1878 - 2008
Mottram Cricket Club
130 Not Out!
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MARTYN CARRNAGE !
The visitors were without several key players and it showed. Without the threat of Hibbert lurking behind the timbers, Mottram's batsmen were able to use their feet at will, and did so with maximum effect. Openers Quinn (75) and Kings (43) shared in a brilliant stand of 83 for the first wicket and only Neil Holt of the top order failed to capitalise on some fairly charitable bowling and fielding. To be fair, his leg before decision looked questionable to say the least, sorry Doc! Conroy (30) and Carr 118 not out plundered 4's & 6's galore, and the standing traffic on Broadbottom Rd was constantly at risk as red leather projectiles rained down. Carr in particular savaged Chapel's bowlers with some colossal blows. The last six overs went for 78 runs! and Mottram closed on 279 for 4, a 1st XI home record. (2 1st XI records broken in 2 weeks). With the ball in his hands, Carr was equally as prolific, mopping up Chapel's tail with devastating efficiency. His figures of 4 for 9 included an oh so nearly hat-trick, had short leg reacted to an agonisingly close to the wicket catch. It was very much a case of business as usual for Martin Pottage who's umpteenth '5 for' came from 17 unchanged overs, & Conroy who unluckily collected only one wicket was speedy and hostile. With excellent catches being held and some tidy ground fielding, Mottram looked once again like a team who with Roberts & Rice in their ranks, should be challenging for the honours next year. As we gazed out from the bar at a breathtaking sunset in the distance, we were left to reflect on what might have been an if only, and so on. Very much of the story of the season. Still the future's bright, the future's Mottram! John Birch
RECORD BOOKS RE-WRITTEN AS SAFETY IS ENSURED A TORRENTIAL MORNING DOWNPOUR HAD CLEARLY INFLUENCED BUXWORTH’S CAPTAIN PAUL SMITH’S DECISION TO INSERT MOTTRAM AFTER WINNING THE TOSS. AS HE TROOPED WEARILY OFF THE PITCH AT TEA HE MUST HAVE QUESTIONED THE REASONING BEHIND SUCH A GROSS MISJUDGEMENT. MOTTRAM SIMPLY SLAUGHTERED THE EIGHT BOWLERS HE USED AND HAD THIS BEEN A BOXING MATCH IT WOULD HAVE BEEN STOPPED WELL BEFORE THE END. MARTYN CARR’S 49 BALL 104 INCLUDED NINE 6’S AND NINE 4’S AND WAS A MASTERCLASS IN CONTROLLED HITTING. MARK CONROY WITH 74 NOT OUT WAS EQUALLY AS SAVAGE, HIS INNINGS INCLUDED SEVEN 6’S. QUINN(36), KINGS(32), HOLT(35),BOUCHIER(14), ISAACS(14), AND POTTAGE 30 NOT OUT ALL MADE HAY FROM, IN TRUTH, SOME VERY ORDINARY BOWLING AND MOTTRAM’S INNINGS CLOSED ON A CLUB RECORD 350 FOR 6! I WILL SPARE THE BUGGY BOWLER’S BLUSHES BY NOT REMINDING THEM OF THEIR FIGURES BUT TO THEIR CREDIT THEY ALL STUCK MANFULLY TO THEIR TASKS AND REMAINED SURPRISINGLY PHILOSOPHICAL DURING THE TEA INTERVAL. IN BUXWORTH’S VALIANT BUT FUTILE REPLY THERE WERE GOOD CONTRIBUTIONS FROM BRADBURY (31),SMITH(30) AND LEATHERBARROW 51 NOT OUT, BUT THEY HAD NO ANSWER TO MARTIN POTTAGE WHO WAS BACK TO HIS IMPERIOUS BEST, TAKING 4 FOR 74 FROM 19 OVERS. ISAACS CHIPPED IN WITH 4 WICKETS BUT HE HIMSELF KNOWS THAT ON ANOTHER DAY HE WILL BOWL MUCH BETTER AND BE LESS FORTUNATE. SO ALL IN ALL A GREAT DAY OUT IN THE PEAK DISTRICT WITH MOTTRAM DISPLAYING ONCE AGAIN THAT THEIR LOWLY POSITION IN THE TABLE BELIES WHAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF. COULD WE START THE SEASON AGAIN PLEASE? John Birch
After a long and
often difficult season, the 2nd XI finally secured their division 3 status
with a match to spare, after a convincing victory over bottom of the table
Hazel Grove.
