January 2018
Happy New Year everyone and welcome to the month that honours the star of popular 1990's BBC Light Entertainment show - Game On. Yes it's the time of the year when we celebrate Samantha Janus. From her early work in Game On through tenth spot in 1991 Eurovision and number 30 in the hit parade with "A Message to your Heart" and a groundbreaking performance as Ronnie Mitchell in East Enders.
So come on everybody,
Half the world is hungry
Just through being born
And every day is a compromise
For a grain of corn
A Message to your heart, it's all right
Say a little prayer and sleep tonight, Oooooh
Tomorrow you'll still be in Paradise, Oooooh
Next month February with Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Dummer Indoor Leagues
Longparish Lightweights
Dan Bearpark and Jamie Blackmore both scored 27 and Callum Giles took 2 wickets to secure a 5 wicket win over TKCAS and Scott Sturt and Chris Clarke bagged a brace of wickets each to secure a six wicket win over Crickistanis.
Crown Jewels closed on 114 for 5 with every wicket a run out a target that the Lightweights passed with four overs to spare with Dan Bearpark on 28 and Jamie Blackmore on 27.
A 5 wicket win over Big Slugs and Buds followed in which Dan Bearpark was unbeaten on 26 and Callum Giles unbeaten on 24.
With four games remaining the Longparish Lightweights currently occupy top spot in the top Division of the Dummer Indoor Leagues
Longparish Longhops
One division down and the Longhops are challenging for league honours after a run of victories. Bottom of the table Flour CC failed to raise themselves and were ground into submission due in part to an unbeaten 51 from Michael Taplin, 25 from Oliver Coetzee and 2 wickets for Taplin elder in a hundred run win for the Longhops.
A 5 wicket win over Hook Willbees followed in which Michael Taplin hit 25 and Oliver Coetzee 27.
Barry Blackmore took 2 wickets in a low scoring tie with unbeaten Yateley who secured a 4 run win from the penultimate ball of the match.
Two Taplins scored 26 and Barry Blackmore 25 in a 44 run win for the Longhops over Vodafone that also featured a brace of wickets for Barry Blackmore.
In a high scoring game with Faroaks, Michael Taplin tonked 31, Jordan Blackmore 29, Oliver Coetzee, 27 and Barry Blackmore 26. Gary Taplin took 2 wickets in a 9 run win that elevated the Longhops to second place in the division behind unbeaten Yateley.
Winchester & District Indoor League
Longparish I
Callum Giles took 3 for 18 and Dan Bearpark top scored with 25 as Longparish eased to a 5 wicket win over Easton & Martyr Worthy II
Longparish were skittled in their following game that saw Compton & Chandlers Ford secure a 51 run win.
Dan Bearpark was run out for 44 and Paul Blackmore took two wickets in a 2wicket defeat for Longparish against Easton & Martyr Worthy I
Longparish II
In the second game of their 2017/18 winter campaign, Longparish II eased to a 4 wicket win over Winchester University II despite George Kousseff being run out for 4.
Kousseff made amends in the following game with an unbeaten 32 and also offering to bowl in a one sided 4 wicket win over Hursley Park.
George Kousseff remained unbeaten in the game with Compton & Chandlers Ford when the lights went out following a failure to feed the appropriate meter.
Longparish III
Stuffed Easton & Martyr Worthy III by 4 wickets with a bevy of Blackmores (Jamie and Jordan)in the runs and wickets for Nathan Smith.
William Jackman and Gary Taplin picked up wickets and Justin Jackman top scored with 32 in an impressive 2 wicket win over IBM Hursley.
Longparish III struggled when confronted with the combined forces of Basingstoke and North Hampshire, who posted 160 from their 12 overs with Nathan Smith and Jordan Blackmore in the wickets. Jordan Blackmore was unbeaten on 25 and Justin Jackman unbeaten on 26 in a Longparish III reply that closed 30 runs short.
Longparish U13
Are unbeaten so far this winter and followed up their impressive performance against Basingstoke U13 with a convincing win over Fleet U13 in which Thomas Parker, Alfie Smith and James Newman picked up wickets and Conal Proctor top scored with 17.
