First X1 Cricket Averages 2008

Played 16 Won 10 Drawn 1 Lost 5

Bowling Averages 

Also bowled

Adam Dewes 7-2-15-7

Tom Fowlie 3-0-18-1

Karim Sheikh 2-0-16-0

Overall we can reflect on a very good season. Losing only one match to the weather meant that we played a large number of games, 16 in total. This was due in part to the fact that we entered 2 cup competitions and enjoyed some good wins in both competitions, though it was disappointing to fall one match short in both events of playing in 2 finals. Nevertheless we played some good entertaining cricket and the players can take pride in what was a most successful and enjoyable season in which we won twice as many games (10) as we lost (5), with only one drawn game. As a lot of the team return next year, I hope that we can build on what we have achieved this year and have an even more successful season in 2009.

Match 16 Versus Langley Grammar School Berkshire Cup Semi-Final Monday 30th June (Away) (20 overs) 

Team:JJ Dewes (Capt); Alex Manton-Jones;Haider Rubbani;Justin Parvess; Michael Wright; Karim Sheikh;Billy Dovey ;Jamie O'Kelly;Sean Neat;Tom Surrall; Sean McCarten Scorer: Amrita Dasgupta

We played at Stoke Green Cricket Club Slough on a full sized club pitch. We had a track that was almost at the end of the square and so there was one very short boundary and one boundary that was about 4 times the distance of the short one. The opposition won the toss and had no hesitation in opting to bat. In truth we did not adapt well to playing on such a large ground and a lot of our bowling was either too full or too short. Langley Grammar played sensibly and their captain (also the Berkshire Captain) took full advantage of the favourable conditions. Although they did not put pressure on the field with their running, there were always runs to be had on such a big playing area. As they had wickets in hand they were able to up the tempo in the last 5 overs and so finished on a score of 138.

We were still confident that we had the batting to chase down this target and the plan was to put pressure on the field by running hard, so the scoreboard would tick over and so keep up with the asking rate of 7 an over.We were successful in this but we lost wickets at a regular rate and for once we were never able to build any partnerships on note and so we fell well short as Langley bowled tightly and took the all the chances that were offered.

Scores:

Langley Grammar 138 for 1

Eagle House 85 (JJ Dewes 22)

Result: Eagle House lost by 53 runs

Match 15 Versus Lambrook -Haileybury Wednesday 25th June(Home)30 Overs

Team:JJ Dewes (Capt); Alex Manton-Jones;Haider Rubbani;Justin Parvess; Michael Wright; Karim Sheikh;Tom Fowlie;Billy Dovey ;Jamie O'Kelly;Sean Neat;Tom Surrall; Scorer: Robert Trapnell

For once we lost the toss and were in the field. Another lethargic start saw both opening batsmen dropped off the first ball that each faced and both Wicket -keeper and slip were guilty then as well as later on. In fairness both had been on the Year 8 trip to London the night before and had not got to bed until the early hours of the morning, not the ideal preparation for a cricket match. On most occasions the unfortunate bowler was Justin Parvess who continued with his excellent form. Although the early batsmen were given these early lives, they did not really prosper as the bowling was tight and the ground fielding good. The first wicket fell in the 12th over with the score on 38 but 2 wickets in 2 balls with the score on 55in the 15th over put us back in the game. The first was a direct hit from Billy Dovey which got a run out; drinks were taken immediately and as so often happens in cricket a wicket fell as soon as we resumed. Wickets now fell at regular intervals particularly when Justin returned for his second spell including at long last a slip catch.Justin also took a smart one handed catch himself to end the innings in the 28th over.

Chasing 113 to win did not seem a big total but the wicket was at times playing unpredictably and so partnerships were needed to chase down the target. JJ Dewes and Alex Manton-Jones moved along untroubled at the required rate but were parted in the 10th over when Alex was out to a very good one handed catch by the mid-off. Likewise Haider Rubbani and Justin Parvess after promising starts perished to good catches (a feature of a good Lambrook-Haileybury fielding performance); JJ also went out caught and bowled and with our 4 main batsmen out withe the score on 81 off 17 overs, there was always the fear of one of our great collapses looming but Michael Wright, Karim Sheikh and Tom Fowlie played sensibly to take us home with just 9 overs to spare. With a cup semi-final looming on Monday the biggest requirement for the team is some sleep (especially the Year 8 boys) so we can be at the top of our game for hopefully 2 more games to end the season with some silverware..

