Fakenham under 15s lost in the semi final against Great Melton on Monday...after winning the toss and putting Gt Melton in to bat.. it soon became apparent that they had some good batsmen! Fakenham fielders were soon on the defensive against some big hitting from V Sharma 86* and J Wilson 45...ironically after some poor fielding in previous games Fakenham threw themselves about in the field...unfortunatley our bowlers struggled against some good batting from Gt Melton.... it did not help that Wills could not bowl due to an injury. The only wicket we manaaged to take was a run out...Still with a total of 160 on a pitch with short boundaries we thought the the target was achievable. However after losing quick early wickets Wills was left with too much to do on his own but battled through with a creditable 32... Great Melton knew they had the game in the bag and gave some of their other lesser players a bowl...adding a little insult to injury! However....and here comes my gripe! mentioning no names! I overheard comments from (spectators) regarding the game...and the way it was played...These lads have been exeptional this season and reaching the semi final was a great achievement...all players have given their all... and I am very proud of each and every one of them....as manager i try to pick the best side i can...and if i have to use players from other age groups to fill in ... i pick on ability..but also on dedication and enthusiasm...
I would like to thank Steve Earl and Johny Sadler for their invaluable contribution and support this season.
Under 15s lose in Semi final
Under15s in Semi Final
After winning the toss and putting Sheringham into bat... Fakenham opened the bowling with a combination of Pace and spin... A good bouncy pitch caused problems from the start... with Will Dunger bowling short of a length found good lines... and took the wicket of H Blakiston hit in front on the full...Yin Lo Bowled well keeping the score down... boudaries were hard to come by on a wet outfield.. Ashley Jarvis took a great caught and bowled to dismiss F Sutton... O Sutton batted well until run out from a throw from Thomas Hill and Seedy removed the bails (and a stump) P Sheridan was also batting well until he was caught by Will Dunger off of Aaron Jarvis...Seedy claimed another stumping from the bowling of Ashley Jarvis.. taking his tally to 11 stumpings for the season. Fakenham did well to limit Sheringham to 102.
After a cautious start, Fakenham scored steadily...Jacob caught in the covers from a full toss...Aarron Riseborough unfortunaltley dismissed for a duck... but this brought Aaron Jarvis to the crease knocking a quick fire 16...until bowled by F Sutton...Brother Ashley Jarvis steadied the ship and some hard hitting from Wills saw Fakenham home with 2.3 overs remaining....Sheringham Leaked 25 extras... and Fakenham only 6... certainly made a differnce.... Fakenham will be at Home to Great Melton for the semi final on either Mon 3rd or Tues 4th August
Under 15s Qualify!!
Under 15s qualify for the quarter finals after beating Dereham in the last game of the group stage.. after winning the toss and putting them in to bat... our bowlers restricted Dereham to just 77... tight bowling from the spinners made runs difficult to come by...desperation for runs the batsman attempted to come down the wicket which resulted in 2 stumpings from Seedy....Harrison Futter bowled very well, 4 overs for just 9 runs (8 of which were in one over)... Jacob Seed got out early as did Aaron Riseborough but Will Dunger 37* and Aaron Jarvis 27* batted well and reached the target with 6.2 overs to spare
Fakenham Beat Bury
Fakenham picked up their first victory since the second day of the season as they won by seven wickets at Bury St Edmunds.
Imran Ali starred with the ball, taking six for 43 as Bury failed to build on a solid start.
They fell from 103 for two to 171 all out, losing their last four wickets without the addition of a single run.
James Hill was dismissed early in the Fakenham reply, but Sanjaya Rodrigo and Michael Vandort steadied the nerves with a second wicket stand of 95.
Vandort made his first league half-century for Fakenham before departing for 60, but Rodrigo (62no) remained to steer Fakenham to victory in the 31st over.
