6
Lost 6
Losing draw 1
Abandoned 2
Cancelled 1
Conceeded (oppo) 3

Leading Run scorer M.Hughes 114
Highest score 47
Leading wicket taker M. Cole 18
Best figures M.Cole 5-3-3-4

Two games to go...

The ladies have two games left for the season one league game v Stourport on Severn away 30th Aug where a win would secure at least a second place finish. The second game is the Midlands Plate Final this will be against either Wellingborough Town or Moseley who are due to play on 6th Sep, this will be taking place at Moseley CC on 13th September time TBC, please come and support the ladies, in our achievement of reaching the final.

Ladies have a shocker...ladies put in an awesome performance...?!

We were drawn against Astwood Bank in the second round of the plate competition away. We again only travelled with 10 players, and were stuck in to bat, a poor wicket with very little bounce along with some poor shots got us all out apart from Lis Bishop who although only finishing with 1* occupied the crease for a while. Ashfield finished on 28 all out off 19 overs...what a shocker! A quick turn around and some inspirational team talking to lift everyone’s heads up, and determined we had the bowlers to test Astwood Bank. With a slight change to the opening bowlers, to take some pace of the ball saw wickets tumbling at regular intervals, some athletic fielding and good catches saw the arrogance of Astwood Bank who reversed their batting order soon knocked down, with them reeling for 11-6 with V.Arch finishing with figures of 4-0-9-3 and accepted the challenge of opening the bowling perfectly, a change of bowling from one end was the decision and Nemo stepped up, bowling brilliantly at one stage was on a hat trick, but decided to get the wicket the ball after- great jug avoidance! Nemo, finishing with figures of 0.4-0-0-3. And Astwood Bank 12 AO...what an awesome performance! Special mention must go to Lis who batted well and fielded superbly and also to Donna who under a little duress took on the challenge of keeping wicket and did a brill job!!

Notable performances

M.Cole 5-3-3-4
V.Arch 4-0-9-3
N.Aslam 0.4-0-0-3

We were drawn against Oxford ladies in the quarter finals who have in the meantime conceded the game to lack of players, so we will meet either Brackley or Shifnal in the Semi-Finals on either 16th or 23rd August tbc. Please come and support us there will be a BBQ!

Meanwhile in the league the last two games v Stourport and Astwood Bank were both abandoned so we picked up a total of 15 points. We still have two remaining league games, the title is now out of our hands, as Walmley who also have two games left and are 3.5 points ahead of us, all we can do is win our two remaining games and hope that Walmley slip up!

Ladies still in contention for title

Sun 5 July V Walmley A

Walmley were out for revenge from the last game in which we beat them by 7 wickets, they put out a mixture of players but half the team were of county standard, I won the toss and stuck them in the top four again had the ability to see them through the forty overs 3 having previously scored 100’s two quick wickets got 2 of the dangerous batters out and so left the not so experienced players at the crease to support their opener who did an excellent job at holding the innings together to enable them to bat out 34 overs and ended up 63* we were set the target of 129 which was slightly more than it should have been through only having 9 players on the field and being sloppy, not up to our usual standard of fielding. We struggled a little with the bat with only one player making double figures however, did managed to bat out the 40 overs and just managed to get enough runs to get a losing draw, which helped give us extra points and only give Walmley 10 points to help us out in the league position.

Notable performances

M.Cole 8-1-23-4


Belbroughton 12 July A

Belbroughton were an unknown quantity having not played them this season, however looking at their results it was a game we should win, travelling with 11 and a fairly strong side we were confident, having lost the toss and Belbroughton deciding to bat first, we were soon taking wickets with them only having 9 players the task was made easier for us and by 14.5 overs they were all out for 29. We knocked these runs off in 5 overs! Due to the early finish we decided to have another game of 15 overs a side to allow Belbroughton to have a bit more practice they again batted first we gave everyone a bowl and mixed bowling styles up and their batters were not allowed to be out first ball, we still got them out for 37! So again the batting order was reversed to give our players some match practice and got the runs within 11 overs, that included myself and M.Hughes fielding for the opposition and M.Hughes catching two of her own team mates out and being fined heavily! A good day all round with the 20 point win and a lot of fun was had against a really enthusiastic young inexperienced team.