scores: Lambrook-Haileybury 112 (JJ Dewes 2 for 10; Tom Surrall 2 for 16; Justin Parvess 2 for 28)

          Eagle House 115 for 5 (JJ Dewes 39) 

Result: Eagle House won by 5 wickets

Match 14 Versus Licensed Victuallers School Berkshire Cup Third Round Tuesday 24th June (Away) (20 overs)

Team:JJ Dewes (Capt); Alex Manton-Jones;Haider Rubbani;Justin Parvess; Michael Wright; Karim Sheikh;Tom Fowlie;Billy Dovey ;Jamie O'Kelly;Sean Neat;Tom Surrall; Scorer: Amrita Dasgupta

We played on the main field at LVS and JJ Dewes had no hesitation in opting to bat when he won the toss. We had a slow start due to some excellent tight bowling from the 2 opening bowlers and a reluctance to run singles to put pressure on the fielders. Both JJ and Alex Manton-Jones lost their wickets in an attempt to break the shackles imposed by the opposition bowlers who were backed by some excellent fielding. After 7 overs we were struggling at 17 for 2. Then Haider Rubbani did what he does best, that is attacking the bowling and while he was there we scored 44 runs off 6 overs. When Haider departed with the score on 61 to a brilliant diving catch at deep mid-wicket, we were struggling again and could only add 8 more runs off just over 6 overs to be all out for a paltry 69 with 4 balls of the last over remaining.

It needed an all or nothing effort from us in then field. JJ opened with a maiden over and then Justin Parvess stole the show. He ran in wtrh purpose, bowled fast and straight and by the end of the first over, 3 excellent yorkers had crashed into the stumps and LVS were 0 for 3. Now there was at last a game on and Justin continued to pose the major threat and you could almost sense the opposition counting every ball till the end of his spell. He took 2 more wickets and ended with the remarkable bowling figures of 4-3-2-5. With Justin out of the attack and their top order blown away, LVs did mount a recovery from 4 for 4 with a series of partnerships which saw them take the score to 68 for the loss of a further 4 wickets. The fielding was tight, though Jamie O'Kelly did let one through at mid-on which encouraged the 2 hesitant batsmen to attempt to run a single, but Jamie redeemed himself by throwing down the stumps to effect a vital run out. At 68 for 8 with 3 overs left, all appeared lost and as Haider had finished his spell JJ had to find someone who could deliver something special and he threw the ball to Tom Surrall who proceeded to take the last 2 wickets without any addition to the score, so we had squeaked home by the most narrow of margins.

To be fair this was a very fortunate win as we were nowhere near our best, save for Haider's batting and Justin's bowling. I do not know whether this was due to the lack of cricket over the past 10 days, tiredness fron the trips to France and Wales or complacency as more or less the same LVS team had lost to our Second X1 in an earlier round of the Plate competition, but we will need to be much better if we are to progress to the final next week.

Scores:

Eagle House 69 (Haider Rubbani 34)

LVS 68 (Justin Parvess 5 for 2; Tom Surrall 2 for 16) 

Result: Eagle House won by 1 run

Match 13 Versus St Bede's (Eastbourne)Jet Cup Fourth Round Wednesday 11th June(Away) (25 overs)

Team:JJ Dewes (Capt); Alex Manton-Jones;Haider Rubbani;Justin Parvess; Michael Wright; Karim Sheikh;Billy Dovey;Nikolai Malyguine; Jamie O'KellySean Neat;Tom Surrall; Scorer: Miss J. Blundell 

This was a long way to go for a game of cricket and when we arrived, we were greeted by a pitch that rivalled Railton for size. The opposition won the toss and had no hesitation in putting us into bat. We had a rather jet lagged start with JJ Dewes getting himself stumped in the first over and the batsmen uncertain of how to run between the wickets on such a small field. The highlight of our batting was a superb innings from Justin Parvess who found the small boundaries to his liking. He received good support from Karim Sheikh but when Justin departed lbw our momentum fell away and we were all out in the final over for 156 which looked a difficult total to defend on a tiny field.