Hazel Grove won the
toss and inserted MCC on a damp wicket. The two Johns Marsden and Flint
finally showed they are as good a partnership at the wicket as they are in the
shower, with a steady opening stand of over 50.
John Marsden fell in
the 20s mistiming a drive to extra cover, bringing top run scorer Ric "the
boy" Windsor to the wicket. Richard's batting style brought the best out of
Flinty. Richard's knee injury meaning that singles were completely out of the
question, and boundaries the order of the day. As in so many games this
season, Ric despatched the attack to all parts before falling for 39, caught
at cow corner!
Wickets fell
steadily thereafter, but the run rate did not diminish. Liam Wright again
showed that his batting is getting better week by week, finishing in the 30s
again. A flurry of late wickets left Mottram 209-9, a score we were confident
we could defend.
The loss of over 30
an hour due to rain meant that the major obstacle to our victory was time. In
order to guarantee victory we had to squeeze 18 overs into 50 minutes. This we
did, getting through our overs in double quick time. This made Chris Hemmings
8-54 from 22 overs all the more impressive. At one stage it appeared he might
get all ten, but fatigue eventually go the better of him. It was without doubt
a superb bowling performance that never gave Hazel Grove a sniff of victory.
After an
impressive, and at times hostile spell from Ayrton Fielding, Liam Aright
joined the attack to take the ninth wicket, but the final Hazel Grove wicker
proved elusive, giving us a points hall of 19. At the worst, this would have
left us requiring 2 points against Chapel in the final match to secure our
place in division 3. News filtered through however that Compstall's match
against Newton had not been completed, and we would be playing division 3
cricket for another year.
This is certainly a
very satisfactory outcome to the season. We have been rooted the bottom of the
table for over half of the season, and to turn this around with 5 wins in the
2nd half of the season has been an impressive achievement. Congratulations to
all of the team.
Chris Bowen
Sat 30th August Mottram 1st XI v Stockport (H) POSITIVES IN DEFEAT Good starts by all six of the top order (all of them getting into the teens) should have resulted in a 200 plus total for the home side. As so often has been the case this season only one of them, Adam Quinn with a patient 35,went on to build an innings of any note as Mottram, after being inserted by ‘Port captain Bob Cooke, slumped to 107 for 7 with more than 17 overs remaining. Fortunately, veteran John Birch (25) rolled back the years and with Martin Pottage (41 not out) added 74 for the seventh wicket, the latter being particularly harsh on ‘Port’s spinners with some colossal blows travelling for many a mile over the ropes. 181 at tea seemed competitative but could and should have been so much better. Early breakthroughs were a must for Mottram but sadly, indifferent bowling, dropped catches and poor umpiring decisions were to prove costly in the final analysis as Stockport’s openers soon had 70 on the board off only 15 overs. Phil Langhorn was at times brilliant but more often chancy in his knock of 56. It could all have been so different had skipper Mark Conroy taken the new ball. Bringing himself on from the pavilion end he unsettled ‘ Ports batsmen to such a degree that his blistering pace quickly accounted for ………….., Laverty and Mark Richards. All were clean bowled without appearing to have any desire to remain at the crease whilst “Conners” was steaming in. Even allowing for a few of his now customary leg side wide deliveries I feel that he must now open with himself for the remaining two games, as there are few batsmen I can think of who will actually enjoy facing such hostility. Unfortunately, Conroy was unable to bowl more than eight overs as cramp set in, severely restricting his mobility. Could this possibly have been the result of a lack of Stella the night before! It was left to the younger Richards brother Peter, to see his side home in the 43rd over but Stockport’s win had not been easy as they admitted in the clubhouse later. Once again, an opposing side could not understand why we are in such a lowly position, but in truth we all know too well the many reasons why. There are however, many positives to take from this defeat and Mottram should remain confident going into their crunch game with Buxworth next Saturday. John Birch