Longparish U15
Tally O'Farrell impressed at the top of the order against Basingstoke & NH U15 with 28 runs and Myles Cole and Oliver Oram chipped in with 13 runs each as Longparish U15 closed on 127 for 6. A target that Basingstoke & NH U15 failed to achieve by 36 runs due to wickets for Tally O'Farrell and Jack Proctor and some tight bowling from Zac Allen and William McDermott.
LCC Survey
Analysis continues, results to follow and if we don't like what we see another survey will be issued until we get the answers that we wan t.
Christmas Draw
Previous correspondence may have trumpeted " the Final Hundred Club Draw " the text should have read "the final Hundred Club Draw of 2017" apologies for any confusion caused, the hundred club continues and new participants are actively encouraged. If you would like to become a member don't be a stranger we don't do exclusivity, thanks again to Alison Allen for running the hundred club.
Thanks also to Julie Sturt for organising the Christmas Draw that raised several hundred much needed pounds for club coffers
The Future
To paraphrase Douglas Reynholm of Reynholm Industries (Look him up on Youtube kids, he was very much the Alan Sugar of his day)
We're a big hard cricket club in a big hard pavilion (bar the flaky thatch)
Thrusting into the future strongly
Again and again
Pounding the Future
Making the Future beg for i......(Stop right there! - enough of the future - ed)
Apologies,
Returning to the Future. It has become apparent that events have moved on.
Two relatively long serving members are stepping back from General Committee duties at the AGM on the 7th March. Fresh faces and new ideas are required to maintain the progress the club has made in recent years. This latest chunk of guff will confirm that the grizzled cove currently charged with communication matters struggles with boundaries such as 140 characters. The club currently falls behind others in its use of social media as a means of reporting and promotion and this needs to rectified. The thumbs and fingers of the afore mentioned Cove are too fat for the task and it may also benefit from a younger more active mind. This monthly chunk of guff could also do with a freshen up as could communication with the local press. The Inuit traditionally pushed their elders out on to the ice when they have passed their period of usefulness and with a nod to Nanook of the North at the first game of the outdoor season the doofus who reports on LCC cricket will be eased out of the newly built Media Centre replete with sky TV and a fridge full of cold cuts and beer (that he campaigned so hard for) to battle polar bears and suck on bits of seal on a bench on the other side of the ground.
If you consider yourself as someone who has a place in the future (Douglas Reynholm's version or otherwise) and would be happy to join the committee as a general committee member or Press & Promotion man (on your own or with a few contributions from the current doofus if required) then don't be a stranger. The AGM is on 7th March at 7.30pm at the Cricketers Inn please speak to Mr Chairman if you are interested.
Other Matters
Dan Bearpark and Nathan Smith are about to undertake their ECB Level 1 coaching courses. Well done Dan and Nathan for stepping up and thanks very much to "Energise Me" who provided a Bursary to part fund the cost of the coaching course.
Thank you to everyone who supported The Christmas Draw which raised several hundred pounds for Club coffers. Plans are afoot to move the Christmas Draw to July in order to maximise ticket sales which might seem a little wacky but we once drew the balls in April and revenue was significantly increased so don't take your decorations down just yet folks, because yes, we're doing Christmas again in July.
Hundred Club Draw - January
Thank you to everyone who wrote in with their font of first choice to herald the winners of this month's hundred club draw.
A Mr O Glyndwr of Mostyn St Llandudno writes:
Although books were a bit thin on the ground in the late thirteen hundreds and newspapers had yet to be invented the font Cambria invokes happy memories of sticking two fingers up to Henry the IV and Henry the V and but for a bit more artillery who knows how it may have ended up. Retirement in Llandudno is all well and good but I miss the battles, but a few lines in the font of Cambria have me back on my horse, sword raised driving the English out across the Welsh Marches.
Croeso i Cymru! Mr Glyndwr, Cambrai it is and as a special treat, the winners in Welsh
£35 Baaarry Shadwell £15 Rhyfel Bonathan
£15 Martin Llherbert