Under 15s keep going
After a bit of a slow start Jacob Seed 11 was run out leaving Will Dunger 36 to keep the score ticking along Aaron Riseborough got stuck in front out LBW for 8.. Edwared Harvey batted well for 18.. Jake Pearce with a quick 17 and Elliott Buck did well for 18 not out and Ashley Jarvis added another 5* to bring the total up to a reasonable 135... Aaron Jarvis dismissed the opener N Hook for a duck...the other opener G Gragen 18 seemed to be going along nicely but was running out of partners and eventually mistimed a shot to Tan from Robert Steele's bowling..Asley Jarvis bowled very well as did Tan and Yin...Seedy seemed a little slow behind the stumps although still 3 stumpings and a catch from a chinese cut diving down leg... Overall we could have batted a little better but our Bowlers again were tremendous.
Under 17s Beat the Bears!
Fakenham Lancastrians beat the Bradenham Bears in the Bob Carter Junior Cup (under 17s) on Sunday in a 36 over match.... On a glorious sunny day at Bradenham, Fakenham batted first on a pitch which played well, the outfield had a bit too much grass on it so boundaries were not going to be easy. Aaron Spillett 0 and Jacob Seed 93* opened the batting Aaron unfortunatly chipped the first ball to square leg. Ryan Bird came to the crease and Seed and Bird did very well against the opening bowler B Stolworthy who was fast and accurate Ryan dismissed on 6... James Phillipson 9 battled well but found it difficult to score eventually bowled by Stolworthy.. Aaron Riseborough 10 helped to shift the pace along before hauling out..Capt Toby Hood tried to push the score along with quick singles but a good slower ball from Stolworthy undone him.. Terance Bird 30* then batted very well to push the score to 176...(ok now for the unbiased stuff from a Dad!!!) Jacob held the innings together scoring consistantly well throughout his innings particularly against the good bowling of Stolworthy... boundaries were not easy but he managed 11 fours in his innings of 93*. Great Batting and a proud Father!!
When Fakenham took to the field Toby Hood was magnificent in his captaincy... good encouragement and control of the side ...good change of bowling got wickets... oh and he bowled well also...oh and two catches..Tanveer Singh Bowled well again getting the opener out... Terance Bird was on fire with good aggresive bowling taking 3 wickets for 8 in 4 overs.. supported well by his brother Ben who although did not take a wicket bowled 3 overs for 15... Aaron Riseborough also contributed with 4 overs for 16.... Yin Lo 4.2 overs 13 for 1 .... Hoody made a good change of bowling bringing on Luke Corwall who dismissed B Stolworthy 45 with is first ball which took the inside edge and Jacob took the catch low down by his feet. Luke Bowled only bowled 2 overs but took 3 wickets...sharp fielding at the end resulted in a last wicket run out... great team performance!
Dunger and Seed on top form!
Fakenham Under 15 winning the toss (again) decided to bat... on a pitch that looked like high scores were needed.... Jacob Seed 58 and Wills Dunger 82 set the pace early on both reaching 50 within two overs of each other then Wills cut loose with some awsome hitting... Both players could have remained not out but decided to "have a go" a great partnership of 154! Horsford had a formidible batting line up S Lincoln 24 set about our opening bowlers with some big hitting from the start.. as did M Selby 11 but he was dropped on 0...the signs did not look good with 33 being scored off the first 3 overs. Tanveer Singh bowled good line and length not losing his nerve against the onslaught. Ashley Jarvis bowled well and claimed a caught and bowled with a mis timed shot from S Lincoln.. and a fine catch from Tan off Aaron Jarvis saw off M Selby..All of the following batsman were good and some sharp fielding from Robert Steele caused the run out of H Barratt 13 a good throw and some good keeping from Seedy. D Webber 37 played well until he was brilliantly caught by Ashley Jarvis diving forward in the covers. A Dismore 29* and T Mee 21* Batted well but could not raise the run rate and ran out of overs. Fakenham Bowlers were very good and only 5 extras..Robert Steele bowled very well and was unlucky not to get a wicket...Ben Champion first time bowling for the side also bowled well.... Seedy (Hanniball) was sharp behind the stumps no byes at all during the innings..Wills captaincy was good with plenty of field movement to confuse the batsman (at least i think that was what he was doing!) good chat from him to encourage....great game of exciting cricket!!