Notable performances (league game)

M.Hughes 4-0-7-3
N.Aslam 4.5-0-5-4

We are currently in 3rd position 13.5 points behind 1st and with 2 games in hand over them...we are keeping ourselves in contention for the title, we have Stourport up next again an unknown quantity having not played them as yet, with a full 11 out each game we can win all our games, with only the team in first to play once and three other games against the teams in the bottom two. All support is welcomed! We will also be looking for an umpire for 26th July Home, 2nd Aug Home and 4th Aug Away (Astwood Bank) if anyone can help please??!

Ladies reach dizzy heights!!!

Ladies are now in second position in the Women’s Midlands League after three convincing consecutive wins...against Walmley 2nd XI, Astwood Bank and Old Elizabethans by 5, 7 and 6 wickets respectively, the top three teams in the league. Huge all round effort and commitment as enabled us to do this. The Astwood Bank game was played on a very small and sloping pitch next to an open prison where two convicts had just escaped! We were asked to field first and bowled Astwood Bank out for 91in 25 overs they only managed to reach that target through the help of their star player who had just scored consecutive hundreds but a juggling catch by J. Stubbs off V.Arch’s bowling got her out on 47 and the other players struggled to get more than 4 runs each. Superb bowling from Vicki A ending with figures of 5-0-19-4 and S.Eccleston 7.4-0-28-3 ensured the total was gettable. And we achieved the target of 92 with 5 wickets lost thanks to some expansive batting by K.Huntington 33* and support work by J.Stubbs 14* who got the job done in quick time.

Walmley were always going to be a tough team to beat however, they were missing a fair few members of their squad and filled it with inexperienced and young players, we again were asked to field first they had experience and ability in the top 5 that could potentially see them through the forty overs and finish with a big score, however we were on form with the ball and although there were a few simple mistakes in the field including dropped catches the bowlers continued to work hard and restricted Walmely to 79 all out with Ma picking up figures of 8-0-24-4 and S.Eccleston 7.2-2-11-3 again knowing the bowling potential Walmley had it was not going to be an easy task the openers saw off the opening bowlers who were by far the best bowlers they had M.Hughes 24* and K.Huntington saw us through to 82-3.

Old Elizabethans were the next team we faced who we had narrowly lost to by 15 runs on the first game of the season with only 9 players, if we won this and restricted their bonus points we would be in 2nd place. The team duly obliged and bowled Old Elizabethans out for 75 with the great find of Nemo on debut finishing with figures of 6-0-16-4 a small target to reach and with only 9 players in the field made the job fairly simple we knocked off the runs in 24 overs for the loss of 4 wickets. So second place is ours.

We must not now rest on our laurels with Walmley next Sunday who are likely to be fielding a much stronger team than last time. We have the two weaker sides in the league to play home and away and Astwood Bank could we be looking at the chase for promotion in only our second season??!

Moseley Ashfield V Old Elizabethans Sun 26 April

First game of the season saw Ashfield ladies travel to Old Elizabethans, with two late drop outs we travelled with 9 players, we won the toss and fielded first, a good start with the first wicket falling for only 7 runs, the runs were steadily flowing thanks to the very small boundaries and the new fielding restrictions for the first 10 overs (2 fielders within 13 yards!!) the pick of the bowlers was Ma who bowled 8 overs straight through and picked up 4-30 including a great caught and bowled. She duly won man of the match award. A few less extras would have kept their score below 100. Set a target of 142, Ashfield were confident to achieve this target and set out positively first wicket partnership put on 33 runs, with many of the Ashfield players struggling with injuries picked up during the game quick singles were not in the equation. Third in was Chelle Hughes who took the game to Old Eliz and punished all the bad balls including a 6 which would have been 6 on ‘normal’ sized boundaries! A great supportive role by Sara and the subsequent 4 batters to aid Chelle in getting to a well controlled 47 leaving us 30 runs to get in about 12 overs. With the return of their opening bowlers they managed to get the final few wickets despite a great effort to stay at the crease, leaving Ashfield to lose by 15 runs. Despite the loss, the performance and effort showed by every member of the team was faultless and shows how far we have come since last season...with 11 players we would have won.

Notable performances

M. Kaur 8-1-30-4
M. Cole 8-2-16-2

M. Hughes 47

2008 Season Review

2008 was set to be a challenging year for the ladies section, with all but one player leaving the task was set to find a complete squad capable of fulfilling and competing in a number of 40 over and 20 over games. Some hard work over the winter including a media appeal eventually reaped the rewards just in time for the first league game.