The task was made more difficult by the quality of the opposition batting who looked in no trouble against our attack. Interestingly enough their score after 15 overs was 111 while at the same stage we were on 110, but the crucial difference was that we had lost 5 wickets and they had lost only one. This meant that we were not able to apply pressure and St Bede's ran out comfortable and deserved winners. Nevertheless our young team (six year 7s played today) can take a lot of pride in almost going all the way to the finals in this competition.

Scores:

Eagle House 156 (Justin Parvess 56: Karim Sheikh 27)

St. Bede's 161 for 3 (Haider Rubbani 2 for 32)

Result: Eagle House lost by 7 wickets

Colours awards 9th June  

Full Colours: Haider Rubbani

Half Colours: Tom Fowlie; Michael Wright; Amrita Dasgupta

Match 12 Versus Cranleigh Jet Cup Third Round Friday 6th June(Home) (25 overs)

Team:JJ Dewes (Capt); Alex Manton-Jones;Haider Rubbani;Justin Parvess; Adam Dewes;Michael Wright;Karim Sheikh ;Tom Fowlie ;BillyDovey; Sean Neat;Tom Surrall; Scorer: Amrita Dasgupta

JJ's luck with the toss continued, winning for the fourth time in succession and he elected to bat. Unfortunately by the fifth over we were 16 for 3, with Alex Manton-Jones being caught behind, Haider Rubbani yorked first ball and Justin Parvess out caught off a rank long hop. Adam Dewes joined his brother JJ and they began to repair the damage. Adam was content to keep an end up while JJ mixed watchful defence with some well hit strokes and together, they put on 51 off 11 overs. Altough Adam's share was only 4 runs, he had done a great job in putting us back on track, though 2 more quick wickets fell leaving us at 70 for 6 with only 7 overs left. JJ was joined by Tom Fowlie and together they put on 46 runs in just over 4 overs. JJ was by now looking for runs off every ball scoring a superbly played 76 while Tom Fowlie hit the ball with tremendous power and 135 was a score we

could only have dreamt about 7 overs earlier.

Once again our "out" cricket was top class with good tight bowling being backed up by some superb fielding with Tom Fowlie showing the way with a fine throw from the boundary leading to a run out and a good low catch at mid wicket. Billy Dovey also hit the stumps with a good throw to effect a second run out. Adam Dewes and Haider Rubbani bowled miserly spells giving away 13 runs off 9 overs between them and each picking up 3 wickets. Another good all round team effort had taken us from the depths of despair at 16 for 3 to a convincing and well deserved victory.

Scores: Eagle House 135 for 9 (JJ Dewes 76; Tom Fowlie 24)

            Cranleigh 66 (Adam Dewes 3 for 4; Haider Rubbani 3 for 9)

Result: Eagle House won by 69 runs

Match 11 Versus Yateley Manor Wednesday 4th June(Home) (20 overs)

Team:JJ Dewes (Capt); Alex Manton-Jones;Haider Rubbani;Justin Parvess; Michael Wright; Karim Sheikh;Billy Dovey;Tom Fowlie;Nikolai Malyguine; Sean Neat;Tom Surrall; Scorer: Ryan Chan

After a wet couple of days we were able to play on the artificial wicket in good sunny conditions though the outfield was very thick as the wet weather earlier in the week had meant that the grass could not be cut. JJ Dewes won the toss and elected to bat. It was hard going against some accurate bowling and a sluggish outfield. The batsmen tried to put pressure on the fielders by positive running, but Yateley Manor were equal to the task and this led to Alex Manton-Jones being run out. This brought Haider Rubbani to the wicket and as usual he started aggressively but just when he threatened to take the game by the scruff of the neck he got a thin edge and was caught behind. Justin Parvess and MIchael Wright built a partnership but wickets continued to fall and we were not able to capitalise in the last couple of overs and so a score of less than 100 looked distinctly below par.