Little Billy is Big!!
Fakenham under 15s put Gt Witchingam into bat ....and set about them...although we were a little sloppy in the field ....some fine bowling performances from our younger players Harrison Futter and Billy Yarham ... Billy was also in the action with a good throw to the keeper for a run out! Seedy Sharp behind the stumps with 2 stumpings .... Our batting got off to a quick but brief start fromm Wills out 3rd ball for 8..Jacob Seed 18* and Aaron Riseborough 21* saw us home..
Although we did not have our full strength squad.. our young players did very well... Gt Witchingham also had a young Side and one player really caught my eye W Rodgers who batted at 4 scored 7 in singles... seemed to be no more than 10 or 11...well played to him.
Fakenham Under 15s off to a good start
Fakenham won the toss and decided to bat... Will Dunger and Jacob Seed got off to a good start with some good running between the wickets... After Will was dismissed on 14.. this led to a middle order collapse... Elliot Buck did well but was run out on 13..Ashley Jarvis 31* came to the wicket and the run rate picked up again....Some good bowling from Adcock and Cantwell.. Jacob eventually dismissed by Barker for 28...Edward Harvey batted well for 30*....so a decent target of 134...Aaron Jarvis opened the bowling to Denmark who seemed to have set his stall out early...smashing the first two balls to the boundary... Aaron kept his head with some intelligent bowling, clean bowling Denmark with his 3rd delivery... Bradenham score would have looked poor except for some fiesty resistance from S. McErlane with a very good 36...supported by J. Cantwell 10.. a solid bowling performance from Tanveer Singh bowling 3-18...Yin Lo 2-10 off 4 overs.. with Robert Steele chipping in with a solid 1-17..Well done !
Sheringham Under 15s too good! ....again!
Sheringham won the toss and elected to field.... Sheringham bowlers were accurate and bowled good lines... Will Dunger and Jacob Seed struggled to get things moving until Will got his eye in scoring well until he received a a terrific ball which moved off the seam ...cut in an bowled him... Jacob played inside a ball an was bowled around his legs...Elliott Buck played well... and remained not out... Aaron Riseborough had a quick flourish until being caught on 13... Very impresssed with young Billy Yarham who batted well against much older boys.....and Jack Wells batted sensibly looking for the singles... a mix up ended up in his run out...
Bowlers from Sheringham F Sutton and H Knapp were very good and also impressed by the young wicket keeper another Sutton i believe (Must be in the blood) !
Our Bowlers tried hard but Sutton 42 and Blackstone 27 were just too good for us... some wonderful stroke play from both players some good aggression too... ably backed up by Knapp 12 at number 3
Sheringam under 15s are a force to be reckoned with ....good luck in the next round.
Injury worries for top-table Fakenham
06 May 2009
Fakenham Cricket Club's flying start to the league season was tempered by a Carter Cup first round reverse on Sunday and news that their two main strike bowlers picked up injuries which are causing concern ahead of Saturday's big test against EAPL newcomers Saffron Walden, writes John Cushion.
After two matches, Fakenham have turned the East Anglian Premier League table on its head to take an early-season lead.
Last year's wooden spoon winners currently sit on top of the league after completing their second win in two games with a six-wicket victory at Godmanchester.
The victory was set up by Angus Stuart, who claimed 4-36 from 12.4 overs.
He was well supported by Ben Smart with a couple of wickets, while Sean Cooper, Salim Hussain and Sanjaya Rodrigo also picked up a wicket as Godmanchester were skittled out for 152 in 51.5 overs, despite the late efforts of David McCallum who hit 52 not out.