Sat 23RD August Mottram 1st XI v Hayfield (A) HAYFIELD V MOTTRAM- RAINED OFF? To say that we were disappointed with events, or rather non events, at Hayfield on Saturday is an understatement. All the various weather forecasts during the week had indicated that we would be playing cricket in warm sunshine under clear skies without a hint of any rainfall whatsoever. With probably our strongest possible side taking to the field against a clearly weakened Hayfield team this would be a great chance to finally secure our safety in the 1st division. However, steady overnight drizzle with no wind to disperse the lingering low cloud over Kinder Scout was enough to put paid to this fixture without so much as a token gesture or realistic attempt from the home side to get the ground fit. The allegedly prepared wicket was indistinguishable from the rest of the square and if this was to be the strip nominated for play I ask the following questions;
A quick cut, a roll, mark out, game on. This has been done countless times at Mottram, and will continue to be the case as long as we WANT to play cricket. Indeed, many of our most memorable games have been played in conditions somewhat less than 100% fit. Generally speaking, where there is a willing there is a way, and that was certainly not the case at Hayfield on Saturday. Disgusted of Mottram! All visitors to this site from Hayfield please sign the guestbook, I await any explanation with eager anticipation
Sat 9th August Mottram 1st XI v Old Glossop (A) TEN BRAVE MEN Searing heat, an azure blue sky, and once again an all too familiar fragile, looking Mottram batting line up for their match at Manor Park Road, as Quinn and Carr strode to the crease after Conroy had won the toss and elected to bat. Ex Mottram lad, Matthew Farrows’ thirteen over spell yielded a remarkable 7 for 21, as he almost single handedly brushed aside his former clubs’ top order, with a combination of accuracy and movement off the seam. Only some quality stroke play from Neil Holt (19) brightened up proceedings as Mottram, at one stage 41 for 7 collapsed to 62 for 8. A brilliant eighth wicket partnership of 52 between Andy Isaacs (27 not out) and Mike Marsden (21) then ensued. How refreshing it was to see these two fulfilling their potential and giving their side a glimmer of hope, with some lusty hitting and measured control. The latter’s two straight sixes will live long in the memory. 118 all out was a commendable recovery, but surely wouldn’t be anywhere near enough. Would it? What followed was as heroic a bowling and fielding performance as I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing from a Mottram side. Martin Pottage, 5 for 44 from 18 overs and Carr 3 for 46 from 14 overs were magnificent. They bowled with tremendous heart and stamina in still energy sapping conditions and Old Glossop were made to toil for their runs. Neil Holt showed what a great asset he can be with some acrobatic diving stops and a superb one handed catch at gully to dismiss danger man, King off Pottage’s bowling. As McGrail (19) and Allsop 22 not out threatened to rescue the home sides’ reply, Isaacs had the answer. After replacing the exhausted Carr from the Pygrove end, he took 2 for 8 off 2.3 overs. Stand in wicket keeper, Martin Bouchier performed admirably and Duncan Bennett chased everything as though his life depended on it. With only ten men on the pitch, but all of them rooting for each other, it was heart-warming stuff and bodes well for the rest of the season. The reason why there were only ten men is best left untold and will be dealt with by the powers that be. John Birch
Sat 9th August Mottram 2nd XI v Compstall (H)
Temperatures
were 30 degrees, the sun was beating down, all was set for a wonderful
afternoons cricket between two clubs desperate for points to avoid the drop.
The first action of the day was the toss.
Bowen won and elected to bat, wise on this energy sapping day.
Flint and John Marsden strode out and
gave Mottram the perfect start, a solid 50 partnership in the first 15 overs
gave Mottram a stepping stone. Shortly after the drinks break Marsden was
bowled contributing 21 to the total.
The outfield was lightning quick and
Richard Windsor quickly past Flint with some hard and well placed drives. His
score would have been greater if the young Compstall players had not fielded
so well.
Flint looked tired and was eventually
stumped for 34. That didn't stop Windsor though and he looked in great nick as
he past his fifty. He added another 28 to his total before being caught in the
deep (78)
The wickets then fell steadily but
Mottram held out to prevent Compstall acquiring the extra point ending
the innings on 198-9
An early wicket from Hemmings dismissed
the opener caught by Bowen.
Wickets again fell steadily which
hampered Compstall' s progress and their challenge seemed almost over when
Bowen stumped danger man Dunn (62) off the bowling of Wright.
Chris Bowen was in sparkling form behind
the sticks gloving every chance that went his way he finished the day with a
commendable 5 victims.
Windsor then turned to the ball taking
4-30 a great effort for someone still struggling with a knee problem.
Compstall were reduced to 111-7 but a late rally took them to 150 before the
8th wicket fell.