Yateley Manor started well in reply, taking no risks against the usually accurate JJ and Justin, but they kept the scoreboard ticking over. Even though wickets did fall, one to a fine diving catch by Tom Surrall and another to a brilliant direct hit on the stumps by Tom Fowlie, it always looked likely that Yateley Manor shepherded by a good innings from their opening batsman, had done enough to win with something to spare. Fortunately at the beginning of the 15th over their top batsman got out and a good miserly spell of bowling by Haider (who also picked up 3 wickets) put us right back in contention. The bowlers at the "death" namely Tom Surrall and Michael Wright held their nerve, as did the fielders who executed 2 more run outs. So a narrow win was fashioned almost from nowhere, so it says a lot for our team who had appeared sluggish and out of sorts for some parts of the game, that we managed to do enough when iit was necessary.

Scores:

Eagle House 97 for 7 (Michael Wright 20; Justin Parvess 20)

Yateley Manor 85 for 9 (Haider Rubbani 3 for 8)

Result: Eagle House won by 12 runs

Match 10 Versus Claires Court Berkshire Cup Second Round  Thursday 21st May (Home) (25 overs)

Team:JJ Dewes (Capt); Alex Manton-Jones;Justin Parvess; Michael Wright; Adam Dewes;Billy Dovey; Karim Sheikh;Nikolai Malyguine; Sean Neat;Jamie O'Kelly;Tom Surrall; Scorer: Amrita Dasgupta

Two enforced changes for this game brought in Adam Dewes and Jamie O'Kelly. JJ Dewes won the toss and elected to bat. Both JJ and Alex Manton-Jones were given a life but they took the score to 49 in the tenth over with Alex being particularly aggressive, hitting 3 sixes over the short boundary. From this position of relative comfort, we lost 3 wickets for 1 run and the scoring rate dropped as the bowlers bowled a tight line. In the 17th over we were wobbling at 66 for 5 but an unbroken stand of 56 between Karim Sheikh and Adam Dewes took us to a total that we could possibly defend. Adam worked to build an iinnings and mixed sound defence with some good shots while Karim showed good aggression to get some momentum back into the innings.

Our "out" cricket needed to be good today and it was. Justin Parvess and JJ Dewes bowled with great accuracy and control and although no wickets fell, only 9 runs (including 4 byes) came off the first 6 overs. Two wickets then fell to Michael Wright  and even though another did not fall until the score was 63, 16 overs had been bowled by then and the asking rate was now 7 an over. Justin returned to pick up 2 wickets and then Adam Dewes was too good forthe tail and we won with something to spare.

It is good to have 10 games under our belt by half term but I hope that we do not lose the good momentum that we have built up as we are in the third round of 2 cup competitions.

Scores:

Eagle House 122 for 5 (Alex Manton-Jones 36; Karim Sheikh 30 not out; Adam Dewes 26 not out)

Claires Court 96 (Adam Dewes 4 for11; Justin Parvess 2 for 6; Michael Wright 2 for 8)

result: Eagle House won by 26 runs

Match 9 Versus Oratory Jet Cup Second Round  Monday 19th May (Home) (25 overs)

Team:JJ Dewes (Capt); Alex Manton-Jones;Haider Rubbani;Justin Parvess; Michael Wright; Tom Fowlie;Billy Dovey;Nikolai Malyguine; Karim Sheikh;Sean Neat;Tom Surrall; Scorer: Amrita Dasgupta

JJ won the toss and decided to bowl first in a match played on the artificial pitch. Oratory started positively and the openers ran well between the wickets taking the score to 37 before Tom Surrall struck at the beginning of the ninth over. Thereafter although we only took one more wicket, the batsmen were never able to dominate and so a final score of 131 meant that the asking rate for our batsmen was just over 5 an over.

We started in positive fashion with some good running between the wickets but lost JJ Dewes with the score at 15. Justin Parvess joined Alex Manton-Jones and with a mixture of aggressive strokeplay and good placement of the ball for singles, they put on a stand of 88 in less than 12 overs. This effectively took the game away from Oratory and a good victory was completed in the 19th over.

Another good win and we performed well in all 3 disciplines though for the first time we had the problem of bowling throughout the innings to a right-hand /left-hand combination. This meant that the field had to be continually adjusted as too many players did not remember where they had been a ball earlier as the batsmen changed ends.

