This was supposed to be the Tillside report…

At the untimely passing of long time Wooler player Sandy Scott, our own Mick Williams lays aside his Mr Calm alter-ego to pay tribute to one of the leagues greats.

“Well, I was going to whinge & bleat, (as usual, some might say), about the unfairness of circumstances relating to 2nd teams, etc, etc. However, events over the last week or so have made anything that annoys me or members of our happy little crew, completely inconsequential.

I remember in the early days of my career this obdurate but immensely talented opening batsman for Wooler who annoyed me intensely. If you bowled short to him he would cut/hook/pull you for runs; you bowled up to him he would drive you straight or through the covers for more runs. He could sledge with the best of them & as years rolled, (too quickly), by, a grudging respect began to form in my mind. He was also a fine Gully/Point fielder & a Man Utd supporter.

Playing Wooler wont be the same, now. He would want us to carry on but cricket doesn't really matter that much today. The whole League will, I'm sure, pay tribute to this cricketer/man/friend, we should cherish the memories we have of him.

Thank you Sandy, I'll miss you.”

Mick Williams - 16/06/2009

 

To follow up, all of us at Rock CC would like to offer our condolences to Sandy’s family and friends. He will be missed greatly throughout the local cricketing community and it was a pleasure to spend the afternoon in his company only a few weeks ago during our away game at Wooler.

Brief match report – Rock vs Warenford. Tate Cup 2nd round

After spending the day watching the pros whacking the ball everywhere on tv it was our turn to have a bit of 20/20 action!

Kev took the captains duties for this one and promptly lost the toss. Warenford of course chose to bowl…

From ball one the field was spread to all parts as we waited for a Chris Gayle-esque onslaught, but of course this is our style of 20/20… No coloured shirts, a ball you can’t see in the dark, no fielding circle… It really is time the league looked at spicing things up! And so it was a slow start as the fielders stemmed the boundaries and Dan P in particular bowled tightly. Eventually there were some lusty blows as Kev and Tony got us to 95/9. The rest of us didn’t contribute much.

In reply the Warenford openers rarely looked hurried or troubled in anyway and steadily progressed the score towards the target. Alex proved he can catch a ball, not just let it hit him as he and Tony teamed up to remove Dan P.

Close to the end Andy decided he didn’t need the keepers gloves to catch the ball and tried using his face instead, and will now be petitioning the league to start using white balls for evening fixtures!

And that’s us out this cup for another year, VP cup on Sunday against the same opposition.

Scorecard

Brief match report – Rock vs Tillside 6th June

A threadbare but still experienced Rock team travelled to Tillside on Saturday to take on the League’s current whipping boys. But the boys were bolstered by some older heads and in the end that was the difference.

Tillside were inserted on the spongy looking track and immediately reward followed Cam McGregor nicking behind 1st ball of the game. Many more Tillside should have gone in similar fashion but Rock managed to shell a total of 8 catches. And following that catching display deserved to be chasing 252. Only Mick W & CJ escaped with respectable figures.

The huge target sparked the Rock top order into life, the pedestrian style and pace of Ian & Phil was ramped up in an effort to keep pace with the run rate. A steady stream of wickets left us short in the end, but a good performance with the bat was let down by shocking catching.

Scorecard

Matchball Sponsor – Mr P. Pringle

Full Match Report for 31st May vs Wooler CC

Wock Windy @ Wooler

Well, hello again. Back from me hols feeling, quite frankly, knackered. Having fun is an exhausting business. Anyway, Rock trundled into Cheviot country on Saturday looking to put right the wrongs of the week before. Silver skipper inserted the title contenders on a dry, flaky surface. From the off the pitch offered something for the bowlers & Rock were grateful to Wilsa & PhilB combining to dismiss Stuart Blacklock with just 14 on the board. Adamant Murray & Clarkey put on another 37 before they were both out caught behind with the score on 51. Scully & Tom Burston pushed the score up to 94 before Mr Calm wound back the clock & actually got one to bounce to remove the Wooler skipper. Calm & Silver Arm and the Prof bottled up the Wooler middle-order, chipping in with a few wickets & with the score on 134 for 8, Rock were looking forward to a magnificent tea. However, in came the esteemed League secretary, all rippling muscle & athleticism & gave us some of the best entertainment in years. Calm, with one of his nastier deliveries hit Sllim in the one-pack, the ball went straight up in the air & proceeded to hit the poor fella on the head! Always wondered why he had a target tattooed on his napper but now we know! After a sublime piece of fielding by Ian of the Bells & a cruel deflection off the stumps Mills & Mclean had to run 4, oxygen was administered to Sllim & a Lambert & Butler King-Size for everyone's favourite goalkeeper.

Nonetheless, the pair added 35 very useful runs & Rock were to rue their missed chances. In the end Wooler posted 176 all out & full batting points. A super tea later & Rock opened up with Kev of the Wilsas & Bobby of the Bells. The Wooler opening attack of Mclean & Inch-High Private Eye kept it tight until Rod was caught by young Burston. PhilB took a while over his duck, The Prof managed only 2 while Wilsa carried on with his good form & plundered 33 out of 56 for 4. Ian of the Bells & Ho-Sin put on 30 including a quite enormous 6 from young Saucy, who was brilliantly christened "Reggae-Reggae" by Nelson. When they were both gone Calm & Ned tried to up the scoring rate & managed to accumulate 48 in very short order. Once Calm had gone, Kelly did smote with his wand & put on 15 with Hilts, well, Hilts ran 15! So, despite the efforts of the lower middle order, Rock fell 26 runs short of their target. Excellent bowling from M&M & Inch High was the ultimate match-winner for Wooler. So next week to Embletoon, no sorry, I've just been told it's Tillside. The Border tour continues........... Excellent!

Revised Fixture List

Ok hot off the press from the Management Committee Meeting…

The revised schedule has been agreed and will take effect immediately, so this Saturday we travel to Tillside.

The revised league games are as follows:

06/06/2009   Tillside II v Rock
13/06/2009   Rock v Embleton
20/06/2009     Bye
27/06/2009   Rock v Alnmouth II
04/07/2009   Berwick II v Rock
11/07/2009   Rock v Wooler
18/07/2009   Alnmouth II v Rock
25/07/2009     Bye
01/08/2009   Warenford v Rock
08/08/2009   Embleton v Rock
15/08/2009   Rock v Tillside II
22/08/2009   Rock v Mitford
29/08/2009   Warkworth II v Rock
05/09/2009   Rock v Howick

Remember we also have the following Cup games:

Tuesday 9th June   vs Warenford (home) Tate Cup
Sunday 14th June   vs Warenford (away) Vice-Presidents Cup

And a friendly:

Wednesday 17th June    vs Percy Farmers