Needing another 48 runs to win from the
last 6 overs Suthern came back on and after his disappointing first spell
knocked over the lower order to win Mottram the game Compstall finally
finishing on 151 all out.
Mottram win by 47 runs and with that
claim their first back to back triumph of the season, however they need to
keep this up because a few lost games could see them back in danger.
Ayrton Fielding.
Sat 2nd August Mottram 1st XI v Dinting (H) Ain’t No SunshineThe warm sun which graced Mottram's’ encounter with old rivals Dinting, was going to have an influence on the wicket following a week of monsoon like rainfall, particularly for the side taking first knock. Skipper Mark Conroy won the toss and elected to bat. For Mottram, this proved to be a lamentable decision. Dinting’s quickie, John Coleman soon had Quinn and Carr clean bowled, both clearly beaten for pace. With Kings (7 ) and Bouchier (21 ) struggling to come to terms with the vagaries of the drying pitch, it became a war of attrition. After their departure only Conroy (17 ) appeared to have any composure before he too fell to a sucker punch, having looked well set for a big score. Isaacs (14) and Marsden 11 not out, just failed to drag the Mottram total to a third batting point and the innings closed on a disappointing 107. Left arm Spinner, Brian Thompson and skipper Matt Blood with his occasional “offers” had swept away any resistance with alarming simplicity. The euphoria of the previous weeks’ performance evaporated as quickly as the moisture in the wicket. Chasing such a meagre total, Dinting were able to bat with gar abandon. Record breaker, Glen Draper powered his way to 65 not out, although he was dropped three times, and finished the match in emphatic style, with two towering sixes off the hapless Duncan Bennett. Skipper, Conroy tried six bowlers, but only Stuart Swann was successful, capturing both wickets. Once again, a lack lustre against a less talented side man for man, but higher on confidence and morale. Leaves Mottram rooted to their now customary 3rd from bottom of table spot. John Birch
Sat 19th July Mottram 1st XI v Birch
Vale (A)
Sat 19th July Mottram 1st XI v Tintwistle THE SAME OLD STORYIn truth, this was a match that Mottram didn’t hold any aspirations of winning, but with the benefit of hindsight could easily have done so. Taking first knock on a track used twice before the openers, Quinn and Carr encountered few problems, until the former was needlessly run out and Carr; after a breezy 23, was clean bowled. From then on in, given the frailties of their batting line up, it was an uphill struggle with John Birch, going in at No. 5, finishing 30 not out and the innings closing in the 43rd over on 128. Isaacs and Kings had provided good support. Blackwell and Doodson were the pick of the Tintwistle bowlers. In their reply, the visitors had 28 on the board before Dwyer played on to Carr. Robinson and Ricky Harris were later dismissed to leave “Tinsle” 65 for 3, and for a while the game looked in balance. However, Martin Harris showed great resolve and steered his side home with a well-crafted 50 not out. Once again, with key batsmen unavailable, Mottram were left wondering what might have been, as 20 or so more runs would have made this a very interesting contest. As it was, the outcome proved quite a comfortable Tintwistle victory, and had Mottram looking over their shoulders at Buxworth’s result – Oh Dear, They Won! We Can’t Take Our Eye Off The Ball. John Birch
Sun 13th July Mottram U13's v Romiley The Mottram lads were somewhat in awe at times of a fine batting performance by Romiley in this, their penultimate game of the season. Even with bowlers like Andy Metcalfe taking 4 wickets the Romiley lads still managed to pick their shots many of them boundaries, & even a couple of sixes too. When Mottram went in to bat, they didn't make too bad a start, with Matthew Nixon opening with 16 nett 11 after going off sick during the Romiley innings, being replaced for a time by his younger brother Ryan. Matthew's opening partner Oliver Edge managed to add a further 5 to the scoreboard, while the second pair Hamsa & Mitchell Wood only managed to add a further 5. It was left to the Montgomery brothers, Alex & Phil to pick us up again, sadly though the boys put on 34 between them, they were both out twice, which meant conceding 20 of those runs. Enter Andy Metcalfe, if there was ever a slim chance for us in this match, he could provide it, but even with a valiant effort of 37 not out, even he couldn't rescue us this time. We look forward to our last match of the season at Whaley Bridge in a fortnights time, where we can hopefully return to winning ways. Paul Nixon
The match report on a truly brilliant performance on a brilliant day, will follow soon
