1974 Match Reports
Wigston put up creditable performance (1.6.74)
Chasing Bitteswell’s 186 for 5, Wigston put up a creditable performance but when time bought proceedings to a close they were still 33 runs behind with two wickets standing.
Runs came easily on a wicket which gave very little help to the bowlers. Openers Ogden and Norton put on 57 for the first wicket stand with the latter going on to make a fine 66.
The visitors went for the runs right from the start and at one stage it seemed that they might well reach the target. However, wickets were sacrificed in the quest for quick runs and with time gradually running out, a creditable draw was settled for.
Wigston gain fine victory (2.6.74)
On Sunday, Wigston gained a fine victory on the picturesque ground at Barnack. This being mainly due to a splendid hostile bowling spell by Paul Bell.
Barnack are rated as a fairly powerful side and in fact this was their first defeat of the season. Prolific run scorer Wilson was back in the pavilion after the first ball of the match and this set the seal for events to follow. With Bell taking three further wickets and Alec Bradshaw two, the home team lost their first six batsmen for a mere 24 runs.
Thanisch coming in at number seven batted extremely well and it was due to his very fine innings of 55 not out that enabled his side to reach a respectable total. Bell finished with 5 wickets in an eighteen over spell and only conceded 31 runs.
Wigston reached the target required for the loss of only 4 wickets. Bob Markham taking the batting honours with a well hit 69.
Wigston’s batsmen found runs hard to come by (15.6.74)
Billesdon were the visitors to Magna Road on Saturday and completed the double over their hosts with a fine six wicket victory.
Wigston’s early batsmen found runs difficult to come by against the accurate bowling of Curtis and Margetts. Wickets fell at regular intervals and at one stage six were down for a mere 57 runs. Bill Caunt then joined Roy Mason at the crease and between them they put on 87. Both batsmen attacked the bowling and when Mason was finally caught, he had contributed a valuable 39. Caunt was only two short of his half-century when he was dismissed and his innings included three sixes.
Wigston’s total of 135 seemed barely adequate against a team with the batting potential of Billesdon and when the fifty mark was passed without loss of wicket, the outcome began to look a mere formality.
Young Paul Clayton was introduced into the attack and in his third over dismissed Chris Brown and then had Rich Nourish caught behind in his next. Rob Nourish and Graham Butler added 64 for the next wicket, with the latter being rather severe on the Wigston attack.
After Butler’s dismissal a further wicket fell but anchor man Nourish steered his side to victory.
Wigston defeat Kirby Muxloe (16.6.74)
On Sunday Wigston defeated Kirby Muxloe at Magna Road. The visitors were all out for 89 and Wigston lost seven wickets before passing their total.
Commanding victories for Wigston teams (22.6.74)
WIgston’s first and second teams registered commanding victories in both their weekend matches. Away to Hinckley Casuals on Saturday, Bob Markham and Paul Dunkley laid the foundation for a big score when they put on 60 runs for the first wicket in fairly quick time. Bradshaw and Harvey continued the good work and 70 more were added before the latter was run out for 42. After this dismissal, the run rate decreased and only 16 were added in the last half-hour before the tea interval.
The total of 170 was too formidable for the home side and although they made an attempt to keep the score flowing, they were eventually all out with only 89 to their credit.
Paul Ashton taking the honours (22.6.74)
Stoughton & Thurnby only made 86 against the Seconds at Willow Park, Paul Ashton taking the honours with 8 for 30.
Wigston passed their visitors total with the loss of only four wickets.
Comfortable win for Wigston (23.6.74)
Duddington was the venue for the Sunday 1st XI fixture and although Wigston could only muster 101, at the finish they won quite comfortably. Some resistance came from the earlier Duddington batsmen but once they had been removed, the remainder more or less capitulated to the bowling of Geoff Dunkley and Graham Brown. The former finished with bowling figures of 7 for 21 and the latter with 2 for 28.
Close finish at Medbourne (23.6.74)
A much closer finish took place at Medbourne on the following day. Batting first, the home team made 110 with Wigston just managing to scrape a victory with one wicket left intact.