Scores: Oratory 131 for 2

Eagle House 132 for 3 (Alex Manton-Jones 46; Justin Parvess 43 not out)  

Result: Eagle House won by 7 wickets

Colours awards 19th May 

Full Colours:JJ Dewes (Re-award); Justin Parvess

Half Colours: Alex Manton-Jones; Sean Neat

Match 8 Versus Aldro Saturday 17th May (Away) (25 overs)

Team:JJ Dewes (Capt); Alex Manton-Jones;Haider Rubbani;Justin Parvess; Michael Wright; Tom Fowlie;Billy Dovey;Nikolai Malyguine; Karim Sheikh;Sean Neat;Tom Inglis; Scorer: Ryan Chan

After the highs of Wednesday both in terms of weather and performance, it was back to earth with a bump on a cold and wet afternoon. We unfortunately lost the toss and were put into bat. We were soon in trouble against a workmanlike but not particularly penetrative attack, largely contributing to our own downfall with some rash strokeplay. The rather bizarre dismissal of Michael Wright rather summed up our day as he charged down the track to hit a misdirected delivery( which would not have reached his end and been called a dead ball) and hit it straight to a fielder. Justin Parvess played some good shots and he was looking well established when he hit the ball straight to mid-off. At 54 for 7 we looked down and out but a good partnership between Billy Dovey and Karim Sheikh took the score past 100. The biggest cheer of the day was when Tom Inglis (who was relieved of 12th man duties for the Thirds to be drafted in to the side because of a last minute crisis) came into bat. Not only did Tom survive an entire last over bowled by a South of England player, but he hit a scorching cover drive to score a much needed boundary.

Although it had been an unconvincing batting performance we believed we had a chance on a wicket which had variable bounce but this was not to be as the Aldro batting was equal to the task. All our bowlers especially Sean Neat found it difficult to bowl a ball that was now quite soggy and difficult to grip. We stuck gamely to the task but it was not to be our day and we were left to reflect on the ups and downs of this great game which can have everything going right for you one day and not the next.

Scores: Eagle House 123 for 9(Justin Parvess 30;Billy Dovey 22 not out)

           Aldro 125 for 4(JJ Dewes 2 for 24)

Result:Eagle House lost by 6 wickets

Match 7 Versus Crosfields Wednesday 14th May (Away) (30 overs)

Team:JJ Dewes (Capt); Alex Manton-Jones;Haider Rubbani;Justin Parvess; Michael Wright; Tom Fowlie; Nikolai Malyguine; Will Fletcher; Karim Sheikh;Sean Neat;Tom Surrall;  

It is always a great pleasure to go to Crosfields and play on their magnificent track which over the years has been an absolute belter for batsmen to bat on. Not surprisingly the opposition had no hesitation in opting to bat on winning the toss. We had a great start when Michael Wright threw down the stumps at the bowler's end from fine leg to run out their top batsman. JJ Dewes and Justin Parvess were also at their best and their efforts were backed up by some excellent fielding. Some superb catches were taken; Tom Fowlie pocketing a superb one handed catch above his head and Justin Parvess getting his hand underneath one that came low to him at mid-wicket while Alex Manton-Jones had a good performance behind the stumps with 2 neat catches.Today the rest of the bowlers made a great job of supporting our 2 strike bowlers and Crosfields were never able to establish any kind of dominance on a good batting wicket. Wickets fell at regular intervals and a run out off the first ball of the 29th over finished as good a performance as I have ever seen in the field from Eagle House.

JJ and Alex started our innings carefully against some good accurate bowling and were not afraid to punish the bad ball. They ran well between the wickets again until Alex was bowled with the score on 45. Haider Rubbani came in and shared in an unbroken stand of 50 with JJ to take Eagle House home. For once Haider was prepared to play second fiddle to JJ who played some magnificent shots all round the wicket to see Eagle House to a convincing win over a good side who had several county and district players in their team. Today we set some very high standards in all 3 disciplines of batting, bowling and fielding and I hope that we will be able to maintain this level of performance.

Scores:

Crosfields 94 (Justin Parvess 3 for 7; Michael Wright 2 for 13)

Eagle House 95 for 1 (JJ Dewes 49 not out; Alex Manton- Jones 27)

Result: Eagle House won By 9 wickets.