The Fakenham reply got off to a bad start with Sanjaya Rodrigo departing for a duck.
But James Hill steadied the ship and ended up unbeaten on 69 as Fakenham earned their win while Phil Gray ended up 39 not out. Fakenham are the only team in the division with a 100pc record.
Saturday's visitors to Highfield Lawn, Saffron Walden, lead the chasing pack in second place and Fakenham are hoping treatment during the week to Stuart and Smart will enable them to play.
Fakenham's Alliance side launched their season with a 94-run home win over K&L Railway.
They made 225-5 (Brian Whitwood 55, Chris Crane 56no, Stephen Piper 56no) then bowled out their opponents for 131 (Keegan De Ridder 4-18, Stephen Earl 3-42).
But on Sunday the Carter Cup side crashed to a 101-run home defeat by Alliance Premier Cromer.
The visitors made 242-7, Fakenham dropping five or six catches, and were then bowled out for 141, Smart and Matthew Burton putting on a late stand of 45 to lift the total from 96-8.
Skipper Sean Cooper, frustrated at Sunday's performance against the Alliance side, said nevertheless the club had had an encouraging league start.
Young players who have come to the club had performed and he praised James Hill, who has returned to the club, for his 69no at Godmanchster and Stuart's four wickets. Phil Gray had been playing with more maturity.
A last-wicket stand by Godmanchester made things more difficult, and Fakenham's reply had stood at 2-2. “The Fakenham of last year would have rolled over. This year we have more steel and energy,” said Cooper, pleased with the input of local lads.
One disappointment, however, had been a few negative comments from the boundary. He asked supporters to be patient as the club's three-year strategy took time to click in.
Fakenham set the early pace as Hill top scores
Last year's wooden spoon winners currently sit on top of the league after completing their second win in two games with a six wicket victory at Godmanchester.
The victory was set up by Angus Stuart, who claimed 4-36 from 12.4 overs.
He was ably supported by Ben Smart with a couple of wickets, while Sean Cooper, Salim Hussain and Sanjaya Rodrigo also picked up a wicket as Godmanchester were skittled out for 152 in 51.5 overs, despite the efforts of David McCallum who hit 52 not out.
The Fakenham reply got off to a bad start with Sanjaya Rodrigo departing for a duck.
But James Hill steadied the ship and ended up unbeaten on 69 as Fakenham earned their win while Phil Gray ended up 39 not out.
Fakenham are the only team in the division with a 100pc record.
Newcomers Saffron Walden lead the chasing pack in second place after a comfortable home victory against Norwich.
The visitors were blasted out for just 106, with only Jason Blake offering any real resistance with 33.
Ben Wright and Tim Smith claimed three wickets apiece, with Joe Barrs and Tom George each bagging a brace.
George then hit 33 and Simon Parmenter weighed in with 35 as Saffron Walden claimed victory by seven wickets in only 24.4 overs to earn 25 points.
Usman Asghar and Richard Moores both hit half centuries for Vauxhall Mallards but it was not enough to force a win against Cambridge Granta at Brundall.
Mallards piled 278 for eight from 66 overs with Asghar hitting 52 and Moores going one better with 53.
Opener Carl Amos fell two short of his half century and Paul Bradshaw was unbeaten on 40 as Mallards set a daunting total.
However, Granta did enough to claim a draw, with opener Brenton Cherry hitting 65 as they finished on 190 for seven from 58 overs.
Rob Purton was the pick of the Mallards bowlers with 3-30 from 13 overs.
Last season's champions Swardeston notched their first victory of the campaign in a close game at Horsford.
The title-holders were bowled out for just 157 with Ryan Findlay picking up 4-31, as only Will Rist and Jaden Hatwell had any success against the bowlers with 46 and 43 respectively.
But the total still proved enough for Swardeston as Hatwell completed a fine match with 4-24, while skipper Mark Thomas and Michael Eccles bagged three wickets each as Horsford fell seven runs short of their total, after being bowled out for 150.