Paul Clayton had a fine bowling spell taking 8 for 51 whilst Paul Ashton with 32 and Jim Colver with 38 took the batting honors.
The potential which some of the second team players showed last season is now paying dividends but as these players mature, they will quite obviously develop into fine players.
Convincing victory for Oadby over Wigston Town (30.6.74)
The Wigston-Oadby encounter ended witha win for the latter when skipper Neil Pearson tok a single off the third ball of the final over. It was a well merited victory with the main honours going to Pearson and Pounds, who made a fine 54 not out.
Batting first, Wigston were soon in trouble. Paceman Kevin Commons, bowling at his very best, had both openers back in the pavilion with only sixteen runs on the board. Graham Brown coming in at no. 4 retrieved the somewhat precarious position and his innings was mainly responsible for putting the home side on an even keel. Eugene Harvey hit a quick 20 and then followed a very sound partnership between Bob Riley and Richard Carter. The more aggressive Riley included two sixes in his 38.
Commons had final bowling figures of 4 for 40, whilst Pearson with a mixture of medium pace and spin finished with 2 for 53 from 18 overseas.
Quite some time had passed before Oadby showed any sign of going for a win. Five overs out of the first eight being maidens.
Coming in at no. 5 Peter Steele completely changed the tempo and his swashbuckling knock included two sixes and three fours. There was very little doubt that it was Steele’s innings that inspired his teammates to go all out for a victory. It was at this stage that Pearson joined Pounds at the wicket and between them they put on 67 to give Oadby the win they fully deserved.
No real test for Wigston team who soon reach target (6.7.74)
Oundle Town were no real test for Wigston 1st XI when they met at Magna Road ground on Saturday. Batting first, the visitors only mustered 84, a meagre target which was reached by the hosts within an hour, for the loss of only one wicket.
Oundle are normally regarded as being a big scoring side with several of their players usually wasting little or no time in attempting to take the shine off the ball. However on this particular occasion, these tactics proved to be their downfall. In the second over of the match, Paul Clayton had opener David Burnham caught at deep mid-off.
The formerly high scoring Wallis brothers only managed twenty odd between them and once they had been dismissed, it was left to middle order man Been to steer his side to a total of at least some respectability.
Graham Brown bowled really well, taking four wickets in his 16 over stint, and only conceding 30 runs. He was well supported by Alex Bradshaw who took three wickets in eleven overs for only 11 runs.
Wigston suffered an early set-back when Brian Carter was dismissed in the second over of their innings. This however, proved to be the visitors’ only success, as Paul Dunkley and Howard Riley secured the necessary runs to give their side a resounding victory. Riley in particular had an exceptionally good knock, as he powered his way to an undefeated 63. This included three sixes and seven fours.
Abrupt finish robbed Wigston (13.7.74)
Wigston were robbed of what surely must have been certain victory, when Saturday evening’s thunderstorm brought an abrupt finish to their home game with Ashby Carrington. Chasing a total of 170, the visitors had only made 48 for the loss of six wickets when the heavens opened up.
Paul Dunkley and Eugene Harvey put on 77 for the first wicket before the latter was bowled by Croppe for 44. After this, the middle order faltered against an all spin attack with wickets falling at fairly regular intervals. Dunkley went on to make 63 before becoming the eighth wicket to fall. A sprited session by Paul Clayton just prior to the tea interval, gave a fillip to the score at the right time. His 20 runs coming in very quick time.
Because of injuries to established first team bowlers, young Clayton was promoted from the 2nd XI some four week ago and his performances since have fully justified his inclusion. He took he first three Ashby wickets at a personal cost of only eight runs in his seven overs. In failing light he was replaced by Richard Carter who also bowled exceptionally well taking three wickets for nine runs in three overs.
Difficult to concentrate on cricket (14.7.74)
Playing in the splendid grounds of Castle Ashby House on Sunday, the first team lost by 53 runs. At times it was difficult to concentrate on cricket as the grand gala which was being staged close by had everything including wartime Messerschmitts and Wimbledon Wombles, not to mention low flying helicopters giving joy-rides overhead every few minutes.