Match 6 Versus Charters Berkshire Cup first Round (20 overs)Tuesday 13th May (Away)

Team:JJ Dewes (Capt); Alex Manton-Jones;Haider Rubbani;Justin Parvess; Michael Wright; Tom Fowlie; Will Fletcher; Karim Sheikh;Sean Neat;Jamie O'Kelly;Tom Surrall; Scorer: Amrita Dasgupta  

This is the cup competiton that we have entered every year since 2002 and have a very good record as we have always made it at least as far as the semi-finals, going on to 2 finals, losing in 2002 but winning the cup in 2006.

On another very hot day JJ won the toss and had no hesitation in opting to bat. JJ opening the batting with Alex Manton-Jones put on a quickfire opening stand of 75 in just over 7 overs, with some powerful strokeplay and good running between the wickets. Although 2 wickets fell in 2 balls the momentum continued with JJ and Justin Parvess putting on 91 for the third wicket.

A score of 226 proved to be well beyond the reach of Charters but they did not help their cause with 3 run outs due to some accurate and penetrative bowling which was backed up by good fielding, with Alex Manton-Jones getting 2 good stumpings to secure a convincing win. A good start in this competition but there is a lot of hard work ahead against stronger teams if we are to make our mark in this competition this year.

Scores:

Eagle House 226 for 4 (Justin Parvess 64; JJ Dewes 61; Alex Manton-Jones 31) 

Charters 29 ( Sean Neat 2 for 3; Justin Parvess 2 for 5;Tom Surrall 2 for 12) 

Result: Eagle House won by 197 runs

Match 5 Versus Ludgrove   Saturday 10th May (Away) 30 over match

Team:JJ Dewes (Capt) ;Alex Manton-Jones; Haider Rubbani;Justin Parvess; Michael Wright; Tom Fowlie;Billy Dovey;Will Fletcher;Karim Sheikh; Sean Neat;Tom Surrall; Scorer: Amrita Dasgupta

On a very hot afternoon JJ lost the toss and we found ourselves out in the field. We started well and Ludgrove did not get a run on the board for the first 2 and a half overs. This set the tone for most of the first part of the innings but all credit to the batsmen who showed great patience in waiting for the bad ball. In this regard Ludgrove were assisted by a total of 39 extras. At the half way point Ludgrove were on 59 for the loss of 1 wicket. Justin Parvess returned for the last 2 overs of his allotted 6 overs and took 2 wickets in 2 balls to finish with the excellent analysis of  6-4-4-2. As Ludgrove had wickets in hand they were able to force the pace and ended with a good total of 149. In addition to Justin both JJ Dewes (6-2-15-1) and Sean Neat (6-1-19-0) bowled superbly(18 overs for 38 runs) but the 4 bowlers who bowled the remaining 12 overs went for 83 runs, the first time our support bowlers have not backed up the good work of our 3 frontline bowlers.

Our innings started in bizarre fashion with Alex Manton-Jones running himself out off a no ball. Haider Rubbani came in and took the attack to the opposition and hit 5 boundaries in a quickfire 26. This momentum was continued by Justin Parvess and Michael Wright in a fourth wicket partnership of 40. At the drinks break after 15 overs we were handily placed at 75 for 3 well ahead of Ludgrove at the same point in their innings. Although our attacking display of batting had put the Ludgrove bowlers under the cosh, their fielding was superb, with several runs being saved by diving stops and good catches being taken.Unfortunately for us 78 for 3 became 82 for 9 as we failed to build on the good platform we had halfway through our innings. Nevertheless there are a lot of positives to take out of the game, most notably the partnership between Justin and Michael, which I hope will give them the belief that they can score runs consistently at this level.

Scores:

Ludgrove 149 for 6 (Justin Parvess 2 for 4; Haider Rubbani 2 for 46)

Eagle House 91 (Haider Rubbani 26: Justin Parvess 23)

Result: Eagle House lost by 58 runs.

