Canvey Island Cricket Club Results

Weekend 2^nd – 3^rd May

Saturday     
Canvey Island  I        93 all out
Eastwood                  94-4     
Canvey lost by 6 wickets

 Canvey slumped to their worst league defeat in three years in the first match of the Division 6 season at Eastwood. They were soon made to rue the decision of skipper Neil Casson to bat first on the damp Eastwood pitch, crawling to 37 for 4 in the first 19 overs. Things got worse when the home umpire prematurely ended a mini recovery between Dave Shroder and Riche Burrill when Burrill fell victim to a diabolical LBW decision. The decision he received will rank alongside the worst decisions ever seen on a cricket pitch, the ball clearly going down the legside and bouncing over the top. Following this Shroder anchored the innings and was the last man out for 38, but the total of 93 was never going to be sufficient to defend on a pitch getting easier to bat on by the over. None of the Canvey bowlers truly found the right line of length, Paul Ward’s 1 for 7 from 6 overs simply delaying the inevitable.

Rayleigh III                   71 all out
Canvey Island II           72-1            
Canvey won by 9 wickets 

Canvey put two years of struggle behind them with a comprehensive thrashing of Rayleigh III on Saturday at Smallgains. Matches don’t come much easier than this one, quick wickets for Darren Wainer (2 for 16) and Terry Castille (2 for 10) making the early inroads, and Dave Higgins (5 for 17) mopping up the tail. Only two Rayleigh men made double figures but none was able to post more than 20 as the innings folded in only 27 overs. John Scammell (18 not out) and Ken Roberts (25) set about finishing the match before tea, smacking the bowling all round the park. Roberts fell with the winning post in sight, but Ben Jones (9 not out) helped Scammell see the side home by nine wickets.

 Sunday   
Canvey Island             213-4
Basildon                      218-6     
Canvey lost by 4 wickets 

For the first time in the new season the bat dominated the ball, but Canvey once again ended up on the wrong end of the scoreline. This game was dominated by one man from each side. Paul Ward shrugged off some poor early season form for Canvey to return to something approaching the form of last season with a magnificent 105. The six flicked over square leg from the first over of opening bowler Ahmed’s second spell was the shot of the innings, simultaneously bringing up Ward’s ton and wrecking the bowler’s previously tidy figures. Dave Shroder (21) and John Gunn (32 not out) joined in with a late flurry of runs to send the total over 200. Basildon started well in reply, D. Gray (98) leading the way, and despite a spell of 4 for 29 from nagging seamer Gary Snowdon, they were always ahead of the rate. Les Norton held a stinging return catch to dismiss Gray two short of a deserved hundred to raise Canvey hopes. But all this served to do was to bring Ahmed to the crease to exact revenge with three straight sixes finishing the match.