Great Witchingham had to be content with their second successive draw at Bury St Edmunds despite an unbeaten century from Norfolk skipper Carl Rogers.
Batting at three, Rogers smashed 105 as the Witches made 243 for eight from their 66 overs.
Captain and opener James Spelman hit 30 while youngster Sam Arthurton notched 34 in support of Rogers.
But Bury opener Tom Huggins hit 84 and although Greg Knowles took 4-36, the home side comfortably held on for a draw at 190 for six.
Newcomers Halstead clung on for their first draw in the Premier League, after being put to the sword by Clacton.
Martyn Cull hit 123 for Clacton as they piled up 280 for eight against their Essex rivals.
However, Clacton could not force victory as the final pair of Charlie Douglas-Hughes and last man David Elsbury stood firm with the home side ending up on 169 for nine to deny the visitors victory by a single wicket.
TABLE
| P | W | L | D | V | Bon | Pen | Pts | |
| Fakenham | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 50 |
| S Walden | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 40 |
| V Mallards | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 38 |
| Clacton | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 37 |
| Bury St Eds | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 36 |
| Swardeston | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 27 |
| Gt Witchingham | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 24 |
| Norwich | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 17 |
| Godmanchester | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 15 |
| Cam Granta | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 14 |
| Horsford | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Halstead | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
Rodrigo makes it tough for newcomers
Fakenham's revamped side enjoyed a winning start as they thrashed new-boys Halstead by nine wickets at Highfield Lawn.
After Imran Ali (three for 26) had ripped through the Halstead top order, the visitors were always on the back foot and they stuttered to 36 for five.
Thomas Philip (41no) gave them some hope, but Sri Lankan debutant Sanjaya Rodrigo picked up three wickets as Halstead were all out in the 58th over having crawled to 97.
There were no such problems for Fakenham as Rodrigo and fellow newcomer James Brown put together a stand of 86. Rodrigo went for 39, but Brown reached his half-century as Fakenham wrapped up victory in the 27th over.
Cricket club outlines plans
04 February 2009
Skipper Sean Cooper is demanding all-round success for Fakenham Cricket Club next season.
Having accepted the first team captaincy, he wants an end to that team's struggles in the East Anglian Premier League and promotion for other sides to raise the general standards of cricket and competition for places in the club.
With that in view, this summer's main overseas player will be Sri Lankan Indika de Seram, currently leading his country's three-day game batting averages. He was with Vauxhall Mallards last season.
Australian Keegan de Ridder is returning as the second XI professional, while three home players have been brought in to strengthen the first team and lower its average age. They are fast bowler Angus Stewart formerly of Downham and spinner/middle order bat Joe Pitkin and opening batsman James Brown, who played for North Runcton last campaign. Another Euro passport holding pro will be announced soon.
Cooper spoke at a weekend meeting which brought club members and supporters up to date with the plans made during the winter. He said he was embarrassed at the lack of senior winning pennants in the clubhouse. The youth section were competing very well, he added.
He wanted success to match the superb facilities at Highfield Lawn and all the hard work which goes on behind the scenes. He set the target of EAPL security in the coming season, followed by a top-four finish the season after and a push for the title the next year. He also called for the other teams' promotions.
Paul Dunger and Ian Slegg opting for second XI cricket next season had helped reduce the average age of the first team, said Cooper.
Dunger, who will skipper the second team, said the club was looking for at least seven members of the second XI to be available to step up to the first team when necessary. He wanted an end of players being content to play in their comfort zones and be ready to play at higher levels when asked.
Cooper emphasised that all overseas players will be involved in coaching, which had been re-structured. Also overhauled was the selection process, clothing and pre-match routines on playing days.
Chairman Martin Turner emphasised on Monday that EAPL security for the first team was paramount, with promotion for the other teams a priority to bring young players through.