Match 4 Versus Cranleigh   Wednesday 7th May (Home)

Team:JJ Dewes (Capt) ;Billy Dovey ; Haider Rubbani;Justin Parvess; Michael Wright; Tom Fowlie;Sean Neat;Will Fletcher;Karim Sheikh; Max Medlock; Tom Surrall; Scorer: Sapan Maini-Thompson

Changes to the team because of scholarship exams and an absentee meant that for the first time in the 7 years that I have been taking the First X1 we went into the match with more year 7s in the team than Year 8s. We lost the toss and we found ourselves in the field. A good opening spell from JJ Dewes and Justin Parvess saw the fall of 2 early wickets and almost a third, but the ball spilt out of JJ's hands as he hit the ground diving forward at mid-off. A good one handed catch from Tom Fowlie kept the pressure on the batting team but unfortunately 2 straight forward chances were put down. After a useful 5th wicket partnership which took Cranleigh into the 80s was broken, wickets fell at regular intervals and JJ was the pick of the bowlers taking 5 wickets.JJ Dewes and Billy Dovey (opening the batting instead of Alex Manton-Jones who was away on scholarship week) had an opening stand of 52 though each was given a life. They kept out the good ball and punished anything loose. When they departed the run rate required was a gettable run a ball but some tight bowling and good fielding which effected 2 run outs from direct hits, meant that the asking rate quickly mounted. A middle order collapse which saw 6 wickets fall for only the addition of 20 runs caused a few flutters but Tom Fowlie and Will Fletcher held firm until the end. 

Scores:

Cranleigh 122 (JJ Dewes 5 for 24; Sean Neat 2 for 11;Justin Parvess 2 for 22)

Eagle House 98 for 6 (JJ Dewes 34;Tom Fowlie 31 not out)

Result: Match Drawn

Match Versus Parkside   Wednesday 30th April (Away)

Team:JJ Dewes (Capt) ; Alex Manton-Jones; Haider Rubbani;Justin Parvess; Michael Wright; Tom Fowlie; Billy Dovey; Nikolai Malyguine; Will Fletcher; Sean Neat; Tom Surrall; Scorer: Amrita Dasgupta  

Match cancelled because of the weather.

Match 3 Versus Lambrook-Haileybury Jet Cup first Round  Tuesday 29th April (Home)

Team:JJ Dewes (Capt) ; Alex Manton-Jones; Haider Rubbani;Justin Parvess; Michael Wright; Tom Fowlie; Billy Dovey; Nikolai Malyguine; Will Fletcher; Sean Neat; Tom Surrall; Scorer: Amrita Dasgupta  

This is the first time that we have entered this competition which is a 25 over knock-out affair for prep schools sponsored by the Lords Taverners and Holmwoods. The competition concludes with a finals day in Oxford at the end of June for the successful teams. Rain was the main forecast for the day and it was with one eye on the weather that JJ opted to field first when he won the toss as it was dry at the time and remained so for the whole of the Lambrook-Haileybury innings.

Although the bowling and fielding were not as sharp as on the previous Saturday, the opening batsmen had to work hard for their runs but were in no real trouble. They put on a stand of 96 but it took them almost 20 overs to do this. When they both fell in quick succession Eagle House picked up several quick wickets as the new batsmen tried to force the pace. A final total of 127 was competitive but certainly gettable if we batted positively and sensibly.

At the start of our innings, the rain which had threatened all afternoon now came down as a persistent heavy drizzle which made things difficult for the fielding side as the surface became slippery and the ball got wet. Even allowing for this, JJ Dewes and Alex Manton-Jones started superbly taking the attack to the opposition, hitting the bad ball for four and running well for ones and twos between the wickets.

The run rate steadily mounted and we were going along at 7 an over, but just before 5:00 pm the umpires decided that conditions were too poor to allow the game to continue. As we had completed at least 10 overs of the second innings, the match could be deemed to have a result and we won, based on the fact that after 10 overs Lambrook-Haileybury had scored 41 runs while we had 74.  On balance this was a good performance from Eagle House but all credit to Lambrook-Haileybury for making a match of it in difficult conditions.

