2014 Season Match Reports
Lavant vs Singleton, 28th September
This was Lavant’s final match of the 2014 season and it ended with a win against Singleton. Singleton batted first and were soon in trouble with their first wicket falling to a catch at second slip at the beginning of the second over. The next four wickets fell rapidly as Lavant held all their catches and the score was soon 13 for 5. Lavant’s opening bowlers were rested and batting conditions became easier and Singleton’s sixth wicket pair amassed an additional eighty runs before an inspired bowling change had Dawtrey caught by a tremendous diving right handed catch by Banks at second slip. Breaking this partnership turned the game in Lavant’s favour again and Singleton subsided from 93 for 6 to 107 all out in 24 overs. Rawnsley, Banks and Walmsley shared the honours, each taking three wickets. An early tea was taken and Lavant started their reply losing their first wicket in the third over. Carroll and Dale steadied the innings. Carroll was given a life when he was dropped at point which proved costly for Singleton as, despite a calf injury, Carroll carried his bat and with support from Burford and Banks they eased past the Singleton total. The game ended with a welcome drink from Singleton’s club bar in the evening sunshine
Lavant vs Buriton, 14th September
In the first time for many years Lavant travelled to Buriton for this fixture which has always been rained off in the previous seasons. Buriton’s ground had recovered from the winter’s flooding but the outfield was still very patchy and the grass quite long which made scoring difficult and it turned out to be a very low scoring game. Buriton batted first and a tight spell of bowling from Berkley, 1 for 9, and Rawnsley, 1 for 4, put Buriton under pressure and restricted the run rate. Wickets fell steadily with three batsmen not troubling the scorers and Buriton were all out for 70 in 24 overs of a 35 over game. Lavant’s skipper changed the normal batting order to give everyone a game and Lavant were soon in trouble at 26 for 4 with two of Lavant’s batsmen not troubling the scorers. It took some steady resolve from Brooker and Rawnsley to hold the innings together and despite Rawnsley being bowled just before the end both he and skipper Brooker had done enough for the last batsmen to ease past Buriton’s total and win the game. Stevens was the pick of the Buriton bowlers taking 3 for 8 from 7 overs.
Lavant vs Lynchmere, 30th August
Lavant won the toss and elected to bat first on an overcast afternoon on a very damp wicket. Lavant’s opening pair had put on less than fifteen runs before the first wicket fell, however this brought Brooker to the crease and he and Taylor put on over eighty runs for the second wicket. Brooker was caught behind for 42, chasing a very wide delivery, this was followed by another quick wicket, but Berkley and Taylor steadied the innings, both of them reaching half centuries allowing Lavant to declare at 169 for 5 at tea. Lynchmere’s innings started badly with Hedges out first ball of the innings cutting to second slip. Nicholls, in only his second match of the season, bowled a fine spell of 9 overs, 4 maidens taking 5 for 11 and ripping out Lynchmere’s top five batsmen supported by some fine catching by Lavant. Berkley took over at the same end as Nicholls and he, unbelievably, produced even better figures of 6.1 overs, 2 maidens taking 5 for 10 and Lynchmere were all out for 58 giving Lavant their third weekend win in a row.
Lavant vs Lodsworth, 24th August
It was Lodsworth’s turn to visit Lavant for this fixture which alternates annually between each of the home grounds. Lodsworth batted first and their opening pair put on 66 runs, however, with the fall of the first wicket Lodsworth’s run rate slowed down and then wickets fell steadily. A good half century from Hall was followed by two run outs and Lodsworth’s innings closed on 148 with twenty minutes to spare before tea. Banks was the pick of the Lavant bowlers taking 3 for 53, ably supported by young Burford taking 3 for 66. An early tea was taken after which Lavant’s reply started steadily and despite losing wickets, the runs accumulated with Extras helping the total along. Hall returned good figures of 3 for 26 but this wasn’t sufficient to prevent Lavant winning the game with six overs to spare making it two wins on the run for the home side.
Lavant vs Boxgrove, 2nd August
This was the return derby match against Boxgrove and Lavant were hoping to avenge their defeat from earlier in the summer. Lavant were asked to bat first and the tone of the innings was set from the first delivery when the fast pace of Casburn caught the glove of Burford giving a very difficult chance to the wicket keeper, Hall, who didn’t quite mange to hold onto it. Lavant’s top six batsmen scored, 5, 6, 1, 0, 10 and 12 and if it wasn’t for Lavant’s favourite contributor Extras on 42 and some determined blows from Haskell, 29, and Portsmouth, 19, then Lavant’s total at tea would have been undefendable, as it was Lavant were able to declare on 146 for 9 with Mant taking 4-45 as he bowled a few overs too many in an attempt to get his first “five for” this season. Boxgrove made a bright start, but Rawnsley was the pick of the Lavant bowlers with 2 for 34 from 13 overs and he had Wakefield superbly caught at second slip by Blanch. Hall carried his bat for 49 and despite wickets falling at the other end Boxgrove eased passed Lavant’s total with five overs to spare which meant Boxgrove won both derby matches this year.
