Great Fun at Exning - Cricket Wins

Hartest and Coldham Hall CC - 200 For 9


Charlie Long 60, M Roberts 30, B Atkinson 17.


Exning CC - 203 For 8


M Griggs 60 [Retired Injured], S Allen 51,




 The annual friendly which Exning have had the upper hand in the last couple of season proved to be so again albeit only by two wickets which with one injured player not going to return, only one wicket.


First and most important we thank Exning for hosting ourselves and a lovely place to pay your cricket in a very good atmosphere where the result is often secondary to everyone dusting down the cobwebs of the long winter and to remember we play for fun and new memories.


Two memorable bits from today will be young Archie Roberts making an appearance which I am sure a proud Mum and Dad will not forget, but his sister might, and at tea a very nice man called Ron Pearson turned up aged 74 and a couple of months bringing with him the old score books from Hartest dating back to the early 1960s.


Today we have twitter and all sorts to record everything but those books with names familiar to many and some historical local people some who may have been forgotten will still be recorded for history and for Ron it was not easy to let go as he wants those records of himself and many others to live on through myself and others past me as a manuscript like the Magna Carta and to let them go probably was not an easy thing to do so thank you Ron, as the season goes on we will look into them and discover more.


However, the Cricket was super most people bowled and batted and some as usual better than others on a slight chilly cloudy day with a few peaks of sunshine.


Captain Ben Atkinson won the toss and batted with a vey good opening stand of 48 before  Steve "the Ghost" Ryder was bowled but sadly tweaked that troublesome knee just before that fateful ball.


Captain Ben Atkinson made a brief appearance but smashed a quick 17, Mark Roberts also dropped but soon went shortly after for a good 30 but the stand out man who looked like he had been having extra lessons was the Man of the Match from a Hartest and Coldham point of view was Charlie Long who guided most of the rest of the team to 200 scoring 60 but also helping young debutant Archie Roberts who helped put on a small 26 run partnership with Charlie.


Cameo appearances from Peter Richards, consistent form, Dave Armstrong, lets not forget absent friends over seas, hell Jack, I m sure you will catch up as the season gets underway in earnest, also a very good bat from Nick "the Nut" Rutter, scoring more today than last season I think, not out 8, plus a good 16 from new vice Captain Richard Carter, Shaun Faires, well after hearing his ailments from his supporters club Donna and Hollie or Emily, [Just kidding] we'd better increase the insurance!!!


Please not I am joining in with the fun that was in a good atmosphere, I doubt we will come across that when the league starts next week at Stowmarket, come along and support your club.


The teas were excellent, [ well I would say that as having a slight hand in them, those sandwiches were buttered with exceptional quality, I have more chance of those words being mentioned in spreading butter than my cricket!  Thanks though goes to Judith Atkinson.


After tea Exning took to the field and with Simon Allen the new Exning Captain for the Saturday team, [Good Luck this season, Billy] would have preferred to have got 49 than the 51 he got but to be bowled by Ben Atkinson, but that's Cricket, but he held the innings together for the early stages where Richard Carter and Dave Armstrong kept a tight rein on the scoring in the first dozen overs.


However this was about getting ready for the season and Captain Ben Atkinson gave most who wanted a bowl a bowl and the scoring went up especially when M Griggs came in who got a 16 ball 53, I think Mark Roberts has some explaining to his son Archie where that came from as young Archie who may have got a bad habit of wide's from his dad didn't go for the same amount of runs as Dad did, opps!


M Griggs pulled a hamstring retired on 60 and with Charlie Long [MoM] bowling well taking 3 wickets plus spin king Nicko the game had got close but in the 35th over Exning hit a boundary to sneak a win but really the game was good for all the right reasons and to get ready for the new season.


Once again thank you Exning and Tony Catley plus all at the club, we hope you have a successful season but most of all a lot of fun.


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