Scores:

Lambrook-Haileybury 127 for 7 after 25 overs (JJ Dewes 3 for 22; Haider Rubbani 2 for 27)

Eagle House 86 for 1 after 12 overs (JJ Dewes 40; Alex Manton-Jones 29 not out)

Result: Eagle House won on a faster scoring rate

Match 2 Versus Caldicott Saturday 26th April (Home)

Team:JJ Dewes (Capt) ; Alex Manton-Jones; Haider Rubbani; Justin Parvess; Michael Wright; Tom Fowlie; Billy Dovey; Will Fletcher; Nikolai Malyguine; Sean Neat; Sean McCarten; Scorer: Robert Trapnell

A glorious afternoon meant that we could play our first match on a proper cricket wicket instead of the artificial pitch since June 2006. The wicket was slightly damp on top and bearing in mind the batting disasters of Wednesday it was a bold and positive move by JJ Dewes when he won the toss to elect to bat first. JJ and Alex Manton-Jones started carefully but were prepared to latch onto the bad ball. They put on 32 together before being separated. This momentume was continued by Haider Rubbani and Justin Parvess and when we had a drinks break after the first hour, we were well placed at 93 for 2 off 20 overs, with the fielding side under pressure having dropped Haider twice. Caldicott then fought back well to take the last 8 wickets for the addition of only 37 runs. A score of 129 off 34 overs was 30 below a good total but as we would be bowling 33 overs after tea, it meant that a draw was an unlikely result one way or the other.

As it turned out all four bowlers that were used bowled superbly and they were backed up by tight fielding with Tom Fowlie and Michael Wright leading the way. Caldicott were soon in trouble at 4 for 2 and although a 30 run partnership steadied the ship for them somewhat, the run rate was beginning to mount and once the third wicket partnership was broken, wickets fell at regular intervals. The bowlers JJ Dewes, Justin Parvess, Haider Rubbani and Sean Neat all showed good control and variation. Justin had the misfortune to beat one batsman with a delivery that hit off stump but the bails remained undisturbed. Each of the 4 bowlers had bagged 2 wickets each of the first 8 to fall and JJ took the final 2 wickets with 2 overs of the match remaining. This was a good win, our first against Caldicott at this level this century and gives us something to build on, though we do need to work on the batting and be more positive in our running between the wickets to put pressure on the fielding side. 

Scores:

Eagle House 129 (Haider Rubbani 31; JJ Dewes 25)

Caldicott 74 (JJ Dewes 4 for 8; Haider Rubbani 2 for 16; Sean Neat 2 for 18; Justin Parvess 2 for 24)

Result: Eagle House won by 55 runs.

Match 1 Versus Hall Grove

Team: Justin Parvess; Alex Manton-Jones; JJ Dewes (Capt); Haider Rubbani; Michael Wright; Tom Fowlie; Billy Dovey; Will Fletcher; Nikolai Malyguine; Sean Neat; Tom Surrall Scorer: Robert Trapnell

For the second time in 3 seasons our first game was against a team that had been on an Easter tour and this made a big difference in a game between two relatively evenly matched teams in that we were playing our first match of the season and Hall Grove were effectively playing their sixth. JJ Dewes bowled a very tight opening spell while Justin Parvess struggled to find a consistent line and length. It was Justin who produced 2 very good wicket taking balls in his second over to have Hall Grove at 14 for 2. This should have been 3 wickets down  as the opposing captain was dropped on 0 and this proved costly as he went to anchor their innings with an unbeaten 58. In fact 3 relatively straight forward chances were dropped (two of them off JJ Dewes). However some excellent catches were taken by Tom Fowlie, Tom Surrall, Billy Dovey and Will Fletcher.

A target of 134 off 27 overs was definitely achievable but Hall Grove bowled in the right channels and gave very little away. They were helped by some rather indifferent batting with only Haider Rubbani being prepared to take the attack to the opposition and he was the only batsman to get into double figures. Not surprisingly we were soon behind the asking rate and at one time a draw appeared the most likely result but a flurry of late wickets meant that our last pair of Sean Neat and Tom Surrall had to face the last 17 balls of the game to secure a draw. This they did admirably for 16 balls without looking in any trouble but the last ball of the match did the trick for Hall Grove and they emerged deserved winners.

Hopefully we can build on the things we did well in this game, notably the bowling and certain aspects of the fielding. However we need to focus on our batting, especially in getting into line and not playing half shots which led to the majority of dismissals in this game.

Scores:

Hall Grove 133 for 6 (Justin Parvess 3 for 37)

Eagle House 58 (Haider Rubbani 19) 

Result: Eagle House lost by 75 runs

Eagle House School, Sandhurst, Berkshire GU47 8PH

Tel: 01344 772134 Fax: 01344 779039

email: info@eaglehouseschool.com