Lavant vs Gentlemen of Bedales, 6th July
Lavant’s poor run of form continued in this match against the Gentleman of Bedales which was highlighted by the 3 wickets for 16 captured by nine years old Theo Truss who bowled his seven overs of off spin, leg spin, flippers and googlies deceiving the Lavant batsmen. Gentleman of Bedales won the toss and their opening pair put on over 80 runs before Banks broke the partnership. There followed a collapse of five wickets for 12 runs, with three Gentleman of Bedales batsmen not troubling the scorers and Lavant were keen to apply more pressure on them. However Gentleman of Bedales rallied and posted a healthy total of 212 at tea. Hall was the pick of the Lavant bowlers taking 5 for 54. Lavant’s reply stuttered from the beginning, the first two wickets falling before 10 runs had been scored. Only Portsmouth reached double figures,12, in the whole innings and Lavant were comprehensively dismissed for 85 all out.
Lavant vs Arundel Grasshoppers, 7th June
If all the catches had been held in this match the game would have been over very quickly, but somehow Lavant, batting first, managed to score 146 all out at tea. Lavant, as usual, lost their opening pair cheaply which was followed by a steady recovery by Berkley, Blanch and P Burford, who all escaped from dropped catches. None of the Lavant batsmen made a big score despite making a start and it was left to Rawnsley and R Burford to add many welcome runs for the last wicket. Arundel’s reply started hesitantly with the first wicket falling to a fine slip catch by Blanch but this brought Barber swiftly followed by Carroll to the crease. Both these batsmen survived from early dropped catches and then they decided it was too hot to run singles so they scored very freely in boundaries all around the ground. Each of the batsmen passed 50 before Barber was bowled trying to hit the winning run out of the ground despite which Arundel won the match by 7 wickets. The homemade cakes were very welcome at tea time.
Lavant vs Boxgrove, 31st May
For the local derby match against Boxgrove, Lavant had a changed side from the previous week, primarily due to injuries sustained in that match. Lavant won the toss and elected to bat first on the usual slow Lavant strip. Lavant’s first wicket fell very quickly but Carroll, Dale and P Burford steadied the innings for over an hour at a reasonable scoring rate. A mid innings collapse followed and it was left to the last wicket stand of Rawnsley and R Burford to see Lavant through to tea when they declared on 175 for 9. Gottesman was the pick of the Boxgrove bowlers with 4 for 23. Boxgrove’s reply started slowly against Stevens’ pace attack and they lost their first wicket for under 10 runs. This brought Gottesman to the crease who gave one very sharp chance in the covers having scored 11 but otherwise batted very calmly ending on 98 not out and scoring the winning runs with a huge six over mid on with seven overs to spare. The return derby match is eagerly anticipated in August.
Lavant vs Tillington, 25th May
This was a game of contrasting fortunes. Tillington batted first and lost their first two wickets in the space of three balls but by then their openers had scored more than 200 runs, a record opening partnership for their club. Lavant, in their reply, similarly lost their first two wickets in the space of three balls but their score was a meagre 2 runs. Tillington’s opening pair of Kemp, 154, and Thiseleton 105, scored freely all around the ground launching countless sixes over the boundary wall into Petworth Park for the Lavant fielders to chase. Lavant tried hard all afternoon to take make a break through trying for some very difficult hard hit catches that caused injury to three of Lavant’s fielders but to no avail. Tillington declared at tea after scoring 315 for 4 wickets with Rawnsley 2 for 83 and Wignall 2 for 102 the pick of the Lavant bowlers. This isn’t quite the largest total that Lavant have had to chase down but their reply got off to disastrous start in the third over when Cowell took two wickets in three balls. Lavant lost two more wickets with the score under 20 before Berkley, 46, and Rawnsley, 71, restored some respectability to the Lavant score as Tillington took the pressure off the bowling attack to give everyone in the Tillington squad a chance to contribute in the match. A late collapse as Kemp took 2 for 7 nearly gave Tillington the win but somehow Lavant held out for a draw finishing on 175 for 8.
Lavant vs Old Barn, 13th April
This was the first game of the season for both sides and they found that no amount of net practice makes up for time in the middle. The pitch, as expected after the very wet winter, was low and slow and both sides found difficulty in timing the ball onto the bat. Lavant won the toss and elected to bat. Lavant’s openers started slowly and steadily, with the usual confusion on calling for quick singles, and saw off the opening bowlers only for both wickets to fall in successive balls. This brought Burford and Brooker to the crease who had rapidly increased the scoring rate and posted scores of 43 and 35 respectively. Berkley continued the scoring with some fine stokes and Lavant declared on 168 for 9 at tea. The pick of the Old Barn bowlers was 12 years old Cockaday who finished with 1 for 22. Old Barn started their reply brightly until a shooter bowled one opener and a skied catch was held to dismiss the other opener. A fine run out by Brooker, with one stump to aim at slowed the Old Barn run rate until Barnett came into bat and hit a brisk 46 which brought the run chase down to a run a ball. Berkley cleaned up the tail with 3 for 38 but the last wicket stand, with young Cockaday facing, couldn’t be broken and Old Barn ended up with 147 for 9 and the match drawn, which was a fair result for both sides on what turned out to be a glorious April afternoon.