The following is a summary of all the games this season with a selection of notable performances:

First game against an experienced and established Leicester side, with 9 Ashfield players playing 40 over league cricket for the first time! Leicester 229-2 Ashfield 25 AO

2020 V Moseley against a mixed Moseley side and with 7 Ashfield players having to adapt to playing with only 8 players in a reduce format of the game. Moseley 120 AO Ashfield 21 AO. Notable performances Sara Eccleston 4-17.

A mixed and young Walmley 2nds team was up next Walmley 117-7 Ashfield 40 AO. Notable performances. Sara Eccleston 3-22 and 14, Manjit Kaur 2 run outs.

Lullington Park posed a new challenge although a new team for 2008 they had some experienced players including 3 or more county standard. Ashfield 19 AO Lullington 20-0

Birmingham returned to the Graveyard with 7 players for a 2020 game, 5 experienced one county age group player and one inexperienced. Birmingham were helped to 114-3 through 56 extras! Ashfield 89-6. Notable performances Michelle Cole 2-6 and 51*.

Five ways 2020 league brought a young but talented side 143-2 53 extras! Ashfield 35 AO.

Derby 2nds were next opposition back in midlands league after having them 82-4 after 20 overs we looked to be keeping their target in reach until a 1st team player came in and gave us all a lesson in intelligent batting and bolstering their target to 178-6. Ashfield 51 AO. Notable performances Michelle Hughes 2-29, Laura Richardson 2-31, Michelle Cole 21.

Four Oaks Saints was the game from the beginning of the season I realistically thought we had a chance of winning some good bowling and fielding we restricted them to under a hundred runs for the first time this season 99-5, a strong start meant we required 18 from 7 overs the win was ours...lack of runs from the lower order heaped pressure on themselves, 10 was needed of the final over the 5th wicket fell on the penultimate ball leaving me to return to the crease to get 9 of the last ball! Ashfield 90-6. Notable performances Michelle Cole 33*

Lullington Park away, slightly different side but still with experience and talented players some very tight and frustrating bowling from the bowlers kept Lullington’s scoring down and we had them all out for 114 in 20 overs an realistic target for us to reach however a steady loss of wickets and lack or scoring meant we were 97 AO. Noticeable performances Michelle Hughes 3-31 inc 2 c&b, Laura Richardson 3-30.

Leicester was the next game a good opportunity to see how far we had come from the first game of the season. Leicester finished on 215-7 which was credible due to their experience and ability. Ashfield finished on 50 AO, we showed our ability to stay at the crease but showed we need to score runs at the same time!

Derby were the final game of the season they came with a much weakened side bar one/two players, with very tight bowling and fielding they set us a target of 56 AO very reachable, however lack of batting again let us down and a win turned into a loss. Notable performances, Sara Eccleston 5-7.

A special mention must go to Sara Eccleston who in her first year was given the responsibility of being vice captain, opening the batting and bowling and proved herself a very capable player, this also includes being nominated by the Midlands League committee for the Women’s Midlands League North bowler of the season.

The season overall has been a success, despite results. Having spent all winter net sessions with only Chris and myself, it was never thought we would get a side out for a single game yet alone fulfil every fixture, with many people proved wrong it happened and all the credit must go to the squad who have turned up to net sessions given 100% at every game and continued to work hard despite the losses. Both myself and Chris are proud of how far everyone has come and look forward with great optimism to season 2009 as should every player. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Chris once again for his hard work and commitment coaching and umpiring, to Neal and Brigdet Anson for their support likewise Angela Brown and Tommo. Also like to welcome Nigel Udoh who has agreed to help Chris.

Squad 2008
Michelle Cole (Capt), Sara Eccleston (V.Capt), Michelle Hughes, Vicky Sears, Manjit Kaur, Puja Kaur, Vicki Arch, Kate Huntington, Laura Richardson, Alice Burridge, Laura Mason, Sarah Cripps, Claire Cooper, Michelle Doughty, Jemma Greenway, Bridget Anson.

Season Summary
Played 11
Won 0
Lost 11
No result 2

Batting
Highest score 51* Michelle Cole

Leading run scorer 118 Michelle Cole

Bowling
Best performance 5-7 Sara Eccleston

Leading wicket taker 15 Sara Eccleston