Runs were at a premium early in the home team’s innings, with eight of the first 12 overs being maidens. However the scoreline gradually mounted with opener Coleman hitting a faultless 81 before being brilliantly caught by Paul Clayton off his own bowling. The innings was closed at 161 for 8 and Wigston had bowled 58 overs.
The visitors reply followed much the same pattern as that of their hosts but unfortunately they didn’t have anywhere near the same amount of time to play with. Indeed when the 20 over rule from 6.30pm was applied, they had only made 60. Two silly run-outs at a time when the batsmen were getting on top didn’t help matters and as the overs went by, it became obvious that the task was too great.
Dismal batting caused Wigston’s defeats (20.7.74)
Dismal batting was the cause of Wigston 1st XI’s weekend defeats. After almost five hours of play at Magna Road on Saturday, Wigston and Bitteswell only produced 143 runs between them. Batting first, the home side were shot out for a mere 71, but nevertheless they made their visitors fight for the required runs, being eventually defeated by 4 wickets.
What a disastrous start Wigston made. At the end of the first over they had lost both Bob markham and Eugene Harvey with no runs on the board, a situation from which they never fully recovered. With six wickets down the score stood at a paltry 23 but when Doug Moore joined Paul Dunkley there was a slight improvement. Dunkley batted well to reach 27 but was then caught behind to give Stanford his fifth victim. A few lusty hits from Paul Bell and David Hill pushed the score up to a semi-respectable 71.
Bitteswell’s reply was about as convincing as that of their hosts. They quickly lost openers Ogden and Smith and from then onwards came a succession of maiden overs. In fact when the 20 over rule from 6.45pm was applied 30 runs were still needed and when the 20 overs had been completed they were still five runs in arrears. Unfortunately for Wigston, a further five minutes was still left to play and another dropped catch (the fifth during the innings) during “extra time” enabled Bitteswell to scrape home.
The five bowlers used each contributed a first class performance. Between them they bowled 51 overs of which 24 were maidens.
Dismal batting caused Wigston’s defeats (21.7.74)
The batting at Great Glen on the following day was even worse. From a quietly confident start, Wigston slumped to 65 all out. Although Roger Smith with some very fine bowling took six wickets for 30 runs, it was really some very irresponsible batting that caused the downfall.
In reply Glen appeared to make hard work of getting the required runs, but as only two wickets had fallen when the winning hits came, no doubt they could have won much more decisively had it been necessary.
First wicket partnership record broken (18.8.74)
The following day Laxton Park elected to bat first and scored 162 all out. Wigston’s early attack left a little to be desired and subsequently the scoreline moved along fairly briskly. Roy Mason’s introduction changed the situation somewhat and he took 5 wickets for only 27 runs in a first class 12 over spell.
In Wigston’s reply, Graham Brown and Paul Dunkley broke the clubs first wicket partnership record and when the former was finally dismissed for an excellent 82, the stand had realised 153. Eugene Harvey had been waiting padded up for almost two hours only to be dismissed first ball and so it was left to Dunkley and Alec Bradshaw to obtain the required few runs for victory.
The verdict – an excellent match with tremendous credit going to the openers for producing such splendid form against some pretty good bowling.
No victory to show for Wigston (24.8.74)
Wigston had no victory to show from their weekend efforts. On Saturday they lost to the British United at Mowmacre Hill and then just when a win seemed more likely at Dingley Park the following day, rain put a halt to proceedings.
On Saturday B.U. batted first, scoring 150 for nine. In Wigston’s reply Paul Dunkley made 57, and Bob Markham 32, but the rest failed rather miserably.
Rain falls at an inopportune time (25.8.74)
In the following day’s game, Wigston elected to take first knock and made 138 for nine declared, Reg Exton being top scorer with 60.
Dingley Park were soon in trouble against the Wigston attack, with Geoff Dunkley securing the valuable wicket of Flude in his first over. The same bowler then dismissed both Dickens and Hustler, and when Paul Bell uprooted Garfields’ middle stump, with only 30 runs on the board, the home side were seemingly in some trouble. Unfortunately for Wigston, down came the rain at a most inopportune time to put a halt to the day’s proceedings.