last under 15s game of the season v
Hadfield. Chris Bowen
Mon
7th
July After winning the toss, Denton St. Lawrence batted first, giving Mottram some pretty early wickets in the process. Alex Birch bowling 2 for 1 off 2 overs was Mottram's bowler of the evening, whilst Jordon Thomas was close behind him with 1 for 2 off 2 overs Mottram's batting wasn't demonstrating any of the high scores of Sundays match however the batsmen on the whole were holding their own out there, even if they weren't knocking up huge scores. Top scorers of the evening were Jason Rowlinson with 13 nett 8, & Alex Birch with 8 nett 8 A talking point of the evening was
what can only be described as a vastly inexperience umpire from Denton, who
allowed large breaks in play, most of which were allowing his team to keep
changing wicket keeper. At one stage, we were wondering whether to put on our
car headlight to help the boys see at such a late hour! the match finally
finished at around 9:15p.m. which was pretty late for most of the lads, who had
to be in school the next morning. It must be said that this didn't dampen the
lads spirits after recording their first win of the season in this league. Paul Nixon
Sun
6th
July
Sat 5th July Mottram 1st XI....THE JORDAN HENDERSON SHOW As a child growing up in the sixties I can remember a crooner by the name of Dickie Henderson. This all round entertainer was the consummate performer, he was slick, smooth and polished. At Hawk Green on Saturday Mottram 1st XI witnessed another such Henderson show and as the curtain fell after only 21 overs of our opponent’s reply we were all feeling decidedly “Dickie”. Jordan Henderson’s slick and smooth demolition job polished us off in breathtaking fashion. His 38 ball 83 not out contained no less than five 6’s and twelve 4’s and was as savage an onslaught as I have ever been on the receiving end of. Young (36) and Frankland’s (26) opening stand had been particularly brutal but less impressive than Hendo’s and by the time 10 overs had been completed Hawk were into the 60’s. Enter stage left the boy Henderson. All this mayhem followed Mottram’s sedate innings of 146 for 7 which had been far better than we had expected given the rather fragile appearance of our starting line up with once again, the unavailability of key players causing grave concerns all round. However, Adam Quinn had other ideas and his unbeaten 71 was an object lesson in guts, determination, concentration and sound technique. With valuable contributions from the evergreen Neal Fazackerley (21) and the much improved Andy Isaacs(17) we were at least able to post a competitive if not winning total for Hawk to chase. How wrong could we have been! John Birch
Sat 5th July Mottram 2nd XI.
Fri 4th
July Alex Birch (13 nett 8) was again Mottram's top scoring batsman, closely followed by Jacob Hall (10 nett 5). Mottram's bowling was of a pretty
high standard tonight, with Ryan Fitton
taking 2 wickets for 11 runs off his 3 overs, &
Ryan Nixon
taking 3 wickets for only 3 runs including 1 wicket maiden off his 3 overs. Paul Nixon
29th June The first 2 pairs managed to clock
up 33 runs before the last 2 pairs added a further 67 with some great batting by
top scorer Matthew Nixon with 20, Andy Metcalfe with 17 & Danny Hadfield with
15, all for the loss of only 1 wicket, Paul Nixon
Mottram's 1ST XI brought crashing down to learn with an unceremonious bump at Chapel After winning the toss, Chapel’s skipper Nick Lee decided to take first knock, on what looked like a belter of a pitch, unaffected by heavy rain on Friday, as it had been protected by their excellent covers. Mottram’s opening attack of Kings and Pottage couldn’t have wished for a better start, as Lee Bradbury chased a wide long hop from Pottage’s first ball, and it was brilliantly caught at slip by Mark Conroy. Any thoughts we may have had of an early finish soon disappeared as quickly as the balls were being hit to the boundary, with Hibbert (46), Durrington (69), Rattcliffe, Chinn, Lee and Pheasey, all getting into the 20’s, Mottram’s attack was put to the sword and a goodish crowed was treated to some magnificent stroke play from the home side. Two highlights for Mottram were Conroy’s brilliant direct hits, resulting in run outs, but otherwise it was a pretty bleak afternoon for all in the Mottram camp. The bowling figures made for some unpleasant reading. Chasing 250 to win soon became an uphill ta | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Another
powerful batting display and a simply awesome virtuoso performance from the
mercurial Martyn Carr enabled Mottram to finish a largely disappointing season
on a real high at home to Chapel.
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